Comparing Expressive Values in Rural & Urban Industrial Development

伦理和价值观研究与人类学项目一起支持这一项目，该项目研究技术与社会相互作用中的价值维度。在美国，人们普遍认为，农村和小城镇的生活质量比大城市地区的生活质量更好。这项研究的目的是比较在宾夕法尼亚州西部农村、半农村和城市地区工作的小型机床公司的个人的生活质量，并确定哪些因素对这些人的生活满意度有影响。将制定该地区小型机床公司的深入民族志，包括调查工人对其工作、休闲、社区和一般生活的满意度。研究方法将包括传统的人类学实地技术，包括观察、访谈和关键信息来源的使用，以及经验抽样法、地方和区域调查，以及在分类和排序任务时使用书面和实物刺激材料。结果将包括在专业协会会议上的陈述，书籍章节，以及在各种期刊上发表的文章。这项研究将进一步了解农村和城市的生活质量，农村和城市地区的技术发展，自动化对工作和员工满意度的影响，以及这些商店员工的工作、休闲、社区和生活满意度之间的关系。调查人员素质很高，研究设计和收集分析方法都很精良。结果将引起广大政策制定者和学者的兴趣。强烈建议您提供支持。

Ethics and Values Studies joins with the Anthropology Program in supporting this project that examines value dimensions in the interactions of technology and society. It is commonly believed in the United States that the quality of life in rural and small towns is preferable to that found in large urban areas. The objective of this research is to compare the quality of life for individuals who work in small machine-tool companies located in rural, semi-rural, and urban areas of western Pennsylvania, and to ascertain what factors contribute to the degree of satisfaction that these individuals have with their lives. An in-depth ethnography of the small machine-tool companies in the region will be developed, including a survey of workers' satisfaction with their jobs, leisure, communities, and lives in general. Research methods will include traditonal anthropological field techniques, including observation, interviews, and the use of key informants, as well as the experience sampling method, local and regional surveys, and the use of written and physical stimulus materials in sorting and ranking tasks. Results will include presentations at professional society meetings, book chapters, and articles in a wide variety of journals. This research will further knowledge of quality of rural and urban life, technological development in rural and urban areas, the influence of automation on work and worker satisfaction, and the relationships among work, leisure, community, and life satisfaction of employees of these shops. The investigators are very well qualified; and the research design and methods of collection and analysis are very sophisticated. Results will be of interest to a broad audiences of policymakers as well as academics. Support is highly recommended.