This study was designed to determine if the Employment Readiness Scale (ERS) (Alfano, 1973) can be utilized on a metropolitan study sample, to determine if there is a difference in work attitudes due to membership in an adult employment group and lastly, to determine if demographic variables influence work attitudes of adult employment group members. The sample for this study consisted of employed and unemployed adults from the Richmond Metropolitan Area of Richmond, Virginia. A sample was selected that consisted of the 203 adults. Adults in the sample were later classified as either currently employed (full-time hourly industrial workers), temporarily unemployed (unemployed for 6 months or less), or chronically unemployed (unemployed for more than 6 months). The Employment Readiness Scale (ERS) and the Personal Data Sheet (PUS) were the two instruments used to collect data. Statistical techniques used to analyze the data included factor analysis, one-way analysis of variance, and a multiple regression approach. Two research hypotheses were addressed as well as two corollary hypotheses for statistical significance. The study findings were: (1) There were no significant differences in the work attitudes of employed and unemployed adult groups. (2) Only the demographic variable of income was found to predict attitudes toward work. Those with lower incomes had a more positive attitude toward work than those with higher incomes. Also, the Employment Readiness Scale (ERS) (Alfano, 1973) can be utilized to assess work attitudes of a large metropolitan population. / Ed. D.

Research has shown that seat belt wearing among white-collar workers can be motivated through the use of incentives. Incentive strategies have not, however, been effective among blue-collar workers for several reasons: (1) lack of identification with the programs; (2) lack of influence on development of the programs; (3) the perception of the programs as a form of behavioral control; and (4) the blue-collar worker's perception of driving being a relatively riskless task and their "negative macho" image of seat belt wearing, among others. The incentive program evaluated in this study was developed with consideration of the points listed above and included, as its major component for combatting the aforementioned problems, an "awareness session" which attempted to make blue-collar workers aware of the value of vehicular safety belts while soliciting their opinions as to how a seat belt motivation program should be conducted. It was hoped that the latter component would foster identification with the program and allay any suspicion of management control. This program was very effective at motivating safety belt use among blue-collar workers, effecting an eight-fold increase in the percentage of seat belt wearers. In addition, the design enabled a conclusion that the "awareness session" was a necessary component of the intervention package. / M. S.

Doctorat en philosophie et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished