The purpose of the current study is determine if the presence of a natural mentor, and/or the quality of relationship within protégé-mentor relationships, predicts the development of Future Orientation (FO) among African American girls living in conditions of risk. A sample of 160 girls of African descent was recruited from 6 elementary and middle schools. An exploratory factor analysis of 19 FO items suggested a 2-factor model consisting of (1) motivation and (2) planning. The model did not support the third expected factor, evaluation. The presence of natural mentors failed to predict concurrent levels of FO. Relationship quality did significantly predict concurrent levels of FO. Post-hoc analyses indicated that the consistent presence of a natural mentor predicted the development of FO. Post-hoc analyses also indicated the relationship quality with one’s, significantly predicted the development of FO among consistently mentored girls. Methodological limitations and implications for future research are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to quantify core academic middle school teachers’ (English/language arts, mathematics, science, and social science) perspectives of career education. Prior research denotes that if career education exposure and awareness is provided in middle school grades, then students have the potential to develop a valuable understanding of various occupations available in the future (Akos, Konold, & Niles, 2004). Students observe what the work accomplishes and the effort required for the employee to be successful. If the occupation interests the students, then an increased motivation to complete their studies is likely to develop as they see the connection between what is taught in class and the opportunity for the desired career (Schaefer, & Rivera, 2012). In order to achieve that, the first step is to understand the teaching community’s viewpoint on career education and to use that knowledge to build successful programs. Teachers employed in a large school district in southeastern United States at the time of the study indicated their understanding of the concepts of future career orientation and career integration in its present state of use. The researcher distributed the tested CareerStart Teacher Perspective Survey (CTPS) and a selection of teacher related variables from charter, magnet, and traditional public middle schools to populate the study (n=199). Using ANOVA and regression analysis, the study found a significant difference in the value of future orientation and overall career education factors from males versus females. In addition, teachers ages 25-44 had a higher mean value for all factors than teachers of other age groups. There were no significant differences amongst teachers’ value of career education between the three different types of schools. This study contributes to the body of research pertaining to teacher perspectives of career education at the middle school level.

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To achieve and maintain a superior competitive position, firms must develop market sensing capability-the ability to sense events and trends in markets ahead of competitors (Day 1994a). According to Day, in firms with superior market sensing capability, "the processes for gathering, interpreting, and using market information are more systematic, thoughtful, and anticipatory than in other firms" [emphasis added]. Although Day asserted that market orientation captures the essence of a market sensing capability, researchers have suggested that market orientation, by itself, does not provide the requisite ability to develop competitive advantage because of its focus on detecting rather than anticipating market trends. While prior research, most notably pertaining to market orientation, has addressed the detection of current market trends, a gap in our knowledge remains regarding the ability to anticipate future market conditions. This research seeks to address this lacuna by exploring a firm's market foresight capability, defined as the organizational capability that allows the firm to anticipate emerging shifts in the market before they are evident to competitors. Organizations possessing superior market foresight capability derive a multitude of benefits from having greater insight into future market conditions. These benefits include the ability to determine which future market trends warrant further exploration and exploitation, the identification of critical resources that will be needed in the future, and-of primary interest in this dissertation-the ability to develop new products that meet customer needs in the future. This research seeks to better inform managers as to the organizational characteristics that enhance the firm's ability to anticipate future markets by developing and testing a model of the antecedents and new product outcomes of a firm's market foresight capability. The constructs selected as determinants of market foresight capability are supported by dynamic capability theory, which focuses on the organization's information processes, learning culture, and coordination/integration influences that elevate lower-level capabilities of individuals and teams to an organization-level or dynamic capability. The organizational information processes that are hypothesized to positively impact market foresight capability include active scanning, market experimentation, and lead user collaboration. The impact of information processes on market foresight capability is contingent on an organization's learning culture (future orientation and learning orientation) and interdepartmental connectedness, which influence the coordination and integration of information between organizational actors. A firm's potential for long-term competitive advantage lies in using the insights resulting from its market foresight capability to create advantageous resource configurations. To create valuable resource configurations, the firm with superior market foresight capability must capitalize on its ability to anticipate change through the development of new product and service offerings that better serve the needs of customers. It is hypothesized that superior market foresight capability results in heightened new product creativity, faster speed to market, and better market-entry timing. These new product outcomes of market foresight capability are further hypothesized to lead to superior new product financial performance. Of course, firms cannot realize the hypothesized new product benefits unless they are able to capitalize on market opportunities. Therefore, the relationships between market foresight capability and new product outcomes are hypothesized to be contingent on organizational inertia.

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An integrative model involving optimism/pessimism and future orientation as predictors of suicide risk (viz., depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior) was tested in a sample of adult, primary care patients. Beyond the additive influence of the two predictors of suicide risk, optimism/pessimism and future orientation were also hypothesized to interact together to exacerbate suicide risk. Results indicated that optimism/pessimism was a robust predictor of suicide risk in adults. Future orientation was found to add significant incremental validity to the prediction of depressive symptoms, but not of suicidal behavior. Noteworthy, the optimism/pessimism × future orientation interaction was found to significantly augment the prediction of both depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior. Implications for therapeutic enhancement of future-oriented constructs in the treatment of suicidal individuals are discussed.

Numerous studies had explored wide-ranging effects of childhood adversity. Yet, there is no known study that explores the impact of non-parental relationships (NPR) formed during the participation in out-of-school youth activities (OSYA), and future orientation (FO) on academic resiliency (AR) among people with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). This study moved away from the deficit perspective and focused on the strengths of individuals rather than weaknesses. The study examined the impact of protective factors of OSYA, NPR, and FO using the Michael Ungar’s (2011) Socio-Ecological Model of Resiliency to better understand their role on AR among university students with ACEs. A quantitative approach, quasi-experimental design explored the research questions using only a single subject group, one-time post-test paper/web-based questionnaire (Creswell & Creswell, 2014). The following four hypotheses were conducted: Student-Staff Relationships formed in Out of School Youth Activities (NPR-OSYA) will positively correlate with FO; NPR-OSYA will differ between the No ACEs and Yes ACEs groups; FO will differ between No ACEs and Yes ACEs groups; NPR-OSYP and FO will predict higher AR among the Yes ACEs group. Results illustrated the complexity of the role of protective factors on AR among university students with ACEs. In conclusion, understanding the narratives of NPR-OSYP can help educators and counselor implement strategies to improve interaction and foster resilience among students who are struggling academically.

Reflections of an adolescent's own future may contribute to its future direction. The concept of one's own family occupies an important position in these reflections and, to a certain extent, determines their form. Individuals from institutional care have disrupted original family ties, which are supposed to negatively affect their own family concepts. The diploma thesis is based on a qualitative methodological approach. The family concepts of individuals both from institutional care and regular family environment are investigated under the light of individuals' future orientations. The semi-structured interview and projective graphical methods were assigned to six individuals from institutional care and six individuals from regular family environment. A qualitative analysis of the data gathered confirmed that the concepts of a planned family of adolescents from institutional care differ from those of teens from the regular family environment. Adolescents from institutional care lack the emotional aspect of the family, and the family is perceived primarily as an institution serving to protect its members. Moreover, gender aspects are more pronounced in their family concepts, especially in parental roles, than in adolescents from the control group. Differences between groups are also found in other...

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