Schulverweigerung

The aim of this article is to describe the extent of truancy in Cologne and to identify the relevant predictors. Hypotheses are deduced from classical deviance theories (control theory, amomy theory, theory of urban subcultures) and tested empirically. Our analysis is based on a survey of pupils in Cologne from grade 8 to 10 which was conducted in 1999 by the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law in Freiburg. Our results show that 7.9 percent of all respondends can be defined as truants. Boys play truant more than girls, and the higher the age, the more pupils bunk off school. More important than gender and age is the type of secondary school. We find the highest amount of truants at Hauptschulen and Sonderschulen. It is shown that truancy is a multidimensional phenomenon that cannot be explained by just one single theory.     

Das Eignungsfeststellungsverfahren für angehende Hauptfachstudierende der Soziologie

This article presents preliminary experience with a selection procedure for the diploma study course in sociology at the LMU Munich, which was first implemented in the winter term 2004/05. Furthermore, it examines the consequences of this procedure. The selection procedure, which is limited in time, was established due to high discontinuation rates and a remarkable congestion of the scientific personnel who are particularly involved in the foundation courses. Judicial fundament of the procedure is an “experimental clause” in the Bavarian University Act. First of all we point out that the number of newly registered undergraduates remarkably declined. Even the total number of applicants is lower than in the years before the initiation of the selection procedure. Secondly, we consider the dwindling during the process of the selection procedure. Contrary to some apprehensions it is obvious that applicants with a good university-entrance diploma do not choose possible alternatives, but still consider the diploma study course in sociology. Concerning the overall evaluation of the selection procedure’s consequences our results show thirdly, that the procedure is highly accepted by all parties concerned and that it therefore has to be regarded as an efficient solution to lower the discontinuation rates as well as to cope with the capacity overload.     

Honesty in intra-organizational reporting

In this experimental study we analyze the trade-off between the subjects’ preference for wealth on the one hand and their preference for honesty on the other hand. The purpose of this research is to examine the effect of communication medium on reporting behavior. We want to know whether situational cues, such as the communication method—digital (via computer) vs. hard-copy (via paper and pencil) matter, while considering deception. Furthermore, we are interested in the relationship between the social value orientation (SVO) and the reporting behavior. While the experimental evidence shows that participants in both treatments have a preference for truthful reporting and they avoid major lies, there are also remarkable differences between the treatments which we attribute to the reporting medium: computer treatment CT versus paper-and-pencil treatment PPT. Agents are willing to report more honestly via a hard-copy medium than via a digital medium. It seems like participants perceive the digital report more confidential and anonymous than the hard-copy report, and that is why they tend to misrepresent in the CT rather than in the PPT. Further, we found that the SVO influences reporting behavior.     

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