Work, Economy and Organizations Commons^™

Workplace Dignity In A Total Institution: Examining The Experiences Of Foxconn’S Migrant Workforce, Kristen Lucas, Dongjing Kang, Zhou Li

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

In 2010, a cluster of suicides at the electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn Technology Group sparked worldwide outcry about working conditions at its factories in China. Within a few short months, 14 young migrant workers jumped to their deaths from buildings on the Foxconn campus, an all-encompassing compound where they had worked, eaten, and slept. Even though the language of workplace dignity was invoked in official responses from Foxconn and its business partner Apple, neither of these parties directly examined workers’ dignity in their ensuing audits. Based on our analysis of media accounts of life at Foxconn, we argue that its …

20 Clues To Community Survival: An Annotated List, Heartland Center For Leadership Development

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

The Heartland Center for Leadership Development is an independent, non-profit organization developing local leadership that responds to the challenges of the future.

The 20 clues are taken from the Heartland Center’s Clues to Rural Community Survival, a landmark study profiling thriving small towns and reservations. The list of vital characteristics provides an “ideal” benchmark against which people can measure their own community. It moves people naturally from theory, to strategy, to action.

The Working Class Promise: A Communicative Account Of Mobility-Based Ambivalences, Kristen Lucas

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

In-depth interviews with 62 people with working class ties (blue-collar workers and adult sons and daughters of blue-collar workers) reveal a social construction of working class that imbues it with four core, positively valenced values: strong work ethic, provider orientation, the dignity of all work and workers, and humility. This constellation of values is communicated through a ubiquitous macrolevel discourse—which I coin the Working Class Promise—that elevates working class to the highest position in the social class hierarchy and fosters a strong commitment to maintain a working class value system and identity. However, this social construction is only a partial …

Blue-Collar Discourses Of Workplace Dignity: Using Outgroup Comparisons To Construct Positive Identities, Kristen Lucas

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

People generally possess a strong desire to construct positive, dignified work identities. However, this goal may be more challenging for some people, such as blue-collar workers, whose occupations may not offer qualities typically associated with workplace dignity. Interviews with 37 people from a blue-collar mining community reveal three central identity discourses about workplace dignity: All jobs are important and valuable; dignity is located in the quality of the job performed; and dignity emerges from the way people treat and are treated by others. Participants communicated these themes by backgrounding their own occupations and drawing comparisons between two outgroups, low-status, low-paid …

Socializing Messages In Blue-Collar Families: Communicative Pathways To Social Mobility And Reproduction, Kristen Lucas

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This study explicitly links processes of anticipatory socialization to social mobility and reproduction. An examination of the socializing messages exchanged between blue-collar parents (n=41) and their children (n=25) demonstrate that family-based messages about work and career seldom occur in straightforward, unambiguous ways. Instead, messages take several paths (direct, indirect, ambient, and omission). Further, the content of messages communicated along these paths often is contradictory. That is, sons and daughters receive messages that both encourage and discourage social mobility. Ultimately, these individuals must negotiate the meanings of family-based anticipatory socialization communicated to them through a mix of messages.

Comparing Individual- And National-Level Explanations Of Environmental Attitudes, Andrew V. Bedrous

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Data from the 1999-2001 World Values Survey (WVS), the Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI), and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook are used to assess individual and national level explanations of environmental attitudes among 34,555 respondents from 27 countries. Three analyses are presented: an individual-level analysis that examines the previously assessed correlates of environmental attitudes; a national-level analysis of the relationship between a variety of national-level characteristics and aggregate environmental attitudes; and a multilevel (HLM) model assessing these effects simultaneously. Guided by the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP), the post-materialist thesis and the World-Systems Perspective national-level characteristics are assessed in the …

Economic Outlook 2010: Innovation, Connie I. Reimers-Hild

Kimmel Education and Research Center: Presentations and White Papers

This article discusses the importance of innovation to individuals and the overall economy.

An Entrepreneurial Approach To Career Development, Connie I. Reimers-Hild

Kimmel Education and Research Center: Presentations and White Papers

This article explains how people can use an entrepreneurial approach to career development in and effort to advance their careers and employment opportunities.

Creating And Responding To The Gen(D)Eralized Other: Women Miners’ Community-Constructed Identities, Kristen Lucas, Sarah J. Steimel

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

An analysis of interviews with mining families reveals that gender identity construction is a collaborative process that draws upon broader community discourses. Male miners and non-mining women created a generalized other for women as "unfit to mine" (i.e., women are physically too weak to mine, are easy prey, and are ladies who do not belong in the mines). Female miners responded with gendered discourses that distanced themselves from and linked themselves to the generalized other.

Making Biomass Pay: Obstacles And Opportunities, Gail Wells

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

Removing hazardous fuels to reduce the risk of wildfire has become a priority for land managers across the United States. Utilizing biomass taken from forests to cover the cost of fuel reduction is an attractive ideal. Effective utilization could also address important national challenges such as improving forest health, increasing domestic energy supplies, reducing carbon emissions, and revitalizing rural economies. However, getting woody biomass from the forest to the consumer is economically and logistically difficult, and efforts to make biomass utilization profitable have been disappointing so far. JFSP-funded researchers have found that, while there is no recipe for building a …

Entrepreneurial Leadership And Teamwork: The Key To Innovation In The 21st Century, Connie I. Reimers-Hild, Susan N. Williams

Kimmel Education and Research Center: Presentations and White Papers

Entrepreneurial leadership and continuous innovation are vital components of 21st century communities and organizations. Entrepreneurial leaders must realize the importance of environmental, social and global issues while creating an atmosphere of innovation designed to help followers become more entrepreneurial themselves.

Entrepreneurial individuals and teams have the ability to recognize and capitalize on opportunities, innovate, take risks, adapt to rapid change and marshal resources to achieve their goals. When individuals come together as an effective team, they can produce a synergy to meet the demands of a rapidly changing and competitive work environment. Therefore, entrepreneurial leaders must develop entrepreneurial individuals and …

Ageism In Academic Librarianship, Melanie Chu

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Background

Nearly one out of every ten librarians is under the age of thirty. The average age of a graduate student in library and information science is 30-35 years old. Between 2010-2020, 45% of librarians will reach the retirement age of 65 years old. The relative age of the profession will continue to decrease as retirements increase. Statistically, the population of young librarians is a growing minority.

Young, new librarians face age discrimination, including disrespectful treatment in the workplace and unrealistic expectations of performance. Ageism in academic libraries results in job dissatisfaction and loss of retention for these new librarians. …

Seward Casa Board Development Workshop, Heartland Center For Leadership Development

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

Agenda from the Seward CASA Board Development Workshop, February 21, 2009, presented by the Heartland Center for Leadership Development.

Women Librarians In Nigerian Universities: Their Status, Occupational Characteristics, And Development, Chinwe M. T. Nwezeh

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

This paper investigates the current status and occupational characteristics of professional academic women librarians in Nigeria. This paper also discusses the concept of gender participation in librarianship and the effects on the profession with respect to females. General obstacles faced by females in librarianship are examined. The findings reveal that despite some cultural traits that still affect the woman’s position, women academic librarians in Nigeria can still advance to any height in the profession. This study shows that they do not experience any form of discrimination from their male counterparts in terms of remuneration or career development.

Branding Your Community, Milan Wall

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

Connections: Using a Brand Creation Approach to Community Identity

Origins of the Branding Concept

Even far back in the middle ages when artists and artisans began to form guilds or associations together, many hallmarks or identifying symbols were used as a signatures by artisans to lay claim to the result of his or her work. Another important, and American reference, comes from the days before fences divided up the frontier and cattle owners found a way to mark and identify their own cattle by branding them with a personalized symbol. Even today, many purebred horses are carefully inspected and only …

Branding Your Community, Milan Wall

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

Branding Your Community

Table of Contents:

Connections: Using a Brand Creation Approach to Community Identity

Case Study: Superior, Nebraska

Mapping Community Assets: An Overview

SOAR Analysis

About Appreciative Inquiry

The Marketing Process: Attention, Attraction and Action

Marketing Your Community

Back Home Ideas

Tips for Creating Community Brands

Workshop Evaluation

Housing As A Community Asset, Milan Wall

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

Slides of a presentation, Housing as a Community Asset, presented by Milan Wall, Co-Director of the Heartland Center for Leadership Development, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, created December 19, 2007.

How Would You Describe Housing in Your Community?

Board Of Directors Training, Heartland Center For Leadership Development

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

Board of Directors Development

Roles and Responsibilities

Time Devoted to Six Basic Elements

Obstacles

Strategies

Ethics

Recruitment

Seam Effects Changes Due To Modifications In Question Wording And Data Collection Strategies: A Comparison Of Conventional Questionnaire And Event History Calendar Seam Effects In The Psid, Mario Callegaro

Survey Research and Methodology Program: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A seam effect occurs in panel studies when within-wave changes are less frequent than between-wave changes (comparing data gathered from two different interviews). This study explores the changes in the magnitude of seam effects among labor force states (employment, unemployment, not in labor force) using the last seven waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics collected between 1995 and 2005. The panel underwent several changes: data were collected with conventional questionnaires (CQ) until 2001. The interval between waves was changed from one year to two years in 1997. The data regarding labor force transitions were collected with Event History …

When Disability Enters A Teacher’S Life, Must The Teacher Stop Teaching?, Laura L. B. Border

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Disabilities are usually discussed in academe in the context of the undergraduate student population; nevertheless, graduate students and faculty also represent a certain percentage of persons with disabilities. This essay presents a case study and an analysis of a consultation with a graduate instructor, inviting us to examine the issues of disability in the life of a teacher.

Building A Better Board: Springboard Into Action, Milan Wall

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

Building a Better Board: Springboard into Action

Roles and responsibilities

Time devoted to six basic elements

Obstacles

Strategies

Ethics

Recruitment

Collegiality And The Academic Library, Michael Lorenzen

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

This paper examines the concept of collegiality and how it can be applied to academic libraries. This includes a definition of what collegiality is, a review of the library literature which describes how other writers have seen this issue, and a discussion of how collegiality can be applied in libraries. This includes an examination of how faculty in a library and faculty on other parts of campus work differently which makes collegiality more important in the library. It also looks at why collegiality is important in academic libraries where librarians work hand-in-hand with support staff and student employees.

Nurturing New Careers: Preparing Future Librarians For Their Careers Through Pre-Professional Development Sessions At The University Of Alabama Libraries, Brett Spencer, Allyson R. Ard

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

We describe a pre-professional development program for library school graduate assistants that helped participants learn career survival skills, gave them an overview of academic librarianship, and encouraged networking. Many intern or graduate assistant programs have focused on primary job training, but we know of few other assistantship programs featuring pre-professional development sessions on career survival skills like writing a CV or crafting a poster session. We discuss the structure, topics, and results of our program and provide suggestions for creating similar programs at other academic libraries.

“That’S The Way We Do Things Around Here”: An Overview Of Organizational Culture, M. Jason Martin

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Introduction

Culture permeates all aspects of any society. It acts as the basic fabric that binds people together. Culture dictates tastes in music, clothes, and even the political and philosophical views of a group of people. Culture is not only shared, but it is deep and stable. However, culture does not exist simply as a societal phenomenon. Organizations, both large and small, adhere to a culture. Organizational culture determines how an organization operates and how its members frame events both inside and outside the organization. This paper explores the basic concepts of organizational culture. It describes what organizational culture is, …

Kellogg Foundation Chooses Nebraska Initiative For National Grant: Hometown Competitiveness, Jeff Yost

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

Lincoln, Nebraska, USA—HomeTown Competitiveness, a Nebraska initiative currently working in seven counties and communities in Nebraska, has been chosen as one of six recipients of grants provided through the W. K. Kellogg Foundation’s 75^th Anniversary Entrepreneurship Development Systems for Rural America.

The $2 million award, over three years, was approved by the Kellogg Foundation Board of Directors meeting at Battle Creek, MI last month. More than 180 applications were received for the grants to develop six national models in rural entrepreneurship.

HomeTown Competitiveness (HTC) provides a framework for rural communities to help them identify reachable goals and strategies focused …

Board Of Directors Training, Heartland Center For Leadership Development

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

Board of Directors Training

Roles and Responsibilities

Time Devoted to Six Basic Elements

Obstacles

Strategies

Ethics

Recruitment

An Analysis Of Entry-Level Librarian Ads Published In American Libraries, 1982-2002, Claudene Sproles, David Ratledge

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Much discussion has taken place in the literature over the difficulty finding qualified candidates to fill vacancies within libraries. Emphasis has been placed on recruitment, internships, scholarships, and other partnerships by library science schools and libraries to attract new people to the profession. Even so, applicant pools are dwindling [Simmons-Welburn and McNeil, 2004] and many institutions have been forced to rewrite job ads after initial postings to locate a qualified candidate. Factors hindering vacancy searches include:

• Graying of the profession, “Thousands of librarians will be retiring in the next ten years” [Simmons-Welburn and McNeil, 2004]
• Budget constraints/less positions [Bureau of …

The Americans With Disabilities Act And Academic Libraries In The Southeastern United States, Linda Lou Wiler, Eleanor Lomax

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Individuals with disabilities are one of the fastest-growing segments of United States society. In 1970, 11.7% of the United States population was limited in activity, a major factor in measuring and identifying people with disabilities. In 1990, because of the aging of America, 13.7 % of the population could be so identified. By 1994, 15% of the population fell into this group. During this latter period, the older population stayed fairly stable but children and younger adults with disabilities increased greatly. Many different figures, depending upon the method of counting, e.g., age groups included, or whether residence was in a …

Changes In Extension Educators' Perceptions Of Job Dimensions And Job Satisfaction Following Organizational Restructuring, John W. Furgason

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The literature provides ample evidence that state Extension programs across the country are introducing new or modified program development approaches and reorganized work units as they attempt to remain responsive to the public's educational needs. Implementation of such innovations, in many instances, represents change in Extension agent roles and responsibilities which could be characterized as a redesign of Extension work. Research on the effects of job redesign has consistently found evidence that workers' perceptions of certain core dimensions or characteristics of their jobs influence their satisfaction with that job. Given the changing organizational climate within Extension and the findings of …

What Sex Is Your Parachute? Interest Inventory/Counseling Models And The Perpetuation Of The Sex/Wage Segregation Of The Labor Market, Helen A. Moore, Jane Ollenburger

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This article explores the “gender model” of job research instruments that are based on the Holland Occupational Classification scheme. The six Holland “environments” constitute a ubiquitous base for tests and measures in career counseling and research. Analysis of the 1973 Quality of Employment Survey provides evidence that the Holland Classification scheme replicates the segmentation of women into certain occupations that generate low pay, even after controlling for worker education, job tenure, and age. Comparable data for male wage earners show a significant segregation away from low-income, predominantly female occupations. Thus the Holland occupational scheme and the instruments based upon it …