The roots of modern hospitality teachings are evident in the beginnings of family and consumer sciences (FCS). Land-grant universities of the Midwest (such as Iowa State University and Kansas State University) did not simply teach cooking and sewing, but they also taught "budgeting, table service ... and the production and marketing of…

This paper examines the textual coverage of the topic of work in Canadian English--language introductory sociology textbooks. Our findings are based on a content analysis of 21 Canadian texts published between 2008 and 2012. We found that only 12 of 21 textbooks included a chapter on work, suggesting that work occupies a peripheral position in…

This article examines the influence of trust problems on the use of domestic outsourcing by couples from a gender perspective. The authors argue that trust problems matter in outsourcing decisions, because an outsider enters the privacy of the household and takes over tasks of special value. Analyses of data from a survey among 740 Dutch couples…

Firms with the ability to provide superior customer service can accrue significant competitive advantage and research suggests that frontline service employees' (FLSEs) actions have a considerable influence on the success of service operations. Yet, the high level of customer defections consistently attributed to poor and indifferent service…

This study examines the resume preferences of 523 recreation and leisure service professionals who interview and hire entry-level recreation professionals. Findings from this study support the fact that different occupations and disciplines require different approaches on how resume content information is presented. In the recreation and leisure…

Reviews the work of Howard S. Becker who, in the 1950s, analyzed teaching as a service occupation and drew parallels with other such occupations in terms of worker-client relationships and authority structures. (SJL)

This document contains two essays: "Toward a High-Wage, High-Productivity Service Sector" by Lester Thurow; and "Service Sector Wages, Productivity and Job Creation in the U.S. and Other Countries" by Louise Waldstein. The first essay analyzes the recent and currrent U.S. economy under headings called Growth Nodes, Falling…

This bulletin provides, in four parts, information about the qualifications, selection and training of personnel in various service industries. Service Instruction of Department Stores describes the sales force of most department stores, composed chiefly of women, and the lack of team spirit; outlines the physical education program to monitor…

Explores the nature of surplus population in a managerial society (perceived as a global trend toward ascendency of the technical intelligentsia and intellectuals) in contrast with the underclass under capitalism. Asserts that "the Law of the Progressive Elimination of Undesirable Population" guides the policies of the managerial class.…

Occupational unionism as practiced by waitresses in the Hotel and Restaurant Employees International Union was characterized by emphasis on occupational identity, control over labor supply, portable rights and benefits, and peer determination of standards and discipline. Aspects of this form of unionism may hold promise for revitalizing the labor…

Commercial recreation is the provision of facilities, equipment, and programs that satisfy public demand for activities during unobligated time and are profitable to the supplier. The term "commercial recreation" has been given a negative connotation in the field of recreation and leisure. This negative concept of commercial recreation…

Preliminary results from a large research project on the use of Frisian and Dutch in the official domain in Friesland focuses on language use in contacts between civil servants and customers in service encounters. Language patterns observed include convergence, neutrality, switching, and asymmetry. (CB)

This briefing paper presents statistical evidence from a variety of data sources that the real income of the average U.S. household has been stagnant for a decade; primary causes are also examined. The major reasons identified for income stagnation are (1) declining real wages; (2) a less productive economy (economic growth has slowed down)…

This report details Task D (of a seventeen-task project), which identified safety and health concepts, knowledge, and skills included in print and non-print materials designed to develop performance outcomes needed by employers and employees. (The project intends to develop performance-based modularized instructional materials for teaching job…

An examination of trends in the service industries, as determined by U.S. Bureau of the Census figures (1970-77), reveals it to be the fastest growing sector in the economy, both nationally and rurally. Employment in this sector increased 24% nationally and accounted for 74% of the net gain in nonmetropolitan employment; growth was at least 65%…