Peach Trees Grow in the Spaces Between People: Counselling Practices in the Territory of Violence

In this paper the authors reflect on how therapeutic practices wove a community of care and concern with a young man in South Africa who was at risk of anger ruling his life. A counselor and outsider witnesses participated in responding to the problems the young man and his family faced. The authors discuss the steps they took in the therapeutic journey and describe how their personal and professional lives were shaped by this collaboration. This work inspires and sustains their enthusiasm in seeking to understand how to best respond when positioned to counsel.     

Markov-switching generalized additive models

We consider Markov-switching regression models, i.e. models for time series regression analyses where the functional relationship between covariates and response is subject to regime switching controlled by an unobservable Markov chain. Building on the powerful hidden Markov model machinery and the methods for penalized B-splines routinely used in regression analyses, we develop a framework for nonparametrically estimating the functional form of the effect of the covariates in such a regression model, assuming an additive structure of the predictor. The resulting class of Markov-switching generalized additive models is immensely flexible, and contains as special cases the common parametric Markov-switching regression models and also generalized additive and generalized linear models. The feasibility of the suggested maximum penalized likelihood approach is demonstrated by simulation. We further illustrate the approach using two real data applications, modelling (i) how sales data depend on advertising spending and (ii) how energy price in Spain depends on the Euro/Dollar exchange rate.     

Simple subcontracting rules for make-to-order shops with limited subcontractor capacity: an assessment by simulation

Companies that produce a high variety of customised products often suffer from large fluctuations in demand. Subcontracting can be an important means of overcoming resulting capacity shortages during high demand periods. A set of effective subcontracting rules, for determining which jobs to subcontract and which to produce internally, has recently been presented in the literature for this type of company. But evaluations of these rules have assumed subcontractor capacity is infinite. This study examines the impact of limited subcontractor capacity on the performance of the three best-performing subcontracting rules for make-to-order companies using a simulation model of an assembly job shop. Limiting subcontractor capacity inhibits the ability of a subcontracting rule to protect the internal shop from surges in demand, which negatively affects performance. However, significant performance differences between the rules evaluated are maintained, which underlines the importance of choosing the right subcontracting rule. Further analysis reveals that a limit on the work that can be subcontracted leads to less work being subcontracted more often, which requires adequate response by management. Meanwhile, the assumption of infinite capacity results in sporadically subcontracting a large amount of work. The results have important implications for future research and practice.     

Kinship foster parenting; gender,class and labour-force participation

Objective: Knowledge about gender, class and labour-force participation of kinship foster parents in European countries is scarce. This study examines the gendered structure and generational pattern of kinship foster parenting in Norway and compares class components and labour-force participation of kinship foster mothers to the larger female population and to non-kinship foster mothers.

Method: The analysis is based on survey data on relationships between foster parents and child, social demographics and placement characteristics from 123 kinship and 88 non-kinship foster mothers of children in state custody. Labour Force Survey and Education Statistics from Statistics Norway were used to compare the kinship sample to the average female population.

Findings: Kinship foster care in Norway is gendered, in that it is women who assume the responsibility for relatives' children. Kinship foster care reflects class differences in that the educational level of kinship foster mothers and their household income are lower than the average female population and of non-kinship foster mothers in Norway. The labour-force participation of kinship foster mothers in Norway is comparable to that of the country's female population in general, except for women aged 35–55 with children under seven, among whom labour-force participation is lower than for the female population.     

Clinical correlates and repetition of self-harming behaviors among female adolescent victims of sexual abuse

This study investigated self-harming behaviors in 149 female adolescent victims of sexual abuse, first, by determining the rates of nine types of self-mutilating behavior at intake and nine months later and, second, by investigating comorbidity of clinical correlates associated with these behaviors. The adolescents were divided into three groups according to level of self-mutilating behavior and then compared on symptom self-reports; 62.1% of the adolescents engaged in at least one self-mutilating behavior. A graded relation was observed between level of self-mutilating behavior and rate, and total number of clinical disorders. At nine month follow-up, one in four teenagers still reported a moderate or high level of self-harm. The need for systematic assessment and intervention of self-mutilating behaviors is discussed.     

Assessing the effects of an early retirement program

We investigate induced retirement effects of the Norwegian early retirement program AFP and emphasize effects caused by relocations of some individuals from disability pension and unemployment to AFP. Theoretical considerations predict that AFP unambiguously induces more early retirement. Analyzing Norwegian register data 1994–96 with parametric and non-parametric methods, we demonstrate that i) economic incentives influence the retirement decision, ii) there is a significant net induced retirement effect, iii) by a conservative judgment, at least 50% of the AFP retirees would have stayed in the labor force without the scheme.All correspondence to Espen Bratberg. We are indebted to the referees for detailed remarks, which significantly improved the paper. Financial support from the Norwegian Research Council and the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs is greatly appreciated. We are grateful for valuable comments from Erik Hernæs and Astrid Grasdal, seminar participants at the Norwegian School of Management in Oslo, the Institute for International Economic Studies in Stockholm, and the University of Linz, the 2000 Conference of the European Society for Population Economics in Bonn, and the German-Norwegian Seminar on Social Insurance in Berlin, 2000. Bratberg would also like to thank the Humboldt University for its hospitality during a stay in the winter of 2003. Responsible editor: Christoph M. Schmidt.     

Probabilistic graph-coloring in bipartite and split graphs

We revisit in this paper the stochastic model for minimum graph-coloring introduced in (Murat and Paschos in Discrete Appl. Math. 154:564–586, 2006), and study the underlying combinatorial optimization problem (called probabilistic coloring) in bipartite and split graphs. We show that the obvious 2-coloring of any connected bipartite graph achieves standard-approximation ratio 2, that when vertex-probabilities are constant probabilistic coloring is polynomial and, finally, we propose a polynomial algorithm achieving standard-approximation ratio 8/7. We also handle the case of split graphs. We show that probabilistic coloring is NP-hard, even under identical vertex-probabilities, that it is approximable by a polynomial time standard-approximation schema but existence of a fully a polynomial time standard-approximation schema is impossible, even for identical vertex-probabilities, unless P=NP. We finally study differential-approximation of probabilistic coloring in both bipartite and split graphs. Part of this research has been performed while the second author was with the LAMSADE on a research position funded by the CNRS.     

Nonparametric estimation of the mode of a distribution of random curves

Motivated by the need to develop meaningful empirical approximations to a 'typical' data value, we introduce methods for density and mode estimation when data are in the form of random curves. Our approach is based on finite dimensional approximations via generalized Fourier expansions on an empirically chosen basis. The mode estimation problem is reduced to a problem of kernel-type multivariate estimation from vector data and is solved using a new recursive algorithm for finding the empirical mode. The algorithm may be used as an aid to the identification of clusters in a set of data curves. Bootstrap methods are employed to select the bandwidth.     

Work/life balance policy in Germany: Promoting equal partnership in families

Across the OECD, public policies seek to support parents in achieving their desired work/life balance. This article introduces the background to and issues at stake in promoting equal partnerships in families in Germany. Families in Germany face considerable challenges to spending more time together and achieving a more gender‐balanced reconciliation of work and family life, as paid work hours for fathers are long on full‐time jobs and many women are in part‐time jobs. Family policy can play an important role and Germany has made substantial progress in supporting families ahead of and after the birth of a child. Important in this regard are the parental leave reforms of 2007 and 2015 and the extension of childcare supports that better enable fathers and mothers to combine work and family commitments. The article assesses recent developments in family policies in Germany while also drawing from the experiences of countries with longstanding policies to support work/life balance and strengthen gender equality.