Free Mini-Conference on Labor and Global Solidarity – The US, China and Beyond

On By Chris PrenerIn ConferencesLeave a comment

Organized by:
The ASA Labor and Labor Movements Section &
the Society for the Study of Social Problems

co-sponsored by Asia and Asian American Section of the ASA, the Murphy Institute for
Worker Education and Labor Studies at CUNY, the UC Berkeley Center for
Labor Research and Education, the Manhattan College Labor Studies
Program, Critical Sociology, the Center for Global Workers’ Rights, the
Labour and Labour Movements Research Committee of the International
Sociological Association, and the China Association of Work and Labor of
the Chinese Sociological Association

Monday, 12 August 2013
9:30 am – 6:30 pm
Joseph A. Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies

The ASA Labor Section and the Labor and Global Solidarity conference organizing committee invites everyone interested in attending this free one-day mini-conference to register soon to help finalize the planning work.

Here is the link to the online conference registration, which also has details on the program:

http://bit.ly/ZZZej4

Conference Organizers:
Carolina Bank Munoz – carolinabm75@gmail.com
David Fasenfest – critical.sociology@gmail.com
Steve McKay – smckay@ucsc.edu

Gender, Science, and Organizations Writing Workshop at ASA

On By Chris PrenerIn Conferences, New York 2013Leave a comment

The 6th semi-annual Gender, Science, and Organizations Writing Workshop will take place from 8 am to 5 pm on Friday, August 9th 2013 the day before the annual meeting for the American Sociological Association in New York City. The workshop is targeted at sociologists who are already doing research on studies of gender & academic careers, scientific workplace organizations, organizational transformations to promote gender equality, etc. We are a growing, loosely organized group of sociologists who focus on science as a workplace and many workshop participants work on NSF-funded ADVANCE research projects.

The purpose of the workshop is to: 1) network with other scholars conducting research on similar topics and 2) write. As a group, we will talk about our current projects. This will provide workshop participants with the information necessary to explore potential collaborative projects. There will also be two large designated blocks of time for writing. All interested sociologists are welcome to join the writing workshop. Send an email to Christina Falci (cfalci2@unl.edu) to reserve your spot in the workshop.

Your ASA conference fees will cover the room cost for the writing workshop. Participants need to bring a laptop computer (maybe an extension cord) and are encouraged to bring snacks to share.  We will coordinate a place to have lunch during and dinner after the workshop (participants pay for their own meals; but attendance at meals is not essential for participation in the workshop).

Best,

Christina Falci (Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln)
Enobong Hannah (Anna) Branch (Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Massachusetts)

Former organizers: Kathrin Zippel, Laura Kramer, and Julia McQuillan

2013 AOM Professional Development Workshop on “Trust between Individuals and Organizations”

On By Chris PrenerIn ConferencesLeave a comment

Scheduled: Friday, Aug 9 2013 12:00PM – 3:00PM at WDW Yacht and Beach Club Resort in Cape Cod D (Lake Buena Vista, Florida)

Organizer: Oliver Schilke; U. of California, Los Angeles;
Facilitator: Reinhard Bachmann; U. of Surrey;
Facilitator: Sharon Belenzon; Duke U.;
Facilitator: Steven C Currall; U. of California, Davis;
Facilitator: Chris P. Long; Georgetown U.;
Facilitator: Roger C Mayer; North Carolina State U.;
Facilitator: Bill McEvily; U. of Toronto;
Facilitator: Keith Murnighan; Northwestern U.;
Facilitator: Michele Williams; Cornell U.;
Facilitator: Lynne G Zucker; U. of California, Los Angeles

Please submit discussion questions (segment 1) and/or work-in-progress papers on trust (segment 2).

(1) The first segment starts with a panel discussion, in which leading scholars present their views on the hotly debated issue of whether organizations are “able” to trust. The goal of the panel discussion is to make explicit divergent assumptions, and to develop a richer repertoire of arguments for and against organizations as social actors with trusting abilities. Subsequently, the workshop breaks into groups that will discuss questions previously submitted by workshop participants. A requirement for registration for the PDW is to submit at least one discussion question in advance pertaining to current issues in the study of trust between individuals and organizations (see below for details on how to submit). Questions may relate (but are not limited) to: • Dynamic evolution of trust over time • Relationships between interpersonal and interorganizational trust • Trade-offs between methods of trust research • Difficulties in the measurement of trust • Detrimental consequences of (interpersonal or interorganizational) trust • Substitutes for trust • Underexplored sources of trust • Context-specificity of trust • Distinct types of trust • Interactions between trust and distrust • Avenues to trust repair

(2) After a short break, the second segment of the program consists of a paper development workshop, in which the facilitators provide in-depth feedback on work-in-progress trust research previously submitted by workshop participants. These papers should ideally be close to submission to a scholarly management journal and must not exceed 40 double-spaced pages.

Registration requirements: For segment 1 (discussion): Submit at least one discussion question by email totrustpdw@gmail.com no later than August 2, 2013. For segment 2 (paper development): Submit your working paper by email to trustpdw@gmail.com no later than July 19, 2013. You will then receive a code that will allow you to register for the PDW. Remember that you can register for segment 1, segment 2, or both.

Please see the official workshop announcement at http://program.aomonline.org/2013/Session_Details.asp?print=true&SubmissionID=10882

2014 Conference of Work and Family Researchers Network

On By Chris PrenerIn Calls for Papers, ConferencesLeave a comment

The Work and Family Researchers Network (WFRN) invites submissions for the 2014 Conference, Changing Work and Family Relationships in a Global Economy, to be held June 19-21, 2014 at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City. We seek fresh and innovative scientific contributions on work and family issues from investigators in diverse disciplines. We value all disciplinary perspectives on the issues, including, but not limited to, anthropology, business and management, economics, family studies, political science, psychology, public health, social work, sociology, and related fields. The voices of all stakeholders are needed to understand and address work and family issues to advance knowledge and practice. We also encourage policy advocates, policy makers, and work-life practitioners to submit evidence-based contributions. New for 2014 is the addition of practitioners to the program committee, in an effort to encourage practitioner and policy-oriented submissions and promotion of researcher and practitioner/policy maker collaboration.  Also new is organizing the meeting to kick off with a preconference of meetings of Early Career Scholars, WFRN officers, committees, and member volunteers on June 18.

Submission deadline to WFRN Conference website: October 18, 2013.

The 2012 inaugural conference was a huge success! There were over 750 presenters and 125 sessions that discussed the latest work and family research from around the world. Approximately 30% of the attendees were from outside the U.S., and represented more than 30 countries. Like the 2012 conference, we expect that the 2014 conference will draw many global attendees in addition to providing numerous opportunities for networking and sharing ideas with colleagues.

Fresh and innovative submissions responsive to the conference theme of Changing Work and Family Relationships in a Global Economy are especially encouraged. The global economy is transforming the way work is done.  Work intensification and wide variation across societies in over- and under-employment is creating new issues for individuals, families, employers and nations. Advancing technology blurring work and home and social boundaries, the growing power of social media, and the coming of age of the “Digital Natives” are reshaping the fundamental meaning of “work,” “family,” and “life.” Increasing globalization and the growing footprint of transnational companies and growing international work and social systems, requires looking both within and across cultures to understand changing work and family relationships. Indeed, cultural values surrounding gender, norms concerning collectivism and individualism in achieving the greater good, and national attributions as to whether work and family issues are best served by government, employer or individual initiatives require scientific and practical scrutiny and evidence-based debate.

Learn more about the WFRN conference, including confirmed speakers, specific goals, types of sessions, and submission process at: http://workfamily.sas.upenn.edu/content/call-papers

ILR Review Conference and Special Issue on “Work and Employment Relations in Health Care”

On By Chris PrenerIn Calls for Papers, ConferencesLeave a comment

The Industrial and Labor Relations Review is calling for papers for a conference and subsequent publication devoted to work and employment relations in health care. Conference co-organizers Ariel C. Avgar (Illinois), Adrienne E. Eaton (Rutgers), Rebecca Givan (Rutgers), and Adam Seth Litwin (Johns Hopkins) will assist the journal’s regular editors in developing the issue.

Scholars interested in participating should submit a paper to the conference organizers by November 15, 2013. Authors whose papers are accepted will be invited to a conference sponsored by the University of Illinois, School of Labor and Employment Relations and the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers University, to be held in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on March 14 and 15, 2014. Conference expenses will be partially subsidized. Papers presented at this conference should be suitable for submission to external reviewers. Based on the organizers’ recommendations, discussions at the conference, and fit with the issue, a subset of authors will be asked to submit their papers to the ILRReview with the expectation that their papers will be published in the special issue once they pass the external review process. Papersthat reviewers deem of good quality that are not selected for the special issue will be considered forpublication in a regular issue of the journal.

[additional details are available after the jump]

Continue reading “ILR Review Conference and Special Issue on “Work and Employment Relations in Health Care”” →

Teaching Talk: Best Reading in your Undergrad OOW Course?

On By Chris PrenerIn Announcements, TeachingLeave a comment

Erin Kelly (kelly101@umn.edu) writes:

As the spring term wraps up, I wanted to experiment with a new type of blog post asking people to share their teaching wisdom. If you have ideas for future Teaching Talk posts, please send them to me or Matt Vidal (mgvidal@gmail.com).

What was the single best reading in your undergraduate organizations, occupations, or work course this year? Why did it work, i.e. what was the central message for students and what did they find engaging? Please specify the course you were teaching (title, level) as well.

I am particularly interested in readings on social service organization(s) or social movement organization(s) because I’ll be teaching a capstone course with a service-learning component next year, but it would be great to hear about readings on a variety of topics as we reflect back on this year and plan for next year.

Member Query: Organizational Sociology Courses in Business Majors

On By Chris PrenerIn Member Query2 Comments

John Grady <jgrady@wheatonma.edu> writes:

Wheaton College is developing a new major in business. It includes as a requirement a course to be taught in organizational behavior in the psychology department. We will be offering a course on How Organizations Work, and have requested that it be considered as an alternative to the Organizational Behavior course. The administration feels that the psychology course is a standard offering in business majors, but that organizational sociology is not. Can a case be made — with examples to boot — of the equivalence of the sociological studies of organizations in such offerings?

Member Query: Redesigning Work Space in Academic Settings

On By Chris PrenerIn Member QueryLeave a comment

Beth Mertz (bmertz@thecenter.ucsf.edu) writes:

Do any of you do research on, or know of research on, the reorganization of work spaces through open floor plans (i.e., such as has been done in technology sector such as the HP open floor plan, no offices, or offices without doors, etc) in the University context? Specifically, has anyone experienced, studied, or know of a university that has shifted a social sciences department/research group, including faculty, post docs or RAs and admin staff, from traditional office/cube type set up to one of these open floor plan – no offices, everyone gets an ‘equal’ space (regardless of your rank, title, etc) with ‘huddle rooms’ for group meetings or private phone calls. We are seeking evidence (anecdotal or published) that looks at the issues such a transition might raise, or outcomes of such an experiment. Alternatively, do any of you within a social sciences research group have experience with departments  moving to new or remodeled space that worked very well? What was the redesigned space like?

Thank you for any feedback or leads to data/experiments of this type that you can provide.

Doctoral Position in Sociology (Wissenschaftliche(r) Mitarbeiter(in) in der Arbeitssoziologie)

On By matt vidalIn AnnouncementsLeave a comment

The Faculty for Social Sciences (FB03) at Goethe-University Frankfurt, Department of Sociology, in the Team of Prof. Heather Hofmeister, Ph.D., Professor for Sociology with the Specialty in the Sociology of Work, invites applications for a half-position (50%) as a doctoral candidate in Sociology for three years (German pay scale TV-H 13) working toward completing a dissertation within those three years (we allow ample time for  the dissertation project as well as co-authored publications with team members).  The successful candidate will also teach one class per semester on a topic within the sociology of work (except for the first and last semesters of the position, where the teaching responsibility is applied toward teaching training).  The position is located within the team of the Sociology of Work and includes working with the interdisciplinary Center for Leadership and Behavior in Organizations (CLBO). The position is to begin as soon as convenient, but ideally no later than September 2013.

 

The topics we especially are interested in seeing handled in the dissertation of the successful candidate are the changing nature and/or meaning of work over historical time, across the life course, and/or in varying national contexts. We’re looking at changes in timing and expectations of work, how work competes with or complements responsibilities and wishes in other domains of life, hierarchies (leaders, followers, relations within teams, including gender dimensions), and trends in the future of work.  We’re especially interested in supporting our new candidate to do quantitative research on job changes over time.  An international comparative perspective is welcome.

 

What we offer:

·        Friendly, constructive, helpful, and experienced colleagues.

·        New state-of-the-art offices on the green, centrally located Frankfurt Westend Campus.

·        An interdisciplinary collegial setting in the immediate working environment and through cooperative projects and contacts (sociology, political science, psychology, economics).

·        A structured qualification process: regularly scheduled meetings with the dissertation supervisor (Hofmeister), with the team on research opportunities and issues, chances to present work locally, nationally, and internationally, chance to collect teaching experience through co-teaching and independent teaching, and general academic socialization. One specialty of the team is science communication (bringing research results to the public).

 

Requirements:

·       A completed Masters Degree or Diploma in Sociology by the start of the position.

·       An interest in and background experience in the Sociology of Work (coursework, research).

·       The ability and interest in conducting independent empirical sociological research.

·       Excellent methods skills, quantitative but also qualitative will be considered. Candidates with experience in multivariate statistics are preferred, including experience with SPSS, STATA, or similar programs.

·       Evidence of personal engagement, ability to be self-directed, and having a team-oriented and cooperative working style.

·       English language fluency or near-fluency.  Competency in German or willingness to gain competency.

·       Excellent writing and presentation skills, computer literacy.

Equal Opportunities policies apply, including the preferential hiring of persons with disabilities who possess the same qualifications as the other top candidates.

In your electronic application, please include:

(1)  a cover letter stating why you are a good fit for this position,

(2)  your full academic CV,

(3)  an example of your scientific writing (can be a final paper from a seminar or a masters thesis),

(4)  The names of references (with contact information; no letter of recommendation needed at this time, but if you already have these, you are welcome to send them), and

(5)  if you already have an idea for your dissertation, please send a one-page Exposé about your potential dissertation project.

Applications should be sent in electronic form (.pdf preferred) to: arbeitssoziologie@em.uni-frankfurt.de.  We will evaluate applications starting in mid-April 2013 and continue to accept applications until the position is filled with a qualified candidate.

Relevant links:

www.fb03.uni-frankfurt.de/soziologie

www.heather-hofmeister.de

http://www.clbo-frankfurt.org/

http://www.gesellschaftswissenschaften.uni-frankfurt.de/institut_1/hhofmeister/index.html

OOW members: Post a summary of your book on the Work in Progress blog

On By matt vidalIn AnnouncementsLeave a comment

The Work in Progress blog team has decided to offer every member of the section the opportunity to write a short summary their newly published book for the Work in Progress blog. The blog is getting around 2,000 views per month.

If you would like to take advantage of this, please email an 800-1,200 word summary of your book to Matt Vidal (matt.vidal@kcl.ac.uk). Your summary should focus on key findings, written for a wide public audience with minimal jargon.