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1 – 10 of over 1000
Article
Publication date: 25 September 2019

Nicholas John Clarke, Marieke Cornelie Kuipers and Job Roos

The purpose of this paper is to explore the conceptualisation of the Smart Sustainable City (SSC) with new concepts of resilience thinking in relation to urgent societal…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the conceptualisation of the Smart Sustainable City (SSC) with new concepts of resilience thinking in relation to urgent societal challenges facing the built environment. The paper aims to identify novel methodologies for smart reuse of heritage sites with a pluralist past as integral to inclusive urban development.

Design/methodology/approach

SSC concepts in the global literature are studied to define a new reference framework for integrated urban planning strategies in which cultural resilience and co-creation matter. This framework, augmented by UNESCO’s holistic recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL), was tested in two investigative projects: the historic centre of South Africa’s capital Tshwane and the proximate former Westfort leprosy colony.

Findings

The research confirms that SSC concepts need enlargement to become more inclusive in acknowledging “cultural diversity” of communities and engaging “chrono-diversity” of extant fabric. A paradigm shift in the discourse on integrated urban (re)development and adaptive reuse of built heritage is identified, influenced by resilience and sustainability thinking. Both projects show that different architectural intervention strategies are required to modulate built fabric and its emergent qualities and to unlock embedded cultural energy.

Originality/value

Together with a critical review of SSC concepts and the HUL in relation to urban (re)development, this paper provides innovative methodologies on creative adaptation of urban heritage, reconciling “hard” and “soft” issues, tested in the highly resilient systems of Tshwane.

Details

Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6099

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2004

Terceira A. Berdahl and Helen A. Moore

Purpose: to explore the experiences of employees in a local bank merger in the United States and examine the concept of job exit queues. We introduce the concept of a job exit…

1243

Abstract

Purpose: to explore the experiences of employees in a local bank merger in the United States and examine the concept of job exit queues. We introduce the concept of a job exit queue, which describes how workers position themselves or are positioned by employers to leave jobs and enter new jobs following the announcement of a corporate merger. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative interviews with mid‐ level managers, technical specialists and low status workers during the sale and merger process were conducted and coded thematically. We explore: (1) how workers and managers describe the job search as an “opportunity” or as a recurring cycle of low‐wage, high‐turnover work and (2) how severance packages structure the job exit queue to meet corporate needs. Findings: The role of severance pay is pivotal in understanding women’s and men’s job relations to job exit queues. We conclude that employers create job exit queues, placing low status workers and mid‐level women managers with less formal education at a disadvantage in reemployment. Value: This paper contributes a new concept “job exit queue” to the research and theory on work place diversity, gender inequality, and queuing theories.

Details

Equal Opportunities International, vol. 23 no. 3/4/5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0261-0159

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 April 2018

Jonathan K.M. Lian and Florence Y.Y. Ling

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the job satisfaction level of quantity surveyors (QSs); identify the personal characteristics that influence their job satisfaction;…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the job satisfaction level of quantity surveyors (QSs); identify the personal characteristics that influence their job satisfaction; and provide recommendations to employers on how to enhance job satisfaction of QSs with different personal characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected via a self-administered questionnaire to QSs in Singapore.

Findings

QSs feel that they have significantly high passion for the job, are significantly satisfied with task variety and are treated fairly. However, they are significantly dissatisfied with their workload, hours worked, and lack of work-life balance. QSs in upper management have significantly higher job passion. Those in mid-management are more dissatisfied with their income. QSs who are married/attached, older, and more experienced are significantly more dissatisfied with their workload and hours worked than singles, younger, and less experienced QSs.

Research limitations/implications

Some dimensions of job satisfaction were not measured. Non-personal characteristics such as type of projects handled and type of clients were not investigated.

Practical implications

Employers should investigate what goes into QSs’ workload, and weed out those that are of low value and unproductive in order to reduce their workload and hours worked, and thereby increase their job satisfaction.

Social implications

The study contributes to human resource management by identifying the type of QSs who are more likely to be dissatisfied with their jobs.

Originality/value

This study shows that personal differences of QSs affect different dimensions of their job satisfaction. To maximize job satisfaction, employers could choose QSs who have specific characteristics, make changes to the work environment or redesign their jobs.

Details

Built Environment Project and Asset Management, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-124X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2003

Aparna Mitra

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1998) this article analyses the labour market status of African‐American women in management positions. The results show…

1704

Abstract

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1998) this article analyses the labour market status of African‐American women in management positions. The results show that among supervisors with a high school and college education, black women earn lower wages than black men even after controlling for detailed background, personal, and human capital characteristics. The lower earnings of black female supervisors can partly be attributed to the fact that they are segregated in predominantly female jobs. Additionally, in contrast to black males and white females, black females do not earn significant wage premiums associated with supervisory duties.

Details

Equal Opportunities International, vol. 22 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0261-0159

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1997

Sue Rovi

At issue in the debate over home employment is whether paid work performed in the home exploits workers or enables them to decide when and where to do their work. Converting the…

Abstract

At issue in the debate over home employment is whether paid work performed in the home exploits workers or enables them to decide when and where to do their work. Converting the terms of the debate into a set of variables, I compare blue‐collar workers in manufacturing industries by work location. Although observed differences are open to varying interpretations, I conclude that as a group the home workers in this sample may be choosing to work at home. However, my analyses also demonstrate the diversity of home working arrangements, and that worker's ‘choices’ are socially shaped such that home employment has different meanings and consequences for different groups of workers. I further argue that the exploitative potential in home work cannot be dismissed because the findings are controversial, and the sample most likely underrepresents home workers, especially those most vulnerable to exploitation. Evidently, more research is necessary on the diversity of home working arrangements and their implications.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 17 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Article
Publication date: 23 March 2012

Daphne Berry and Myrtle P. Bell

The purpose of this article is to highlight inequalities created and sustained through gendered, raced, and classed organizational processes and practices using Joan Acker's work…

6983

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to highlight inequalities created and sustained through gendered, raced, and classed organizational processes and practices using Joan Acker's work as a lens for perceiving the mechanisms that support such practices. It aims to use home health aide work as an example of how US labor laws and court decisions create and support disadvantages for workers who are largely economically‐disadvantaged and often women of color.

Design/methodology/approach

The article considers processes of inequality based on demographic characteristics and the resulting stereotyping, discrimination, and gender, race, and class inequalities.

Findings

The article finds that multiple intersecting processes of inequality exist in organizations, manifested in practices of stereotyping and discrimination for some job applicants and workers and advantageous positioning for certain others.

Research limitations/implications

Future research should more specifically consider the effects of multiple processes of inequality on individuals' organizational experiences and the intersections of gender, race, and class (as well as other markers such as ethnicity, sexual orientation, and disability) in organizational practices.

Practical implications

Managers and human resources practitioners should be aware of the effects of processes related to the intersectionality of gender, race, and class and work to eliminate resulting stereotyping and other discriminatory organizational practices linked to these processes in their organizations.

Social implications

Identification of processes of inequality resulting in stereotyping and discrimination may help reduce them, thus increasing opportunities for work, wages, and benefits, and reducing poverty for members of the most devalued groups.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the literature on the intersecting nature of gender, race, and class‐based inequalities and on human resources decision making in organizations.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 31 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2004

Melchor C. de Guzman and James Frank

The lot of policewomen has been a difficult adaptation to a predominantly male‐dominated organization. Being traditionally dominated by males, the police organization may become a…

1613

Abstract

The lot of policewomen has been a difficult adaptation to a predominantly male‐dominated organization. Being traditionally dominated by males, the police organization may become a problematic workplace for policewomen. In a patriarchal society, women are placed at a disadvantage because of gender‐related workplace problems that may arise. This study involves an assessment of the gender‐related problems experienced by the policewomen of the Philippine National Police in the central region of the Philippines. Likewise, the study provides analyses of the relationships of these gender‐related problems to the job performance of women officers. Using a survey questionnaire, gender‐related problems of policewomen are identified and related to their performance using both objective and subjective measures. The data indicate that women officers experience gender‐related problems. However, these problems do not seem to relate significantly to their job performances.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 27 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 July 2007

Charlie G. Turner and Elizabeth Monk‐Turner

The purpose of this paper is to examine gender differences in occupational status among South Korean workers in 1988 and 1998. In 1988, the South Korean National Assembly enacted…

983

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine gender differences in occupational status among South Korean workers in 1988 and 1998. In 1988, the South Korean National Assembly enacted an Equal Employment Opportunity Act. The goal is to better understand how occupational status differs by gender between these time periods.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the “88 and 98 Occupational Wage Bargaining Survey on the Actual Condition (OWS),” the paper examines occupational differences by gender and log wage using OLS.

Findings

Occupational segregation by gender was more extreme in 1988 than 1998. In 1988, 83.3 percent of all female workers were employed in three broad occupational categories. Few women (5.4 percent) worked as professional, technical or administrative workers. By 1998, 11.5 percent of female workers were employed as professionals. The highest paid occupational categories, in South Korea, have the lowest percentage of female workers. Women benefit from additional educational experience, though less so than holds for men, and from being in a union (in 1988). Women are penalized, in terms of occupational status prestige, when working in large firms and when married.

Practical implications

If South Korea aims to make full use of the human capital of all workers, measures need to address how women might enjoy returns on their educational investment that approach those realized by men. Further, efforts to integrate women into professional occupations categories might be examined.

Originality/value

Little has been explored with regard to occupational gender differences in South Korea. This work provides a better understanding of occupational status differences by gender and how they vary across time.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 34 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2002

Tracy L. Scott

Uses qualitative data to explore how contemporary religious beliefs mark conceptions of work, particularly with regards to the beliefs of conservative protestant women. Compares…

Abstract

Uses qualitative data to explore how contemporary religious beliefs mark conceptions of work, particularly with regards to the beliefs of conservative protestant women. Compares liberal protestant women and men as well as conservative men against this group. States that conservative women consider motherhood as their most important work yet they are also most likely to feel “called” to their paid work. Cites that this has important implications for the sociological literature on gender and work. Builds on the original work of Max Weber.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 22 no. 1/2/3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 April 2007

Yasemin Besen

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overall review of the literature on masculinities and work and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the existing research in…

1595

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overall review of the literature on masculinities and work and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the existing research in understanding men's work as well as pointing to new direction for work.

Design/methodology/approach

Extensive, in‐depth review of the literature on men and work.Findings – Findings identify three main strands of research on men and work. The existing research focuses on the role of men as breadwinners, the effects of work for masculine identity and the economic benefits of men's work.

Research limitations/implications

The in‐depth survey of the literature provides the unique, empirical opportunity observe the strengths and weaknesses of existing literature. While extensive studies exists on adult men, teenage boys’ labor has rarely been problematized.

Practical implications

The paper provides a very useful source of information on masculinities and work and offers a new direction for future research on the topic.

Originality/value

This paper offers a comprehensive review of the existing literature of masculinities in the workplace. It identifies the general sub‐areas of research, and offers a neglected yet crucial part of the workforce: teenage boys as a virtually unexplored area for future research.

Details

Equal Opportunities International, vol. 26 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0261-0159

Keywords

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