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From industrial psychology and occupational therapy to the laboratory bench and scenes of “heroic” fieldwork, there are important connections between the science of labor and the labor of science. Participants in the 2022 Gordon Cain Conference explored how greater attention to these connections might deepen historical understanding of what constitutes “science” and what counts as “labor.” Our conversations circled around themes of vulnerability (of systems, individual bodies, historical testimony), affect (pertaining to historical actors and ourselves), and interdependence (e.g. across human groups, species, political boundaries, and time). For the members of this group, which grew out of a panel discussion, these themes and motivations coalesced around a topical focus on invisibility, which helped us to articulate – in the form of a co-created syllabus – research questions about science and labor from multiple angles pertaining to practice, archival preservation, and scholarly representation. This syllabus is organized into six thematic modules that aim to challenge and historicize the concept of invisible labor by facilitating comparisons across geographic, temporal, conceptual, and disciplinary boundaries. The goals of this collaborative syllabus, in sum, are manifold: we seek to facilitate more inclusive histories of science through critical engagement with “invisibility” and thereby promote a more expansive understanding of what constitutes scientific labor; to highlight the constitutive role of gendered labor practices in the scientific enterprise; to draw attention to interdependencies that make all forms of production (knowledge or material) possible; to elucidate systems of remuneration for scientific labor over the longue durée and through pointed comparisons; and, finally, to promote self-reflexivity about the methods we use to narrate the history of science and make sense of our own labors.

The men of the Ninth Michigan Infantry found little to offer thanks for on Thanksgiving Day 1861. The ground was cold and the dog tents afforded little cover from the […]

Most competitive improvements can't be bought. They have to be learned. In fact, economists estimate that 60 percent of compettive improvements come from learning to make better use of the [...]

Companies that wish to be competitive in the new economy must change the way in which they train workers. The new economy requires companies to offer a variety of high-quality products in a personalized, convenient, and timely manner, in addition to productivity, the old competitive standard. Companies can increase their competitive advantage through the strategic and comprehensive use of training programs., Put Quality To Work TRAIN AMERICA'S WORKFORCE INTRODUCTION This special report from the American Society for Training and Development addresses the need to prepare the American Workforce to meet the [...]

Workplace training, not formal education, is the key determinant of employees' earnings. White collar workers are more frequently trained in formal settings, while blue collar training is informal. On-the-job training is important to both categories. Training-intensive industries include mining, transportation and public utilities. Studies show correlations between the amount of training an individual has received and the level of pay. Employers are tending to focus training on production and sales personnel.

During the U.S. Civil War between 1861-1865 the oft-reported tales of brave little drummer boys became symbolic of feats of soldierly virtue and noble, selfless sacrifice. One of them was Robert Henry Hendershot, a Jackson, Michigan, boy. When he enlisted, for the cavalry Hendershot was a slight-framed boy, 4½ feet tall, with fair hair, hazel eyes and a ruddy complexion. In the fall of 1861, Hendershot was a fixture in the camp of the Jackson County Rifles. There, he incessantly practiced his drum calls, an activity that caused at least one recruit to call him "a perfect little pest." He apparently accompanied the Rifles to Fort Wayne, outside Detroit, where the unit became Company C of the 9th Michigan Infantry. Robert was formally enlisted to the regiment in the 9th in March 1862, when it moved from Kentucky to Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Addresses the need to train the American workforce to meet the world's competitive standards. Impact of the changing competitive standards and emerging organizational structures on knowledge and skill requirements in the American workforce; Discussion of a case for training as a means of meeting the competitive standards of the new economy.

Examines the size, scope, and influence of training and development on American business. Sources of training by occupational group; Sources of retraining by occupational group; Employee training by industry; Trainees and all employees by age; Distribution of trainees by occupation; Distribution of outside training by providers.

Comments on the inequality in post-secondary education in the U.S. Selection of good education over social backgrounds as a requirement for acquiring employment; Discrimination that exists in the field of education; Comparison of the opportunities of low-income and high-income students to go to college; Lack of funding for adult education.