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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™

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Sociology

SelectedWorks

2012

Articles 121 - 124 of 124

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Community Based Research-Vancouver Rent Bank, Nisha Malhotra Jan 2012

Community Based Research-Vancouver Rent Bank, Nisha Malhotra

Nisha Malhotra

As part of UBC’s initiative to facilitate community-based learning, this course gave students the option of participating in a research project that helps a non-profit organization gain better understanding of a specific issue. Whereas most undergraduate economic curricula focus on theory or data analysis, Community-Based Research (CBR) lets students use their theoretical knowledge and analytical skills to help people in their own community

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Steps Toward A Socio-Technical Categorization Scheme For Communication And Information Standards, Joann Brooks, Anne W. Rawls Jan 2012

Steps Toward A Socio-Technical Categorization Scheme For Communication And Information Standards, Joann Brooks, Anne W. Rawls

JoAnn M. Brooks

Socio-technical systems continue to grow larger and more complex, comprising increasingly significant portions of contemporary society. Yet systematic understanding of interrelationships between social and technological elements remains elusive, even as computers and information systems proliferate. In this paper, we draw on ethnomethodology to distinguish several different kinds of processes through which communication and information are constituted. We discuss the distinctive properties of each in an effort to develop systematic understanding of basic elements of socio-technical systems. In particular, we offer a basic categorization of communication and information standards, noting the constitutive importance of their accompanying social practices. Implications for theory …

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Naming A New Self: Identity Elasticity And Self-Definition In Voluntary Name Changes, Celia Emmelhainz Jan 2012

Naming A New Self: Identity Elasticity And Self-Definition In Voluntary Name Changes, Celia Emmelhainz

Celia Emmelhainz

This article considers how personal name changes are situated within their sociological context in the United States. Reviewing both popular and scholarly texts on names and name changes, I draw on recent work on identity and narrative by Oriana Bernasconi (2011) to argue that voluntary personal name changes are made in relation to a sense of narrative elasticity or identity elasticity, and act symbolically to make a shifting identity or self-narrative manifest in the social context. Drawing out these themes through an exploration of name changes for ethnic self-definition or religious purposes, I conclude with a reflection on the unstable …

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The Development Of A Pay-For-Performance Appraisal System For Municipal Agencies: A Case Study, Michael A. Mulvaney, William R. Mckinney, Richard Grodsky Jan 2012

The Development Of A Pay-For-Performance Appraisal System For Municipal Agencies: A Case Study, Michael A. Mulvaney, William R. Mckinney, Richard Grodsky

Michael A. Mulvaney

Well-designed employee performance appraisal instruments assume great importance by providing agencies with information that can guide administrative and developmental decision-making about their most important asset—their human resources. Administratively, performance appraisals serve as the formal evaluation tool used by managers when making decisions about the distribution of pay increases and the promotion and demotion of an employee. Developmentally, performance appraisals assist agencies in identifying issues such as employee training needs and cross training opportunities.1 Despite its importance, both employees and management often view the performance appraisal process as frustrating and unfair. These frustrations are largely attributed to a reliance on performance …

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