Job Insecurity and the Timing of Parenthood: A Comparison between Eastern and Western Germany

This article contributes to the ongoing debate on the economic determinants of fertility behavior by addressing the role of job insecurity in couples’ intentions concerning parenthood and its timing. It starts from the hypothesis that cultural values moderate individuals’ reactions to job insecurity and the way it is related to family formation. With a systematic thematic content analysis of a set of semi-structured interviews with childless men and women around the age of 30 in eastern and western Germany, we are able to show that there are substantial differences in the consequences of job insecurity on intentions to have a first child. In western Germany, a relatively secure job career is expected to precede family formation, and this sequence of transitions is rather rigid, whereas in eastern Germany job security and family formation are thought of and practiced as parallel investments. We suggest that the lack of convergence in family formation patterns between eastern and western Germany after the unification of the country in 1990 is partially related to different attitudes toward job insecurity in the two contexts.     

Der Insolvenzprozess und die Eigenverwaltung in der Insolvenz auf Basis unterschiedlicher Theoriekonzepte

Zusammenfassung  Der Beitrag erkl?rt einerseits die Notwendigkeit eines durch Gesetz geregelten Verfahrens zur Insolvenzabwicklung mittels betriebswirtschaftlicher Grundlagentheorien. Andererseits werden dieselben Grundlagentheorien genutzt, um die unterschiedlichen sich ver?ndernden Machtstrukturen, die oft gegens?tzlichen Interessen von Stakeholdern, die Kosten des Insolvenzprozesses sowie deren Dynamik im Rahmen des vierphasigen Insolvenzprozesses (vor Insolvenzanmeldung, nach Antragstellung, nach Er?ffnung, nach Abschluss des Verfahrens) eines Not leidenden Unternehmens besser veranschaulichen zu k?nnen. Der besondere Schwerpunkt wird hierbei auf das Verfahren in Eigenverwaltung, das hei?t mit eigenem Management, gelegt.

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The bankruptcy process and the self-administration in the bankruptcy proceedings

Summary  This article explains on one hand the necessity of a legally fixed process for the bankruptcy proceedings with basic economic theories. On the other hand, the same theories are used to demonstrate the changing power structures, the often different interests of stakeholders, the costs of the bankruptcy proceedings as well as its dynamics during the four bankruptcy phases (before the filing, after the filing, after opening and after closing) of the bankruptcy process. The focus of this article lies hereby on bankruptcy proceedings in self-administration which means that the management stays on duty.

Dr. Martin K?rner ist promovierter Diplom- und Bankkaufmann und leitet die Abteilung Strategic Advisory bei einem führenden europ?ischen IT- und Telekommunikationsunternehmen. Seine Forschungsgebiete umfassen strategische Fragestellungen, Kapitalmarktthemen, das Outsorcing sowie das Krisen- und Insolvenzmanagement.     

Participatory analysis of accidents and incidents as a tool for increasing safety behaviour in fishermen. A pilot intervention study

Although occupational accidents are common in fishery, safety work is often not given priority by the fishermen. The aims of this study were to test a group-based intervention for increased activity in safety work through group discussion of accident/incident experience; to study occurred incidents/accidents and how such events were managed; and to study intervention effects on activity in safety work, risk acceptance and perceived manageability of risks. A sample of men from five crews (11 men) of Swedish fishermen participated. The study had a one group pre-test-post-test design for questionnaire data. The emphasis was on qualitative information collected during the intervention and interviews. The results indicated that accident causes could be appraised as being unmanageable even when technical solutions were possible. Psychological factors may cause incidents not to be documented or discussed. Incident experience seldom leads to preventive measures. Interaction between structural, social and psychological factors seemed to explain this. Questionnaires, observations and interview data suggested that some increase in safety work took place during the intervention. After the discussions the participants perceived risks to be less manageable. The study indicated that, although sensitive to dropout, participative safety interventions in fishery are feasible and may be effective. A longer or more intensive intervention may be necessary in order to progress from problem orientation to action orientation.     

Überqualifizierung im Kontext organisationaler Karrieren

Overqualification occurs when a person has a surplus of knowledge, experience, and qualifications relative to the job he or she holds. Approximately 15 to 20% of employees in industrialized countries are overqualified. Thus, overqualification has become an integral part of organizational reality. The present paper deals with overqualification in the context of career development. We first summarize attitudinal, well-being, and behavioral outcomes of overqualification. Afterwards, we will provide an overview of the relationships between overqualification and career-related outcomes. Based on the partly contrary findings, we develop a conceptual model. In particular, we postulate that overqualified individuals’ proactive behavior might be a signal for organizational decision makers, which in turn triggers career-enhancing changes and developments. Finally, we discuss practical implications of the empirical findings and the proposed model.     

The Folk Theorem for Games with Private Almost‐Perfect Monitoring

We prove the folk theorem for discounted repeated games under private, almost‐perfect monitoring. Our result covers all finite, n‐player games that satisfy the usual full‐dimensionality condition. Mixed strategies are allowed in determining the individually rational payoffs. We assume no cheap‐talk communication between players and no public randomization device.     

Young people and drugs: on navigation in the drug landscape

In today's popular culture, critical messages intending to counteract drug use exist side by side with messages aiming to promote drugs. Nobody knows exactly what influence this exposure and constant shifts between the light and the dark sides of drug use have on young people's life worlds, and on their attitudes and behaviours in relation to drugs and drug use.

The main objective of this article is to analyze how young people navigate between different messages in the drug landscape, and what kind of knowledge and practical strategies they use and develop in relation to drugs and drug use.

The study was performed in Sweden. The empirical data consist of qualitative interviews with young adults, ages 18–26. On the basis of this data, we identify four interactive and partly overlapping themes that constitute ‘junctions’ of navigation: (1) knowledge as compass; (2) the power of the drug – the individual's power to resist; (3) the power of context and relationships; and (4) legal frameworks and personal morals. We also discuss what the implications of the results of this study are for the work with young people.     

Participatory analysis of accidents and incidents as a tool for increasing safety behaviour in fishermen. A pilot intervention study

Abstract

Although occupational accidents are common in fishery, safety work is often not given priority by the fishermen. The aims of this study were to test a group-based intervention for increased activity in safety work through group discussion of accident/incident experience; to study occurred incidents/accidents and how such events were managed; and to study intervention effects on activity in safety work, risk acceptance and perceived manageability of risks. A sample of men from five crews (11 men) of Swedish fishermen participated. The study had a one group pre-test–post-test design for questionnaire data. The emphasis was on qualitative information collected during the intervention and interviews. The results indicated that accident causes could be appraised as being unmanageable even when technical solutions were possible. Psychological factors may cause incidents not to be documented or discussed. Incident experience seldom leads to preventive measures. Interaction between structural, social and psychological factors seemed to explain this. Questionnaires, observations and interview data suggested that some increase in safety work took place during the intervention. After the discussions the participants perceived risks to be less manageable. The study indicated that, although sensitive to dropout, participative safety interventions in fishery are feasible and may be effective. A longer or more intensive intervention may be necessary in order to progress from problem orientation to action orientation.     

Field study of age-differentiated strain for assembly line workers in the automotive industry

A field study in an automotive supply industry company was conducted to explore age-differentiated strain of assembly line workers. Subjective and objective data from 23 female workers aged between 27 and 57 years were collected at the workplace belt buckle assembly during morning shifts. Subjects with medication or chronic diseases affecting heart rate and breath rate were excluded. For subjective data generation different questionnaires were used. Before the Work Ability Index and the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire were completed by the subjects. Short questionnaires (strain-ratings, NASA-TLX) directly at begin and end of the work were used for obtaining shift-related data. During the whole shift (6 a.m. - 2.45 p.m.) bodily functions were logged with a wireless chest strap. In addition, the motion of the hand-arm-system was recorded for 30 times, 3 minutes each after a fixed time-schedule. First results show that younger subjects need significant less time for assembly (mean = 14.940 s) compared to older subjects (mean = 17.040 s; t(472.026) = -9.278 , p < 0.01).     

Truthful Equilibria in Dynamic Bayesian Games

This paper characterizes an equilibrium payoff subset for dynamic Bayesian games as discounting vanishes. Monitoring is imperfect, transitions may depend on actions, types may be correlated, and values may be interdependent. The focus is on equilibria in which players report truthfully. The characterization generalizes that for repeated games, reducing the analysis to static Bayesian games with transfers. With independent private values, the restriction to truthful equilibria is without loss, except for the punishment level: if players withhold their information during punishment‐like phases, a folk theorem obtains.