The impact of respondents and interviewers on interview speed in face-to-face interviews

In surveys carried out by interviewers trained according to the key principle of standardized interviewing it is assumed that the interviewer has only limited impact on the time a respondent needs to answer questions. In the paper the effects of interviewers and respondent characteristics on interview speed are analyzed simultaneously by means of a three-level random coefficient model. Data from the fifth round of the European Social Survey (ESS) are used. In twelve participating countries (CAPI) timers were implemented at several places in the questionnaire. Based on this time information the interview speed (number of questions asked per minute) was measured for each respondent during five modules of the questionnaire. The results support most of the expectations concerning the effects of the respondent characteristics. However, the results also indicate that, for all countries, interviewers strongly determine the interview speed and that interview length is not a simple linear function of the number of questions in a questionnaire.     

Linking macro‐level mechanisms to street‐level accountability practices. A cross‐national case study of street‐level accountability of social workers in government funded homeless shelters

Available studies on the accountability relation between social work and the government are mainly conducted in Anglo‐Saxion countries. This limits the generalizability of these findings to other countries. Moreover, these studies hardly descent to the street‐level, making the perceptions and actions of social workers barely visible. To address this gap, this article explores how three elements of governance interact with street‐level accountability of social workers in homeless care in three country cases (the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany). The data (N26) was gathered by means of a mixed method design (interviews, focus groups and document analysis). By combining a street‐level bureaucracy research approach with a relational definition of accountability, we opened up the black box of what happens in these organizations and bridged the gap between macro‐level mechanisms and street‐level accountability. Our study adds three important insights to street‐level research of accountability in social work. First, elements of governance cannot be studied in isolation. Mechanisms should always be explained in relation to the context in which they are embedded. Second, the social workers in our cases do not perceive their accountability to the government as a professional obligation. They see it as a strategic mechanism to secure funding. Third, interaction is an important condition for the engagement of the social workers in their accountability relation with the government. More research is needed to develop a multi‐level theory that identifies which mechanisms play a role in the accountability relation between the government and social workers.     

Family resources as mediators in the relation between divorce and children's school engagement

Children are increasingly growing up in non-intact families. Because the family is a vital developmental part of growing-up, parental divorce can have far-reaching effects on children. This article investigates whether divorce interferes with children's engagement in school. According to the deprivation perspective, the effect of a parental divorce on children is mediated through the availability of family resources. Structural equation models are performed on the Leuven's Adolescent and Family Study. We conclude that the parental divorce effect on school engagement is mediated by the parent-child relationship, parental conflict, and financial problems at home.     

The redistributive effect of social transfer programmes and taxes: A decomposition across countries

The aim of this article is to offer detailed information of the redistributive impact of social transfer programmes and taxes in 28 Member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development, employing data that have been computed from the Luxembourg Income Study's micro‐level database. We find that welfare states on average reduce inequality by 35 per cent. Social benefits have a much stronger redistributive impact than taxes. As far as social programmes are concerned, public pensions account for the largest reduction in income inequality, although the pattern is diverse across countries. To a lesser extent, social assistance, disability and family benefits also contribute to smaller income disparities.     

Weights in Multidimensional Indices of Wellbeing: An Overview

Multidimensional indices are becoming increasingly important instruments to assess the wellbeing of societies. They move beyond the focus on a single indicator and yet they are easy to present and communicate. A crucial step in the construction of a multidimensional index of wellbeing is the selection of the relative weights for the different dimensions. The aim of this article is to study the role of these weights and to critically survey eight different approaches to set them. We categorize the approaches in three classes: data-driven, normative, and hybrid weighting, and compare their respective advantages and drawbacks.     

Building a working alliance between professionals and service users in family preservation. A multiple case study

In the margin of the ongoing experimental and quasi‐experimental research projects on family preservation, some research projects focus on the process through which families accomplish change and acknowledge the importance of the working alliance. There is, however, little information about barriers and facilitators in building this working alliance. To fill this gap, we performed a multiple case study with a triangulation of ethnographical methods such as observation, in‐depth interviews, case file analysis, and multistakeholder focus groups. We illustrate how, in a context of managerialism and transactional leadership, social workers find themselves in a continuous tension between complying with the expectations of their social organization and “tuning in” with the service users. This jeopardizes the working alliance between a social worker and a family. Consequences for research, practice, and policy regarding family preservation interventions are discussed.     

The resentful undergrowth of nostalgia: Ontological insecurity,relative deprivation and powerlessness

This article untangles competing conceptualisations of nostalgia and identifies a specific form of collective-restorative nostalgia as politically significant. We argue that the link between resentment and this type of nostalgia emerges from their joint critique of the socio-political realities of the present. Nostalgia provides spatial and temporal orientations for a group's experiences of resentment through highly selective recollections of the heartland and an idealised golden age. We hypothesize that nostalgia leverages the heartland and the golden age to formulate claims for recognition and restored status on behalf of those who feel left behind by late modernity. Next, the article uses structural equation modelling and the 2019 Belgian National Election Study to reveal how resentment (consisting of ontological insecurity, group relative deprivation, and powerlessness) mediates between structural characteristics and nostalgia. Our findings suggest that each component of resentment individually contributes to explaining the nostalgia of less educated and economically deprived individuals.     

Experiencing Loneliness in Adolescence: A Matter of Individual Characteristics,Negative Peer Experiences,or Both?

The present study builds on the child‐by‐environment model and examines the joint contribution of intra‐individual characteristics (i.e., self‐esteem and shyness) and peer experiences (i.e., social acceptance, victimization, friendship quantity, and friendship quality) in the association with loneliness. A total of 884 adolescents (M_age = 15.80; 68 percent female) participated in this multi‐informant study. Results indicated that, in addition to self‐esteem and shyness, being poorly accepted by peers, being victimized, lacking friends, and experiencing poor‐quality friendships each contributed independently to the experience of loneliness. Further, friendship quantity and quality mediated the relation between the two intra‐individual characteristics and loneliness. Finally, a significant interaction was found between self‐esteem and social acceptance in predicting loneliness. The present study highlights the importance of investigating the joint effects of inter‐individual experiences and intra‐individual characteristics in examining loneliness. Suggestions to elaborate the child‐by‐environment model in loneliness research are discussed, and clinical implications are outlined.     

Markov-modulated infinite-server queues driven by a common background process

This paper studies a system with multiple infinite-server queues that are modulated by a common background process. If this background process, being modeled as a finite-state continuous-time Markov chain, is in state j, then the arrival rate into the i-th queue is λ_{i, j}, whereas the service times of customers present in this queue are exponentially distributed with mean μ^{? 1}_{i, j}; at each of the individual queues all customers present are served in parallel (thus reflecting their infinite-server nature).

Three types of results are presented: in the first place (i) we derive differential equations for the probability-generating functions corresponding to the distributions of the transient and stationary numbers of customers (jointly in all queues), then (ii) we set up recursions for the (joint) moments, and finally (iii) we establish a central limit theorem in the asymptotic regime in which the arrival rates as well as the transition rates of the background process are simultaneously growing large.     

Personal Identity Processes from Adolescence Through the Late 20s: Age Trends,Functionality, and Depressive Symptoms

Personal identity formation constitutes a crucial developmental task during the teens and 20s. Using a recently developed five‐dimensional identity model, this cross‐sectional study (N = 5834) investigated age trends from ages 14 to 30 for different commitment and exploration processes. As expected, results indicated that, despite some fluctuations over time, commitment processes tended to increase in a linear fashion. Exploration in breadth and exploration in depth were characterized by quadratic trends, with the highest levels occurring in emerging adulthood. Further, the functionality of these identity processes, and especially of exploration, changed over time. Exploration in breadth and exploration in depth were strongly related to commitment processes especially in adolescence and emerging adulthood, but these exploration processes became increasingly associated with ruminative exploration and depressive symptoms in the late 20s. Theoretical implications and suggestions for future research are outlined.