Internet Addiction: Debating the Diagnosis

While the Internet has revolutionized the process of information gathering and communication in society, there has been mounting concern in the literature as to the effect of the medium on the individual. Researchers appear torn as to whether an individual can actually develop an addiction to the Internet. This report will review this controversy in detail, including proposed definitional criteria for problematic Internet use, explanatory theories of the manifestation of problematic Internet use, measures of problematic Internet use, and groups with a higher vulnerability of developing problematic Internet use. The report will conclude by identifying gaps in the literature, areas for future research, and implications for human service agencies and treatment providers.     

The Enduring Significance of Ethno-Racial Inequalities in Poverty in the U.S., 1993–2017

Population Research and Policy Review - Ethno-racial inequality in poverty is an enduring but misunderstood problem. Most prior research relies on the flawed official poverty measure, data with...     

Begabung oder harte Arbeit?

During the course of studies, certain situations cause uncertainties that can seriously trouble its success. Within the framework of Collegial Coaching, scholarship students of the Hans B?ckler Foundation who are confronted with similar circumstances work together, in order to develop opportunities for action and to strengthen their self-perception. Older and former scholarship holders are trained to become diversity-aware coaches and will then manage a coaching group.     

GERMAN BY VIRTUE OF OTHERS: THE SEARCH FOR IDENTITY IN THREE DEBATES

This paper argues that German identity is primarily constructed in opposition to a negative ‘other’, with ‘the Jew’ as prototypical other. The general trajectory of German identity construction throughout the 1980s and 1990s was towards the normalization of German identity, a mending in response to the radical break in German history by the Nazi regime and the Holocaust. This development will be traced through three debates that crosscut the realms of professional scholarship and the public – the Historians' Debate of 1985/86, the German unification debate of 1989 and the Goldhagen debate of 1996 – with focus on the contributions by professional scholars. The basic dichotomous structure of self-other is complicated by recurring themes in the construction of contemporary German identity. Three central themes or problems are identified in the debates: efforts at exclusively positive definitions of German identity, the definition of German identity in relation to a negative other and the location of the Holocaust in German history. The focus in the interpretation of these themes is on the subtle changes of identity over time, conceptualized in terms of repetition with change. The essay closes with a plea for a more open and inclusive definition of German identity and some thoughts on the role of the public intellectual in German society.     

Paddling on One Side of the Canoe? The Changing Nature of New Zealand's Development Assistance Programme

New Zealand's aid policy has undergone a revolution under the National Party government elected in 2008. Prior to this, NZAID, a semi‐autonomous unit, had evolved to manage aid in line with internationally agreed principles. Under the new government, NZAID was reincorporated into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, its focus was shifted from poverty reduction to economic growth, and its programme was aligned with foreign policy. This article aims to provide an overview of the shifts in New Zealand's aid policy over four decades, to explore the relationship between the global aid regime and national practice, and to analyse the influence of politics, and of key individuals, in setting the direction of aid policy.     

Considering Social Cohesion in Quality of Life Assessments: Concept and Measurement

In recent years, the concept of social cohesionhas received great attention in scientificresearch as well as in politics. It representsa central policy goal at the national and thesupranational level as declared for example bymany policy documents of the European Union.The present paper integrates social cohesioninto the components of quality of life anddistinguishes two essential goal dimensionsinherent in the concept: the inequalitydimension and the social capital dimension. Thefirst dimension incorporates the goals ofreducing disparities, promoting equalopportunities and combating social exclusion,while the second dimension deals with allaspects aiming at strengthening socialrelations, interactions and ties. A proposal ismade on how to measure this conceptualisationof social cohesion within the framework of aEuropean System of Social Indicators, and someexamples of indicators of social cohesion inEurope are discussed.     

The transition to tertiary education and parental background over time

We analyze the role of parental background for transitions to tertiary education in Germany and answer three questions: (a) does the relevance of parental background shift from short-term (contemporary income) to long factors (ability, parental education) at higher levels of education? (b) Did the impact of parental background on participation in tertiary education change over time? (c) Are there different patterns by sex and region? Parental income significantly affects transitions to tertiary education. Its impact seems to have lost magnitude over time. We find no clear differences by sex and larger parental income effects in West than in East Germany.