Experience Of Meaningful Work Research Articles

Piloting a health promotion youth corps

For 20 years the Nova Scotia government, through the Department of Environment, has run a successful Youth Conservation Corps that teams up Nova Scotia youth between the ages of 17–24...

Learning in the wild

This paper argues that learning is a natural social process that leads to the construction of meaning, which involves the creation of experiences of coherence, purpose, identity and competence. Learning that yields a coherent social context, a worthy or compelling purpose, a strong, integrated identity and increasing levels of competence results in an experience of meaningful work. Learning as a social process is characterized by the property of capacity. Any given group will have a capacity to learn and it will be difficult for that group to take on a learning challenge that is beyond its present capacity. If a group, for example, is short-handed and is carrying out work that members see as urgent and important, then the group may focus its efforts on maintaining its equilibrium and creating stability and may diminish its capacity to adapt to change by taking on new ideas and approaches. Such a group might also have a diminished capacity to bring newcomers into the community – which is the very thing that it needs to do if it is to overcome the problem of being short-handed. These propositions will be illustrated by a specific example: teams of frontline caregivers in a long-term care facility in Canada.

THE WORK OF (CREATING) ART

While engaging the process of artistic creation at the Creative Growth Art Center (CGAC) in San Francisco, California, Judith Scott produced numerous enigmatic three-dimensional fiber and mixed media sculpture pieces that subsequently received international attention. Approaching Scott's life and art from the perspective of Disability Studies – understood as an expressly political project – takes us beyond the limitations of the label of Art Brut/Outsider Art and of questions of artistic communication to properly situate her activities at the CGAC as work in both a social and economic sense. Judith's story – and her representation in a recent Spanish documentary film by directors Lola Barrera and Iñaki Peñafiel – suggests that in aspiring to achieve greater social and economic inclusion for such marginalized populations we must challenge the pervasive clinical paradigm that frames disability as lack and go further by cultivating sustainable, meaningful work experiences, such as that offered by the CGAC to people with developmental disabilities. Ultimately, creating art has the potential to be such a form of meaningful work.

Perceived Factors Affecting Performance Of Extension Workers In Imo State, Nigeria

The study focused on perceived factors affecting performance of extension workers in Imo State, Nigeria. Data for the study was collected from 83 Extension agents from the Imo State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP). Results of the study revealed that the organizational factors that affect performance are mobility/logistic factors, job design and Administration. It is therefore recommended that Agricultural extension agents should be encouraged to develop a meaningful work experience. There is need to recruit adequate number of extension agents. International donor agencies involved in agricultural development should ensure adequate budgetary arrangement to accommodate extra costs involved in extension agents participation activities. The Agricultural Development Programme should show more concern for staff welfare to enhance adequate commitment to organizational goal and Extension Service generally. Government should take measures to improve working conditions of the field agents through provision of transport allowances, monthly salaries and provision of infrastructural facilities in the rural areas to enable the extension agent live in their place of work. Field agents must be part of decisions concerning their personal welfare and job advancement. Keywords: performance, extension workersGlobal Approaches to Extension Practice Vol. 3 (1) 2007: pp. 21-29

Adding a Course to the Curriculum?

ABSTRACT The “knee-jerk” implementation of curriculum without study, understanding, proper implementation, and follow-up monitor cannot assure a purposeful addition to educational programs. This research was conducted to assess the effectiveness of a new course (Co-Op Management Applications, or CMA) added to the curriculum at a higher-education level. Course effectiveness was assessed from all stakeholders' perspectives; students, sector representatives, school administration, and instructors. Data were collected through questionnaires and interview schedules and subjected to quantitative (descriptive) and qualitative (content) analysis. The findings show that a representative “needs assessment, facility analysis, and force field analysis” was not conducted during the course development and implementation. Further, the proper monitor of student assessment was not being conducted. It is apparent that a meaningful work experience was being imparted to the students. Early monitor and evaluation could have potentially assured that the students benefited and achieved the course intentions before going forward.

Use of Project Liberty Counseling Services Over Time by Individuals in Various Risk Categories

Use of Project Liberty Counseling Services Over Time by Individuals in Various Risk Categories

Experiential learning or exploitation? Volunteering for work experience in the UK museums sector

Abstract Aspiring museums professionals often have to volunteer outside of formal study programmes in order to gain paid work in the UK museums sector. Volunteering for work experience however, has been largely ignored by previous studies of museum volunteers. This paper aims to provide an insight into the extent of volunteering for work experience and the experiences of these would-be museum workers. The paper presents the result of a postal questionnaire and interviews with both volunteers and managers. A key problem for museums is the resources needed to provide meaningful work experience. For volunteers, a worthwhile work experience placement appears to be almost entirely due to luck and finding a mentor. Voluntary experience therefore seems to be more about developing contacts than learning museum-specific skills. Recommendations are made for improving the volunteers' experience.

Experiential learning or exploitation? Volunteering for work experience in the UK museums sector

Aspiring museums professionals often have to volunteer outside of formal study programmes in order to gain paid work in the UK museums sector. Volunteering for work experience however, has been largely ignored by previous studies of museum volunteers. This paper aims to provide an insight into the extent of volunteering for work experience and the experiences of these would-be museum workers. The paper presents the result of a postal questionnaire and interviews with both volunteers and managers. A key problem for museums is the resources needed to provide meaningful work experience. For volunteers, a worthwhile work experience placement appears to be almost entirely due to luck and finding a mentor. Voluntary experience therefore seems to be more about developing contacts than learning museum-specific skills. Recommendations are made for improving the volunteers' experience.

Using Industrial Summer Intern Programs as a Tool for Engineering Education

AbstractGlobal competition and rapid changes in technology are creating a greater need for cooperation between academia and industry. One well‐established tool for promoting cooperation is the summer intern program. Unfortunately, there is limited literature regarding how these programs promote engineering education. This paper documents the objectives, methodology, and results of Project ProbeSM—a unique summer intern program offered by American Electric Power (AEP) to provide qualified engineering students with meaningful education and work experiences in electric power generation under the direct supervision of engineering faculty. This program attempts to foster cooperation between academia and the power industry, enhance the education of future engineers in areas of critical need to the industry, provide a breadth of “real‐life” experiences for the development of engineering faculty, and benefit the host corporation. It is hoped that Project Probe could serve as the basis for a viable model for development of similar programs.

The job diagnostic survey: A functional tool for South African managers

Current literature on manpower problems in South Africa has hardly focused on what should be done to improve jobs in order to create job experiences that will fulfil employee goals and organizational goals simultaneously. While the focus has been on the environmental (economic, social, political) and organizational (human resources policies, e.g. affirmative action) components of human resources management, in this article the authors provide guidelines to facilitate a process through which South African managers can practically achieve the optimal fit between current employees and their jobs. A theory that specifies when workers will display motivation, satisfaction and productive behaviour is reviewed. The accompanying diagnostic instrument is presented with South African norms for use by managers of change. Where remedial action is required, guidelines are proposed to assist managers in planning for an enriched work-place. The authors conclude that this approach represents a powerful strategy that can help organizations achieve their goals as well as meeting the needs of contemporary employees for a more meaningful work experience. This approach ensures that changes in the workplace are brought about on the basis of relevant information regarding the characteristics of jobs and the needs of workers, which is, in turn, based upon fundamental psychological rules and buttressed by South African findings that the theory is empirically sound.

Our Store is Real

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsDocia HechlerHow a group of eight-year-olds set up a candy store, sold their wares and learned many practical applications of arithmetic. Incidentally, the store solved an undesirable situation yet provided meaningful work and learning experiences for the children. Mrs. Hechler teaches these eight-year-olds in Pleasantville, New York. The article is reprinted from “News and Notes” published by The Arts Cooperative Service, New York City, and with the permission of the executive secretary of the Service.