Organizational Careers: An Interactionist Perspective*

The concept of career is both useful and necessary for the study of organizations. Through members' constructions of organizational careers, an organization becomes real and capable of action. Organizational careers intermediate between the programmatic and the symbolic elements of organizational situations. Careers, through their objective and subjective dualism, penetrate both the organization's symbolic order and its objective activity and order, constituting a third and essential element in organizational structure. Careers are highly interdependent upon communication processes, notably as negotiation of joint plans of action and of identity, role and status. Careers, work, and identity are seen as interrelated aspects of the self as a social object. Events and interactions in organizational situations lead to shifts in the moral definitions of the self and others, and to behavior which serves to protect the self from becoming profaned.     

Inclusive Governance and “Minority” Groups: The Role of the Third Sector in Wales

Following the establishment of a national legislature in Wales in 1999 the third sector has entered into a pioneering cross-sectoral partnership with the Welsh government. This paper presents the results of a research project that has studied the new structures of devolved governance through the expectations and participation of voluntary organizations representing three marginalized or minority groupings: women, disabled people, and those from an ethnic minority background. The findings reveal that despite varying levels of expectation expressed by minority voluntary groups, active engagement of minority groups in policy making has been a feature of the Assembly's first months. Nevertheless, formidable challenges face both sectoral partners in the new system of governance, not least in creating organizational structures that facilitate partnership working in the devolved polity.     

Evaluation of free to grow: head start partnerships to promote substance-free communities

Free to Grow: Head Start Partnerships to Promote Substance-free Communities (FTG) was a national initiative in which local Head Start (HS) agencies, in partnership with other community organizations, implemented a mix of evidence-based family-strengthening and community-strengthening strategies. The evaluation of FTG used a quasi-experimental design to compare 14 communities that participated in the FTG intervention with 14 matched comparison communities. Telephone surveys were conducted with two cohorts of the primary caregivers of children in HS at baseline and then annually for 2 years. The survey was also administered to repeated cross-sectional samples of primary caregivers of young children who were not enrolled in HS. No consistent evidence was found in changes in family functioning or neighborhood conditions when the 14 FTG sites were compared to 14 matched sites. However, caregivers of young children who were not in HS in three high-implementing FTG sites showed evidence of improvements in neighborhood organization, neighborhood norms against substance abuse, and child disciplinary practices. Results provide highly limited support for the concept that family and neighborhood conditions that are likely to affect child development and well-being can be changed through organized efforts implemented by local HS programs.     

Personal and Aggregate Unemployment and Psychological Symptoms

Four different types of individual-level unemployment experiences were studied in relation to psychological symptoms: (1) current unemployment following a recent involuntary job loss, (2) unemployment among students or homemakers, (3) reemployment after recent job loss, and (4) either voluntary or long-term (greater than 6 months) unemployment. Aggregate unemployment (the prevailing rate in the surveyed community) was also studied, both alone and in interaction with each of the four individual-level unemployment conditions. These five variables were each related positively to psychological symptoms, whether measured as a continuous variable or as a dichotomous variable simulating a case/non- case split, and controlling for the usual demographic variables and various other stressful life events. Little evidence was found for interactions of the unemployment conditions with aggregate unemployment or with potential moderators. A small panel study provided a partial longitudinal check for several of these cross-sectional findings. The findings are discussed in terms of public policy options.     

Leader as performer; leader as human: A discursive and retrospective construction of crisis leadership

The study of crisis in higher education remains an important area of research for scholars and a relevant area of interest for higher education leaders who must anticipate and effectively address the ever-increasing and wide-ranging crisis situations. Using Weick’s notion of retrospective sensemaking, this project attempts to theoretically reframe crisis as a discursive opportunity for university leaders to engage in identity construction. By approaching issues of crisis leadership through a communicative framework, this article proposes four discursive themes and two tensions related to academic leadership identity during times of crisis based on interviews with college and university presidents.     

Application of the user-centred design process according ISO 9241-210 in air traffic control

Designing a usable human machine interface for air traffic control is challenging and should follow approved methods. The ISO 9241-210 standard promises high usability of products by integrating future users and following an iterative process. This contribution describes the proceeding and first results of the analysis and application of ISO 9241-210 to develop a planning tool for air traffic controllers.     

Development of a knowledge management system for complex domains

Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH, the German Air Navigation Service Provider, follows a systematic approach, called HERA, for investigating incidents. The HERA analysis shows a distinctive occurrence of incidents in German air traffic control in which the visual perception of information plays a key role. The reasons can be partially traced back to workstation design, where basic ergonomic rules and principles are not sufficiently followed by the designers in some cases. In cooperation with the Institute of Ergonomics in Darmstadt the DFS investigated possible approaches that may support designers to implement ergonomic systems. None of the currently available tools were found to be able to meet the identified user requirements holistically. Therefore it was suggested to develop an enhanced software tool called Design Process Guide. The name Design Process Guide indicates that this tool exceeds the classic functions of currently available Knowledge Management Systems. It offers "design element" based access, shows processual and content related topics, and shows the implications of certain design decisions. Furthermore, it serves as documentation, detailing why a designer made to a decision under a particular set of conditions.