Sexual Violence Against Children in Sports and Exercise: A Systematic Literature Review

Sexual violence against children in sports receives little research attention. The aim of this Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses-based systematic literature review was to synthesize the up-to-date knowledge and identify the already known and the still unknown information in this area. The literature search yielded seven eligible studies for inclusion. Their key outcomes suggest that sexual violence against children in sports is prevalent. Girls are more often the victims than boys, but gender appears to mediate the disclosure. Minority groups are at higher risk for sexual violence, and athletes at higher levels of competition seem to be more vulnerable for grooming. While the coach is often seen as the perpetrator, new research suggests that peer-athletes may precede the coach. Disclosure is a problem, due to personal and interpersonal concerns, which deters scholastic research in this area. In the final section of the review, a “what we know” and “what we need to know” list of highlights is offered as the concluding summary of the review. These factual points could raise the awareness of parents and/or guardians about the vulnerability of their children to sexual abuse if they are involved in sports. They could also attract the attention of the policy makers to the urgent need of developing and implementing preventive measures to make sports and exercise environments pleasurable and safe for children.     

Market research with the aid of a smartphone application – a case study

We discuss using the presumed ‘wisdom of the crowd’ to reduce the bullwhip effect in supply chains by enhancing the accuracy of demand forecast. Our case study describes a joint project of a leading European technology company (We chose RAGD as a pseudonym for the company throughout the study.) and the University of Kassel on a smartphone application for end customers to gather early information for this producer’s forecast. Our results confirm the ‘wisdom of the crowd’ hypothesis: A group of experts, in our case technicians who install and maintain RAGD-products, is capable of anticipating market fluctuations six weeks in advance. This only holds true if the ‘crowd’ of technicians is large enough. Our business climate index outperforms the company forecast in the first six months, when on average 22 technicians took part per week. We discuss successes and limitations of the cooperation and provide recommendations for similar projects.     

Using queueing models to estimate system capacity

The true capacity of a production or service system is often difficult to estimate with sufficient accuracy. The two main methodological approaches to capacity measurement described in the literature – measurements based on engineering and physical factors and measurement based on time studies – are both characterised by conceptual as well as practical shortcomings. This paper provides analyses on how capacity measurement can be approached using queueing models, thereby eliminating some major drawbacks of other approaches. The core idea is to use the theoretical relation among arrival rate, service rate and queueing time; because the arrival rate and queueing time can both be measured objectively in an empirical sense, these measures can be used to estimate the true service rate of the system. The suggested method is completely insensitive to the proportional relationship between design and effective capacity, and it cannot cause any behavioural problems during measurement since it does not require direct observation of the system itself. Particularly appealing is the potential for practical application to many contexts in many industries. The validity of the approach is discussed.     

Leaks,legislation and freedom of speech: How can the law effectively promote public‐interest whistleblowing?

Attention is increasingly being focused on leaking, whistleblowing and associated compliance and incentives questions. The authors outline the differences between leaking and whistleblowing, notably on protection of the disclosers. They review provisions of international conventions on human rights and corruption, and compare approaches to protecting freedom of speech in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. Their findings highlight the complex, sometimes conflicting issues involved: public, individual, commercial and financial interests; abuse of power; security; confidentiality; the individual as law enforcer; and the employment relationship.     

Secular Trends in Alcohol Drinking Among Danish 15‐Year‐Olds: Comparable Representative Samples From 1988 to 2010

This study describes the secular trends in weekly intake of beer, wine, liquor, and drunkenness among 15‐year‐olds 1988–2010 (total N = 8,701), a period with several policy initiatives regarding alcohol in Denmark. Data from seven comparative and representative school surveys conducted in 1988, 1991, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2010 were used. The proportion of 15‐year‐olds in Denmark who drank alcohol and were drunk increased from 1988 to 2002, but decreased substantially to 2010; for example, the proportion of 15‐year‐old girls who drank beer at least weekly increased from 15% in 1988 to 31% in 2002 and decreased to 7% in 2010. We hypothesize that age limits for purchasing alcohol may have resulted in a decrease in young people's alcohol use.     

Public Social Services’ encounters with irregular migrants in Sweden: amid values of social work and control of migration

This article outlines Public Social Services’ encounters with irregular migrants in Sweden from the perspectives of institutional and street-level bureaucrats. Staff and executive considerations are influenced by a de jure exclusion of irregular migrants, which is an element of the control of migration. Staff face contradictory demands concerning international and national regulations, which leads to legal ambiguities open to discretionary powers. The aim is to explore the handling of such cases, experiences and considerations with an interest in the values that are invoked when enacting discretion and to discuss implications of the unclear legal situation. The material was obtained using web-based questionnaires. A tentative analysis confirms that the Public Social Services encounter irregular migrants and that handling differs greatly. It suggests that different approaches and the contradictory legal framework endanger the rule of law. Differing reference points appear to be invoked when enacting discretion: some related to social work and others to controlled migration. The social work values invoked by some respondents might imply an appreciation of a right to services and control of migration as independent processes and jurisdiction related to human rights that are applicable beyond the nationally framed legal status and not subordinated to policies of migration.     

The NEET concept in comparative youth research: the Nordic countries and South Africa

The NEET concept has become widely used internationally since its emergence in the UK almost two decades ago. This article reviews the adoption of the concept in two extreme contexts in terms of NEET rates, youth opportunities and youth welfare: the Nordic countries and South Africa. The article discusses the situations of NEET young people in the two contexts, and how the concept is used in the wealthy and relatively homogenous Nordic welfare states and in relatively poorer and racially divided South Africa. While the concept has been problematised in different ways in Nordic youth research, it has been more readily accepted by South African researchers. We argue that, in both contexts, the NEET concept can be taken as an invitation to look beyond individual life situations and biographies, and to focus on how structural forces such as the political economy shape young people’s lives. The NEET concept provides a way of discussing changing opportunity structures and how global social forces such as globalisation and neoliberalisation shape young people’s lives in different contexts. The NEET concept is useful in comparative youth research.     

Fetishes and factishes: Durkheim and Latour

This paper defends the concept of ‘fetishism’ as an explanatory parameter in sociological theorizing on Durkheimian grounds, while at the same time paying due attention to important insights regarding the role of objects in social life, originating from Actor‐Network Theory (ANT). It critically assesses the current critique of the concept of fetishism propagated by ANT protagonist Bruno Latour. Latour and suggests a compromise between these two ‘schools’. First, to place the paper firmly in context, I analyse some examples of modern fetishism and outline the themes of the ensuing discussion. Next, I turn to Durkheim, seeking to develop a distinct interpretation of the concept of the social and of fetishism, and then point to some of Durkheim's shortcomings and attempt to make room for Latourian perspectives. Finally, I critically assess Latour's dismissal of forms of social ‘explanation’ and of the concept of fetishism.     

Potenzialanalysen als Instrument eines strategischen Personalmanagements in Unternehmen und die Integrierbarkeit des PZA

The person-centered approach (PCA) has many facets and it is a recognized and successful theory in many areas. Also in the economic field, Rogers?? theory is becoming increasingly important. Though at the first sight it is not obvious, in addition to coaching and change-management, there are also other areas in which the PCA could be integrated. In particular, the approach could be used for potential analyses, which are, in the meantime, worldwide widely used in companies for human resources development. Under traditional person-centered aspects, potential analyses are first to be regarded as critical because the judging and evaluating of people is obviously diametrically opposed to Rogers?? approach. However, it can be shown in the following that??depending on the used method of potential analyse??also the PCA can be realized and integrated in such a field.     

What drives contract design in alliances? Taking stock and how to proceed

We collect and assess prior empirical evidence on contract design in alliances that has been published since Parkhe’s (1993) seminal study on inter-firm contracts. We elaborate on the effects of transaction-related factors, experience gained from prior relationships, and deliberate learning efforts on contracts. Our paper offers three contributions. First, we systematically review the existing literature on alliance contracts and summarize our findings. Second, while prior research has traditionally focused on contractual complexity, we place the content of contracts center stage and identify three contractual functions. While existing studies on contractual functions predominantly refer to safeguarding as a response to appropriation concerns, we also consider coordination and contingency adaptability as outcomes of adaptation concerns. Third, we disentangle the differential influences of previous experiences on distinct contractual functions and show that experience gained from prior relationships has different effects on safeguarding and contingency adaptability than on coordination. Overall, we add to the systematization of the current debate on alliance contract design and trace promising avenues for future research on the impact of transaction- and experience-related factors on the complexity and content of alliance contracts.