The quest for professionalization: A twentieth century cautionary tale for united states stage managers

This dissertation explores stage management’s failed attempts at professionalization in the early twentieth century. Using Harold L. Wilensky’s theory of professionalization as a means of comparison, I investigate the ways stage management tried to develop as a field of practice but were ultimately thwarted from professionalizing. Wilensky developed his theory in the 1960s investigating the paths of five professionalized occupations between the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. Likewise, I examine stage management’s attempts at professionalization in the same period. However, Wilesky’s theory is problematic because it reinforces systemic racism structures. Because of this, my dissertation concludes by interrogating Wilensky’s theory to develop a more equitable professionalization process. Between 1870 and 1980, the stage management community used the publishing process to define and redefine stage management, which is the first step toward professionalization in Wilensky’s theory. An analysis of these stage management handbooks reveals that the labor and titles attributed to stage management shifted from directorial tasks to technical direction to contemporary stage management between 1900 and 1950, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact labor of the stage manager. The analysis also reveals that due to the scattershot and incomplete nature of publishing on the field and its practices, stage management was unable to engage in a field-wide, coherent conversation advocating for a specific definition and set of standards, which ultimately prevented the field’s professionalization. In the 1940s, the stage management community turned to the field’s professional organization, Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), to arbitrate professionalization. AEA records and stage management documents demonstrate the ways the field attempted to achieve professionalization and the ways AEA resisted such changes, maintaining that stage managers were actors with additional responsibilities. The inability to fully advocate for stage managers rights through AEA has delayed the professionalization of the field, leaving members of the profession frustrated. The lack of perceived professionalization continues to contribute to the marginalization of stage managers and threatens the safety and success of all theatre workers. This dissertation demonstrates why there has been resistance to the professionalization of stage management historically and how past practices continue to restrict the field. The dissertation concludes by mapping out significant conversations that the stage management community must have to achieve an anti-racist professionalization process. This includes, but is not limited to, ways that stage managers must restructure the field, training programs, and standard practices to create a more equitable field

Evidence of Persistent and Pervasive Workplace Discrimination Against LGBT People: The Need for Federal Legislation Prohibiting Discrimination and Providing for Equal Employment Benefits

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people have experienced a long and pervasive history of employment discrimination. Today, more than eight million people in the American workforce identify as LGBT, but there still is no federal law that explicitly prohibits sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination against them. This Article begins by surveying the social science research and other evidence illustrating the nature and scope of the discrimination against LGBT workers and the harmful effects of this discrimination on both employees and employers. It then analyzes the existing legal protections against this discrimination, which include constitutional protections for public sector workers, court interpretations of Title VII’s ban on sex discrimination, state and local antidiscrimination laws, and corporate policies. This Article determines that, while these laws and policies provide important protection, the current system is incomplete, confusing, and inadequate. This Article next considers empirical research showing that employers do not offer employees with a same-sex spouse or partner the same access to family benefits that they offer to employees with a different-sex spouse, and it examines court decisions finding that a denial of equal benefits is unlawful employment discrimination. Based on this research and legal analysis, the Article concludes that a federal law like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a bill pending in Congress that would prohibit sexual orientation and gender identity employment discrimination, is needed. To serve its purpose consistently, however, the bill’s current exemption of employee benefits should be removed. To be sure, ending all forms of unequal treatment based on sexual orientation or gender identity is warranted and feasible, and doing so will have positive effects for both employees and employers

“Our Stories”: First-year Learning Communities Students Reflections on the Transition to College

Analysis of diverse first-year and first-generation learning communities students’ reflective narratives shows this population of students at an urban commuter college of technology face significant challenges in the transition into college. Designed to assist in this transition, the “Our Stories” digital writing project incorporates reflective writing in the long established, yet recently revitalized, learning communities program. Through analysis of the “Our Stories” project, we examine how the structure of our learning communities program, together with writing on an open digital platform, builds community and has the potential to positively influence students as they identify, and begin to make sense, of the social, emotional, and bureaucratic challenges in their transitio

Assumed equity: Early observations from the first Hospital Disparities Collaborative

Disparities in healthcare represent a failure in the equity domain of quality. Although disparities have been well documented, little has been written about how hospitals might use improved data collection and quality improvement techniques to eliminate disparities. This article describes early findings from the planning phase of the first hospital-based disparities collaborative. The authors also discuss the changes in policy and practice that may speed hospitals in placing disparities and equity on their quality agendas

“Our Stories”: First-year Learning Communities Students Reflections on the Transition to College

Analysis of diverse first-year and first-generation learning communities students’ reflective narratives shows this population of students at an urban commuter college of technology face significant challenges in the transition into college. Designed to assist in this transition, the “Our Stories” digital writing project incorporates reflective writing in the long established, yet recently revitalized, learning communities program. Through analysis of the “Our Stories” project, we examine how the structure of our learning communities program, together with writing on an open digital platform, builds community and has the potential to positively influence students as they identify, and begin to make sense, of the social, emotional, and bureaucratic challenges in their transition into college. The role of peer mentors, faculty and administrators in this project is discussed

Peripheral blood gene expression reveals an inflammatory transcriptomic signature in Friedreich's ataxia patients.

Transcriptional changes in Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA), a rare and debilitating recessive Mendelian neurodegenerative disorder, have been studied in affected but inaccessible tissues-such as dorsal root ganglia, sensory neurons and cerebellum-in animal models or small patient series. However, transcriptional changes induced by FRDA in peripheral blood, a readily accessible tissue, have not been characterized in a large sample. We used differential expression, association with disability stage, network analysis and enrichment analysis to characterize the peripheral blood transcriptome and identify genes that were differentially expressed in FRDA patients (n = 418) compared with both heterozygous expansion carriers (n = 228) and controls (n = 93 739 individuals in total), or were associated with disease progression, resulting in a disease signature for FRDA. We identified a transcriptional signature strongly enriched for an inflammatory innate immune response. Future studies should seek to further characterize the role of peripheral inflammation in FRDA pathology and determine its relevance to overall disease progression