Barriers to women's education and employment in Europe and the United States in the 19th century made it unlikely that any women would be among the few physicists whose ideas are taught in high school and college courses. This paper explores the social settings in which three influential physicists worked--James Clerk Maxwell, Robert Millikan, and…

Medical residents in hospitals are often required to be on duty for long hours. In 2003 the organization overseeing graduate medical education adopted common program requirements to restrict resident workweeks, including limits to an average of 80 hours over 4 weeks and the longest consecutive period of work to 30 hours in order to protect…

A generational shift is occurring in training environments worldwide, a shift that promises to bring with it a dramatic and long-lasting impact. Just as years ago, those of the Baby Boomer generation passed the torch to Generation X, today the process is starting anew with Generation X and those who have come to be known as the Millennials.…

The casualisation of teaching in Australian higher education has come to be problematised as a risk to the quality of teaching and learning. However, the potential and location of risk, and therefore what constitutes an appropriate institutional intervention, requires interrogation as universities comply with the various regulations that, on the…

Organizational climate refers to workers' perceptions that a given workplace possesses a distinctive atmosphere. Managers appreciate the behavioral implications of this concept, assuming staff performance or well-being might be improved by managing the climate. Attempts to manipulate organizational climate have generally been unsuccessful, and the…

The California Mentor Teacher Program is one of many efforts to improve teacher supply and quality, provide professional support, and offer alternative motivators and reward systems. This paper explores teacher leadership issues offered by this program. Using data from a 1985 joint study of the mentor initiative (by California State Department of…

A study of the processes of curriculum and instructional development in the first-year public administration program at Melchester Polytechnic (England) drew on interviews with faculty. It is concluded that curricular and instructional change is intensely political and dependent on the organizational climate for change. (Author/MSE)

The focus of this book is to explore the extent to which our thinking, learning, and leading is influenced and shaped by the future. In the process, professionals and organizations are classified into three basic types: future-oriented, future-poised, and future-driven. The last typically employs divergent and convergent thinking and planning; and…

Areas of change and nonchange in college faculty employment since the 1950s are examined, particularly as they affect faculty mobility. External factors (prestige, labor market, public opinion) and internal factors (the department structure, institutional policy, and changes within disciplines) are discussed. (MSE)

Quality circles attempt to satisfy both task and personal needs through staff involvement in solving work-related problems. This paper summarizes quality circle theory, applies it to school settings, and suggests a framework for introducing the process to educational institutions. After briefly defining quality circles, the article presents two…

As in other industries, expansion of part-time work has profoundly affected salaries and working conditions of full-time faculty and staff at many colleges. If public higher education is to survive the influences of privatization, vocationalization, and downsizing, faculty unions, having established a place in the academy, must become more heavily…

Implementation of the University of Virginia Medical Center's computerized system for mandatory recordkeeping of physician orders is discussed, focusing on issues raised among residents and physicians: time required for system use; changes in work responsibilities, patterns, and priorities; and attitudes. Recommendations are made for institutions…