Cultural and societal influences on shared leadership in globally dispersed teams

Leading globally dispersed teams poses critical challenges, especially if the team members are not only physically separated, but also culturally diverse and their tasks are dynamic and complex. It has been argued that shared leadership behaviors, such as continuous reflection, anticipation of a team's information needs, and initiating a team's social influence, positively influence virtual team performance. Country-level effects on shared leadership in globally dispersed teams, however, have been neglected. Building on the country institutional profile developed by Kostova (1997), we argue that regulative, cognitive, and normative components influence the likelihood that the individual will engage in shared leadership behaviors. Analyzing the differences between the institutional profiles of team members' home countries as reflected in institutional diversity as a team-level property, we furthermore point to different levels of institutional diversity as an enabling or hindering condition of shared leadership.     

Cultural adaptations in psychosocial interventions for post-traumatic stress disorder among refugees: A systematic review

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to systematically review randomized controlled trials on non-pharmaceutical interventions for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among adult refugees with a focus on identifying common cultural adaptations and reviewing possible effects of such adaptations on outcomes. The conducted systematic search yielded 11 studies. The strongest support was for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Commonly used cultural adaptations in the reviewed studies included modifications in personnel and setting context, changes in content, and translation or adaptation of evaluation tools.     

Substitution and Presence Effects of Children on Mothers’ Adult Care Time

This article analyzes the effects of the presence of children on the time devoted to adult care. Using the 2002 Spanish Time Use Survey (STUS), we examine two possible effects of children: (i) a negative effect, the Substitution Effect, associated with active childcare, and (ii) a positive effect, the Presence Effect, associated with passive childcare. Our results show that both effects have significant impacts on the ways in which mothers devote time to adult care activities. We find that an additional child in the family, under age 18, reduces the probability of caregiving, the Substitution Effect, while the presence of children during adult care, the Presence Effect, increases the probability of caregiving.     

Inclusion of caregiver supports and services in home- and community-based service programs: recent reports from state units on aging

Caregivers have an important role in assisting frail and/or disabled individuals to maintain their independence in the community. Support to assist caregivers in this often stressful and demanding role is critical to sustaining the caregivers' health and ability to provide care. This paper reviews federal policy changes since 2000 that have expanded and enhanced services for informal caregivers. Next, data collected from State Units on Aging and other state agencies are presented to describe the extent to which caregiver services are included in home- and community-based programs under three funding streams (Medicaid waivers, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-funded programs, and state-funded programs). Program characteristics, such as eligibility and consumer-directed options, are included. Finally, the accomplishments and initiatives reported by state respondents related to supporting informal caregivers are also explained. Results indicate that services for informal caregivers are receiving greater attention and are frequently offered under home- and community-based service programs by the states that participated in this study.     

Income and Life Satisfaction After Marital Disruption in Germany

Divorce in Germany and in many other countries is often instigated by the wife, even though marital disruption has much more negative economic consequences for women than for men. Both observations, however, are not necessarily a contradiction. Women may gain something that makes up for the economic loss. On the one hand, using data on income and (general) life satisfaction from the German Socio‐Economic Panel Study, this article shows that negative economic changes, as measured by data on household income, are real in the sense that they are reflected in subjective assessments of economic well‐being. On the other hand, these changes are relative because other aspects of life improve after marriage dissolution, and this is especially true for women.     

Courses in Family Therapy for General Practitioners: Identifying Learning Objectives

This paper describes two courses which train general practitioners (GPs) in generic family therapy skills applicable to consultations with individuals, couples or families in the general practice setting, and to patients with physical or psychological problems. Based on feedback from previous participants, eight topics were identified and described as useful. These are stressors, genograms, problem clarification, options, involvement of patients, reflection on interventions, recognition of an interactive cycle and review of treatment. General practitioners' skills in these areas can be assessed by asking them to respond in writing to two case vignettes, featuring respectively an individual, and a mother‐child dyad. These vignettes have been piloted in previous family therapy courses for GPs and are written as typical presentations to a GP. We give examples of pre and post‐course responses of GPs undertaking a short or long course, present and discuss quantitative assessment of learning objectives using structured criteria scored from 0–10, and include excerpts from a six month follow up.