This study explores what motivates engineers in their early-mid career to change careers. It first establishes the definition of a career change from the perspective of those who have changed careers, and then examines what drives, influences and facilitates a career change, as well as how a career change is enacted physically and emotionally. This has been looked at through the contemporary lens of the ‘intelligent career framework’. This research adopted a qualitative, abductive approach following an initial inductive small-scale exploratory study. The fieldwork consisted of a pilot and main study using semi-structured interviews. For the main study, 22 interviews were conducted within one organisation in order to elicit the subjective experiences of engineers who had undertaken a career change. The findings show how the driving factors relate predominantly to knowing-why and knowing-where. The influencing and facilitating factors vary by individual, and relate to knowing-what, knowing-how knowing-when and knowing-whom. Six clusters of interacting factors were observed with knowing-why, knowing-how and knowing-when at the core. Whilst the process of career change was complex and long, differing pathways through which individuals changed careers were evident, as well as emotions that needed to be managed. This study contributes to knowledge in the area of contemporary career theory by exploring career change through a new lens: the intelligent career framework. It demonstrates how individuals use their ‘career capital’ to effect a career change and the ways in which the six knowings interact to bring about a career change. It extends the understanding of the process of career change and discovers some of the organisational factors that influence or facilitate individuals making a career change. All of these contributions address identifiable gaps in the literature.

Sport can have a profoundly positive impact on the world. It can unite diversity, extracts youthful communities from poverty and inject flaking nations with relentless spirit. Sport transcends barriers and mends people with tumultuous personal histories. Within this context, we examine the ability that sport has to direct the lives of women from an early age. Effectively operating beyond the limitations of a classroom, sport can teach essential life lessons. Women who compete in sport from a young age have the opportunity to actualise their innate potential, develop their intelligence, grow in confidence, fine-tune leadership skills and establish a sense of presence. The aim of this investigation was four fold: (1) to explore the reasons why women who compete at an intense level in sport terminate their careers prior to reaching their full potential. (2) To identify the essential factors that impact heavily on women in sport: stereotypes, the media, teaching methods, and other factors identified during the research. (3) To establish the similarities and/or differences between women who have terminated their careers and women who still compete at intense level, and (4) to identify coping strategies that may assist women to overcome the obstacles and persevere in their sporting careers. A qualitative approach was adopted: 64 women filled out the questionnaires. They had all competed in first teams at provincial, national or international levels. Some had terminated their sporting careers; others were still competing. Through analysis of data, women in this study terminated sport participation because of decreased motivation and interest in sport, coach dynamics, academic pressure, development of injury and politics in the administration of sport. The latter may be unique to South Africa following the demand for sport to be more representative of all population groups. This study endeavoured to identify eco-factors that would possibly appear to play a key role in whether women continue in or terminate their sporting careers. Men’s sports dominate the media in South Africa. There seems to be a direct correlation between the amount of coverage given to sportswomen and the number of women actively competing in sport. The media is an incredibly powerful tool and has the “potential to create and achieve an environment that promotes and supports the principles of equity.” (Goslin, 2008: 300) Until the media makes a concerted effort to modify the imbalance, not much will change for women in the sporting world. Stereotypes continue to prevail. Society and media conform to portraits of women as mother, wife, sex symbol or career seeker. One of few sports brands to reverse this affliction is Nike: “Somebody will give her a doll. And somebody will give her a ball. And then somebody will give her a chance" (Nike "There is a Girl in America”, 1996). The advertisement was never released in South Africa. The media, however, can only be responsible for so much. Ultimately, parents have to take responsibility for their child’s upbringing. During this study, differences in parenting styles and how these styles influence the longevity of participation were identified. The issue of how far to push a child to do something she/he does not want to do emerged as a regular theme. Results showed that within the group who were still competing; only 17% had parents who pushed them. Within the group who terminated their careers, 62% of them were driven beyond their will. Perceived peer acceptance was also identified as an influence contributing to the prediction of enjoyment and perceived competence in the sporting arena. Our coaches, their coaching methods and how they handle contemporary females also proved to have a profound impact on the termination or continuation of sport. Coaches provide encouragement, motivation and preparedness. There appears to be little published research to substantiate why women continue sport at a tertiary level. From this research, however, it appears that an athlete who has a growth mindset and is focused on task orientation is more likely to continue sport over someone who has a fixed mindset and is more ego-orient. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences / unrestricted

Objective: To explore the decision making approaches used by nurses who chose to work in critical care and factors influencing the process of decision making. Design and methods Qualitative descriptive methods using semi-structured interviews with nurses who had chosen to work in critical care within the past year. Results Ten nurses weighed staying in their current positions with moving to critical care. Two nurses considered two or more specialty units. The nurses used rational-intuitive and satisficing decision making approaches in making their employment decision. Limited knowledge and unrealistic expectations of work life in critical care, pressure from others, and inadequate professional support made nurses’ employment decisions more difficult. Social support, personal values for growth and learning, and paid educational incentives within employment offers facilitated their employment decisions. Conclusions Several factors negatively influenced nurses’ decision making approaches to making an employment decision. Findings revealed the need for decision support interventions focused on making employment choices for nurses.

Informed by a sociological approach, this thesis provides an account of the theoretical and empirical context of pharmacy students' undergraduate careers, beginning with the decision to enter higher education and ending with the final undergraduate year of a pharmacy student's education. The main aim of the published work and of the academic field that it contributes to is to advance understanding of why young people choose to study pharmacy (and thus choose pharmacy as a career), and career aspirations and influences over the course of their pharmacy school career. By establishing what influences and shapes pharmacy students' choices this thesis also provides an account of the degree to which career preferences are limited initially by awareness of opportunities, by socialisation and habitus, and how these are related to undergraduate career success.The thesis reports findings from studies using a range of methods including focus groups, surveys, and secondary analysis of pharmacy student data from a number of sources. Subjects investigated by the work are British undergraduate MPharm students and graduates. Numbers applying to study pharmacy, numbers accepted, and numbers entering the MPharm are compared and the relative risk of attrition from the MPharm, are also examined. Findings reported here are relevant to undergraduate pharmacy education policy-makers, heads of pharmacy schools, pharmacist employers, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and to those responsible for pharmacy workforce planning.While the primary aim of the thesis is to improve understanding of (undergraduate) pharmacy careers through the application of a number of sociological theories and perspectives, the thesis also considers the ways that findings can usefully inform pharmacy education and policy agendas.

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to identify and describe the impact of the support system on the career development of first generation college graduates. Research Questions: --What comprises the first generation college graduates' support system for each generation (i.e. social network, friends, family and colleagues and mentors)? --What is the relative importance/influence of each support system component in career development for each generation? Design/Methodology/Approach: There were a total of 21 in-depth interviews with equal number of participants for all three generations (Baby Boomers, X and Y). The interviews were recorded, transcribed and then coded. Further, there are cross case and within case analyses. Research Limitations: No participants were born outside of the range of 1946 to 1990. While women were equally represented during the purposeful sample selection, the research did not delve into gender differences study.

Dr. Kelly Price analyzes the evidence on how becoming a mother can impact an LPGA player's productivity, performance, and earnings.

No description available.

Inquiries have been made by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education and the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to determine how colleges and universities could meet the financial crisis now being faced. One of the recommendations made by both agencies as a result of their investigations was that curriculum planners at these institutions provide students with opportunities to have off-campus experiences, preferably in their chosen career areas, before they are graduated to determine whether they want to pursue their studies in that area or reorient themselves to other options. These planned stopouts, they suggested, would curtail drifting or hanging on as well as enable students to gain practical experiences at various stages in their training. There is a lack of information in the literature to justify immediate response to the suggestions made by the private and public bodies mentioned. Time does not permit officials to conduct longitudinal studies based on an experimental design which would provide a basis to accept or reject these recommendations. This study represents an effort to investigate the effects of stopping out on former students. Admittedly it has limitations, particularly those inherent in ex post facto research, but does provide some results which may assist administrators and faculties as they make decisions in light of the crisis now facing them. The results of this study indicate that students who have stopped out are more likely to change their academic major than students who have not stopped out. Also, there are indications that stopping out does not affect academic standing. However, it was found that for most students grades get higher as they progress through school whether they stop out or stay in. This finding is in agreement with findings from previous studies reported in the literature.

One of the most striking trends in individuals’ careers over the last decade has been the dramatic increase in the proportion of the labor force working beyond their employers’ physical boundaries because of the digital revolution in the gig economy. This trend has drawn much attention in the changing nature of work, workplace and careers. However, little empirical research has explored how and why individuals behave in the interface between online platforms and traditional organizations. In my dissertation, I explore these questions by studying medical professionals’ digital careers in the Chinese healthcare crowdsourcing industry, also known as “mobile doctors.” First, by analyzing approximately 240-hour observations and 43 interviews with Chinese physicians, I identify a key issue in this new career – time conflict between crowdsourcing and traditional work. The findings show that physicians respond to time conflict in a variety of ways, including time theft, an essential yet under-researched construct in the crowdsourcing literature which reflects the tension between traditional work and crowdsourcing. Second, by analyzing archival data of 4,034 doctors’ 3.1 million time records on a Chinese healthcare platform across half a year, I show that time theft for crowdsourcing is related to the traditional work context, including hospitals’ boundary control and offline crowd worker social groups. Finally, I further explore, via interview data, why such seemingly costly and deviant time theft is adopted by mobile doctors. The findings reveal that medical professionals assume the extra burden of working for crowdsourcing with the hope of answering unfulfilled occupational callings in traditional work and adding meaning to their work. Overall, these findings contribute to a better understanding of the shifting nature of work and careers in the digital economy by documenting and explaining mobile doctors’ participation in this new world of work.

Yes / This document outlines a set of guidelines for universities and research organisations that are in the process of, or considering, implementing: measures for gender equality in selection processes relating to recruitment, promotion and progression of academics and researchers; measures aimed at strengthening the presence of women in leadership and senior positions, including gender targets; and measures to support women in accessing opportunities for career progression. The term ‘career transitions’ is used as shorthand in the document for all processes relating to recruitment, promotion, progression, career support and gender targets in academic and research careers. / FP7