Nachruf auf Privatdozent Dr. Michael Schwab-Trapp

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Assessing Adjustment to Aging: A Validation Study for the Adjustment to Aging Scale (AtAS)

Adjustment to aging (AtA) is a multifactor adjustment process with implications on aging well among older adults. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a scale to assess the factors that older adults recognized as indicators of their AtA, with a cross-national comparative perspective towards aging well. Convenience sampling was used to gather questionnaire data, including demographics and the proposed scale. Complete data was available for 1,291 older community-dwelling adults, aged between 75 and 102 years (M = 83.9; SD = 6.68), who represented four different nationalities. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed for dimension reduction and exploration of the factorial structure. Data gathered with the 22-items AtA five-factor scale showed overall good psychometric properties (in terms of distributional properties, statistical significant factor weights, factorial, convergent, discriminant criterion and external-related validities, as well as reliability). Five factors were selected for the Adjustment to Aging Scale: (a) sense of purpose and ambitions (b) zest and spirituality; (c) body and health; (d) aging in place and stability; and (e) social support. We present a 22-item scale with five factors for AtA estimation in a cross-national elderly population which produced valid and reliable data for elder persons from four different nationalities. Results showed that this scale is an adequate cross-cultural instrument for research, clinical practice and program development in the health care context. These may benefit from clearly understanding AtA as an important component for reducing health disparities and for aging well, across nationalities.     

Orphan Drug Act on congressional agenda.

In 1983, Congress passed the Orphan Drug Act to encourage development of pharmaceuticals used in the treatment or diagnosis of diseases that occur so rarely that there is no financial incentive for development of these so-called "orphan drugs." The Act established, among other things, exclusive marketing rights on unpatentable orphan drugs for a period of seven years and a tax credit equal to 50 percent of the cost of conducting human clinical trials. It also authorized the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants and enter into contracts to reduce the costs of clinical testing in orphan drug development.     

Veränderungen der Rollenstruktur von Arbeitsgruppen im Rahmen einer Software-Implementierung

Introducing new technologies in organizations often brings about tremendous changes regarding structures and processes that also impact procedures, communication and cooperation in working groups. In this study we investigate whether the structure of working teams changed in the course of a software implementation process, what kind of impact these changes had on the teams, and how these changes could be used to shape the implementation process in a positive way. To that end, working teams from different organizations and sectors were analyzed using sociometric methods prior to and after a software implementation process. Results show typical changes in role structures that can be used to shape the implementation process. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Au-delà de la nation culturelle,l'internationalisme civique

Cette contribution part de l'idée que le nationalisme est autant une invention internationale dont les origines positives remontent à la conception culturelle des nationalités du wilsonisme, qu'une dynamique interne. Elle réfléchit à deux modalités du nationalisme international, le postnationalisme et le nationalisme à distance qui, a priori, mettent en scène – et se réclament de – deux types de cultures différents: civique d'une part, ethnolinguistique d'autre part. L'auteur postule cependant que le postnationalisme ne peut pas ignorer l'incarnation nationale au profit de principes supranationaux abstraits, et que le nationalisme à distance ne se résume pas à une forme déterritorialisée du nationalisme culturel classique. Les deux modèles doivent être nuancés et ne sont convaincants que dans l'assomption d'une interaction entre les ingrédients de la culture civique, démocratique et ceux de la culture ethnolinguistique.