Breakdowns and assemblages: Including machine-actants in sociolinguistic ethnographies of blue-collar work environments

A central concern in sociolinguistic ethnographies has been how people use language to make social distinctions. This article discusses the relevance of paying closer attention to the role of machines as actants in communication and social distinction-making processes. It analyses audio and video-recorded workplace interactions between humans and machines in a metal foundry in the Dutch-German borderland. Specifically, it focuses on several cases of a breakdown of a production process, a frequently observed phenomenon in the foundry. The cases show that: (1) the production work entails many improvised human–human and human–machine interactions as opposed to Taylorised working practices; (2) the machine-actants initiate and afford (re)negotiations of situated, hierarchical workplace relations through these interactions; and (3) the question whether these interactions should be considered ‘language-centred’ or ‘language-marginal’ partly depends on an ideological, conceptual distinction between what counts as ‘language’ and what not.     

解读职场性骚扰

近些年,职场性骚扰话题愈演愈热,然而多数人对这一概念的理解是片面的、直观的。论文从职场性骚扰的定义、特征、主体、客体、对象等方面对其进行界定,兼对“如何理解性骚扰中的‘性’”,“女性可否成为性骚扰主体”,“同性之间能否成立性骚扰”,“双性恋者可否成为性骚扰主体”等争议问题作出解答。     

法、美、日的农业合作社概况及其产权安排

介绍了法国、美国、日本农业合作社的发展历史、概况、总体特点及产权安排特征,政府对这些农业合作社的扶持及合作社在农民生产、生活中所发挥的作用。并提出了这些国外合作社中对我国农业合作社发展和建设的可借鉴之处。     

Preparedness of representatives for people with dementia in a self-directed program

ABSTRACT

Representatives enact their role as decision-making partners across the intersection of participant direction (PD) and dementia care. Self-rated preparedness for key dimensions of the role endorsed by a panel of experts in PD and dementia was assessed by telephone survey of 30 representatives of persons with dementia in a PD program. The sample (daughters 60%; Black 50%; rural 70%) was diverse in length of time in the role and additional responsibilities. They represented participants with moderate to advanced dementia and ≥ two additional chronic illnesses. Overall preparedness scores were in the pretty well to very well prepared range, with variation across dimensions and between individuals. Preparedness varied according to what has to be done day-to-day in dynamic or unpredictable situations, gauging decisional capacity, anticipating changing needs, ensuring safety, supporting a dementia-capable care team and negotiation. Stress was related to having a safety net of capable back-up supports and dementia care literacy. Areas of strength, individual variation and particular challenges along the trajectory of representing can guide development of support counselor interventions to provide representatives with tailored training and resources as they enable the benefits of PD for persons with dementia.     

The Relationships of Flexible Work Schedules,Workplace Support,Supervisory Support,Work-Life Balance,and the Well-Being of Working Parents

ABSTRACT

This study, using a secondary dataset from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce, examines how working parents cope with work demands and family responsibilities. The design is a study on the relationships of flexible work schedule, workplace support, supervisory support, and work-life balance on the well-being of working parents employing the Structural Equation Model (SEM). In this study, employee well-being is an endogenous latent construct. Work-schedule flexibility, workplace support, supervisory support, and work-life balance are latent exogenous constructs. This information will assist social workers in developing more effective intervention efforts in the workplace, with the ultimate goal of increasing the quality of life.     

日本女性活跃促进法的出台背景、内容及其影响

由于企业用工环境的恶化,为了纠正职场女性遭受的各种不公平待遇,挖掘经济增长潜力,日本于2015年8月出台了女性活跃促进法,旨在提高女性劳动力的利用率及其在企业中的参与度和活跃度。在法律的推动和保障下,日本政府以财政补贴、行政奖励的方式,助推企业改革雇佣管理制度,扩大女性劳动力雇佣规模和职业领域,改进工作方式,支持女性兼顾工作和家务。该法对存在就业歧视的企业有一定的警醒作用,使企业意识到在反就业歧视中不仅承担着道德义务,也承担着法律义务。同时该法付诸实施后的一些积极效果值得其他国家关注和学习。     

Cross-domain consequences of workplace bullying: A multi-source daily diary study

In this multi-source daily diary study, we examine the effect of exposure to workplace bullying behaviours on family domain outcomes (conflicts at home, relationship satisfaction), and the mediating role that psychological detachment and affective distress play in this relationship. A sample of 68 employees and their spouses filled in a quantitative diary for five consecutive working days twice a day (number of occasions?=?680). Multilevel analyses showed that daily workplace bullying positively predicted both self-report and spouse-report conflicts at home, and daily psychological detachment mediated this relationship. In addition, daily affective distress was the mediator only for self-report conflicts at home. Further, an indirect effect of both affective distress and detachment on the relationship between bullying and self-reported relationship satisfaction was found. Detachment also showed an indirect role in the association between bullying and spouse-reported relationship satisfaction. This is one of the first studies in showing that negative effects of workplace bullying go beyond the work setting and beyond the employee. Moreover, this study adds to an emerging line of research exploring how daily negative work experiences are transferred to and interferes with the non-work domain. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Ethical leadership supports safety voice by increasing risk perception and reducing ethical ambiguity: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic

Misconduct by business and political leaders during the pandemic is feared to have impacted people's adherence to protective measures that would help to safeguard against the spread of COVID-19. Addressing this concern, this article theorizes and tests a model linking ethical leadership with workplace risk communication—a practice referred to as ‘safety voice’ in the research literature. Our study, conducted with 511 employees from UK companies, revealed that ethical leadership is positively associated with greater intention to engage in safety voice regarding COVID-19. We also find that this association is mediated by relations with the perceived health risk of COVID-19 and ambiguity about ethical decision making in the workplace. These findings therefore underscore the importance of good ethical conduct by leaders for ensuring that health and safety risks are well understood and communicated effectively by organizational members particularly during crises. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our study and highlight further opportunities for future research to address the ethical dimensions of leadership, risk management, and organizational risk communication.