This is an award under the Grants for Improving Doctoral Dissertation Research program. It will be a study of work attitudes, contrasting male and female workers' group orientation in Japan and the United States, based on statistical analysis of an existing dataset of 8,302 survey respondents. Statistical techniques such as regression and path analysis will apply four conceptual approaches: culturalist theory, the cultural contingency model of worker attitudes and behavior, Koike's model of skill acquisition, and a conflict model of labor control. This research will contribute to the sociology of gender and work roles, as well as to comparative studies of Japan and the United States, potentially contributing to American industrial policy. In addition to the scientific gains to be achieved by the research, this award will materially assist a highly promising student in completing research for the Ph.D. dissertation. Thus it contributes to future scientific manpower and the thorough training of the next generation of sociologists.
