Gatekeeper

Last updated
A gatekeeper at the Srivaikuntanathan Permual Temple. Gate Keeper, Srivaikundam.jpg
A gatekeeper at the Srivaikuntanathan Permual Temple.

A gatekeeper is a person who controls access to something, for example via a city gate or bouncer, or more abstractly, controls who is granted access to a category or status. Gatekeepers assess who is "in or out", in the classic words of management scholar Kurt Lewin. [1]

Contents

Various figures in the religions and mythologies of the world serve as gatekeepers of paradisal or infernal realms, granting or denying access to these realms, depending on the credentials of those seeking entry. Figures acting in this capacity may also undertake the status of watchman, interrogator or judge. In the late 20th century the term came into metaphorical use, referring to individuals or bodies that decide whether a given message will be distributed by a mass medium.

Gatekeeping roles

Gatekeepers serve in various roles including academic admissions [2] , financial advising, and news editing, along with many areas of the fine arts. [3] [4] An academic admissions officer might review students' qualifications based on criteria like test scores, race, social class, grades, family connections, and even athletic ability. Where this internal gatekeeping role is unwanted, open admissions can externalize it.

Various gatekeeping organizations administer professional certifications to protect clients from fraud and unqualified advice, for example for financial advisers.

A news editor selects stories for publication based on his or her organization's specific criteria, e.g., importance and relevance to their readership. For example, a presidential resignation would be on the front page of a newspaper but likely not a celebrity break-up (unless the paper was of the gossip variety).

Other people gatekeeping roles are in mental health service, clergy, police, hairdressers, and bartenders because of their extensive contact with the public. [5]

Gatekeeper is also a term used in business to identify the person who is responsible for controlling passwords and access rights or permissions for software that the company uses.

One critique of gatekeeping roles is the potential to create or reinforce inequality, for example if entry is made more difficult for minority applicants or artists. For example, Bernardine Evaristo was only the first black woman to win the prestigious Man Booker Prize in fiction in 2019, a joint award with author Margaret Atwood. [6]

A domestic servant with the job of guarding the main entrance to the estate. [7]

Academic peer review

Peer review is a practice widely used by specialized journals that publish articles reporting new research, new discoveries, or new analyses in a specific academic field or area of focus. Journal editors ask one or more subject matter experts deemed to be "peers" of an article's author or authors to assess an article's suitability for publication in the journal. Notwithstanding the fact that the intent of peer review is to ensure suitability and editorial quality, issues of preference or exclusion of articles are raised from time to time relating to the intellectual prejudices, career rivalries, or other biases of the journal editors or peer reviewers. [8]

Credentials

Credentialing is the practice of evidencing suitability for engaging in a profession or for employability through documentation of demonstrated competency or experience, completion of education or training, or other criteria as specified by a credentialing authority. The documentation provided by the authority is known as "credentials", and may be in the form of a license, certificate of competency, diploma, teaching credential, board certification, or a similar document. Credentialism refers to the practice of relying on credentials to prove the suitability of a professional person or a skilled employee to be assigned the responsibilities of professional engagement or employment. [9]

Employers may use such gatekeeping methods to ensure competence for the job or to accede to the pressures of organizations that award credentials to require specific credentials. [10] [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Underemployment</span> Underutilization of workers talents or skills in employment

Underemployment is the underuse of a worker because their job does not use their skills, offers them too few hours, or leaves the worker idle. It is contrasted with unemployment, where a person lacks a job at all despite wanting one.

A credential is a piece of any document that details a qualification, competence, or authority issued to an individual by a third party with a relevant or de facto authority or assumed competence to do so.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health education</span> Education for awareness of and influence on the attitude of health

Health education is a profession of educating people about health. Areas within this profession encompass environmental health, physical health, social health, emotional health, intellectual health, and spiritual health, as well as sexual and reproductive health education.

A credential service provider (CSP) is a trusted entity that issues security tokens or electronic credentials to subscribers. A CSP forms part of an authentication system, most typically identified as a separate entity in a Federated authentication system. A CSP may be an independent third party, or may issue credentials for its own use. The term CSP is used frequently in the context of the US government's eGov and e-authentication initiatives. An example of a CSP would be an online site whose primary purpose may be, for example, internet banking - but whose users may be subsequently authenticated to other sites, applications or services without further action on their part.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gatekeeping (communication)</span> Filtering process in communication

Gatekeeping is the process through which information is filtered for dissemination, whether for publication, broadcasting, the Internet, or some other mode of communication. The academic theory of gatekeeping may be found in multiple fields of study, including communication studies, journalism, political science, and sociology. Gatekeeping originally focused on the mass media with its few-to-many dynamic. Currently, the gatekeeping theory also addresses face-to-face communication and the many-to-many dynamic inherent on the Internet. Social psychologist Kurt Lewin first instituted Gatekeeping theory in 1943. Gatekeeping occurs at all levels of the media structure—from a reporter deciding which sources are presented in a headline story to editors choosing which stories are printed or covered. Including, but not limited to, media outlet owner and advertisers.

Health advocacy or health activism encompasses direct service to the individual or family as well as activities that promote health and access to health care in communities and the larger public. Advocates support and promote the rights of the patient in the health care arena, help build capacity to improve community health and enhance health policy initiatives focused on available, safe and quality care. Health advocates are best suited to address the challenge of patient-centered care in our complex healthcare system. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) defines patient-centered care as: Health care that establishes a partnership among practitioners, patients, and their families to ensure that decisions respect patients’ wants, needs, and preferences and that patients have the education and support they need to make decisions and participate in their own care. Patient-centered care is also one of the overreaching goals of health advocacy, in addition to safer medical systems, and greater patient involvement in healthcare delivery and design.

The National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. and Affiliates (NBCC) is an international certifying organization for professional counselors in the United States. It is an independent, not-for-profit credentialing organization based in Greensboro, North Carolina. The purpose of the organization is to establish and monitor a national certification system for professional counselors, to identify certified counselors, and to maintain a register of them. NBCC also certifies Coaches through its affiliate Center for Credentialing and Education. Individuals may earn the Board Certified Coach credential through third party programs, including online programs in Life Coaching and Psychosynthesis Coaching.

The American Art Therapy Association (AATA) is a U.S. not-for-profit 501(c)(3), non-partisan national professional association of approximately 5,000 practicing art therapy professionals, including students, educators, and related practitioners in the field of art therapy based in Alexandria, VA. It establishes criteria for training and licensing of art therapists, maintains job banks, sponsors conferences, and publishes a newsletter and a journal Art Therapy: the journal of the American Art Therapy Association. Founded in 1969, the AATA is one of the world's leading art therapy membership organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health professional requisites</span> Regulations used by countries

Health professional requisites refer to the regulations used by countries to control the quality of health workers practicing in their jurisdictions and to control the size of the health labour market. They include licensure, certification and proof of minimum training for regulated health professions.

The National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC Inc. is a non-profit organization formed in 1960 with the purpose of awarding and maintaining credentialing for Respiratory Therapists in the United States. The NBRC is the only organization in the United States which develops certification examinations for Registered Respiratory Therapists and Certified Respiratory Therapists. The NBRC also offers additional specialization credentialing for respiratory practitioners that hold its certifications. The CRT and RRT designations are the standard credential in respiratory care for licensure requirements in the portions of the United States that have enacted a Respiratory Care Act. States that license respiratory therapists sometimes require the practitioner to maintain their NBRC credentialing to maintain their license to practice. The NBRC is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas. It has been in the Kansas City metropolitan area since 1974. The NBRC is located at 10801 Mastin St, Suite 300, Overland Park, KS 66210.

Certified Sex Therapists (CST) have graduate degrees in a clinical mental health field and have obtained advanced training in sex therapy from a credentialed training body, resulting in certification. One of the largest such bodies is the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT).

Human services is an interdisciplinary field of study with the objective of meeting human needs through an applied knowledge base, focusing on prevention as well as remediation of problems, and maintaining a commitment to improving the overall quality of life of service populations. The process involves the study of social technologies, service technologies, and scientific innovations designed to ameliorate problems and enhance the quality of life of individuals, families and communities to improve the delivery of service with better coordination, accessibility and accountability. The mission of human services is to promote a practice that involves simultaneously working at all levels of society in the process of promoting the autonomy of individuals or groups, making informal or formal human services systems more efficient and effective, and advocating for positive social change within society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceTEC National Resource Center for Aerospace Technical Education</span>

SpaceTEC® is one of the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Centers funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for developing partnerships between academic institutions and industry partners to promote improvement in the education of science and engineering technicians at the undergraduate and secondary school levels. With an emphasis on two-year colleges, the ATE program focuses on the education of technicians for the high-technology fields that drive the world's economies. Located in Cape Canaveral, Florida, SpaceTEC® supports the education and credentialing of aerospace technicians in six core areas and three advanced disciplines: (1) space vehicle processing activities (2) aerospace manufacturing; and (3) composite materials. A national consortium of community and technical colleges, universities, business and industry organizations, and government agencies promotes careers and educates candidates for technical employment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campus card</span> Student identification document

A campus credential, more commonly known as a campus card or a campus ID card is an identification document certifying the status of students, faculty, staff or other constituents as members of the institutional community and eligible for access to services and resources. Campus credentials are typically valid for the duration of a student's enrollment or an employee's service.

Credentialing is the process of establishing the qualifications of licensed medical professionals and assessing their background and legitimacy.

In higher education a microdegree, also microcredentials and microcourse, is a qualification focused upon a specified professional or career discipline and typically comprises one or more sources of accelerated educational experiences. Microdegrees are a single manifestation of Competency Based Education (CBE) which seeks to tie credentialing to specific skills sets. Micro-credentials may be completed on-site, online or in a blended format.

Educational inflation is the increasing educational requirements for occupations that do not require them. Credential inflation is the increasing overqualification for occupations demanded by employers.

Credential evaluation is the way in which academic and professional degrees earned in one country are compared to those earned in another. Universities, colleges and employers around the world use credential evaluations to understand foreign education and to judge applicants for admission or employment.

An acute care nurse practitioner (ACNP) is a registered nurse who has completed an accredited graduate-level educational program that prepares them as a nurse practitioner. This program includes supervised clinical practice to acquire advanced knowledge, skills, and abilities. This education and training qualifies them to independently: (1) perform comprehensive health assessments; (2) order and interpret the full spectrum of diagnostic tests and procedures; (3) use a differential diagnosis to reach a medical diagnosis; and (4) order, provide, and evaluate the outcomes of interventions. The purpose of the ACNP is to provide advanced nursing care across the continuum of health care services to meet the specialized physiologic and psychological needs of patients with acute, critical, and/or complex chronic health conditions. This care is continuous and comprehensive and may be provided in any setting where the patient may be found. The ACNP is a licensed independent practitioner and may autonomously provide care. Whenever appropriate, the ACNP considers formal consultation and/or collaboration involving patients, caregivers, nurses, physicians, and other members of the interprofessional team.

The Board of Certification in Professional Ergonomics(BCPE) was established in 1990 in Bellingham, Washington as an independent nonprofit organization, and is the certifying body for individuals whose education and experience indicate broad expertise in the practice of human factors/ergonomics. To date, over 1,000 professionals have successfully met BCPE's certification criteria and been awarded one of the following distinguished credentials: Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE), Certified Human Factors Professional (CHFP), Certified User Experience Professional (CUXP), Associate Ergonomics Professional (AEP), Associate Human Factors Professional (AHFP), or Associate User Experience Professional (AUXP).

References

  1. Kurt Lewin (2016-04-22). "Frontiers in Group Dynamics: II. Channels of Group Life; Social Planning and Action Research - Kurt Lewin, 1947". Human Relations. doi:10.1177/001872674700100201.
  2. Weston, Daniel (2021). "Gatekeeping and linguistic capital: A case study of the Cambridge university undergraduate admissions interview". Journal of Pragmatics. 176: 137–149. doi:10.1016/j.pragma.2021.02.002.
  3. Coslor, Erica; Crawford, Brett; Leyshon, Andrew (2019-12-16). "Collectors, Investors and Speculators: Gatekeeper use of audience categories in the art market". Organization Studies. 41 (7): 945–967. doi:10.1177/0170840619883371. hdl: 11343/241430 . ISSN   0170-8406. S2CID   213927815.
  4. Bystryn, Marcia (1978). "Art Galleries as Gatekeepers: The Case of the Abstract Expressionists". Social Research. 45 (2): 390–408. ISSN   0037-783X. JSTOR   40970338.
  5. Bissonette, R. (Spring 1977). "The Bartender as a Mental Health Service Gatekeeper: A Role Analysis". Community Mental Health Journal. 13 (1): 92–99. doi:10.1007/bf01419922. PMID   844291. S2CID   11617301.
  6. "First black woman to receive Booker Prize describes joint win as 'bittersweet'". Metro. 2019-10-15. Retrieved 2019-12-24.
  7. Victorian Domestic Servant Hierarchy
  8. "For Science's Gatekeepers, a Credibility Gap". The New York Times. 2 May 2006.
  9. Effective Operations and Controls for the Small Privately Held Business, Rob Reider
  10. "Times & Seasons » Credentialism is Cruelty". Archived from the original on 2007-10-18. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
  11. "A Closed Profession?—Recruitment to Social Work". Bjsw.oxfordjournals.org. 2014-07-05. Archived from the original on 2009-03-23. Retrieved 2014-08-14.