Doctoral Dissertation Research: Differentiating Effects of Particularistic Performance Standards in the Workplace

This research investigates how performance standards in the workplace create barriers to inclusion. The specific focus is on how sound and voice criteria for broadcasters have constrained plans of inclusion in broadcasting organizations in different regions. The project investigates 1) the creation of public radio broadcast standards, 2) the endurance of these standards despite demographic changes, and 3) how broadcasters experience these standards. This work will contribute to understanding of how obstacles to opportunity can exist in organizations.

Data will be collected from relevant documents and interviews, as follows. Memoranda about language usage in national archives will be examined to identify foundational policies and practices for radio networks. Board documents at broadcasting organizations will be examined to analyze inclusion efforts and their relationship to existing rules. Listener complaints will be analyzed to identify audience demands. Lastly, 100 radio broadcasters will be interviewed about challenges they face and tools they use.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.