Geography and the Division of Labour

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allen J. Scott
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Differentiation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Physical Geography ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Fundamental Factor ◽  
Peasant Society ◽  
Organic Solidarity ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Economic Landscape

The concept of the division of labour in production has a long genealogy stretching back to the seventeenth century and before, and it recurs repeatedly in the writings of economists and other social theorists down to the present time. In economics, the concept plays a major role in studies of industrial organization, productivity, and trade. In sociology, it has been of major significance as the linchpin of the distinction Wrst proposed by Durkheim (1893) between mechanical and organic solidarity in society. More recently, sociologists have also made considerable use of the concept in studies of the ways in which the division of labour is intertwined with phenomena like race, class, and gender (e.g. Mies 1998; Waldinger and Bozorgmehr 1996). Over the last couple of decades, geographers, too, have made numerous forays into questions of the division of labour and much research has been accomplished on how it ramifies with various kinds of spatial and locational outcomes (Massey 1984; Sayer and Walker 1992). In brief, the concept is of much importance in a wide range of investigations of social structure and dynamics, and it appears to be enjoying something of a renaissance at the present time as social scientists discover or rediscover how profoundly it ramifies with all aspects of modern life. For geographers, the division of labour has special interest and meaning because, in its role as a mechanism of economic and social differentiation, it is also a fundamental factor in moulding the economic landscape. A peasant society with only weakly developed divisions of labour is not likely to evince much in the way of spatial differentiation except as a function of dissimilarities from place to place in agricultural potentials (themselves related to such variables as soil, climate, and topography). By contrast, economically advanced societies with deep and wide divisions of labour, as in the case of the United States today, exhibit enormous degrees of spatial variation. With the passage of time, moreover, less and less of this variation seems to bear any relationship whatever to underlying conditions of physical geography.

American Labor Unions in the Electoral Arena By Herbert B. Asher, Eric S. Heberlig, Randall B. Ripley, and Karen Snyder. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001. 207p. $69.00 cloth, $19.95 paper.

2002 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 630-630
Author(s):  
Glenn Perusek
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Organized Labor ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Union Movement ◽  
The Social ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Impact ◽  
American Labor

For more than a generation, as the authors rightly point out, the impact of organized labor on electoral politics has been neglected in scholarly literature. Indeed, only a tiny minority of social scientists explicitly focuses on organized labor in the United States. Although the impact of the social movements of the 1960s appeared to heighten awareness of the importance of class, race, and gender, class and its organized expression, the union movement, has received less attention, while studies of race and gender have flourished.

Proximity, Organization, and Culture

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meric S. Gertler
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Numerical Control ◽  
Flexible Production ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Considerable Difficulty ◽  
Market Shares ◽  
Production Technologies ◽  
Industrial Regions

Since the late 1980s a growing number of geographers and other social scientists have chronicled the apparent rise of post-Fordist economic systems (Scott and Storper 1987; Schoenberger 1988; Harvey 1989; Storper and Walker 1989; Boyer 1990; Storper 1997). These systems are said to employ a flexible approach to production reflected in employment relations, the organization of work within firms, and the broader social division of labour (Cooke and Morgan 1998). To some, the heart of this transformation lies in the rise of a new set offerees of production (Walker 1994). In particular, they point to a new set of flexible process technologies whose programmable properties offer producers prospects of great versatility, limited downtime, unparalleled precision, and superior quality. The same technologies are said to hold the potential to unleash the creative potential of workers, and to compel manufacturers to establish a new regime of co-operation on the shopfloor (Florida 1991). Despite the popularity of such arguments, their unqualified acceptance has not been universal. A critical literature has arisen which, among other things, questions the pervasiveness of such practices, especially in locations outside the paradigmatic flexible production regions (Gertler 1988; 1992; Sayer 1989; Pudup 1992). The evidence reviewed in Ch. 2 attests that, while rates of adoption of flexible technologies such as computerized numerical control (CNC) are reasonably high amongst manufacturers in countries such as the United States, Great Britain, and Canada, many firms in these countries have experienced considerable difficulty in trying to implement such technologies effectively (Jaikumar 1986; Beatty 1987; Meurer, Sobel, and Wolfe 1987; Kelley and Brooks 1988; Turnbull 1989; Oakey and O’Farrell 1992). Furthermore, the discussion in Ch. 2 also shows that there is an apparent regularity to the geography of technology adoption difficulty that is highly suggestive of its roots. Many of these implementation difficulties seem to arise in older, mature industrial regions, where manufacturing firms are far removed from the major production sites of the new flexible production technologies. Increasingly, the leading producers of these process technologies are to be found in such countries as Germany, Japan, and Italy, while once-dominant American machinery producers have seen their market shares drop significantly, both at home and abroad (Graham 1993).

The Racial and Economic Context of Trump Support: Evidence for Threat, Identity, and Contact Effects in the 2016 Presidential Election

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Knowles ◽  
Linda Tropp
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Racial Identification ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Neighborhood Diversity ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
To Come ◽  
Neighborhood Level ◽  
Support Evidence

Donald Trump's ascent to the Presidency of the United States defied the expectations of many social scientists, pundits, and laypeople. To date, most efforts to understand Trump's rise have focused on personality and demographic characteristics of White Americans. In contrast, the present work leverages a nationally representative sample of Whites to examine how contextual factors may have shaped support for Trump during the 2016 presidential primaries. Results reveal that neighborhood-level exposure to racial and ethnic minorities is associated with greater group threat and racial identification among Whites, as well as greater intentions to vote for Trump in the general election. At the same time, however, neighborhood diversity afforded Whites with opportunities for intergroup contact, which is associated with lower levels of threat, White identification, and Trump support. Further analyses suggest that a healthy local economy mutes threat effects in diverse contexts, allowing contact processes to come to the fore.

Second Annual Economics Seminar

1988 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 317-318
Author(s):  
Syed Iqbal Mahdi
Keyword(s):  
Economic System ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
The United States ◽  
Director General ◽  
Washington Dc ◽  
Kuala Lumpur ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Temple University ◽  
Islamic Economic

The Second Economics Seminar of the AMSS Economic DisciplineCouncil on Islamic Economics co-sponsored by the International Instituteof Islamic Thought (IIIT) and the Association of Muslim Social Scientists(AMSS) was held Rabi‘ al Akhir 8-10, 1409/November 18-20, 1988, at theIIIT headquarters in Herndon, Virginia. The program chairman for theconference was Dr. Mohammad Safa of Southeastern University, Washington,DC and the Seminar was attended by over fifty (50) people from variousparts of the United States and Canada including academicians, Islamic bankers,and graduate economics students.Following recitations from the Holy Qur’in, the opening sessioncommenced with the welcome addresses of Dr. Taha Jabir Al-Alwani,President, and Dr. AbdulHamid AbuSulayman, Director-General of the ID”,respectively. Dr. Taha emphasized the importance of the implementation ofIslamization of Knowledge in modem social sciences particularly in economics,and the role of IIIT in this process. Dr. Taha also paid tribute to the servicesof Dr. AbuSulayman in building Islamic institutions like the AMSS and theIIIT in their formative years. He prayed for the success of Dr. ’AbuSulaymanin his new assignment as the Rector of the International Islamic Universityin Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.Dr. AbuSulayman then outlined the challenges lying ahead for Muslimeconomists in their efforts to Islamize the science of economics.Conference Program and Papers:The conference program was divided into four sessions. The first sessionwas on “Methodological Issues in Islamic Economics” chaired by Dr. RasoolM. Hashimi of Southern Illinois University. Drs. Syed Iqbal Mahdi of BenedictCollege and Masudul Alam Choudhury of University College of Cape Bretonpresented papers entitled “Methodological Issues in Islamic Economics” and“Cost-Benefit Framework in an Islamic Economic System” respectively. Thelast paper in this session was given by Shamim Siddiqui who is a doctoralcandidate at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The title ofhis paper was “Savings and Investment in an Islamic Economic System.” ...

Race and Gender

2020 ◽  
pp. 251-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timnit Gebru
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
The United States ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Recidivism Rates ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Decision Tools ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Technical Solutions

This chapter discusses the role of race and gender in artificial intelligence (AI). The rapid permeation of AI into society has not been accompanied by a thorough investigation of the sociopolitical issues that cause certain groups of people to be harmed rather than advantaged by it. For instance, recent studies have shown that commercial automated facial analysis systems have much higher error rates for dark-skinned women, while having minimal errors on light-skinned men. Moreover, a 2016 ProPublica investigation uncovered that machine learning–based tools that assess crime recidivism rates in the United States are biased against African Americans. Other studies show that natural language–processing tools trained on news articles exhibit societal biases. While many technical solutions have been proposed to alleviate bias in machine learning systems, a holistic and multifaceted approach must be taken. This includes standardization bodies determining what types of systems can be used in which scenarios, making sure that automated decision tools are created by people from diverse backgrounds, and understanding the historical and political factors that disadvantage certain groups who are subjected to these tools.

The Interplay of Developing Morality and Gender Attitudes

2020 ◽  
pp. 724-745
Author(s):  
Rebecca S. Bigler ◽  
Lynn S. Liben
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Theory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gender Nonconformity ◽  
Gender Attitudes ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Ethical Policy ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Gender ◽  
And Behavior

Morality and gender are intersecting realms of human thought and behavior. Reasoning and action at their intersection (e.g., views of women’s rights legislation) carry important consequences for societies, communities, and individual lives. In this chapter, the authors argue that children’s developing views of morality and gender reciprocally shape one another in important and underexplored ways. The chapter begins with a brief history of psychological theory and research at the intersection of morality and gender and suggests reasons for the historical failure to view gender attitudes through moral lenses. The authors then describe reasons for expecting morality to play an important role in shaping children’s developing gender attitudes and, reciprocally, for gender attitudes to play an important role in shaping children’s developing moral values. The authors next illustrate the importance and relevance of these ideas by discussing two topics at the center of contentious debate in the United States concerning ethical policy and practice: treatment of gender nonconformity and gender-segregated schooling. The chapter concludes with suggestions for future research.

Military Subsidization of Human Capital and Gender Stratification in the US Economy

2021 ◽  
pp. 048661342098262
Author(s):  
Tyler Saxon
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
The United States ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Gender Stratification ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
The Us ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Capital Development ◽  
The Military

In the United States, the military is the primary channel through which many are able to obtain supports traditionally provided by the welfare state, such as access to higher education, job training, employment, health care, and so on. However, due to the nature of the military as a highly gendered institution, these social welfare functions are not as accessible for women as they are for men. This amounts to a highly gender-biased state spending pattern that subsidizes substantially more human capital development for men than for women, effectively reinforcing women’s subordinate status in the US economy. JEL classification: B54, B52, Z13

scholarly journals What Lies Beneath: The Role of Self-Efficacy, Causal Attribution Habits, and Gender in Accounting for the Success of College Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 333
Author(s):  
Kerstin Hamann ◽  
Maura A. E. Pilotti ◽  
Bruce M. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Causal Attribution ◽  
The United States ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Course Grades ◽  
Success In Higher Education ◽  
And Gender

Existing research has identified gender as a driving variable of student success in higher education: women attend college at a higher rate and are also more successful than their male peers. We build on the extant literature by asking whether specific cognitive variables (i.e., self-efficacy and causal attribution habits) distinguish male and female students with differing academic performance levels. Using a case study, we collected data from students enrolled in a general education course (sample size N = 400) at a large public university in the United States. Our findings indicate that while students’ course grades and cumulative college grades did not vary by gender, female and male students reported different self-efficacy and causal attribution habits for good grades and poor grades. To illustrate, self-efficacy for female students is broad and stretches across all their courses; in contrast, for male students, it is more limited to specific courses. These gender differences in cognition, particularly in accounting for undesirable events, may assist faculty members and advisors in understanding how students respond to difficulties and challenges.

scholarly journals Tax Progressivity of Personal Wages and Income Inequality

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Papanikolaou
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
The United States ◽  
Census Bureau ◽  
Tax System ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Tax Progressivity ◽  
Income Data ◽  
Kakwani Index ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Wage Income

The paper examines tax progressivity and income inequality using Census Bureau Current Population Survey (CPS) personal income data. The Kakwani index is used to derive tax progressivity for All, Male, Female, White and African American personal wage income of CPS respondents, respectively. The tax progressivity results show a tax system that is partly progressive and mostly regressive. Due to its regressive nature, the tax system did not display tax progressivity for the entire period under analysis for personal wage income respondents as well as when broken-down by race and gender in the United States for years 1996 to 2011.

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