Management control in multinational companies: a systematic literature review

Review of Managerial Science - Executing management control across borders is crucial for multinational companies (MNCs). Various management control mechanisms serve to align foreign subsidiaries...     

Semiparametric lack-of-fit tests in an additive hazard regression model

In the semiparametric additive hazard regression model of McKeague and Sasieni (Biometrika 81: 501–514), the hazard contributions of some covariates are allowed to change over time, without parametric restrictions (Aalen model), while the contributions of other covariates are assumed to be constant. In this paper, we develop tests that help to decide which of the covariate contributions indeed change over time. The remaining covariates may be modelled with constant hazard coefficients, thus reducing the number of curves that have to be estimated nonparametrically. Several bootstrap tests are proposed. The behavior of the tests is investigated in a simulation study. In a practical example, the tests consistently identify covariates with constant and with changing hazard contributions.     

How can cooperation between rehabilitation professionals in rehabilitation planning be improved? A qualitative study from the employer's perspective

Research shows that there are often problems with cooperation between rehabilitation professionals within vocational rehabilitation. The aim of this study was to describe employers' experiences of how cooperation between different rehabilitation professionals can be improved in a vocational rehabilitation planning process. Ten employers who had sent their employees to vocational rehabilitation at a rehabilitation centre in the north of Sweden during 2000 and 2001 participated in the study. Qualitative interviews were performed and analysed by thematic content analysis. The employers' cooperation with clients could be improved by a focus on clients' needs and participation in the rehabilitation process. The employers cooperation with Social Insurance companies could be improved by, 1) early prevention and intervention, 2) knowledge of each other's roles, responsibilities and opportunities and 3) priority making. The employers' cooperation with rehabilitation professionals could be improved by, 1) early identification of rehabilitation needs and goals and early rehabilitation and, 2) increased focus on own responsibilities from each part in the process.     

Ethnische Bildungsungleichheit zu Schulbeginn

The present paper aims to explain ethnic educational inequality upon starting school, it considers as an example the children’s school readiness, and focuses on preschool attendance as a main determinant. The start of the children’s school career is mainly presumed to be influenced by the skills acquired in their preschool years. On the basis of the data of the school entrance examination of the City of Osnabrück for the years 2000 to 2005, ethnic differences at the end of their preschool time can be detected. These differences still persist when controlling for family background. However, when the duration of preschool attendance is taken into account, the ethnic effect on school readiness decreases, disappearing completely when additionally controlling for the children’s cognitive and linguistic skills. Further analyses show that preschool attendance affects school readiness both directly and indirectly (via cognitive and linguistic skills). The results emphasize the relevance of preschool attendance within the framework of preschool education.     

Childhood maltreatment among Norwegian drug abusers in treatment

This article reports on the investigation of the correlation between the European Addiction Severity Index (EuropASI) and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) among 102 Norwegian drug abusers admitted to treatment. The aim of the study is to explore how different types and levels of childhood trauma and social and psychiatric factors, medical situation and experienced family history are interrelated. The study addresses three main questions: 1) What is the prevalence of different kinds of childhood trauma among drug abusers in treatment? 2) Does type or level of maltreatment in childhood predict specific substance abuse problems as adults and/or specific social, psychiatric and medical problems as adults? 3) Do substance abuse problems and mental health problems in the primary family predict different types and levels of childhood maltreatment? Twenty‐five per cent of the total sample was included in the high‐level trauma group and 54% in the intermediate‐level group. Females had significantly higher scores than males in all types of childhood trauma. The strongest correlations were found between childhood trauma and lifetime psychiatric problems and psychiatric status during the last 30 days before admission for treatment. More research, and especially prospective studies, is needed to clarify the importance of parents' substance abuse and psychiatric problems in childhood/adolescent compared with trauma in the client's childhood and the client's current psychiatric status.     

Lehrexzellenz – Lehrkompetenz: Herausforderungen für Neuberufene mit Coaching begegnen

Excellence and competence are terms referring to recent developments in higher education especially concerning the quality of teaching. The discussion about teaching excellence can be interpreted as increasing stress upon universities. Teaching competence on the other side is extensively a matter of the individual lecturer. As such they are expected to focus on their educational beliefs, their teaching conceptions, and their disposable teaching methods on new mission statements that are committed to teaching excellence. This article deals with the question how the recruitment of new professors is carried out in universities of applied sciences considering the mentioned teaching excellence. The coaching program for professors that have recently been appointed at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences is presented as a forceful in-house procedure that is oriented toward the development of teaching competence.