Expecting to become pregnant or to get someone pregnant in the near future separates adolescents in terms of both their current circumstances and future experiences. Drawing on life course, social control, and reasoned action perspectives, this study examined the predictors and outcomes of adolescents’ pregnancy expectations in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, emphasizing non-linearity in the meaning and implications of such expectations during a critical period when youths’ future plans begin to change from hypothetical ideas to actual realities. The results suggested that the number and type of risky behaviors during adolescence were associated with an increased level of pregnancy expectations that, in turn, predicted later childbearing. Importantly, risky behaviors also moderated the link between pregnancy expectations in adolescence and fertility in young adulthood, with childbearing more likely to follow split expectations when youth also engaged in risky behavior. These patterns did not vary substantially by gender. / text

Before a child is born, parents might have a general (e.g., happy and healthy) or particular vision for their child (e.g., become a doctor). Parents’ ability to focus on their child’s needs and interests (child-oriented goals) above their own self-interests (parent-oriented goals) has been found to predict their sensitivity to their children in the moment (Dix, 1991; 2000). In this study, 126 mothers and fathers, during the mother’s third trimester of pregnancy with both parents’ first child, were asked to verbally report three wishes for their future child. Content analyses of parents’ transcripts revealed eight wish categories: 1) well-being, 2) personal relationships, 3) particular characteristics, 4) particular goals, 5) personal achievement and responsibility, 6) personal fulfillment, 7) protection, and 8) dependence on the parent. Mothers reported more wishes that their future children would be happy and emotionally fulfilled (child-oriented), and fathers reported more wishes that their future children would have a particular characteristic or achieve a particular goal (parent-oriented). Whether mothers wished for their children to have a particular characteristic and whether fathers wished for their children to achieve a particular goal, were negatively associated with their parenting sensitivity (for both fathers and mothers) and children’s developmental outcomes (for mothers only) at 24 months. Linear regression analysis revealed that parenting sensitivity at 24 months acted as a partial mediator among whether mothers reported a prenatal particular characteristic wish and their children’s autonomy at 24 months. Similar mediation analyses were performed with fathers’ prenatal wishes, parenting sensitivity, and children’s developmental outcomes; however, none of the results were significant. / text

Chinese immigrant families’ educational expectations are usually characterized as one of the most important reasons for Chinese students’ educational attainment and achievement. However, the understanding of the nature and formation of Chinese immigrant families’ educational expectations is limited. It is important to examine Chinese immigrant families’ educational expectations to gain a better understanding of their living and schooling experiences in Canada, in light of the fact that Chinese immigrants are one of the fastest growing ethnic minority group in Canada. This research is a qualitative multiple case study of twelve selected Chinese immigrant families’ educational expectations. The research purposes include: to give detailed description and interpretation of Chinese immigrant families’ educational expectations; to identify and analyze the factors affecting the formation of educational expectations in Chinese immigrant families; and to explore and summarize Chinese parents’ and children’s plans and strategies to fulfill their educational expectations. Semi-structured in-depth interviews was the main method to collect the data including the voices both from Chinese immigrant parents and children. I analyzed the data in three phases: refining and open coding, building categories and themes, and cross-case comparison and analytical generalization. The data were presented in six categories covering Chinese immigrant families’ experiences from the general living experiences of immigration to the detailed schooling experiences in Canada and then to their specific thoughts regarding educational expectations. The findings of this study revealed the complexity and variability in how educational expectations were constructed in Chinese immigrant families’ life course of immigration. There were two levels of meanings included in Chinese immigrant families’ educational expectations: the specific expectations regarding children’s academic achievement and the general expectations regarding what kind of people children should become. Chinese immigrant families’ educational expectations were affected by different factors: Chinese cultural values, acculturation gap, parents’ life experiences and perception of Canadian society, family’s social status, age of immigration, length of residence, immigrant status, gender, personalities, and peer influence. Different factors and different combinations of these factors would influence Chinese immigrant families’ educational expectations in different ways. How Chinese immigrant parents transmitted their educational expectations to their children and actualized the expectations through parenting had an enormous impact on children’s eventual school performance and academic achievement. Chinese immigrant families’ cultural identification and acculturation were the most salient elements to explain how they formed their educational expectations and their practices to fulfill the expectations in Canada. Chinese immigrant families tried transplanting instead of uprooting Chinese culture, and acculturating instead of assimilating into Western culture. Chinese immigrant families chose to lean towards Chinese or Western culture according to specific situations and personal perceptions. Folk theory of Chinese immigrant families’ educational expectations was constructed in Chinese cultural model because the way Chinese immigrant parents and children “see” things and “do” things regarding educational issues in Canada were strongly influenced by Chinese cultural model. Implications for policy makers and educators were presented in the following aspects: improve the connections between parents and schools through multiple conversation channels and partnerships; promote a variety of occupation choices in different ethnic populations; pay more attention to Chinese immigrant students’ psychological health and well-being; and provide instructions that are meaningful and affirming to the cultural identities of students with diverse immigrant backgrounds. Future research directions were suggested concerning what might be done to continue improving the understanding of immigrants’ educational expectations in a wider and deeper sense.

This qualitative study compared the expectations and aspirations held by Mexican-immigrant mothers for their children with the expectations and aspirations held by staff at the neighborhood school. The study involved interviewing four Mexican-immigrant mothers and five staff members from the school. The interviews for mothers asked about educational history and family background, as well as about their thoughts about the neighborhood school and their expectations for the students' academic success. Teachers were asked about potential barriers to the academic success of Mexican-immigrant students.Salient themes that emerged from the data indicate that communication and connecting with the community are a focus of all the staff and mothers value communication at the school. However, teachers do not communicate with parents about the concerns for students in middle and high school and the importance or performing well on state and district assessments.

The present study examined the expectations and preferences about counseling for 211 undergraduate students representing four racial or ethnic categories as well as socioeconomic and gender categories. Participants were drawn from class sections and from student organizations at Texas A&M University. The study utilized a version of The Expectations About Counseling - Brief Form to assess both expectations and preferences for counseling. Analysis was conducted using ANOVA to examine differences between expectations and preferences for counseling for each of the racial or ethnic groups, as well as for comparisons between gender categories. A Pearson correlation procedure was used to examine differences between each of the five socioeconomic levels represented by the sample. Results indicate that differences exist between expectations and preferences for counseling in specific areas within each of the racial or ethnic groups examined. No differences were discovered between male and female expectations for counseling. Additionally, some differences were noted regarding expectations for counseling and participants' socioeconomic level. Results are interpreted in terms of literature demonstrating the patterns of utilization of mental health services of each of the groups represented in the study.

No description available.

The purpose of this research was to examine the safety expectations of new recruits and their managers in the workplace. For most informational exchanges, researchers have begun to look at the psychological contract for guidance, although very few studies have actually looked at whether this concept could be applied to safety research. Entering a working environment with unrealistic safety expectations poses danger, not only for the individual, but it can also affect everyone around them. Previous research in the safety field has provided little information as to what new recruits expect, and has failed to identify who these individuals are trusting with the responsibility of their safety. The current research looks to establish the existence of three different hypotheses looking at new recruits’ safety expectations, their trust and also their degree of perceived risk. Eighty participants were obtained via a Government funded program named the Gateway, half the participants were new recruits from high school (with a mean age of 17) who were beginning a new job, and the other half were their managers (with a mean age of 42). For the new recruits’, there was an even split in gender, although for the managers, there were 24 females and 16 males. All participants were asked to complete a safety questionnaire. Results were supportive for two of the three hypotheses and provided information that showed unrealistic safety expectations from the new recruits. The data also demonstrated that new recruits with high expectations were more likely to trust their co-workers and management with their safety. Finally, when looking at perceived job risk for new recruits, no significant results were found, which suggests that risk, has very little influence upon new recruits’ safety expectations. Future research could examine how information could be exchanged during the recruitment phase in order to provide more realistic safety expectations.

Volunteer organisations provide significant value to society. However, limited research exists on ways through which volunteer organisations can manage the behaviour and attitudes of their volunteers. The main purpose of this study was to contribute to literature in this area by assessing the applicability of setting appropriate recruitment expectations and fostering organisational trust in the volunteer context. This was done by examining the influence of the relationship between pre-entry recruitment expectations and post-entry experiences of volunteers on levels of satisfaction, commitment, co-operative behaviour and turnover intentions. The influence of organisational trust on these variables was also assessed. Volunteers from a national non-profit organisation were given a survey of their expectations shortly after joining (and prior to undertaking any voluntary work), and then completed another set of measures two months later after participation in voluntary training and activities. Sampling resulted in 22 matched surveys between phase one and phase two. Results partially suggest that expectations and organisational trust are associated with volunteer satisfaction levels, and provide evidence indicating that further research in this area using a larger sample may reveal significant associations. Overall, the present study suggests that volunteer organisations can benefit from the appropriate management of recruitment processes and organisational trust, and provides a foundation for further research on this topic.

This study focuses on the expectations of restaurant managers and perceived attributes of halal certification in Malaysia. Halal certification at restaurants represents the understanding that foods is served according to Islamic dietary laws. Halal means permitted or lawful or fit for consumption. As well as its importance in Muslim countries, the demand for halal food is growing internationally as a result of increasing trade, tourism and globalization. Therefore, halal certification is seen as an important aspect in both the Malaysian and the international restaurant and hospitality industries. Halal certification in an eating premises means that both the restaurants, as well as the entire food supply chain, conform to Islamic dietary rules which do not tolerate contamination by haram (prohibited) materials. Research for this thesis was undertaken by both a mail survey and interviews with restaurant managers. For the survey, a systematic sampling method was applied whereby every fourth restaurant was selected from a list of all restaurants in Malaysia provided by the Companies Commission. A mail survey to 2080 restaurants was administered throughout Malaysia in July 2009. The number of completed and returned questionnaires was 643, indicating a 31% response rate. Data was then entered into a Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for further analysis. The response rate was considered reasonable given the nature of the study and its limitations. In addition, 33 interviews with restaurant managers were conducted in five locations. The results indicate that restaurant managers have high expectations towards halal certification although there are different expectations between Muslim and non-Muslim respondents with respect to attributes such as food safety, hygiene, food quality, marketing aspects and certification issues. It is also gathered that there are significant differences between them with respect to market signals, Islamic attributes, marketing benefits, cost of compliance and local awareness. This thesis concludes that halal certification does yield some benefits in terms of market signals, Islamic attributes and marketing factors while there are also certain issues on cost and compliance that need to be addressed by related local authorities. The findings also indicate that halal restaurant food may have a broader appeal beyond religion and also contributes to Malaysia’s positioning as a tourism destination and a hub for the global halal market.

No description available.