„Neue Berater braucht das Land?“ – Eine empirische Analyse der Charakteristika potenzieller Nachwuchskräfte in der Finanzdienstleistungsbranche und Konsequenzen für das Employer Branding

Demographic change and associated shortage of skilled labor as well as changing values in future generations of employees are omnipresent. In addition, financial service providers are facing further challenges such as impacts caused by the financial crisis and the commission remuneration model in order to reach suitable employees, so that a target group oriented employer branding strategy plays an important role.Therefore, this paper investigated characteristics of potential employees who are interested in the financial services industry and also in salary models based on commission rather than fixed pay. To that end, we conducted an online survey with students as representatives of future employees. The questionnaire investigated expectations of potential applicants regarding their employers, their information seeking behavior (especially regarding online media), values, and personality characteristics. Results give insights into successful media use and corporate presentations of employers, but also illustrate the low attractiveness of the financial services industry and also commission remuneration models. Therefore, the importance of a successful employer branding strategy is emphasized.     

Being NEET in Europe Before and After the Economic Crisis: An Analysis of the Micro and Macro Determinants

The right to adequate minimum income protection is one of the key principles included in the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR). The EPSR takes a right-based and normative approach, aiming specifically at fulfilling people’s essential needs, not only by guaranteeing sufficiently high income levels, but also by promoting labour market inclusion and access to affordable goods and services of good quality. This paper takes the EPSR as a starting point to propose a needs-based indicator that assesses the adequacy of minimum income protection including these three dimensions in a comprehensive way. We argue that Reference Budgets (RBs), priced baskets of goods and services that represent an adequate living standard, are well-suited to construct such an indicator. To illustrate this empirically, we use RBs for adequate social participation in Belgium which have been constructed for the first time in 2008 and have been regularly updated since then. Through a combination of hypothetical household simulations of essential out-of-pocket costs and designated tax-benefits for families living on different minimum income schemes, we are able to assess the adequacy of minimum income protection for a range of household types over the period 2008–2017. The paper shows that, the proposed indicator is a useful policy tool for both ex-ante and ex-post evaluations of the adequacy of social policy measures in light of the social protection and inclusion rights included in the Pillar.

     

Construct Validation and Application of a Common Measure of Social Cohesion in 33 European Countries

The aim of the paper is to assess the construct validation of a multidimensional measure of social cohesion which is well theoretically grounded and has an equivalent/comparable interpretation across all European countries. Up-to-now published research on social cohesion is deficient in either one or both of these important aspects. This paper attempts to cover this gap. The task is accomplished in two steps. In the first step, we conceptualize social cohesion, flowing mainly from Bernard and Chan’s definitions of social cohesion. Based on this theoretical framework we operationalize social cohesion and derive a set of intermediate indicators in the data. By return we verify whether these indicators empirically reflect/corroborate the multidimensional structure of the concept proposed by the theory. In the second step, we examine whether the obtained intermediate indicators of social cohesion form the same constructs across countries and whether they can yield a cross country equivalent measure of social cohesion. To test the validity of the theory we use multidimensional scaling and confirmatory factor analysis. Both models are able to verify the equivalence of the structural results between groups (i.e. countries). Confirmatory factor analysis produces further meaningful measures of these constructs. The analyses are based on the data from the 1999 European Values Study (EVS). The outcomes of the analyses reveal that, firstly, the existence of the multifaceted construct of social cohesion suggested by the theory has been corroborated by empirical analysis of the EVS data (i.e. social cohesion consists of components of formal and substantial relationships and political and socio-cultural domains). Secondly, the proposed constructs measuring social cohesion are equivalent across all analysed countries and thus allow the calculation of internationally comparable national scores of social cohesion. Application of the aggregate measures at the country level will illustrate the interest of the approach for further research.     

The evaluation of team lifting on physical work demands and workload in ironworkers

Lifting and carrying heavy loads occur frequently among ironworkers and result in high prevalence and incidence rates of low back complaints, injuries and work-disability. From a health perspective, little information is available on the effect of team lifting on work demands and workload. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare the effects of team lifting of maximally 50 kg by two ironworkers (T50) with team lifting of maximally 100 kg by four ironworkers (T100). This study combined a field and laboratory study with the following outcome measures: duration and frequency of tasks and activities, energetic workload, perceived discomfort and maximal compression forces (Fc peak) on the low back. The physical work demands and workload of an individual iron worker during manual handling of rebar materials of 100 kg with four workers did not differ from the manual handling of rebar materials of 50 kg with two workers, with the exception of low back discomfort and Fc peak. The biomechanical workload of the low back exceeded for both T50 and T100 the NIOSH threshold limit of 3400N. Therefore, mechanical transport or other effective design solutions should be considered to reduce the biomechanical workload of the low back and the accompanying health risks among iron workers.     

Does team lifting increase the variability in peak lumbar compression in ironworkers?

Ironworkers frequently perform heavy lifting tasks in teams of two or four workers. Team lifting could potentially lead to a higher variation in peak lumbar compression forces than lifts performed by one worker, resulting in higher maximal peak lumbar compression forces. This study compared single-worker lifts (25-kg, iron bar) to two-worker lifts (50-kg, two iron bars) and to four-worker lifts (100-kg, iron lattice). Inverse dynamics was used to calculate peak lumbar compression forces. To assess the variability in peak lumbar loading, all three lifting tasks were performed six times. Results showed that the variability in peak lumbar loading was somewhat higher in the team lifts compared to the single-worker lifts. However, despite this increased variability, team lifts did not result in larger maximum peak lumbar compression forces. Therefore, it was concluded that, from a biomechanical point of view, team lifting does not result in an additional risk for low back complaints in ironworkers.     

Απόλιδας: an analysis of the international legal framework in the field of statelessness and the U.N.H.C.R.’s communication campaign

In her The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt described the condition of apolidia (statelessness) – through words that still resonate today – as that of persons who have lost their rights because they have fled their homeland. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (U.N.H.C.R.), there are about 10 million stateless persons worldwide, 600,000 of whom live in the European Union (E.U.). It seems impossible to imagine the concept of statelessness, which although it has a very specific definition in international law, remains a vague notion for the intellect and common sense. This paper will firstly focus on the historical evolution of the concept of nationality under international law. Secondly, it will deal with the international legal framework, and in particular the 1954 and 1961 Conventions on the improvement of the conditions of stateless persons and the prevention of statelessness. It will then turn to the U.N.H.C.R.’s mandate in relation to statelessness, and how this organization contributes to the promotion of an effective right to nationality. Finally, U.N.H.C.R.'s communication campaigns to end statelessness will be analyzed, in order to stress the positive impact of an effective communication strategy.     

An exploratory study on the impact of daily activities on the pleasure and physical activity of older adults

Background

Pleasure is one determinant of intrinsic motivation and yet a dimension often forgotten when promoting physical activity among the older population. In this study we investigate the relation between daily activities and physical activity, experience of pleasure, and the interaction between pleasure and physical activity in the daily lives of community-dwelling older adults.

Methods

Participants carried a hip-worn accelerometer during 30 consecutive days resulting in a total of 320 days of data collection. Current activity, location, companion and experience of pleasure during each activity were assessed through experience sampling on a smartphone every 1–2 h. Between- and within-individual differences were analysed with multi-level models and 10xN?=?1 regression analysis.

Results

Outdoor activities were associated with higher physical activity than indoor activities (p?<?0.001). Performing leisure activities, outdoors and not alone significantly predicted pleasure in daily life (all p’s?<?0.05). Being more active while performing leisure activities resulted in higher experiences of pleasure (p?<?0.001). However, when performing basic activities of daily living (e.g. commuting or households) this relation was inverted. Results provide meaningful indication for individual variance. The 30 days of data collected from each participant allow for identification of individual differences.

Conclusions

Daily activities and their contexts do influence the experience of pleasure and physical activity of older adults in daily life of older adults, although similar research with larger population is recommended. Results are in accordance with the literature, indicating that the method adopted (accelerometry combined with experience sampling) provides reliable representation of daily life. Identification of individual differences can eventually be automatically performed through data mining techniques. Further research could look at innovative approaches to promote Active Ageing using mobile technology in the daily life, by promoting physical activity through recommendation of pleasurable activities, and thus likely to increase the intrinsic motivation to become physically active.

     

Media,migrants and human rights in the cultural history. Dialogue with Lynn Hunt

Lynn Hunt is an American historian and writer; she is Distinguished Research Professor at the University of California in Los Angeles (U.C.L.A.), and before coming to U.C.L.A., she taught at the University of Pennsylvania (1987–1998) and at the University of California, Berkeley (1974–1987). She is known for her studies in European Cultural History, and in 2007 she published the book Inventing Human Rights, where she examines the rise of the human rights in the eighteenth century.

We are specifically interested in her work because it gives us the chance to create a dialogue and disclose the moment we are living in comparing it with the cultural history and the role the media can have during a humanitarian crisis.

Therefore, we ask Lynn Hunt to explain how the exodus of migrants can be interpreted in light of the meta-narrative model, and to make clear what is and what will be the role of the cultural historians in offering us an interpretation of this historical moment. According to what the writer says in Writing History in the Global Era (2014), Hunt also deals with the importance of the relationship between means of communication, development of empathy and the emergence of human rights. For this reason, we asked the researcher, What is the role of the media today in mapping a humanitarian crisis?     

Kompetenz- und karrieref?rderliches Führungsverhalten: Zum Stand der Forschung

The direct manager which has close contact with his employees is suited to challenge and support them according to their interests and abilities. This paper provides a summary of the empirical literature about the meaning and mechanism of different leadership behaviors influencing employees?? competencies and career advancement. The leader??s behaviors are divided in two ways of support. The direct contact (feedback, training measures, promotion, trust and expectations, objectives?? management, social support, role model behavior) and support by providing competence and career enhancing tasks and job design (delegation of challenging tasks, job control, person-job-fit). Thereby a particular focus is placed upon gender-specific outcomes. Based on the actual research findings, additional recommendations for the career enhancement in practice and for future research are provided.