Work process change is a popular approach to performance improvement in contemporary organizations. Variables that serve as leading indicators of employee performance when process changes take place include employee learning, self-efficacy beliefs, learning transfer climate, and goal commitment. Two critical concerns exist when implementing…

This report presents current information on the characteristics and work patterns of hired laborers who perform crop work in the United States. Information was obtained from interviews with 4,199 workers in 85 counties between October 1, 1996 and September 30, 1998. Chapters 1-3 provide information about the farmworkers themselves, including…

This paper argues that rural poverty remains relatively invisible because, although shameful, it is profitable, and the rural poor pose little threat to their suburban neighbors. This is illustrated via interrogation concerning a rural poultry plant fire. The paper examines implications of this case for foundations scholars and educational…

Describes a study of the relationship between stress and selected job functions of community/junior college presidents, the importance of these functions, and the presidents' use of counterstress activities. Reveals that presidents rated most of their administrative responsibilities as "not very stressful," with exceptions being "faculty…

Employee assistance programs (EAP) are evaluated in questionnaire responses from 73 of 109 (67 percent) Canadian school boards and 35 (50 percent) of the clients of the EAP in London, Ontario. Explores the nature of current programs and emerging trends in this field. (MLF)

A superintendent who was nearly appointed New York City Schools chancellor explains the physical and mental stamina his job requires. Most school executives don't recognize job stresses leading to physical disorders, adverse effects on family life, and alcoholism. Since superintendents' demise usually centers on political/interpersonal conflicts,…

Documents the development of one of the most comprehensive efforts in occupational language training in the English-speaking world, Britain's Industrial Language Training (ILT) Service. The presentation describes widespread engagement by the authors and ILT staff concerned with cross-cultural differences as they affect job-related communication…

Describes a cross-cultural study of quality of teaching life among secondary school teachers by an international consortium of university research teams. Discusses the study's rationale; objectives; major concepts of job satisfaction, work centrality, and occupational stress; questionnaire development; and sampling techniques. Contains 55…

Includes 26 articles on increasing workforce quality and competitiveness, the primary task of employment and training professionals. Looks at the larger picture, strategies, and decentralized national employment and training programs internationally. Examines debate over research methods, national research, and state and local efforts. Includes…

A survey of 556 research university faculty found most felt satisfied with key aspects of their work environment, and many felt they had experienced or observed little gender discrimination. Among those experiencing discrimination, women were more likely than men to report exclusion by colleagues, inappropriate sexual attention, demeaning or…

This study assessed the effectiveness of clique analysis methodologies in detecting changes in integration levels for a worker with severe mental retardation in a supported employment setting. The analysis suggested that communication instruction resulted in the worker becoming more integrated during break or lunch times. (Author/DB)

Examines the occupational, managerial, and personal factors contributing to teacher burnout. Briefly reviews the relevant literature covering key characteristics and definitions. Includes a discussion of active and passive coping strategies. (MJP)

Canadian teacher unions must become more relevant, both towards their membership ("internal relevance") and towards society at large ("external relevance"). Issues of internal relevance are membership, responsiveness, teacher voice, leadership development, and the changing nature of teacher work. Issues of external relevance…

Offers a lesson plan that addresses the working conditions endured by women in the Progressive Era and their struggles for womens rights in the workplace. Strives to demonstrate the similarities between the plights of the Progressive Era women to those of women workers in the 1990s. (CMK)

Examined psychometric characteristics of three 17-item measures of child care worker job demands, job control, and job resources. Found that job demands scale had lower reliability than job control or job resources. Demonstrated known groups validity through conceptually meaningful pattern of differences between family childcare providers and…