Gastarbeiter in West Germany and Switzerland: an assessment of host society-immigrant relations

West Germany and Switzerland have in general pursued similar immigration policies with respect to alien labor. In spite of a convergence in official policy and a change from temporary migration to settlement in both countries, immigrant groups in West Germany and Switzerland have displayed different attitudes and rates of integration within the host societies. Even when narrowing our discussion to one national group, the Italians, we find substantial differences persist. These cannot be attributed to the percentage of unskilled workers from Italy, intention to stay, the general social climate of the host societies, or even to political institutions such as trade unions. Rather, the higher integration and assimilation of Italians in Switzerland than in Germany appears to be related to structural and demographic factors. Unless policy-makers are aware of the importance of these factors, it is unlikely that they can adequately respond to the complexity and diversity of the problems generated by foreign workers.     

Cross-national policy learning in health system reform: The case of Diagnosis Related Groups

Observations of policy convergence and the cross-national diffusion of ideas, knowledge and policies have raised the question about the ways countries might learn from their peers. This article examines the role of cross-national learning with regard to Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs). We review the spread of this policy instrument and analyse the implementation of DRGs in three late-adopting countries: Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The three cases show that the implementation of this policy instrument required intense studies, cooperation with stakeholders and adjustment to country-specific needs. The countries learned from foreign experience, but it was only with the introduction of a regulatory framework for competition between sickness funds that DRGs came fully onto the political agenda. While Germany and Switzerland drew upon foreign DRG models, the Netherlands developed an alternative system to classify patients according to case-mix.     

Who Is the Boss and Who Is Not? Accuracy of Judging Status

We investigated whether people were accurate at judging other people's status, what behavioral and appearance cues they relied on when assessing status, whether the way those cues were used was accurate, and whether target gender affected any of the results. Targets (N = 48) were university employees (faculty and staff) who were photographed while interacting with a coworker. One sample of perceivers (66 females, 42 males) rated the relative status of the two people in the photograph to each other, and another sample (60 females and males) rated each target in the photograph on status. Additionally, an array of behavioral and appearance cues of targets in the photograph was assessed. Results showed that (1) people were able to assess status in others, (2) the cues they used to assess female and male targets were somewhat different, and (3) how much people relied on specific cues corresponded to how status was expressed in these cues.     

Development under population pressure and shortage of resources--an alternative path to the demographic transition

The author discusses problems of population pressure and limited resources in developing countries. He suggests that the development experiences of the United States and Europe may not be applicable to developing countries, due to more extreme needs for food and resources. He presents new guidelines for thinking about population development and the environment in developing countries, and suggests ways for the West to assist these nations.     

International work experience and compensation: Is more always better for CFOs?

The CFO is increasingly considered the second most important executive in the firm after the CEO. Still, little is known about the factors that determine CFOs' compensation. Recently, it has often been claimed that, in MNCs, CFOs should have international work experience. But is a CFO's international work experience also reflected in his or her compensation? We combine human capital and social capital perspectives to account for both the upside and the downside of international work experience. We suggest that working abroad provides CFOs with valuable knowledge and skills which increase compensation; however, staying abroad for too long has an adverse effect due to losses in social network ties. We thus propose an inverted U-shaped relationship between CFOs' international work experience and their compensation. Furthermore, we suggest that this relationship is contingent on the characteristics of the CEO. In testing our hypotheses on a sample of the largest MNCs in Europe, we find support for the proposed relationships. Our study contributes to the literature on top management characteristics and executive compensation, specifically by providing a comprehensive understanding of how and when international work experience pays off for CFOs.     

Innere Bilder und beruflicher Lebensweg

This article gives an introduction into working with inner images. In the background of professional work and career there are inner images at work. They trigger which roles we take and which plays on which stages we choose or accept as meaningful. A Case study elaborately illustrates working with inner background images. Simple questions lead to relevant images, which influence professional life. A guide for interviewing and practical approaches can be found in the supplement.     

Nonverbal Social Sensing in Action: Unobtrusive Recording and Extracting of Nonverbal Behavior in Social Interactions Illustrated with a Research Example

Nonverbal behavior coding is typically conducted by “hand”. To remedy this time and resource intensive undertaking, we illustrate how nonverbal social sensing, defined as the automated recording and extracting of nonverbal behavior via ubiquitous social sensing platforms, can be achieved. More precisely, we show how and what kind of nonverbal cues can be extracted and to what extent automated extracted nonverbal cues can be validly obtained with an illustrative research example. In a job interview, the applicant’s vocal and visual nonverbal immediacy behavior was automatically sensed and extracted. Results show that the applicant’s nonverbal behavior can be validly extracted. Moreover, both visual and vocal applicant nonverbal behavior predict recruiter hiring decision, which is in line with previous findings on manually coded applicant nonverbal behavior. Finally, applicant average turn duration, tempo variation, and gazing best predict recruiter hiring decision. Results and implications of such a nonverbal social sensing for future research are discussed.     

What's on Their Minds? The South African Child Welfare Academic Agenda from 2001 to 2010

Social work teaching and research is assumed to impact significantly on practice, readying students for employment and investigating areas relevant to practice. In South Africa, the historic divergence between the academic agenda and population needs is significant. In a context of transformation towards developmental social welfare, this paper investigates the extent to which tertiary education as well as research agendas match what South African child welfare practitioners have identified as priorities in the field. In a study examining trends and drivers in South African child welfare, it was found that the curriculum was largely being informed by the same trends that shaped practice. However, the research agenda differed markedly from the issues concerning practitioners. Also, practitioners thought that new graduates were ill-equipped to deal with practice demands in resource-poor and transforming (post-apartheid) environments. It is recommended that South African academics and practitioners ensure that child welfare curricula, academic enquiry and practice demands overlap more closely in order to better prepare novice social workers and provide leading research. With globalization and the increased need to respond to diverse populations, it becomes critical that social work education is reviewed both in the north and south to ensure its relevance for practice.