K?nnen Studienbeitr?ge die Lehre in der BWL verbessern?

The introduction of tuition fees by some German universities raised fears about possible negative effects, which scientific research has not substantiated, though. Meanwhile, little attention has been paid to positive effects tuition fees might entail. This is surprising as universities are obliged to use tuition fees to improve study conditions. Business programs are highly frequented with limited academic staff. More assistance would therefore improve study conditions substantially. Tutorials funded by fees can be introduced quickly and, unlike faculty positions, do not tie up money in the long run. This makes them ideal to cope with the one-time enrollment peak due to the shortening of secondary education. We show that tutorials improve both satisfaction and study outcomes. We use data from an introductory course characteristic of business programs, where tutorials have been introduced. This course is attended by about 750 students per term and the data cover several terms. We control for a number of effects, including general academic ability. Increased satisfaction and improved study outcomes show that tutorials enhance both the objective and perceived study conditions. This makes tutorials an example of how tuition fees can be used to produce positive effects.     

The displaced and dispossessed of Darfur: explaining the sources of a continuing state-led genocide

The millions of survivors who fled from attacks to Sudanese-controlled displacement camps and the refugee camps in Chad are the living ghosts of the Darfur genocide. The 1948 Genocide Convention incorporates extermination by mass killing and elimination through forced migration as two distinct elements of genocide. Genocide scholars and public discourse emphasize extermination by killing, but they give far less explanatory attention to the elimination processes that the Genocide Convention describes as 'deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction'. (Article II United Nations 1948.) In Darfur, understanding the latter processes requires theoretical attention to the history of food, water, and famine and detailed methodological attention to temporal processes of displacement. We demonstrate how intentional state-led attacks on food and water massively dislodged Black Africans in Darfur from February 2003 to August 2004. The political leadership of the Sudanese state dehumanized and forcibly displaced Black Africans from their homes in Darfur to camps where they largely remain, not only through mass killings and rapes, but also by destroying life-sustaining access to food and water, leading to the genocidal elimination of group life in this region.     

Situation-based measurement of the full range of leadership model — Development and validation of a situational judgment test

In response to calls for context-specificity in leadership research, we developed and validated a Situational Judgment Test of the Full Range of Leadership Model (SJT-FRLM). Three consecutive studies were conducted following the typical steps of test development. Study 1 served measure development and pilot testing: item stems were generated empirically, item responses were developed with a theory-driven approach, and pilot testing was based on a leader sample. Study 2 served to analyze construct- and criterion-related validity of the instrument. Moreover, an empirical scoring key was developed that weights each item response according to its relation with leadership effectiveness in each situation. In Study 3, we demonstrated incremental validity and interrater agreement. The test fills an important gap in literature because it not only has predictive validity above and beyond established measures, but also takes into account the contextual element of leadership.     

Transformational leadership,job satisfaction,and team performance: A multilevel mediation model of trust

In spite of calls for deliberate differentiation between individual and team levels of analysis, leadership research based on well-grounded theory referring to multiple levels is scarce. We seek to fill this gap by analyzing the relations between transformational leadership, trust in supervisor and team, job satisfaction, and team performance via multilevel analysis. Results are based on a sample of 360 employees from 39 academic teams. Transformational leadership was positively related to followers' job satisfaction at individual as well as team levels of analysis and to objective team performance. The relation between individual perceptions of supervisors' transformational leadership and job satisfaction was mediated by trust in the supervisor as well as trust in the team. Yet, trust in the team did not mediate the relationship between team perceptions of supervisors' transformational leadership and team performance. Implications for theory and research of leadership at multiple levels as well as for practice are discussed.     

A Measure of Accountability: Clients' Perceptions of a University Mental Health Service

Abstract

The University Counseling Center at the State University of New York at Stony Brook has developed a psychodynamic model for brief therapy in order to meet increased demands for service with limited staff resources. Because the center has both a multidisciplinary staff and graduate student training program, the aim of the model was to translate already existing theories of time-limited psychotherapy into practical, usable, teachable techniques. A major issue addressed was the reluctance to accept brief therapy because of its perception of being superficial and amenable only to symptom relief as opposed to “preferred” long-term treatment, seen as providing in-depth change and personality reorganization.

The model developed is based on one or two assessment sessions followed by eight sessions of treatment. The major distinguishing characteristic of the model consists of the explicit setting of two goals with the patient. Goal I is based on an assessment of the presenting problem and is directed toward symptom relief. Goal II is based on a characterological-thematic assessment of the patient and is directed toward major theme-process issues in which the presenting problem is imbedded. The eight treatment sessions are seen as a dynamic whole. Both goals I and II are explicitly contracted for, and each session number is announced by the therapist.

Experience with the model to date has shown that eight sessions produce characteristic initial, middle, and late sessions, with planned termination, a powerful, dynamic feature not usually utilized with many psychotherapies in which natural or calendar events tend to provide motivation for termination. In addition, major characterological changes can begin when the patient participates in the ego-synthesizing function of understanding the thematic issues within which specific behaviors and emotional reactions are a part.     

Differential Reliance on the Duchenne Marker During Smile Evaluations and Person Judgments

When evaluating the smiles of other people (regarding amusement, authenticity, spontaneity, or intensity), perceivers typically rely on Orbicularis oculi activity that causes wrinkles around a target’s eyes. But does this so-called Duchenne marker also impact more generalized judgments of person characteristics (e.g., regarding a target’s attractiveness, intelligence, dominance, and trustworthiness)? To address this issue, the current study asked participants to provide the above smile evaluations and person judgments for a series of Duchenne and non-Duchenne smiles. The results showed that smile evaluations uniformly increased during Duchenne marker presence. The marker’s effect on person judgments, in contrast, was judgment dependent. While attractiveness, dominance and intelligence ratings showed the expected enhancement, trustworthiness ratings remained unaffected by the facial cue of interest. The findings suggest that the Duchenne marker’s role as a cue of social relevance during target perception depends on the type of person inference under consideration.     

Food Security: An Ecological–Social Analysis to Promote Social Development

Coupled with the obesity epidemic, food insecurity presents a public health and social crisis. The United States' industrialized food system embodies an unsustainable network of production and unequal distribution of food creating threats to both the natural environment and human development. Ecological, economic, and social systems are interdependent and their relationships to food security are complex and dynamic. Social workers have a unique set of community practice knowledge and skills that can help communities achieve greater access to affordable, healthy food. Building interdisciplinary networks to change food policies and develop sustainable and equitable food systems can address food insecurity.