Pædagogers risikovurderinger på børneområdet

ResuméSelvom det ikke er pædagogers kerneopgave at foretage risikovurderinger, er de dog lejlighedsvis nødt til at vurdere risikoen (sandsynligheden) for fx omsorgssvigt. Ved hjælp af vignetmetoden har vi undersøgt 99 pædagogers risikovurderinger. Pædagogerne besvarede spørgsmål på baggrund af en fiktiv vignet om to børns alvorlige problemer efter deres fars selvmord og moderens efterfølgende psykiske sygdom og indlæggelse. Artiklens fokus er på pædagogernes vurdering af risikoens størrelse, og på hvordan de med egne ord beskrev de beskyttelses- og risikofaktorer, som de lagde vægt på. Tre undersøgelsesresultater er væsentlige: 1) Der er meget stor spredning i pædagogernes risikovurderinger, både når risikoen angives med ord, som fx ”høj”, og i procenttal. 2) Selvom pædagogerne har anvendt det samme ord om risikoen, fx høj, kan der være meget stor forskel på deres angivelser af risikoen i procent. 3) Der er ingen væsentlige forskelle på, hvad de høj-, middel- og lavrisikovurderende pædagoger nævner af beskyttelses- og risikofaktorer. Der er heller ingen forskel på, hvor mange anslag, de bruger på at angive henholdsvis beskyttelses- og risikofaktorer. Resultaterne tydeliggør, at pædagoger skal være bevidste om, at de har meget forskellige vurderinger af risikoens størrelse, når de ser på nøjagtig samme case. Faglig uenighed om et så centralt spørgsmål som fremtidsudsigterne for børn i familier med vanskeligheder viser sig at være et grundvilkår i pædagogisk arbejde. Med denne erkendelse bliver faglige diskussioner med andre pædagoger om børnenes fremtidsudsigter en mulighed for, at pædagoger kan udvikle deres empati og nuancere deres helhedssyn.Abstract Pedagogues risk assessments in the field of childrenAlthough it is not the core task of pedagogues to make risk assessments, they occasionally have to assess risk of e.g. neglect. Using the vignette method, we investigated 99 pedagogues’ risk assessments. The respondents answered questions based on a fictional vignette about two children’s serious problems after their father’s suicide and the mother’s subsequent mental illness and hospitalization. The focus in the paper is on the pedagogues’ assessments of the magnitude of the risk and their descriptions of protection and risk factors they emphasized. Three results are important: 1) The pedagogues’ assessments were very divergent, whether they expressed the magnitude of risk in words or as a percentage. 2) Even though the pedagogues used the same word for the risk, e.g. high, there were large differences in their statements of the risk in percentage. 3) There were no important differences in the assessment of children’s risk, between high-, medium- and low assessing pedagogues. The pattern was the same regarding how many words they used on protection and risk factors. The results make it clear that pedagogues must be aware that they have very different assessments of the size of the risk when they look at exactly the same case. Professional disagreement on such a central issue as the future prospects for children in families with stress turns out to be a basic condition in pedagogical work. With this realization, professional discussions with other pedagogues about the children’s future prospects become an opportunity for pedagogues to develop their empathy and nuance their holistic view

Pædagogers risikovurderinger på børneområdet

Resumé Selvom det ikke er pædagogers kerneopgave at foretage risikovurderinger, er de dog lejlighedsvis nødt til at vurdere risikoen (sandsynligheden) for fx omsorgssvigt. Ved hjælp af vignetmetoden har vi undersøgt 99 pædagogers risikovurderinger. Pædagogerne besvarede spørgsmål på baggrund af en fiktiv vignet om to børns alvorlige problemer efter deres fars selvmord og moderens efterfølgende psykiske sygdom og indlæggelse. Artiklens fokus er på pædagogernes vurdering af risikoens størrelse, og på hvordan de med egne ord beskrev de beskyttelses- og risikofaktorer, som de lagde vægt på. Tre undersøgelsesresultater er væsentlige: 1) Der er meget stor spredning i pædagogernes risikovurderinger, både når risikoen angives med ord, som fx ”høj”, og i procenttal. 2) Selvom pædagogerne har anvendt det samme ord om risikoen, fx høj, kan der være meget stor forskel på deres angivelser af risikoen i procent. 3) Der er ingen væsentlige forskelle på, hvad de høj-, middel- og lavrisikovurderende pædagoger nævner af beskyttelses- og risikofaktorer. Der er heller ingen forskel på, hvor mange anslag, de bruger på at angive henholdsvis beskyttelses- og risikofaktorer. Resultaterne tydeliggør, at pædagoger skal være bevidste om, at de har meget forskellige vurderinger af risikoens størrelse, når de ser på nøjagtig samme case. Faglig uenighed om et så centralt spørgsmål som fremtidsudsigterne for børn i familier med vanskeligheder viser sig at være et grundvilkår i pædagogisk arbejde. Med denne erkendelse bliver faglige diskussioner med andre pædagoger om børnenes fremtidsudsigter en mulighed for, at pædagoger kan udvikle deres empati og nuancere deres helhedssyn. Abstract Pedagogues risk assessments in the field of children Although it is not the core task of pedagogues to make risk assessments, they occasionally have to assess risk of e.g. neglect. Using the vignette method, we investigated 99 pedagogues’ risk assessments. The respondents answered questions based on a fictional vignette about two children’s serious problems after their father’s suicide and the mother’s subsequent mental illness and hospitalization. The focus in the paper is on the pedagogues’ assessments of the magnitude of the risk and their descriptions of protection and risk factors they emphasized. Three results are important: 1) The pedagogues’ assessments were very divergent, whether they expressed the magnitude of risk in words or as a percentage. 2) Even though the pedagogues used the same word for the risk, e.g. high, there were large differences in their statements of the risk in percentage. 3) There were no important differences in the assessment of children’s risk, between high-, medium- and low assessing pedagogues. The pattern was the same regarding how many words they used on protection and risk factors. The results make it clear that pedagogues must be aware that they have very different assessments of the size of the risk when they look at exactly the same case. Professional disagreement on such a central issue as the future prospects for children in families with stress turns out to be a basic condition in pedagogical work. With this realization, professional discussions with other pedagogues about the children’s future prospects become an opportunity for pedagogues to develop their empathy and nuance their holistic view

Landmænds opfattelser af natur og aktuel naturkvalitet på bedriften. Cross cutting rapport for CC3

Landmanden er en væsentlig aktør i forhold til at udvikle og forbedre natur og landskabskvaliteter på de økologiske bedrifter. Spørgsmålet er imidlertid, om der er en sammenhæng mellem den måde landmanden opfatter værdier i natur og landskab på, den måde han handler og forvalter i forhold til disse værdier, og så den naturkvalitet han set udfra en biologisk synsvinkel har på sin bedrift. Det spørgsmål blev der arbejdet med i en cross cutting øvelse i projektet Naturkvalitet i økologisk jordbrug

Strong microsite control of seedling recruitment in tundra

The inclusion of environmental variation in studies of recruitment is a prerequisite for realistic predictions of the responses of vegetation to a changing environment. We investigated how seedling recruitment is affected by seed availability and microsite quality along a steep environmental gradient in dry tundra. A survey of natural seed rain and seedling density in vegetation was combined with observations of the establishment of 14 species after sowing into intact or disturbed vegetation. Although seed rain density was closely correlated with natural seedling establishment, the experimental seed addition showed that the microsite environment was even more important. For all species, seedling emergence peaked at the productive end of the gradient, irrespective of the adult niches realized. Disturbance promoted recruitment at all positions along the environmental gradient, not just at high productivity. Early seedling emergence constituted the main temporal bottleneck in recruitment for all species. Surprisingly, winter mortality was highest at what appeared to be the most benign end of the gradient. The results highlight that seedling recruitment patterns are largely determined by the earliest stages in seedling emergence, which again are closely linked to microsite quality. A fuller understanding of microsite effects on recruitment with implications for plant community assembly and vegetation change is provided

Vegetation diversity of conventional and organic hedgerows in Denmark

Many attempts have been made to reduce the impact of modern conventional farming on the environment and semi-natural ecosystems. One of them is organic farming, known primarily for the absence of pesticides and artificial fertilisers. The objective of this study was to study and test the differences in the spontaneous vegetation of comparable hedgerows in the same area situated within organic and conventional farming systems. The hedge bottom vegetation was surveyed during August 2001 in 13 hedgerows of each farming system. Farming type had not changed on either side of the hedgerows for the lifetime of the hedges (10-14 years). Sampling was associated with a set of 16 measured environmental variables. In the two farming systems hedgerows were comparable in terms of landscape, age, soil type, nutrient status and width. A mixed analysis of variance found no significant difference in measured soil and radiation variables between farming types. Farming types only differed in the use of pesticides. Significant differences between farming types in plant species diversity at alpha, beta and gamma levels were found. Also more species that normally occur in semi-natural habitats were found on organic farms. There was an overlap in species composition between farming type, but a slightly higher species turnover on conventional farms. The ordination axes were highly correlated with calibrated Ellenberg values of fertility, light and soil moisture. Soil fFertility and farming type were important factors to explain variation in species composition. Organic farming had a significantly reduced impact on hedge bottom vegetation compared to conventional farming. Higher extinction rates due to pesticide drift and immigration rates due to pesticide drift rates oin conventional farminsg may be responsible for the significantly higher species diversity and different species composition in hedges on organic farms. The differences in species diversity and plant types are briefly discussed

Female labour market outcomes and the impact of maternity leave policies

ABSTRACT: This paper shows how family policies aimed at reconciling the pressures of family and work generate substantial variation in labour market outcomes across developed countries. We use a life-cycle model of female labour supply and savings behaviour, calibrated to the US economy, to assess the effect of introducing to the US a maternity leave policy similar to Scandinavian-type policies. We focus on the impact on gender differences in participation and in wages. We distinguish between the effect of the job protection offered by maternity leave and the effect of income replacement. Job protection leads to substantial increases in participation of mothers with children under 6, but with little long term effects. The effects on wages are minimal, with negative selection effects offsetting the reduced human capital depreciation. Income replacement has a limited impact on participation or wages.Virginia Sánchez-Marcos thanks the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology for Grant ECO2009-09614 and RecerCaixa for financial support

European Vegetation Archive (EVA): An integrated database of European vegetation plots

© 2016 International Association for Vegetation Science. The European Vegetation Archive (EVA) is a centralized database of European vegetation plots developed by the IAVS Working Group European Vegetation Survey. It has been in development since 2012 and first made available for use in research projects in 2014. It stores copies of national and regional vegetation- plot databases on a single software platform. Data storage in EVA does not affect on-going independent development of the contributing databases, which remain the property of the data contributors. EVA uses a prototype of the database management software TURBOVEG 3 developed for joint management of multiple databases that use different species lists. This is facilitated by the SynBioSys Taxon Database, a system of taxon names and concepts used in the individual European databases and their corresponding names on a unified list of European flora. TURBOVEG 3 also includes procedures for handling data requests, selections and provisions according to the approved EVA Data Property and Governance Rules. By 30 June 2015, 61 databases from all European regions have joined EVA, contributing in total 1 027 376 vegetation plots, 82% of them with geographic coordinates, from 57 countries. EVA provides a unique data source for large-scale analyses of European vegetation diversity both for fundamental research and nature conservation applications. Updated information on EVA is available online at http://euroveg.org/eva-database