Demographic situation in operative medicine in Switzerland - time to react?

Objective: The decreasing proportion of physicians of Swiss origin and the increasing number of part-time jobs in operative medicine might lead to a shortage of physicians in operative disciplines in Switzerland. The objective of the present study was to analyze the current demographic situation in operative medicine in Switzerland. Methods: During the summer of 2011, a 19-item anonymous electronic questionnaire was mailed to all directors of departments in operative medicine in Switzerland. The questionnaire was designed to gather data about the characteristics of the participating departments, the demographics (including the appointment (consultant, attending or resident), the proportion of female and foreign physicians, the latter’s origin, and the number of part-time jobs with a working time between 20 and 90%), and the proportion of vacant posts. Results: Of 775 questionnaires mailed to all directors of departments in operative medicine in Switzerland, 183 (24%) were returned. Overall, 40% were female, and 42% foreign physicians. The proportion of part-time jobs amounted to 17%. Vacant posts were found in 2%. Conclusions: An expansion of study places at the medical universities and of the incentives for the incumbents in operative medicine is necessary to avert a shortage of physicians in Switzerland.

Erziehungswissenschaft in der Schweiz - aktuelle Situation und Besonderheiten

Der Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über die Standorte und Studiengänge der Erziehungswissenschaft in der Schweiz, über die zahlenmäßige Entwicklung der Studierenden, über den Verbleib der Absolventinnen und Absolventen, über die Situation beim akademischen Personal und wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchs, über aktuelle Forschungsschwerpunkte und -projekte sowie über die Reform der Lehrerbildung. Für ein besseres Verständnis der Ausführungen wird einleitend auf vier Besonderheiten der pädagogischen Ausbildungen in der Schweiz hingewiesen: (1) Zahlreiche Universitäten bieten neben den akademischen Ausbildungen so genannte Diplomstudiengänge an. Diese dauern zwischen 4 und 6 Semestern, sie werden als Abschlussexamen ohne akademischen Grad bezeichnet und sind überwiegend im Heilpädagogischen Bereich zu finden. (2) Auch so genannte Nachdiplomstudien, z.B. die Nachdiplomstudiengänge in Fachdidaktik an der Universität Bern, können an Universitäten angesiedelt sein. (3) Viele pädagogische Studiengänge laufen außerhalb der Universitäten an den (kantonalen) Fachhochschulen. (4) Die pädagogische Landschaft ist von starken Reformbewegungen dominiert, z.B. durch den Aufbau Pädagogischer Hochschulen, durch Umstellung auf Bachelor- und Master-Studiengänge oder durch die Aufwertung der Fachhochschulen. Dies erschwert eine umfassende Darstellung der Schweizer Situation. (ICI2). Die Untersuchung enthält quantitative Daten.

Assessing Difficulties in Career Decision Making Among Swiss Adolescents with the German My Vocational Situation Scale

Assessing problems in career decision making among adolescents is important for career guidance and research. The present study is the first to investigate among Swiss adolescents the factor structure and convergent validity in relation to personality of the German-language adaptation of the My Vocational Situation Scale. Two preliminary studies (N = 217) suggested that using a 5-point Likert scale response format would increase scale reliability. The confirmatory factor analyses in the main study with two cohorts (n = 341, eighth grade; n = 303, eleventh grade) confirmed that four main factors, which assess problems with identity, decision making, information, and perceived barriers, underlie the data. The barriers factor was differentiated into aspired vocation and personal situation. Construct validity was supported by significant relationships between favorable personality characteristics (emotional stability, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, generalized self-efficacy, and internal locus of control) and fewer problems. The results suggest that the vocational identity and barriers scales can be fruitfully applied to research on and the practice of career counseling with adolescents.

Identifying observable criteria defining a critical situation involving football fans: an expert focus group study

Critical situations (CSs) involving football fans is a well-researched phenomenon with most studies examining factors leading to an escalation of violence (e.g. Braun & Vliegenthart, 2008). However, research so far has fallen short of analysing CSs that do not escalate (e.g. Hylander & Guvå, 2010) as well as establishing observable criteria that constitute such CSs. Granström et al. (2009), for instance, put forward a definition of a CS describing such situations as characterised by a discrepancy between peace and war-making behaviours between police and demonstrators. Still, this definition remains vague and does not provide concrete, defining criteria that can be identified on site. The present study looks beyond fans’ violent acts per se and focuses on these situations with a potentially – but not necessarily - violent outcome. The aim of this preliminary study is to identify observable criteria defining such a CS involving football fans. This focus group comprised of five experts working with football fans in the German-speaking area of Switzerland who discussed observable characteristics of a CS. Inductive content analysis led to the identification of specific criteria such as, “arrest of a fan”, “insufficient distance (<30m) between fans and police” and “fans mask themselves”. These criteria were then assigned to four phases of a CS highlighting the dynamic aspect of this phenomenon: Antecedents, Causes, Reactions, Consequence. Specifically, Causes, Reactions and Consequences are observable on site, while Antecedents include relevant, background information directly influencing a CS. This study puts forward a working definition of a CS that can facilitate the assessment of actual situations in the football context as well as for further research on fan violence prevention and control. These results also highlight similarities with studies investigating fan violence in other European countries while acknowledging unique characteristics of the Swiss German fan culture.