Dissertation (Ph.D.)--University of South Florida, 2009. / Title from PDF of title page. Document formatted into pages; contains 305 pages. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2003. / "December 1, 2003"--T.p. Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

Although some individuals excel during the transition from high school to university, many struggle to adjust and experience repeated failures. To facilitate academic adjustment in those most at-risk of failure, vulnerable students were identified based on their pre-existing levels of preoccupation with failure (PWF; low, high) and primary control (PC; low, high). These factors were combined to create four distinct psychosocial typologies (e.g., low PWF, low PC). Students were subsequently presented with Attributional Retraining (AR), a control-enhancing treatment intervention. An AR (no- AR, AR) by group (failure-acceptors, failure-ruminators, achievement-oriented, over- strivers) 2 x 4 pre-post, quasi-experimental treatment design examined longitudinal differences in causal attributions, achievement emotions, PC, and achievement outcomes. AR encouraged all students to de-emphasize two uncontrollable attributions for failure and emphasize a controllable attribution. Most interestingly, AR was particularly beneficial for at-risk students. Notably, only failure-acceptors (low PWF, low PC) and failure-ruminators (high PWF, low PC) receiving AR reported more adaptive activity emotions and higher PC than their no-AR peers. For only failure-ruminators, those in the AR condition exhibited more adaptive attribution-related emotions than their no-AR peers. Conversely, only failure-acceptors receiving AR had higher grade point averages and fewer voluntary withdrawals than their no-AR counterparts. Results suggest the efficacy of AR in facilitating functional causal thinking for all students, whereas they also underscore  AR’s  value in promoting adaptive emotions, PC, and academic achievement for failure-prone students.

According to Morling and Evered’s (2006) Fit-Focused model of secondary control, an individual can adapt to adverse circumstances by accepting the situation and adjusting the self. The present study examined this theory in a competitive achievement setting to determine whether vulnerable students who relinquish academic control (high acceptance/low adjustment beliefs) benefit from an Attributional Retraining (AR) treatment intervention compared with a Stress Reduction (SR) treatment. Based on an 8-month quasi-experimental treatment study, a priori t-tests were used to test the hypotheses within an Adjustment (low, high) x Treatment (AR, SR) Analyses of Covariance experimental design for individuals high in failure acceptance. Findings revealed that AR (versus SR) facilitated higher long-term learning-related affects and academic performance for relinquished control students. The findings reveal AR’s strategic utility for assisting vulnerable individuals who lack Fit-Focused SC, as well as provide empirical support for Morling and Evered’s (2006) Fit-Focused model.

Although some individuals excel during the transition from high school to university, many struggle to adjust and experience repeated failures. To facilitate academic adjustment in those most at-risk of failure, vulnerable students were identified based on their pre-existing levels of preoccupation with failure (PWF; low, high) and primary control (PC; low, high). These factors were combined to create four distinct psychosocial typologies (e.g., low PWF, low PC). Students were subsequently presented with Attributional Retraining (AR), a control-enhancing treatment intervention. An AR (no- AR, AR) by group (failure-acceptors, failure-ruminators, achievement-oriented, over- strivers) 2 x 4 pre-post, quasi-experimental treatment design examined longitudinal differences in causal attributions, achievement emotions, PC, and achievement outcomes. AR encouraged all students to de-emphasize two uncontrollable attributions for failure and emphasize a controllable attribution. Most interestingly, AR was particularly beneficial for at-risk students. Notably, only failure-acceptors (low PWF, low PC) and failure-ruminators (high PWF, low PC) receiving AR reported more adaptive activity emotions and higher PC than their no-AR peers. For only failure-ruminators, those in the AR condition exhibited more adaptive attribution-related emotions than their no-AR peers. Conversely, only failure-acceptors receiving AR had higher grade point averages and fewer voluntary withdrawals than their no-AR counterparts. Results suggest the efficacy of AR in facilitating functional causal thinking for all students, whereas they also underscore  AR’s  value in promoting adaptive emotions, PC, and academic achievement for failure-prone students.

Manufacturing employment in Georgia has declined as thousands of jobs have been lost to foreign suppliers and improvements in productivity. Changes in the state s industrial structure have created mismatches between worker capabilities and the skills required to work in a new field. The transition from a manufacturing to a services economy has strained the ability of many in the state s workforce to acquire to the new job skills demanded by employers. In order to regain employment and maintain former wage levels, structurally unemployed workers need new skills to work new jobs. Unemployed workers sometimes turn to workforce development system (WDS) programs to upgrade skills and provide access to better employment. The purpose of WDS job training services is to facilitate the transition from job loss to stable re-employment. Which job training strategies work or do not work and or for which demographic groups was the focus of this research. The fundamental question posed by this research was, "Can job training help alleviate the adverse wage impacts and time spent in prolonged job search resulting from structural unemployment in Georgia, and if so, which programs work better?" Answering this question requires that structurally unemployed workers in Georgia be assessed with respect to industry, demographics, geography, and Georgia Department of Labor training program exposure as explanatory factors for post-training wage and job search time differentials, both direct indicators of program efficacy to workers. Multivariate regression techniques were used to estimate the impacts of GDOL job training services on workers exiting the state's structurally declining industries and reentering new employment. Among the findings of this research were that: job training was often associated with lower worker wages once re-employed and longer times spent in job search; compared to short-term unemployed workers from declining industries, the long-term unemployed experienced significantly larger adverse wage effects and longer job search times; job training services were found to be most beneficial to workers leaving less-skilled industries and less beneficial to unemployed leaving higher-skilled industries such as manufacturing; and informational job training services were determined to be more cost-effective than occupational skills training.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-126). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-92).

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Duquesne University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 118-124) and index.