Social assistance trajectories in Switzerland: do they follow discernible patterns?

Dynamic research on poverty to date tends to stress the temporalised and democratised nature of the phenomenon. It describes poverty as a short or transient experience shaped essentially by individual characteristics. Empirical evidence, however, remains inconclusive. Recent studies focussing on social assistance paint a more nuanced picture that reveals the existence of both short- and long-term trajectories. The present study aims to advance this debate by exploring trajectory patterns of social assistance recipients in Switzerland. Trajectory patterns have been substantiated by means of sequence analysis. Multinominal logistic regression analysis was then used to study the effect of individual and contextual factors on these trajectories. Results yield four clearly discernible patterns associated with well-established indicators of poverty risk and social inequalities. The study concludes that poverty, defined as social assistance benefit receipt, is neither a highly temporalised nor a markedly individualised phenomenon.     

Reliability and Validity of the European Portuguese Version of the Social Touch Questionnaire

Social touch is essential for physical and emotional well-being. However, different meanings can be attributed to physical contact during social interactions and may generate bonding or avoidant behaviors. This personal and unique experience is not usually taken into account in health and social care services. The aim of this study is to produce a valid and reliable European Portuguese version of the Social Touch Questionnaire (STQ, Wilhelm et al. in Biol Psychol 58:181–202, 2001. doi: 10.1016/S0301-0511(01)00113-2). The STQ is a self-report questionnaire for adolescents and adults measuring behaviors and attitudes towards social touch. The original version was translated into European Portuguese using a forward-back translation process and its feasibility was examined. To evaluate the psychometric properties, a total of 242 Portuguese university students participated in the study (21.3 ± 3.8 years). The STQ was considered feasible, showed adequate internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .734), and the test–retest correlation with the STQ items demonstrated a high concordance between the tests over a two-week interval (ICC = .990; n = 50). Validity tests were performed, comparing the total score of the STQ with that of the anxiety and avoidance subscales of the Social Interaction and Performance Anxiety and Avoidance Scale (SIPAAS). A very significant conceptual convergence was confirmed between the STQ and with the SIPAAS-Anxiety (r = .64; p < .0001) and with the SIPAAS-Avoidance (r = .59; p < .0001). The exploratory factor analysis, with Promax rotation, revealed 3 factors: dislike of physical touch, liking of familiar physical touch and liking of public physical touch (Cronbach’s alphas ranged from .68 to .75). Psychometric properties confirmed the adaptation of the STQ to the Portuguese culture. It is a reliable and valid self-report questionnaire and it appears to be a useful tool to assess behaviors and attitudes towards social touch.     

Finding and fixing systems weaknesses: probabilistic methods and applications of engineering risk analysis.

Methods of engineering risk analysis are based on a functional analysis of systems and on the probabilities (generally Bayesian) of the events and random variables that affect their performances. These methods allow identification of a system's failure modes, computation of its probability of failure or performance deterioration per time unit or operation, and of the contribution of each component to the probabilities and consequences of failures. The model has been extended to include the human decisions and actions that affect components' performances, and the management factors that affect behaviors and can thus be root causes of system failures. By computing the risk with and without proposed measures, one can then set priorities among different risk management options under resource constraints. In this article, I present briefly the engineering risk analysis method, then several illustrations of risk computations that can be used to identify a system's weaknesses and the most cost-effective way to fix them. The first example concerns the heat shield of the space shuttle orbiter and shows the relative risk contribution of the tiles in different areas of the orbiter's surface. The second application is to patient risk in anesthesia and demonstrates how the engineering risk analysis method can be used in the medical domain to rank the benefits of risk mitigation measures, in that case, mostly organizational. The third application is a model of seismic risk analysis and mitigation, with application to the San Francisco Bay area for the assessment of the costs and benefits of different seismic provisions of building codes. In all three cases, some aspects of the results were not intuitively obvious. The probabilistic risk analysis (PRA) method allowed identifying system weaknesses and the most cost-effective way to fix them.     

Attitudes and Values of Scottish Farmers: “Yeoman” and “Entrepreneur” as Factors,Not Distinct Types1

Abstract We investigate the validity of the classification of farmers into two or more distinct types on the basis of attitudes, objectives, and values. Factor analysis of data from a survey of farm pluriactivity in Scotland (N=472) shows that attributes ascribed to “yeoman” and “entrepreneur” types emerge as separate factors rather than as a single bipolar factor. No clustering of the factor scores corresponding to distinct types is found. We also present correlations of the factor scores with attitudes to on- and off-farm pluriactivity and with observables such as age and off-farm employment. The desirability of analyzing survey data by methods which do not make assumptions about typology is discussed.     

Effect of Age,Initiator Status,and Infidelity on Women's Divorce Adjustment

Divorce can be a distressing event. Although various studies have been conducted to better understand this phenomenon, little research has focused on the combined effect of age, initiator status, spousal infidelity, and spiritual well-being on divorce adjustment. To determine the effect of these 4 factors on divorce adjustment, 133 divorced women in the United States were surveyed using the Fisher Divorce Adjustment Scale, Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and a participant questionnaire. Results indicate that initiator status, spousal infidelity, and spiritual well-being together can predict 38% of the variance in overall divorce adjustment for women. Spiritual well-being was found to be the strongest contributor. Recommendations for researchers and implications for clinicians are discussed.     

Can Family Policy Reduce Mothers’ Sick Leave Absence? A Causal Analysis of the Norwegian Paternity Leave Reform

This paper was motivated by the high absentee rate due to sickness among women and the assumption that mothers’ combination of gainful employment and family obligations may results in higher levels of sick leave absence. One popular policy used in Norway to encourage more equal sharing of domestic work between parents is paternity leave. Using Norwegian register data, we took advantage of the introduction of a Norwegian paternity leave reform in 1993 to empirically examine the importance of fathers’ involvement in childcare an attempt to explain the relationship between mothers’ stress in reconciling their work and family life and sick leave absence. Sick leave absence was measured in the number of days paid by the National Insurance Administration at 15 days and above. The reform raised the total leave period by 7 weeks, but reserved 4 weeks for the father. The reform process was fast, so all mothers were already pregnant at the time of the policy announcement. The results indicate that we can reject an effect of the paternity leave reform on mothers’ sick leave absence.     

Family Man or Conqueror? - Contested Meanings in an Engineering Company

This paper explores significant symbols within a multi-national company called Engco . First, the metaphor of Engco as a family was prevalent among middle and junior managers. Second, there was a corporate image conveyed by top management through glossy publications, a masculine image of conquering competitors and the physical environment. These contradictory symbols appeared to co-exist at different levels of the organisation. Third, a symbol that appeared common to the entire organisation, although increasingly contested, was that of engineering, an image generally associated with male actors. Fourth, more equivocal, were references to a 'golden age' for the company in the post war period, when manufacturing was in its heyday. The paper discusses how these symbols worked with and against each other. All the symbols were found to differing degrees to shape particular constructions of masculinity and femininity within the organisation, which limited the expression of identity of both men and women. The paper suggests that Engco's organisational culture was in flux, and discusses both the role of management at different levels of the organisation as creators and consumers of image and identity, and the organisational construction of gender. The paper takes a symbolic interpretative approach and discusses both the theoretical background and methodology employed.     

After the Bologna Reform: Employability of Bachelors in Social and Educational Work in Luxembourg

The present paper treats employability and the relevance of this concept with regard to the social professions in Luxembourg subsequent to the Bologna reform. Two studies were conducted to examine the employability of Bachelors in social and educational work in terms of their (a) rate of entry in to the labour market and (b) self-reports of practice proficiency as acquired at university. The results showed a high employment rate and further suggested that employability was perceived largely in terms of self-assessed knowledge and skills. The implications of a systematic follow-up of recently qualified practitioners are discussed as well as the need to adapt the curriculum more efficiently to the demands brought about by the evolution of the social professions.