The DOI matches its Crossref record; 20 of the 20 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
What is Skill?
Abstract
The concept of skill plays an important role in sociological research, from studies of the labor process to debates over equal worth. This article provides a theoretical analysis of the ambiguities and difficulties involved in current sociological conceptions of skill, contrasting four distinct approaches to skill: positivist, ethnomethodological, Weberian, and Marxist. Some of the impasses in industrial sociology arguably stem from the fact that opposed traditions are using very different notions of skill or are blind to their own preconceptions regarding skill. The article draws out the implications of this for empirical research.
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Cites
Braverman, H. (1974) · Monthly Review · doi:10.14452/mr-026-03-1974-07_1 · Cited by 5,505
Suchman, L. A. (1987) · Cited by 2,279
Crozier, M., & Friedberg, E. (2017) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781315131092 · Cited by 1,860
Complex Organizations: A Critical Essay.
Suntrup, E. L., & Perrow, C. (1974) · Industrial and Labor Relations Review · doi:10.2307/2521956 · Cited by 1,674
On Phenomenology and Social Relations
Schütz, A., & Wagner, H. R. (1970) · University of Chicago Press eBooks · Cited by 1,470
The transfer of cognitive skill
(1990) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.27-2989 · Cited by 1,257
Manufacturing Consent: Changes in the Labor Process Under Monopoly Capitalism
Burawoy, M. (1982) · University of Chicago Press eBooks · doi:10.7208/chicago/9780226217710.001.0001 · Cited by 828
Marxism and Class Theory: A Bourgeois Critique.
Roth, G., & Parkin, F. (1980) · Contemporary Sociology · doi:10.2307/2066091 · Cited by 808
A Dictionary of Marxist Thought.
Wright, E. O., & Bottomore, T. (1986) · Contemporary Sociology · doi:10.2307/2071163 · Cited by 665
The Development of the Labour Process in Capitalist Societies.
More, C., & Littler, C. R. (1983) · The Economic History Review · doi:10.2307/2595956 · Cited by 517
Cited by
Artificial intelligence and work: a critical review of recent research from the social sciences
Deranty, J.-P., & Corbin, T. (2024) · AI & SOCIETY · doi:10.1007/s00146-022-01496-x · Cited by 118
“Attewell (1990) and Spen-ner (1990) show well the range of possible meanings, and how the intuitive appeal of a notion like “unskilled” work in fact is anything but evident, how evaluation of “skillful-ness” can shift depending on the perspective taken.”
High-Touch and Here-to-Stay: Future Skills Demands in US Low Wage Service Occupations
Gatta, M., Boushey, H., & Appelbaum, E. (2009) · Sociology · doi:10.1177/0038038509340735 · Cited by 75
Tuomi, I. (2022) · European Journal of Education · doi:10.1111/ejed.12531 · Cited by 66
Metadata
- Authors
- ATTEWELL, P.
- Venue
- Work and Occupations
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 1990-11
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 422-448
- ISSN
- 0093-9285 (ISSN-L)
- 0730-8884
- 1552-8464
- OpenAlex
- W2039967438
- Cited by
- 317
- References
- 20
- FWCI
- 17.51
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
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Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
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