Reports data from the initial stage of a large-scale, multi-method survey of the current use of Chinese and English in the professional workplace in Hong Kong. Results indicate that reading and writing in English are demanded frequently in the professional Hong Kong workplace, but that English appears to play a less important role in workplace…

Many middle schools use teaming or other models to create smaller teaching and learning units. Too often, schools align these models with characteristics advocated in the literature, rather than focusing on collaborative work environments' effects on teachers' and students' lives. These structures' true value lies in the collaborative work…

Differences in men's and women's communication styles affect their interactions with each other. Organizations must be flexible enough to recognize situations in which traditional male values of competition may be most functional and those in which more collaborative, female strategies are more appropriate. Personnel training can help ensure that…

An ethnographic case study focuses on the pragmatics of higher-stakes social communications. Illustrates how, through exposure to social interactions and assistance from more competent peers, an immigrant woman came to internalize target language and cultural norms and develop communicative competence in English as a Second Language in the…

Findings from a study conducted with 203 suburban secondary and elementary teachers in Ohio reveal concerns about proficiency testing's effects on professional job environment, curriculum, student learning behavior and needs, and community relations. Economic and policy forces are de-professionalizing certain aspects of teachers' work. (Contains…

Presents four lessons focusing on the laws, institutions, programs, and policies affecting students as minors, the shifts in the policies toward children in industrial societies, examining the changing policies using primary and secondary sources, and forming arguments on the policies using historical evidence. Describes an additional comparative…

A study involving an adult with severe mental retardation and other disabilities found that the addition of a communication device, job coach social facilitation training, and eliciting co-worker support for social integration increased the social interactions of the employee in a supported employment setting. (Contains references.) (CR)

Contrasts differences in language use across the Japanese workplace, including women's speech. Examines what is referred to as "manifestations of power" among Japanese working women. Explores "resistance to subordination" among female university students who have not yet entered professional or domestic life. Comparison of the…

Suggests positive ways to deal with camp staff: reduce precamp jitters and first-session doubts, personalize paycheck envelopes, schedule breaks and parties, rotate staff, permit use of facilities, keep in touch off-season, develop an interstaff "buddy" system, post a thank-you board, and celebrate staff accomplishments. Sidebars offer…

Analyzes computer-based simulations of workplaces to determine potential problems that might impede their use in school-to-work programs. Simulations were classified according to type and critiqued regarding common usage problems. Concludes that simulations can play an important role in school-to-work transition programs, even if not specifically…

Discusses old and new employer-employee problems within various high-tech companies giving rise to a variety of employee organizations. Examines union building at IBM and looks at the employee group founded by Microsoft employees. Concludes by focusing on the issue of new unions for the new economy. (SM)

School business administrators must be both business managers and educators. As the school district's chief financial officer, the school business administrator must have strong communication and interpersonal skills. Spheres of involvement include working with school staff, parents, the district office, town officials and committees, vendors, and…

Examines the role of physical surroundings and artifacts and how they contribute to the knowledge work occurring there, based on preliminary analysis of data collected in interviews and observations of a research group over a four-month period. General issues of the interaction between information work and environment can be revealed and applied…

University department heads in the United States and Australia function under increased uncertainty and stress: diverse student populations; funding shortages; demands for quality; downsizing; balancing academic/administrative roles. Article examines environmental pressures on these administrators explores strategies department heads in the two…

Suggests ways directors can create a climate to reduce and resolve conflict, including assessing the work environment, improving communication, understanding different personalities involved, and understanding the negotiation process. Applies the process to particular scenarios of early childhood staff conflict. Asserts that how directors deal…