Anomic Crime in Post-Welfarist Societies. Cult of the Individual, Integration Patterns and Delinquency

Post-Fordist economies come along with post-welfarist societies marked by intensified cultural individualism and increased structural inequalities. These conditions are commonly held to be conducive to relative deprivation and, thereby, anomic crime. At the same time, post-welfarist societies develop a new ‘balance of power’ between institutions providing for welfare regulation, such as the family, the state and the (labour) market – and also the penal system. These institutions are generally expected to improve social integration, ensure conformity and thus reduce anomic crime. Combining both perspectives, we analyse the effects of moral individualism, social inequality, and different integration strategies on crime rates in contemporary societies through the lenses of anomie theory. To test our hypotheses, we draw on time-series cross-section data compiled from different data sources (OECD, UN, WHO, WDI) for twenty developed countries in the period 1970-2004, and run multiple regressions that control for country-specific effects. Although we find some evidence that the mismatch between cultural ideal (individual inclusion) and structural reality (stratified exclusion) increases the anomic pressure, whereas conservative (i. e. family-based), social-democratic (i. e. state-based) and liberal (i. e. market-based) integration strategies to a certain extent prove effective in controlling the incidence of crime, the results are not very robust. Moreover, reservations have to be made regarding the effects of “market” income inequality as well as familialist, unionist and liberalist employment policies that are shown to have reversed effects in our sample: the former reducing, the latter occasionally increasing anomic crime. As expected, the mismatch between cultural ideal (individual inclusion) and structural reality (stratified exclusion) increases the anomic pressure, whereas conservative (i. e. family-based), social-democratic (i. e. state-based) and liberal (i. e. market-based) integration strategies generally prove effective in controlling the incidence of crime. Nevertheless, we conclude that the new cult of the individual undermines the effectiveness of conservative and social-democratic integration strategies and drives societies towards more “liberal” regimes that build on incentive as well as punitive elements.

Information Integration Theory and the Construction of Individually Perceived Group Efficacy

According to Bandura (1997) efficacy beliefs are a primary determinant of motivation. Still, very little is known about the processes through which people integrate situational factors to form efficacy beliefs (Myers & Feltz, 2007). The aim of this study was to gain insight into the cognitive construction of subjective group-efficacy beliefs. Only with a sound understanding of those processes is there a sufficient base to derive psychological interventions aimed at group-efficacy beliefs. According to cognitive theories (e.g., Miller, Galanter, & Pribram, 1973) individual group-efficacy beliefs can be seen as the result of a comparison between the demands of a group task and the resources of the performing group. At the center of this comparison are internally represented structures of the group task and plans to perform it. The empirical plausibility of this notion was tested using functional measurement theory (Anderson, 1981). Twenty-three students (M = 23.30 years; SD = 3.39; 35 % females) of the University of Bern repeatedly judged the efficacy of groups in different group tasks. The groups consisted of the subjects and another one to two fictive group members. The latter were manipulated by their value (low, medium, high) in task-relevant abilities. Data obtained from multiple full factorial designs were structured with individuals as second level units and analyzed using mixed linear models. The task-relevant abilities of group members, specified as fixed factors, all had highly significant effects on subjects’ group-efficacy judgments. The effect sizes of the ability factors showed to be dependent on the respective abilities’ importance in a given task. In additive tasks (Steiner, 1972) group resources were integrated in a linear fashion whereas significant interaction between factors was obtained in interdependent tasks. The results also showed that people take into account other group members’ efficacy beliefs when forming their own group-efficacy beliefs. The results support the notion that personal group-efficacy beliefs are obtained by comparing the demands of a task with the performing groups’ resources. Psychological factors such as other team members’ efficacy beliefs are thereby being considered task relevant resources and affect subjective group-efficacy beliefs. This latter finding underlines the adequacy of multidimensional measures. While the validity of collective efficacy measures is usually estimated by how well they predict performances, the results of this study allow for a somewhat internal validity criterion. It is concluded that Information Integration Theory holds potential to further help understand people’s cognitive functioning in sport relevant situations.

Advances in Teaching and Learning 2005 Webcast - Introductions and Expert Panel

Expert Panel: Documenting Teaching Scholarship for Promotion and Tenure Lemuel Moye, School of Public Health Miguel daCunha, School of Nursing William Tate, Dental School Katherine Loveland, Medical School

ASYTRAIN: a new methodology for teaching and learning antennas

This paper presents ASYTRAIN, a new tool to teach and learn antennas, based on the use of a modular building kit and a low cost portable antenna measurement system that lets the students design and build different types of antennas and observe their characteristics while learning the insights of the subjects. This tool has a methodology guide for try-and-test project development and, makes the students be active antenna engineers instead of passive learners. This experimental learning method arises their motivation during the antenna courses.

Teaching and evaluating mechanical vibrations with Matlab®

The study of the response of mechanical systems to external excitations, even in the simplest cases, involves solving second-order ordinary differential equations or systems thereof. Finding the natural frequencies of a system and understanding the effect of variations of the excitation frequencies on the response of the system are essential when designing mechanisms [1] and structures [2]. However, faced with the mathematical complexity of the problem, students tend to focus on the mathematical resolution rather than on the interpretation of the results. To overcome this difficulty, once the general theoretical problem and its solution through the state space [3] have been presented, Matlab®[4] and Simulink®[5] are used to simulate specific situations. Without them, the discussion of the effect of slight variations in input variables on the outcome of the model becomes burdensome due to the excessive calculation time required. Conversely, with the help of those simulation tools, students can easily reach practical conclusions and their evaluation can be based on their interpretation of results and not on their mathematical skills

Some reflections on the impact of globalization in the teaching and learning of English in socalled “expanding circle” countries

This article deals with the ongoing debate on the complex role of English as an International Language, be it understood as a homogeneous entity (one language with an international role [EIL]) or a heterogeneous one (different varieties (WE or ELF) grouped under one label, «English») as well as on the implications of this «globalising» status for its teaching in non-native settings. Given the complexity of this phenomenon, whose study is still in its infancy, we attempt neither to provide definitive answers nor adopt a prescriptive attitude, but simply contribute to the discussion and clarification of this, to some extent, emergent, controversial situation.

Intimate partner violence in older women in Spain: prevalence, health consequences, and service utilization

The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence of lifetime intimate partner violence (IPV) in older women and to analyze its effect on women's health and Healthcare Services utilization. Women aged 55 years and over (1,676) randomly sampled from Primary Healthcare Services around Spain were included. Lifetime IPV prevalence, types, and duration were calculated. Descriptive and multivariate procedures using logistic and multiple lineal regression models were used. Of the women studied, 29.4% experienced IPV with an average duration of 21 years. Regardless of the type of IPV experienced, abused women showed significantly poorer health and higher healthcare services utilization compared to women who had never been abused. The high prevalence detected long standing duration, negative health impact, and high healthcare services utilization, calling attention to a need for increased efforts aimed at addressing IPV in older women.

Differences between the personal, social and emotional profiles of teaching and computer engineering professionals and students

The evidence suggests that emotional intelligence and personality traits are important qualities that workers need in order to successfully exercise a profession. This article assumes that the main purpose of universities is to promote employment by providing an education that facilitates the acquisition of abilities, skills, competencies and values. In this study, the emotional intelligence and personality profiles of two groups of Spanish students studying degrees in two different academic disciplines – computer engineering and teacher training – were analysed and compared. In addition, the skills forming part of the emotional intelligence and personality traits required by professionals (computer engineers and teachers) in their work were studied, and the profiles obtained for the students were compared with those identified by the professionals in each field. Results revealed significant differences between the profiles of the two groups of students, with the teacher training students scoring higher on interpersonal skills; differences were also found between professionals and students for most competencies, with professionals in both fields demanding more competencies that those evidenced by graduates. The implications of these results for the incorporation of generic social, emotional and personal competencies into the university curriculum are discussed.