Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Asian American We: Civic Engagement Among Low-Income Young Adults, Michael Liu, Star Wang, Janice Wong, Loan Dao

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

This report describes a study of the civic participation of low-income Asian American adults between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five in the Boston area. It is based upon a mail survey with 100 respondents, focus groups, and organization interviews.

The study found that over 60% of the study population engaged in some form of civic participation, most commonly through fundraising or volunteer activities. Other activities included arts and culture with a social message, issues work, and electoral involvement. The area of greatest involvement was education. From the survey, civic engagement is correlated with female gender, higher education, and a …

A Meta-Analysis Of Workaholism, Jennifer L. Bowler, Avani S. Patel, Mark C. Bowler, Scott A. Methe

Counseling and School Psychology Faculty Publication Series

This meta-analysis examines the relationship between workaholism and numerous work behaviors and outcomes in an attempt to a) derive a consensus regarding the current state of our understanding of this construct, and b) clarify the impact that the compulsion to work may have on an individual's life. Overall, based on data from 44 studies, results indicate that there is a considerable amount of variability between workaholism and work-related outcomes. Specifically, the two most established and reputable measures of workaholism, the Work Addiction Risk Test (WART) and the Workaholism Battery (WorkBat), appear to focus on uniquely different aspects of workaholism and …

An Alternative To Temporary Staffing: Considerations For Workforce Practitioners, Linda Kato, Françoise Carré, Laura E. Johnson, Deena Schwartz

Center for Social Policy Publications

As the national economy inches toward recovery, risk-averse employers are increasingly turning to temporary workers to fill their hiring gaps. In fact, the temporary staffing industry has been a fixture of the US economy for decades. But the industry added a striking 557,000 jobs from June 2009 to November 2011 — more than half of the jobs created during that period. Growth is likely to continue: A 2011 McKinsey survey of 2,000 firms of differing sizes and across various sectors found that more than a third foresaw their companies increasing their use of temporary workers over the next five years. …

Partnerships That Benefit State Systems, Suzzanne Freeze, John Butterworth, Daria Domin, Allison Hall, Jean Winsor, Institute For Community Inclusion, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Our work assists states with building a comprehensive understanding of the factors that influence employment outcomes at all levels: individuals and family, service providers, and state policy. The Framework for Employment, developed through extensive experience and research conducted within the state, is used to guide the much of the system improvement strategy work. The elements represent practices and outcomes known to be effective at enabling states to develop and sustain high-preforming integrated employment system.

Low Wage Earners And Low Wage Jobs In Greater Boston, Anneta Argyres, Brandynn Holgate, Susan Moir

Susan Moir

Anybody who has ever been employed can readily list the qualities of a good job. Some are easily identified factors, such as good wages, health benefits, paid sick and vacation time, and a pension plan. Others are harder to measure, such as job security, reasonable workloads, flexible work schedules, workplace safety and health, or being treated with respect. In either case, it’s clear that job quality is something to which every working person pays attention. We should also be concerned about job quality as a society. A society that is characterized by jobs with family sustaining wages and benefits will …

Research To Practice: The 2010–2011 National Survey Of Community Rehabilitation Providers Report 1: Overview Of Services, Trends And Provider Characteristics, Daria Domin, John Butterworth

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

This the first in a series of research to practice briefs based on the 2010–2011 National Survey of Community Rehabilitation Providers (CRPs) funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities and the National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research. This brief presents findings on people with all disabilities and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who are served in employment and non-work settings by community rehabilitation providers (CRPs). The last national comprehensive survey of CRPs conducted by the Institute for Community Inclusion was in 2002–2003, and also gathered data on provider services for individuals with disabilities (Metzel et al., 2007). …

Low-Wage And Low-Income Workers In The U.S., 1979-2009, Randy Albelda, Michael Carr

Center for Social Policy Publications

Three decades of stagnating earnings for bottom decides of male wage earners and 1990s anti-poverty policies promoting employment among poor single mothers suggest increases in the ranks of low-wage breadwinners living in low-income households. Low-wage workers often get few employer sponsored benefits, while antipoverty programs target poor non-earners; these factors suggest low-wage and low-income workers may be unprotected by employer or government supports. Using the Annual Economic and Social Extracts of the Current Population Survey (CPS) from 1980-2010, the authors explore changes in low-income and low-wage earners by gender and family status. The authors find a growth in low-wage and …

Data Note: Vr Outcome Trends And The Recent Decline In Employment For Vr Customers With Intellectual Disabilities, Frank A. Smith, John Butterworth, Daria Domin, Allison Cohen Hall

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Most people with intellectual disabilities (ID) aspire to gainful employment. To assist them with this goal, state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies offer employment services based upon Individualized Plans for Employment (IPEs). A commonly used measure of outcomes is the rehabilitation rate, defined as the percentage of individuals who achieve employment out of all individuals whose cases were closed after receiving services. This indicator, however, neglects to consider that not all eligible individuals progress to receive services. This Data Note explores trends in VR closure status for individuals with ID.

Securing Access To Lower-Cost Talent Globally: The Dynamics Of Active Embedding And Field Structuration, Stephan Manning, Joerg Sydow, Arnold Windeler

Management and Marketing Faculty Publication Series

This article examines how multinational corporations (MNCs) shape institutional conditions in emerging economies to secure access to high-skilled, yet lower-cost science and engineering talent. Based on two in-depth case studies of engineering offshoring projects of German automotive suppliers in Romania and China we analyze how MNCs engage in ‘active embedding’ by aligning local institutional conditions with global offshoring strategies and operational needs. MNCs thereby contribute to the structuration of field relations and practices of sourcing knowledge-intensive work from globally dispersed locations.Our findings stress the importance of institutional processes across geographic boundaries that regulate and get shaped by MNC activities.

The Emergence Of A Standards Market: Multiplicity Of Sustainability Standards In The Global Coffee Industry, Juliane Reinecke, Stephan Manning, Oliver Von Hagen

Management and Marketing Faculty Publication Series

The growing number of voluntary standards for governing transnational arenas is presenting standards organizations with a problem. While claiming that they are pursuing shared, overarching objectives, at the same time, they are promoting their own respective standards that are increasingly similar. By developing the notion of ‘standards markets,’ this paper examines this tension and studies how different social movement and industry-driven standards organizations compete as well as collaborate over governance in transnational arenas. Based on an in-depth case study of sustainability standards in the global coffee industry, we find that the ongoing co-existence of multiple standards is being promoted by …

Why Use The Services Of Alternative Staffing Organizations: Perspectives From Customer Businesses, Françoise Carré, Brandynn Holgate, Risa Takenaka, Helen Levine

Center for Social Policy Publications

Organizations that aim to improve the experiences and employment chances of job seekers who face barriers to employment have, over the years, had to contend directly with potential employers and their requirements. This is particularly true for community-based job brokers that use a temporary staffing model, offering job access and immediate work to their service population.

Alternative staffing organizations (ASOs) are worker-centered, social purpose businesses that place job seekers in temporary and “temp-to-perm” assignments with customer businesses, and charge their customers a markup on the wage of the position. These fee-for-service organizations can help job seekers who face labor market …

Data Note: Growth In Community-Based Non-Work, Jean Winsor, John Butterworth

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Understanding the role of community-based non-work (CBNW) services is complex. While different data sources suggest different levels of investment, there is consistent evidence that the service is being used more frequently. The number of states reporting that they provide CBNW services on the IDD Agency Survey grew from 18 in FY1996 to 30 in FY2010. Nationally, the reported participation in CBNW services has grown steadily for states that report it as a service, from 18.7% in FY1999 to 47% in FY2010.

CBNW services also accounted for 57.7% of state IDD (Intellectual and Developmental Disability) agency expenditures for FY2010, for states …

The Alternative Staffing Work Experience: Populations, Barriers And Employment Outcomes, Helen Levine, Brandynn Holgate, Risa Takenaka, Françoise Carré

Center for Social Policy Publications

This paper presents results of a three-year study of workers and former workers at four Alternative Staffing Organizations (ASOs). ASOs are fee-for-service job brokering businesses created by community-based organizations and national nonprofits whose objective is to gain access to temporary and “temp to permanent” opportunities for workers facing barriers to employment. The paper looks specifically at the relationship between the personal characteristics of workers, their temporary work experiences through the ASO, and the subsequent employment status of former ASO workers, determined through a follow-up survey conducted by telephone six to eight months after workers had left the ASO. We found …