Toward a Theory of Worker Participation

This paper proposes that the emergence of shop-floor worker participation projects in many of the largest corporations in the United States has major theoretical interest because it points to a shift in the structure of American management from Taylorist forms of organization toward "post-Taylorist" systems based on "relative worker autonomy" and limited democratic organization on the shop floor. The postulated shift toward "relative worker autonomy" is explored, first, in terms of the contradictions and failures of Taylorism-specifically its failure to integrate workers or bind them effectively, either psychologically or ideologically, to their jobs and firms. While the costs of worker dis-integration have led management to initiate post-Taylorist labor control systems, an analysis of participative experiments suggests that these new systems produce new contradictions engendering worker expectations and entitlements for democracy in the workplace. The analysis suggests the need for a reformulation of current theories of the capitalist labor process that can explain both the emergence of "integrative" labor systems based on participation and democratic legitimations and also the new forms of contestation they produce.     

THE RECOVERY OF MASADA: A STUDY IN COLLECTIVE MEMORY*

The battle of Masada in 73 A. D. was one of the least significant and least successful events in ancient Jewish history. Our concern is to understand why, after almost two thousand years of obscurity, this event was suddenly remembered and commemorated by Palestinian Jews. Precipitating the 1927 recovery of Masada was the appearance of a very popular poem which used the ancient battle as an allegory of the Jewish settlers' struggle. By restoring this poem to its social context, and by analyzing both in terms of George Herbert Mead's theory of symbolically reconstructed pasts, this article explains the modern appeal of Masada, then brings it to bear on our general knowledge of collective memory.     

"毛主义"战略的基本特征

"毛主义"的基本内涵是在一个以农民为主体的社会结构中,按照列宁主义组织原则,建立一个由于信仰马克思列宁主义的若干基本准则而充满活力的政党。因而,这一思想体系就有异干以工人阶级为主体的苏联布尔什维克主义。毛泽东思想也因其鲜明的思想创造性,成为东方马列主义的独立流派。     

Four eras of study of college student suicide in the United States: 1920-2004

Studies of college student suicide can be grouped into the following 4 eras: 1920-1960, 1960-1980, 1980-1990, and 1990-2004. The suicide rate for students has declined monotonically across these 4 eras, from 13.4 to 8.0 to 7.5 and, most recently, to 6.5. The decreasing proportion of men in the student populations studied largely accounts for this decline. Since 1960, the suicide rate for students has consistently been about half the rate of the general US population, matched for age and gender. This highly favorable relative suicide rate is the result of firearms having been effectively banned from campuses. Additional population-oriented approaches warrant implementation to further reduce student-suicide rates. Approaches focused on high-risk groups also hold promise. These findings are based upon and may be most valid for the 70% of all students who attend 4-year colleges and universities full time.     

Subset Selection Toward Optimizing the Best Performance at a Second Stage

In the search for the best of n candidates, two-stage procedures of the following type are in common use. In a first stage, weak candidates are removed, and the subset of promising candidates is then further examined. At a second stage, the best of the candidates in the subset is selected. In this article, optimization is not aimed at the parameter with largest value but rather at the best performance of the selected candidates at Stage 2. Under a normal model, a new procedure based on posterior percentiles is derived using a Bayes approach, where nonsymmetric normal (proper and improper) priors are applied. Comparisons are made with two other procedures frequently used in selection decisions. The three procedures and their performances are illustrated with data from a recent recruitment process at a Midwestern university.     

Adverse childhood experiences,post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms,and self-reported stress among traditional and nontraditional college students

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the relationships between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSD-S), and self-reported stress among college students. Participants: A total of 236 undergraduate students enrolled in nursing courses participated. Method: Using a correlational design, participants completed questionnaires online. To examine PTSD moderation between ACE and self-reported stress, multiple regression was employed. Stress outcomes were examined using a 4-group variable. Mean differences in stress response between these four groups were examined. Differences in ACE, PTSD-S, and stress response between traditional and nontraditional students were also examined. Results: PTSD-S moderated the relationship between ACEs, and self-reported stress. This indicates that students who report PTSD-S following childhood adversity perceive higher levels of stress. Nontraditional and traditional students differed in their responses to the ICLRE scale. Conclusion: Individuals who report PTSD-S following childhood adversity perceive higher levels of stress later in life. Stress reduction programs may be beneficial for students.     

Stochastic superiority

This paper introduces a definition of stochastic superiority. One random variable is stochastically superior to another whenever it stochastically dominates the other after the risk in each random variable has been optimally reduced. Stochastic superiority is implied by stochastic dominance, but the reverse is not true. Stochastic superiority allows more pairs of random alternatives to be ranked, and efficient sets to be smaller. A very strong sufficient condition for stochastic superiority is demonstrated to also be necessary when preferences are risk averse. This condition provides a relatively easy way to conduct stochastic superiority tests. As an alternative to “almost stochastic dominance,” stochastic superiority also provides a natural solution to the “left tail problem” that arises often when comparing random alternatives.

     

Peace and Conflict Resolution Organizations in Three Protracted Conflicts: Structures,Resources and Ideology

Guided by organizational and social movement theories, this study compares the structures, resource bases, ideologies, and strategies of nongovernmental organizations engaged in peace and conflict resolution (P/CROs) in three regions with extended violent conflicts: Northern Ireland, South Africa, and Israel/Palestine. Qualitative content analysis techniques are used to analyze 27 detailed case reports. We analyze the funding patterns and structural attributes of the P/CROs in our sample, with particular attention to how they obtain fiscal resources and membership in spite of the risks they may experience. We then explore the degree of formalization among P/CROs over time and, finally, we examine the ideological frames that P/CROs use and how these frames relate to their tactics. Throughout the analysis we pay attention to how the political context of each region influences P/CRO behavior.