Environment and participation of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: a multi-perspective study

The influence of a person’s environment and its modifying potential on participation (at home, at school or in the community) is well recognized for most childhood disabilities, but scarcely studied for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The aim of this dissertation was to deepen the understanding of the role of environment on the participation of adolescents with ASD. Within a mixed method methodology, five consecutive studies were conducted. The empirical parts were performed in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Results highlight the importance of the parental and family environment and adolescents’ need for company during participation. They further point to the special role that information and knowledge play for adolescents with ASD, the effect of physical aspects of the environment, and adolescents’ need for motivation and nudges to connect and engage socially. Combatting negative attitudes is another important characteristic of an engaged, active, and supportive environment. The main role of environments is to make adolescents feel secure and help them to connect

Creative freedom in the digital age

This thesis is particularly concerned with everyday creativity as a social practice that is taking place within the digital environment. Web 2.0 made it much easier for laypersons to produce and publish digital content and to participate in online communities. Through participation community members can acquire domain-relevant knowledge as well as develop their digital competency. In some areas, online communities of highly motivated amateurs (Pro-Ams) work to professional standards and even achieve better results than their professional colleagues. Open Source software projects or Wikis are among areas that rely on committed amateurs and the strength of a community. The empirical stage of the research comprises two studies that aim to investigate the role of ICT and the Internet in everyday creative activities and how the use of digital tools for creativity can be facilitated and improved. An exploratory online survey revealed that the majority of participants are involved in everyday creative activities many of which are performed with the use of digital tools. However, the lack of digital competency and skills has been proved to be among the main barriers to using software tools for everyday creativity and participation in the digital environment. Taking into account the survey data that revealed digital photo-editing and manipulation to be the most popular creative activity among participants, a powerful, free, image-editing program - the GIMP - was chosen for the experiment. A group of people with no professional knowledge of using image editing programs participated in a single-day workshop where they learned how to do basic image processing with a free software editor, the GIMP. Data collection methods involved questionnaires, observation and follow-up telephone interviews. The GIMP tutorial and practice session proved to be successful in engaging non-professionals in image manipulation with the GIMP and facilitating further use and learning through individual effort

Communities in new media. Inclusive digital: Forming community in an open way. Self-determined participation in the digital transformation. Proceedings of 26th conference GeNeMe

Die jährliche Konferenz GeNeMe „Gemeinschaften in Neuen Medien“ diskutiert insbesondere Online Communities aus integraler Sicht auf mehrere Fachdisziplinen wie Informatik, Medientechnologie, Wirtschaftswissenschaft, Bildungs- und Informationswissenschaft, sowie Sozial- und Kommunikationswissenschaft. Als Forum für einen transdisziplinären Dialog ermöglicht die GeNeMe den Erfahrungs- und Wissensaustausch zwischen Teilnehmenden verschiedenster Fachrichtungen, Organisationen und Institutionen mit dem Fokus sowohl auf Forschung als auch Praxis. Die GeNeMe 2023 öffnete sich insbesondere der Diskussion von Fragen rund um Inklusion und Teilhabe im Rahmen digitaler Formate und Innovationen. Dabei wurden unter anderem folgende Fragen reflektiert: Wie kann Inklusion durch Digitalisierung umgesetzt werden und welche Möglichkeiten zeichnen sich dafür ab? Wie kann Teilhabe an und durch Digitalisierung gelingen? Wie steht es um Architekturen und professionelle Skills im Kontext spezifischer Zielgruppen? (DIPF/Orig.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Trust Signals in the eHealth Sector: A Multi-Stakeholder Approach

The Internet gives patients the opportunity to be better informed, have ownership over their data, and, therefore, be empowered in the medical decision-making process. All of these new forms of patient empowerment through eHealth, however, require the patients’ trust in online service. Existing literature provides a solid foundation regarding the development of trust in social encounters. What is more, the understanding of trust related to more general online services, such as e-commerce is advanced, too. Regarding eHealth in particular, however, there are substantial gaps in the literature. What is more, all existing studies have one pitfall in common. None of them investigates trust as a reciprocal, evolving system that is based on recurring interactions between trustee and truster. Studies either focus on the individual view of the trustee or the truster but fail to analyse the potential dynamics of a trust signal and its evolution. This led me to research questions that aim to identify trust-evoking factors specific to eHealth, on the one hand, and develop an understanding of the evolution and sustainability of communication between trustee and truster. I applied a mixed-methods approach in order to answer my research questions. This allowed me to use qualitative methods to explore a variety of trust antecedents that are unique to eHealth, develop hypotheses, and then test the derived hypotheses through a quantitative study. One surprising insight of this study is that the risk perception of the overall service offer can determine the level of trust in a service even before entering the website. Risk perception proved to be a more crucial indicator of perceived trustworthiness than presence of trust signals on the website. This allows the conclusion that both researchers and policy makers should differentiate between high-risk and low-risk eHealth services instead of approaching all services under the unifying umbrella of eHealth. Another key finding is that users judge the trustworthiness of eHealth websites depending on their “fit”. For eHealth providers that means that in order to increase trust in their service they need to mimic the offline experience as much as possible

Navigating work 4.0 : the intricacies of digital work, job outcomes and individual differences by examples of Baden-Wuerttembergs public administration

This dissertation, rooted in the VerDi project (digitalization of administration, German: VerwaltungsDigitalisierung), explores the broader impact of digitalization on administrative action in Baden-Wuerttembergs public administration. Adopting an interdisciplinary, individual-centric approach, it divides into two areas across seven manuscripts: 1) digital work (manuscripts 1-4) and 2) individual differences linked to digital work (manuscripts 5-7). The study introduces an original conceptual framework and the Digital Administrative Work (DiVa) questionnaire, designed to measure digital technology use. DiVa undergoes rigorous statistical refinement. From a multi-stakeholder perspective, the research offers an understanding of Good Administration essential for evaluating performance. The Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model is adapted to align with modern digital administrative action. Beyond VerDi, the dissertation delves into individual differences (Integrative Digital Agency (IDA)), enhancing job engagement and commitment. The IDA model underscores individual digital competence and affinity. The role of IDA in personnel development and selection is examined, spotlighting strategies to enhance digital skills. Employing a multifaceted methodological approach and robust statistical techniques, the dissertation stands as a notable contribution to behavioral public administration, emphasizing thorough, individual-centric interdisciplinary researchs relevance to both public and corporate sectors.Die vorliegende Dissertation, verfasst im Rahmen des Projekts VerDi (VerwaltungsDigitalisierung), untersucht die Auswirkungen der Digitalisierung auf das Verwaltungshandeln in der baden-württembergischen Verwaltung. Mit einem interdisziplinären, personenzentrierten Ansatz gliedert sie sich in zwei Bereiche, die sich auf sieben Manuskripte verteilen: 1) digitale Arbeit (Manuskripte 1-4) und 2) individuelle Unterschiede im Zusammenhang mit digitaler Arbeit (Manuskripte 5-7). Die Dissertation enthält ein konzeptionellen Rahmenmodell und korrespondierenden Fragebogen zur digitalen Verwaltungsarbeit (DiVa), mit dem die Nutzung digitaler Technologien gemessen werden kann. DiVa wird einer rigorosen statistischen Überprüfung unterzogen. Aus der Multi-Stakeholder-Perspektive bietet die Forschung ein Verständnis von guter Verwaltung, das für die Bewertung von Leistung wesentlich ist. Das Job Demands-Resources (JD-R)-Modell wird an das moderne digitale Verwaltungshandeln angepasst. Über VerDi hinaus befasst sich die Dissertation mit individuellen Unterschieden (Integrative Digital Agency (IDA)), um Engagement und Leistungsbereitschaft zu fördern. Das IDA-Modell unterstreicht die individuelle digitale Kompetenz und Affinität. Die Rolle von IDA in der Personalentwicklung und -Auswahl wird untersucht und Strategien zur Förderung digitaler Kompetenzen aufgezeigt. Die Dissertation, die einen vielschichtigen methodischen Ansatz und robuste statistische Techniken verwendet, stellt einen bedeutenden Beitrag zur behavioristischen öffentlichen Verwaltung dar und unterstreicht die Relevanz einer gründlichen, individuums-zentrierten interdisziplinären Forschung sowohl für den öffentlichen als auch den privaten Sektor

Participation of people experiencing disabilities in organized sports

Policy initiatives like the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Switzerland ratified in 2014, demand the full and equal participation of people experiencing disabilities in mainstream and disability-specific sports activities. Organized sports are thought to promote the participation of people experiencing disabilities, as it can provide a platform for creating social networks. However, people experiencing disabilities show lower participation rates in organized sports than the general population. Moreover, they often practice in separate disability training groups and sports clubs because they face social exclusion from integrative/inclusive mainstream sports. A systematic literature review (manuscript 1) of recent research on social participation of people experiencing disabilities in organized sports in separate settings (i.e., only with other people experiencing disabilities) and integrative/inclusive settings (i.e., alongside people experiencing and not experiencing disabilities) shows that organized sports can support but also hinder social participation of people experiencing disabilities. These ambiguous findings imply that social participation strongly relies on specific factors and conditions at the individual level, organizational level of training groups and sports clubs, and at the environmental level. Therefore, this doctoral thesis aims to provide insights into the degree of social integration of sports club members experiencing disabilities and compares it to that of members without disabilities. First, we conducted a quantitative study (manuscript 2) on data from 13,098 members in 642 sports clubs across ten European countries (1,482 study participants experiencing at least one disability). Second, for a qualitative study (manuscript 3) 16 training groups in Switzerland where people experiencing disabilities participate were selected. Out of the 16 training groups, 3 integrative/inclusive training groups were selected for an in-depth multiple case study. Non-participant observations and semi-structured interviews with coaches and participants were analyzed thematically. In manuscripts 2 and 3, social integration is defined as a multidimensional concept that focuses on socio-cultural (culturation) and socio-affective (interaction, identification) dimensions as well as the additional dimension of placement in manuscript 3. The findings of manuscripts 2 and 3 show that members experiencing disabilities are to the same extent socially integrated as members without disabilities, except those experiencing certain disability types. Especially relevant factors for social integration of members experiencing disabilities on the individual level are affiliation with and participation in a club (volunteering, participation in competitive sport, long-term membership, frequency of sports participation, team/group size). In manuscript 2, higher education level is among the relevant factors that facilitate understanding/acceptance of members experiencing disabilities, but it also negatively correlates with identification. Members experiencing social restrictions score lower in interaction and identification. Manuscript 3 shows that members need their own initiative and/or social support for joining a training group. Furthermore, in manuscript 2, we show that participants experiencing disabilities that practice in both settings (separate and integrative/inclusive) are slightly better socially integrated regarding interaction than those practicing in a separate setting only. Overall, this doctoral thesis shows that the degree of social integration seems to rely more on individual than on organizational factors. However, factors on the organizational and environmental levels to compensate for individual disadvantages have to be considered in the future

The Implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: A Longitudinal Study Project by Aktion Mensch Based on the Concluding Observations Reports of 16 Member States

This report summarises the main findings from a study into the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The study set out to answer four questions by investigating 29 concluding observations reports from the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for 16 States Parties, covering 16 reports for the first review process of 2011-2015 and 13 from the second review process of 2019-2023. This investigation included content and thematic analysis, and aimed to grade each report. The research questions were: 1. Are there differences in the grade of implementation of the UNCRPD between the States Parties? 2. Are there differences between the States in the progress/ regress of implementation of the UNCRPD between the two periods? 3. Can States Parties be ranked in terms of the grade or progress of implementation? 4. Is it possible to identify thematic focal points in which the concluding observations reports of certain States Parties differ from those of other States? Concerning the first and third questions, the study has demonstrated that this is possible. However, the final overall grades are remarkably similar in this sample, most likely due to the small sample size of only 13 States Parties at the second report stage. Despite this similarity between overall grades, the individual articles demonstrate considerable variation, enabling respective States Parties to identify areas of weakness where improvements are most needed. In relation to the second research question of whether reports can be compared longitudinally, the answer for this set of reports is no. This is because the sample comprises those States Parties whose initial concluding observations reports were very early in the Committee's monitoring process. All of the States Parties appear to have regressed significantly, whereas in reality the change lies in the Committee’s growing understanding and increasingly deep analysis of the implementation of rights. Regarding the fourth question of whether themes were identifiable within the sample, the answer is yes, with 'intersectional discrimination' and 'deinstitutionalisation' as examples of discernible themes. Where these themes were evident, particularly when the Committee made repeated comments about them, this impacted the grade the State Party received for each article that contained a reference to one of these issues, and it therefore significantly affected the States Parties' overall grades. If States Parties were to eliminate these barriers to the full implementation of article rights, the concerns raised by the Committee would thus be greatly reduced, reflecting an improved implementation of rights and consequently significantly improving the grading in this type of analysis

International Handbook of Health Literacy : Research, practice and policy across the lifespan

Okan O, Bauer U, Levin-Zamir D, Pinheiro P, Sørensen K, eds. International Handbook of Health Literacy : Research, practice and policy across the lifespan. Bristol: Policy Press, University of Bristol; 2019

Racism, xenophobia and ethnic discrimination in Germany 2007

Seit 2001 ist das "europäische forum für migrationsstudien" (efms) von der EU-Agentur "Europäische Stelle zur Beobachtung von Rassismus und Fremdenfeindlichkeit" (EUMC) damit beauftragt, über ethnische Diskriminierung, Fremdenfeindlichkeit und Rassismus in Deutschland zu berichten. Zentrale Themenschwerpunkte des EUMC sind ethnische Diskriminierung und Ungleichbehandlung am Arbeits- und Wohnungsmarkt sowie im Schulsystem, die Entwicklung der nationalen Antidiskriminierungsgesetzgebung, rassistische Straf- und Gewalttaten sowie Antisemitismus und Islamfeindlichkeit. Im vorliegenden Bericht wird das Ausmaß von Rassismus, Fremdenfeindlichkeit und ethnische Diskriminierung in Deutschland im Jahr 2007 ausführlich dargestellt. Neben einem Überblick über die gesetzlichen Grundlagen, insbesondere des im August 2006 in Kraft getretenen Allgemeinen Gleichbehandlungsgesetzes (AGG), werden unter anderem die Strukturen von rassistischer Gewalt und Kriminalität sowie die benachteiligte Position von Ausländern im Bildungssystem, am Arbeits- und Wohnungsmarkt und im Gesundheitswesen dargestellt. (ICI

International Handbook of Health Literacy

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. Health literacy addresses a range of social dimensions of health, including knowledge, navigation and communication, as well as individual and organizational skills for accessing, understanding, evaluating and using information. Particularly over the past decade, health literacy has globally become a major public health concern as an asset for promoting health, wellbeing and sustainable development