Showing papers on "Workforce published in 1986"

The Pyramid Builders of Ancient Egypt: A Modern Investigation of Pharaoh's Workforce

Abstract: In Rosalie David's hands, the Egyptian builders of the pyramids are revealed as simple people, leading ordinary lives while they are engaged on building the great tomb for a Pharoah. This is an engrossing detective story, bringing to the general reader a fascinating picture of a special community that lived in Egypt and built one of the pyramids, some four thousand years ago.

Unfree labour and capitalist restructuring in the Agrarian sector: Peru and India

Abstract: Based on fieldwork in La Convencion, Peru, and the Indian Punjab, this article examines the contribution of unfree labour to capitalist restructuring in the agrarian sector, a process whereby free wage labour is replaced by bonded labour. Debt bondage is analysed in relation to class struggle in these labour‐scarce contexts, specifically with regard to its utilisation by capitalist producers to lower the cost and simultaneously maintain control over both the migrant and local components of their workforce. The economic and extra‐economic modes of compulsion required to enforce labour‐service obligations incurred as a result of indebtedness are also considered, in particular the role of kinship. Since this kind of agrestic servitude involves the attachment through debt of workers not so much to land but to an individual employer, contemporary bonded labour is theorised as a form of modern slavery.

A Visual Interactive Decision Support System For Workforce (Nurse) Scheduling

Abstract: This paper describes a microcoraputer based visual interactive decision support system for workforce scheduling. A prototype system was first constructed and then tested on a nurse scheduling probl...

Trends in Unemployment, Wages and Productivity: The Case of Japan

Abstract: Along with the high savings ratio, the functioning of the labour market is one of the most important factors behind the macroeconomic performance of the postwar Japan, which foreign observers have christened the 'miracle of the Rising Sun'. In the first place, the nature of the Japanese labour market is important for the long-run trend of Japanese economic growth because labour, and its quality, are crucial factors for economic development. The high quality of a well disciplined workforce, as well as the migration of labour from rural to urban areas, has contributed much to the rapid growth of the Japanese economy. Second, the nature of the labour market has influenced the pattern of Japanese business cycles by buffering demand fluctuations. The slow response of firms' demand for labour, combined with the fast response of the labour force participation ratio, has prevented a sharp increase in the unemployment rate during recessions. Relatively flexible nominal and real wages have also enabled the Japanese economy to adjust quite smoothly to supply shocks, notably after the second oil crisis. In this paper we shall review trends in unemployment, wages and productivity in the postwar Japanese economy, and relate them to its macroeconomic performance. We shall also summarize the current literature concerning features of the labour market, evaluate quantitative estimates of trends in labour statistics, and explore future prospects.

The historical origin of job ladders in the US canning industry and their effects on the gender division of labour

Abstract: Studies of the emergence of internal job ladders have usually focused on capital intensive industries employing predominantly male workers. Work on the occupational crowding of women has generally looked at the gender-based occupational structure across industries. In the following case study of the American canning industry, the emergence of job ladders is studied in relation to the exclusion of women from these job ladders within a seasonal, labour-intensive industry. The emergence of job ladders and the consequent crowding out of women is presented within the dynamic context of a growing canned goods market, rapid firm entry, growth in firm size and the mechanis ation of production. We argue that mechanisation created both the need for and the opportunity to construct cannery job ladders as a training device and as a mechanism to generate internal reserves of replacement labour. Women were excluded from machine operative tasks through the effects of statistical discrimination reinforced by the opposition of in-place male workers and the hesitancy of the employers to unify the male and female segments of the cannery workforce through cross-gender job-promotion arrangements.1

Schooling Standards in England and Germany: some summary comparisons bearing on economic performance

Abstract: The way higher productivity depends on a workforce that is technically-skilled at all levels—from operators and foremen to senior engineers and directors of production—was examined on the basis of an interview-study of matched engineering firms in Britain and Germany in the last issue of this Review. The present article traces differences in workforce skills between these two countries to differences in preparation at school, particularly in mathematics and vocational education, and particularly for those in the lower half of the ability spectrum.

Stabilizing the Workforce: A Complete Guide to Controlling Turnover

Abstract: Economic developments, social and political pressures for job maintenance, the characteristics of the labor market, and the costs of turnover have combined uniquely to compel employers, in their own interests and in the interests of society, to build and preserve a competent and stable workforce This handbook, written by a seasoned expert in the field of corporate personnel and training management, offers employers tested methods for controlling both voluntary and involuntary turnover and discusses bases and procedures for a planned development of their workforce

The need for professional doctors of public health.

Abstract: Planning, organizing, and operating today's complex health care systems or heading Federal, State, and city public health agencies in the United States and other countries require professionals broadly prepared in the meaning, philosophy, and strategies of public health. It is and has been recognized that the best trained clinical physician could not be expected to know the policies and practices of official public health programs. The chief health official of a State or other jurisdiction, for example, deals with the epidemiology of many diseases; with all aspects of the environment; with hospitals, drugs, health manpower, and nutrition; with issues of health economics, finance, and politics; and with administration. For these tasks, most of medical education is irrelevant. To produce the needed specialists, candidates with a BA degree would be educated as doctors of public health. The proposed 5-year postgraduate curriculum is as demanding as the training for the MD degree, but completely different. The 38 subjects or courses in the curriculum are grouped into four categories: basic tools of social analysis, health and disease in populations, protection of health and prevention of disease, and health care systems and management. At present, MPH degree holders take only a handful of core and elective courses and emerge with little systematic knowledge about the majority of problems they face. The DrPH candidates at schools of public health spend most of their time on research and dissertation writing--adequate preparation for university teachers, but academia is not the goal of most candidates, nor the greatest need of society. Recruits for the proposed new doctorate in public health may be found among the thousands of young people who want to do "community health work" but see no way to play a significant role without getting an MD degree first.

Office encounters in general practice in the Hamilton health district II: Ethnic group patterns among employed males, 15-64.

Abstract: Previous research suggests that the strong inverse relationship between social class and rates of mortality and morbidity recorded among males is also evident, if in muted form, among females. On such evidence higher levels of health service use might be expected among working class women. The data are drawn from a 1% survey of office encounters in general practices in the Hamilton health district. The results confirm social class differences in the expected direction among women in the paid workforce, with marked differences in most cases. No such differences are evident for women not in paid employment, except in the case of serious conditions. Rates of office encounters among women outside the paid workforce are on average double those for women in employment, with the discrepancy being particularly marked in the top two socioeconomic strata. This high rate of medical contact among middle class women in the home may reflect the joint influence of financial access and freedom from the fixed constraints on time imposed by paid employment.

Union growth and decline: The impact of employer and union tactics

Abstract: The past decade has generally not been a time of prosperity for organized labour, especially in the United States. It is now estimated that only about 19 per cent of the American workforce is unionized (Adams, 1985), compared with an all-time high of approximately 30 per cent. It is widely believed that this results from changes in organizing strategies used by both unions and, in particular, employers. The resistance of American employers to unionization has clearly increased over the past quarter of a century, spawning a multimillion dollar industry (Bureau of National Affairs, 1985). At the forefront of the ‘union-free environment’ movement is a formidable array of management consultants and attorneys, dubbed ‘union busters’ by a disdainful labour movement. This paper examines the nature of union organizing and employer counter-organizing efforts and the role of the new breed of union resistance specialists. Although written from a North American perspective, the activities and research findings discussed here should be of relevance in Europe and elsewhere. Indeed, many American multinationals have implemented union resistance programmes in foreign subsidiaries and aspects of these programmes have been adopted by some non-American firms.

Apprenticeship and De-skilling in Britain, 1850–1914

Abstract: The publication of Harry Braverman's seminal study – Labor and Monopoiy Capital (1974) – marked a turning-point for labour and social historians. Since then they have increasingly concerned themselves with the nature of the labour process in industrial capitalism. Central to this concern has been the debate on de-skilling and the destruction of craft control over the labour process and its subordination to the needs of capital. Braverman has been heavily criticised for the one-sidedness and simplicity of his account of this development. Among the weaknesses identified in Labor and Monopoly Capital is the omission of any mention of class struggle, or worker resistance to technical change; the failure to grasp how de-skilling can be mediated and, therefore, modified through labour, market and product particularisms; the lack of a detailed analysis of the transformation of formal to real subordination (in the Marxist sense) of labour to capital – the process seems to occur automatically; and, the failure to realise how formally skilled workers can continue to occupy a privileged position in the workforce through either the mechanism of custom, or by their strategic placing in the production process, or both.

Structural Changes in Unionization: 1973-1981

Abstract: This paper presents a decomposition of the decline in union density into structural and within sector components using CPS data for private sector workers We find that 58 to 68 percent of the decline in private sector unionization between 1973 and 1981 can be accounted for by structural changes in the economy, particularly in the occupational, educational and gender distribution of the workforce This is a large impact, but we find that while structural change is important, its importance was not appreciably greate during the 1970s than during previous decades At the same time, we find that the decline of private sector unionization within sectors has been pervasive, accounting for 32 to 42 percent of union decline As part of this analysis we find that the decline in union density has been greater in those sectors of the economy where employment decline has been greater This fact can help reconcile previous divergent findings on the importance of structural change

Research Note: The Demography of Occupational Prestige in the Australian Workforce

Abstract: Occupational prestige is an indicator of social class amenable to measurement. Dividing the workforce of Australia on the basis of occupational prestige gives a profile of the numbers in each of six occupational prestige categories. This exercise provides a norm for the Australian population and gives a basic prestige distribution for comparative purposes. Of particular interest for sociologists and social scientists generally is the shape of this profile. The top two categories are very small indeed; the third holds 15 per cent of the workforce; and 80 per cent of the workforce are in the lower half of this prestige hierarchy.

National ideology, technology and employment: the construction industry in Singapore

Abstract: An understanding of the changes taking place in Singapore's construction industry is not achieved simply by reference to 'technological imperatives'. Changes in technology, work patterns and employment are closely bound up with the ideological orientations of the ruling elite. This article analyses these changes and examines the implications for the workforce.

The structuring of labour markets: A comparative analysis of the steel and construction industries in Italy

Abstract: With a wealth of empirical evidence, this study proposes that the social interaction of employers, workers, and unions are important factors in the structure of Italian labor markets. Incorporating research on job structure, employment conditions, recruitment methods, training programs, and workforce mobility, Dr. Villa offers a comprehensive, comparative study of the Italian steel and construction industries while shedding new light on the labor market field.

Conflict in the Construction Industry

Abstract: A previous article has examined industrial relations on large construction sites indicating the ad hoc nature of construction labour policies. The high level of industrial conflict on British sites was attributed to the fragmented wage and bargaining structures together with poor managerial control at site level. (see Table I). This, it was suggested, produced a high degree of insecurity amongst the workforce which tended to undermine the peaceful resolution of many disputes.

Single Mothers in Canada: An Analysis

Abstract: This paper explores the social context of single mothers in Canada. Areas of concern in the literature include role strain (both at home and at work), poverty, employment, and the inaccessibility of child care. Past interventions for single mothers at the governmental, organizational, and individual levels are discussed. These include strategies to reduce the numbers of single-parent families living below the poverty line, to ensure greater flexibility for single mothers in the workforce, and to improve the overall self-image of women through further education, assertiveness training, and confidence building. Finally, the authors make recommendations for policy changes and future interventions, proposing a strategy which combines elements of the Employment Resource Program, an innovative model used in a mid-size Ontario city, and the former Vancouver Opportunities program. The model employs self-help techniques, career counselling and job training, child care and financial assistance.

Bias in awarding research grants.

Abstract: in this report, showed a desire for an increase in consultant physicians by about 126 (12%) over the next two years. This is considerably more than the figure quoted by the DHSS in its guidelines of August 1984, in which a net increase of 27 posts a year was predicted for the next four years. The numbers of other supporting staff?hospital practitioners, associate specialists, and clinical assistants?were not inconsiderable, amounting to 557 sessions a week, the equivalent of 50 whole time physicians. One should question whether 4'7% of the total workforce (and this is probably an underestimate) should be so constituted while consultant expansion is constrained. Further information on the role of these grades, particularly in technique oriented specialties such as endoscopy is required. What is the future for general medicine? Whatever the trends towards increasing specialisation the need to care for acute medical admissions, which account for an overwhelming proportion of the inpatient workload, will continue. Even if specialty transfer becomes more common in teaching hospitals logistics will make it impossible in all but the largest district hospital. The development of special interests is likely to continue at all grades, and to cover the wide range of different interests in the smaller hospital doctors may need to develop more than one interest. Other alternatives include cross district contracts and the development of a special interest by geriatrician colleagues. What is clear from this survey is that the general physician remains an essential component of hospital staff in the United Kingdom, and future training programmes must be structured with this in mind.

Psychological evaluation and support in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Abstract: This article has discussed the role of the psychological consultant in the PICU. New advances in critical care treatment have created the need for a greater awareness of psychological issues that affect the medical management of children, and the emotional impact on their families. Psychological consultation can assist in clarifying and addressing these issues by identifying and evaluating the stressors impinging on the patient, and implementing or directing appropriate interventions. This intervention may also entail assistance to the family and care providers in coping with intense and emotionally sensitive issues.

The Technical and Vocational Education Initiative and economic performance in the United Kingdom: an initial assessment

Abstract: Government support for the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) is based largely on the belief that it will contribute to the improvement of the UK's economic performance. This paper reviews evidence on the relationship between education and training, workforce skills and economic performance, and concludes that it would be helpful if TVEI's objectives were to be expressed in more detail, so as to provide a better basis for evaluation.