The Enterprising Self and Prejudices toward Unemployed Persons

Dieser Artikel baut für die Untersuchung neoliberaler sozialer Ungleichheiten über die Soziale Dominanztheorie und eine Analyse von Verstärkern von Vorurteilen gegenüber arbeitslosen Personen Brücken zwischen soziologischen und sozialpsychologischen Theorietraditionen. Ein konzeptionelles Modell wurde entwickelt, worin mediierende Effekte von Einstellungen entlang des Leitbildes des unternehmerischen Selbst – eine neu entwickelte quantitative Einstellungsmessung die auf gouvernementalitätstheoretisch soziologischen Analysen gegenwärtiger Selbsthilfeliteratur basiert – unter Kontrolle der Protestantischen Arbeitsethik und des subjektiven Statusempfindens empirisch getestet wurden. Die Methode des Conditional Process Modeling ergab eine moderierte Wirkung des unternehmerischen Selbst auf die Abwertung von arbeitslosen Personen, die mit zunehmenden Status stark zunimmt, leicht in der Mittelschicht auftritt und in der (subjektiven) Underclass nicht vorliegt. Dieses Resultat wird in Anknüpfung an die gouvernementalitätstheoretische Literatur diskutiert.This research tries to build bridges between sociological and social psychological theoretical ideas for the study of social inequality in neoliberal societies. It adds to research on social inequality by examining amplifiers of prejudices toward unemployed persons. A conceptual model has been developed which draws upon social dominance theory and governmentality studies. The empirical analyses guided by this model assess the mediating effects of the enterprising self – a newly developed attitude measure based on sociological analyses of contemporary self-help literature – and the Protestant Work Ethic in the relationship between social dominance orientation and prejudices toward unemployed persons, both depending on social status. Conditional process models reveal the phenomenon of ideological asymmetry relevant for the enterprising self, indicating that this neoliberal guiding principle serves as a dominant driving force in reproducing social inequality through mechanisms at the intergroup-level

Verbreitung und Struktur von Arbeitszeitkonten

Arbeitszeitkonten haben sich in den letzten Jahren massiv verbreitet. Mittlerweile verfügen mindestens 37% der abhängig Beschäftigten über Arbeitszeitkonten. In mindestens 60% der Betriebe sind unterschiedliche Formen von Arbeitszeitkonten eingeführt. Sie revolutionieren das Arbeitszeitsystem und ersetzen das bisherige Leitbild der Normalarbeitszeit durch variable Arbeitszeitformen. Kennzeichnend für die Struktur von Arbeitszeitkonten ist eine Balance von Deregulierung und Reregulierung. Arbeitszeitkonten haben, weil sie zu einem Abbau von bezahlten, vor allem von unbezahlten Überstunden führen, beschäftigungsfördernde Effekte. Zugleich scheinen diese Effekte wieder durch Produktivitätssteigerungen, die ebenfalls aus dem Einsatz von Arbeitszeitkonten resultieren, zumindest teilweise kompensiert zu werden. Schließlich nützen Arbeitszeitkonten aus der Sicht der Beschäftigten den Betrieben und den Beschäftigten gleichermaßen.Working time accounts have recently become very common. At least 37 % of the dependently employed now make use of working time accounts. In at least 60 % of firms various forms of working time accounts have been introduced. Consequently, working time systems have been revolutionized; the previous model of standard working time has been replaced by variable forms of working time. Characteristic for the structure of working time accounts is a balance of deregulation and re-regulation. Since usage of this form of working time leads to an elimination of paid and above all unpaid overtime, working time accounts promotes employment. At the same time, such effects seem again to be compensated by increases in productivity which are also the result of using working time accounts. Finally, from the view of employees, working time accounts benefit equally the firm and the worker

Misjudgement of One’s Own Performance? Exploring Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder (ADHD) and Individual Difference in Complex Music and Foreign Language Perception

In previous research, we detected that children and adolescents who were diagnosed with ADHD showed deficits in both complex auditory processing of musical stimuli and in musical performance when compared to controls. In this study, we were interested in whether we could detect similar or distinct findings when we use foreign speech perception tasks. Therefore, we recruited musically naïve participants (n = 25), music-educated participants (n = 25) and participants diagnosed with ADHD (n = 25) who were assessed for their short-term memory (STM) capacity and the ability to discriminate music and speech stimuli and we collected self-ratings of the participants’ music and language performances. As expected, we found that young adults with ADHD show deficits in the perception of complex music and difficult speech perception stimuli. We also found that STM capacity was not impaired in young adults with ADHD and may not persist into young adulthood. In addition, subjective self-estimation about the participants’ language and music performances revealed that the ADHD group overestimated their performance competence relatively compared to both control groups. As a result, the findings of our study suggest that individuals diagnosed with ADHD require a special training program that not only focuses on improving performance in perceptual skills of music and language but also requires metacognitive training to develop realistic self-assessment skills

Social Media und die Bedeutung von Emotionen in autoritär-nationalistischen Radikalisierungsnarrativen

Radikalisierung ist derzeit viel diskutiert (z.B. Daase et al. 2019) und noch zu wenig verstanden. Aus diesem Grund empfiehlt es sich, Radikalisierung möglichst spezifisch zu bestimmen. Radikalisierung wird daher in diesem Beitrag, in Anlehnung an Peter Neumann (2013), als eine fortlaufend stärkere Abkehr von allgemeingültigen sozialen Normen begriffen, hin zu einer sukzessiven Akzeptanz von Gewalt bei der Durchsetzung ideologischer und politischer Ziele. Eine ähnliche Definition bieten Clark McCauley und Sophia Moskalenko (2008, S.416) an: „Radikalisierung ist die Veränderung in den Überzeugungen, Gefühlen und Verhaltensweisen in Richtungen, die Gewalt zwischen Gruppen zunehmend rechtfertigt und zur Verteidigung der eigenen Gruppe Opfer einfordert“. Die relevantesten Merkmale sind demnach der Gruppenbezug, die Akzeptanz von Gewalt zur Durchsetzung von Zielen und die Prozesshaftigkeit in der Abkehr von gültigen Normen. Die Dynamik von Radikalisierungsprozessen ist hierbei nicht durch bestimmte Mechanismen determiniert, sondern weist vielmehr zahlreiche interdependente Dimensionen auf, weshalb Radikalisierung nur interdisziplinär begreifbar ist.[1] Der Fokus unserer Analyse liegt in diesem Zusammenhang auf den emotionalen Dynamiken von Radikalisierungsprozessen und hierbei insbesondere auf der Rolle von Scham und Beschämung. Wir zeigen in dem Beitrag, dass auch im autoritär-nationalradikalen Milieu Gefühle von Scham, Demütigung und Kränkungserfahrungen kollektiv angerufen und politisch verwertet werden. Dies sind ähnliche Muster, wie sie beispielsweise auch Kriner (2018) in seinen Analysen zu islamistischen Narrativen gefunden hat. Die Scham, so unser Fazit, sollte im Mittelpunkt der Analyse von Radikalisierungsnarrativen stehen. Sie entfaltet ihre radikalisierende Wirksamkeit über ihre kollektive Kontrollfunktion in Bezug auf soziale Identitäten und Gruppenkonformität, die ihrerseits maßgeblichen Einfluss auf die Ausbildung von Radikalisierungen innerhalb von extremistischen Online-Affektkulturen haben.   [1] Siehe hierzu auch John Horgan, „From Profiles to Pathways and Roots to Routes: Perspectives from Psychology and Radicalization into Terrorism,” The Annals of the Academy of the Political and Social Sciences 618(2008):80–94; Costanza 2015; Neumann 2017

Musical Performance in Adolescents with ADHD, ADD and Dyslexia—Behavioral and Neurophysiological Aspects

Research has shown that dyslexia and attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder (AD(H)D) are characterized by specific neuroanatomical and neurofunctional differences in the auditory cortex. These neurofunctional characteristics in children with ADHD, ADD and dyslexia are linked to distinct differences in music perception. Group-specific differences in the musical performance of patients with ADHD, ADD and dyslexia have not been investigated in detail so far. We investigated the musical performance and neurophysiological correlates of 21 adolescents with dyslexia, 19 with ADHD, 28 with ADD and 28 age-matched, unaffected controls using a music performance assessment scale and magnetoencephalography (MEG). Musical experts independently assessed pitch and rhythmic accuracy, intonation, improvisation skills and musical expression. Compared to dyslexic adolescents, controls as well as adolescents with ADHD and ADD performed better in rhythmic reproduction, rhythmic improvisation and musical expression. Controls were significantly better in rhythmic reproduction than adolescents with ADD and scored higher in rhythmic and pitch improvisation than adolescents with ADHD. Adolescents with ADD and controls scored better in pitch reproduction than dyslexic adolescents. In pitch improvisation, the ADD group performed better than the ADHD group, and controls scored better than dyslexic adolescents. Discriminant analysis revealed that rhythmic improvisation and musical expression discriminate the dyslexic group from controls and adolescents with ADHD and ADD. A second discriminant analysis based on MEG variables showed that absolute P1 latency asynchrony |R-L| distinguishes the control group from the disorder groups best, while P1 and N1 latencies averaged across hemispheres separate the control, ADD and ADHD groups from the dyslexic group. Furthermore, rhythmic improvisation was negatively correlated with auditory-evoked P1 and N1 latencies, pointing in the following direction: the earlier the P1 and N1 latencies (mean), the better the rhythmic improvisation. These findings provide novel insight into the differences between music processing and performance in adolescents with and without neurodevelopmental disorders. A better understanding of these differences may help to develop tailored preventions or therapeutic interventions

Die Evaluation nach § 8 des Gesetzes zur Sicherung von Arbeitnehmerrechten in der Fleischwirtschaft (GSA Fleisch): Abschlussbericht

Mit der Novellierung des Gesetzes zur Sicherung von Arbeitnehmerrechten in der Fleischwirtschaft (GSA Fleisch) zum 1. Januar 2021 verfolgte der Gesetzgeber die Ziele, die Arbeitsbedingungen und den Arbeitsschutz zu verbessern, mehr Transparenz zu schaffen, die Rechtsdurchsetzung zu fördern sowie Missbrauch zu verhindern. Die Evaluation liefert zahlreiche Hinweise, dass durch die Novellierung vielfältige positive Entwicklungen in der Fleischwirtschaft angestoßen wurden. Umfang und Geschwindigkeit variieren dabei, je nachdem, welche konkreten Aspekte betrachtet werden (bspw. Arbeitszeiten, Arbeitsbelastungen, Lohn, Unfälle). Die Fleischunternehmen übernahmen fast alle ehemals Fremdbeschäftigten im Kernbereich, indem sie mit ihnen Arbeitsverträge schlossen. Die Handwerksausnahme ist aus Sicht der Evaluation begründet. Fremdpersonal spielte im Handwerk kaum eine Rolle und die Arbeitsbedingungen zeigten dort weniger Handlungsbedarf. Bei Handwerksunternehmen stößt die Regelung auf Akzeptanz. Leiharbeit wird in der Fleischwirtschaft nur noch in geringem Umfang eingesetzt. Die Möglichkeit, die Ausnahmeregelung für die Leiharbeit zu nutzen, ist vor allem für kleinere verarbeitende Industrieunternehmen von Bedeutung, um Produktionsspitzen aufzufangen. Die Tarifbindung als Bedingung für den Einsatz von Leiharbeit dürfte dazu führen, dass Leiharbeitnehmer*innen keine schlechteren Arbeitsbedingungen als Stammbeschäftigte haben. Die Evaluation empfiehlt daher, die Ausnahme zur Leiharbeit in der Fleischverarbeitung zu entfristen. Bislang geltende Regelungen zu Quote, Einsatzdauer und Tarifverträgen sollten beibehalten werden.With the amendment of the Act on the Protection of Labour Rights in the Meat Industry (GSA Fleisch) of 1 January 2021, the government pursued the goal of improving labour conditions and occupational safety, creating more transparency, promoting legal enforcement and preventing abuse. The evaluation provides numerous indications that the amendment has triggered a variety of positive developments in the meat industry. The extent and speed of these developments vary depending on what specific aspects are considered (e.g. working hours, workloads, wages, accidents). The takeover of external staff in the core area was almost complete. From the evaluation's point of view, the exception of the crafts sector is justified. External staff hardly played a role in the crafts sector and the working conditions there showed less need for action. The regulation meets with acceptance among craft businesses. Labor Leasing is only used to a small extent in the meat industry. The possibility to use the derogation for Labor Leasing is particularly important for smaller processing industrial businesses in order to absorb production peaks. Collective wage agreements as a condition for the use of Labor Leasing should result in that these workers do not have worse labour conditions than permanent employees. The evaluation therefore recommends that the exemption for Labor Leasing in meat processing industries be prolonged. The current regulations on quotas, duration of deployment and collective agreements should be retained

Patentability, R&D direction, and cumulative innovation

We present a model of cumulative innovation where firms can conduct R&D in both a safe and a risky direction. Innovations in the risky direction produce quality improvements with higher expected sizes and variances. As patentability standards rise, an innovation in the risky direction is less likely to receive a patent that replaces the current technology, which decreases the static incentive for new entrants to conduct risky R&D, but increases their dynamic incentive because of the longer duration---and hence higher reward---for incumbency. These, together with a strategic substitution and a market structure effect, result in an inverted-U shape in the risky direction but a U shape in the safe direction for the relationship between R&D intensity and patentability standards. There exists a patentability standard that induces the efficient innovation direction, whereas R&D is biased towards (against) the risky direction under lower (higher) standards. The optimal patentability standard may distort the R&D direction to increase the industry innovation rate that is socially deficient

Serum neutralizing capacity and T-cell response against the omicron BA.1 variant in seropositive children and their parents one year after SARS-CoV-2 infection

IntroductionDurability of immune protection against reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 remains enigmatic, especially in the pediatric population and in the context of immune-evading variants of concern. Obviously, this knowledge is required for measures to contain the spread of infection and in selecting rational preventive measures.MethodsHere, we investigated the serum neutralization capacity of 36 seropositive adults and 34 children approximately one year after infection with the ancestral Wuhan strain of SARS-CoV-2 by using a pseudovirus neutralization assay.ResultsWe found that 88.9% of seropositive adult (32/36) and 94.1% of seropositive children (32/34) convalescents retained the neutralizing activity against the SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan strain (WT). Although, the neutralization effect against Omicron BA.1 (B.1.1.529.1) was significantly lower, 70.6% (24/34) of children and 41.7% (15/36) of adults possessed BA.1 cross-neutralizing antibodies. The spike 1 (S1)-specific T cell recall capacity using an activation-induced marker assay was analyzed in 18 adults and 16 children. All participants had detectable S1-specific CD4 T cells against WT, and 72.2% (13/18) adults and 81,3% (13/16) children had detectable S1 WT-specific CD8 T cells. CD4 cross-reactivity against BA.1 was demonstrated in all investigated adults (18/18), and 66.7% (12/18) adult participants had also detectable specific CD8 BA.1 T cells while we detected BA.1 S1 reactive CD4 and CD8 T cells in 81.3% (13/16) children.DiscussionTogether, our findings demonstrate that infection with the ancestral strain of SARS-CoV-2 in children as well as in adults induces robust serological as well as T cell memory responses that persist over at least 12 months. This suggests persistent immunological memory and partial cross-reactivity against Omicron BA.1

Phosphatidylserine-exposing extracellular vesicles in body fluids are an innate defence against apoptotic mimicry viral pathogens

Some viruses are rarely transmitted orally or sexually despite their presence in saliva, breast milk, or semen. We previously identified that extracellular vesicles (EVs) in semen and saliva inhibit Zika virus infection. However, the antiviral spectrum and underlying mechanism remained unclear. Here we applied lipidomics and flow cytometry to show that these EVs expose phosphatidylserine (PS). By blocking PS receptors, targeted by Zika virus in the process of apoptotic mimicry, they interfere with viral attachment and entry. Consequently, physiological concentrations of EVs applied in vitro efficiently inhibited infection by apoptotic mimicry dengue, West Nile, Chikungunya, Ebola and vesicular stomatitis viruses, but not severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, human immunodeficiency virus 1, hepatitis C virus and herpesviruses that use other entry receptors. Our results identify the role of PS-rich EVs in body fluids in innate defence against infection via viral apoptotic mimicries, explaining why these viruses are primarily transmitted via PS-EV-deficient blood or blood-ingesting arthropods rather than direct human-to-human contact

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles (MISEV2023): From basic to advanced approaches

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), through their complex cargo, can reflect the state of their cell of origin and change the functions and phenotypes of other cells. These features indicate strong biomarker and therapeutic potential and have generated broad interest, as evidenced by the steady year-on-year increase in the numbers of scientific publications about EVs. Important advances have been made in EV metrology and in understanding and applying EV biology. However, hurdles remain to realising the potential of EVs in domains ranging from basic biology to clinical applications due to challenges in EV nomenclature, separation from non-vesicular extracellular particles, characterisation and functional studies. To address the challenges and opportunities in this rapidly evolving field, the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) updates its 'Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles', which was first published in 2014 and then in 2018 as MISEV2014 and MISEV2018, respectively. The goal of the current document, MISEV2023, is to provide researchers with an updated snapshot of available approaches and their advantages and limitations for production, separation and characterisation of EVs from multiple sources, including cell culture, body fluids and solid tissues. In addition to presenting the latest state of the art in basic principles of EV research, this document also covers advanced techniques and approaches that are currently expanding the boundaries of the field. MISEV2023 also includes new sections on EV release and uptake and a brief discussion of in vivo approaches to study EVs. Compiling feedback from ISEV expert task forces and more than 1000 researchers, this document conveys the current state of EV research to facilitate robust scientific discoveries and move the field forward even more rapidly