Parents,services and system: an exploration of power dynamics in future planning among parent carers for people with disability

Interactions between services and families have significant implications for families planning for the future needs of a family member who has a disability. However, little research interrogates the implications of these relationships for parent carers’ agency in this planning. This qualitative study explored parents’ experiences with public and not-for-profit services during planning. Findings revealed varied and fluid power dynamics, with attempts by carers to shift to more productive power relations, which carried risks and costs. In a context characterised by systemic constraints, these shifts create an iterative planning process, and highlight the need to support parents to use power productively.     

Is it All About Money? – Affective Commitment and the Difference Between Family and Non‐family Sellers in Buyouts

In this paper we investigate private equity firm perceptions of sellers’ affective deal commitment in buyout transactions. Using a sample of 174 buyouts, we test trust, goal congruence and private equity reputation as potential antecedents of perceived deal commitment. We also examine whether and how different types of sellers, family versus non‐family firms, moderate sources of perceived affective deal commitment. In sum, we find evidence that non‐financial factors play a role in buyouts, particularly for family firm sellers.     

Reasons for Wage Rigidity in Germany

Abstract. This study investigates institutional and economic reasons for downward wage rigidity regarding three occupational skill groups. Based on a survey of 801 firms in Germany and an econometric analysis, we find strong support for explanations based on the effects of labour union contracts and efficiency wages that differ between skill groups. Survey respondents indicate that labour union contracts and implicit contracts are important reasons for wage rigidity for the (less) skilled. Specific human capital and negative signals for new hires are causes of the stickiness of wages for the highly skilled. Compared with US evidence, German firms seem to attach more importance to labour union contracts and specific human capital.     

Inferring decision strategies from clickstreams in decision support systems: a new process-tracing approach using state machines

Webstores can easily gather large amounts of consumer data, including clicks on single elements of the user interface, navigation patterns, user profile data, and search texts. Such clickstream data are both interesting to merchandisers as well as to researchers in the field of decision-making behavior, because they describe consumer decision-behavior on websites. This paper introduces an approach that infers decision-behavior from clickstream data. The approach observes clicks on elements of a decision-support-system and triggers a set of state-machines for each click. Each state-machine represents a particular decision-strategy which a user can follow. The approach returns a set of decision strategies that best explain the observed click-behavior of a user. Results of two experiments show that the algorithm infers strategies accurately. In the first experiment, the approach correctly infers most of the pre-defined decision-strategies. The second study analyzes the behavior of thirty-eight respondents and finds that the inferred mix of decision-strategies fits well the behavior described in the literature to date. Results show that using decision-support-systems on a web site and observing the user’s click-behavior make it possible to infer a specific decision strategy. The proposed method is general enough to be easily applied to both research and real-world settings, along with other decision-support-systems and strategies.     

文化间哲学语境中的文化中心主义与宽容

哲学的目标从根本上说是尝试弄清楚那些与基本的实体论、认识论和标准化问题有关的见解,并充分表达这些见解。通过一种主体间方式,这些见解易于接近和论证。在轴心时代,技术意义上的哲学既不是希腊或欧洲唯一的遗产,也不是在其他社会文化中都能找到的。现代化和全球化的进程产生了促进或至少是发展共同思想观念的必要性。在这种情况之下,哲学的基本问题在对“系统哲学是否可能”这一疑问的需要中产生。系统哲学预设在每一种哲学思想中都有不同的文化创新,这可能会影响到以下各层面的反思和论证 :(1)哲学的文化性困境;(2)不同类型的文化中心主义;(3)文化宽容与文化超越。从文化中心主义、宽容与超越的视角看,文化宽容需要不同文化相互感兴趣,且要不断努力在需要理性的地方激发理性,建立人们对某种文化的信任感,并对此持宽容和超越的态度,这可能是当前一项主要的哲学任务。     

Predictors of behavioural and emotional problems of children placed in children's homes in Croatia

Since children's homes in Croatia and elsewhere nowadays deal with children who have more problems than in the past, there is a need to identify predictors of the children's behavioural and emotional problems in order to provide adequate interventions and an appropriate developmental environment. This research was carried out in all children's homes in Croatia. The sample consisted of 263 children aged 10–14. Standardized instruments (Youth Self‐Report and Child Behaviour Check‐List) were used as outcome measures of children's psychosocial functioning. The results showed significantly more behavioural and emotional problems in children in children's homes than in the comparison group of children living with their families. Child care‐workers assessed fewer behavioural and emotional problems than did the children themselves. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine predictors for well‐being scores. The level of everyday stress in children's homes, coping strategies, perception of social support and school achievements proved to be the most significant predictors. Since those variables belong to mediating variables within the suggested model of research, it is argued that positive changes in these areas can facilitate a better psychosocial functioning of the children in children's homes.