Journal Article

Turbulence and unpredictability in 21st-century labor markets arguably magnify the importance of maintaining employability. Drawing on recent research, I discuss three mechanisms for enhancing employability in this context: identity work, training and networking, and laboring in unpaid and marginal paid positions. Few of these activities are counted as 'work' because they are mostly unpaid and they often take place outside formal job structures. By specifying how a range of employment-related activities are essential to and even constitute work, this article contributes to debates about the scope and boundaries of employment and shows how everyday actions build and reinforce new economic structures - how individual actions make the new economy possible. It also provides greater specification of the concept of employability.

There is evidence that many college graduates are employed in jobs for which a degree is not required, and in which the skills they learned in college are not being fully used. Most of the literature on educational or skill mismatch is based on cross-sectional data, providing information at just one point in time. Drawing meaningful conclusions about mismatch, its dynamics, and its relationship to wages, job satisfaction, and job mobility requires panel data, which can reach more nuanced conclusions by allowing for individual differences, e.g. choosing a job because it offers compensation.

This meta-analysis reviewed the literature on socioeconomic status (SES) and academic achievement in journal articles published between 1990 and 2000. The sample included 101,157 students, 6,871 schools, and 128 school districts gathered from 74 independent samples. The results showed a medium to strong SES-achievement relation. This relation, however, is moderated by the unit, the source, the range of SES variable, and the type of SES-achievement measure. The relation is also contingent upon school level, minority status, and school location. The author conducted a replica of White's (1982) meta-analysis to see whether the SES-achievement correlation had changed since White's initial review was published. The results showed a slight decrease in the average correlation. Practical implications for future research and policy are discussed.

A great deal of research has focused on work group diversity, but management scholars have only recently focused on inclusion. As a result, the inclusion literature is still under development, with limited agreement on the conceptual underpinnings of this construct. In this article, the authors first use Brewer's optimal distinctiveness theory to develop a definition of employee inclusion in the work group as involving the satisfaction of the needs of both belongingness and uniqueness. Building on their definition, the authors then present a framework of inclusion. Their framework is subsequently used as a basis for reviewing the inclusion and diversity literature. Potential contextual factors and outcomes associated with inclusion are suggested in order to guide future research. © The Author(s) 2011.

Public policies stress greater inclusion of disabled people in the labour market and suggest ways to implement accommodative measures to these ends. Often missing from this literature is the experiences of disabled people in labour markets. This article reports results from a qualitative study conducted in 2005 and 2006 consisting of one-to-one and focus group interviews with 56 disabled individuals participating in employment training programmes in Calgary and Regina, Canada. Findings suggest the presence of workplace and employer discrimination and labelling as primary factors impeding respondents' success in securing and maintaining employment in the labour market. The 56 respondents provide strong evidence that perceptions of disability have a greater impact on their inability to maintain and secure employment than does the lack of accommodative practices and measures in the workplace.

The relative impact of admissions factors and curricular measures on the first medical licensing exam (United States Medical Licensing Exam [USMLE] Step 1) scores is examined. The inclusion of first-year and second-year curricular measures nearly doubled the variance explained in Step 1 scores from the amount explained by the combination of preadmission demographic characteristics and admissions factors. In addition, the relationship between the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) and Step 1 scores becomes counterintuitive in models that include curricular measures, where students with the lowest combined admissions metrics (MCAT, grade-point average) score higher, on average, than those with some of the highest admissions metrics. Overreliance on traditional metrics in admissions decisions can exclude students from medical school who have the ability to succeed.

A possible interaction among the characteristics of disability, race, gender, and age was examined with respect to formal allegations of disability harassment. Using data from the National Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Research Project, the authors examined whether there was an interaction among disability, gender, age, race, and employer characteristics when considering the proportion of harassment versus other forms of discrimination allegations. Using Exhaustive Chi-Squared Automatic Interaction Detector (Exhaustive CHAID) analysis, the authors detected several interaction effects. They discovered unique clusters of characteristics that place certain groups at a very high and very low risk for experiencing disability harassment. The findings are discussed in the context of past and future research on intersectionality and workplace implications. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2012.

This article presents the findings of a research study on the quality of the learning experiences of youth with disabilities who par- ticipated in Wisconsin's Youth Ap- prenticeship (YA) Program--a rig- orous two-year work-based learn- ing program for high school jun- iors and seniors. The researchers identify key factors that enhance the capacity of youth with disabili- ties to complete the program and make a successful transition to careers and/or postsecondary education. In addition, the notion of œresilience in relation to the inclusion and accommodation of youth with disabilities in work- based learning programs is dis- cussed. Specifically, the research- ers explore the interplay between the young persons' personal char- acteristics and program compo- nents with a specific eye toward understanding how stakeholders directly involved in the career de- velopment and decision-making processes of youth with disabili- ties can encourage the develop- ment of resilience.

Immigrants face significant challenges that impair their ability to access resources that can develop their entrepreneurial potential. Using an action research and case-based approach, we highlight the challenges experienced by immigrant entrepreneurs and in turn discuss practical measures to resolve these challenges through mentoring programmes for nascent entrepreneurs. We profile a unique multi-disciplinary programme involving both business and law students who coordinate and deliver workshops for course credit. Established entrepreneurs and professionals also volunteer their time as mentors. We develop a balanced scorecard to assess and improve the programme. Study results provide a model to enable universities and others to reach out to nascent immigrant entrepreneurs. © 2012 Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India.