Applying the capability approach to policy-making: The impact assessment of the EU-proposal on organ donation

We show that the capability approach can greatly facilitate ex ante policy evaluations, in particular those that are geared towards multiple goals. It enables a structured discussion on policy benefits, distributional issues, freedom and ethics. We illustrate our general ideas with a real-world application: the impact assessment of an EU-proposal on organ donation.     

A pragmatic adaptive enrichment design for selecting the right target population for cancer immunotherapies

One of the challenges in the design of confirmatory trials is to deal with uncertainties regarding the optimal target population for a novel drug. Adaptive enrichment designs (AED) which allow for a data-driven selection of one or more prespecified biomarker subpopulations at an interim analysis have been proposed in this setting but practical case studies of AEDs are still relatively rare. We present the design of an AED with a binary endpoint in the highly dynamic setting of cancer immunotherapy. The trial was initiated as a conventional trial in early triple-negative breast cancer but amended to an AED based on emerging data external to the trial suggesting that PD-L1 status could be a predictive biomarker. Operating characteristics are discussed including the concept of a minimal detectable difference, that is, the smallest observed treatment effect that would lead to a statistically significant result in at least one of the target populations at the interim or the final analysis, respectively, in the setting of AED.     

Perceived Relational Support in Adolescence: Dimensions,Configurations, and Adolescent Adjustment

The perceived relational support from four key providers (father, mother, special sibling, and best friend) on five provisions (quality of information, respect for autonomy, emotional support, convergence of goals, and acceptance) was examined for 2,262 adolescents (aged 12 – 18 years). In a variable‐centered approach, factor analyses yielded five dimensions of support: three specific to providers (parent, friend, and sibling support) and two specific to provisions (convergence of goals and respect for autonomy). Only parental support was found to change (decrease) across age. In a person‐centered approach, five types of adolescents with different configurations of perceived support were identified. The first three types differed in overall level of support (high, average, and low) for all of the five dimensions; the fourth type represented extremely low support from parents with above‐average support from best friends; the fifth type consisted of adolescents with no best friend. These configurations were significantly related to different patterns of adolescent adjustment in various domains (psychological well‐being, delinquency, substance use, and peer‐group functioning).     

Arbeitslosigkeit und ehrenamtliche Tätigkeit im Zeitverlauf

Starting point of the article is the discussion about possibilities to defuse the crisis on the German labor market by supporting volunteer work. Therefore, the effects of unemployment on the probability to volunteer are of special interest. For this purpose, logistic regressions are estimated for the years 1992 and 1996, using longitudinal data from the West German sub-sample of the German Socioeconomic-Panel (GSOEP). There is no evidence for an increasing propensity of take up or maintain volunteer work among the unemployed. In contrast, it is shown that the chance to volunteer especially in creases with a higher educational degree or if the person lives in ?secure’ family circumstances. On the ?volunteer market’ similar qualifications are in demand, which also support a successful participation in the regular labour market. Therefore, the hope an assumed in dividually higher willingness to volunteer among the unemployed may contribute to cope with the general labour market crisis turns out to be misleading. Especially low-educated persons, being a problem group on the labour market, do not look at volunteering as an adequate activity for themselves.     

Family Loyalty and Adolescent Problem Behavior: The Validity of the Family Group Effect

Erratum . Journal of Law and Society Volume 32 Issue 3 The present study examined the relation between perceived justice and trust within family relationships and adolescent internalizing and externalizing problem behavior. Data were gathered from the father, the mother, and two of their adolescent children in 288 families. The social relations model was used to assess perceived justice and trust at the family level and the individual level. Adolescent internalizing and externalizing problem behavior turned out to be best predicted at the family level. Adolescents from families with less just or trustworthy climates showed more of these problem behaviors. Also associations between adolescent problem behavior and individual characteristics of the adolescents were found: adolescents who were generally viewed as less just/trustworthy were reported to have more problems. Our findings suggest that processes at different levels of family functioning (i.e., individual, whole‐family) should be taken into account when investigating associations between family characteristics and children's outcomes.     

Childcare involvement, job characteristics, gender and work attitudes as predictors of emotional exhaustion and sickness absence

Reports in the literature vary regarding the existence of gender differences in relation to burnout and sickness absence. To investigate this, the present study was aimed at investigating the role of several gender-relevant variables, particularly childcare obligations, job characteristics, and work attitudes in emotional exhaustion and sickness absence in 404 male and female nurses in an institution for people with learning difficulties. Questionnaires were administered reflecting demographic and job characteristics, work and non-work attitudes, and emotional exhaustion (as measured by the Emotional Exhaustion Scale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory). Female nurses were expected to report higher levels of emotional exhaustion and to be absent through sickness more often than men. Also, childcare investment, job characteristics, and (non) work attitudes were expected—via emotional exhaustion—to predict gender differences in sickness absence. It was found that women did not have higher sickness absence rates, and although a gender difference appeared in emotional exhaustion it was in the opposite direction from that predicted. For both genders, emotional exhaustion had a significant positive effect on sickness absence, and especially childcare investment and number of work hours appeared to contribute to both outcomes. These results are of interest because, despite current stereotypes, sickness absence was not higher in women, and neither were women more at risk for emotional exhaustion. In particular, load—workload as well as care load—appeared to predict emotional exhaustion and thus sickness absence.     

Modeling Growth of Clostridium perfringens in Pea Soup During Cooling

Clostridium perfringens is a pathogen that mainly causes food poisoning outbreaks when large quantities of food are prepared. Therefore, a model was developed to predict the effect of different cooling procedures on the growth of this pathogen during cooling of food: Dutch pea soup. First, a growth rate model based on interpretable parameters was used to predict growth during linear cooling of pea soup. Second, a temperature model for cooling pea soup was constructed by fitting the model to experimental data published earlier. This cooling model was used to estimate the effect of various cooling environments on average cooling times, taking into account the effect of stirring and product volume. The growth model systematically overestimated growth of C. perfringens during cooling in air, but this effect was limited to less than 0.5 log N/ml and this was considered to be acceptable for practical purposes. It was demonstrated that the growth model for C. perfringens combined with the cooling model for pea soup could be used to sufficiently predict growth of C. perfringens in different volume sizes of pea soup during cooling in air as well as the effect of stirring, different cooling temperatures, and various cooling environments on the growth of C. perfringens in pea soup. Although fine-tuning may be needed to eliminate inaccuracies, it was concluded that the combined model could be a useful tool for designing good manufacturing practices (GMP) procedures.