Making EU citizens’ rights a reality: national courts enforcing freedom of movement and related rights

Dokumenty Evropského dokumentačního střediskaLuxembour

Gender identity assessment with trans individuals – findings of a systematic literature review of assessment instruments and ethical considerations

Purpose In several Western legislations, trans individuals must frequently undergo some form of gender identity assessment, for example, to receive legal recognition of their gender or to access therapeutic interventions. Thus, a standardised and empirically supported assessment approach becomes necessary. The purpose of this paper is to critically reflect on the current international guidelines for assessments by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, which will be compared to standards in secure forensic settings, illustrated by British prison policies. Design/methodology/approach Findings of a systematic literature review following preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis standards are presented, summarising the current state of research pertaining to gender identity assessment instruments. Studies were included, when they presented empirical details pertaining to assessment approaches and passed the quality appraisal, but were excluded when they did not use a trans sample or presented clinical assessments not linked to gender identity. Findings A total of 21 included English articles, which mostly have been published in the USA in the past 20 years, propose ten different assessment approaches. Most of the studies support the use of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2, the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, Body Image Scale for Transsexuals and the Gender Identity/Gender Dysphoria Questionnaire for Adolescents and Adults. The instruments are briefly summarised. Practical implications It becomes apparent that this field is severely understudied and that there is no consensus regarding the best assessment approach. Hence, any recommendations are only preliminary and are contextualised with further ethical considerations and suggestions for future research. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first systematic literature review pertaining to the (semi-)structured assessment of gender identity

HRM and the case of transgender workers: a complex landscape of limited HRM ‘know how’ with some pockets of good practice

Purpose: HRM departments report a lack of knowledge on supporting transgender employees during gender transition in the workplace. The purpose of this research is to survey the experiences of transgender workers in English, French and German speaking countries to evaluate their experience of transitioning at work and the HRM support they received to do so. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire consisting of 32 quantitative items and qualitative text boxes was completed by 166 transgender individuals. Findings: Results show a mostly negative landscape with some pockets of good practice. Research limitations/implications: Answers are based on self-report measures and data is cross-sectional. Practical implications: Recommendations for good practice are proposed for HRM departments. Social implications: A move towards a more inclusive workplace. Originality/value: Questions focus on HRM practices specifically while other surveys have assessed work practices more broadly

Claims to a nation, dressing the part and other boundary making strategies by skilled migrants in response to ethnic categorization

This article is about self-defined social identities, other people's perceptions of us and the potentially conflictual relationship between these two. Building on a Barthian focus on group boundaries, the article takes the interplay between external categorizations and internal group definitions as its point of departure to examine how individuals negotiate the boundaries of their social identities. Based on a case study of skilled migrants with racialized ethnicities in Finland, I look at how they express their self-defined identity as well-to-do, skilled professionals in the face of contradicting categorizations of them as unskilled , lower-class migrant subjects. I identify two types of complementary approaches employed by the skilled migrants in boundary making strategies to their identity negotiations: those de-emphasizing ethnicity (or its importance), and those emphasizing class status. These approaches are two sides of the same coin; coming from different perspectives, they both aim at a more positively viewed identity, and for individuals to be seen as well-to-do, educated, working professionals, rather than as ethnic migrant subjects. As such, the article also highlights the interconnection of class and ethnicity for the social identities of skilled migrants in Finland.This article is about self-defined social identities, other people’s perceptions of us and the potentially conflictual relationship between these two. Building on a Barthian focus on group boundaries, the article takes the interplay between external categorizations and internal group definitions as its point of departure to examine how individuals negotiate the boundaries of their social identities. Based on a case study of skilled migrants with racialized ethnicities in Finland, I look at how they express their self-defined identity as well-to-do, skilled professionals in the face of contradicting categorizations of them as un-skilled, lower-class migrant subjects. I identify two types of complementary approaches employed by the skilled migrants in boundary making strategies to their identity negotiations: those de-emphasizing ethnicity (or its importance), and those emphasizing class status. These approaches are two sides of the same coin; coming from different perspectives, they both aim at a more positively viewed identity, and for individuals to be seen as well-to-do, educated, working professionals, rather than as ethnic migrant subjects. As such, the article also highlights the interconnection of class and ethnicity for the social identities of skilled migrants in Finland.Peer reviewe

Do early interventions prevent PTSD? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the safety and efficacy of early interventions after sexual assault

Objective: To review the safety and efficacy of early interventions after sexual assault in reducing or preventing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Method: Systematic searches were performed on studies (1980–2018) that examined the efficacy of interventions for PTSD within 3 months after sexual assault. Results: The review identified 7 studies (n = 350) with high risk of bias that investigated 5 interventions. Only two studies reported on safety. Contact with the authors of six studies provided no indications for the occurrence of adverse events. Two studies reported the efficacy using PTSD diagnosis as dependent variable but found no difference between groups. All studies reported on efficacy using PTSD severity as dependent variable. For the meta-analysis, 4 studies (n = 293) were included yielding significantly greater reductions of PTSD severity than standard care at 2 to 12 months follow-up (g = −0.23, 95% CI [−0.46, 0.00]), but not at 1 to 6 weeks post-intervention (g = −0.28, 95% CI [−0.57, 0.02]). The heterogeneity of the interventions precluded further analyses. Discussion: Findings suggest that early interventions can lead to durable effects on PTSD severity after sexual assault. However, due to limited availability of data, it is impossible to draw definite conclusions about safety and efficacy of early interventions, and their potential to prevent PTSD

The mobilising and protective role of national identification on normative and non-normative collective action

In the context of the financial crisis in Europe and drawing on social identity and perceived disadvantage literature, this research explored national identification, perceived prejudice, perceived ostracism, and anger as predictors of intentions to engage in normative collective action and support for non-normative, destructive action. Correlational data were collected in Greece (N = 218), Portugal (N = 312) and Italy (N = 211) during the financial crisis that affected several European countries in the early 2010’s. Hierarchical regressions showed that national identification, above and beyond all other variables, positively predicted normative collective action, and negatively predicted support for non-normative action. That is, people who identified more strongly with their national identity were more likely to report that they will engage in collective action to enhance the position of their ingroup, and less likely to support destructive collective action. Mediation analyses revealed that in the case of Portugal and Italy, national identification associated negatively with anger, while anger positively predicted normative collective action. The findings of this research point to the importance of national identification as a factor that, on the one hand, motivates people’s mobilisation toward supporting the rights of the ingroup but on the other hand, impedes the more negative, destructive side of collective action. The contextual and instrumental role of national identity in contexts of threat is discussed

How can SMEs benefit from big data? Challenges and a path forward

Big data is big news, and large companies in all sectors are making significant advances in their customer relations, product selection and development and consequent profitability through using this valuable commodity. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have proved themselves to be slow adopters of the new technology of big data analytics and are in danger of being left behind. In Europe, SMEs are a vital part of the economy, and the challenges they encounter need to be addressed as a matter of urgency. This paper identifies barriers to SME uptake of big data analytics and recognises their complex challenge to all stakeholders, including national and international policy makers, IT, business management and data science communities. The paper proposes a big data maturity model for SMEs as a first step towards an SME roadmap to data analytics. It considers the ‘state-of-the-art’ of IT with respect to usability and usefulness for SMEs and discusses how SMEs can overcome the barriers preventing them from adopting existing solutions. The paper then considers management perspectives and the role of maturity models in enhancing and structuring the adoption of data analytics in an organisation. The history of total quality management is reviewed to inform the core aspects of implanting a new paradigm. The paper concludes with recommendations to help SMEs develop their big data capability and enable them to continue as the engines of European industrial and business success. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft