Category: Discussions/Homework

Discussion Questions week 7/19

1.

Wong adds to the conversation through what I found to be a very relevant metaphor. When I think about the accommodations that I fought to get in high school for my ADD, I saw them as “helpers” that I needed to be able to function the way everyone else does. I had never really thought about equity and diversity being capable of needing the same thing. Her metaphor about the shoes used for a race is found on page 27 in the second paragraph of the section “Equity vs. Equality”. I think that this metaphor can be used in any situation where people are just a little bit “different” from the majority of the people that they are working with and putting it into a scenario where most people can really see the importance of these accommodations.

In my experience in the case of a disability, people who do not need the accommodations that I need do not understand the point of them. Some even found it unfair that I would get extra time on an exam or could type my essays instead of write them. The metaphor that Wong uses allows people who do not need the accommodations to see why people who need them do. By phrasing it the way she does and then explaining how it relates to equality and equity, and the difference between the two, shows what needs to be done to accomplish inclusion. It is not just about having a more diverse group of people working, which is also something that Wong points out, it is about giving everyone the tools they need, whatever those may be, to be successful.

2.

Something that I noticed Wong did a often in her article is that after introducing a new point, she would elaborate on it. Since most, if not all, of her points are related in some way, transitioning from one point to another seemed extremely natural in the way that Wong posed her argument. A lot of the transitions she used to connect her points occurred naturally because the next point was able to validate or back up the previous one.

In the first section after the introduction, “Context: Social Inequities & Organizational Culture”, Wong makes a point, gives an example or explains what people are doing to cause the point she is making, and then concludes her poing by giving more information that will affect the reader. She did this well when she concluded her idea about safety professionals and their awareness with “When women die on the job, they are murdered at much higher rates than men, and a large percentage of women are killed at work by intimate partners”. This sentence is powerful and was a good way to transition into the conclusion of the section that reiterated the importance of safety professionals and their knowledge and awareness.

This week my mom and I went into the city and got bracelets that I saw online where they zap them on so that the only way to take them off is to cut it. If you need to cut it off you can always go back and they can put it back on. We got matching ones together!!

Discussion Questions Week of 7/19

Response to #1

Although included in the “Context” portion of the introduction of the article, Wong made a point that stood out to me in his writing, mainly because it goes hand in hand with my upcoming research. Wong basically says that social inequities and organizational culture consist of interconnected systems. These systems are faulty, of course. Marginalized groups often stem from a larger “culture,” meaning a way of life/ thinking that oppresses many people that go against the “preferred bias.” In simpler terms, intersectionality comes to play more than one would think when it comes to injustices for diverse people.

Wong demonstrates the example of gender bias, stating that the unequal pay between men and women supports this way of thinking. However, Wong then says that even lower pay for women of color not only supports gender bias but sexist and racist bias. This is a perfect example, I believe, for introducing how interconnected systems affect culture and introducing the larger picture for understanding marginalization. To successfully tackle equity efforts, people need first to address the experiences of the most marginalized. However, this does not mean that the less marginalized people are exempt. This means that addressing the most marginalized consists of multiple oppressions, tackling multiple issues at once. This is an exciting way of thinking that I will note for my research, which asks how we can conquer multiple pre-conceived biases that result in intersectional oppression?

Response to #2

While reading Cori Wong’s article, I noticed not only does he use very successful transition words, but he uses the word “while” a lot at the beginning of his next paragraph. However, this is not used redundantly. Wong has a pattern; he states a certain point in a paragraph, then in the next one, he recognizes this point and offers a different perspective or view of the one previously stated. For example, in the “Starting With Better Questions” paragraph, Wong explains that simply hiring diverse people gets nothing done if there is no culture or system in place that can successfully support and leverage the strengths of difference. Without knowing, a reader is viewing a setup for the next paragraph. This reminds me of Bogust’s use of connecting his points in a very seamless, almost invisible way. In the paragraph to follow, the first sentence reads, “While diversity often refers to representation of difference,
inclusion refers to how differences are meaningfully incorporated and integrated into daily practices.” This sentence foreshadows what’s to come: a paragraph explaining how to infiltrate an inclusive environment by asking the right questions effectively. Wong is great at framing sentences that “have hands,” which reach out to the previous sentence as well as the ones to follow. They all go “hand in hand,” ironically enough. All of these tactics are essential moves noted in chapter 8 of TSIS. Wong’s use of the word “while,” framing almost a counterargument or different perspective to come, as well as connecting his sentences, creates a very constructive piece of writing.

My highlight:

This weekend on Block Island I was able to see a friend who took the ferry over from Montauk. We went to the beach, shopped downtown, and had a great dinner together. Even though it was just for the day, It made me really happy seeing a friend from school, and got me very excited for this upcoming semester!

Discussion prompts for Week of 7/19

We’re going to take it a little easier this week on discussion–please respond to both of the questions below by Wednesday, 7/21; you do not need to reply to your classmates’ posts, though I certainly encourage you to read through what others have to say.

In “Changing organizational culture,” we see a rather different type of writing, one that’s pretty approachable and readable, but still presenting intensive research in a way that’s geared toward a very specific audience. What we’re looking at here is a trade/professional journal. Like scholarly journals, they often include peer-reviewed articles, but they’re designed for practitioners (in this case, in the workplace safety industry) rather than for other academics. The end result is detailed research that’s usable for people working in this field.

In part we’re looking at this article as a sample of a genre that might be useful for you to consider for your own inquiry. SUMMON (the SU Libraries’ search tool) allows you to select “trade publication” as a Content Type option in an Advanced Search. It can be really helpful to see what folks within a given field are talking about, how they’re making use of current research, developing best practices, implementing ideas, etc. The material there tends to be very current material from experts–good stuff to use when you’re trying to understand the implications of a particular issue.

And we can also learn some lessons from this text about how to develop an argument that will reach our readers. Wong does a solid job of making explicit connections between theory and practice as she translates this material for a non-academic audience. Let’s home in on how she makes this work.

Please respond to both of the questions below for this week’s discussion.

  1. Wong is entering a conversation around diversity (including the business case and the ethical case folks have made for diversity) and inclusion that was going on long before she showed up. What does she have to add to this discussion? Focus in on 1 particular contribution you see her making to this larger conversation. Name it, explain it, tell us where to find it, and talk about what you think is significant about it.
  2. Review chapter 8 of TSIS, which is about connecting the parts. Locate a place in Wong’s article where you see her doing this important work, and identify the TSIS moves that you see her using in this segment. Again, point us to a specific passage, and talk us through what she’s doing there and why it matters.

Categorize your posts as “Discussions/Homework,” and tag with “unit 2,” “weekof7/19,” and [your name]. And kindly throw us a little personal update–what have you been up to this past week? (highlight, lowlight, lesson–whatever you’ve got to share).

Here’s a little highlight for me:

My youngest son is a total gearhead–loves cars more than anything–so we took him to the Syracuse Nationals Car Show this weekend. It was just nice to be back at the NYS Fairgrounds after a couple of years away. (Plus, there were gyros!) I’m not a car nut, but I am a history buff, so this one really caught my attention. In 1917, a guy from New Hampshire patented an add-on kit to transform the Ford Model T into a snowmobile. I’ve never seen or heard of this, so it was fascinating to see it in real life!

Discussion 7/12

  1. The main search tool that I have used has been the Syracuse University online database because I am not really familiar with any other online trustworthy databases or where to find them.  I like the Syracuse one because it is easy to navigate, and the search engine is quite simple in its easiest form.  Personally, I have yet to attempt the advanced search features because I accidentally clicked that while conducting research for Unit 1 and was very intimidated.  For Unit 2, however, the advanced search tool is something that I want to brave and hopefully master since it will most likely be very useful during the rest of my college career.  The Syracuse library will not be available to me forever so if anyone has any other databases that are reliable, I would love to try them out to potentially prepare for the future!
  2. For my Unit 2 project, I am researching biases in the medical field, starting out with talking about the discrimination against the women working in healthcare and then moving onto the biases doctors can have against certain minorities, such as people of color and women.  I am planning on finding a few sources on these topics, most likely just scholarly sources, and then moving on towards the primary source towards the end of my project.  I know a few people who have had firsthand experiences with doctors not believing their illnesses/pains due to their gender/race, so I think I am going to interview one of these people.  If that angle does not pan out, I am going to try and find a true story online of someone’s experience, either through a blog or in a YouTube video.  Hopefully a real life example will make the facts and statistics from the research from the scholarly sources more compelling for my argument that there needs to be a change within the healthcare system in reference to unconscious biases and discrimination.

Week of 7/12

  1. After reading the feedback on my focusing flow chart and brainstorming connections to my public health major/specific interests, I narrowed down a direction I want to go with my research. As of now, I want to focus on the racial income inequality and connect this to health quality disparities (economic stability is one of the social determinants of health). For this topic, I will need to find multiple sources to tie it all together.

To start my research off, I logged in to the Syracuse Library Summon Database. I entered “income inequality race”, “social determinants of health”, “income plays a role in health”, and “income and health quality”. I briefly skimmed through the sources that appeared and determined I would have enough to work with. I also am in touch with the head of the Department of Public Health at Syracuse. I want to reach out to her and ask her questions about this topic and for solid research resources.

So far, I have not experienced any difficulties locating articles.

2. For one of my primary sources I want to have some sort of narrative. Throughout my blog responses and posts, I have repeatedly emphasized the importance of hearing the voices of those experiencing the oppression to better understand it and create change. I think an autobiographic article or an interview would fit best.  I also would like data from experiments to back up my claims. Through numerical data, I can create graphic visuals to empathize the significance of these issues.

 For my secondary sources, I want articles that help explain these concepts and connections. For example, I want to find background information about racial income inequality and social determinants of health. I also think understanding how individual and systemic (institutional and structural) racism plays a role into these issues would be extremely useful.

Additionally, I would like to hear the different perspectives of Researchers, Professors, and Experts who have invested significant time into unpacking these issues.

As stated above, I plan on using the Syracuse Library Summon Database, Google, and my public health professor to locate sources. Over the weekend, I want to compile the majority of my sources.

Week of 7/12 Responses

Question 1 Response

Although I have some experience with researching through the Syracuse University Library, there are definitely some things that I have to consider while conducting my searches. The most useful feature of the SU library has been the advanced search feature because it has allowed me to narrow my results and show me articles with perspectives that I had not considered before. I also make use of visual media platforms such as Youtube because they often have references listed in the descriptions of useful articles/studies/ and other texts. 

One of the hardest things to overcome while researching is only choosing articles that support my argument. As I read more of “They Say, I Say” I try using articles that might not directly support my argument. I do this because I can also use them to provide counter claims and learn more about the topic as well. Moving forward, I will definitely be conducting most of my research on the SU library (for my primary and scholarly source) because I can be sure that I am choosing credible articles that meet the assignment criteria and relate to the topic I choose to write about.

Question 2 Response

 I am focusing on discriminationj of LGBTQIA+ individuals because of this, I am hoping to find quality primary sources in order to highlight some of the real world encounters that they have. I also hope to find some good secondary sources in order to set show the mindsets that some people have regarding members of LGBTQIA+ community. Both secondary and primary sources will be helpful because they offer opportunities for me to utilize some of the “They Say, I Say” comparison templates. I plan on using a 70/30 split between the amount of articles that directly support my stance and article that offer alternate point of views. I would like to find at least one article that presents facts regarding LGBTQIA+ demographics in different sectors of the work force. Another useful find would be a blog or newsletter run by someone who identifies with this community. Although I might not find these exact texts, I am confident that there is more than enough sources for me to choose from , I just have to keep on searching.

Discussions / Homework Week of 7/12

Response #1

I have used both the SU Library and Google. With Google I can type what is arguably a very narrow search criteria and still find reputable articles on the topic I am interested in. Whereas with the SU Library I need a little more finesse when searching. Despite that, I find that the ability to refine searches based on genre, ie. book, journal article, website, etc. is very helpful when using the library databases. I was able to find a scholarly article at the library site but did not find anything from within the last three months. When I googled using the same key words, I was able to find articles from late June 2021. I am pretty good at researching on Google so will probably find the majority of what I need there. Primarily because there has been more discussion about my topic (equity and inclusion for Black workers) in the last year due to the murder of George Floyd and ensuing worldwide protests.

Response #2

I am hoping to find articles on the best strategies for implementing meaningful and lasting equity and inclusion for Black workers. I would like to make sure first-hand accounts of Black workers’ experiences are included as well as works of scholars who study and come up with solutions to these issues. I would love to find cases about companies that have successfully tackled the issue of making their companies more inclusive for Black employees. I am thinking about including articles that provide context through data regarding the state of Black employment as a whole and the state of employment of Black professionals in particular. I may also provide background on how Black people’s status in America informs their status as employees. The scholarly articles I find will most likely come from the SU Library database and the primary sources will probably come from Google since I want the most up-to-date reflections from Black employees.

Discussion Questions Week of 7/12

Response to #1

This week, I tried a variety of research strategies with the goal of building a collection of sources related to how artificial intelligence might be used to shape organizational culture. First, I started by brainstorming for about 10 minutes to come up with as many words related to the general idea as I could. Then I tried the SU library database and used the keyword and advanced search functions and some filters. I tend to start over with new search terms if I don’t see promising articles in the first four or five pages of search results, but part of me is always thinking the perfect article is just one more page away. I noticed sometimes my keywords were too specific or narrow. I found better results when I used a term like “human resources” instead of a string of individual words like “hiring” or “recruitment.” I found several interesting scholarly articles, newspaper editorials, and blog links this way. By skimming the citations in these documents, I found some additional articles and started a side list of scholars and authors who seemed interested in the same topics. I also did the same types of searches in Google, which led me to some interesting reports and studies by companies like McKinsey and IBM. To find scholarly sources in Google, it helped when I added the search term “scholarly” or “cited by” to those searches.

Lastly, I found an infographic that I thought others would find interesting. It shows all the different startup companies working on technologies related to hiring and recruiting. Check it out here: Talent Acquisition Ecosystem 8.0.

Response to #2

After doing my first research session, I ended up with a broad selection of articles that are somewhat related, but I realize I will have to make some critical decisions to determine which of them will be most useful. I haven’t figured out a way to “enter the conversation” yet, but I expect to get more focused the more reading I do. Also, I plan to watch Persona, the documentary that Sherri included in her post, and I will take notes to see if people involved in the film would be good leads for more sources.

Based on my efforts so far, I don’t think I will have trouble finding several solid scholarly sources. As for primary sources, I would love to find some firsthand accounts of people who build AI systems for human resources, people who use these systems in their HR or management roles, and employees who may have been affected positively or negatively by them. I am considering coming up with some interview questions that I could send to a few people, but I think this might be very time-consuming. Along these lines, I will probably explore LinkedIn to see if any thought leaders are posting interesting articles about this topic.

Discussion Questions Week of 7/12

1) All my research papers involve the same fundamental process: I collect information, organize my ideas, and write. To accomplish this I start my research on any subject with Syracuse Library “Summons”…my favorite…It’s one of the few bookmarks on my computer.  It puts an initial “Search articles, books and other resources” at the tip of your fingers.

If it’s a topic that I’m not particularly familiar with I will then start with tertiary sources since they are the most general. Tertiary sources are encyclopedias, atlases, or other reference books (not Wikipedia 😊). These sources can give me basic background information, help me with keywords for additional research, and direct me to further sources. Since this information is very broad, tertiary sources are my starting point.

In my search engine, I typically start with filters, (if I’m not planning to be on campus)- full text online, peer reviewed (it’s my science background – we love peer reviewed), and then publication dates (usually within the last 5 years but I can be flexible depending on the topic). I may play with subject terms and area of study.

I may then move into an advanced search. If this leads me to results that I don’t want, then I can “exclude” certain results from a further search.

Interestingly, I sometimes put my search into “google” or “bing”. I can come up with results that were not initially in my Syracuse University search. Here’s a pro tip… put those results into Summons and you can have access to the information (which many times you are unable to – just with an internet search engine).

Another pro tip…our Syracuse University tuition pays for librarians and they’ll even “Live Chat” or email you back.  I was frustrated late one weekend and they came to my rescue (and at a late time). I even see a text number although I haven’t tried that yet.

2) As far as my research, I am intrigued by the concept of hiring individuals with disabilities and at what point should the disability be disclosed. Will this disclosure cause stigmatized populations to be discriminated against (even if it’s never obvious to the individual)? I think disclosing of disabilities to a potential employer is a really important topic in organizational culture so I’m going to explain this foundational idea of pre-employment disclosure and the effect on hiring of individuals with disabilities.

We know from the articles we’ve read and the expanding the canon research our classmates have done that the employment participation of people with disabilities is still lags when compared to their non-disabled, and comparably educated, counterparts.

A main reason for the underemployment of individuals with disabilities is that employers often hold negative views about the work-related abilities of these individuals.  What I’m interested in researching is an analysis of where in the employment relationship these negative views appear, and whether a disabled individual should disclose pre-employment of a disability. I’m referring to so-called invisible disabilities. Those struggling with invisible disabilities should be comfortable sharing information about their disability with their employer as well as requesting accommodation.  Unfortunately, that is not always the situation. The question of whether or not to inform employers as well as when to inform them is an interesting question.

The issue of invisible disabilities is becoming more common in the workplace. Invisible disabilities (as described by the Invisible Disabilities Association) indicates symptoms such as “debilitating pain, fatigue, dizziness, cognitive dysfunctions, brain injuries, learning differences and mental health disorders, as well as hearing and vision impairments.” Sometimes employees are undecided about disclosing their invisible disability to their employer or coworkers. In addition to not disclosing this during an interview, this lack of transparency means that accommodations for disabilities may not be requested or made. Accommodations made in the workplace for invisible disabilities can include flexible schedule, special software for assisting with scheduling or prioritizing tasks, or architectural changes such as a standing desk.

I plan to have my research include both primary and secondary resources. This may be a challenging topic to find research on but it is one that is of personal interest to me. I hope to find the viewpoints of both the employee and the employer. I hypothesize finding employers that will truthfully answer questions (particularly about pre-employment prejudice) might be a challenge. I will try to speak with agencies that help disabled people find employment.

Discussion Questions Wk 7/12

  1. Usually when I am in search of scholarly articles, I use either google scholar or the SU database .Personally when searching for a source to use, I find it helpful to begin by searching up key terms that I think would provide me with some starter information.This way I can find an article that has something to do with my topic, skim through it and find more key terms that I can search up so that it will help me narrow down the articles until I find some that are strictly about my topic. For instance when I was looking for information about Neurodiversity and the workplace, I began by searching up inclusion, which then lead me to search up the PARC which then finally lead to me finding and article about Neurodiversity in the workplace. I like this method because while I am searching for the perfect article, I am still learning about different aspects of my topic along the way if that makes sense. I also like to use the filters so that I can get the specific type of article I am in search of. For instance if I want an article that is psychologically based or if I want one that is more statistically based. Although I like this method, sometimes I do hit a few road blocks because I find that the more specific of an article you are looking for, the harder it will be to find it. For example I had a lot more of a hard time looking for articles about Neurodiveristy in the work place in comparison to articles just about Neurodiveristy in general.
  2. I will be focusing on which comes first :inclusion or diversity. In my research I hope that I am able to find first hand accounts from people who have noticed a difference in the environment they were in fo instance whether it felt welcoming or whether they felt like the odd one out since I feel like this will provide evidence to help come to a conclusion. I also want to find some articles that show statistics in it because I think that is also a good way to come to a conclusion since this would cover a lot more than just the experiences of a few people. I also hopefully want to find a ted talk to include because I really like how the speakers address their topics and it also provides a first hand account.