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This paper examines the organization and representation of time in certain kinds of undergraduate programs, here represented by a sociology program in a US university. Written requirements for the major are analyzed as constituting a 'chart' that defines academic time in terms of units of before-after relationships. The paper shows how students 'reuse' these temporal units when charting paths through the university and reckoning their academic work to specific futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the territorial organization of the US military through the lens of diaspora studies in order to explore how the dynamism of identity is implicated by the constant movement between divergent social and material territories. We contend that military identity is subjected todiasporic intersections, which are moments where identity is tethered to multiple geographies simultaneously. Through an analysis of widely circulated Western war films and narratives produced by military personnel we highlight two prominent diasporic intersections in the US military: regulation of the body and occupational identity connected to labor practices. After discussing the utility of diaspora theory for analyzing military organization, we explore the construction of diasporic intersections in micro and macro discourses, and conclude by presenting avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Committees are the backbone of any modern legislature. Membership of committees is in most parliaments a gift within the reach of the party groups. Yet, both theoretically and empirically, little is known about committee allocation in parliaments. Using theories from the literature of the US Congress, a framework for analysis of the committee assignments in Dáil Éireann is presented. Empirically, the contribution of this paper is twofold. First, it analyzes what factors influence the allocation of Teachta Dálas (TDs) to Dáil committees. Second, it analyzes to what extent the participation of TDs in committee changes over time. The former analysis corroborates results found in other parliaments; few factors seem to have an influence. The latter analysis confirms that the participation of TDs changes over time and seems to be tied in with the changing scope and influence of the committee system. The analyzes rely on a data set consisting of all committee assignments in the Dáil since November 1982 until June 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper I develop indices capturing business/market and nonprofit/mission characteristics of charter schools that can be used to explain many of their observed operational and political choices. This improves on earlier research using only a binary variable classifying charter schools as market or mission rather than letting them take on characteristics of both. Using data from a survey of charter schools, I construct market and mission orientation indices which I then use to reestimate a series of multivariate models published in earlier charter school research that used only the binary distinction between schools. These nuanced, nonmutually exclusive indices reveal aspects of school choices in terms of targeting student populations, recruiting staff, and engaging in political advocacy not uncovered with the original binary distinction. This demonstrates the importance of increasing the sophistication of our empirical measures in the study of charter schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effects of macro-environmental variables on country-level patterns of participation by firms on the US NASDAQ stock exchange. NASDAQ's popularity can be linked to the strength of its technological system, as well as the high frequency of listings of technology-oriented firms. Using concepts from organization theory, strategy and international business, we consider the impact of political, legal, cultural, and colonial heritage status on the strategic capital-seeking behavior of non-US companies in US markets. We empirically demonstrate that similarity in legal systems and a shared colonial heritage will influence the probability of a non-US country having firm participation on the NASDAQ. The results also indicate that the effects of institutional forces are not static processes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on some problems of the new unionism in the U.S. The new unions have made great progress; but they must overcome a number of difficulties if they are to become an important part of the labor movement. It should be stated at the outset that new unions have achieved much in the face of great odds and obstacles. Their successful organizing of many thousands of hitherto unorganized workers is an achievement that will rank high in the permanent records of labor. This paper proposes to deal with some difficulties that they face and some problems that they must overcome if they are to become a permanent part of our economic picture and succeed in bringing the remaining unorganized workers under the banner of unionism. The new unions may be defined as those labor organizations which have been formed since the latest upsurge of unionism beginning with the N.R.A. Some of the new unions have been organized by the American Federation of Labor and have remained in that organization, though the majority have followed what is now the Congress of Industrial Organizations. Problems of the new unions in the American Federation of Labor concern mainly the federal locals.

This paper discusses the importance of identifying the environmental context in which organizations function. The relationship between an organization and those other groups and individuals constituting its environment is specified in terms of linkages. Two key dimensions of linkage are identified: strength and breadth. The former refers to how intimately the organization is connected with any other group while the latter refers to how extensive is the support. These linkages' dimensions are viewed from a "resource mobilization" perspective, i.e., as the means by which resources are brought into an organization. A study of linkages sustained by the NAACP during 1961-69 illustrates how the dimensions of linkage strength and breadth can be operationalized and applied. New avenues of research then are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]