bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
European Management Selection Methods: A Comparison of Five Countries
Authors: Shackleton Viv , Newell Sue
Published: April 2007

There is some disagreement in the recent literature on how similar or different are the methods used to select employees in different European countries. The confusion comes about in part because different samples and questions have been used in different countries to investigate this issue, making comparison between countries very difficult. This study investigates managerial selection methods in three members of the European Community, Belgium, Germany and Italy, using the same questionnaire and sample characteristics previously used in Britain and France. This allows a direct comparison between the five countries. The samples comprised 250 companies randomly drawn from the top 1,000 in each country. Questionnaires sent to the companies asked a range of questions concerning the frequency of use of selection methods and attitudes towards their use. Results show major differences in frequency of use of different methods. Some of these differences are: British and German companies tend to use assessment centres much more often than other countries, while Germany and Italy are relatively infrequent users of psychological tests. Companies in the Flemish (Dutch speaking) part of Belgium are the most likely to use biodata, while their French speaking compatriots are similar to the French in their liking for graphology. Both Belgium and France make much less use of references than do Britain, Germany and Italy. Results suggest that harmonization of selection practice in Europe is a long way off. Habit, tradition and culture determine the choice of selection method much more than do the relative predictive validities of the techniques.
The Role of Biodata and Intelligence in the Predictive Validity of Assessment Centres
Authors: Fox Shaul , Levonai‐Hazak Sigal , Hoffman Michael
Published: April 2007

The present study assessed three of Klimoski and Brickner's1 explanations for assessment centres' predictive validity: criterion contamination, the influence of biodata, and the effect of assessed intellectual level. Data were collected in a major Israeli industrial organisation on the job performance and advancement of 91 managers who had participated in an assessment centre four to seven years earlier. Little empirical support was garnered for Klimoski and Brickner's claims. Assessment centre scores were found to be similarly correlated in a significant fashion with both contaminated and uncontaminated criteria of later management performance. Although biodata and intelligence variables were correlated with assessors' evaluations, they did not notably contribute to the predictive validity of assessment centre scores. It seems that information reached by observing behaviours reflected during exercises and simulations are the main factors affecting the validity of assessment centres.
Human Resource Management Group, University of Nottingham, UK
Authors: Anderson Neil , Alkhadher Othman , Ferguson Eamonn , Patterson Fiona , Cunningham‐Snell Nicole
Published: April 2007

In a new series of regular reports, research groups active in personnel psychology from a number of countries will present a briefing on work‐in‐progress. In the first in this series, the HRM Group at the Department of Psychology, University of Nottingham, describe their ongoing work into organization change and training validation, employee socialization, computer‐based testing, and personality test construction and assessment centre validation.
Computer‐Based Assessment: A NATO Survey
Authors: Burke Eugene , Kokorian Agnés , Lescreve François , Martin Clessen J. , Van Raay Paul , Weber Wolfgang
Published: April 2007

The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief summary of developments in NATO nations in order to bring these developments to a wider audience. The basis of the survey provided is the information collated by NATO Research Study Group 15 Computer‐Based Assessment of Military Personnel as given in its report to NATO Headquarters in 1993.
Selecting for Diversity
Authors: Kandola Binna
Published: April 2007

This paper examines the subject of selecting for diversity. It begins with a brief discussion on what diversity means in this context. An examination is then made of the reasons given by several authors as to why organizations should select for diversity. The paper particularly focuses on (i) gaining greater access to the available talent, and (ii) enhanced team working and effectiveness. Next, the paper discusses an area that is both contentious and controversial in terms of selecting for diversity: that of affirmative action. Here an examination is made of some of the background to affirmative action, the different models and views that people hold of it, and how this fits into a diversity framework.
The Changing Context of Assessment and its Implications
Authors: Herriot Peter
Published: April 2007

Increased competition and the globalization of business have resulted in fundamental changes in the structure of organizations. These in turn have altered the nature of the employment relationship and reduced the extent of internal labour markets. The implications for traditional models of assessment are profound. Job analysis, the management of careers, homogeneity of the workforce, and the ownership of assessment data are all problematic. New tools are not adequate to address these issues. Rather, the profession of work and organizational psychology needs to change the assumptions and values of its culture as well as its artefacts. The major block to such change is the selection of those problems which are defined by the academic establishment rather than those faced by the client.
The Cognitive Ability Test as a Predictor of Job Performance: Is its Validity Affected by Job Complexity and Tenure Within the Organization?
Authors: Pettersen Normand , Tziner Aharon
Published: April 2007

Two measures of job performance of 301 employees of a manufacturing enterprise in Québec (the criteria) were used to assess the stability of predictive validity over time of two specific intelligence tests, OTIS and BETA, whilst the moderating effects of two other variables, tenure and job complexity, were also examined. The predictive validity of the tests was not time‐based but when job complexity was considered, the validity increased in relation to the complexity of the job.
A Demonstration of Conjoint Analysis for Organizational Research
Authors: Muchinsky Paul M. , Hoffman Norman J.
Published: April 2007

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the potential usefulness of conjoint analysis for organizational research, as evidenced in estimating the compensating wage differential of the four‐day workweek. Five hundred and seventeen employees of an insurance company on the four‐day workweek rated their preferences for increments and decrements in compensation and vacation time on both a four‐day and five‐day workweek. The data were analysed via conjoint analysis. The results revealed the four‐day workweek schedule had a positive compensating wage differential of approximately US$1161, or about 6% of the sample's annual salary. The findings were discussed in terms of the prospects of using conjoint analysis for organizational research, including means of data collection, stimulus construction, parameter estimation methods, reliability, validity and computer‐interactive systems.
Induction Training as Socialization: Current Practice and Attitudes to Evaluation in British Organizations
Authors: Anderson Neil R. , Cunningham‐Snell Nicole A. , Haigh Jeanie
Published: April 2007

The failure to integrate training and socialization research has represented a significant shortcoming in our understanding of the effectiveness of organizational practices within these two domains. A survey of major British organizations was therefore undertaken to evaluate current practices in induction training, programme evaluation, and personnel practitioners' attitudes to induction and socialization. A random sample of 300 companies was surveyed using a questionnaire of induction practices for newcomers recently graduated from college, to which 100 responded. Descriptive results indicate that over 90% of organizations conduct formalized induction programmes in the early stages of newcomer socialization. Evaluation methods — trainee questionnaires, supervisory feedback, self‐reports, peer reviews, and pre‐ and post‐programme tests — were found to be differentially popular. Practitioners in organizations relying solely on questionnaires were found to be significantly more satisfied with the programme and the induction process generally than those using pre‐ and post‐course tests in addition to trainee questionnaires. Results of hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that use of peer reviews and tests were related to company biographical variables and training attitudinal variables. Implications for graduate socialization, induction training practices, and training evaluation are discussed.
The Importance of Behavioural and Situational Characteristics for Entrepreneurial Success: An International Rating Study
Authors: Born Marise Ph. , Altink Wieby M.M.
Published: April 2007

A judgemental analysis has been executed of the job of entrepreneur in terms of the required behavioural, or ‘human’, attributes and in terms of the relevance of ‘situational’ attributes for entrepreneurial success. Ratings were given by 235 consultants and starting entrepreneurs from five European countries. By means of generalizability analysis it was investigated whether ratings generalized across countries: Nationality barely had an influence on the ratings. Next, it was questioned whether the type of judge, i.e. consultants or starting entrepreneurs, made a difference. No difference was found for the situational attributes. However, the behavioural attributes as a whole were judged to be more important by starters than by consultants. In general, it was not so much the type or nationality of the judge, as individual differences between judges that had an effect on the ratings. Overall, consensus was higher among consultants than among starting entrepreneurs, and higher on the importance of the situational than of the behavioural attributes. The three situational attributes judged as most important were: Number of Clients, Type of Product, and Competition. The three most important behavioural attributes were judged to be Market Orientedness, Perseverance, and Independence (consultants), and Perseverence, Independence, and Financial Control (starters).
Selecting University Lecturers: What is and Should be Done
Authors: Foster Jeremy J. , Wilkie Derek , Moss Ben
Published: April 2007

This paper presents a survey designed to identify the procedures used by British university departments when selecting academic staff and compare them with typical practice in other UK organizations. The results indicate that, compared with other large organizations, university departments make much less use of psychometric tests or assessment centres, relying heavily on the application form, a single interview and a presentation. There were no differences between academic departments of English, Biology or Psychology and the level of academic appointment only affected the composition of the interview panel. Possible reasons for the failure to use modern objective methods of selection are considered. It is argued that universities should apply more objective selection methods based on a full analysis of the competencies required of the higher education lecturer.
A Six Year Longitudinal Study of Graduate Expectations: The Implications for Company Recruitment and Selection Strategies
Authors: Mabey Christopher , Clark Timothy , Daniels Kevin
Published: April 2007

All job extrants formulate a set of expectations about what a new job will be like. A least in part, these expectations are shaped by their experience of the organization's selection process. What impact do these early impressions have upon subsequent job attitudes and behaviour? This article reports the findings of a longitudinal study of UK graduates from a few weeks prior to organizational entry to five or six years after commencing employment. Both the level of pre‐entry expectations and the congruency of these expectations with work experience are found to correlate with subsequent job satisfaction and organizational commitment. More support is found for the congruent expectations hypotheses, and the implications of this for company selection and socialization strategies are discussed.
Discharge procedures for mentally ill people: The perspective of former psychiatric patients on their primary social network, quality of life and future life expectations
Authors: Dufåker M. , Jacobsson L. , Åström T.
Published: April 2007

This article on literature about social networks and social support in order to integrate a number of key concepts and findings that must be considered in research about the social conditions of mentally ill people. Interviews with 53 former psychiatric patients were carried out to get their perspective on their social network, quality of life and future life expectations. The duration of and stigma attached to mental illness, being without work and gender seemed to have the most influence on the primary network. The same issues, except for gender, together with place of residence, financial difficulties and inability to exert influence over one's own situation influenced the respondents' quality of life and their expectations of the future. These findings are analysed and discussed from a social psychological perspective.
Computerization of social services: a critical appraisal
Authors: Pardeck J. T. , Murphy J. W. , Callaghan K.
Published: April 2007

This article presents an analysis of ethics and computerization of social services. Drawing from the work of Baudrillard, the article suggests that social existence is redefined by the worldview that accompanies computerization. The authors conclude that practitioners have an ethical obligation to protect the human element when social services are computerized. Suggestions are offered for accomplishing this important goal.
Disability pensions granted from 1988 to 1990 in two municipalities in Norway: the importance of occupational status
Authors: Berg J. E.
Published: April 2007

The prevalence of people with disability pensions in Norway has increased sharply from 1980, without evidence of a concomitant change in morbidity or in occupational panorama. The incidence of granted disability pensions in 2 small rural municipalities from 1988 to 1990 (n=507) were compared with professional or occupational background and the diagnostic basis of granting the disability pension. Information on occupation and diagnosis was collected manually. Efforts were made to ascertain whether the applicants' work had been strenuous or not. Data giving such information was not available for the total population at risk. Manual workers made up three fourths (n=395) of the incidence. Disability pension was granted with musculoskeletal disorders as the diagnosis in half of all cases. There was also a tendency towards cardiovascular and mental disorders being more frequent in the group of non‐manual workers. Incidence rates were higher than the mean rates for the whole country for the diagnostic groups musculoskeletal disorders, cancer, cardiovascular disorders and mental disorders, and the rates did not change over the 3 years. The study indicates that disability pensioners still are more prevalent among manual workers. Increased availability of vocational rehabilitation for this group may be needed, certainly if a reduction in the incidence of disability pensions is aimed at.
The influence of social and ethnic segmentation on consultation in primary health care
Authors: Sundquist J. , Rosén U. , Lindén A.‐L. , Scherstén B.
Published: April 2007

This paper analyses the utilization of primary health care by a population of whom 28% were not born in Sweden. The study emphasizes the impact of demography, housing and economic factors on the structure of the residential area. Households with meagre financial resources, large families and most of the immigrant population were tenants in multiple‐occupancy blocks. Further, when demographic development was analysed over a decade, high turnover and a low median age were found in 2 of the multiple‐occupancy areas, indicating social instability. The study revealed a process of both socioeconomic and ethnic segmentation (non‐spatial segregation in a residential area). The age‐ and sex‐standardized relative risks (RR) showed that the population in subareas consisting of multiple‐occupancy housing in socially unstable areas also had an increased risk of having to visit primary health care. There were no differences in the number of visits to primary health care between people born in Sweden and those born outside Sweden (relative risk (RR) = 1.09,95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.90–1.30), but those born outside Sweden more often made visits that lasted longer than 30 minutes (odds ratio (OR) = 3.75, 95% CI = 2.09–6.71).
Contact between young children in long‐term care and their parents
Authors: Backe‐Hansen E.
Published: April 2007

In this article, the patterns of contact arrangements over time in a sample of Norwegian children in long‐term care are analysed. General legal and professional thinking about the importance of continuity for children in care is contrasted with a view of contact arrangements as multifaced and depending on other considerations than strictly professional ones. Maintaining contact is instead seen as ongoing negotiations between parents, workers, foster parents and children, with the parents as the weakest party. The variation inherent in the process of maintaining contact presupposes the use of discretion in the individual case. On the other hand, professional thinking about the importance of conñtinuity needs to be translated into functional practice guidelines to aid the workers and to stimulate the development of arrangements that are more generally applicable.
The prevalence of heavy narcotics abuse in Sweden in 1992
Authors: Olsson O. , Byqvist S. , Gomér G.
Published: April 2007

A case‐finding study was carried out in 1992 to determine the prevalence of drug abuse in Sweden. Several authorities in 100 local communities and 59 police districts were selected to participate in the case‐finding research. The number of heavy drug abusers was estimated to be 17,000. Heavy drug use is defined as “any intravenous use of drugs, regardless of substance, or any daily or near‐daily use of drugs, regardless of the method of administration”. The study was designed to make the results comparable to a similar study in 1979 in which the number found was 12,000. According to the studies, the number of heavy drug abusers increased by 5000 between 1979 and 1992. The age distribution shows that the recruitment of abusers has declined, especially among young people.
Social work is beautiful On the characteristics of social work
Authors: Morén S.
Published: April 2007

Social work is frequently described as a problem‐solving activity. Social workers are expected to identify social problems, thoroughly investigate them and take proper measures to solve them. Superficially, this kind of definition is unassailable and harmless (and, of course, partly valid), but in a deeper sense it denies us access to important concepts, perspectives and, hence, possibilities of interpretation, regarding the activity we call social work. Following this line of thought, there is a blind spot in the self‐understanding of social work. This article outlines an alternative perspective on social work emphasizing making visible new possibilities of interpretation and action rather than solving problems. In connection with a recently reported research project, Organization and Human Change in Social Work, specific features of social work are suggested and discussed. The aim is to contribute to the development of a theoretical identity of social work, based on its own specific characteristics.
Daughters helping their elderly mothers: impact of early attachment, daughter's trait anxiety and helping interaction characteristics
Authors: Larsson G. , Wilde B.
Published: April 2007

The aim of the study was to explore the relationships between early attachment between mother and daughter, the adult daughter's general anxiety level, and characteristics of the helping interaction between the adult daughter and her elderly mother on the one hand and the quality of this help on the other. One sample consisted of 46 Swedish women (mean age: 55 years) who acted as informal caregivers for their elderly mothers. A second sample consisted of 106 Swedish female nursing students (mean age: 27 years). The participants rated the quality of the practical, physical and psychosocial help they gave their elderly mothers (imagined helping activities in a predefined situation among the nursing students). Subjects also rated their mother's degree of caring and overprotection in childhood, their own trait anxiety, and various characteristics of their helping interactions. A high degree of motherly caring and a low degree of motherly overprotection in childhood covaried with a lower level of trait anxiety in the adult daughters. These conditions, in turn, covaried with mutual friendliness during the helping interactions. All these conditions covaried with high‐quality psychosocial support. The quality of practical help and physical caring covaried with friendliness during the helping interactions only.
Reply to Bengt Westerberg: the pursuit of a drug‐free society
Authors: Gould A.
Published: April 2007

Bengt Westerberg missed the point in his critique of “Pollution rituals in Sweden: pursuit of a drug‐free society”. The effectiveness of Sweden's restrictive line was not the issue. Moreover, Westerberg's defence of Swedish policy was highly selective in its use of statistics. Other statistics cast some doubt on his case. His reply also failed to mention that the opposition to some aspects of the restrictive line had included his own party and other political parties. The main point of my original article was ignored – the argument that it is unjust and illiberal to sentence an individual to prison for self‐harm. It is also illiberal to argue that the end of a drug‐free society is justified by means that encroach on basic human rights.
The social role of alcohol in Russian culture
Authors: Sidorov P. , Sidorov Pavel
Published: April 2007

The year 1995 marks the tenth anniversary of the beginning of perestroika in Russia. The country has paid with its health for all the social, economic and political reforms. The chronic state of social stress, which is already in its tenth year, has led to a sharp growth in alcoholism and drug addiction, an increasing prevalence of neurosis and psychosomatic diseases and an increase in the death rate and decrease in the birth rate. This is the degeneration of the Russian nation. Alcohol stimulates and alcoholism indicates the process of self‐destruction of the population. Unfortunately, there are no accurate statistics on alcohol consumption and problems in Russia today, as there is no state monopoly on alcohol production and sale and no common drug treatment service for the whole country. According to generalized estimates from epidemiological investigations, the average prevalence of alcoholism is 200–250 per 1000 adults, but this differs significantly in different professional groups: 10% of the workers in the nuclear energy industry suffer from alcoholism, 35% of the sailors, 22% of the workers in the machine‐tool industry and 42% of the people working in the woodworking industry. There is one woman alcoholic for each 5 men. On average, only 1 of every 7 alcoholics seeks medical and social aid. The main cause of alcoholism is alcoholism itself ‐its uncontrolled and expanding reproduction. The investigation of alcoholism is being intensively removed from the clinical to the social sphere. It can be explained by understanding the role of social and psychological factors in the origin and development of alcoholism and the harsh socio‐economic consequences and moral damage. The appearance of a new class of specialists ‐ social workers ‐ in Russia in 1991 was predetermined by these factors. The main objective of social workers is to fight social diseases and alcoholism in particular as the most terrible social disease of the Russian Federation. The history and place of alcohol in modern Russian culture, the stages and forms of the development of alcoholism and its ethnocultural peculiarities in different social strata of the population are described in this article. The reasons for and consequences of alcoholism are systematized, and the principles and directions of the activity of the social services in dealing with the treatment of alcoholism and rehabilitation of the diseased are defined.
Confusion behind the dikes
Authors: Visser W. , Visser Wessel
Published: April 2007

Twenty years ago Dutch society was hit by a serious rise of unemployment that put the Dutch welfare state to the test: Should the welfare state be able to preserve full employment and prevent unemployment from becoming high and chronic as in the 1930s? And should the welfare state be able to prevent mass poverty as in the 1930s? The answers are well known. The ‘Dutch welfare state has not been able to forestall persistent high unemployment and, in fact, has more or less produced a dual society (Zweidrit‐telgesellschaft, sociéte à deux vitesses), although without producing mass poverty. This article goes into three issues related to these developments. A bird's‐eye view is presented of the unemployment trajectory of the 1970s, 1980s and the first half of the 1990s. The position of the Netherlands relative to other countries in Europe is unfolded. Some issues concerning the effects of chronic unemployment on the functioning of the Dutch political economy are presented.
“They think I'm stupid, but I just don't HEAR!”
Authors: Takala M. , Takala M.
Published: April 2007

Ninety‐eight stories about being hard‐of‐hearing in Finnish society, written by hard‐of‐hearing adults, were analysed. The writers were satisfied with personal equipment received from society, but public places lacked, for example, tele‐loops. Also many officers were unable to communicate with hard‐of‐hearing people. Contacts with other people were limited, people started to isolate because communication in big groups and noisy situations was difficult. Older people, who were able to choose how to spend their time, seemed to be more satisfied than those who had to manage at work with their impaired hearing. Six types of stories are presented here: stories written by 1) young and 2) old people, 3) by male and 4) female writers and 5) positive and 6) negative stories. Also a common theme, communication, is presented in detail. The descriptive approach used in this study forms an entirety with a questionnaire research.
Factual accounting in the discourse on homelessness
Authors: Juhila K.
Published: April 2007

Discussions about homelessness can be approached as action that constructs social reality. From this point of view, an important finding in the analysis of interviews with four leading politicians is the number of rhetorical devices the speakers use in factual accounting: to make the state of affairs and events around homelessness appear as obvious facts, a reflection of reality. Five strategies of factual accounting are identified in this article: the witness strategy (the speaker has seen or heard the facts him‐ or herself), no alternatives strategy (“this is the only way to act”), the quantification strategy (warranting by means of figures and/or nonnumerical quantification), the social norms strategy (appealing to consensually accepted issues) and the expertise strategy (appealing to specialized knowledge). These strategies are used by the speakers to warrant the truth of facts that in many ways are more than likely to contribute to homelessness. Above all, they create an image of a static housing problem for which there is no remedy. It is, however, possible to alter this static picture if we start from the assumption that there are two sides to every issue. It is possible to argue against facts offered as true; the housing problem may not be so static after all, and solving it may not be so hopeless.
Work or welfare – a dilemma in the declining Swedish welfare state
Authors: Berglind H. , Gullberg A. , Elofsson S.
Published: April 2007

The number of welfare recipients among people of working age increased from 1985 to 1992 in Sweden. Unexpectedly, this increase also took place under the economic boom during the late 1980s, characterized by very low unemployment. This is shown in a study of a 10% representative sample of the Swedish population. Not only has the number of welfare recipients increased, there has been a parallel increase in the relative number of people who are gainfully employed. This trend prevails until 1991, when the employment rates start going down. Until then, the development is characterized by growing polarization (bifurcation) into those who depend on work for their subsistence and those who depend on transfer payments from the welfare system. The development of welfare dependence has been different for men and women. The reasons for this development are discussed. Data about the increasing cost of social security are also presented, showing that the welfare system has not been in any immediate economic crisis from 1985 to 1993.
A classification of social assistance recipients in Norway
Authors: Clausen S.‐E.
Published: April 2007

A classification of social assistance recipients was undertaken using data from a nationwide survey of 1212 clients aged from 18 to 50 years. The findings revealed 4 distinct types of clients: the ill, the deviants, the dependents and the indebted. The ill are composed mainly of unmarried and divorced mothers. More than 50% report poor health and almost 90% have either anxiety or depressive disorders. More than 80% have used sedatives during the last 6 months. The deviants are almost exclusively men, and 3 of 4 are unmarried. They report high levels of drug use, and 80% have been convicted. The dependents are mainly women (62%) and report both the longest time as unemployed and as social assistance recipients. This group also includes many unmarried or divorced women. The men are usually unmarried. The indebted are people characterized by high housing debts. Almost all own a dwelling, and 85% own a car. The group is evenly split by gender. Two thirds of the men are married, and the majority of the women are divorced.
Is home care a realistic alternative to residential care among institutionalized elderly people in Finland?
Authors: Noro A. , Aro S.
Published: April 2007

The high rate of institutionalization among elderly people in Finland is widely discussed among policy‐makers. We studied how realistic the wishes for deinstitutionalization are among the least sick elderly people in residential care, and what patient characteristics predict whether residential care is appropriate. This issue was assessed by the residential home personnel. Personnel assessment of institutional care as appropriate was mainly explained by patients' needing help with medication, limitations in activities of daily living, absence of own home to return to, no living children, incontinence, and poor vision. Discharging elderly people from long‐term residential care back to society is limited by factors such as inadequate housing and shortage of domiciliary and rehabilitative services, as well as by attitudes among the institutionalized elderly people themselves. It seems more realistic to prevent the inappropriate institutionalization of elderly people than to discharge the small numbers of fairly independent individuals already in residential homes.
War‐wounded refugees: labor market integration after two years in Sweden
Authors: Hermansson A.‐C. , Timpka T.
Published: April 2007

This study investigated labor market integration in a group of war‐wounded refugees after two years in Sweden. The study group consisted of 54 war‐wounded asylum applicants (n=25) and quota refugees (n=29) who arrived in Sweden in the late 1980s. They were consecutively investigated during hospitalization, shortly after arrival, and followed up two years later. After two years, 24% were at work or were occupied in vocational training courses. The degree of disability was not related to labor market integration. Length of time spent in the municipality was directly associated with labor market integration. Present well‐being, Swedish language skill and education were factors related to integration. However, these factors differed in their relation to labor market integration when the length of time spent in the municipality was considered. With respect to the first two years in Sweden, the war‐wounded group seemed to follow well an ideal labor market integration process for refugees. A short wait for a municipality to reside in and a careful introduction into the municipality might have been available for this group more than for other refugees.
Stress experienced by informal caregivers On conflicting demands in everyday life
Authors: Johansson S. , Åhlfeldt J.
Published: April 2007

Stress was defined as a conflict experienced between contradictory demands on the disposition of time and space in the life situation of caregivers. The following questions were asked: are there any family or gender related patterns to be found in the individual expressions of stress experiences? How can differences in stress experiences be explained in terms of work load, sociocultural demands related to gender and family relations, or lack of control in everyday life? What are the effects of a well developed welfare system? What are the differences between a rural and an urban setting and how do different life modes influence sociocultural demands and individual decision latitudes, creating and limiting different contributions of care? How are cultural characteristics reflected in stress experiences? The sample consists of 99 care recipients, all in intense formal care, and the person identified by the care recipient as the person in the informal network who contributed most or took most responsibility in caregiving. Stress experience among main helpers is related to area of living, main helper's gender, kin relation to the care recipient and lack of a shared responsibility within the informal network. Obtaining support in the caring situation reduces the instrumental demands and also the experience of stress. Women in urban areas had less caring commitments in the informal network but also experienced more stress. Help from public home services, however, was not found to reduce the instrumental demands and experiences of stress in all situations.
Institutionalized strategies in face‐to‐face encounters — rehabilitation workers and clients in a social insurance office
Authors: Jonsson T. B.
Published: April 2007

This article presents a decision‐making model that gives a structure to institutionalized strategies used by rehabilitation workers in the face‐to‐face encounters with clients at a social insurance office. The model is developed from my 24 observations of encounters between rehabilitation workers and long‐term sick people, and my conversations with the rehabilitation workers about their impressions of these very encounters. The strategies are tightly connected to the rehabilitation workers' efforts to convey the working‐track principle. Two different main strategies have been identified. The reinforcement strategy is used when a client seems to consent to the working‐track principle, and the motivating strategy is used when a client does not seem to consent. When the motivating strategy is used some dilemmas of the role of the rehabilitation workers are actualized. The dilemmas concern a tension between, on the one hand, what the rehabilitation workers are supposed to be doing (care‐advocate or administer) and, on the other hand, how they are doing it (flexibly or strictly). Acting within the discrepancy of the role, the rehabilitation workers try to solve the dilemmas. Four different ideal‐typical strategies have been identified: the caring professional strategy, the caring amateur strategy, the bureaucratic administrator strategy and the coordinator strategy. All of these acting strategies are represented in the observed encounters. Further studies are needed in order to make statements on the representativeness of each strategy.
Welfare policies for older people in transition? Emerging trends and comparative perspectives
Authors: Daatland S. O.
Published: April 2007

The article examines how the three Scandinavian countries are responding to the seemingly growing gap between demands and resources. Various strategies and approaches are identified and evaluated, and their relevance and potential are discussed in a comparative context across time and between countries. What about the recent changes in the Scandinavian welfare policies on aging? Do they merely represent minor adaptations in order to protect and sustain “the Scandinavian model”, or are they early signs of major changes in progress?
Financial hardship during unemployment in Norway: the impact of public and private income support
Authors: Halvorsen K.
Published: April 2007

It is common to assume that long‐term unemployment no longer causes financial hardship because of generous welfare benefits. It is further assumed that unemployment benefits have eroded the traditional role of the family in protecting its members against hazards. This panel study of long‐term unemployed people in 1991‐1992 demonstrates the inadequacy of unemployment benefits and the importance of family support in reducing the risk of financial hardship. Vulnerable household types, such as single people and families with limited economic resources, at the outset seem unable to bear the personal risk of unemployment that is built into the benefit scheme. Persons disadvantaged at the outset risk a downward spiral because of long‐term unemployment. Especially during times of high unemployment, the compensation level is not optimal from a welfare point of view. Greater coverage and more generous unemployment benefits may help unemployed people to cope better financially and thus avoid applying for discretionary and highly stigmatized social assistance allowance.
Alcohol prevention in the workplace: theoretical framework and methodological aspects
Authors: Ahlberg K. , Allebeck P. , Leissner T.
Published: April 2007

The purpose of this paper is to clarify a theoretical framework that has guided us in our research on programs for alcohol and primary prevention in the workplace and to discuss general methodological questions and present some experiences from an ongoing study. The framework is related to general theories about risk factors at work and different perspectives on work environment and health. The methodological questions discussed are an ideal research strategy, some design aspects, and measures of outcome. An empirical study was carried out in Sweden during 1995 to 1997. Four companies representing chemical and manufacturing industries have been studied regarding the implementation of a primary prevention program, and managers, middle managers and workers have been interviewed. We analyze the experiences obtained in planning and carrying out research at workplaces. It is of vital importance to obtain positive feedback from middle managers and trade unions in the implementation of primary prevention programs.
Daycare for elderly people in Sweden: a national survey
Authors: Samuelsson L. , Malmberg B. , Hansson J.‐H.
Published: April 2007

This study describes the current provision of daycare for elderly people in Sweden. Daycare offers an interesting and relatively unknown field for investigation. It is necessary to provide a comprehensive picture of the provision of daycare, i.e. number of daycare centres, personnel and economic resources. In spring 1995 a survey was carried out in a representative sample of 70 Swedish municipalities. A questionnaire was sent to all 376 identified daycare centres in the participating municipalities and 312 responded. The results show that daycare may be categorized into two main groups and five types, according to the aims, locations and activities offered at the centre. Converting the findings from the survey into national estimates, there are approximately 1500 daycare units serving about 45,000 pensioners on a regular basis, at an annual cost of 500 million SEK.
Formulating the Matthew Principle: on the role of the middle classes in the welfare state
Authors: Gal J.
Published: April 2007

The Matthew Principle, which formulates the role of the middle classes in the welfare state, is discussed in this article. The middle classes are described as primary beneficiaries of the welfare state. This status is achieved through the ability of this social group to influence the policy‐formulating process by way of six different channels of influence. It is also facilitated due to the impact of middle‐class clients upon the implementation stage of social policy. A case study of employment policy in Israel illustrates the workings of different aspects of the Matthew Principle.
Dyslexics and normal beginning readers read by different strategies: a comparison of strategy distributions in dyslexic and normal readers1
Authors: Elbro Carsten
Published: April 2007

Research on subtypes of developmental dyslexia often implies that dyslexics fall into discrete groups with different reading strategies and underlying deficits. Recently this assumption has been questioned (Stanovich 1989). However, the distributions of reading strategies in groups of dyslexic and normal readers have never been compared. With this aim, the present study compared the individual reading strategies in a group of 26 severely impaired developmental dyslexics with strategies in a reading‐level‐matched group of 26 younger, normal readers. It was found that reading skills and strategies were distributed over a continuum in both groups. The dyslexic subjects were specifically impaired in phonological processing, however, and half of them read by means of more whole‐word oriented strategies than any of the normal controls. These findings contest current subtype theory and clinical practice (e.g. Boder & Jarrico 1982).
Language maintenance and language shift: preservation versus extinction
Authors: Trudgill Peter
Published: April 2007

Languages are dying out, without being replaced, at an increasingly catastrophic rate. Languages are being lost as a result of language shift and language murder. Already the most populous 100 languages of the world account for 95% of the world's population. There are good reasons for linguists to publicise this loss of linguistic diversity and to attempt to stem the tide as much as they are able. For example, linguists should be prepared to argue publicly that barriers to communication can be a good thing, that bilingualism is normal, and that all languages are complex and adequate systems of communication.
Towards a dynamic model of acquisition of second language phonology
Authors: Puppel Stanislaw , Marton Waldemar
Published: April 2007

In this paper, we attempt to outline a hierarchical model of acquisition of second language phonology. This is done within strict linguistic parameters. In our opinion, language use involves not only the scrutinization of contexts and evocation of appropriate rules, but also a more global process of referring to the speaker's model of language. Furthermore, we hypothesize that learning the phonology of a second language is accomplished in a contact situation in which a conflict emerges between the native and target phonologies. The contact framework is a dynamic one in the sense that the learner has to carry out a number of operations, such as a selection and synthesis of segments and features and a matching procedure. In more formal settings, the “rehearsal” needs to be reinforced by pedagogical interventions. These help the learner to build a target phonological system with a satisfactory degree of confidence.
Cultural interference in second language reading
Authors: Kang Hee‐Won
Published: April 2007

This study investigated the effects of culture‐specific background knowledge and inferences upon second‐language readers’comprehension of text. Ten Korean adult second‐language readers were asked to think aloud as they read a short story from another culture and then answer a detailed set of post‐reading questions. A qualitative analysis was done on the subjects’verbal report protocols and post‐reading answers to obtain data on the inferences generated, the knowledge structures underlying these inferences, and the effect of activated background knowledge and inferences upon comprehension of a second language text. The results indicate that the activation and generation of culture‐specific schemata and inferences at times significantly affected subjects’comprehension of text. The study provides a picture into how such effects developed as these readers continually constructed, evaluated, and revised their models of the text. The results also indicates that negative effects of culture‐specific schemata on the subjects’interpretation of text could be mitigated or exacerbated by utilization of certain strategies.
Pronouns, gender and sex in Norwegian
Authors: Venås Kjell
Published: April 2007

In Norwegian, the third‐person singular pronoun is specified for gender, the masculine variant han being used for males and the feminine variant ho or hun for females. Han was traditionally used generically and sex‐indefinitely. For ideological reasons, this usage has been opposed in recent years. At first, the Norwegian Language Council introduced a set of new guidelines for avoiding the use of generic and sex‐indefinite han in school textbooks. After having second thoughts, the Council decided that the feminine pronoun should be accepted in these contexts, even if such a usage is at variance with the linguistic rules and at the same time introduces a new pattern of discrimination. The stages in the development of the policy are sketched out and new information presented about usage in generic and sex‐indefinite contexts today. On the basis of this information, a comparison is made between the usage in textbooks and in various other kinds of literature. A possible scenario for the future is discussed in the conclusion.
Writing scientific English: overcoming intercultural problems
Authors: Ventola Eija
Published: April 2007

“Publish in English or perish!” has become a slogan frequently heard in non‐English‐speaking academic contexts all over the world. For many nations, proficiency in spoken and written English has become a must. But achieving such proficiency involves problems and hard work. This paper discusses some of the intercultural problems of writing academic English in a non‐English context, namely in Finland. A further issue addressed in this paper is the training of language teachers to teach writing courses in academic English in such a context. It is argued that before such courses are designed for academic non‐native writers and for teachers of such writers, it is essential to conduct textlinguistic research into the cultural and linguistic differences in writing practices which exist between the source and target languages. As will be shown, such textlinguistic research gives us vital information on cohesion and coherence problems that non‐native writers of English have in areas such as thematic patternings, reference and connectors. The results show that for linguists, as well as for teachers and writers, textlinguistics offers convenient tools for analysing, understanding, and correcting intercultural linguistic problems in writing. Furthermore, the results of the analyses feed directly into the design of academic writing courses in English for non‐native writers and into the training of teachers for such courses.