Beratung im Kontext des Neuen Steuerungsmodells in der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe

The main elements of the ongoing reform of youth welfare in Germany “Neue Steuerung” (“New Regulation”) are the reconstruction of its administration, local networking and the transfer of economical criterions to the context of social work. Advisors and coaches, working in this field, are confronted with a problem, which is highly characterized by institutional dynamics of changes, and especially with the question of efficiency of social measures. We think, it is important that advisers, coaches an supervisors, who work in this field of “New Regulation”, are informed profoundly of the current state of the reform of the administration in their region, that they find their own point-of-view to the theme of pressure in financing social measures and social providing, and that they create a flexible supply of consultation, which is comprehensive in methods and that they cooperate with their clients` institutions.     

Book Review: Theories of the Information Society,Second Edition. By Webster,Frank, New York: Routledge 2002. 304 pages,ISBN 0415282012

Qualitative Sociology -     

Facilitating interviews with children who may have been sexually abused

The introduction of the Memorandum of Good Practice on interviewing children who have been sexually abused has had an important unifying effect on professional practice. However, because of the traumatic nature of sexual abuse there will be a group of children about whom there are high levels of suspicion and where arrangements need to be made for their future care, protection and treatment. These include children who have learning disabilities or communication problems, have psychiatric disorders associated with abuse, or where there have been considerable delays since allegations were first made. Such children require a second-stage facilitative assessment interview. These include different forms of questioning, and the use of a wide range of prompting materials including art work, free and structured play context and the use of anatomically correct dolls. These approaches are reviewed and illustrated through case studies.     

Work-nonwork conflict among MBAs: Sex differences in role stressors and life satisfaction

Predictors of work-nonwork conflict (work role conflict, career salience, age, length of service, number of children living at home) and relationships between work-nonwork conflict and life satisfaction were investigated among 271 MBA students. There were no significant differences in the level of work-nonwork conflict due to sex or marital status, and work role conflict was the best independent predictor of work-nonwork conflict for both women and men. The number of children living at home was unrelated to work-nonwork conflict. Except for single women, work-nonwork conflict was significantly related to life satisfaction.     

Family Policy and After-Birth Employment Among New Mothers – A Comparison of Finland, Norway and Sweden

This article compares the employmentpatterns of women after first and second birthin Finland, Norway and Sweden during 1972–1992,focusing on the impact of parental leave andchildcare programs on the transitions tofull-time and part-time work. The resultsunanimously point to the great importance ofthe programs. Women who are entitled to a paidleave have a much higher overall employmententry rate during the first three yearsfollowing birth than non-eligible women.But since mothers tend to use their fullentitlement, the higher entry rates are largelyconcentrated to the period after leave expiry,except in Sweden where entitled mothers havehigher entry rates also during the leaveperiod. This is probably a result of thegreater flexibility of the Swedish program. Inall countries, leave extensions delay thereturn to work among entitled mothers andreduce their excess entry rate. Moreover, theFinnish home-care allowance system is found toreduce employment entry. On the whole, thissuggests that very long leave entitlements andchild-minding benefit programs could havenegative consequences for women's career andearnings potentials and may preserve an unequaldivision of labour in the family.     

Equity and Relationship Maintenance in First Marriages and Remarriages

ABSTRACT

Research indicates that individuals in remarriages experience less marital satisfaction than individuals in a first marriage. This study sought to determine whether variations in equity and maintenance might explain this phenomenon. A sample of 547 married individuals from the United States completed an online survey. Results suggested virtually no differences in the use of positive or negative maintenance by marriage type. Although maintenance use predicted a larger amount of the variance in satisfaction among those who were remarried, more maintenance behaviors entered the regression equation predicting satisfaction for individuals in first marriages. Finally, equity predicted the use of maintenance for both marriage types.     

Subjective sexual arousal and involvement: Development of multiple indicators

Three measures of subjective sexual arousal were observed across four erotic conditions in a sample of 241 college men and women (a) to refine two multi‐item scales of subjective sexual arousal, (b) to determine the convergent and discriminant validity of three measures of sexual arousal, and (c) to relate these operational definitions of subjective sexual arousal to the construct of subjective sexual arousal within Mosher's (1980) involvement theory. From the perspective of involvement theory, subjective sexual arousal is conceived to be an affect‐cognition blend, consisting of awareness of physiological sexual arousal, sexual affects, and affect‐cognition blends, which is transmuted into consciousness and deepens involvement by amplifying the perception of sexual stimulation, sexual cognitions, sexual behavior, physiological sexual response, and itself. Evidence of convergent validity was strong with a median validity coefficient of .51 for the three measures across the four conditions.     

Design Characteristics of Sensory Gardens in Norwegian Nursing Homes: A Cross-Sectional E-Mail Survey

ABSTRACT

Sensory gardens are increasingly popular in Norwegian nursing homes. This study examined the design characteristics of Norwegian sensory gardens using a cross-sectional web survey design addressing nursing home leaders (n = 121). The findings revealed that Norwegian sensory gardens were generally compliant with recommended design guidelines involving sensory experiences, stable walkways, landmarks, accessibility, visibility from indoors, seating features, and prosthetic supports. There is, however, a potential for further improvements concerning walkways with rails, access to alarm systems, clear signposts to toilets from the outdoors, lighting in the evenings, greenhouses, increased awareness of edible and nontoxic plants, and maintenance of the gardens.