In this study, ecosystems were examined to reveal the adaptational processes of individual, family environments, and work environments during and following organizational restructuring. Reorganizing the workplace was expected to lead to changes in the employee's organizational ecosystem as well as the family ecosystem. Transactions between the family and work ecosystems and the individual were examined. The sample of 10 women and 5 men were from a restructured state agency. Transactional human ecology provided the theoretical framework for the study. In-depth interviews were used to gather the data. Document analysis and personal viewpoint provided additional data. Experiences that facilitated the adaptation process were individuals' choosing change, work support groups, families who listened, personal attitudes, and manager's style. Bringing a language of community and concepts of support from the family environment into the work ecosystem also aided adaptation. Experiences that hindered adaptation were the competitive hiring process, conflicts between team work and function work, misinformation, and "little bureaucratic things." In addition, apparent contradictions between the rhetoric of the restructuring vision and reality from the participants' perspective hampered adaptation. Analysis of the collected data provided the beginning of a grounded theory of adaptation to organizational restructuring. Under restructuring implemented in a manner like that at the agency, employees remaining after the downsizing required time to adapt. They also needed time to grieve for their colleagues who were laid off. Participants' feelings of uncertainty and tension increased if they did not have time to adapt to the new structure and to grieve for laid off colleagues. / Ph. D.

In today's globalized world, effective communication and cross-cultural collaboration are essentialfor success, particularly within multicultural teams. This thesis investigates the intricate interplaybetween language proficiency, cross-cultural adaptability, and team performance in the context ofmulticultural teams. Addressing gaps in understanding how language proficiency and crossculturaladaptability impact cross-cultural communication and team performance withinmultinational corporations in Sweden, this study utilizes structured surveys distributed amongemployees in Swedish multinational corporations with at least one year of work experience. Atotal of 117 employees participated in the initial survey distribution, with 103 valid responsesincluded in the final analysis. This study’s findings shed light on the nuanced influence of language proficiency and culturaladaptability on team performance in multicultural settings. While language proficiencydemonstrates a positive correlation with team performance (β=0.247), its impact appears lesspronounced when English, as a second language, becomes the common communication ground.Conversely, cultural adaptability exhibits a strong positive correlation with team performance(β=0.663), highlighting its critical role in navigating the complexities of diverse teams. Thesefindings suggest that in multicultural environments where a shared second language is used,fostering cultural adaptability may be particularly important for maximizing team performance. This research contributes to the understanding of language proficiency and cross-culturaladaptability within multicultural teams, offering insights for optimizing team dynamics andfostering collaboration in diverse work settings. By recognizing the complexities of languageproficiency and its interaction with team dynamics, organizations can enhance their effectivenessin a globalized business environment.

Intermittent business travel has become an essential part of professional life for many. This exploratory study focused on two types of business-related travel. Short-term travel included frequent trips which lasted a week or less. Long-term travel included trips which lasted a minimum of three weeks at a time. Twenty couples, in which the husband was the business traveler, completed questionnaires and were interviewed individually. The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales-FACES III (Olson, Portner, & Lavee, 1985) was used to measure couple functioning. No significant differences on either adaptability or cohesion were found between the two groups of business travel couples. The couples in this study reported a significantly higher level of adaptability when the mean score on the adaptability scale of each of these two groups was compared with the mean score of the sample upon which FACES III was normed (p <.0001). Significant group differences were reported on the ways the couples dealt with the eminent departure of the husband, the couples’ adjustment when the husbands returned, the stress resulting from travel reported by the husbands, and the amount of contact the couples had while the husbands were away. Methods of coping used by husbands and wives and support systems used by the wives were also explored. Implications of the findings and suggestions for further research are included. / Master of Science

Salesperson performance has been heavily researched in the marketing literature. Previous research has identified various personality traits, salesperson behaviors, and situational characteristics that affect salesperson performance. Results indicate that no single approach to the study of salesperson performance is sufficient by itself. This study investigated the interactions among personality, situational, and behavioral characteristics of salespeople, and their effect on salesperson performance. Since the adaptive behavior construct has been cited as a key determinant to understanding these interactions, an examination of the adaptive behavior-performance relationship was undertaken. A model of adaptive selling behavior was developed and empirically tested. An analysis of the data suggests that adaptive behavior (e.g., salesperson planning process) affects salesperson performance. ln addition, several of the situational characteristics (i.e., sales position characteristics, customer variables, salesperson-customer relationship, personal resources, and managerial variables), utilized in this study, were found to affect both adaptive behavior (i.e., salesperson planning process and customer interaction) and salesperson performance. The results of this study provide theoretical, methodological, and substantive implications concerning the adaptive behavior to performance relationships. The study concludes with suggested directions for future research. / Ph. D.

In points, the description of this manuscript content, as follows: - Explores how administrative innovation is generated and implemented in Kuwait's public sector, particularly during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. - Focuses on understanding how such innovation contributes to adaptability in both crisis and post-crisis periods. - Employs a grounded theory methodology, utilizing data from interviews, document analysis, and observations to develop a theoretical framework. - Identifies key characteristics of Kuwait's public sector that both enable and constrain innovation, such as the dominance of oil-fueled public sector jobs and the prevalence of bureaucratic culture. - Examines the pandemic's impact on public sector operations and the adaptive measures taken, including the rapid adoption of digital technologies and increased reliance on public-private partnerships. - Proposes a theoretical framework highlighting the central role of "exploring feedback" in driving administrative innovation and enhancing adaptability. Suggests that actively seeking and incorporating feedback from citizens, stakeholders, and data analysis fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the public sector. - Offers valuable insights into strategies for fostering innovation-driven resilience across diverse public sectors, contributing to the fields of public administration, innovation studies, and crisis management. / The dissertation investigates the generation and implementation of administrative innovation within Kuwait's public sector, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, to understand how such innovation contributes to adaptability in both crisis and post-crisis periods. The research employs a grounded theory methodology, utilizing data from interviews, document analysis, and observations to develop a theoretical framework. The study identifies key characteristics of Kuwait's public sector that both enable and constrain innovation, such as the dominance of oil-fueled public sector jobs and the prevalence of bureaucratic culture. It also explores the pandemic's impact on operations and the adaptive measures taken, including the rapid adoption of digital technologies and the increased reliance on public-private partnerships. The study concludes by proposing a theoretical framework that highlights the central role of "exploring feedback" in driving administrative innovation and enhancing adaptability. The findings suggest that actively seeking and incorporating feedback from citizens, stakeholders, and data analysis fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the public sector. By analyzing the Kuwaiti experience, the research offers valuable insights into strategies for fostering innovation-driven resilience across diverse public sectors, contributing to the fields of public administration, innovation studies, and crisis management.

Preadolescence is a transitional stage between childhood and adolescence characterized by rapid and erratic change. Preadolescent girls are particularly vulnerable to negative impacts to self-concept and adaptability and may benefit from support to strengthen these key aspects of their development. School-based expressive arts groups provide a developmentally appropriate opportunity for preadolescent girls to process their thoughts, feelings, and experiences that can influence their self-concept and adaptability. Additionally, providing expressive arts groups from a career perspective provides participants a three-fold developmental intervention that includes components of the personal/social, academic, and career domains. Lindo and Ceballos combined the Career Construction Interview (CCI) with expressive arts school-based group counseling to create a developmentally appropriate intervention called the Child and Adolescent Career Construction Interview (CACCI). This study examined preadolescent girls' perceptions of participated in a CACCI group. Analysis of data yielded four major themes: (a) experiencing, (b) connecting, (c) expressing, and (d) becoming. Finding of this study have the potential to inform developmentally appropriate career counseling for preadolescents.

Religion and spirituality are vital aspects of many people’s lives both in the United States and across the globe. Although many constructs and measures exist to describe and assess the experience of pursuing the sacred, the complexity of religious and spiritual experience leads to mixed results in relation to well-being and psychopathological traits. However, in broad terms, the relationship appears positive. Over the past 30 years the need for more refined and useful approaches to the study of religious and spiritual behavior has been repeatedly acknowledged. Although authors wisely caution development of further measures without due cause, extant constructs and measures do not provide clear and consistent results for understanding the influence of one’s relationships to religion and spirituality upon behaviors of clinical interest. The present project drew from the functional contextual concept of psychological flexibility, which provides clarity to understanding the encouragement and maintenance of psychological well-being. A new construct of religious and psychological flexibility is explicated as a functional approach to understanding religious and spiritual behavior in a manner that is useful in research and clinical settings alike. The development and evaluation of the Measure of Religious and Spiritual Flexibility (MRSF) is described. The MRSF evidenced adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis results were positive, but indicate further refinement. Analyses suggested good construct validity of the MRSF in relation to psychological well-being and psychopathology; construct validity in relation to extant constructs in the psychology of religion was varied. Implications and future directions are discussed.

by Leung Hiu Tung, Vivien. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 174-184). / Chapter Chapter One: --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1) --- Economic Restructuring in Hong Kong --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2) --- An Agenda Of and For Working Class Families --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3) --- Synopsis of Arguments --- p.5 / Chapter 1.4) --- "Methodology, Sampling and Limitation" --- p.13 / Chapter 1.5) --- Structure of This Thesis --- p.16 / Chapter Chapter Two: --- "Gender, Family and the Economy" --- p.18 / Chapter 2.1) --- Social Dimension of Economic Restructuring --- p.18 / Chapter 2.2) --- "Family, Gender and the Economy" --- p.20 / Chapter 2.3) --- Unpacking the Chinese Family --- p.24 / Chapter 2.4) --- Reconceptualizing Family Strategy --- p.26 / Chapter 2.5) --- Framework and Conceptualization --- p.32 / Chapter Chapter Three: --- The Socio-Political Context of Economic Restructuring in Hong Kong / Chapter 3.1) --- The Hong Kong Way of Economic Restructuring --- p.39 / Chapter 3.2) --- Economic Restructuring: A Private Problem of Workers --- p.42 / Chapter 3.3) --- The Gendered Labour Market Under Economic Restructuring --- p.46 / Chapter Chapter Four: --- Gender Embeddedness of Strategization --- p.50 / Chapter 4.1) --- Major Concerns of Coping Responses --- p.52 / Chapter 4.2) --- Strategic Orientation --- p.55 / Chapter 4.3) --- Familial Resources and Constraints in Devising Coping Responses --- p.59 / Chapter 4.4) --- Subjective Engagement of the Actors --- p.63 / Chapter Chapter Five: --- Familial Embeddedness I-- Strategization of Impoverished Families --- p.68 / Chapter 5.1) --- The Predicaments of Impoverished Families --- p.69 / Chapter 5.2) --- Impoverished Traditional Families: Patriarchal Household Resource Mobilization --- p.73 / Chapter 5.3) --- Impoverished Flexible Families: Negotiating Household Resource --- p.85 / Chapter 5.4) --- Impoverished Solitary Families: Relying on External Resource --- p.93 / Chapter 5.5) --- Strategization in Impoverished Families --- p.96 / Chapter Chapter Six: --- Familial Embeddedness II-- Strategization of Sustainable Families --- p.99 / Chapter 6.1) --- Sustainable Traditional Families: Securing Breadwinner's Employment --- p.101 / Chapter 6.2) --- Sustainable Flexible Families: Negotiating Couple's Employment --- p.113 / Chapter 6.3) --- Strategization in Sustainable Families --- p.123 / Chapter Chapter Seven: --- Familial Embeddedness III-- Strategization of Affluent Families --- p.127 / Chapter 7.1) --- Mobilizing Breadwinner's Employment --- p.128 / Chapter 7.2) --- Trivializing Wife's Employment --- p.131 / Chapter 7.3) --- Strategization in Affluent Families --- p.138 / Chapter Chapter Eight: --- Conclusion --- p.140 / Chapter 8.1) --- The Gender Embeddedness and Familial Embeddedness of Strategization --- p.141 / Chapter 8.2) --- The Social Impacts of Economic Restructuring -- Gender and Intraclass Differences --- p.143 / Chapter 8.3) --- Theoretical Implication: Family Strategy Revisited --- p.147 / Endnotes --- p.155 / Appendix / Chapter 1: --- Tables --- p.162 / Chapter 2: --- Profile of the Informants and of their Families --- p.164 / Chapter 3: --- Question Set for In-depth Interviews --- p.169 / Bibliography --- p.174 / LIST OF TABLES / Table 1.1 Gender Difference in Strategization --- p.5 / Table 1.2 Familial Embeddedness in Strategization --- p.7 / Table 4.1 Gender Difference in Strategization (Same as Table 1.1) --- p.51 / Table 4.2 Categorization of Informants Across Attitudes and Major Concerns in Strategization --- p.51 / Table 5.1 Familial Embeddedness in Strategization (Same as Table 1.2) --- p.68 / Table 5.2 Categorization of Families According to Different Familial Contexts --- p.69 / Appendix 1 / "Table I Persons and Percentage Engaged in Selected Economic Sectors, 1985-94" --- p.162 / Table II Establishments and Persons Engaged in the Manufacturing Sector --- p.162 / Table III Nominal and Real Wage Indices of Payroll per Person Engaged --- p.164

The research focused on the relationship between hardiness and career adaptability of students studying at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges in Gauteng. A quantitative survey was conducted on a convenience sample of (N = 198) of African (92.9%), female (57.6%), single (96.0%), aged 21 years and younger (93.9%) students enrolled at Gauteng TVET colleges for N1 – N6 Engineering Studies (32.8%). A correlational analysis indicated differences between the variables of hardiness and career adaptability and the study reveals that overall hardiness was significantly related to overall career adaptability. A stepwise regression analysis indicated that gender and the hardiness attributes (commitment, control and challenge) predicted career adaptability. The test for significant mean differences indicated that age, gender and field of study differ significantly between the variables of hardiness and career adaptability. Limitations for the study are outlined. Furthermore, recommendations are suggested for use by human resource regarding career development practices for TVET college students. The study concludes with an evaluation of its contribution. / Human Resource Management / M. Com. (Human Resource Management)

In order to assess flexibility in acquiring and using conflicting response rules, rats with selective lesions of the NBM or sham-lesion controls were subjected to serial reversal training in a simple operant discrimination paradigm. The NBM lesion group did not differ from the control group in acquisition of the original rules; the NBM lesion group required more time to master the changes in rules in the first reversal, but not in subsequent reversals.