Strengths and problems of families in contact with child protective services during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: The study investigates the dynamics within families in contact with child protective services in reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic as perceived by social workers. Based on the Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response (FAAR) model, strengths and problems are outlined. Background: Following the first lockdown of public life in March 2020, concerns about children’s well-being have been raised. Practitioners and scientists alike worried that particularly children in families with multiple problems would suffer severe abuse and neglect. However, it remains unclear how these families have actually been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the measures to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Method: Child protection caseworkers from 40 child and youth welfare authorities across Germany were interviewed twice via telephone. The first interview was conducted during summer 2020, and the second interview two months later. Caseworkers were questioned about their professional experience in their daily work since March 2020. Moreover, they provided information on the perceived effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on families in contact with child protective services. Results: The interviews were analyzed using content analyses. Six overall challenges for families were identified. Families reacted differently to these. The caseworkers reported problems in families like increased parental conflict, media use, and alcohol consumption during the first lockdown. Nevertheless in some families, the caseworkers also perceived there to be less stress and tension during the lockdown in March 2020 due to fewer school requirements. Furthermore, some families were able to establish routines, activate resources, and find solutions for problems on their own. At the time of the second interview, some families’ problems had increased, particularly regarding children’s difficulties at school due to insufficient homeschooling. Conclusion: The results show that the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on child protection families are positive and negative. Some are resourceful in the face of adversities, and others show an aggravation of problems. The results are discussed in light of findings on family dynamics during the Covid-19 pandemic in other countries

Justification of war and terrorism: a comparative case study examining ethical positions based on prescriptive attribution theory

"The aim of this study is to examine the underlying ethical positions of statements that try to justify acts of war and terrorism. Similarities and differences will be analyzed within the framework of empirical ethics research. With respect to the current political situation, examples of war and terror from both Western and Arabian parties and terrorist organizations are chosen. The cases are exemplified by selected speeches and explanations from (1) the American Government justifying the military strikes in Afghanistan (2001- ) and the war in Iraq (2003- ); (2) the Red Army Faction (RAF) justifying terrorist attacks that they perpetrated in Germany between 1972 and 1984; (3) the former president of Iraq justifying the war against Iran (1980-1988); (4) members of Al-Qaeda justifying terrorist acts between 2001 and 2004. In a first rating procedure, statements containing justifications of politically motivated violence will be identified based upon argumentation analysis. The selected statements will then be rated in a second process in regard to the underlying ethics. The justification patterns will be presented, compared, and discussed in respect to the interaction of culture and type of aggression. The results illustrate distinctive argumentation patterns for each group examined. The inference-statistical comparison reveals significant differences between the types of aggression as well as between Western and Arabian countries, whereas the cultural factor proves to be more essential." (author's abstract

Selbst für Experten zu kompliziert? Wie Steuerberater die Gerechtigkeitsverwirklichung im Einkommensteuergesetz beurteilen

"Die Ergebnisse einer bundesweiten Befragung von Bürgern zur Gerechtigkeit im Einkom-mensteuergesetz (EStG) werden in dieser Studie um die Expertensicht erweitert. In strukturierten Interviews wurden 19 Steuerberater und ein Finanzbeamter zu ihrer eigenen Einschätzung des Einkommensteuergesetzes befragt sowie um eine Stellungnahme zu den insgesamt 28 Einzelnormen gebeten, die in der Vorgängerstudie von Steuerlaien als gerecht bzw. ungerecht bewertet wurden. Der Fokus der Untersuchung lag dabei auf den Argumenten, mit denen Experten die „gerechten“ und „ungerechten“ Paragraphen befürworteten oder ablehnten. Diese wurden inhaltlich erfasst und zusätzlich vier ethischen Grundpositionen zugeordnet. In der Bewertung unterschieden sich in den Ergebnissen Experten und Laien nur geringfü-gig: Die Steuerberater sprachen sich ebenfalls global zunächst eher gegen das EStG aus, bewerteten aber zwei ursprünglich „ungerechte“ Ausnahmen als gerecht: Sie fanden Argumente dafür, dass Kosten für Unterricht, Sport und Freizeit für die eigenen Kinder zurecht nicht abzugsfähig sowie die Versteuerung von Gewinnen aus privaten Veräußerungsgeschäften sinnvoll seien. Pro Gerechtigkeit argumentierten die Experten häufig zweckethisch, contra Gerechtigkeit führten sie eher pflichtethische Aspekte an. Stellenweise zeichnete sich auch ein sehr uneinheitliches Meinungsbild bezüglich des EStG ab. Trotz der relativ positiven Bewertung der Einzelnormen fordern die Steuerberater insgesamt eine Reduzierung der Ausnahmen. Gerechtigkeit dürfe nicht auf Kosten von Transparenz und Praktikabilität verwirklicht werden, und ein vollständig gerechtes Gesetz lasse sich nicht erreichen. Anregungen für die zukünftige Gestaltung des Einkommensteuergesetzes werden diskutiert."[Autorenreferat]"In this study, the results of a nationwide study on justice in the German Income Tax Law are presented to and commented by experts. 19 tax advisors and a tax inspector were asked for their point of view concerning the 28 single normative rules which tax payers had judged as either just or unjust. The study focussed on arguments the experts brought forward, supporting or opposing the paragraphs under consideration. The arguments were collected and, additionally, related to four ethical positions (deontology, utilitarianism, intuitionism, hedonism). Only little difference was found between laymen’s and experts’ assessment. From a global perspective, tax advisors tended to object to the Income Tax Law. As to the single norms, they were in agreement on the main lines with the tax payers, and even argued for two more norms to be just. In favour of justice, experts frequently brought forward arguments referring to consequence-oriented ethics, while they used duty-oriented ethics to appeal against a norm’s justice. In spite of the predominantly positive ratings of single norms, tax advisors call for decreasing the number of exceptions: Justice should not be realized at the expense of transparency and practicality, especially because they negate that there could be a Tax Law which was considered to be absolutely just. Implications for future law structuring are discussed."[author´s abstract

Less Animal-Based Food, Better Weight Status: Associations of the Restriction of Animal-Based Product Intake with Body-Mass-Index, Depressive Symptoms and Personality in the General Population

Restricting animal-based products from diet may exert beneficial effects on weight status; however, less is known about such a diet and emotional health. Moreover, personality traits, for example high neuroticism, may contribute to restrictive eating habits and potentially confound diet-health associations. We aim to systematically assess if restrictive dietary intake of animal-based products relates to lower weight and higher depressive symptoms, and if differences in personality traits play a significant role. Cross-sectional data from the baseline LIFE-Adult study were collected from 2011–2014 in Leipzig, Germany (n = 8943). Main outcomes of interest were dietary frequency of animal-derived products in the last year measured using a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), body-mass-index (BMI) (kg/m2), and the Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Personality traits were assessed in a subsample of n = 7906 using the Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Higher restriction of animal-based product intake was associated with a lower BMI, but not with depression scores. Personality, i.e., lower extraversion, was related to higher frequency of animal product intake. Moreover, personality traits were significantly associated with depressive symptoms, i.e., higher neuroticism, lower extraversion, lower agreeableness, lower conscientiousness, and with higher BMI. These findings encourage future longitudinal studies to test the efficacy of restricting animal-based products as a preventive and therapeutic strategy for overweight and obesity

Fachliches Handeln zum Wohl von Kindern und Jugendlichen im Kontakt mit "anderer", fundamentalistischer und radikaler Religiosität und Weltanschauung. Handlungsempfehlungen aufbauend auf zentralen Erkenntnissen des Projekts "Radikal, fundamentalistisch, anders – Fachkräfte im Kontakt (RaFiK)"

In dem Projekt "RaFiK" wurde analysiert, wie Fachkräfte in ihrer täglichen Arbeit praktische und ethische Herausforderungen im Kontext von Kindeswohl und Religions- bzw. Meinungsfreiheit ausbalancieren und welche Einstellungen und Grundorientierungen die Abwägungsprozesse in ihrem fachlichen Handeln beeinflussen. Im Projekt wurden hierzu sechs Fokusgruppen mit Fachkräften aus den Regelstrukturen der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe (z.B. Jugendamt, Hilfen zur Erziehung, Jugendarbeit, Kita) und angrenzender Bereiche (z. B. Schule) durchgeführt. [...] Eine Expertise zu den (verfassungs)rechtlichen und ethischen Grundlagen für die Arbeit im Kontakt mit gruppenbezogener Menschenfeindlichkeit und Demokratieferne sowie eine Expertise zu pädagogischen Handlungsansätzen im Umgang mit religiös hochideologisierten Kindern, Jugendlichen, Eltern und Familien haben die Erkenntnisse der Fachkräfteerhebung ergänzt. Die Ergebnisse sollen der Praxis in der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe einige Orientierungen geben und einen Beitrag leisten zum Brückenbau zwischen Fachkräften bei zivilgesellschaftlichen Trägern im spezialisierten Bereich Radikalisierungsprävention, Deradikalisierung und Ausstieg sowie den Fachkräften bei Trägern in den unterschiedlichen Regelstrukturen der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe." (DIPF/Orig.

Sequence-sorted redox-switchable hetero[3]rotaxanes

From a library of five crown ether macrocycles with different ring sizes and redox-active moieties, such as tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) and naphthalene dimiide (NDI), directional heterocircuit[3]rotaxanes were constructed. Using an axle with two binding sites with different steric accessibility, the concept of integrative self-sorting was applied to program the sequence of functional units in heteropseudo[3]rotaxanes. Depending on binding strength and ring size of the smaller macrocycles, different heteropseudo[3]rotaxane selectivities and stabilities were determined by 2D NMR spectroscopy and tandem mass spectrometry. A heteropseudo[3]rotaxane with rotaxane-like behaviour was isolated chromatographically, displaying electrochemically “frustrated” properties. A robust synthetic procedure was developed allowing the synthesis of four new hetero[3]rotaxanes incorporating specific sequences of functional units. Sequence pseudoisomeric rotaxanes which have the naphthalene diimide subunit at two different positions show distinct electrochemical properties. DFT calculations suggest that this differences could arise from a folding of the structure, in which the redox-active moieties stack with a stopper unit. This study presents a blueprint for the construction of hetero[3]rotaxanes with sequential control of the functional units along the track of the axle and paves the way to extend the functionality of mechanically interlocked molecules

Alkali treatments of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin‐film absorbers and their impact on transport barriers

We study the impact of different alkali post-deposition treatments by thermal admittance spectroscopy and temperature-dependent current-voltage (IVT) characteristics of high-efficiency Cu(In,Ga)Se2thin-film solar cells fabricated from low-temperature and high-temperature co-evaporated absorbers. Capacitance steps observed by admittance spectroscopy for all samples agree with the widely observed N1 signature and show a clear correlation to a transport barrier evident from IVT characteristics measured in the dark, indicating that defects are likely not responsible for these capacitance steps. Activation energies extracted from capacitance spectra and IVT characteristics vary considerably between different samples but show no concise correlation to the alkali species used in the post-deposition treatments. Numerical device simulations show that the transport barrier in our devices might be related to conduction band offsets in the absorber/buffer/window stack