Beyond ‘Token’ Firefighters: Exploring Women's Experiences of Gender and Identity at Work

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamika Perrott
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Change ◽  
Emergency Services ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Fire Service ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Personal Agency ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
Gendered Organizations ◽  
Women's Narratives ◽  
Token Status

Despite the increasing percentage of women entering masculinized workplaces, certain organizations consistently see little change in the gender makeup of their staff. Contemporary scholarship suggests that women in rigidly gendered organizations are often assigned a token status and are victimized due to their gender. This study relocates the conversations of women as tokens towards a fresh conversation of women's agency in masculinized workplaces. This paper uses ten qualitative interviews and ethnographic fieldwork to discuss how female firefighters navigate their gender at work. This article draws on reflexive accounts of everyday gendered negotiations to look at how the female firefighters ‘do gender’ within a specific fire service in Australia. I argue that emergency services, such as firefighting, create a contradictory field where women are located in (1) a paradoxical environment where the ‘female body’ is problematized (2) a work environment where they have to repeatedly prove their cultural competence in order to confirm their professional identity. The findings suggest that while female firefighters do have agency, tokenism locates many of them in a ‘never quite there’ bind that challenges their ability to progress into leadership roles within the service. This article concludes that the nuanced difference between, and at times, within the women's narratives problematizes the bounds of personal agency and cultural change. This consequently results in resistance to policies by some women that may benefit like-situated women, such as affirmative action.

scholarly journals ‘Do We Look like Boy Racers?’ The Role of the Folk Devil in Contemporary Moral Panics

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Lumsden
Keyword(s):  
Moral Panic ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Moral Panics ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
Young Drivers ◽  
The Media ◽  
Collective Process ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Societal Reaction

This article addresses the failure of studies concerning moral panics to take into account the reaction of those individuals who are the subject of social anxiety. It responds to the suggestion by McRobbie and Thornton (1995) that studies of moral panic need to account for the role played by the ‘folk devils’ themselves, for a moral panic is a collective process (Young, 2007). The paper presents findings from ethnographic fieldwork with the ‘boy racer’ culture in Aberdeen, qualitative interviews with members of outside groups, and content analysis of media articles. The societal reaction to the ‘boy racer’ subculture in Aberdeen is evidence of a contemporary moral panic. The media's representation of the subculture contributed to the stigmatization of young drivers and the labelling of the subculture's activities as deviant and antisocial. The drivers were aware of their negative portrayal in the media; however their attempts to change the myth of the ‘boy racer’ were unsuccessful. Although subcultural media can provide an outlet of self-expression for youths, these forms of media can also become caught-up in the moral panic. Ironically the youths’ own niche and micro media reified the (ir)rationality for the moral panic.

Perceived Barriers to Reporting Mental and Behavioral Illness in the Fire Service

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-36
Author(s):  
Kami N. Thews ◽  
Zachary K. Winkelmann ◽  
Lindsey E. Eberman ◽  
Kirsten A. Potts ◽  
Kenneth E. Games
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Psychological Stress ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Fire Service ◽  
Perceived Barriers ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Supportive Environment ◽  
Reporting Process

Firefighters are exposed to psychological stress while on duty that could lead to mental and behavioral illnesses that may go unreported. We surveyed firefighters to identify their perceived barriers encountered when attempting to report a mental and behavioral illness with a follow-up question related to how difficult the selected barrier was in the reporting process. A total of 314 firefighters completed the instrument, with most indicating they experienced cultural barriers such as social norms from administration and peers. The findings demonstrate an overall demand for a cultural change within the fire service for a supportive environment that encourages reporting.

The Eloquent Blood

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manon Hedenborg White
Keyword(s):  
Feminist Theory ◽  
Female Sexuality ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Sexual Freedom ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
Positive Reinterpretation ◽  
Feminine Sexuality ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
Western Esotericism ◽  
Written Sources

The study analyzes constructions of femininity and feminine sexuality in interpretations of the goddess Babalon, a central deity in the British occultist Aleister Crowley’s (1875–1947) religion Thelema. Babalon is based on Crowley’s positive reinterpretation of the biblical Whore of Babylon and symbolizes liberated female sexuality and the spiritual modality of passionate union with existence. Analyzing historical and contemporary written sources, qualitative interviews, and ethnographic fieldwork in the Anglo-American esoteric milieu, the study traces interpretations of Babalon from the works of Crowley and some of his key disciples—including the rocket scientist John Whiteside “Jack” Parsons and the enigmatic British occultist Kenneth Grant—from the fin-de-siècle to the present. From the 1990s onward, female and LGBTQ esotericists have challenged historical interpretations of Babalon, drawing on feminist and queer thought and conceptualizing femininity in new ways. Femininity has held a problematic position in feminist theory, often being associated with lack, artifice, and restriction. However, the present study—which assumes that femininities are neither exclusively heterosexual nor limited to women—indicates how interpretations of Babalon have both built on and challenged dominant gender logics. As the first academic monograph to analyze Crowley’s and his followers’ ideas from the perspective of gender, this book contributes to the underexplored study of gender in Western esotericism. By analyzing the development of a misogynistic biblical symbol into an image of feminine sexual freedom, the study also sheds light on interactions between Western esotericism and broader cultural and sociopolitical trends.

scholarly journals Answering for Islam: Journalistic and Islamic Conceptions of Authority

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael B. Munnik
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
Professional Experience ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
Real People ◽  
Official Sources

Media representations of Muslims in Britain have often disappointed both faith practitioners and scholars. Imputed failings include distorting beliefs or practices, essentialising the faith, and amplifying voices that are not representative of Islam. This last factor hinges on questions of authority: what journalists and Muslims recognise as authority can differ in important ways. Drawing on studies of journalism practice, prior professional experience, and ethnographic fieldwork and qualitative interviews in Scotland, I discuss the conventional preference among journalists for “official sources” and the problems this can present in terms of hierarchy in Islam. I contrast this with a less-studied imperative, also present in newsrooms, for “real people”. This category matches well with Islam’s decentralised tradition and presents an opportunity to understand how different kinds of sources are presented in media coverage. It is possible for journalists to ensure that these differing claims to authority are represented properly, though this requires knowledge and responsibility.

Playing with fire

2009 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yulia Maleta
Keyword(s):  
Community Participation ◽  
Emergency Services ◽  
Fire Service ◽  
Fire Fighting ◽  
Work Context ◽  
Fire Fighters ◽  
Physical Strength ◽  
Active Fire ◽  
Traditional Work ◽  
Mixed Gender

This article considers the roles, identities and experiences of female emergency services volunteers, most of whom are active fire fighters, within a regional brigade of the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS). It is based on interviews and explores how women both adapt to and resist the culture and in the process are transforming it. RFS women were motivated by values of camaraderie, skill and community participation. Their experiences were informed by inclusion and exclusion, and the complex association of gender and competence with physical strength and leadership. Drawing upon the Foucauldian insight that power is never simply repressive but productive and relational, the findings demonstrate how women actively negotiate their position as a collective and as individuals within a mixed gender environment. This article concludes that the demonstrated prowess and agency of women within a non-traditional work context is changing and transforming the cultures and practices of rural fire fighting.

scholarly journals Turnaround Plans in Germany: Recommendations for Development and Implementation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Christian Czernay
Keyword(s):  
Human Resource ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Effective Communication ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Limited Ability ◽  
Legal Context

In the currently weakening global economy, many firms find themselves in a decline situation that necessitates a turnaround. In Germany, the instrument of formalized turnaround plans has gained, due to the legal context, noteworthy prevalence recently. Formalized turnaround plans are prepared by independent experts and communicate to the company's stakeholders why and how the company's turnaround attempt is likely to be successful. However, the problem of such plans lies often in its practical construction which turns out to be too complex or too theoretical; accompanied by the practising managers' limited ability to implement the plan and/or cultural barriers in the organisation. This study analysed and evaluated the content, context, and process of turnarounds that lead to the achievement of sustainable competitiveness and profitability after experiencing decline; and, in particular, assessed the effectiveness of formalised turnaround plans in that process based upon the experience of German companies. Twenty in-depth qualitative interviews were con-ducted with turnaround stakeholders (creditors, owners, lawyers, and managers) and systematically analysed. It was found that successful firms employ recovery, retrenchment, financial, and human resource-oriented turnaround actions; whereby retrenchment actions are most often first initiated in the process. The replacement of the firm's incumbent management as well as the transparent and effective communication with the company's banks were found to be accompanying factors of successful turnarounds. In this process, formalized turnaround plans were found to be helpful by establishing transparency and trust to-wards the firm's stakeholders, providing guidance for the managers, initiating a cultural change in the company, and providing an independent perspective of the feasibility of the intended turnaround. In order to be effective, turnaround plans must be written in a succinct and concise way, inhere a level of complexity appropriate to the firm's size, provide analytical depth, and include all requirements set out by German courts.

scholarly journals Perceptions of Alerts Issued by Social Media Platforms in Response to Self-injury Posts Among Latinx Adolescents: Qualitative Analysis

10.2196/28931 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (8) ◽  
pp. e28931
Author(s):  
Linnea I Laestadius ◽  
Katherine A Craig ◽  
Celeste Campos-Castillo
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Health Informatics ◽  
Emergency Services ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Framework Analysis ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
Self Injury ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Latinx Adolescents

Background There is growing interest in using social media data to detect and address nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents. Adolescents often do not seek clinical help for NSSI and may adopt strategies to obscure detection; therefore, social media platforms may be able to facilitate early detection and treatment by using machine learning models to screen posts for harmful content and subsequently alert adults. However, such efforts have raised privacy and ethical concerns among health researchers. Little is currently known about how adolescents perceive these efforts. Objective The aim of this study is to examine perceptions of automated alerts for NSSI posts on social media among Latinx adolescents, who are at risk for NSSI yet are underrepresented in both NSSI and health informatics research. In addition, we considered their perspectives on preferred recipients of automated alerts. Methods We conducted semistructured, qualitative interviews with 42 Latinx adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 years who were recruited from a nonprofit organization serving the Latinx community in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Latinx population in Milwaukee is largely of Mexican descent. All interviews were conducted between June and July 2019. Transcripts were analyzed using framework analysis to discern their perceptions of automated alerts sent by social media platforms and potential alert recipients. Results Participants felt that automated alerts would make adolescents safer and expedite aid before the situation escalated. However, some worried that hyperbolic statements would generate false alerts and instigate conflicts. Interviews revealed strong opinions about ideal alert recipients. Parents were most commonly endorsed, but support was conditional on perceptions that the parent would respond appropriately. Emergency services were judged as safer but inappropriate for situations considered lower risk. Alerts sent to school staff generated the strongest privacy concerns. Altogether, the preferred alert recipients varied by individual adolescents and perceived risks in the situation. None raised ethical concerns about the collection, analysis, or storage of personal information regarding their mental health status. Conclusions Overall, Latinx adolescents expressed broad support for automated alerts for NSSI on social media, which indicates opportunities to address NSSI. However, these efforts should be co-constructed with adolescents to ensure that preferences and needs are met, as well as embedded within broader approaches for addressing structural and cultural barriers to care.

scholarly journals Perceptions of Alerts Issued by Social Media Platforms in Response to Self-injury Posts Among Latinx Adolescents: Qualitative Analysis (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linnea I Laestadius ◽  
Katherine A Craig ◽  
Celeste Campos-Castillo
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Health Informatics ◽  
Emergency Services ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Framework Analysis ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
Self Injury ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Latinx Adolescents

BACKGROUND There is growing interest in using social media data to detect and address nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents. Adolescents often do not seek clinical help for NSSI and may adopt strategies to obscure detection; therefore, social media platforms may be able to facilitate early detection and treatment by using machine learning models to screen posts for harmful content and subsequently alert adults. However, such efforts have raised privacy and ethical concerns among health researchers. Little is currently known about how adolescents perceive these efforts. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to examine perceptions of automated alerts for NSSI posts on social media among Latinx adolescents, who are at risk for NSSI yet are underrepresented in both NSSI and health informatics research. In addition, we considered their perspectives on preferred recipients of automated alerts. METHODS We conducted semistructured, qualitative interviews with 42 Latinx adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 years who were recruited from a nonprofit organization serving the Latinx community in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Latinx population in Milwaukee is largely of Mexican descent. All interviews were conducted between June and July 2019. Transcripts were analyzed using framework analysis to discern their perceptions of automated alerts sent by social media platforms and potential alert recipients. RESULTS Participants felt that automated alerts would make adolescents safer and expedite aid before the situation escalated. However, some worried that hyperbolic statements would generate false alerts and instigate conflicts. Interviews revealed strong opinions about ideal alert recipients. Parents were most commonly endorsed, but support was conditional on perceptions that the parent would respond appropriately. Emergency services were judged as safer but inappropriate for situations considered lower risk. Alerts sent to school staff generated the strongest privacy concerns. Altogether, the preferred alert recipients varied by individual adolescents and perceived risks in the situation. None raised ethical concerns about the collection, analysis, or storage of personal information regarding their mental health status. CONCLUSIONS Overall, Latinx adolescents expressed broad support for automated alerts for NSSI on social media, which indicates opportunities to address NSSI. However, these efforts should be co-constructed with adolescents to ensure that preferences and needs are met, as well as embedded within broader approaches for addressing structural and cultural barriers to care. CLINICALTRIAL

scholarly journals The anticipatory politics of dispossession in a Senegalese mining negotiation

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley Fent
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Contentious Politics ◽  
Land Expropriation ◽  
Multiple Timescales ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessments ◽  
Accumulation By Dispossession ◽  
To Come

The concept of accumulation by dispossession is often mobilized in political ecological and geographical literature, to explain the ways that capitalist accumulation depends on the violent and extra-economic seizure of land and resources. Yet dispossession is also mobilized as a fear about the future, as a way of articulating historical and non-capitalist motivations for land expropriation, and as an avenue for political action. Amid negotiations for a heavy mineral sands mine in the Casamance region of Senegal, narratives of dispossession circulated frequently, even though no mining had yet taken place. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and qualitative interviews, this article examines the contentious politics around the proposed mine, which mobilize multiple timescales. In this context, activists and village residents have engaged in an anticipatory politics that is influenced by past and present processes of land occupancy, environmental change, and state disinvestment, and is aimed at contesting potential dispossessions to come, making claims to resources, and securing a place in the imagined future. At the same time, state and corporate actors have engaged in their own anticipatory actions, through environmental impact assessments and other technologies of prediction that minimize, invalidate, or circumvent anti-dispossession movements. This article argues that experiences of and resistances to dispossession are mediated by the folding together of temporal frames and diverse displacements. In particular, it attends to anticipation as a key temporal mechanism through which dispossession is both enacted and contested. As such, it contributes to political ecology by combining materialist conceptions of dispossession and displacement with theorizations of anticipation and the future.Keywords: accumulation by dispossession, anticipatory politics, mining, Senegal

How we roll: A fire engine to every call? Fire department resource allocation and firefighter support in the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-419
Author(s):  
John Clark Griffith ◽  
Donna L. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Emergency Services ◽  
Fire Service ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tiered Approach ◽  
Fire Chiefs ◽  
Fire Engine

PurposeEmergency service departments face changing mission requirements, budget constraints and a demanding work environment. This study examined the perceptions of fire chiefs, officers and firefighters who attended the National Professional Development Symposium on the use of a tiered approach when responding to calls, the continued increase in medical calls and mental health services available to fire service personnel.Design/methodology/approachThis study examined the perceptions of fire chiefs, officers and firefighters who attended the National Professional Development Symposium on the use of a tiered approach when responding to calls, the continued increase in medical calls and mental health services available to fire service personnel.FindingsSurvey respondents indicated that they either are currently or would consider using a tiered approach to sending a fire engine and crew or a lighter vehicle to medical or other calls based requirements identified using a tiered approach.Research limitations/implicationsThis idea has future implications regarding the vehicle mix of fire stations as administrators seek to meet the needs of the public most effectively. Survey responses also noted the need for mental health services arguing that care seeking firefighters should have the option of getting mental health services within the station or at an external location. Calls involving babies or young children were overwhelming cited as the most difficult. Additionally, 95% of respondents indicated a belief that most firefighters suffer from PTSD.Practical implicationsRecommendations include: A larger scale survey and analysis of first responder perceptions based on this study. Identifying “best practices” of the most effective “tiered response” approaches to deploying emergency services resources to calls. Studying Mental Health services combating PTSD to identify best practices. Lastly, emergency services administrators should consider changes to the “vehicle mix” when equipping or reequipping stations.Social implicationsSocial implications include use of a “tiered response” approach to emergency calls and focusing how best to support the mental health needs of firefighters.Originality/valueFire Departments are only beginning to explore the idea of using a tiered response to respond to emergencies. This study identifies both short and long term implications of using a tired approach. A secondary emphasis of this study explores difficult calls and PTSD issues faced by firefighters.

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