German welfare organizations and the process of European integration

The process of European integration affects an increasing number of areas of life. The influence of the European single market on the social sector, including organizations providing human services, can no longer be denied. This article looks at the activities of the European Commission toward these organizations and argues that European regulations are relevant to the German system of social service delivery due to the introduction of market‐like features in the national context. Within this context, German welfare organizations have discovered an important field of interest representation and lobbying.     

Peripubertal Girls' Romantic and Platonic Involvement With Boys: Associations With Body Image and Depression Symptoms

This study explored the relationship of both romantic and platonic involvement with boys, as well as pubertal status, to body image and depression symptoms among an ethnically diverse sample of sixth‐grade girls. Participants were 157 early adolescent girls (ages 10–13) who completed self‐report measures designed to assess girls' level of involvement with boys, pubertal status, and psychological adjustment. Girls' degree of romantic involvement was positively associated with higher depression scores. More advanced pubertal status was associated with both lower body image satisfaction and higher depression scores. A significant interaction between platonic involvement and pubertal status emerged. Girls who were less sexually mature but who also reported more platonic involvement with boys reported greater body image satisfaction. These findings suggest that the type of involvement with boys (romantic vs. platonic) and a girl's pubertal status influence psychological adjustment.     

Reports of Conferences,Institutes, and Seminars

In the span of four weeks, from late March to early April 2008, three important technical services conferences were held: the Electronic Resources & Libraries Conference, the New England Technical Services Librarians Conference, and the North Carolina Serials Conference.     

Gender-earnings differentials using quantile regressions

I employ quantile regressions to analyze the size, components, and nature of the gender-earnings differentials over the entire conditional distribution of earnings, using data from Singapore. This approach allows more focused conclusions about the nature of genderearnings differentials. Incorporating the quantile regression approach to the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition allows the localization of gender discrimination to particular quantites of the earnings distribution and permits more targeted policy intervention.     

Protecting the leaders—syndromic surveillance for the G8 summit in Scotland

The G8 summit was held at the Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland, from July 6th to 8th, 2005. Leaders of the eight largest economies, and their entourages, assembled to discuss economic and political issues and the state of the world, including terrorism. Previous G8 summits had sparked off waves of protests and violence. Consequently, a huge security exercise took place in central Scotland for the 2005 summit. With Bush, Putin, Blair and a clutch of other premiers on hand, their safety had to be protected—as did their health, and that of those around them. Chris Robertson was charged with that task.     

Editorial

Publication of these conference papers on the theme of communitydevelopment in the ‘new’ Europe comes at a particularlysignificant moment as the people of different ‘old’European nation states     

Self‐Awareness in Human and Chimpanzee Infants: What Is Measured and What Is Meant by the Mark and Mirror Test?

The objective study of self‐recognition, with a mirror and a mark applied to the face, was conducted independently by Gallup (1970) for use with chimpanzees and monkeys, and by Amsterdam (1972) for use with infant humans. Comparative psychologists have followed the model (and assumptions) set by Gallup, whereas developmental psychologists have followed a different model (e.g., Lewis & Brooks‐Gunn, 1979). This article explores the assumptions in the definitions and methods of self‐recognition assessments in the 30 years since these initial studies, and charts the divergence between the developmental mark test and the comparative mark test. Two new studies, 1 with infant chimpanzees and 1 with infant humans, illustrate a reconciliation of the 2 approaches. Overt application of the mark, or other procedures related to how the mark is discovered, did not enhance mirror self‐recognition. In contrast, maternal scaffolding appears to enhance performance, perhaps by eliciting well‐rehearsed verbal responses (i.e., naming self). When comparable testing procedures and assessment criteria are used, chimpanzee and human infants perform comparably. A combined developmental comparative approach allows us to suggest that mirror self‐recognition may be based on a specific aspect of mental representation, the cognitive ability to symbolize.