The probable effects on the U.S. labor market of a continued high rate of illegal immigration are examined. The impact each additional immigrant has on the employment of the domestic population, on GNP, and on the distribution of income is estimated. (CT)

Thermoluminescence and its application to archeological dating are considered in this article. Descriptions are given of the method, the required doses, absolute and relative dating, complications, and the relation of this type of dating to other methods. (SA)

Deskilling of commercial and technical occupations in West Germany during the 1960s and 1970s was apparently a short-lived phenomenon. Since the 1970s, employers have adopted a skill-based modernization policy. Skilled administrative workers have used their qualifications as a means of influencing the process of work redesign. (SK)

This literature review shows that independent learning and self-improvement were promoted in early nineteenth-century Canada. However, learner autonomy in the working classes faltered in the face of lack of resources and political opposition. (SK)

Analysis of data from "Industry Wage Surveys of Machinery Manufacturers" on the skill levels of 57 machining jobs found that introduction of numerically controlled machine tools has resulted in a very small reduction in skill levels or no significant change, supporting neither the deskilling argument nor argument that skill levels…

Worker surveys and interviews with workers, managers, and unions explored the impact of technological change and reorganization at General Motors' plant in Linden, New Jersey. Skilled trades workers experienced skill upgrading and increased responsibility, whereas production workers underwent deskilling and were increasingly subordinated to the…

Two approaches to work organization in the auto industry were compared: (1) the German model of apprenticeship and skilled production workers; and (2) the Japanese model of continuous on-the-job training and flexibility. The Japanese model may be better for British companies given the current labor market situation. (SK)

The tendency for companies to invest in their employees has set up a cycle whereby better workers get jobs in which complex skills matter and are improved through work experience and training, whereas the rest of the labor force is relegated to more routine jobs. (Contains 32 references.) (JOW)

Global economic competition and other factors have cost rural America 1.5 million jobs in the past six years. This brief analyzes job displacement figures from around the country between 1997 and 2003. The loss of rural jobs was particularly large in the manufacturing sector, and the rate of loss was higher in the rural Northeast than in the rest…

The adult and community education (ACE) sector is consistently responsive to changing community needs and government priorities. It is this particular function that has drawn ACE into the lifelong learning debate as one model for sustaining communities. The responsiveness of ACE means that the sector and its programs continue to make valuable…

This paper reports on a study that investigated the characteristics of innovative Ohio sawmill operators and compared characteristics of Appalachian to non-Appalachian operators. (The paper is derived from a larger study that investigated the perceived educational needs of innovative Ohio sawmill operators.) Thirty-two Ohio sawmill operators were…

This guide contains information about apprenticeship programs in the skilled trades, especially in North Carolina. The guide, modeled in part on the "Ohio Apprenticeship Notebook," opens with a general description of the system of apprenticeship, including an account of the role of the North Carolina Department of Labor. The next section…

The Festival of American Folklife is an annual event presented by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Park Service to demonstrate new and old skills developed by specific ethnic, regional, and occupational groups which have contributed to the national culture and folkways. (BP)

This workbook for students in California roofing apprenticeship programs provides information for classroom work in the area of cold-applied roofing systems and waterproofing and dampproofing. Eight topics are covered: introduction to cold-applied roofing systems and waterproofing and dampproofing, tools and equipment used in cold-applied roofing,…

THERE IS A WIDENING AVAILABILITY OF GOOD EDUCATION, WHILE THE SELF-MADE MAN IS BECOMING RARER. TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE IN ALL PRODUCTION REQUIRES MEN OF SPECIAL SKILLS AND HIGH EDUCATION, UNSKILLED LABOR IS NOW IN LOW DEMAND. TO AID THE UNEMPLOYED, MOBILIZATION OF THEIR PRODUCTIVE POWER AND FULFILLMENT OF THEIR NEEDS MUST BE PERFORMED AT THE SAME…