Browsing by Subject "attitude"
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Item Examining Employer Attitudes and Valued Employability Skills For Individuals With and Without Disabilities(2012-10-19) Ju, SongThis dissertation presents three separate studies designed to examine perspectives on employment for individuals with disabilities from employers and educators. First, a literature review was conducted on the studies published in the past decade to provide an update of employers' attitudes toward employees with disabilities. Investigated factors included studies? methodologies, research procedures, and employer characteristics. Research findings indicated that employers increasingly showed favorable attitudes toward individuals with disabilities and demonstrated willingness to hire workers with disabilities. Employers' previous experience with workers with disabilities was associated with positive employer attitudes. Secondly, 168 employers and 105 educators were surveyed regarding their perspectives on valued employability skills for entry-level employees with and without disabilities. The second study primarily focused on examining employers' perspectives of the most valued employability skill areas and specific employability skills as well as associated employer factors (i.e., respondents' genders and types of business/industry). Differences between employers' expectations for employees with disabilities and for those without disabilities were analyzed. The study results presented findings on important employability skills and discrepancies between rating for employees with and without disabilities were discussed, and reported the effects of respondent factors. Lastly, the third study investigated and compared both employers and educators' expectations on important employability skills. Study identified differences of ratings on important employability skills between employers and educators. Study also found out how they viewed differently on employability skills for employees with and without disabilities. To sum up, this dissertation revealed updated trends of employers' attitude toward workers with disabilities. It also identified critical employability skills viewed by employers and educators for entry-level workers with disabilities. The comparisons between employers and educators' perspectives provided information on what schools should include or emphasize in vocational preparation programs to prepare students with disabilities for future employment.Item Texas Extension Agents' Perceptions of Organic Agriculture and Its Implications for Training(2012-10-19) Lillard, PatrickThe purpose of this study was to determine Texas AgriLife Extension agents' perceptions of organic agriculture (OA) and implications for training. Primary variables of interest included level of interest in OA in their respective counties, previous training received, interest in future training, perception of OA and Texas AgriLife Extension's involvement in OA. A random sample of agents was selected (n = 151) and a response rate of 81.5 percent was achieved. A majority of agents indicated interest in OA in their respective counties had increased over the past five years (n = 60), but noted demand was still low (n = 39) to moderate (n = 42). Agents from urban or suburban counties reported higher levels of interests in OA than did agents from rural counties. Agents were most interested in training on organic soil fertility, insect, weed, and disease management and least interested in training on organic certification and transitioning to OA. Agents indicated traditional information resources would be the most useful delivery methods for communicating information about organic farming, which included print publications, a website with organic information and extension workshops. Agents' perceptions of OA and their perceptions of Texas AgriLife Extension's involvement in OA were measured using attitudinal statements using a five point summated scale with reliability estimates r = 0.76 and 0.76 respectively. It was found that agents neither agreed nor disagreed with statements affirming the viability of OA (M = 2.80) and statements advocating Texas AgriLife Extension's involvement in OA (M = 3.38). A stepwise multiple regression was run on the primary variables of interest to determine which variables predicted agents' interest in training. Perceptions of Texas AgriLife Extension's involvement, perceptions of OA, and current level of interest in their county accounted for over 50 percent of the variability. This research concluded that due to agents' general ambivalent attitude toward OA, Texas AgriLife Extension administration will need to advocate more training and programming in OA if they wish to increase their role in OA. For there to be any significant change in the advancement of OA, though, it will require a paradigm shift in the land grant university system (LGUS).