This book explains the episodic changes in the meaning of "profession" and its cognates in the United States from 1600 to the present. An introduction states the book's central theses, that the meaning of the word "profession" has changed episodically in American history, that these changes in meaning were directly informed by…

Quality-improvement principles are a sound means to respond to customer needs. However, when various quality and productivity theories and methods are applied, it is very difficult to consistently deliver quality results, especially in quasi-monopolistic, non-competitive, and regulated environments. This book focuses on quality-improvement methods…

The lives of working-class women were explored through interviews with 63 middle-aged women, most of whom were employed in working-class jobs and living working-class lives in Baltimore, Maryland. The following were among the areas covered in the interviews: the women's lives on and off the job; their job satisfaction; the reasons they work and…