Von Redelisten und Reißverschlüssen — Erfahrungen einer Trainerin mit der politischen Gremienarbeit

Ohne Zusammenfassung Dr. phil. Bernadette Grawe ist in eigener Praxis freiberuflich t?tig als Supervisorin (DGSv), Organisationsberaterin und Trainerin für Gruppendynamik (DAGG). Ingrid Stahmer ist Sozialarbeiterin (seit 1965) und Trainerin für Gruppendynamik im DAGG (seit 1974). Nach ihrem (freiwilligen) Ausstieg aus der Politik ist sie wieder freiberuflich als Trainerin und im Coaching für Führungskr?fte t?tig.     

"If I'm not allowed to put my family first": challenges experienced by women who are caregiving for family members with dementia

In this study of 26 employed, West Texas women caregivers, we found that women worried that they would not be able to give their family members the care they deserved because of the multiple demands placed on them. Women actively negotiated working conditions to achieve flexibility. Women who did not have access to flexibility often changed jobs until they had working conditions that provided it. Work provided a respite and a chance to feel some measure of control. In spite of the importance of work to them, these women paid costs for balancing both roles.     

The Madoffization of Irish society: from Ponzi finance to sociological critique

Financialization and neoliberal policy created the Celtic Tiger. This economic ‘miracle’ furthered creditors’ and property developers’ speculative interests, leading to an unstable financial pyramid that eventually imploded in 2008 with catastrophic consequences for Irish society. Using the sociological imagination as social critique, this paper offers a lens on fictitious capital and Ponzi finance in the context of Ireland's boom and bust. Critique is advanced using the Madoffization of society thesis, a sociological heuristic that draws formal comparisons between Bernie Madoff's US$65 billion Ponzi scheme, which collapsed in 2008, and financialized capitalism. The Madoff case exhibits five main elements or forms which, it has been argued, underlie the varying content of life on a much broader scale: accumulation by debt expansion, mass deception, efforts to maintain secrecy and silence, obfuscation, and scapegoating. In conclusion, a crucial difference between the Madoff case and the Madoffization of Irish society is underscored. Discussion also moves from critique to hope amidst calls to renew sociology and transform financialized capitalism.     

Transition and Adjustment to Professional Identity as a Newly Qualified Social Worker

This article discusses the lived experience of professional identity during the transition from student to newly qualified practitioner. Current literature emphasises the first year of practice as an important time of transition to a job-role as student social workers move into postqualification practice. However, little research has explored how professional identity is experienced during this significant transition period. A phenomenological research project was undertaken with 17 newly qualified social workers in Australia. Three in-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with each participant across the first 12 months postqualification period. Participants described how they resolved personal, relational, and professional questions about becoming and being a qualified social worker. The findings indicate a need for educators, employers, supervisors and the profession to consider how to better integrate professional identity within curricula, policy, and systems of support, including supervision.     

Risky discounts: Do people prefer them on a per-item or per-purchase basis and why?

Risky discounts differ from other discount formats in that the actual discount level is determined by chance (e.g., “scratch & save” cards). Four studies investigated whether consumers prefer to receive risky discounts on a per-purchase or per-item basis. Although these options do not differ with regard to expected value, they entail multiple differences (e.g., savings distribution, amount of individual gains, excitement, and effort involved) that may lead to differential consumer perceptions and experiences. Controlling for expected value of savings, participants preferred per-item over per-purchase discounts. As hypothesized, the main reasons for this preference were a partly incorrect perception of the properties of the savings distribution, the adoption of a narrow mindset focusing on the best outcome in a series of discount gambles, and the greater excitement provided by multiple discount gambles.     

Does financial self-efficacy explain gender differences in retirement saving strategies?

Research indicates that women remain less financially prepared for retirement than are men. Little research has examined the gender difference in use of retirement plans. The present research assessed the gender difference in use of employer-sponsored and private retirement plans, and sought to account for this difference. Social status and human capital factors, occupation and industry of employment, and sense of financial self-efficacy were expected to account for gender differences. Findings indicated gender has no relationship with use of private retirement plans. However, females were found to be less likely to use an employer-sponsored plan, and this was largely accounted for by gender differences in occupation.     

Loan repayment plans as sequences of instalments

Loan repayment can be viewed as a sequence of instalments. Instalments can either fall over time (i.e., repaying more in the beginning and less in the end), rise or stay constant. Three studies investigated whether the well-established preference for improvement (i.e., falling profiles) can also be observed in a loan context. Results show that consumers do prefer falling profiles over rising profiles; however, also a strong preference for constant profiles was found. These preferences for improvement and spreading even outweigh financial benefits. Consumers, hence, may sometimes opt for the financially worse loan option. Financial capability programs could benefit from including information about the perception of sequences.     

Becoming ‘culturpreneur’: How the ‘neoliberal regime of truth’ affects and redefines artistic subject positions

In relating to the politico-economic concept of ‘creative industries’, the paper explores in what way the art field and its actors are discursively repositioned within ‘flexible cultural capitalism’. Through empirical material from the independent Austrian theatre scene, the paper, moreover, illustrates how the ‘culturpreneurial’ transformation of the field affects the specific artistic practices, forms of organizing and conduct. In this regard, it will be shown that the artists’ modes of conduct are, at least to some extent, precarious: due to their ascetic and disciplined self-concept, artists seem to contribute, in parts, to their own marginalization as well as to the strengthening of certain ‘neoliberal orders’ and ‘culturpreneurial subject ideals’ of flexible capitalism – even though they are actually keen to resist current governmental technologies like the promotion of competition and market-determined assessment.