Women
appear to be better role models, but men might lead the way to the top of the
corporate ladder, according to researchers in the Penn State Great Valley School
of Graduate Professional Studies.
By David Jwanier
Penn State Great Valley
Women
appear to be better role models, but men might lead the way to the top of the
corporate ladder, according to researchers in the Penn State Great Valley School
of Graduate Professional Studies.
John J. Sosik, associate professor of management, and Veronica M. Godshalk, assistant professor of management, surveyed 200 protégés -- graduate school students ranging in age from 20 to 57 -- and their mentors, for a study they recently conducted on same-gender and cross-gender mentoring relationships.
The study found less role modeling and psychosocial support occurring among male mentors with men or women protégés, than among women mentors with either protégés.
But when it came to career development, which includes functions such as sponsorship, protection, providing challenging assignments, exposure and visibility, male and female protégés said they received greater assistance from male mentors. Sosik and Godshalk said much of this might be associated with stereotypes of men and women in the corporate world.
"Both men and women perceive men as possessing more and different forms of power than women," Godshalk said. "Within traditional male-dominated organizations, both male and female protégés may shy away from female mentors when seeking career development functions leading to promotions."
Male mentors in cross-gender relationships with female protégés were associated with more career development than any other gender combination, they said.
"Among other things, male mentors can help female protégés overcome discriminatory barriers in place at traditional organizations," said Sosik.
Researchers define mentoring as a relationship in which individuals with advanced experience or knowledge support, and assist or help, the upward mobility of junior group members. In role modeling, which is a function of mentoring, mentors model exemplary personal achievements, character and behavior. As a result, protégés identify with and emulate mentors.
Sosik and Godshalk said further research should be performed to learn more about formal mentoring relationships, mentoring relationships with female mentors and male protégés, and mentoring relationships where the mentor is not the protégé's supervisor. Still, the researchers say organizations can tailor their mentoring programs, based on what they hope to accomplish.
"Organizations wishing to enhance career development of women and psychosocial well-being of men may consider developing and delivering training modules addressing issues critical to the success of cross-mentoring relationships," said Sosik, noting these might include gender differences, sexual harassment awareness and transformational leadership.
Humus/mineral interactions affect retention of some soil pollutants
A group of Penn State-led researchers has shown that, for some fossil fuel-based pollutants, increasing the humus content of the soil increases, rather than decreases, the likelihood that the contaminant will move to ground water.
"The general belief is that as you increase the organic matter in soil, you increase the retention of contaminants. We found that is not always the case. It depends on the nature of the compound," said Jon Chorover, assistant professor of environmental soil chemistry.
Chorover and his colleagues at Penn State's Environmental Resources Research Institute and The Ohio State University looked at quinoline, a nitrogen heterocyclic compound that has been little studied to date. Quinoline belongs to the broad group of environmental contaminants often found in sites polluted by fossil fuels, solvents, greases, creosote and coal tar.
They found that if a soil is low in organic matter, quinoline is more likely to become strongly bound to the soil and less likely to move to ground water. However, in its strongly bound state, the pollutant is also less likely to be broken down by microorganisms.
Chorover's co-researchers are Mary Kay Amistadi, research support associate in Penn State's Department of Agronomy; William D. Burgos, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Penn State; and Patrick G. Hatcher, professor of environmental chemistry at The Ohio State University.
The study also shows that mineral interactions with humus were key to whether quinoline was retained in soil.
Chorover said the next step in the research program will focus on what happens during quinoline's interactions with microorganisms.
Prevent lead poisoning from soils around homes
Most Americans know household lead can be a serious health risk, particularly for children under age 6. Although generally less of a health risk than indoor lead sources, soils around older homes and near busy roadways can sometimes contain high concentrations of lead, said a soil scientist in the College of Agricultural Sciences.
"Soils adjacent to heavy traffic volume areas in cities and busy roadways have the highest concentrations," said Richard Stehouwer, assistant professor of environmental soils. "Much of the lead in soils came from the lead compounds used as anti-knock agents in gasoline until 1989. The other major source of lead in residential soils is leaded paint."
Low-level, chronic exposure of young children to lead can cause developmental and behavioral problems, such as reduced IQ and attention span, hyperactivity, impaired growth, learning disabilities, hearing loss and insomnia.
Lead enters the body when it's eaten or breathed. People also may be exposed to lead by eating produce grown in or near contaminated soil.
For soils with "low lead contamination" (150 to 400 mg/kg), Stehouwer suggests the following measures:
n Enforce a clean hands policy. Children should wash their hands when they come in from playing outside, and should not put their fingers in their mouths.
n Discourage children from playing in areas of known or suspected contamination.
n Locate vegetable gardens as far as possible from roads, driveways and old painted structures. Plant leafy greens and other hard-to-wash vegetables far from areas of suspected or known contamination.
n Incorporate organic material, such as peat moss, compost or manure, into garden beds at a rate of one-third by volume.
n Wash vegetables carefully with a 1 percent vinegar solution or soapy water, then rinse thoroughly. Peel root crops and discard the outer and older leaves of leafy vegetables.
n Don't compost peelings or leaves.
For more information on lead, including soil testing, interpreting test results and a list of agencies to contact, see the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences publication, Lead in Residential Soils: Sources, Testing, and Reducing Exposure. Single copies are free from county Penn State Cooperative Extension offices, or by calling the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Distribution Center at (814) 865-6713.