Women in the Third World or Work and Pay in the United States and Japan

Women in the Third World: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Issues

Author: Nelly P Stromquist

Ideal for researching the status and activities of Third World women
For quick, reliable coverage of women's issues in developing countries, here is a concise reference work written by a team of more than 80 international experts. The Encyclopedia comprises 68 essays that cover the entire Third World, from Africa to Asia, from the Near East to South and Central America, from the South Pacific to the Caribbean. The women authors are acknowledged experts from Harvard University, the World Bank, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, the University of Nairobi, the International Labor Organization, and other institutions, who summarize the most recent scholarship on a wide range of important subjects. Thoroughly indexed and cross-referenced, the Encyclopedia is an ideal starting point for in-depth research in such areas as:
recent developments in the prevention of violence against women * the conditions of women's lives across regions and countries * women's participation ingovernment, science, and technology * hidden curriculum issues in higher education * an overview of women's experiences as small-scale entrepreneurs

A feminist viewpoint enhances the coverage
Informed throughout by a feminist perspective, the Encyclopedia focuses on traditional women's concerns, such as political participation, human rights, nutrition, housework, the family, equality, health, and more. But the coverage also extends to such issues as domestic and sexual violence, creation of women-friendly cities, patriarchal ideologies as religious beliefs, the needs of older women, new jobs and exploitation in industrial production, AIDS, the genderconsequences of ecological devastation, movements for change, and other areas of increasing awareness. Geographical entries cover all the major regions and countries and discuss conditions and issues in each area.

Spotlights the newest and best sources
The Encyclopedia brings together information that has beenwidely scattered in sources from many disciplines. An introduction by the editor illuminates the most important issues faced by Third World women today and analyzes the drastically changed global situation and how the changes impacted on the material presented in the Encyclopedia.

Reference aids make information retrieval easy
An annotated bibliography of the latest and most important sources, as well as a reference list at the end of each chapter, provide quick access to current literature. A thorough name and subject index makes it easy to pinpoint information.

Special Features
Offers articles by recognized scholars and activists on gender and developmental issues * Presents a variety of perspectives by women from both industrialized and developing countries * Summarizes the literature of established disciplines, bringing together important material scattered in many sources * Identifies new areas for research affecting gender and development in emerging fields, suchas legal rights * Outlines strategies for action in such critical areas as ecology and urban issues * An annotated bibliography and list of references at end of each chapter make it easy to expand your research

Table of Contents:

Conceptual and Theoretical Issues * Political and Legal Contexts * Sex Role Ideologies * Demographics and Health * Marriage and the Family * Women and Production * Women and the Environment * Enabling Conditions for Change * Movements for Change * Geographical Entries * Annotated Bibliography

A sampling of the coverage

Violence Against Women * Women in Transition to Democracy * Refugee Women * Women and War * Machismo in Latin America * Childrearing Practices * Sex Segregation in the Labor Force * International Aid Agencies * Islam and Women's Roles * Factors Affecting Fertility * Women and Contraception * Women 's Control Over Their Bodies * Gender and Aging * Women's Labor Incomes * Women and Literacy * Informal and Nonformal Education * Women and Apartheid * Women in Anti-Clonial Movements * Women in Israel, Southern Africa, China, Cuba, India, and other countries. Index. Charts. Bibliography.

Book review: Color Management in Digital Photography or Using R for Introductory Statistics

Work and Pay in the United States and Japan: Employment and Pay Systems in Japan and the United States

Author: Clair Brown

In Work and Pay in the United States and Japan, authors Clair Brown, Yoshifumi Nakata, Michael Reich, and Lloyd Ulman provide an integrated and detailed analysis of the components of firm human resources systems in the US and Japan. Drawing on data obtained from fieldwork in comparable establishments in these two countries, as well as from national sources, this work examines the relationship between company practices and national economic institutions.

The authors address a number of key questions about employer-employee relations. How have major Japanese manufacturing companies been able to convert the assurance of "lifetime" employment security into a source of superior employee efficiency and adaptability, when job and income security have been feared as a source of "shirking" and wage inflation in the US? How have higher economic and real wage growth rates been associated with greater equality in earned income distribution in Japan, when the incentive role of income inequality to worker effort and savings has been stressed in the US? How could Japanese emphasis on employment security in the firm be reconciled with greater price stability and lower unemployment than in the US? This work analyzes elements such as employee training and involvement programs, wage behavior as an incentive system and an alternate channel of savings, and synchronous wage determination (shunto) at work in the Japanese economy that provide for such successes.

The book also explores the costs that have been associated with these Japanese accomplishments, as well as who must bear them. In particular, it examines how Japanese women compare less favorably with American women in termsof opportunities for work, pay, and promotion; the higher hours of working time for men in Japan than in the US; and the constraints on mobility for Japanese workers. It also poses the question of whether Japanese unions are weaker than their American counterparts, or just more sensible and far-sighted. Finally, this ork examines the outlook for these distinctive Japanese institutions and practices in a period of slower growth and economic "maturity."

Based on a research project carried out in both countries, the book concludes with the lessons that each country can learn much from the employment practices of the other. Work and Pay in the United States and Japan will be essential reading for students, professors, and all professionals involved with employment systems and employer-employee relations.