This investigation is concerned with the problem of identifying and analyzing kinds of information needed by community junior college students about career opportunities in business, as perceived by students, business teachers, and counselors in community junior colleges.

Employability is highly topical in UK Higher Education. There is related literature debating the purpose of higher education, learning and skills, contextual social and economic issues and policy matters for the sector as a whole, but no published work on the ways in which universities organise themselves to deal with this particular issue. This study examines the organisational responses of universities to the issue of graduate employability at this pivotal time for English higher education, when the environment is linking employability to institutional success to an unprecedented degree. The study considers key contextual factors including the debate around the relationship between “the knowledge economy” and the demand for graduates, the ways in which success in employability is understood and measured, the impact of recession and the tension between student consumerism and partnership in an environment in which “consumer information” is linked directly by government to notions of return on personal investment and value for money as tuition fees increase. The key questions addressed are: how is the employability offer conceptualised, constructed, managed and measured and what choices about organisational configuration and capability are being made and acted upon? The study required detailed analysis of the relationships between institutional mission and top-level goals, declared strategy for delivery and delivery structures and the roles of key individuals and teams and so, this enquiry is based upon in-depth case studies of five universities, using data on graduate destinations, published statements and strategies and interviews with relevant post holders (with a particular focus on the role of the head of the professional career service). The case studies and analysis relate the organisational responses to the underlying driver of positional competition. The study uses the role and position of careers services as the starting point for attempting to understand the organisational responses in each case.

This thesis conceptualises the careers of women in the developing country context of Malawi. A range of 'new' career theories, namely boundaryless, protean, kaleidoscope have been developed in response to the limitations of using traditional theories for studying careers and women's careers in particular. However, these theories have been mostly based on women with interrupted careers in western contexts due to child care reasons. These have also assumed that women have preferences in terms of whether to be career oriented or family oriented. Yet, women in developing and indeed some women in the developed countries have constrained choices and do not pursue interrupted careers. Despite having family responsibilities, they work continuously and mostly full-time. Therefore, there have been calls for more context-specific career studies, especially targeting developing countries. Based on this literature gap, this thesis adopted a qualitative approach to conceptualise the careers of women in Malawi, drawing on the experiences of women in the formal economy, specifically in education and finance and insurance industries. The study finds that the careers of women in Malawi and indeed other women in similar contexts do not fit the existing career perspectives and the proposed 'makeshift' career orientation better explains the studied women's careers. This proposed career concept recognises that careers are a result of compromises that women make when faced with tensions emanating from both the employment and family contexts which simultaneously influence women's careers. The research therefore provides the basis for broadening the existing career perspectives to more adequately reflect the experiences of women, particularly in the developing world. Additionally, the study has adopted an intersectionally-sensitive approach to analysing the employment contexts in two very different sectors. The evidence presented in this thesis gives weight to the intersectional perspective as not only does it find that the actual form of inequality varies but also that the various practices that contribute to inequalities in the different sectors affect different groups of people differently by gender, class and in certain cases region. This contributes to the embryonic literature on intersectionality in terms of both its practice and theory, and understanding how gender and class issues in Malawi may be different from the way these are conceptualised in western contexts.

Although lawyers as a group represent some of the wealthiest and most politically powerful professionals in the United States, within the profession there is a significant amount of inequality. In spite of the divisions that exist within the profession, our understanding of the sources of inequality among attorneys remains limited. This project seeks to address this limitation by investigating how human, cultural, and social capital, along with demographic characteristics, are associated with the development of inequality among a cohort of recent law school graduates as they proceed through the first decade of legal practice. Specifically, using a dataset entitled After the JD: A Longitudinal Study of Careers in Transition, the project examines the relationships between recently minted lawyers' various forms of capital and positive career outcomes during three time periods: the law school-to-work transition, the first two years of legal practice, and the time period where private law firm associates compete to become partners. Findings indicate that each form of capital plays important roles throughout the first decade of practice. During the law school-to-work transition, interpersonal and organizational connections, along with human capital in the form of educational credentials, are associated with gaining employment in prestigious, high paying private law firms. Similarly, during the first few years of practice, connections formed with peers, professional groups, mentors, supervisors, and employers contribute to satisfying work environments. The models show, however, that access to these professional connections, depend on the gender, race, and sexual orientation of the individual lawyers in question, and that, in general, minority groups are at a disadvantage when it comes to the formation and maintenance of these types of professional ties. Finally, the findings also demonstrate that human, social, and cultural capital remain important predictors of career success during the transition to partnership in private firms.

The problem addressed in the study concerned the lack of attraction of girls into professional Mining Industry (MI) careers. The study had four main objectives. The first was to review the literature to determine the reasons why there were so few women currently in MI careers, and then to describe strategies that have been successfully used to increase their participation. It quickly became apparent that while little research could be located relating directly to MI, the broader fields of science, engineering and technology (SET) could be reviewed to include the subset of mining-related careers.The second objective was to determine the attitudes towards MI careers of a select group of Year 10 schoolgirls, with the ability to proceed to the tertiary prerequisites for MI courses. This was accomplished through the development, implementation and statistical analysis of an instrument, the Mining Industry Attitude Survey (MIAS), designed specifically to focus on MI-related careers, rather than SET generally.The third objective was to develop and implement appropriate intervention strategies aimed at enhancing the attitudes of the group of girls, as determined through analyses of MIAS and related research. Under the auspices of the Western Australian School of Mines Engineering and Technology Camp, conducted annually in Kalgoorlie, a program of strategies was adapted and implemented over a period of five days at the residential camp.The final objective of the study was to determine if the intervention program did, in fact, enhance participating girls' attitudes. Using quasi-experimental research methods, quantitative data were collected and analysed from girls attending the camp, as the experimental group, and from applicants that did not attend as the control group. In addition, qualitative data were collected from select girls in the experimental group, during the camp ++ / program.The outcomes of the study are set out in terms of the main objectives, culminating in a discussion of the implications which the stated findings pose for researchers, practitioners of equity programs and employers of future MI graduates.

This study used the qualitative semi-structured interview method to collect data to discover Solomon Islands parents' educational and career aspirations for their children and their perceptions of formal secondary education in the Solomon Islands with respect to their children's preparation for meeting these aspirations. In carrying out the research, four couples were selected as participants and categorized into two groups according to their educational attainment (well educated and less educated). What was found was that, although parents have educational and career aspirations for their children, not all parents were specific. The findings also suggested that the career aspirations parents have were mainly influenced by economic and social factors rather than internal factors. In relation to parents' perception of the formal secondary education system in terms of preparing students for work, the findings suggested parents have both a positive and low opinion of formal secondary education in the Solomon Islands. There was also a mixed feeling and point to the idea that there are other factors such as teachers and curriculum subjects that impacted on the perceptions of success or vice-versa of the secondary education system. The findings also suggested that while parents appreciate the vocational curriculum and education system as preparing students for work (than secondary education), preference however was given to secondary education first and foremost.

A common practice in multi-national enterprises is to staff important managerial roles in overseas operations with personnel from the company’s country of origin: expatriate managers. Homecoming expatriates often experience that the competence they have acquired abroad is not recognized when returning home. The purpose of this thesis is to explore how expatriates experience that international assignments affect their careers. The theoretical framework used includes sociological theories from neo-Marxist theory, Bourdieuan career theory and expectancy theory. This thesis uses qualitative methodology and a phenomenological approach to investigate the purpose and the research questions. The empirical part of the thesis has been conducted in two phases where five international mobility managers have been interviewed in the first phase. In the second phase interviews where held at a multi-national Swedish headquartered company where five interviews were conducted. The results indicate that there is a discrepancy between how company representatives (managers) and employees consider international assignments and expatriation in relation to employee careers. There seems to be a lack of clear understanding of the impact of expatriation on employee careers and also of the career value of an international assignment for an employee.

Although youth crime and young offenders have attracted a significant amount of ongoing research attention and have given rise to a voluminous amount of literature devoted to describing and explaining their existence and providing suggestions for what may be done, much less attention has been paid to the youth court itself and, more specifically, the convictions of young persons over time. Using the Youth Court Survey as a source of longitudinal data, the present study describes the youth court convictions of a birth cohort of Canadian offenders from the time they officially enter the system at age 12 up to their 18th birthdays. The criminal career paradigm is used in the present study to guide the detailed and structured analysis of the key features of these conviction histories by partitioning convictions into four central parameters: prevalence of convictions, individual frequencies, age at first conviction, and patterns of transition (i.e. specialization and versatility). Findings revealed that approximately 23,000 males and 6,000 females—12 percent and 3 percent of the 1979/80 birth cohort, respectively—were convicted of at least one offence in youth court. While the patterns of convictions were found to be similar for both males and females, the prevalence among females rose relatively faster at younger ages and peaked earlier. Findings also indicated that the vast majority of young people who were convicted in a Canadian youth court had a conviction history consisting of only one conviction. However, findings also highlighted the extent to which the phenomenon of a concentration of offending, which has been noted in numerous countries, is present in Canada with a small group of chronic offenders being responsible for a disproportionate amount of court activity. The study also found that the younger an individual was at the time of their first conviction, the more likely they were to accumulate future convictions, and also to receive a conviction for a violent offence. Lastly, findings revealed that the youth court career is characterized by neither complete specialization nor complete versatility, but rather that these two tendencies in offending exist side by side. Overall, the current study provides a more complete picture of the conviction history of this cohort of young offenders than one-time snapshots from individual surveys could allow.

Although youth crime and young offenders have attracted a significant amount of ongoing research attention and have given rise to a voluminous amount of literature devoted to describing and explaining their existence and providing suggestions for what may be done, much less attention has been paid to the youth court itself and, more specifically, the convictions of young persons over time. Using the Youth Court Survey as a source of longitudinal data, the present study describes the youth court convictions of a birth cohort of Canadian offenders from the time they officially enter the system at age 12 up to their 18th birthdays. The criminal career paradigm is used in the present study to guide the detailed and structured analysis of the key features of these conviction histories by partitioning convictions into four central parameters: prevalence of convictions, individual frequencies, age at first conviction, and patterns of transition (i.e. specialization and versatility). Findings revealed that approximately 23,000 males and 6,000 females—12 percent and 3 percent of the 1979/80 birth cohort, respectively—were convicted of at least one offence in youth court. While the patterns of convictions were found to be similar for both males and females, the prevalence among females rose relatively faster at younger ages and peaked earlier. Findings also indicated that the vast majority of young people who were convicted in a Canadian youth court had a conviction history consisting of only one conviction. However, findings also highlighted the extent to which the phenomenon of a concentration of offending, which has been noted in numerous countries, is present in Canada with a small group of chronic offenders being responsible for a disproportionate amount of court activity. The study also found that the younger an individual was at the time of their first conviction, the more likely they were to accumulate future convictions, and also to receive a conviction for a violent offence. Lastly, findings revealed that the youth court career is characterized by neither complete specialization nor complete versatility, but rather that these two tendencies in offending exist side by side. Overall, the current study provides a more complete picture of the conviction history of this cohort of young offenders than one-time snapshots from individual surveys could allow.

This study investigates how young people and employers perceive equal opportunities in the world of work. Events such as the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry (Macpherson, 1999), the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and other legislation to promote equal opportunities, for example, Employment Equality Regulations, 2003 (Phillips, 2007, p.36) have placed this issue high on the political and education agenda. This study also investigates how young people perceive the message of equal opportunities in employers’ recruitment material as employers often declare in recruitment advertising that they are an equal opportunity employer (Dickens, 2000, p.138). A qualitative approach is taken using semi-structured interviews with thirty students in the sixth form in five secondary schools and five employers (The Army, The Fire Service, Metropolitan Police Service, British Airways and Mars UK) in West London. Policy documents on equal opportunities were also collected from the selected schools and employers. All the sources of data, that is the interviews with students and employers and the documentary data were analysed using a thematic approach. This study provides an in-depth insight and a snapshot at a local level of the national picture on equal opportunities in the world of work in relation to gender and ethnicity. The findings are that the young people, employers and the documentation of employers and schools show common understandings but also differences in their perception and portrayal of equal opportunities in the world of work. This study has also found that young people do not perceive the message of equal opportunities in the recruitment material. The implications of these findings are considered for both Careers Education and Guidance in schools and employers. This study concludes that the consensus is inspiring as it shows that young people and employers have a common vision of equal opportunities in the world of work and this consensus is followed through in policy documents. However, the differences, whilst they add variation to the perception and portrayal, need to be addressed if equal opportunities in the world of work are to progress further. To address these issues a model of Embedded Mutual Partnership is recommended between schools and employers.