This work is a feminist study that aims to address a gap in knowledge about the working lives and learning of those employed in electronic, globalising industries, such as localisation. While much is known generally about the under-representation of women in SET (Science, Engineering and Technology), there has been less detailed study that explores the gendering of working lives in electronic knowledge industries which are a crucial part of the technological globalising process. Taking the localisation industry as a case, the present work addresses this lack. Localisation involves making an electronic product or website linguistically and culturally appropriate for people to use in another country/region and language. Workers in the industry adapt printed and electronic texts (and products) for distribution in overseas markets. The study is based on interviews with 10 workers and company owners from the UK, continental Europe, Ireland and South America. A critical feminist approach supports the analysis of interview data using CDA (Critical Discourse Analysis), and participant observation at a conference to reveal power relations which are seemingly hidden in the virtual sphere. Remote forms of working, mediated through the use of ICTs (Information and Communications Technologies) predominate in the industry. The findings are presented in three areas of analysis. Firstly, in relation to workers’ identities the study revealed that technology was a discursive resource used symbolically. While technology represented quality, domestication was used antithetically to indicate its lack. In the analysis this constituted a technologisation of identities. Secondly, workers’ learning trajectories revealed tensions in between knowledge work and accreditation. In relation to technology per se, image creation was central to localisation and the separation of the image from work practices concealed workers’ contributions. In this way the emotional labour invested in the production of the localised image was hidden. Thirdly, the study revealed ways in which global structures interacted with industry boundaries and intersected gendered cultures with implications for professional learning.

This dissertation examined the relationship between personality, individual values, work values and conditions of performance. The objective of this study was to determine what motivational constructs predict a smaller differential between performance outcomes under typical conditions of performance versus maximum conditions of performance. This study examined four research questions. 1) Is there a relationship between personality traits and conditions of performance? 2) Is there a relationship between individual values and conditions of performance? 3) Is there a relationship between work values and conditions of performance? 4) Which of the overall relationships are more highly correlated? Sackett et al. (1988) characterized maximum performance as evidenced when three conditions are met: 1) there must be explicit awareness that one is being evaluated, 2) there must be awareness of and acceptance of implicit or explicit instructions to maximize effort, and 3) performance must be measured over a short enough duration that the performer's attention remains focused on achieving maximum performance. Conversely, typical performance would be characterized by situations in which individuals were not cognizant of any performance evaluation, were not attempting to perform to the best of their ability, and in which performance was monitored over an extended period of time (Sackett et al., 1988). In this study, FFM personality traits of were proposed to correlate with a differential in performance outcomes between the two conditions of performance. Similarly, individual values of conformity, stimulation, hedonism, benevolence and achievement were proposed to correlate with a similar differential in performance. A specific set of work Values drawn from the Protestant Work Ethic were also proposed to correlate with a performance differential. The results of this research suggested performance outcomes do significantly vary under each performance condition, but that the results are highly correlated (.620 with p-value < .05). Individuals who perform at a superior level under conditions of typical performance also perform at a higher level under conditions of maximum performance as well. The study did not find support for the expected relationships between personality traits, individual values or work values and outcomes between conditions of typical and maximum performance.

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This thesis report details my exploration into the topic of hustle culturewith the goal of opening conversations. This exploration centres around myprocess of producing an animated short film Pursuit and aims to address thequestion, “what does it mean to be productive”?Hustle culture is introduced as a masochistic work-ethic way of life thatcauses productivity to become toxic and self care to get lost in the noise. Itake a closer look at other creators who inspire my work and why in orderto position myself as a change agent in relation to visual communication.This report touches upon the disparities and similarities between workculture now vs in the past, taking into consideration the longer historical,social and economic influence of work culture over time. It also investigatesthe phenomenon of increasing speed that media/information is spread andabsorbed today and emerging practices of resistance like the concept of slowliving. This thesis report concludes that even though there is no one size fitsall solution, tangible change can still be made to mend our relationship withtime and productivity by first talking about it.

The corporate world today is highly competitive and in order for organizations to survive and remain competitive, they must constantly evolve through change. However, the majority of organizational changes neither result in successful implementation or foster sustained change. It is suggested that the success of changes are highly contingent on employees’ responses towards them. To this end, Islamic Work Ethic (IWE) has become a subject of growing interest amongst academia and human resource literature attempting to understand and predict employees’ responses towards organizational change, particularly in Muslim societies. Despite this, studies attempting to uncover IWE’s influence on characteristics of employees’ responses towards change have revealed varying outcomes. Thus, the nature of the relationship remains ambiguous. To tackle this gap, this study contributes to knowledge by developing a conceptual model that assists in identifying the influence of IWE on employees’ responses towards change in the shape of their commitment to change and organizational deviance behaviors. The testing of these relationships was carried out in the ever changing and developing Islamic banking industry within the Middle Eastern context of Kuwait. Through a quantitative case-study approach, data was collected from 398 branch-level employees via questionnaires. The outcomes revealed that the extent of IWE’s influence on employee commitment to change varied greatly across different components (affective, normative and continuance). On the other hand, IWE was found to negatively influence employee engagement in organizational deviance towards change. Due to such findings, several theoretical implications, practical recommendations and future research directions are put forward.

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This research project was an empirical study of a number of variables and their relationship to commitment to the work ethic among a systematically selected sample of middle class professionals, some of whom worked with the poor (social workers and public defenders) and some of whom did not (computer scientists). Membership rosters of national professional organizations were used to select the sample. An original mail survey, the Work and Poverty Survey, was used to gather data on the respondents' commitments to the work ethic, knowledge about the poor, perceptions of the poor, and attitudes toward a variety of social welfare programs (both individualistically and structurally oriented). Of the 230 returned questionnaires (out of a sample of 427), 202 were useable. Composite variables were constructed from Likert-type rating scales to measure several key variables. The data were subjected to a number of statistical tests, using appropriate subprograms of SPSS. Frequency distributions, Cronbach's alpha, factor analysis, multiple regressions and Pearson correlation coefficients were utilized and the data analyzed in testing the eight stated hypotheses. Substantial majorities from each professional group endorsed the work ethic. Attitudes toward a variety of social welfare programs were the most significant predictors of commitment to the work ethic. The respondents were not knowledgeable about the poor. Both knowledge of and perception of the poor were inversely correlated with commitment to the work ethic. Respondents seemed to support both structurally and individualistically oriented social welfare programs for the poor. / Ph. D.

Literature illustrates that work attitudes and work behaviors of young agricUltural workers are of major concern to employers, even exceeding their concern about academic skills students bring to the work environment. Little consistency is found in the research about the relationships of various factors to work attitudes and work behaviors of agricUltural education students. The primary purpose of this study was to examine work attitUdes and work behaviors of students in secondary agricultural education programs in selected counties in Virginia and to assess the relationships and predictive value of certain variables to work attitudes and work behavior. The independent variables were gender, academic skills (reading, mathematics, and writing), supervision, work variety, nature (importance) of job, relationship of work and school, and learning on the job. Survey methods were used to collect the data. The study participants consisted of 477 sophomore, junior, and senior students from three rural counties in Virginia. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis, Pearson product-moment correlation, and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Factor analysis of the work attitude statements resulted in identification of three factors which were named cynicism about work, intrinsic motivation about work, and extrinsic motivation about work. Factor analysis of work behavior statements resulted in a single factor that had to do with honest behavior on the job. / Ph. D.