Befristete Beschäftigung: Chance oder Risiko?

The paper investigates whether increased labor market flexibility leads to a reinforcement of the existing segmentation of the labor market or whether it is dismantling the barriers in the labor market. Using spell data (employment and unemployment periods) from the German Socio-economic Panel (GSOEP, time period: 1984–1999) both determinants of fixed-term contracts and their consequences (renewed temporary employment, unemployment) are investigated with the help of random-effects logit-models. The results show that respondents’ characteristics (amount and type of human capital, formerly experienced periods of unemployment), structural variables (branch, firm size), and occupational characteristics (position, marginal employment) are influencing the risk of getting a temporary job. Furthermore it becomes evident that fixed-term contracts are increasing the risk of getting a temporary job again or of becoming unemployed after termination of the temporary job. These results show that fixed-term contracts above all are part of the secondary labor market, and that they especially have negative consequences for the employees in this segment. On the other hand fixed-term contracts can be seen as a chance in the way that they offer at least an alternative to unemployment. Hence, a too narrow evaluation of temporary employment would be too simplistic.     

Studienanfänger in Leipziger Bachelorstudiengängen der Sozialwissenschaften

During the introduction of bachelor degrees to the acadamic year 2006–2007, the faculty for social sciences and philosophy at the University of Leipzig conducted a survey among freshmen. The study focused particularly on students’ motives for starting their studies at a university, for choosing a particular university and on their intentions to complete a master’s degree later on. Furthermore, data on freshmen’s age structure, study and work experience and geographical provenance were collected. The data analysis showed that extrinsic motives related to future occupational status prevailed among the freshmen. Among the relevant motives for choosing a university were also proximity to a students hometown, the attractiveness of the university’s location and its reputation. While it could not be clarified whether there was a relation between tuition fees and the choice of university, there was a clear trend among students to a master’s degree. More than two thirds of the freshmen felt certain that they would do one after their bachelor.     

Von Realisten und Konformisten — Wider die Theorie der Wertsynthese

Klages’ theory of value synthesis claims that those people whom he calls “active realists” represent the evolutionary potential to generate a general process of value change. Realists combine high esteem for the traditional values of diligence and law and order with an equally high esteem for the ‘newer’ values of participation and self-determination. As a result, Klages’ approach contradicts the basic assumption of value theory in general: According to Parsons, Rokeach and Inglehart, the competent, rational and ‘good’ citizen is seen as an individual who is able to assign clear priorities to the diverse and contradictory range of modern values. Individuals who lack this ability are supposed to act erratic, patternless and anomic. Klages, by contrast, understands the value synthesis as an expression of a mature and competent personality. Based on a representative survey conducted in 1992, this article examines attitudes and action pre-dispositions of individuals who perform value synthesis compared to individuals who give clear priorities to certain values over other values. The empirical analyses clearly confirm the assumptions of general value theories: values function as guidelines for action only if they are organised hierarchically. Therefore, a synthesis of contradictory values leads to helplessness, fear of the future and, in particular, conformism.     

Evaluationsstudien zu interkulturellen (Gruppen-)Trainingsprogrammen

Standard-Trainings for professionals are involved and evaluated in university teaching and learning: all participants reached a high competence-level of intercultural knowledge and behaviour. For the future and to optimize intercultural teaching and learning at the university, blended-learning-models are planned.     

What’s Wrong With These People? Clinicians’ Views of Clinical Couples

Marriage and family therapy (MFT) faculty and graduate students rated the "typical" or predictable behaviors of husbands or wives coming for therapy using the Georgia Marriage Q-sort. Scores were compared with previously published scores for both "ideal" couples (i.e., showing positive behaviors, attitudes, and problem-solving skills) and a sample of 136 nonclinical, community couples. A review of correlations between MFT raters' scores for clients and the scores for "ideal" or actual community husbands or wives indicated that clinicians have negative views of both clinical husbands and wives. Such negative views of clinical husbands and wives are particularly marked in scores by MFT faculty. MFT students had a similarly negative view of clinical husbands, but such views were not evident for clinical wives. Recommendations for MFT training and implications for future research are discussed.     

Ergonomic risk assessment with DesignCheck to evaluate assembly work in different phases of the vehicle development process

Occupational hazards exist, if the design of the work situation is not in accordance with ergonomic design principles. At assembly lines ergonomics is applied to the design of work equipment and tasks and to work organisation. The ignoring of ergonomic principles in planning and design of assembly work leads to unfavourable working posture, action force and material handling. Disorders of the musculoskeletal system are of a common occurrence throughout Europe. Musculoskeletal disorders are a challenge against the background of disabled workers. The changes in a worker's capability have to be regarded in the conception of redesigned and new assembly lines. In this way ergonomics becomes progressively more important in planning and design of vehicles: The objective of ergonomic design in different stages of the vehicles development process is to achieve an optimal adaptation of the assembly work to workers. Hence the ergonomic screening tool "Design Check" (DC) was developed to identify ergonomic deficits in workplace layouts. The screening-tool is based on the current ergonomic state of the art in the design of physical work and relevant EU legal requirements. It was tested within a federal German research project at selected work stations at the assembly lines at Dr.-Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG / Stuttgart. Meanwhile the application of the screening-tool DC is transferred in other parts of the Porsche AG, Stuttgart. It is also realized as an ergonomic standard method to perform assembly work in different phases of the vehicle development process.     

Performative policy studies: realizing “transition management”

The paper analyses the relations between policy studies and public policy. It traces how they are constitutively entangled. Conceptually, this builds on a notion of performativity that has been developed in science studies. The performativity of policy studies is explored in a case study of the innovation journey of “transition management” as a model for governing sociotechnical change. The paper shows how practices of knowledge production and policy-making take shape in interaction with the model and how a specialized research field coevolves with political alliances and policy programs. They interact in the process of realizing transition management, both by establishing the model as collective knowledge and by materially enacting it. In this interweaving with public policy, policy studies contribute to creating the reality that they describe. The conclusions discuss “realizing” as a mode of governance.     

Extension,Compression, and Beyond: A Unique Classification System for Mortality Evolution Patterns

A variety of literature addresses the question of how the age distribution of deaths changes over time as life expectancy increases. However, corresponding terms such as extension, compression, or rectangularization are sometimes defined only vaguely, and statistics used to detect certain scenarios can be misleading. The matter is further complicated because mixed scenarios can prevail, and the considered age range can have an impact on observed mortality patterns. In this article, we establish a unique classification framework for realized mortality scenarios that allows for the detection of both pure and mixed scenarios. Our framework determines whether changes of the deaths curve over time show elements of extension or contraction; compression or decompression; left- or right-shifting mortality; and concentration or diffusion. The framework not only can test the presence of a particular scenario but also can assign a unique scenario to any observed mortality evolution. Furthermore, it can detect different mortality scenarios for different age ranges in the same population. We also present a methodology for the implementation of our classification framework and apply it to mortality data for U.S. females.     

Spiritual needs of mothers with sick new born or premature infants—A cross sectional survey among German mothers

Background

Spirituality is part of the basic needs of all humans, yet often undervalued by health professionals. Less is known about the spiritual needs of mothers of preterm or sick new born children.

Wandlungen des Sterbens im Krankenhaus und die Konflikte zwischen Krankenrolle und Sterberolle

Dying in hospital has long been considered as inevitable but talking about it should be avoided, if possible. For some time now, new ideals of dying demand higher social expectations and requirements for the care of dying people (e.g. psycho-social and spiritual care). This trend can also be found in hospitals. On the basis of a running micro-sociological observational study carried out so far in four hospitals and two hospices the social organisation of dying in the hospital is being investigated and results are presented with an example of a case study. Observed dying trajectories show that the staff refers to two competing metaphors as an interpretative frame for performing its work that we call the ideal of the “short and good” dying and the ideal of the “long and laborious” dying. These idealisation correspond with the practice of “discrete” dying (that have been found in hospitals until the 1970s and that are still dominant in the medical world) and with the practice of “intimating” dying (which are drawn from the demands of the hospice-movement). Within this interpretative frame the staff is able to cope with uncertainties of the dying process. The idealisa-tions help to reformulate cumulative mess trajectories as successful and good work and thus tensions between the sick role and the dying role are minimised.