Quality circles (QCs) have been considered one of the most promising approaches to improving American workers' productivity. The differences of quality circle effectiveness between active QCs (N=36) and inactive QCs (N=17) in a 3-year period were examined in a quasi-experimental field study. The dependent variables examined were the amount of…

This paper reviews the research and theories on ethnic identity development, and draws some implications from these ideas for improving curriculum design for, and instructional effectiveness with, ethnically different students, especially Black Americans. The paradigm of "the developmental stages of ethnic identity transformation"…

Institutional bonding was examined at a public, urban commuter college with exceptionally high attrition and visibly low morale. Changes in bonding and attrition were measured 6 years after a 2-year effort to develop school identity and student feelings of membership. It was found that a simple index of campus morale is provided by level of…

Traditionally, group research has focused on outcome rather than process. In order to provide an efficient means of data collection and analysis in group process, the Automatic Vocal Transaction Analyzer (AVTA) system was developed to generate an objective chronography of conversation vocalizations, pauses, turntaking, switching, and…

This paper discusses the southern approach to education during the period of 1700 to 1860. During this period there developed in the South three culture-specific institutions that helped delay the growth of Common Schools, and later Public Schools. Those institutions were the following: (1) a code of honor; (2) the development of a structured…

The construction of hypotheses concerning blacks in America requires an understanding of two enduring influences on collective black experience: (1) whites' treatment of blacks as slaves and (2) West African culture that helped to shape black adaptation to the conditions engendered by slavery. White racist attitudes and the psychological distance…

The findings and recommendations of five task forces, composed of members of major Latino organizations and experts in Latino affairs, are summarized in this report on the public policy needs of Hispanics. The five areas of concern covered by the task forces are statistical policy and data needs; employment ane economic well being; social services…

A study examined the effects of feedback on the job attitudes and behavior of female sewing machine operators. The control group design involved all 165 piecework operators at the experimental site (a garment factory in a large southwestern city) and a random sample of 54 operators selected from a sister plant of the same manufacturer 10 miles…

This paper hypothesizes the crucial factors necessary for the transformation of rebellion into separatist movements. It examines the Kurds in Turkey, Iran, and Iraq as a case study to test the hypotheses. Separatism is seen to include attempts by an ethnic group to achieve complete independence from the nation in which it resides. It can also…

Issues and knowledge gaps related to race in a pluralistic society were identified and recommendations for further social science research were made by over 200 social science specialists in a 1973 study. Conference presentations, discussions, and interviews are synthesized in this report, focusing on American society, cultural factors in human…

This handbook contains eight classroom activities designed to increase global awareness of students. For example, one activity about increasing global interdependence involves an analysis by students of their community to determine the extent to which it is related to the activities of foreign people and foreign-made products. Objectives and…

Written by an Eskimo who created all the book's art work, drawings, and illustrations, this narrative portrays the theme that prior to white contact the Eskimos had a complex, satisfying, technologically developed, and progressive culture which was immobilized, fragmented, and exploited by European invaders: hence the title--give or take a…

Discussion of teamwork and group decision making focuses on study of undergraduates conducted to identify the variables that affect team cohesion in a business game. A literature review on small groups and business games is presented, hypotheses tested are described, discriminant analyses are explained, and suggestions for further research are…

In a 1964 field study, Black, Native American, and White high school seniors in Robeson County, North Carolina, were asked to rank their race and the two others in order of esteem. Findings help explain why the schools of Robeson County were among the last in the state to be integrated. (KH)

The article discusses potential remedies for three major issues that prevent seasonal agricultural workers from maintaining the kind of working and living conditions which lead to cohesive cumulative social experience: undocumented workers; worsening living and working environments; and societal attitudes regarding agricultural labor and its…