Eskalierendes Commitment bei Gruppenentscheidungen: Begünstigende Faktoren und Maßnahmen zur Reduktion

Escalating commitment to a course of action that is failing or incurring great costs is at least as prevalent in group decision making as in individual decisions. The first experiment studies factors influencing escalating commitment in groups in the context of social identity and dissonance theory. 36 3-person-groups had to decide about further investigations into a risky urban development project. The amount of investigations as an indicator of escalating commitment depended as well on social identity (strong vs. weak) as on the responsibility for initiating the project (high vs. low). The second study investigated the effectiveness of two interventions aimed at reducing escalating commitment: introduction of an advocatus diaboli and pre-information about psychological insights into escalating commitment. Further, interaction processes correlating with escalation or reduction of commitment are studied.     

Determinanten des Wiedereinstiegs von Müttern in den Arbeitsmarkt in Vollzeit oder Teilzeit

This paper deals with the question which determinants influence the re-entry of mothers on the labor market after the first childbirth. Contrary to existing studies it is possible to distinguish empirically between full time and part time employment after re-entry by employing the newly available BASiD-data. Theoretical arguments indicate that women decide deliberately for a part or full time job due to labor market restriction, their household und family situation and institutional rules which vary in time. Empirically this paper focuses on mothers in West Germany because the data includes a long observation period before reunification. Based on event history models we can show that the determinants for full and part time re-entries differ substantially. Hence it can be reasoned that full and part time jobs for re-entry after birth are not simple substitutes for the women.     

Aufstiegsf?rderliche Führung – gut für den Aufstieg, schlecht für die Gesundheit?

The present study introduces the concept of career-supportive leadership within the contradictory context of career success and psychological strain. We describe four dimensions of career-supportive leadership: delegation, feedback, trust and promotion. In addition to positive relationships with career success, we expected negative relationships with psychological strain and work-home-interference because career-supportive leadership provides resources which might buffer the effects of career-related demands. In a longitudinal questionnaire study with 581 participants of different organizations we found mainly delegation and promotion to be positively related to different indicators of career success. Referring to psychological strain and work-home-interference, feedback was found to be protective. We discuss research prospects as well as practical implications.     

Die Vereinbarkeitsfrage für Männer: Welche Auswirkungen haben Elternzeiten und Teilzeitarbeit auf die Stundenlöhne von Vätern?Work-family reconciliation for men: Do parental leave and part-time work affect fathers’ hourly wages?

As previous research shows, many German fathers would like to spend more time with their children, but long working hours often restrict their opportunities to do so. Parental leave and part-time work could help fathers to reconcile work and family. Yet, labor market theories predict that using such family-friendly policies may lead to wage penalties. Hence, many fathers decide against using such policies because they fear that parental leave or part-time work will lead to financial penalties and career disadvantages. This article evaluates this concern by empirically examining the effect of parental leave and part-time work on fathers’ hourly wages. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) 1991–2013 and Families in Germany (FiD) 2010–2013, results from fixed-effects regression analyses show that part-time work is associated with wage penalties, but parental leave is not – irrespective of whether fathers only took the two months fathers’ quota or longer parental leaves. The results hence indicate that the German parental leave legislation enables fathers to spend more time with their children while protecting them from wage penalties at work.     

Achtsamkeit in den Grundschulen einer ganzen Stadt fördern – ein NRW-Landesmodellprojekt

Mindfulness-based interventions have been shown internationally to strengthen health promoting ressources in adults and children. Based on these findings, the Northrhine Westphalia state-funded reference project “Health, Integration and Concentration—Mindfulness in Primary Schools” designs and evaluates mindfulness-based 20-hour-interventinons within the primary school system of the town Solingen. First all 21 school principals were addressed and then the teams of teachers in each school. Based on these experiences interventions with the children were then developed together with and implimented by the teachers.In this paper the interventions are scetched out and first qualitative results on different systemic levels within the schools. Of particular interest are possible links between individual developments in attitude, self regulation and behavior, styles of communication and interaction among colleagues and with the children as well as developments in school organisation and culture towards mindful schools. Finally the paper summarizes dos and don’ts for similar projects.     

Die Bedeutung von Introvision für die Gestaltung von Veränderungsprozessen in Gruppen und Organisationen

The ability of mental self regulation is becoming more and more important to shape change processes. Change agents often experience, especially in potentially difficult situations, limits of self regulation by volition. Imperating oneself as an effort of self control by unconditional commandments has a blocking impact on mental self regulation. Introvision supports mental self regulation in a mode of calmness, which can be described as operating effortless and deliberately. In an attitude of calmness it is possible not to slide into inner conflicts, even when facing difficult situations. Instead it is possible to make use of one‘s whole action repertoire and include the context of change processes. calmness also has a positive impact on group dynamics. The atmosphere becomes more relaxed, dialog ability and the capability of problem solving is supported.     

Sind Lehrerinnen für den geringeren Schulerfolg von Jungen verantwortlich?

Since the beginning of the 1990s we find that girls are increasingly more successful in german schools than boys. Simultaneous to this development the share of female teachers in the school system has gradually grown. This feminisation of the teacher profession is said to have led to a feminisation of schools, resulting in girls achieving better academic results than boys. This relatively old thesis has rarely been empirically examined and the results of such attempts have been inconsistent. Drawing on data from the ELEMENT-study conducted in Berlin elementary schools between 2003 and 2005, this paper examines, whether boys' competencies in math and reading develop worse, whether they receive lower grades and whether they are less frequently recommended for the Gymnasium when there is a high share of female teachers at the school. The results show that boys do indeed receive lower grades in mathematics and are consequently recommended for the Gymnasium minimal less frequently in schools with a high share of female teachers as compared to schools with a lower share of female teachers. Girls, on the other hand, have higher reading competencies in schools with a high share of female teachers.     

Typen religiöser Sozialformen und ihre Bedeutung für die Analyse religiösen Wandels in Deutschland

The article examines different forms of institutionalization of religion in Germany since the 1950s. Going beyond the classical church-sect dichotomy, we discuss in a theoretical part communities, organizations, market relations, movements and events as possible candidates for the structuring of religious communication. In an empirical part, we outline recent changes of social forms in Germany. By addressing divergent trajectories in the major German churches, smaller Christian denominations, immigrant religions and the evolving spectrum of new religiosity, we show that a general trend is not observable. The developments do not prove the often claimed ‘end of religious communities’. It rather seems that modernity produces a variety of religious social forms that seem to balance the tension between communalization (Vergemeinschaftung) and socialization (Vergesellschaftung).     

Grundrechtsschutz durch Verfahrensgestaltung: Verfassungs- und völkerrechtliche Vorgaben für die Durchführung kindschaftsrechtlicher Verfahren

Articles 6 II 2 and 2 I of the German Constitution require the Federal Republic of Germany to create procedural rules guaranteeing the fundamental rights of children. The same message may also be derived not only from Art. 6 I, but also from Art. 8 I of the European Convention on Human Rights. This is exemplified by judgements dealing with duration of proceedings, fair trial and execution of orders made by the Court.     

Der Wert von Kindern für ihre Eltern

Demographic and micro-economic approaches have not sufficiently resolved the explanation of fertility behavior and intergenerational relationships. The “value-of-children-approach” promises a possibility to solve these problems especially with regard to cross-cultural differences. The approach is re-conceptualized in the framework of the theory of social production functions as a special theory of action. Children are seen as strategic intermediate goods to fulfil basic needs of their (potential) parents: Their (1) work and income utility and their (2) insurance utility increases physical well-being, their (3) status utility and their (4) emotional utility increases social recognition. The explanatory potential of this special theory of action is systematically unfolded for six essential dimensions of the action system of the family (size, durability, context opportunities and restrictions, resources, intergenerational relationships, and gender). Finally, the implications for the modernization and social change of intergenerational relationships in societies with different kinship systems are discussed.     

Der Einfluss von people pattern auf die Präferenz für die Gestaltung innerbetrieblicher Diagramme – eine empirische Studie

This paper proofs the impact of the identity in terms of certain not yet scientifically analysed cognitive filters (people pattern) to graphical and visual preferences of human being. Some items based on a people pattern questionnaire have been extracted in order to build up people pattern profiles that maintain people’s chart-type preference. That approach aims the identity driven prediction of the preferred chart-type, used for special business purposes to ease graphical interaction. This model can be used to include the auditor’s visual preferences already in the design process of business charts.     

Auswirkungen von Downsizing-Maßnahmen auf das organisationale Commitment der verbleibenden Mitarbeiter: Ein Vorher-Nachher-Vergleich

This study examines the consequences of downsizing efforts on organizational commitment, job satisfaction and work motivation of the remaining workforce (?survivors“) in a middle-sized telecommunication company. Employees were surveyed five months prior to the downsizing process (n=150) and eleven months thereafter (n=160). The assessment of organizational commitment was based on a questionnaire that was developed by Allen and Meyer (1990) within the scope of their three-components-model which includes affective, continuous and normative commitment. Although layoffs — as one part of the whole downsizing process — were not implemented in the investigated company, but only in a sister enterprise, which is part of the same holding, the affective commitment of employees towards their corporation dropped. On the other hand, the normative and the balanced commitment remained constant. Moreover, every second survivor showed reduced job satisfaction and work motivation. It should be noted that although the results of reorganisation and restructuring did not directly affect the employees of the investigated company, the emotional linkage between employees and employer was affected in a negative way. Additional findings from qualitative interviews suggest that restructuring was perceived to cause a crack in the prevailing corporate culture and the psychological contract. In addition, a deterioration of work conditions through work overload resulted.     

Kollegiale Supervision — ein Instrument der Qualitätsentwicklung für die Hochschullehre?

The enhancement of quality inhigher education is an important task for German universities. As this article point out, peer supervision might serve as an important instrument to accomplish this task, if the interchange of ideas on higher education leads to agreements on goals and the development of behavioral standards. Some requirements that should be met to make sure that peer supervision has these effects are described at the end of the article.     

Niedrigkostensituationen, Hochkostensituationen und andere Situationstypen: ihre Auswirkungen auf die Möglichkeit von Rational-Choice-Erklärungen

As often discussed in rational-choice literature, it is important to distinguish between so called low cost and high cost situations, if one wants to apply rational-choice models in order to explain social phenomena. But not only these two rather extreme and rare types of situations should be considered, but also the majority of real situations which are positioned somewhere between high and low cost situations. It is shown that in low cost situations a rational-choice explanation is not possible, whereas in high cost situations it would be possible. But it is not necessary, because a more parsimonious model (where the relatively relatively pretentious premise of maximization of utility does not have to be included) would lead to the same result. Only in the remaining types of situations rational-choice models are recommendable. These situations are characterized by opportunity costs that are unequal to zero but which are not distributed in favor of only one option. Therefore, it is appropriate to analyze in a first step the kind of situation in which the behavior under investigation occurs, and only then, in a second step, to develop an explanation model. This does not necessarily have to be a rational-choice model.     

Ökonomische und nicht-ökonomische Gefahren für Demokratien

Muller (1995a) claimed that during the 1960s and 1970s countries with (high) income inequality are more likely to face decline in democracy than countries with lower income inequality. This article uses new data to compare the negative impact of two economic determinants (income inequality, inflation) and two non-economic determinants (percent of Islamic population, world system periphery) on democracy. It is found that neither income inequality nor world system periphery does contribute to the explanation of the decline in democracy. Only inflation offers a tentative explanation for decline in democracy. The validity of the results is lessened by sample problems. Especially the data from communist countries appear to be less reliable.     

Wie können „bildungsferne“ Gruppen für ein Hochschulstudium gewonnen werden?

Against the background of the relatively low enrolment of students at universities, the minor proportion of academics at the population, and the distinctive social inequality at the transition to the tertiary education in Germany, it is assumed that – additionally to the structure of the educational system – primary and secondary effects of social origin are responsible for that the working class children are underrepresented at German universities. According to empirical findings for high-school graduates, their subjectively expected success in university training in general as well as their educational decision on continuing tertiary education, in particular, are crucial for this empirical fact of persistent inequalities of university education. If one cancels out the secondary effects of social origin, the participation of working class children could be increased more significantly than by neutralizing the primary effects. If one neutralizes also the secondary effects at both, the first and the second transition in the individuals’ educational course, the individuals’ transition to the sector of tertiary education could be increased additionally. Both, the selection and filter processes of the Germany school system as well as individuals’ educational choices provide the counterproductive effect that the talented offspring from socially disadvantaged classes will be diverted away from the higher education and the universities.