12 research outputs found
Emotional Labor in Mathematics: Reflections on Mathematical Communities, Mentoring Structures, and EDGE
Terms such as "affective labor" and "emotional labor" pepper feminist
critiques of the workplace. Though there are theoretical nuances between the
two phrases, both kinds of labor involve the management of emotions; some acts
associated with these constructs involve caring, listening, comforting,
reassuring, and smiling. In this article I explore the different ways academic
mathematicians are called to provide emotional labor in the discipline, thereby
illuminating a rarely visible component of a mathematical life in the academy.
Underlying this work is my contention that a conceptualization of labor
involved in managing emotions is of value to the project of understanding the
character, values, and boundaries of such a life. In order to investigate the
various dimensions of emotional labor in the context of academic mathematics, I
extend the basic framework of Morris and Feldman [33] and then apply this
extended framework to the mathematical sciences. Other researchers have mainly
focused on the negative effects of emotional labor on a laborer's physical,
emotional, and mental health, and several examples in this article align with
this framing. However, at the end of the article, I argue that mathematical
communities and mentoring structures such as EDGE help diminish some of the
negative aspects of emotional labor while also accentuating the positives.Comment: Revised version to appear in the upcoming volume A Celebration of
EDGE, edited by Sarah Bryant, Amy Buchmann, Susan D'Agostino, Michelle
Craddock Guinn, and Leona Harri
Meaningful Workplaces :Reframing How and Where We Work
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UNDERSTANDING THE SELECTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF LIFE GOALS OF FAMILY BUSINESS OWNERS
The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to understand how owners of family businesses select and develop life goals. Findings indicate life goals are substantially influenced and impacted by parents, mentors and influential "others". The selection and development of life goals required a high level of self-confidence in their own knowledge, skills, and abilities with the attitude to make things happen. A faith in a higher being contributed to the belief and feeling that they were at the right place at the right time and possessed the correct knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitude to take advantage of the opportunities placed before them. A strong desire for personal independence influenced the selection and development of the family business as a life goal.