Despite decades of effort by federal science funders to increase the numbers of women holding advanced degrees and faculty jobs in science and engineering, they are persistently underrepresented in academic STEM disciplines, especially in positions of seniority, leadership, and prestige. Women filled 47% of all US jobs in 2015, but held only 24%…

"Gender Differences at Critical Transitions in the Careers of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Faculty" presents new and surprising findings about career differences between female and male full-time, tenure-track, and tenured faculty in science, engineering, and mathematics at the nation's top research universities. Much of this…

Discussion of workplace conflict management examines erroneous assumptions inherent in traditional reaction patterns, considers key elements of planning for conflict prevention, and some workplace strategies to help minimize conflicts. Several approaches to conflict management, and their outcomes, are highlighted, and stages of the…

Proposes a 12-celled typology consisting of four stress types (role-based, task-based, boundary-spanning, and conflict-mediating) and three stress sources (extra-organizational, intra-organizational, and intrapersonal). Describes in detail the nature of each cell. Suggests this typology can help synthesize the findings of studies in organization…

Recent studies find that most American workers feel they could perform better at work if they wished, and half do only enough work to stay employed. What is needed is creation of a workplace atmosphere in which employees commit their fullest energies, talents, and enthusiasm toward making each workday productive. (MSE)

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 tremendous impact of technological change on human workers, coupled with declining resources in many college and university information technology programs, can create an emotionally and physically harmful environment for employees. They can also present an important opportunity for positively changing cognitive behavior and increasing…

Using a theoretical model of institutional culture, organizational climate, and faculty motivation, a study examined how faculty (n=1,123) and administrators (n=381) in 10 colleges differed in their perceptions, whether differences were affected by institution type, and to what extent faculty and administrators had different implicit models of…

A discussion of academic freedom and university autonomy in Africa first looks at the concept and social utility of those two attributes, and the operational conditions for their realization, then examines the general conditions under which African intellectuals work and the specific situation of academic freedom. Several directions for the future…

At Indiana University, budget problems and the information explosion led to a project, financed by a computer company, integrating information technology (IT) into administrative functions. The administrative workstation project increased IT knowledge and use by key administrators, resulting in greater productivity and creativity, improved…

Discusses the phenomenon of burnout among human service professionals in general, and librarians specifically, and argues that lack of professional autonomy is the true underlying cause. Suggested measures for eliminating or coping with burnout include activities at the individual, professional, and societal levels. (10 references) (CLB)

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)

A college professor examines her feelings about working in a university, her attempts to create a more supportive and congenial relationship with fellow teachers, and the frustrations of an environment in which colleagues are out of daily communication because of workload and the need and ability to work at home. (MSE)

This guide identifies selected workplace practices that individual businesses have used to become high performance work organizations. The guide, which is intended for managers, directors, labor leaders, workers, investors, and other individuals interesting in adopting high performance work practices, lays out the basic steps involved in…

The changes necessary for creating a quality school can best be made in a positive organizational climate because any real change requires the active involvement of people in the organization, who will not participate unless they are highly satisfied with their work environment. Such an open, facilitating, nurturing environment can only be…