It seems evident that the prospects of the country's development lie in a balanced model of the sectors and branches of Russia's economy, first and foremost with the creation of high-technology sectors and with higher significance attached to intellectual work and services. In terms of sociology, this task is linked closely to changes in the…

During the recent economic downturn, media and industry reports of skill shortages in the trades continued to appear. The intent of this paper is to examine the evidence for skill shortages in the trades persisting during the economic downturns over the last 20 years, using various indicators. These include employment growth, vacancy rates,…

The recession that began in December of 2007 is already 30 months old, but the U.S. economy will not recover its pre-recession employment levels for at least another two years. From there, it will take an additional three years to make up for lost growth and create a job market strong enough to employ both the casualties of the recession and the…

This article will review the current situation of undergraduate service operations education and will describe the direction that recent educational changes are taking. Given these needs and direction, a proposed curriculum for an undergraduate service operations course is presented. Lastly, a discussion of how undergraduate service operations…

Performance-based accountability systems (PBASs), which link incentives to measured performance as a means of improving services to the public, have gained popularity. While PBASs can vary widely across sectors, they share three main components: goals, incentives, and measures. Research suggests that PBASs influence provider behaviors, but little…

The nation's recuperation from the Great Recession remains sluggish, with high unemployment and a weak housing market continuing to squelch hopes that a full economic recovery will soon be at hand. The intensity and nature of the recession's lingering effects vary considerably across the country, however. Some metro areas, like Austin and…

Purpose--There can be little doubt about the importance and relevance of quality for any service industry. One of the most influential contributors to service quality developments was W. Edwards Deming (1900-1993). An important component of Demings philosophy is reflected in his 14-principles for transforming a service as they indicate what…

For recent high school graduates, life is tough. In the past year, one in four young high school graduates was unemployed and over half were underemployed. In the past decade, recent high school graduates' wages have fallen by 12 percent to just $19,400 annually in 2011, below the poverty threshold for a family of four. The downward plight of high…

This annual publication provides a summary of training activity in apprenticeships and traineeships in Australia, including information on training rates, completion rates, attrition rates, training within the trades and duration of training. The figures in this publication are derived from the National Apprentice and Trainee Collection no.63…

The Department of Labor estimated that 300,000 people would lose their jobs because of the termination of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act's (CETA's) public service employment programs. The General Accounting Office (GAO) reviewed the Department of Labor's efforts to find permanent unsubsidized jobs or new training opportunities for…

Draws from a research project on young grocery and fast-food workers in the United States and Canada to discuss some of the ways in which workplace text and literacy have an impact on the lives of working youth. Concludes that educators should reject the idea that there is little to be said about the literacy practices of low-end service sector…

This study examines the resume preferences of 523 recreation and leisure service professionals who interview and hire entry-level recreation professionals. Findings from this study support the fact that different occupations and disciplines require different approaches on how resume content information is presented. In the recreation and leisure…

Although wide variations exist among service professions, several common attributes affect the role of advertising in the service industries. For example, because a service is intangible, it cannot be evaluated before purchased or consumed. Depending on the degree of intangibility, the consumer's assessment becomes that much more difficult, and…

Reviews test manuals to demonstrate to counselors the extent of the problem of unevenly developed preferences between the sexes for different activities. To show the outcome of these discrepant interests, labor market statistics on occupational choice are presented. (Author)

Drawing on Kaufman's distinction between development in the community and development of the community, this paper discusses the constraints on local economic development associated with increased concentration of capital. The likelihood of successfully employing "import substitution" and other localization strategies without confronting issues of…