Project description:Gender equality is a major problem that places women at a disadvantage thereby stymieing economic growth and societal advancement. In the last two decades, extensive research has been conducted on gender related issues, studying both their antecedents and consequences. However, existing literature reviews fail to provide a comprehensive and clear picture of what has been studied so far, which could guide scholars in their future research. Our paper offers a scoping review of a large portion of the research that has been published over the last 22 years, on gender equality and related issues, with a specific focus on business and economics studies. Combining innovative methods drawn from both network analysis and text mining, we provide a synthesis of 15,465 scientific articles. We identify 27 main research topics, we measure their relevance from a semantic point of view and the relationships among them, highlighting the importance of each topic in the overall gender discourse. We find that prominent research topics mostly relate to women in the workforce-e.g., concerning compensation, role, education, decision-making and career progression. However, some of them are losing momentum, and some other research trends-for example related to female entrepreneurship, leadership and participation in the board of directors-are on the rise. Besides introducing a novel methodology to review broad literature streams, our paper offers a map of the main gender-research trends and presents the most popular and the emerging themes, as well as their intersections, outlining important avenues for future research.
Project description:ObjectivesThe COVID-19 pandemic threatens to widen existing gender inequities worldwide. A growing body of literature assesses the harmful consequences of public health emergencies (PHEs) for women and girls; however, evidence of what works to alleviate such impacts is limited. To inform viable mitigation strategies, we reviewed the evidence on gender-based interventions implemented in PHEs, including disease outbreaks and natural disasters.MethodsWe conducted a rapid scoping review to identify eligible studies by systematically searching the databases MEDLINE, Global Health and Web of Science with the latest search update on 28 May 2021. We used the Sustainable Development Goals as a guiding framework to identify eligible outcomes of gender (in)equality.ResultsOut of 13 920 records, 16 studies met our eligibility criteria. These included experimental (3), cohort (2), case-control (3) and cross-sectional (9) studies conducted in the context of natural disasters (earthquakes, droughts and storms) or epidemics (Zika, Ebola and COVID-19). Six studies were implemented in Asia, seven in North/Central America and three in Africa. Interventions included economic empowerment programmes (5); health promotion, largely focused on reproductive health (10); and a postearthquake resettlement programme (1). Included studies assessed gender-based outcomes in the domains of sexual and reproductive health, equal opportunities, access to economic resources, violence and health. There was a dearth of evidence for other outcome domains relevant to gender equity such as harmful practices, sanitation and hygiene practices, workplace discrimination and unpaid work. Economic empowerment interventions showed promise in promoting women's and girls' economic and educational opportunities as well as their sexual and reproductive health during PHEs. However, some programme beneficiaries may be at risk of experiencing unintended harms such as an increase in domestic violence. Focused reproductive health promotion may also be an effective strategy for supporting women's sexual and reproductive health, although additional experimental evidence is needed.ConclusionsThis study identified critical evidence gaps to guide future research on approaches to alleviating gender inequities during PHEs. We further highlight that interventions to promote gender equity in PHEs should take into account possible harmful side effects such as increased gender-based violence.Review registrationDOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/8HKFD.
Project description:SynGAP is a potent regulator of biochemical signaling in neurons and plays critical roles in neuronal function. It was first identified in 1998, and has since been extensively characterized as a mediator of synaptic plasticity. Because of its involvement in synaptic plasticity, SynGAP has emerged as a critical protein for normal cognitive function. In recent years, mutations in the SYNGAP1 gene have been shown to cause intellectual disability in humans and have been linked to other neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia. While the structure and biochemical function of SynGAP have been well characterized, a unified understanding of the various roles of SynGAP at the synapse and its contributions to neuronal function remains to be achieved. In this review, we summarize and discuss the current understanding of the multifactorial role of SynGAP in regulating neuronal function gathered over the last two decades.
Project description:Women's assessments of gender equality do not consistently match global indices of gender inequality. In surveys covering 150 countries, women in societies rated gender-unequal according to global metrics such as education, health, labor-force participation, and political representation did not consistently assess their lives as less in their control or less satisfying than men did. Women in these societies were as likely as women in index-equal societies to say they had equal rights with men. Their attitudes toward gender issues did not reflect the same latent construct as in index-equal societies, although attitudes may have begun to converge in recent years. These findings reflect a longstanding tension between universal criteria of gender equality and an emphasis on subjective understandings of women's priorities.
Project description:The so-called "gender-equality paradox" is the fact that gender segregation across occupations is more pronounced in more egalitarian and more developed countries. Some scholars have explained this paradox by the existence of deeply rooted or intrinsic gender differences in preferences that materialize more easily in countries where economic constraints are more limited. In line with a strand of research in sociology, we show instead that it can be explained by cross-country differences in essentialist gender norms regarding math aptitudes and appropriate occupational choices. To this aim, we propose a measure of the prevalence and extent of internalization of the stereotype that "math is not for girls" at the country level. This is done using individual-level data on the math attitudes of 300,000 15-y-old female and male students in 64 countries. The stereotype associating math to men is stronger in more egalitarian and developed countries. It is also strongly associated with various measures of female underrepresentation in math-intensive fields and can therefore entirely explain the gender-equality paradox. We suggest that economic development and gender equality in rights go hand-in-hand with a reshaping rather than a suppression of gender norms, with the emergence of new and more horizontal forms of social differentiation across genders.
Project description:This systematic literature review appraises critically the mediating variables of stereotype threat. A bibliographic search was conducted across electronic databases between 1995 and 2015. The search identified 45 experiments from 38 articles and 17 unique proposed mediators that were categorized into affective/subjective (n = 6), cognitive (n = 7) and motivational mechanisms (n = 4). Empirical support was accrued for mediators such as anxiety, negative thinking, and mind-wandering, which are suggested to co-opt working memory resources under stereotype threat. Other research points to the assertion that stereotype threatened individuals may be motivated to disconfirm negative stereotypes, which can have a paradoxical effect of hampering performance. However, stereotype threat appears to affect diverse social groups in different ways, with no one mediator providing unequivocal empirical support. Underpinned by the multi-threat framework, the discussion postulates that different forms of stereotype threat may be mediated by distinct mechanisms.
Project description:Coastal sea turtle stranding and bycatch are common phenomena worldwide and have received more attention in recent years. They are caused by both natural and anthropogenic factors. One thousand and seventy-two turtles were reported to be victims of these phenomena from March 1997 to November 2019 in Taiwan. Number of stranding/bycatch were variable and infrequent for the first 14 years, but increased each year after 2012 and peaked in 2019 with 217 cases. Most turtles were juveniles to subadults. All five of Taiwan's species were reported in stranding and bycatch records, and the green turtle was reported the most common. The main reported seasons lasted from winter to spring, when the weather changes dramatically. The sex ratio (female: male) ranged from 7 in the hawksbill turtle to 0.7 in the olive ridley, with an average of 2.4 for all species. Green turtles were the dominant stranded species, and more loggerhead turtles were by-caught. The hotspots were the towns of Dougou and Tochen in Yilan County, and Gongliao District in New Taipei City, located in NE coast of Taiwan respectively. Stranding was the more common of the two phenomena reported, and 80% of all stranded turtles were subadult green turtles. Eighty percent of all stranded/bycaught turtles were dead. Pond-nets were the fishing gear that accounted for the most bycatch, and captured mainly living young and subadult green turtles as well as subadult loggerhead turtles. The hotspots for bycatch were the towns of Dongou and Tochen in Yilan County. The Coast Guard and concerned citizen were the main sources of reports. This is the first study to analyze the long-term stranding/bycatch of sea turtles in Taiwan.
Project description:Equine piroplasmosis (EP), caused by the hemoparasites Theileria equi, Theileria haneyi, and Babesia caballi, is an important tick-borne disease of equines that is prevalent in most parts of the world. Infection may affect animal welfare and has economic impacts related to limitations in horse transport between endemic and non-endemic regions, reduced performance of sport horses and treatment costs. Here, we analyzed the epidemiological, serological, and molecular diagnostic data published in the last 20 years, and all DNA sequences submitted to GenBank database, to describe the current global prevalence of these parasites. We demonstrate that EP is endemic in most parts of the world, and that it is spreading into more temperate climates. We emphasize the importance of using DNA sequencing and genotyping to monitor the spread of parasites, and point to the necessity of further studies to improve genotypic characterization of newly recognized parasite species and strains, and their linkage to virulence.
Project description:Large-scale histone H3 reprogramming during male germline differentiation is conserved between animals and plants. A new report now shows that histone H3 reprogramming also occurs in the female germline of the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana.
Project description:About two decades ago, cloning of the autoimmune regulator (AIRE) gene materialized one of the most important actors on the scene of self-tolerance. Thymic transcription of genes encoding tissue-specific antigens (ts-ags) is activated by AIRE protein and embodies the essence of thymic self-representation. Pathogenic AIRE variants cause the autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 1, which is a rare and complex disease that is gaining attention in research on autoimmunity. The animal models of disease, although not identically reproducing the human picture, supply fundamental information on mechanisms and extent of AIRE action: thanks to its multidomain structure, AIRE localizes to chromatin enclosing the target genes, binds to histones, and offers an anchorage to multimolecular complexes involved in initiation and post-initiation events of gene transcription. In addition, AIRE enhances mRNA diversity by favoring alternative mRNA splicing. Once synthesized, ts-ags are presented to, and cause deletion of the self-reactive thymocyte clones. However, AIRE function is not restricted to the activation of gene transcription. AIRE would control presentation and transfer of self-antigens for thymic cellular interplay: such mechanism is aimed at increasing the likelihood of engagement of the thymocytes that carry the corresponding T-cell receptors. Another fundamental role of AIRE in promoting self-tolerance is related to the development of thymocyte anergy, as thymic self-representation shapes at the same time the repertoire of regulatory T cells. Finally, AIRE seems to replicate its action in the secondary lymphoid organs, albeit the cell lineage detaining such property has not been fully characterized. Delineation of AIRE functions adds interesting data to the knowledge of the mechanisms of self-tolerance and introduces exciting perspectives of therapeutic interventions against the related diseases.