Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisor: Daniel S. Hamermesh. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available from UMI.

Cada vez mais pessoas chegam à idade da transição para a aposentadoria, o que tem estimulado pesquisas sobre o assunto. Pouco se sabe, contudo, sobre como esse processo se dá em trabalhadores autônomos. Este trabalho teve como objetivo principal compreender a experiência de aposentadoria em profissionais autônomos, estando organizado em três estudos. O primeiro consistiu na apresentação dos principais referencias teóricos sobre o tema da aposentadoria, discutindo seus pontos fortes e suas limitações. O segundo, também teórico, descreveu as principais motivações para a entrada e a permanência no mercado de trabalho autônomo. Já o terceiro estudo, de caráter qualitativo e fenomenológico, investigou como profissionais autônomos vivenciam a sua aposentadoria. Foram entrevistados dez participantes, com idades variando entre 60 e 91 anos. A experiência de aposentadoria caracterizou-se por uma transformação do papel de trabalhador e uma modificação na dinâmica de outros papéis sociais desempenhados pelo aposentado. Verificou-se que enquanto o corpo e a mente permitissem a atuação profissional, os autônomos seguiriam trabalhando. Ter construído um ambiente de trabalho flexível proporcionou uma transição de carreira gradual e com um maior controle, apesar dos relatos de pouco planejamento sobre o futuro. Entende-se que os autônomos vivenciam uma aposentadoria parcial, visto que o recebimento de um benefício não se constitui como um marcador social para a saída do mercado de trabalho. / More and more people reach the age of the retirement transition, a fact that has stimulated research on this topic. However, little is known about the retirement process of selfemployed professionals. This work addresses this theme in three studies, aiming to understand the experience of retirement in self-employed professionals. The first study presents the main theoretical frameworks about retirement, pointing out their strengths and weaknesses. The second one, also theoretical, describes the main motivations why selfemployed people choose this kind of work. The third study, qualitative and phenomenological, investigated how self-employed professionals experienced the retirement. Ten participants, aged between 61 and 91 years, were interviewed. The retirement experience consisted in a transformation of the worker role, and a change in the social role dynamics. Participants revealed the desire to keep working while the body and the mind still allow the development of professional activities. Having a flexible work environment provided a gradual career transition, with more control, despite little planning about future. It is concluded that self-employed people experience a partial retirement, since earning a retirement benefit is not perceived as a social marker for stop working.

Cada vez mais pessoas chegam à idade da transição para a aposentadoria, o que tem estimulado pesquisas sobre o assunto. Pouco se sabe, contudo, sobre como esse processo se dá em trabalhadores autônomos. Este trabalho teve como objetivo principal compreender a experiência de aposentadoria em profissionais autônomos, estando organizado em três estudos. O primeiro consistiu na apresentação dos principais referencias teóricos sobre o tema da aposentadoria, discutindo seus pontos fortes e suas limitações. O segundo, também teórico, descreveu as principais motivações para a entrada e a permanência no mercado de trabalho autônomo. Já o terceiro estudo, de caráter qualitativo e fenomenológico, investigou como profissionais autônomos vivenciam a sua aposentadoria. Foram entrevistados dez participantes, com idades variando entre 60 e 91 anos. A experiência de aposentadoria caracterizou-se por uma transformação do papel de trabalhador e uma modificação na dinâmica de outros papéis sociais desempenhados pelo aposentado. Verificou-se que enquanto o corpo e a mente permitissem a atuação profissional, os autônomos seguiriam trabalhando. Ter construído um ambiente de trabalho flexível proporcionou uma transição de carreira gradual e com um maior controle, apesar dos relatos de pouco planejamento sobre o futuro. Entende-se que os autônomos vivenciam uma aposentadoria parcial, visto que o recebimento de um benefício não se constitui como um marcador social para a saída do mercado de trabalho. / More and more people reach the age of the retirement transition, a fact that has stimulated research on this topic. However, little is known about the retirement process of selfemployed professionals. This work addresses this theme in three studies, aiming to understand the experience of retirement in self-employed professionals. The first study presents the main theoretical frameworks about retirement, pointing out their strengths and weaknesses. The second one, also theoretical, describes the main motivations why selfemployed people choose this kind of work. The third study, qualitative and phenomenological, investigated how self-employed professionals experienced the retirement. Ten participants, aged between 61 and 91 years, were interviewed. The retirement experience consisted in a transformation of the worker role, and a change in the social role dynamics. Participants revealed the desire to keep working while the body and the mind still allow the development of professional activities. Having a flexible work environment provided a gradual career transition, with more control, despite little planning about future. It is concluded that self-employed people experience a partial retirement, since earning a retirement benefit is not perceived as a social marker for stop working.

Cada vez mais pessoas chegam à idade da transição para a aposentadoria, o que tem estimulado pesquisas sobre o assunto. Pouco se sabe, contudo, sobre como esse processo se dá em trabalhadores autônomos. Este trabalho teve como objetivo principal compreender a experiência de aposentadoria em profissionais autônomos, estando organizado em três estudos. O primeiro consistiu na apresentação dos principais referencias teóricos sobre o tema da aposentadoria, discutindo seus pontos fortes e suas limitações. O segundo, também teórico, descreveu as principais motivações para a entrada e a permanência no mercado de trabalho autônomo. Já o terceiro estudo, de caráter qualitativo e fenomenológico, investigou como profissionais autônomos vivenciam a sua aposentadoria. Foram entrevistados dez participantes, com idades variando entre 60 e 91 anos. A experiência de aposentadoria caracterizou-se por uma transformação do papel de trabalhador e uma modificação na dinâmica de outros papéis sociais desempenhados pelo aposentado. Verificou-se que enquanto o corpo e a mente permitissem a atuação profissional, os autônomos seguiriam trabalhando. Ter construído um ambiente de trabalho flexível proporcionou uma transição de carreira gradual e com um maior controle, apesar dos relatos de pouco planejamento sobre o futuro. Entende-se que os autônomos vivenciam uma aposentadoria parcial, visto que o recebimento de um benefício não se constitui como um marcador social para a saída do mercado de trabalho. / More and more people reach the age of the retirement transition, a fact that has stimulated research on this topic. However, little is known about the retirement process of selfemployed professionals. This work addresses this theme in three studies, aiming to understand the experience of retirement in self-employed professionals. The first study presents the main theoretical frameworks about retirement, pointing out their strengths and weaknesses. The second one, also theoretical, describes the main motivations why selfemployed people choose this kind of work. The third study, qualitative and phenomenological, investigated how self-employed professionals experienced the retirement. Ten participants, aged between 61 and 91 years, were interviewed. The retirement experience consisted in a transformation of the worker role, and a change in the social role dynamics. Participants revealed the desire to keep working while the body and the mind still allow the development of professional activities. Having a flexible work environment provided a gradual career transition, with more control, despite little planning about future. It is concluded that self-employed people experience a partial retirement, since earning a retirement benefit is not perceived as a social marker for stop working.

Magister Commercii - MCom / Whilst paid employment has generally been considered as the predominant means of avoiding poor living standards, the past two decades has seen a rise in the complex phenomenon of employed poverty worldwide (Eardley, 1998; Nolan and Marx, 1999; Nolan et al., 2010; Cheung and Chou, 2015). Over time, low-wage employment has increased in both number and severity, resulting in or contributing significantly to household poverty (Nolan and Marx, 1999). While individuals are employed in paid work, salaries are too low for households to maintain “a reasonable standard of living” (Cheung and Chou, 2015 p. 318). Internationally, employed poverty has been a serious and well-researched problem in the United States of America (USA or US). More than 11% of the USA “population resided in poor households with at least one employed person” (Brady et al., 2010 p. 560). In Hong Kong, approximately 53.5% of the population living in poverty were working poor in 2012 (Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2013). Closer to home, Sub- Saharan Africa’s working poor rate for 2016 was estimated at 33.1% for workers earning less than US $1.90 per day and 30% for those earning between US $1.90 and $3.10 per day (International Labour Organisation, 2016).

Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology - Psychology / The relation between self-esteem and depression with regard to employment status of gay men in long-term monogamous partnerships was investigated, specifically to determine if a relation exists between employment status and self-esteem, and between employment status and depression in these men. The relation between eleven biographical and psychosocial variables with self-esteem and depression were also investigated. Non-probability snowball and purposive sampling were used to gather the sample of 56 gay male couples who were predominantly white; middle-class; well-educated; urban-dwelling South Africans; that had been involved for a mean length of 7.3 years. Each couple consisted of an employed partner and an unemployed partner, who had a mean length of 3.4 years of unemployment. Five couples (10 subjects) formed a pilot study and completed only the Revised Janis-Field Feelings of Inadequacy Scale (R-JFFIS), while the remaining 51 couples (102 subjects) completed both the R-JFFIS and the Revised Beck Depression Inventory (R-BDI). An Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) computed for the mixed effect model with fixed factor of employment status nested within the random factor of couple, controlling for the effects of the possible covariates revealed a significant difference between self-esteem of employed and unemployed partners. The difference is not significant for depression. Confirmatory evidence for the importance of age as a significant predictor of self-esteem was found for the whole sample; while perceived health and education were found to be significant predictors of depression. Self-esteem and depression were found to be inversely related in both employed and unemployed partners individually and collectively, while a positive correlation was found between self-esteem of employed and unemployed partners. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the eleven variables investigated were poor correlates of self-esteem in both partners. Only perceived health was found to be a significant predictor of depression in employed and unemployed partners respectively. No known existing studies investigate these particular dimensions of gay life. The disparity of self-esteem scores between employed and unemployed partners and the inverse relation between perceived health and depression provide a proactive position, from which primary prevention of depression could be achieved.

Some Southwestern Pennsylvania middle school (MS) principals who employ the teaming model, an aspect of transformational leadership (TL), are meeting the state proficiency standards. There are schools in the same geographic region whose principals employ the teaming model but are failing to meet the state proficiency standards. The purpose of this study was to obtain principals' and teachers' perceptions on aspects of TL as demonstrated by principals in MSs meeting the state proficiency standards. Using Burns' (1978) conceptual framework of TL, specific characteristics such as idealized influence, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation, and intellectual stimulation, were explored using a collective case study. The criteria for selection of 3 MS sample sites were (a) employed the teaming model, (b) met the state proficiency standards, and (c) reflected similar demographic variables to the local MS target school. Thirteen teacher and 2 principal interviews were conducted using 3 sample sites. Data from the interviews were coded, analyzed, and categorized. Themes emerging from the categorization were: supportive leadership, mutual respect, trust, concern, collaboration, and encouragement. Teachers perceived that leaders understood the teacher's perspective, helped create value in roles and modeled collegial equality with staff. Principals perceived that leaders encouraged collaboration and communicated with staff to build relationships and professional confidence. The resulting project was a professional development (PD) workshop for school leaders to improve understanding of aspects of TL; thereby, improving student learning, providing expanded educational opportunities, and creating positive social change.

The difference in financial literacy among business owners may affect how financial decisions are made, especially when comparing between women and men. Using role congruity theory as the theoretical framework, the objective of this study is to examine how financial literacy, composed of financial knowledge and financial confidence, differs in influence in the decision-making process of financial decisions between self-employed women and self-employed men. Based on data from the 2014 Canadian Financial Capability Survey (CFCS), results show that self-employed women and self-employed men have equivalent financial knowledge. In addition, while self-employed women have less financial confidence than self-employed men, self-employed men are more overconfident than self-employed women, both groups are, in general equally likely to make risky (bad) decisions. This suggests that financial confidence plays an important role as financial knowledge does in the decision-making process.

Breastfeeding is the best food source for the nutritional and health needs of young children. However when a mother returns to work, breastfeeding may be discontinued prematurely. The purpose of this study was to study infant feeding practices used by working mothers in Nairobi. Mothers attending clinics at two hospitals, one a private hospital serving higher socioeconomic groups and the other a public hospital represented the low socioeconomic groups, were interviewed. A structured interview was held with 444 mothers (200 from the low socioeconomic group and 244 from the high socioeconomic group) between January 5th and February 11th 2000. All mothers with infants aged 16-48 weeks who were willing to participate were interviewed. The prevalence of breastfeeding at the time of the study was found to be 94.1%. The low socioeconomic group exhibited a higher prevalence of breastfeeding (99%) with a 10% difference between the low and high socioeconomic groups. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding was 13.3% at three months. Early introduction of other feeding methods was high, with 46.4% of the mothers introducing other feeding methods before one month. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine factors that were associated with exclusive breastfeeding using two separate models for exclusive breastfeeding at one month and two months. The mode of work (fixed working hours as opposed to shift work) was associated with exclusive breastfeeding for at least month (OR=0.45) and two months (OR=0.39). Insufficient milk and return to work were the main reasons cited for cessation of exclusive breastfeeding. / Multiple linear regression was used to find out whether growth rates differed between feeding methods and types of foods for complementary feeding. Bottle-feeding had a significant negative association (-0.240, p=0.018) with baby weight and a downward trend was evident in baby Z-score for age exhibiting a risk of growth faltering in all infants. The results of this study indicate that the prevalence of breastfeeding in Nairobi Kenya has remained considerably high. Working mothers are still committed to breastfeeding despite the long working hours of separation (mean 46.23 hours). However exclusive breastfeeding is low, recommendations are made for interventions to promote exclusive breastfeeding and policies with strategies to enable working mothers to exclusively breastfeed for at least four months.

To be able to understand future firm performance it is important to recognize and correctly evaluate what constitutes a signal. This study investigates if provisions contain signalling value regarding future firm performance. The study is conducted on firms listed on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm from 2001 to 2010, constituting a sample of 2173 firm years. All the provision data has been manually collected from each of the firm’s annual reports. By using both univariate and multivariate analyses, the study provides new evidence regarding the association between provisions and firm performance. The findings indicate that firms who recognise restructuring provisions experience a performance improvement. The performance improvement is tied to the size of the restructuring provision i.e. the signal. Warranty and litigation provisions show no indications of having any relation to future firm performance. Thus, large restructuring provisions contain a signal of performance improvement, whereas warranty and litigation provisions do not. The thesis contributes to existing literature by providing new insight of how provisions functions as signals of firm performance