Administrative assistants within the higher education system are a vital part of universities, including supporting students, faculty, and administrators. Although administrative assistants are essential to a college or university, they often lack recognition and salary support for their contributions. This applied qualitative study seeks to…

This is the eighth year that CUPA-HR has conducted the CUPA-HR Staff in Higher Education Survey, which collects data on primarily non-exempt staff. The survey collects the following data for all higher ed staff: salary, sex, race/ethnicity, age, and years in position. This marks a special year for data collection and reporting for all CUPA-HR…

Hierarchical control of skilled performance depends on chunking of several lower-level units into a single higher-level unit. The present study examined the relationship between chunking and recognition of trained materials in the context of typewriting. In 3 experiments, participants were trained with typing nonwords and were later tested on…

Established in 1911 as a simple owner-operated commercial school in Providence, Rhode Island, the Katharine Gibbs School expanded over the decades to acquire an international reputation for excellence in secretarial training. This essay examines the origin, development, and ultimate demise of the chain, placing it within the context of the…

An extensive commitment to nonwork roles was negatively associated with the job performance of 182 women legal secretaries. In addition to its direct negative effect on job performance, nonwork role commitment had both a negative indirect effect (through emotional energy expended on nonwork roles) and a positive indirect effect (through resources…

A group of thirty-eight business educators from throughout Virginia evaluated recruitment materials designed to attract both male and female secondary students to office occupations. The materials were evaluated in reference to three factors: appropriateness for intended audience, accuracy and appearance, and sex stereotyping. Evaluation scores of…

Examines the intrusion of female employees into the traditionally male domain of office work from 1860 to 1914. Shows that sex-specific segregation was supported by a lack of training facilities for girls and by fact that these facilities supported the dominant sex-role structure. Focuses on the development of vocational schools for girls.…

Implicit in the human capital approach of 20th-century educational rhetoric in Australia was the belief that schools imparted vocationally useful cognitive skills beyond basic literacy and numeracy. These skills were believed to be transferable to the workplace and to increase the productivity of the individual to the benefit of society. For…

A questionnaire of 50 items covering five categories of statements designed to determine their perceptions of office work was administered to 498 advantaged and 477 disadvantaged rural high school girls in six states, and to 326 city office employees throughout the United States who had attended a rural high school no more than three years prior…

This publication reports the results of a review of scientific research on office job hazards, survey responses from more than 1,200 office workers in Cleveland and Boston, and in-depth interviews with more than 100 office workers. The report covers the following areas of health hazards for office workers: (1) job stress--physical and…

Outlines a brief history of the unionization of business and office occupations as well as the contributions of feminist organizations, trade associations, legislative bodies, and wage equity groups toward the achievement of equitable pay for women in office occupations. Also discusses what educators can do to aid business students in the pursuit…

The National Conference on Secretarial Training, called by the United States Bureau of Education in cooperation with Boston University, was held at the College of Secretarial Science Saturday, October 27, 1923. The conference was attended by 120 delegates, representing Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Rhode…

This study analyzes the portrayal of women in business in popular novels between 1890 and 1950. A comprehensive list of novels depicting secretaries and salesgirls as major characters was developed, and a questionnaire was used to collect and organize data. The characters were analyzed in terms of: background, achievement in their vocations,…

Describes a study conducted to develop and test the effectiveness of a business college teaching unit designed to provide career appearance education for black and white females from working class families. (The unit covered six conceptual areas of career appearance: First impressions, work roles, total look, clothing features, grooming, and…

Report of a survey of women's experiences with temporary help services (THS). Includes a discussion of the benefits, employee needs and characteristics, and the advantages and disadvantages of THS agencies. (WL)