This document summarizes discussions at an invitational workshop on labor development in Nigeria. The discussion centered on the need to promote an individual work ethic and to improve the quality of life of the average worker. The following broad topics were discussed: (1) the negative effect of colonialism on individual productivity and the lack…

Defining small talk as "superficial talk about matters of little concern," a study examined the role of small talk in the work place. Subjects, 51 white collar workers and clerical employees at three corporations, an Eastern state university, and two small businesses completed a questionnaire concerning the following questions: (1) What…

It is expected that by 1990 the majority of clerical and managerial workers in North America will use computers in their daily work. An integrative model was developed which views quality of work life as an ever changing dimension influenced by computerization and by perception of career success and non-work factors. To test this model, a study…

Although past research has suggested that computer acceptance and knowledge are two variables crucial in attaining desired profitability increases with computer-based technology, few studies have examined how these variables occur in organizational settings. A study was undertaken to examine acceptance of, and knowledge about, computer-based…

This curriculum guide is the third of a four-volume set that is intended to improve career and vocational guidance services to Spanish-speaking students in grades 9 through 12. The first section outlines the goal and objectives of the materials. The remaining four sections consist of English and Spanish translations of activities and handouts on…

A study of the gravity of non-native speakers' speech errors, particularly as viewed in the workplace, was based on two assumptions: that certain features of spoken English contribute more to speech acceptability than others, and that native speakers have an internalized, ordered list of criteria for making judgments about non-native speakers'…

Staff and residents of settings for the aged often hold substantially different views of their shared environment, and the literature suggests that these perceptual discrepancies transcend such factors as degree of institutional totality, quality of care, and differences in personal characteristics among staff and residents. Despite the…

This document reports on a review of the leadership literature, a cross-sectional correlation study, and a series of in-depth teacher interviews, all of which were parts of an effort to better understand the conditions under which a principal can lead. The correlation study makes use of S. Kerr's theory that the effect of the leader's behavior on…

A study examined the relationship between dyadic and normative accessibility of work supervisors and task characteristics of autonomy, variety, and identity (whether the task is part of a process or results in a finished product). Dyadic accessibility refers to workers' estimates of their supervisors' accessibility. Normative accessibility is the…

There are over 28 million children of alcoholics in the United States, 22 million of whom have now reached adulthood yet continue to experience emotional, mental, and physical effects of life in an alcoholic family. In the workplace, adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) have recently become acknowledged as a group who face special challenges. The…

A study examined the extent and causes of burnout among extension agents in Ohio. From the 241 extension agents working in the 88 counties of Ohio, researchers selected a random sample of 101 agents. Included in the sample were 34 agriculture agents, 33 home economics agents. Included in the sample agents were asked to complete a survey…

This paper begins with an overview of several instruments for assessing the school environment, focusing on Moos's Work Environment Scale (WES). Although the WES was designed for use in any work milieu, its 10 dimensions of work environment (involvement, peer cohesion, staff support, autonomy, task orientation, work pressure, clarity, control,…

Enhancing the awareness of (1) the organization of "typical" computer projects, (2) the communication that emerges from those structures, and (3) the problems that technical communications inherently hold is the purpose of this paper. It begins by presenting the organization of the working group of a computer project (a college that is going to…

This document is a transcript of a United States Senate subcommittee hearing which was conducted to review the effort the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration have undertaken to hire and train new air traffic controllers to take the places of those controllers who went on strike in August, 1981, and were…

Quality circles may be regarded as a form of organizational intervention strategy to enhance productivity and product quality through employee participation. Operationally, small groups of individual employees voluntarily meet regularly to (1) identify problems relating to productivity and product quality, (2) discuss them, (3) identify and…