Peer Control in the Industrial Workplace

This case study of Kleer Windows, a firm which manufactures doors and windows for the recreational vehicles industry argues that the influence of the work group can under certain conditions be harnessed by management in their attempts to control workers. Peer control exists when co- workers seek to monitor and influence each others level of productivity. Data were collected during three summers of ethnographic research. A comparison of the control systems utilized in the production, shipping, and receiving departments at Kleer Windows reveals that peer control is likely to stimulate, rather than inhibit, productivity when two conditions exist. First, when workers are motivated to monitor one another through an interdependence of reward - making the rewards of each worker dependent upon the effort and productivity of all co-workers as we11 as the effort of the individual worker (i.e., through the use of a group bonus system) - peer control that stimulates productiuity is increasingly likely to develop. The second condition necessary for peer control is that workers be able to monitor each other through an interdependence of task - organizing work such that each worker is dependent upon co-workers for the successful completion of their work tasks (i.e., serial production) contributes to the establishment of peer control

Do College Students Participate More in Discussion in Traditional Delivery Courses or in Interactive Telecourses? A Preliminary Comparison

This study research seeks to fill that void with a preliminary comparison of the nature of interaction in interactive telecourses versus traditional delivery college courses on a single campus in the same semester. This study was conducted in the fall semester of 1999 at Indiana University Purdue University Columbus, a commuter satellite campus of Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, a major state university with an enrollment of approximately 25,000 students

Macroinvertebrate Community Analysis on Lower Hood River Before and During the Removal of Powerdale Dam: A Baseline Study

Powerdale Dam was an 87-year-old hydroelectric complex on lower Hood River in northern Oregon which was decommissioned in 2010. Macroinvertebrate samples were collected in 2009, before the removal process began, and in 2010, near the end of the demolition project, at one site upstream and three sites downstream of the dam. Macroinvertebrate communities were analyzed using both multi-metric (Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity [B-IBI]) and multivariate (Predictive Assessment Tool for Oregon [PREDATOR]) approaches, as well as EPT and Functional Feeding Group (FFG) analysis. All analytical approaches indicated declines in habitat quality in 2010 relative to 2009, and showed increasing impairment in the downstream sites in 2010, with sediment implicated as an impairment factor. Pollutants such as pesticides released from the impoundment might also contribute to downstream disturbance levels. The upstream, control site showed habitat quality declines in 2010 relative to 2009, indicating a possible upstream source of impairment. The demolition project did not physically impact upstream areas, and tributary turbidity does not appear to have been elevated relative to other years; however, the Hilsenhoff Biotic Index indicates an increase in upstream nutrient pollution in 2010 relative to 2009. Future research will be able to establish rate and extent of post-removal habitat recovery relative to these baseline data

North Central Sociological Association Presidential Address: Teaching and Learning and the Culture of the Regional Association in American Sociology

In this essay, I examine the role of teaching and learning in the culture of the regional association in American sociology. I analyze the programs of (1) the 2007 joint meeting of the North Central Sociological Association (NCSA) and the Midwest Sociological Society (MSS); (2) the 2007 annual meeting preliminary programs of the Eastern Sociological Society (ESS), the Pacific Sociological Association (PSA), and the Southern Sociological Society (SSS) along with the 2006 annual meeting programs of the MSS and NCSA, as well as the American Sociological Association (ASA); and (3) the 1991 NCSA and 1992 ASA annual meeting programs. I identify program trends with regard to teaching, professional development, undergraduate students, graduate students, and research on higher education. I conclude by identifying regional association annual meeting best practices regarding each of these areas

What Does Research Tell Us about Classroom Discussion?

Howard explains why sociologists should be concerned with discussion in the college classroom

A preliminary report on the so-called cerebro-spinal meningitis of horses

"July, 1908"Cover title.Bibliography: p. 17.Mode of access: Internet

Aftermath of HMO Insolvency: Considerations for Providers, The

The insolvency of a health maintenance organization can spell disaster for its providers and members. How an HMO is reorganized or liquidated may depend on state law, federal bankruptcy law, or a combination of both