Presents the views of women scientists and engineers who have faced personal and professional challenges in pursuit of their careers

This book argues that mainstream social scientists have failed to be useful because of misguided efforts to use objectivist methods employed in the natural sciences — of treating humans as “things”. It argues that the attempt to imitate the objectivism of natural scientists has caused social scientists to both neglect human collective goals and to overlook a virtual gold mine of empirical data which exists because humans can communicate their feelings, beliefs, and personal histories. This wealth of data exists because of the extraordinary amount of information humans possess due to their ability to interpret and remember their own experiences.Part 1 of the book discusses the ways in which objectivism has led to the undue neglect of human social goals across the social sciences. Part 2 deals with objectivist failures by using models where motivation depends equally upon all important social goals. Cooperative efforts are suggested, perhaps by using alternative organizational and institutional arrangements where universities would reorganize the social sciences into single divisions of human sciences.

Most public service jobs require interpersonal contact that is either face-to-face or voice-to-voice - relational work that goes beyond testable job skills but is essential for job completion. This unique book focuses on this emotional labor and what it takes to perform it.The authors weave a powerful narrative of stories from the trenches gleaned through interviews, focus groups, and survey data. They go beyond the veneer of service delivery to the real, live, person-to-person interactions that give meaning to public service.For anyone who has ever felt apathetic toward government work, the words of caseworkers, investigators, administrators, attorneys, correctional staff, and 9/11 call-takers all show the human dimension of bureaucratic work and underscore what it means to work "with feeling."