Angela T Haddad | Hunter College (original) (raw)
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Papers by Angela T Haddad
Sociological Focus, 2016
During much of the twentieth century, research on the effects of technology on work exemplified o... more During much of the twentieth century, research on the effects of technology on work exemplified one of two themes. One, grounded in Marx, Mills, and Braverman, pointed to the destructive impacts of technology on employees summarized here by the term alienation. The alternative theme, seen in Blauner, Woodward, and Trist, argued that the technologies of production did not necessarily lead to adverse impacts on employees. We test these themes with data from a survey completed in 1972–73 of a representative sample of 1,455 employed Americans, both white-collar and blue-collar, from various industries. Results indicate some qualified support for Blauner’s predictions. The technological type of job has a statistically significant impact on the dependent variables, but the impact is moderate. However, personal characteristics and contextual factors have more powerful effects. Findings from the survey are updated with data on shifts in occupational structure and in attitudes and shifts in technology throughout the economy.
In many cultures, work defines who people are, how they are regarded by their communities, and what opportunities and resources they possess. Because work has long been recognized as a central feature of human existence and social organization, it has been an important topic of social comment and discussion. A major part of the sociology of work and occupations includes treatments of how fulfilling and how meaningful work can be, as well as studies of how physically risky and psychologically destructive it sometimes is.
The research reported here analyzes factors and agents that lead to variations in the nature of work, from good to bad. These factors and agents include, for example, the type of supervision workers get, the amount of coworker integration that workers experience, and the adequacy of resources workers have on the job. An important factor is the technology in place at the worker’s employment site, since this technology has been argued to have significant impacts on job satisfaction and other indicators of the nature of work. For several decades, a major part of the technological dimension of work has been the increasing importance of automation in many occupations.
Two broad objectives guide this project. The first is to evaluate the relative significance of a number of factors, especially technology, in terms of their influence on the nature of work that employees experience. The second is to use the research to judge the theoretical perspectives on work that have offered predictions about such relationships.
This report consists of several sections. First, the Literature section outlines two major themes or perspectives evident in prior social studies of work. These themes date from the nineteenth century and continued to be influential through much of the twentieth century. One of these emphasizes the destructive impacts of technology on employees and is covered by the term “alienation.” The second theme proposes that the technologies of production do not necessarily lead to adverse impacts on employees, claiming that in automated production processes it is possible that work can be meaningful and humane. This project attempts to test the contrasting predictions of these two themes. An update of the second theme is the “mixed impacts” emphasis, which helps establish the basis for the multivariate approach we undertake. This section also describes a more recent perspective, the social constructionist theme, which offers balance and correction to what Vallas (2015 Vallas, Steven P. 2015. “Accounting for Precarity: Recent Studies of Labor Market Uncertainty.” Contemporary Sociology 44:463–469.
[Crossref], [Google Scholar]
) termed the “neo-structuralist” approach seen in both perspectives tested in this project. The next section covers the research problem: predictions of impacts of technology on the nature of work. We examine shifts in the demographic nature of the American workforce from the early twentieth century to the early twenty-first century, as well as shifts in the types of technology present in various occupational categories. Our discussion acknowledges that contextual factors as well as certain background factors must be taken into account in examining the technology-nature of work relationship. The following section presents the variables under study, and we cover the data source and the measures constructed from it. The survey from which data were gathered was completed in 1972; we present reasons for using the survey, as well as its limits. The Results section begins with comments on the technology variables and the more significant of the contextual variables. Then we present the results of regressions of the four dependent variables, measuring the nature of work, on the technology and other variables. In the Discussion section we focus attention on changes in the American occupational structure and in the extent of alienation since the data for this project were gathered; this section points to the increasing polarization and precariousness of jobs in the occupational structure and their consequences for alienation.
Teaching Sociology, 2002
Page 1. FROM STUDENT RESISTANCE TO EMBRACING THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION: UNMASKING PRIVILEGE, S... more Page 1. FROM STUDENT RESISTANCE TO EMBRACING THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION: UNMASKING PRIVILEGE, SOCIAL CONVENTIONS, AND RACISM* A ...
Teaching Sociology, 1998
During much of the twentieth century, research on the effects of technology on work exemplified o... more During much of the twentieth century, research on the effects of technology on work exemplified one or another of two distinct themes. One theme, grounded in part in the writing of Marx, C. Wright Mills, and Braverman, pointed to the destructive impacts of technology on employees. These are summarized here by the term alienation. The alternative theme, seen in the writing of Blauner, Woodward, and Trist, argued that the technologies of production did not necessarily lead to adverse impacts on employees, and found in automated production processes the possibility that work could be meaningful and humane. The research reported here tests these themes with data from a survey, completed in 1972-73, of a representative sample of 1455 employed Americans. The sample included both white-collar and blue-collar employees; respondents were drawn from a variety of industries. Dependent variables included measures of worker autonomy, of intrinsic and of extrinsic rewards, and of job satisfaction. The substantive contribution of this research is a multivariate explanation of the dependent variables. To build this explanation, personal characteristics and contextual factors, along with two measures of technology, were included as independent variables. Results indicated some support for predictions of Blauner, but with important qualifications. The technological type of a person's job does have a statistically significant impact on the dependent variables, but the impact is quite moderate. However, personal characteristics, such as race and gender, as well as contextual factors, such as supervisor's support, have more powerful impacts on the dependent variables. Overall, the multivariate model explains from 46 to 35 percent of the variance in the dependent variables. Findings from the survey used for analysis are updated in the discussion section with comments and data on shifts in occupational structure and in attitudes since the survey was taken, as well as on shifts in the reach of technology throughout the economy and in the ways that technology is developed.
Acta Sociologica, 2003
... Goff's synthesis of the ideas of Mead and Marx establishes a frame of reference for unde... more ... Goff's synthesis of the ideas of Mead and Marx establishes a frame of reference for under-standing how the structures of modern ... As Fidel Castro and his administration nationalized US holdings, increasingly turned towards socialist reforms of the economy, and formally adopted ...
Changing Cuba/Changing World, 2008
The Cuban revolution has been as much a struggle for economic independence as it has for politic... more The Cuban revolution has been as much a struggle for economic independence
as it has for political sovereignty. For nearly five decades now, often times under the personal guidance of Fidel Castro, Cuba has pursued a variety of economic development strategies intended to lessen the country’s dependency on a single product or political ally and break with its history of dependent underdevelopment. In contrast to the aspirations and rhetoric of economic modernization and independence, stands Cuba’s near catastrophic past economic strategies. While some Cuba observers have concluded that the country’s political and economic alliances with Venezuela are once again leading the country down the same road of dependence and economic stagnation, this paper aims to examine the more nuanced internal social, political, and economic rationales and consequences of this relationship. Using publicly available data, our paper will present data that supports the conclusion that Cuba has a sizable reserve army of professional-service sector laborers and that the regime benefits politically and economically from exporting this labor force. However, recognizing that “policies addressing one state concern may undermine another,” the paper will conclude by presenting qualitative and quantitative data that suggest ways in which political and economic rationality may collide to undermine long-term sustainable development and key socio-political values.
Sociological Focus, 2016
During much of the twentieth century, research on the effects of technology on work exemplified o... more During much of the twentieth century, research on the effects of technology on work exemplified one of two themes. One, grounded in Marx, Mills, and Braverman, pointed to the destructive impacts of technology on employees summarized here by the term alienation. The alternative theme, seen in Blauner, Woodward, and Trist, argued that the technologies of production did not necessarily lead to adverse impacts on employees. We test these themes with data from a survey completed in 1972–73 of a representative sample of 1,455 employed Americans, both white-collar and blue-collar, from various industries. Results indicate some qualified support for Blauner’s predictions. The technological type of job has a statistically significant impact on the dependent variables, but the impact is moderate. However, personal characteristics and contextual factors have more powerful effects. Findings from the survey are updated with data on shifts in occupational structure and in attitudes and shifts in technology throughout the economy.
In many cultures, work defines who people are, how they are regarded by their communities, and what opportunities and resources they possess. Because work has long been recognized as a central feature of human existence and social organization, it has been an important topic of social comment and discussion. A major part of the sociology of work and occupations includes treatments of how fulfilling and how meaningful work can be, as well as studies of how physically risky and psychologically destructive it sometimes is.
The research reported here analyzes factors and agents that lead to variations in the nature of work, from good to bad. These factors and agents include, for example, the type of supervision workers get, the amount of coworker integration that workers experience, and the adequacy of resources workers have on the job. An important factor is the technology in place at the worker’s employment site, since this technology has been argued to have significant impacts on job satisfaction and other indicators of the nature of work. For several decades, a major part of the technological dimension of work has been the increasing importance of automation in many occupations.
Two broad objectives guide this project. The first is to evaluate the relative significance of a number of factors, especially technology, in terms of their influence on the nature of work that employees experience. The second is to use the research to judge the theoretical perspectives on work that have offered predictions about such relationships.
This report consists of several sections. First, the Literature section outlines two major themes or perspectives evident in prior social studies of work. These themes date from the nineteenth century and continued to be influential through much of the twentieth century. One of these emphasizes the destructive impacts of technology on employees and is covered by the term “alienation.” The second theme proposes that the technologies of production do not necessarily lead to adverse impacts on employees, claiming that in automated production processes it is possible that work can be meaningful and humane. This project attempts to test the contrasting predictions of these two themes. An update of the second theme is the “mixed impacts” emphasis, which helps establish the basis for the multivariate approach we undertake. This section also describes a more recent perspective, the social constructionist theme, which offers balance and correction to what Vallas (2015 Vallas, Steven P. 2015. “Accounting for Precarity: Recent Studies of Labor Market Uncertainty.” Contemporary Sociology 44:463–469.
[Crossref], [Google Scholar]
) termed the “neo-structuralist” approach seen in both perspectives tested in this project. The next section covers the research problem: predictions of impacts of technology on the nature of work. We examine shifts in the demographic nature of the American workforce from the early twentieth century to the early twenty-first century, as well as shifts in the types of technology present in various occupational categories. Our discussion acknowledges that contextual factors as well as certain background factors must be taken into account in examining the technology-nature of work relationship. The following section presents the variables under study, and we cover the data source and the measures constructed from it. The survey from which data were gathered was completed in 1972; we present reasons for using the survey, as well as its limits. The Results section begins with comments on the technology variables and the more significant of the contextual variables. Then we present the results of regressions of the four dependent variables, measuring the nature of work, on the technology and other variables. In the Discussion section we focus attention on changes in the American occupational structure and in the extent of alienation since the data for this project were gathered; this section points to the increasing polarization and precariousness of jobs in the occupational structure and their consequences for alienation.
Teaching Sociology, 2002
Page 1. FROM STUDENT RESISTANCE TO EMBRACING THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION: UNMASKING PRIVILEGE, S... more Page 1. FROM STUDENT RESISTANCE TO EMBRACING THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION: UNMASKING PRIVILEGE, SOCIAL CONVENTIONS, AND RACISM* A ...
Teaching Sociology, 1998
During much of the twentieth century, research on the effects of technology on work exemplified o... more During much of the twentieth century, research on the effects of technology on work exemplified one or another of two distinct themes. One theme, grounded in part in the writing of Marx, C. Wright Mills, and Braverman, pointed to the destructive impacts of technology on employees. These are summarized here by the term alienation. The alternative theme, seen in the writing of Blauner, Woodward, and Trist, argued that the technologies of production did not necessarily lead to adverse impacts on employees, and found in automated production processes the possibility that work could be meaningful and humane. The research reported here tests these themes with data from a survey, completed in 1972-73, of a representative sample of 1455 employed Americans. The sample included both white-collar and blue-collar employees; respondents were drawn from a variety of industries. Dependent variables included measures of worker autonomy, of intrinsic and of extrinsic rewards, and of job satisfaction. The substantive contribution of this research is a multivariate explanation of the dependent variables. To build this explanation, personal characteristics and contextual factors, along with two measures of technology, were included as independent variables. Results indicated some support for predictions of Blauner, but with important qualifications. The technological type of a person's job does have a statistically significant impact on the dependent variables, but the impact is quite moderate. However, personal characteristics, such as race and gender, as well as contextual factors, such as supervisor's support, have more powerful impacts on the dependent variables. Overall, the multivariate model explains from 46 to 35 percent of the variance in the dependent variables. Findings from the survey used for analysis are updated in the discussion section with comments and data on shifts in occupational structure and in attitudes since the survey was taken, as well as on shifts in the reach of technology throughout the economy and in the ways that technology is developed.
Acta Sociologica, 2003
... Goff's synthesis of the ideas of Mead and Marx establishes a frame of reference for unde... more ... Goff's synthesis of the ideas of Mead and Marx establishes a frame of reference for under-standing how the structures of modern ... As Fidel Castro and his administration nationalized US holdings, increasingly turned towards socialist reforms of the economy, and formally adopted ...
Changing Cuba/Changing World, 2008
The Cuban revolution has been as much a struggle for economic independence as it has for politic... more The Cuban revolution has been as much a struggle for economic independence
as it has for political sovereignty. For nearly five decades now, often times under the personal guidance of Fidel Castro, Cuba has pursued a variety of economic development strategies intended to lessen the country’s dependency on a single product or political ally and break with its history of dependent underdevelopment. In contrast to the aspirations and rhetoric of economic modernization and independence, stands Cuba’s near catastrophic past economic strategies. While some Cuba observers have concluded that the country’s political and economic alliances with Venezuela are once again leading the country down the same road of dependence and economic stagnation, this paper aims to examine the more nuanced internal social, political, and economic rationales and consequences of this relationship. Using publicly available data, our paper will present data that supports the conclusion that Cuba has a sizable reserve army of professional-service sector laborers and that the regime benefits politically and economically from exporting this labor force. However, recognizing that “policies addressing one state concern may undermine another,” the paper will conclude by presenting qualitative and quantitative data that suggest ways in which political and economic rationality may collide to undermine long-term sustainable development and key socio-political values.