Second-generation cultural-historical activity theory, which drew its inspiration from Leont'ev's work, constituted an advance over Vygotsky's first-generation theory by explicitly articulating the dialectical relation between individual and collective. As part of an effort to develop third-generation-historical activity theory, I propose in this…

Staff shortages are predicted in community social care sector services for people with intellectual disabilities (ID). One option is to attract more men to the workforce, which would also counter the present sex-ratio (gender) imbalance among workers. Potential strategies for recruitment could be identified by analyzing the characteristics and…

Studying one's profession, especially when done in community with others, where the learning is richer and deeper, has not been the norm in the education community. Educators typically have been physically isolated from each other because of the structure of school facilities and the schedules that dominate the school day. This physical isolation…

Based on Norwegian register data, we set up a multivariate mixed proportional hazard model (MMPH) to analyze nurses' pattern of work, sickness absence, nonemployment, and social insurance dependency from 1992 to 2000, and how that pattern was affected by workplace characteristics. The model is estimated by means of the nonparametric…

The two issues of this serial include the following articles: "Seminar-Workshop on Regional Diagnostics, Program Development, and Evaluation" (Beatrice Edwards); "Training as a Factor of Stability" (Francisco Largaespada Pereira); "Workplace, Society, and Culture. Viewpoint from Social Interaction" (Nuria Torres…

Task analyses have traditionally been framed in terms of overt behaviors performed in accomplishing tasks and goals. Pioneering work at the Learning Research and Development Center looked at what contribution a cognitive analysis might make to current task analysis procedures, since traditional task analysis methods neither elicit nor capture…

Two characteristics that are commonly associated with organizational behavior, power and sex, are examined. Sexual behavior within the workplace and schools is discussed as are the effects of sexual stereotypes, sexually harassing and non-harassing sexual behavior, and office romances on the organization and its members. A conclusion is that these…

Findings from a study that described the responsibilities and characteristics of Kentucky school district instructional supervisors are presented in this paper. Instructional supervisors are those district personnel who are responsible for the professional development of teachers. Questionnaires mailed to 184 Kentucky instructional supervisors…

This report documents current wages, benefits, working conditions, and turnover rates for child care teaching staff in Alameda County, California, based on a random proportional sample of 121 center-based programs. The centers represented various types of full-day programs throughout the county, including church-sponsored, non-profit government…

Findings of a study that examined the perceptions held by principals about their levels of self-efficacy are presented in this paper. Self-efficacy refers to the belief that one can successfully execute a behavior to achieve a given outcome. Data were collected from a questionnaire that was mailed to 375 principals (125 elementary, middle, and…

This paper describes a professional development process for principals centered on collaborative inquiry and reflection around case stories--written and oral descriptions of real-life leadership situations. In small, collegial groups, principals are invited to write, tell, and listen to each other's case stories about dilemmas in the workplace. In…

This paper describes a study conducted in 22 counties in Middle Tennessee to determine the extent to which teachers have experienced sexual harassment. Of the 318 teachers responding, 172 report having been subjected to unwanted harassment. Of those responding positively, 150 are female. The forms of harassment indicated were sexual remarks,…

This study examined what values, attitudes, and behaviors are conveyed through televised sports news programming that would be expected in both sport and the world of work. The study involved viewing 102 editions of ESPN's "SportsCenter," a sports news program, and recording comments made by program anchors, news journalists, players,…

Two challenges that face educators--developing interactive professionalism in the schools, and facilitating teachers and principals as change agents--are examined in this book. Chapter 1 examines the following problem areas in educational change: overload; isolation; "groupthink"; untapped competence; narrow roles; and failed reform. A…

Findings from a study that examined the effects of school-based management on the perceived environmental uncertainty of Texas elementary school teachers are presented in this paper. Perceived environmental uncertainty is defined as a lack of clarity and significant information in the school setting. Questionnaires were administered to teachers in…