Nach der Promotion - Wie (un-)attraktiv ist eine wissenschaftliche Karriere?

Nach der Promotion stellt sich für viele die Frage, ob sie weiterhin in der Wissenschaft bleiben und auf das große Ziel „Professur“ hinarbeiten oder ob sie die Scientific Community verlassen. In einer aktuellen Studie der Universität Heidelberg wurden promovierte Frauen und Männer innerhalb und außerhalb der Wissenschaft nach ihrer Zufriedenheit mit ihrer beruflichen Situation befragt

Eine neue Rechnungslegung über länderspezifische Wertschöpfung und Ertragsteuern?

Country-by-Country Reporting (CbCR) soll für (insb. Steuer-)Behörden oder für die Öffentlichkeit Transparenz über die regionale Verteilung von Produktionsfaktoren, Gewinnen und Steuerzahlun-gen schaffen und so Steuervermeidungsstrategien aufdecken. Die folgende Analyse zeigt die Ent- stehungsgeschichte des CbCR und stellt die Möglichkeiten eines allgemein verpflichtenden CbCR für multinationale Unternehmen seinen Grenzen und Risiken gegenüber. Unsere Analyse zeigt, dass das CbCR die Informationsansprüche der Adressaten nicht in der Weise befriedigen kann, wie seine Befürworter es propagieren. Auch CbCR als ein weiterer Rechenversuch ändert nichts daran, dass Gewinne von multinationalen Unternehmen nicht lokal zuordbar sind. Ein auf wenige, nachprüfbar zu ermittelnde Kernelemente reduziertes CbCR würde – ob freiwillig, als industrielle Selbstver-pflichtung oder als gesetzliche Pflicht – für die Informationsadressaten den gleichen Nutzen bringen wie das bislang vorgeschlagene detaillierte CbCR. Ein solches Basis-CbCR würde beispielsweise die Umsatzerlöse, die Arbeitnehmerzahl und/oder die Lohnsumme, das Sachanlagevermögen und/oder die Abschreibungen darauf sowie die gezahlten Ertragsteuern und/oder den Steueraufwand je Land ausweisen, nicht aber das Einkommen vor Steuern

Can verbal suggestions strengthen the effects of a relaxation intervention?

Short stress management interventions such as relaxation therapy have demonstrated preliminary effectiveness in reducing stress-related problems. A promising tool to strengthen the effectiveness of relaxation-based interventions is the use of verbal suggestions, as previous research provided evidence that verbal suggestions can induce positive outcome expectancies, facilitate adaptive responses to stress and improve health outcomes. The present experimental proof-of-concept study aimed to investigate the effects of a brief relaxation intervention and specifically the role of verbal suggestions on stress-related outcomes assessed by self-report questionnaires and psychophysiological data. 120 participants (mean age = 22.1 years) were randomized to one of four intervention conditions: a brief relaxation intervention plus verbal suggestions condition, a brief relaxation intervention only condition, a verbal suggestions only condition, and a control condition. Afterwards, participants were subjected to a psychosocial stress challenge to assess reactivity to a stressful event. Immediately after both relaxation interventions (with and without verbal suggestions), lower self-reported state anxiety was found compared to the control condition, but no differences were observed in response to the stressor. The verbal suggestions only condition did not impact state anxiety. No significant effects were found for verbal suggestion interventions on cortisol, alpha amylase, heart rate and skin conductance. This is the first study investigating the role of verbal suggestions in the effectiveness of a brief relaxation intervention. Although this experimental proof-of-concept study provides support for the effectiveness of a brief relaxation intervention in lowering state anxiety directly after the intervention, the effects did not impact the response to a subsequent stressor and we did not observe any evidence for the add-on effectiveness of verbal suggestions. The effectiveness of brief relaxation interventions on stress responses should be investigated further in future research by incorporating interventions that are tailored to the specific stress challenge and various types of verbal suggestions

Do tonic itch and pain stimuli draw attention towards their location?

Background. Although itch and pain are distinct experiences, both are unpleasant, may demand attention, and interfere with daily activities. Research investigating the role of attention in tonic itch and pain stimuli, particularly whether attention is drawn to the stimulus location, is scarce. Methods. In the somatosensory attention task, fifty-three healthy participants were exposed to 35-second electrical itch or pain stimuli on either the left or right wrist. Participants responded as quickly as possible to visual targets appearing at the stimulated location (ipsilateral trials) or the arm without stimulation (contralateral trials). During control blocks, participants performed the visual task without stimulation. Attention allocation at the itch and pain location is inferred when responses are faster ipsilaterally than contralaterally. Results. Results did not indicate that attention was directed towards or away from the itch and pain location. Notwithstanding, participants were slower during itch and pain than during control blocks. Conclusions. In contrast with our hypotheses, no indications were found for spatial attention allocation towards the somatosensory stimuli. This may relate to dynamic shifts in attention over the time course of the tonic sensations. Our secondary finding that itch and pain interfere with task performance is in-line with attention theories of bodily perception

An Expert Position Paper from the Special Interest Group on Sensitive Skin of the International Forum for the Study of Itch

Sensitive skin is a frequent complaint in the general population, in patients, and among subjects suffering from itch. The International Forum for the Study of Itch (IFSI) decided to initiate a special interest group (SIG) on sensitive skin. Using the Delphi method, sensitive skin was defined as “A syndrome defined by the occurrence of unpleasant sensations (stinging, burning, pain, pruritus, and tingling sensations) in response to stimuli that normally should not provoke such sensations. These unpleasant sensations cannot be explained by lesions attributable to any skin disease. The skin can appear normal or be accompanied by erythema. Sensitive skin can affect all body locations, especially the face”. This paper summarizes the background, unresolved aspects of sensitive skin and the process of developing this definition

The development and validation of a scale measuring teacher autonomous behaviour

In the current study a multi-dimensional scale that measures teacher autonomous behaviour is presented. The scale is applicable across the following educational sectors: primary education, secondary education and vocational education. Based on an elaborate literature study, four theoretically relevant dimensions of teacher autonomous behaviour were derived. Psychometric characteristics of the instrument (note that the terms ‘scale’ and ‘instrument’ are used interchangeably in this article) were tested among a sample of Dutch teachers working in primary, secondary and vocational education (N = 1111). The validity of our instrument was tested in several ways. First, by performing confirmatory factor analysis, we tested the factorial structure, which confirmed the hypothesised four dimensions: (1) primary work processes in the class; (2) curriculum implementation; (3) participation in decision making at school; (4) professional development. Thereafter, we calculated the scale’s reliability, which appeared to be excellent. In addition, we tested for measurement invariance by cross-validating the study in the educational sectors mentioned above. Also, the convergent, divergent and predictive validity was investigated. Teacher autonomy appeared to predict workplace learning, more specifically experimenting, reflecting and school development. Finally, we investigated whether transformational leadership can facilitate teacher autonomy, which appeared to be the case. The results empirically confirm the four dimensions of teacher autonomous behaviour, which we derived from theory, and offer solid proof of the psychometric properties of our instrument. The instrument can be used by school leaders and policy makers to monitor autonomous behaviour. More generally, the development and use of this instrument helps us understand teacher autonomous behaviour and teacher professionalism

Whiplash Patients with Cervicogenic Headache After Lateral Atlanto- Axial Joint Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment

BACKGROUND: Whiplash patients regard cervicogenic headache (CEH) as the most burdensome symptom of their condition. Sufferers experience a significant degree of disability from headache, associated neck pain and disability, and sleep disturbance. Lateral C1/2 joint pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) treatment has been shown to produce significant relief from headache in patients with CEH. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this retrospective questionnaire study of 45 consecutive whiplash patients with CEH who had undergone antero-lateral atlantoaxial joint pulsed radiofrequency treatment (AA PRF) was to evaluate the treatment’s long-term effects on pain-related disability and health-related quality of life. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Four questionnaires were sent to all 45 patients who had undergone AA PRF: 1) The short form-36 (SF-36); 2) The neck disability index (NDI); 3) The medical outcome scale-sleep scale (MOS-SS); 4) The headache impact test-6 (HIT-6). All 45 patients received AA PRF under fluoroscopic guidance. PRF treatment was conducted at 45 V with a pulsed frequency of 4 Hz and a pulsed width of 10 ms for 4 minutes . RESULTS: Patients who responded to the procedure reported lower pain scores at 2, 6, and 12 months of follow-up compared to nonresponders. More important, patients reported marked improvements in headache impact (P < 0.01), neck-disability scores (P < 0.01), awakening due to headache (P < 0.01), and sleep problems (9-item; P < 0.05) on the MOS-SS. Responders to the procedure also reported a significantly higher health-related quality of life in terms of bodily pain (P < 0.05) and health change (P < 0.01) on the SF-36. CONCLUSIONS: In light of the inherent limitations of our retrospective study, AA PRF treatment can only be tentatively viewed as a promising treatment modality for whiplash patients with CEH and is subject to validation in future studies

eine Befragungsstudie zum Brexit

Der vorliegende Beitrag analysiert das Steuerplanungsverhalten deutscher Unternehmen und Steuerberater unter Unsicherheit. Untersucht werden die Reaktionen auf befürchtete steuerrechtliche Änderungen durch den Brexit. Hinsichtlich möglicher Steuerplanungsmaßnahmen wird dabei die Nutzung kurzfristiger Steuergestaltungspotentiale von der Durchführung langfristiger Geschäftsanpassungen abgegrenzt. Nach einer Onlineumfrage, an der 79 Unternehmen und 95 Steuerberater teilgenommen haben, unterscheidet sich das unternehmerische Steuerplanungsverhalten deutlich von den Empfehlungen der Steuerberaterpraxis: Steuerberater raten häufiger zur Umsetzung von Steuerplanungsmaßnahmen, als Unternehmen diese nutzen. Bei den befragten Unternehmen zeigt sich ein deutlicher Trade-off zwischen der empfundenen Rechtsunsicherheit und den Kosten der Maßnahme zur Vermeidung von Steuerrisiken. Vergleichsweise günstige Steuergestaltungsmaßnahmen werden bei hoher Rechtsunsicherheit frühzeitig umgesetzt. Langfristige Geschäftsanpassungen hingegen werden im Sinne einer „Wait & See“-Strategie zunächst nur geplant