Development and pilot trial of a web-based job placement information network

The purpose of this project was to develop and pilot a web-based job placement information network aiming at enhancing the work trial and job placement opportunities of people with disabilities (PWD). Efficient uses of information technology in vocational rehabilitation were suggested to help improve PWD employment opportunities and thus enable them to contribute as responsible citizens to the society. In this preliminary study, a web-based employer network was so developed to explore Hong Kong employers' needs and intentions in employing PWD. The results indicated that Hong Kong employers generally agreed to arrange work trials for PWD whose work abilities match job requirements. They also expressed that they would offer permanent job placements to those PWD who showed satisfactory performance in work trials. The present study evidenced that using an information network could expedite communications between employers and job placement services, and thus job placement service outcomes. It is hoped that a job placement databank could thus be developed through accumulating responses from potential employers.     

Career development interventions for transition-age youths with disabilities

Youths with disabilities are often precluded from participating in career exploration and planning activities that prepare them for meaningful employment. They do not always have the same opportunities as their non-disabled peers to learn about different career options and to develop important work-related skills. This article presents experientially-based career development interventions that can be incorporated into the transition planning process to guide these youths in (a) career exploration and decision-making, (b) career planning, (c) job development and placement, and (e) career maintenance.     

Where Do New Ph.D. Economists Go? Recent Evidence from Initial Labor Market

We collect data on the 2007–2008 Ph.D. economist job market to investigate initial job placement in terms of job location, job type, and job rank. While there is little gender difference in all three dimensions, our results suggest significant source country heterogeneity in placement outcomes. In an analysis linking job location and job type, we find that, among non-U.S. candidates, foreign placements are more likely to be academic relative to U.S. placements. Our analysis contributes to the literature in two aspects: First, compared to existing studies, our sample consists of all job market candidates from 57 top U.S. economics programs and allows us to conduct an analysis more immune to selection bias. Second, with the increasing presence of international students in the U.S. doctoral programs, we examine a new and growing dimension of the labor market – the international perspective of initial job placements for new Ph.D. economists.     

Qui recrute et comment ? L’expertise économique des professionnels de l’insertion des jeunes

How do job placement specialists acquire knowledge of the markets, and do they put it to use? At deliberative committee meetings on the funding of youth integration projects, we observed the construction of a shared representation of the workings of local-level job markets. Integration professionals develop their economic expertise primarily from two sources to which they are professionally close: the young jobseekers themselves and the vocational training professionals. The unequal distribution of economic expertise is intensified by structural differences in the capacity to put it to use for each of the deliberative stakeholders.     

Autism,employment, and the role of occupational therapy

The purpose of this article is to review the existing literature to generate guidelines for the role of occupational therapy in employment for persons with autism. Previous research about strengths and barriers to employment, and types of employment commonly offered to persons with autism are reviewed. The supported employment model is identified as the most productive approach for use with this population. The four approaches to the supported employment model and the best practice contributions of several innovative supported employment programs are discussed. The interdisciplinary team approach is best to assist persons with autism to gain employment and ensure success on the job. The role of the occupational therapist as a beneficial team member in assessment, job development, job placement and training, and supported employment is outlined.     

Central Utah's JTPA Career Guidance and Job Placement Program

This article describes a successful career guidance and job placement model employed by a Utah Job Training Partnership Act program that is distinguished by the unusually synergistic nature of its organizational system.     

Graduate Training and Initial Job Placement*

This study examines the extent to which professional credentials accrued during graduate school are related to postgraduate employment. The undergraduate and graduate records, demographic characteristics, and initial job placements of 711 Ph.D. recipients from the University of California, Santa Barbara, are analyzed. We find that several aspects of graduate training (e.g., holding research assistantships) have greater influence on the initial placement of women than men. Further, coauthored publications with the mentor influence the initial placement of men and women somewhat differently. Given the importance of initial placement in determining career productivity (e.g., Long and McGinnis, 1981; Reskin, 1978). these differences may have considerable impact on professional life chances.     

Facilitators and barriers to employment among individuals with psychiatric disabilities: a job coach perspective

Unemployment rates remain high among individuals with psychiatric disabilities despite growing evidence that supported employment programs (SEPs) can help such individuals to obtain and retain competitive employment. A complete understanding of factors that may facilitate or hinder the success of such supported employment efforts is urgently needed to increase the efficacy of SEPs and move more individuals with psychiatric disabilities from welfare to work. This exploratory study provides insight into potential facilitators and barriers to employment among individuals with psychiatric disabilities from the perspective of job coaches. Twenty-eight job coaches from 14 SEPs in a Northeastern state reported on their experience with four recent clients, two who were successful in obtaining employment and two who failed, through a semi-structured mail survey. Findings suggest that job coaches use similar strategies to assist clients, but in each case try to tailor specific strategies to client's needs and characteristics. Factors that influence successful job placement and research and policy implications are discussed.     

Talking about Work: I used to talk about nothing else, I was excited and it got a bit too much for my parents

People with learning difficulties who had access to day services were invited to talk about their work placement or employment. Focus groups were used to gather information on type of work placement opportunities and the participants' experiences. The majority liked their job as it offered purposeful activity and opportunities to meet people. Many individuals wished to increase the number of hours worked, but several were relatively dissatisfied with their wages and negative interactions with workmates. The study identified that in spite of high motivation to work many individuals were unclear about their future occupational prospects. They did not have many opportunities to systematically explore and discuss their work related interests, range of placement options and how they could be accessed. Participants had not been involved in the search for their current placements. These omissions could result in increased reliance on day centres even for skilled individuals who might otherwise be employed in community settings.     

Transitions to adulthood in contexts of economic crisis and post-recession. The case of Argentina

The possibilities that are available to youth in contemporary Western societies are highly sophisticated and related mostly to the transition between secondary school and higher education, the first job placement, independent housing, lifestyle construction and the consumption of goods produced by cultural industries in a globalist world. Secondary education represents a main factor in terms of socialisation, training, access to employment, citizenship and youth identity construction, making it a key for public policies aimed at youth in Latin America. The article presents the initial results of a research project on transition processes from secondary school to employment in Argentina. The findings are based on statistical information and the empirical analysis of data gathered in two very different economic and social contexts: the first was one of the worst social and economic crisis in the country's history (1999–2003), and the second was a long period of economic growth and increased social welfare (2004–2012). The data are presented in response to the following question: How do different economic contexts influence the transitions of youth in different social class contexts? By answering this question, the significant role of public policies in generating better living conditions for youth becomes clear.     

The work ability web: A tool for job matching

A rural community in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, requested assistance in finding a solution for the dilemma of unemployment for persons with disabilities (PWD). The researcher was involved in a multi disciplinary development programme in the community and investigated the possibilities of integrating the PWD in the income generating projects planned for the community at large. This article reports on one of the objectives of this participatory research study: exploring possible ways of job placement in the projects by community workers. The challenge was to find a simplified process by which uncomplicated placements could be handled by community workers, and complex cases identified and referred to the regional occupational therapists. The researcher used a functional assessment kit to assess the level of dependence/independence of each PWD as well as an interview on employment history and personal aspirations and needs. A job analysis was done on five planned projects for the community that would generate income. The data of the functional analysis of each person and the job requirements were then plotted on one web, the work ability web (WAW) to illustrate compatibility. One of the cases from the sample is described to demonstrate the process.     

A Brief History of Career Counseling in the United States

The author presents the 6 stages in the development of career counseling in the United States. In the 1st stage (1890–1919), placement services were offered for an increasingly urban and industrial society. In the 2nd stage (1920–1939), educational guidance through the elementary and secondary schools became the focal point. The 3rd stage (1940–1959) saw the focus shift to colleges and universities and the training of counselors. The 4th stage (1960–1979) was the boom for counseling and the idea of work having meaning in a person's life came to the forefront; organizational career development began during this period. The 5th stage (1980–1989) saw the beginning of the transition from the industrial age to the information age and the growth of both the independent practice of career counseling and outplacement counseling. The 6th stage (1990—present), with its emphasis on technology and changing demographics, has seen an increased sophistication in the uses of technology, the internationalization of career counseling, the beginnings of multicultural career counseling, and the focus on the school‐to‐job transition.     

PRESTIGE DETERMINANTS OF FIRST ACADEMIC JOB FOR NEW SOCIOLOGY PH.D.s 1985–1992

Previous studies of stratification in science have found a consistent positive correlation between the prestige of the departments where scientists received their degrees and the prestige of the departments where they obtained jobs, especially their first jobs. This correlation held regardless of previous research performance. Two limitations associated with these studies are (1) their almost exclusive focus on the hard sciences, and (2) their inability to inform a theoretical comparison between the hard and soft sciences. This study uses data on new sociology Ph.D.s who obtained their first job in Ph.D.-granting departments between 1985 and 1992 in order to assess whether the stratifying mechanisms in the hiring of sociologists are similar to those in the hard sciences. The results are generally consistent with previous findings for the hard sciences and suggest that job placement in sociology values academic origins over performance. The two strongest determinants of the prestige of a first job are the prestige of the Ph.D.-granting department and the selectivity of the undergraduate institution. In contrast, the effects of predoctorate single- or first-authored publications and of mentor's recognition are weak, though significant.     

“I Was Tooken”

ABSTRACT

Little is known of how children experience removal from parents and placement into foster care. This paper presents results of a qualitative study of the experiences of 90 inner-city children, ages 8-14 years. Children's narratives portray a progression of traumatizing events ensuing from the placement process. The narrative from a wellhandled placement suggests guidelines for future interventions. Developmental and practice implications are discussed.     

Vocational outcomes of individuals with psychiatric disabilities participating in a supported competitive employment program

The objective of this paper is to report on the vocational outcomes of individuals with psychiatric disabilities participating in a supported competitive employment (SCE) program. A total of 458 subjects enrolled in the present SCE program which was developed on the basis of the Supported Employment Model developed by Wehman [23] and the principles of the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) developed by Becker and Drake [5]. Of the 458 subjects, 308 (67.3%) obtained competitive employment. The mean job tenure was 134 days. The mean salary was $4,740 for full-time jobs and was $2,321 for part-time jobs. The majority of subjects (59.4%) could sustain their job placement for more than 30 days, 74 (24.0%) subjects could work for more than six months, and 38 (12.3%) could maintain the job for more than one year. Subjects who became employed were compared to those who did not gain employment on a variety of demographic variables. Significant differences were found between two groups in terms of sex and source of referral. The rate of employment in the current study was slightly higher, but the job retention rate was lower than in earlier studies. Recommendations for future research on evaluation of the effectiveness of SCE program are suggested.     

A behavioral portfolio approach to multiple job holdings

In this paper we present an alternative explanation of multiple job holdings. It is based on a behavioral portfolio approach using prospect theory. Multiple job holdings is often a result of economic hardship but also because of peer comparisons. Workers may decide to take on a risky job like self-employment and engage into new ventures but also hold on to a safe employment in order to stay as close as possible to their reference level. While multiple job holdings might be the case for some, many others might decide to keep on working only at a safe job and do not engage into new risky ventures. This paper presents a behavioral economics model to explain such decisions. We find that the decision to hold multiple jobs depends on the degree of loss aversion, the value of the reference level and on the expected return in the risky venture. The worker will not seek for a risky job if she has an income reference level equal to what she can earn from a safe job. At any other reference level, the worker will seek new ventures provided she is compensated with a higher expected wage and is sufficiently loss averse.     

THE ECONOMICS OF JOB SEARCH: A SURVEY

Part I of this survey presents a comprehensive and inte- grated analysis of job search. The labor market is characterized by incomplete information and search is conducted in an optimal manner. A variety of job search models are studied in this microeconomic setting. The paper contains a number of new results. Part 11 of the survey [to appear in the September 1976 issue of Economic Inquiry] addresses the empirical and policy implications of search theory.     

Tanzanian Women's Move into Wage Labour: Conceptualizing Deference,Sexuality and Respectability as Criteria for Workplace Suitability

Although female labour force participation in Tanzania is growing, little is known about how hiring authorities fill job positions with respect to gender. Qualitative interviews with hospitality and manufacturing managers in Mwanza (Tanzania's second largest city) reveal that female deference, sexuality, domesticity and respectability constitute important recruitment and job placement criteria. This article examines the various notions behind these criteria and how they serve to include or exclude women in the workforce. It is shown that when the interaction of these criteria is conceptualized, deference and domesticity emerge as essential elements of female respectability, supporting each other in the control of women's sexuality.     

Gender,Working Conditions and the Job Satisfaction of Women in a Non-Traditional Occupation: Female Correctional Officers in Men's Prisons*

Despite the recent interest in women working in nontraditional occupations, few analyses have systematically compared the work-related attitudes of such women with those of men holding the same positions. This article presents an exploratory analysis, drawing hypotheses from the “gender” and “job” models described by Feldberg and Glenn (1979), to compare work-related attitudes among male and female correctional officers. Data drawn from a survey of male and female correctional officers working at the same prison facility (three male and one female units) are utilized to contrast the importance of gender, with experiences on the job as determinants of job satisfaction. The results support the job model, which suggests that the attitudes of working women are a function of their position in the organizational structure and immediate working conditions.     

Asian Women,Job Training and the Social Organization of Immigrant Labor Markets

This paper examines the entry of Asian immigrant women into a gendered labor market via government-funded job training programs. The focus is on the intake processing of clients into an employment training program operated by a community based organization. The study reveals that women's family responsibilities and the cultural capital they bring function to screen them into or out of training programs and ultimately shape their location in the workforce. The study thus draws attention to how race, class, and gender enter into the organization of Asian immigrant women into the labor market. This investigation is based in institutional ethnography (Smith 1987), a research strategy which displays how activities in a particular setting are coordinated with more extended forms of social organization. The study shows that the overriding concern with successful placement in a job as mandated by government regulations is a critical factor in selecting the women for these programs.