Men Working in Female-Dominated Professions: A stigma or facilitation?

Gender roles not only keep men and women in different spheres of family and social life but they also promote gender segregation in the education sector and professional life. There is a lot of research being conducted on women working in male dominated professions but there is scarcity of research regarding males working in female dominated professions. This study was conducted to explore the experiences of men working in female dominated professions. The first phase of this study collected quantitative data about the type female-dominated professions in Pakistan. Based on this data in-depth qualitative interviews were done with 5 professionals using snowball sampling: Nurse, Psychologist, Montessori teacher, Makeup artist/ Beautician, and Bus host. Thematic analysis was used to identify sub-themes presented in this study: (i) Reasons or motivation for joining nontraditional profession; (ii) Reaction of near and dear ones; (iii) Positive aspects of female dominated profession; (iv) Challenges of female dominated profession; (v) Professional journey; (vi) Being a minority in female majority; (vii) Struggle to maintain masculinity and (viii) Future aspirations. Study findings can be used to support male entry and retention in female dominated professions.

Integrated Pest Management in Organic Cotton and its Impact on Yield and Lint Quality Characteristics

Cultivation of organic cotton has increased in recent years due to the adverse impacts of synthetic chemical use. However, the main barrier to adoption of organic cotton farming in Pakistan, and especially in Sindh province, is its lower yield as compared to conventional cultivation. Therefore, this study was undertaken during 2014 and 2015 to compare the effect of various organic soil amendments relative to conventional integrated pest management (IPM) on the occurrence of cotton pests and their predators as well as influence on various plant growth parameters, yield and lint quality. The study was conducted at Latif Farm, Sindh Agriculture University, and Tandojam. The organic soil amendment treatments evaluated in this study included farmyard manure (FYM), poultry manure (PM), and the green manures Dhancha (Sesbania bispinosa Wight.) and Berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.). These treatments were compared to plots under conventional integrated pest management and a no treatment control. Results of the study indicated that among pests, only populations of thrips S. dorsalis (Hood), leafhoppers Amrassca biguttula biguttula (Ishida), whitefly Bemesia tabaci (Gennadus), and cotton mite Tetranchycus urticae (Koch) were observed in the various organic and conventional IPM treatments. During both years of the study, negligible populations of bollworms (Helicoverpa armigera) were recorded in all treatments. The predators recorded during this study included green lacewing Chrysoperla carnea, (Stephens), minute pirate bug Orius spp. (Fieber), big-eyed bug Geocoris punctipes (Say), and Menochilus sexmaculatus (F.), Coccinella semtempunctata (L.). In general, pest populations in the plots with organic soil amendment treatments during both years of the study were either lower or not significantly different from conventional IPM plots. Among the organic treatments, relatively low populations of S. dorsalis and A. bigutula bigutula were recorded in both of the green manure treatments, whereas poultry and farmyard manure plots harboured lower populations of B. tabaci. There was no difference in mite populations between the organic and IPM treatments. Among predators, the highest populations of Orius spp. and G. punctipes were recorded in poultry and farmyard manure treatments, whereas Dhancha plots supported the maximum population of C. carnea. The population of coccinellid predators was only recorded during 2015, with higher populations observed in green manure (Berseem clover) and farmyard manure treatments. Generally, higher pest and predator populations were recorded during 2015 in comparison to 2014, with the exception of Orius spp., which was highest in 2014. A significant correlation was recorded between the populations of various pests and their key predators. In both years of the study, temperature and relative humidity had an effect on populations of sucking pests and their predators as well. The application of various organic treatments also showed positive effect on various plant growth characteristics (i.e. plant height, total number of leaves, number of sympodial branches, total chlorophyll content, total number of bolls, boll weight and maturity percentage). In both years, the highest cotton yield was recorded in plots with poultry manure followed by farmyard manure and conventional IPM treatments. Comparatively higher lint quality was recorded in green manure treatments (Dhancha and Berseem clover). The economic analysis of different IPM treatments showed that the green manure had the most potential among the various organic treatments since the net profit obtained was higher due to the additional revenue generated by sale of green manure as fodder.