Educational and careers guidance services for adults: II. A review of current provision

The similarities and differences between existing educational and careers guidance services for adults are analysed in terms of five dimensions: the roles with which the services are primarily concerned, their target groups, their guidance junctions, their staffing policy, and their organisational base. A brief discussion of 'distance-guidance' services is added.     

A conceptual framework for understanding self-regulation in adults

Multiple models of self-regulation have been posited, yet despite the apparent overlap between them, there is no common theoretical framework to unite the many theories. Authors in the area of self-regulation research have noted the lack of cross-field communication due to the absence of a conceptual framework and of common terms to describe self-regulatory processes ( [Bandura, 2005], [Boekaerts et?al., 2005] and [Karoly et?al., 2005]). The objective of the current review is to propose a common lexicon and a comprehensive model to integrate and organize the extant self-regulation research, thereby facilitating the understanding of self-regulation. The proposed model revisits classic cybernetic theory (Wiener, 1948), and is composed of a reference, input, comparator, and output. Each of these components is represented in current self-regulation theory, and is discussed as it relates to self-regulation models and ongoing empirical research.     

New frameworks for careers guidance: developing a conceptual model of the interview

Recent research has highlighted limitations in our understanding of the dynamics occurring within the careers guidance interview. A study was conducted of how the client and practitioner engage in the exchange within the interview and how meanings are negotiated and received by each of the participants. The objectives for the study were to examine a sample of guidance interviews in order to: (i) identify which interventions by practitioners are perceived as helpful and unhelpful by clients and practitioners; (ii) establish how helpful and unhelpful interventions relate to change in understanding; and (iii) compare and contrast the identification and commentaries by practitioners and clients. The results showed that practitioners reported significantly more helpful interventions than clients and that there was limited agreement in the identification of interventions. Three thematic categories were derived to group the helpful interventions. This analysis provided the basis for the development of a conceptual model of the interview. Further research to test the model and assess its potential to inform careers guidance training and practice is outlined.     

Applying market principles to the delivery of careers guidance services: A critical review

Market principles can be applied to careers guidance services through the concept of guidance as market-maker or through the concept of a market in guidance. The notion of a market in guidance can take the form of a real market or of a quasi-market. A quasi-market can take the form of contracts or of vouchers. These three sets of options are explored in relation to current policy developments in the careers guidance field.     

The politics of careers education and guidance: A case for scrutiny

Political aspects of processes involved in defining careers education and guidance are brought to light through an examination of debates surrounding the definition of guidance at four different points of the journey from policy to practice, and of related 'gaps' between 'theory' and 'practice'. It is argued that these 'gaps' cannot be adequately conceptualised within a curriculum evaluation paradigm. They result from the conflictual nature of curriculum change which, in this case, produced repeated contests over the definition of guidance, with different outcomes in different occupational settings. These outcomes, it is argued, were influenced not only by rational debate but by the distribution of power between the various groups of actors concerned. The politics of careers education and guidance are placed on the agenda for consideration by both researchers and practitioners.     

Girls and women: challenges for careers guidance practice

This article reviews the position of women in the UK labour market and the increasing complexity of their employment patterns. It criticises current career theory for girls and women and examines enhancers and inhibitors of women's career development. Finally, some promising developments in theory-building for girls and women are briefly discussed, together with some implications for practice.     

Suicide and blacks: a conceptual framework.

Suicide among black Americans has risen sharply in this decade. The suicide pattern differs from that of white Americans in that black suicide is mainly a youth phenomenon and the rates between black females and black males are relatively equal. The lack of research into these phenomena is highlighted along with an exploration of current explanations. A specific conceptual framework is proposed that includes extragroup pressure, intragroup pressure, and value orientation. The framework is extended into the area of mental health planning, as well as behavioral science practice.     

Sexually abusive clergymen: A conceptual framework for intervention and recovery

Effective intervention in cases of parishioner sexual exploitation by clergy can be better understood when placed in a meaningful conceptual framework. To improve our understanding, it is useful to compare clergy abuse to father/daughter incest. Within that context, it becomes more clear how this type of sexual exploitation originates and what intervention strategies are best suited to the situation. Borrowing from the field of sex offender treatment, clergy can also be helped most when a firm yet compassionate intervention is carefully planned and enacted. The experience of an intervention, while emotionally wrenching, can be a positive experience for all involved.Gerald Blanchard, M.A., A.C.P.S., is a clinical social worker in private practice residing in Sheridan, Wyoming. He is a faculty member with the Golden Valley Institute for Behavioral Medicine in Minneapolis and is the author of the recently published bookSex Offender Treatment: A Psychoeducational Model.     

Entrepreneurship,professionalism, leadership: A framework and measure for understanding boundaryless careers

We propose a person-centered framework for conceptualizing subjective careers in an increasingly boundaryless work context. Specifically, we argue that entrepreneurship, professionalism, and leadership (EPL) can serve as three key dimensions of subjective career space. We relate this framework to earlier macro-level national and organizational career models proposed by Kanter (1989) and Schein (1978). Our empirical study involving 10,326 Singaporean university students demonstrated that entrepreneurial, professional, and leadership career aspirations (including motivations, efficacies, and intentions) can be measured independently, that these career dimensions are independent of vocational interests, and that they are to some degree viewed as competing career alternatives. We also show that EPL motivation profiles can operationalize the boundaryless and protean career concepts. Individuals concurrently high in entrepreneurial, professional, and leadership career motivations, and those high in entrepreneurial and leadership motivations are highest in boundaryless and self-directed career attitudes, while those primarily motivated for professional careers hold the most traditional career attitudes. We conclude by discussing the potential of the framework for understanding human resource issues at organizational and national levels and for enhancing the study of entrepreneurship, professionalism, and leadership.     

A conceptual and psychometric framework for distinguishing categories and dimensions

An important, sometimes controversial feature of all psychological phenomena is whether they are categorical or dimensional. A conceptual and psychometric framework is described for distinguishing whether the latent structure behind manifest categories (e.g., psychiatric diagnoses, attitude groups, or stages of development) is category-like or dimension-like. Being dimension-like requires (a) within-category heterogeneity and (b) between-category quantitative differences. Being category-like requires (a) within-category homogeneity and (b) between-category qualitative differences. The relation between this classification and abrupt versus smooth differences is discussed. Hybrid structures are possible. Being category-like is itself a matter of degree; the authors offer a formalized framework to determine this degree. Empirical applications to personality disorders, attitudes toward capital punishment, and stages of cognitive development illustrate the approach.     

Prolonged transitions to uncertain destinations: The implications for careers guidance

A set ofEuro-wide trends is discussed: the prolongation of young people's transitions, the individualisation of their biographies, and the greater uncertainty of their futures. It is argued that youth's new condition is currently being normalised throughout Europe, and that this process is aided by appropriate careers guidance which must be recurrent, customised, and couched in terms of possibilities. Problems that are posed for young people and their advisers in Britain, and in some other countries, by the persistent jobs deficit, the inability of some families to provide the support that youth's new condition requires, and the fact that some forms of vocational education and training are most likely to be dead-ends, are identified.     

The development of computer-aided careers guidance systems: A response to Closs

The veracity of many of the statements in Closs (1994) is challenged. It is suggested that the problems encountered in the implementation of PROSPECT (HE) were not caused by project management but were, as suggested by Watts (1994), economic and political in nature.     

A conceptual metaphor framework for the teaching of mathematics

Word problems in mathematics seem to constantly pose learning difficulties for all kinds of students. Recent work in math education (for example, [Lakoff, G. &; Nuñez, R. E. (2000). Where mathematics comes from: How the embodied mind brings mathematics into being. New York: Basic Books]) suggests that the difficulties stem from an inability on the part of students to decipher the metaphorical properties of the language in which such problems are cast. A 2003 pilot study [Danesi, M. (2003a). Semiotica, 145, 71–83] confirmed this hypothesis in an anecdotal way. This paper reviews the implications of that study and of a follow-up one that is described here as well, in the light of how the metaphorical analysis of word problems allows learners to overcome typical difficulties in word problem-solving by teaching them how to flesh out the underlying concepts and convert them into appropriate representations.     

A conceptual framework for identifying various types of confessions

Considerable attention has been given to the psychology of confession evidence in recent years. While various factors have been used to define the types of confessions possible, most classification frameworks have focused on the various types of false confessions. An expanded framework is outlined using a decision-tree model in which confessions are defined according to a number of dimensions, including whether or not a confession is retracted, veracity or truthfulness, legal culpability of the suspect, voluntariness, and specific nature of the coercion that might produce a confession. A proposal is made for a new subtype of false confession, the coerced–reactive type, to supplement current theoretical approaches. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the implications of this conceptual model for providing consultation and expert testimony in cases involving disputed confessions. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The new qualification in careers guidance in higher education: A collaborative partnership

The raison d'être for the new Certificate and Diploma in Careers Guidance in Higher Education is outlined. The different perspectives of the partners in this enterprise–the Department of Community Studies at the University of Reading and the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS)–are discussed. The initial difficulties and successes are explored and a suggested strategy is offered for other such collaborative ventures.     

Career orientations of senior executives and their implications for careers guidance

The development of career theory has given little attention to mid-career adults relative to that given to school leavers and young adults. Furthermore, in looking at adult careers the focus has primarily been on the objective patterns of career movements rather than on subjective aspects of career. As objective careers become less easily measured, with the disappearance of clear career ladders, the importance of the subjective career increases. In a questionnaire study of senior executives (n = 132) who undertook a formal counselling programme, there was no evidence of any change in expectations of future employing organisations, or the career signals they held important. Post-counselling clients rated themselves more highly than pre-counselling clients on their knowledge and confidence, their self awareness in regard to careers, their ability to negotiate career change and their attribution of career progress to their own personal qualities. The implications of these findings for careers counselling practice, and for the skills of career management, are discussed.     

Evaluating health care work settings: A holistic conceptual framework

Abstract

After offering a systems perspective that considers a diversity of job-related and personal factors, we discuss the determinants and impacts of health care work climates and how staff morale and performance can influence the treatment milieu and quality of patient care. We also describe the physical features, organizational structure and policies, and suprapersonal and task factors that help to shape health care work climates. We then review research on the connections between work climate and staff morale and performance, the interplay of work climate factors, and the role of personal factors in these relationships. Finally, we orovide some ideas about how to improve health care work settings and focus on some promising new research directions.     

A conceptual and methodological framework for measuring and modulating the attentional blink

The attentional blink (AB) is a transient attention cost that is shown when report accuracy for a second target (T2) is reduced when T2 is presented within approximately 500?ms of a first target (T1). Thus, by definition an AB is only observed when T2 accuracy is reduced at short relative to long T1?CT2 separations, and the magnitude of the AB is reflected in the change in T2 performance across target separations. However, the designs, analyses, and interpretations of several studies of the AB have suggested a lack of clear definitions about what constitutes a demonstration of the AB, what constitutes a modulation of the AB across participant groups or manipulations, and how AB magnitude might best be represented accurately as a single value for a given individual. In this article, we discuss the important conceptual and methodological issues that should be considered when obtaining, analyzing, and interpreting AB data, and we discuss the pros and cons of various approaches while providing suggestions as to how best to validly represent the AB and its modulations.