The politics of joking: narratives of humour and joking among adults with Asperger’s syndrome

The purpose of this article is to analyse how humour and narratives about humour are used in a natural group of adults with Asperger’s syndrome. Narratives about humour and use of humour in the group are analysed from a discursive psychological perspective, informed by insights from both disability studies and critical autism studies. The setting of the research is ethnographic fieldwork in an educational setting in Sweden. In the paper, I show the use of three storylines among a natural group of people with autism (PWA) when talking about humour: the storyline of humourless PWA that dominates within Swedish society; and two alternatives, a storyline of alternative humour among PWA and another storyline in line with the social model of disability, of neurotypical humour or disabling humour. When invoking these two alternative storylines, PWA challenge both the humourlessness storyline and the lack of social accessibility within mainstream neurotypical settings.     

Are There Early Risk Markers for Pedophilia? A Nationwide Case-Control Study of Child Sexual Exploitation Material Offenders

Although prior research suggests associations between parental characteristics and later sexual offending in offspring, possible links between early pregnancy-related factors and sexual offending remain unclear. Early risk markers unique to sexual offending, however, may be more prominent among sexual offenders with atypical sexual interests, such as individuals involved with child sexual exploitation material (CSEM; also referred to as child pornography). We examined the prospective association between parental and pregnancy-related risk markers and a behavioral indicator of pedophilic interest, CSEM offending. All 655 men born in Sweden and convicted of CSEM offending between 1988 to 2009 were matched 1:5 on sex, birth year, and county of birth in Sweden to 3,928 controls without sexual or nonsexual violent convictions. Paternal age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.1, 1.7]), parental education (AOR = 0.8, 95% CI [0.6, 0.9]), parental violent criminality (AOR = 2.9, 95% CI [2.2, 3.8]), number of older brothers (AOR = 0.8, 95% CI [0.6, 0.9] per brother), and congenital malformations (AOR = 1.7, 95% CI [1.2, 2.4]) all independently predicted CSEM convictions. This large-scale, nationwide study suggests parental risk markers for CSEM offending. We did not, however, find convincing evidence for pregnancy-related risk markers, with the exception of congenital malformations and having fewer older brothers.     

Short‐Term‐Effectiveness of a Relationship Education Program for Distressed Military Couples,in the Context of Foreign Assignments for the German Armed Forces. Preliminary Findings From a Randomized Controlled Study

This study examines the short‐term effectiveness of a relationship education program designed for military couples. Distressed couples were randomly placed in either a wait‐list control group or an intervention group. We conducted training sessions before a 3‐month foreign assignment, and refresher courses approximately 6‐week post‐assignment. We analyzed the dyadic data of 32 couples, using hierarchical linear modeling in a two‐level model. Reduction in unresolved conflicts was found in the intervention group, with large pre–post effects for both partners. Relationship satisfaction scores were improved, with moderate‐to‐large effects only for soldiers, rather than their partners. Post‐follow‐up effect sizes suggested further improvement in the intervention group. Future research should examine the long‐term effectiveness of this treatment.     

Mental preparation during pregnancy in women with substance addiction: a qualitative interview‐study

The interplay between pregnancy and addiction is usually studied quantitatively, and the focus is often on the adverse effects of intrauterine substance exposure. This study explores the perspective of the mothers‐to‐be by examining the subjective experience of pregnancy in substance‐addicted women. Fourteen women in family treatment for substance use disorder participated in eight focus groups. The data were analysed according to interpretative phenomenological analysis. The findings show that recognition of pregnancy was distorted and delayed, and strong feelings of ambivalence and guilt persisted throughout pregnancy, along with hope for change. Addiction and an intense preoccupation with external expectations are seen as a threat to intrauterine attachment and mental preparation for the caregiving role. Interventions must take into account the specific ways in which addiction influences the psychological processes of pregnancy; specifically, providing adequate social support and security should be considered.     

Designing brands and managing organizational politics: A qualitative case study of employer brand creation

This study explores intra-organizational processes and structures within the creation of an employer brand. Drawing on a practice perspective that analytically differentiates between practitioners, praxis, and practices, we present a qualitative case study of an employer branding project in a large industrial company. Our theorized account of the case demonstrates the managerial complexities and dynamics of employer brand creation. Based on a detailed content analysis, we identify three distinct sets of activities of employer brand creation: (1) defining and demarcating employer branding, (2) developing and maintaining cooperation within employer brand creation, and (3) confirming and contesting management ideas and structures beyond employer branding. Our study contributes to employer branding research by highlighting how employer brand creation is entangled within strategic, functional design of an employer brand and managing organizational power relations and differing interests. Furthermore, this study particularly emphasizes the emerging character of employer branding and the impact of an established social infrastructure within employer brand creation.     

The Bias of Structures: How Multidivisional Organizations Work in the Public Sector

This paper discusses the unexploited possibilities that organization theory offers for explaining the policy output of public-sector organizations. Although political scientists frequently argue that organization matters, exactly how it matters remains unresolved. To investigate this issue, the concept of the multidivisional organization (M-form) is applied to the public sector. Three dimensions of the M-form are identified for closer inspection: 1) the structure-strategy relationship, 2) the managerial or leadership dimension, and 3) the external-relations dimension. Several empirical examples are used to demonstrate that the M-form exerts an independent impact on policy output. While the M-form allows a single organization to perform multiple functions, it also works against crosscutting policies and is inclined toward clientelism and capture. The use of the M-form concept is beneficial for political science analyses in that it requires paying greater attention to the “internal life” of governmental and public-sector organizations.     

Changes at Corporate Headquarters: Review,Integration and Future Research

In modern corporations, the corporate headquarters (CHQ) unit is considered central to the fortunes of the overall firm. In light of ever‐changing environments, changes at the CHQ have become a crucial concern in management research and practice, and scholars have studied a variety of changes at the CHQ. Despite the common focus on the CHQ entity and the potential for cross‐fertilization across several research tracks, a coherent picture of this dispersed body of knowledge is lacking. This paper reviews 25 years of research on changes at the CHQ. In so doing, it advances a common language and an overarching framework that integrates the existing knowledge in the intellectual domains of strategy, organizational design and international business research. On this basis, the authors suggest directions for future research to advance knowledge of: (1) the pressure for and resistance to changes at the CHQ; (2) interrelationships among changes at the CHQ; (3) change processes at the CHQ; (4) agents involved in changes at the CHQ; and (5) adaptive and disruptive effects of changes at the CHQ. Overall, the study provides a conceptual basis for combining the existing knowledge of changes at the CHQ and serves as a guide for future research.     

Mobility as a stratifying factor in housing: dwelling-in-place contra dwelling-on-the-move in Sweden

Housing is almost entirely overlooked in mobility studies. Yet mobility is intrinsically linked to housing, not only for the cybernetic elite or global nomads, but also for the middle class. Through a comparative case study of two extreme cases of housing, the Markeliushus from 1935 and Victoria Park from 2009, this study found that mobility has been continuously linked to discourses and practices of housing the modern Swede. Furthermore the findings suggest that two contrasting housing forms have evolved: dwelling-in-place and dwelling-on-the-move. I argue that these two housing forms are part of an evolving stratification of housing based on mobility. The article concludes that mobility has become an entry point for disaffiliation by privileged groups, accessible through housing.     

Navigations between regulations and gut instinct: the unveiling of collective memory in decision‐making processes where teenagers are placed in residential care

The decision to take a young person away from his or her family into out‐of‐home care and treatment is the most drastic intervention within the statutory powers bestowed upon social services. The results of reports on the quality of residential treatment reveal that state supervision has not proven to be a good substitute for parental care. In this paper we analyse the decision‐making process when young persons are placed in residential care. Focus groups and individual interviews with different stakeholders were conducted. The results show that the placements are a collective process involving negotiations between the different parties with a coordinating social worker in the middle, with the aim to bring something to build hope on in often desperate situations, regardless of the specific treatment method used. To inform the process, the social workers draw on a ‘collective memory’ shared among colleagues in the department. Important signs of quality of a residential unit were the relational and collaborative competence from the staff. The inclination to use soft, diffuse information in decision‐making shows a striking lack of evidence upon which social workers can build well‐informed and knowledge‐based decisions.