Individual Achievement, Person-Major Fit, or Social Expectations: Why Do Students Switch Majors in German Higher Education?

While a large body of research addresses both subject choice and student dropout in higher education, much less is known about switching the initially chosen major. Therefore, we ask why students switch their major in higher education and analyse this for the case of Germany, taking the timing and the degree of such switches (within and across subject groups) into account. Based on the extended rational choice framework, we identify three aspects that might explain switching majors: individual achievement in secondary education, a (mis)match between individual occupational interests and the content of studies and parental and peer judgement regarding the initial subject choice. We test the derived hypotheses by applying logistic regression models to representative data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), Starting Cohort 5. Our results indicate that the analysed aspects of individual achievement, person-major fit and social expectations affect switching majors, but their influence varies according to the degree and timing of the switch. While high-achieving students are more likely to switch majors, especially across disciplines and at a later stage in their studies, a mismatch in occupational interests mainly affects switching majors across broad subject groups. Finally, disapproval of the initial subject choice by parents and peers matters most for switches during the first two semesters and across academic disciplines.

Occupational Therapy in the Process of Recovering from Severe Mental Disorder

Background Severe mental disorder (SMD) produces a significant functional limitation that affects the performance of daily activities. This limitation is where the occupational therapist intervenes by seeking greater autonomy of these patients through specific activities. This study aims to identify the main limitations of people with SMD and see whether an occupational intervention has any effect in helping to overcome or ameliorate these limitations.Method An experimental study consisting of 103 subjects was carried out, where an evaluation was given before and after the intervention. The tool used is called the WHODAS questionnaire included in the DSM 5.Results Within the programming of activities, those with a higher attendance rating during cognitive stimulation, cooking workshop, therapeutic walks, relaxation, and creative activities were mainly men. The results showed that both patients and professionals indicated that Understanding and Communicating, Participation in Society, and Activities of Daily Living were the main perceived limitations. Upon discharge, both patients and professionals saw positive outcomes. Conclusion The intervention programs carried out by Occupational Therapy, along with the other aspects of the treatment that the patients with SMI have received, have played a part in improving the performance and occupational interests of the patients.

Preschool Gender-Typed Play Behavior Predicts Adolescent Gender-Typed Occupational Interests: A 10-Year Longitudinal Study

There are significant gender differences in both play behavior and occupational interests. Play has been regarded as an important medium for development of skills and personal characteristics. Play may also influence subsequent preferences through social and cognitive processes involved in gender development. The present study investigated the association between gender-typed play behavior in early childhood and gender-typed occupational interests in early adolescence. Participants were drawn from a British longitudinal population study, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Participants were recruited based on their parent-reported gender-typed play behavior assessed at age 3.5 years. There were 66 masculine boys and 61 masculine girls, 82 feminine boys and 69 feminine girls, and 55 randomly selected control boys and 67 randomly selected control girls. At age 13 years, the participants were administered a questionnaire assessing their interest in gender-typed occupations. It was found that masculine children showed significantly more interest in male-typical occupations than did control or feminine children. Compared with control children, feminine children had marginally significantly lower interest in male-typical jobs. Masculine children also had significantly lower interest in female-typical jobs than did control or feminine children. The associations were not moderated by gender and were observed after taking into account sociodemographic background, parental occupations, and academic performance. The degree of gender-typed play shown by preschoolers can predict their occupational interests 10 years later following transition into adolescence. Childhood gender-typed play has occupational implications that transcend developmental stages.

OCCUPATIONAL INTERESTS AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

An attempt was made in the present investigation Aim: Occupational Interests among high school students. Objective: To assess the future occupational interest levels among high school students with reference to occupations and the professions of the accountancy. Sample: The sample selected for the study is 120 high school students, those who are studying in the schools of Mahabubnagar town in Telangana State. Tool: Occupational interests scale developed by Achala Umapathy and Mary Paul (1972) was administered. Conclusion: High school students have preferences of their occupational interests' in the accountancy and administrative & managerial workers.

Racist Cops, Vested “Blue” Interests, or Both? Evidence from Four Decades of the General Social Survey

The murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer triggered U.S. and worldwide protests—protests that raised questions about police funding, use of force, and whether police officers are distinctly racist. In this article, the authors draw on nearly four decades of the General Social Survey to examine trends over time and specifically model whether those in law enforcement are more likely to hold racialized and arguably racist views, vested “blue” occupational interests, or both. Trends show declining public support for police expenditure and police use of force over time. The authors’ further modeling highlights stark differences between police and the general public, as well as between cops and those of similar occupational status. Specifically, police uniquely believe that they should receive more funding and have the right to use physical force against citizens; they are also more racist, a pattern especially apparent among white male officers. These findings, which largely support the arguments of current Black Lives Matter protesters, show how vested occupational interests and racialized orientations intersect in important ways, sometimes with perilous consequences.

The Middle Classes

This chapter surveys the history of the middle classes in Weimar Germany from social, political, and cultural perspectives. Divisions—between industrialists and master artisans; conservatives, liberals, and left-wingers; Protestants, Catholics, and Jews; modernists and anti-modernists—were by no means new. But they were exacerbated during the First World War and in the subsequent period of rapid shifts and drastic ruptures. Occupational interests diverged, depending on how the respective groups were affected by the democratic transformation of 1918/19 and the hyperinflation that peaked in 1923. As a result, many members of the middle classes turned resentfully against the republic. Still, we should be wary of adopting the ubiquitous rhetoric of decline, for studies of associational life have amounted to a rather different picture of confidence and renewal. This middle-class renewal was initially not anti-democratic per se. But it increasingly defined itself against the perceived threat of socialist revolution and, by the mid-1920s, began to fuel the rise of the extreme right. That said, the middle classes in Weimar Germany should not be seen solely in a political perspective. They exhibited remarkably diverse consumer choices and cultural activities, although it was precisely this diversity that the extreme right targeted with considerable success.

Measuring and Resolving LGBTQ Disparities in STEM

LGBTQ people have pioneered major scientific advances, but they face challenges in STEM that ultimately waste human talent and hinder scientific progress. Growing evidence suggests that LGBTQ people in STEM are statistically underrepresented, encounter non-supportive environments, and leave STEM at an alarming rate. Potential factors driving LGBTQ disparities in STEM include bias and discrimination, misalignments of occupational interests with STEM stereotypes, and STEM norms of impersonality that isolate LGBTQ people. LGBTQ retention shares common psychological processes with female and racial minority retention such as STEM identification and belonging. The key barrier to better understanding and addressing LGBTQ challenges in STEM is the lack of sexual orientation or gender identity (SO/GI) demographic data on the U.S. STEM workforce. Policy recommendations include (a) adding SO/GI measures to federal STEM-census surveys; (b) broadening agencies’ definition of underrepresented groups to include LGBTQ people; and (c) incorporating LGBTQ identity into accountability systems and diversity programs at STEM institutions.

Political Skill Across Health Care Leaders: A Longitudinal Analysis

The health care industry is recognizing the importance of political skill among its professionals. To address this need, a longitudinal study investigates how the political skill of health care leaders ( N = 555) evolves and impacts unit performance. Utilizing cross-lagged panel through a three-wave study, measurement equivalence and analysis of variance, we found political skill to influence performance differently over time, across professions, and at the dimension level. Interestingly, political skill did not just influence next year’s political skill levels in health care leaders, but also showed a strong positive influence on the unit’s performance. Similar lagged overall effects were found for both clinical and nonclinical leaders with the caveat that political skills dimensions can evolve differently. For instance, networking ability is underdeveloped and likely to decrease over time for clinical leaders. In summary, future theories and applications consider the temporal elements, the dimensionality of political skill, and the differences in leaders’ occupational interests. We discuss further implications and future research.

Are Women Willing to Delay Their Retirement? A Research on 270 Female Teachers in Inner Mongolia of China

Women’ retirement age is earlier than men in China, which has a negative effect on the problem-solving of aging society and the protection of women’s rights and interests. Therefore, prolonging the retirement age for women has become an important policy choice to alleviate the above problems. But are women themselves willing to delay their retirement? What factors effect women’s intention to delay their retirement? Those should be an important basis for the decision-making of a new retirement policy. This paper explores female delayed retirement intention by selecting the group of female teachers which is an important category of professional women in China. Taking 270 female teachers in Inner Mongolia of China as samples, this paper analyzes the effect of personal, occupational, and policy factors on female teachers’ delayed retirement intention. The results show that the health, children, monthly income, cumulative length of working, professional title and work units have a statistically significant impact on female teachers’ delayed retirement intention. Accordingly, this article puts forward policy implications on gender equity including eliminating the gender difference of retirement age, making flexible retirement policy and protecting women’s occupational interests.