Open Access

In Germany, a lot of young children at risk of language difficulties still go undetected or are not assessed before preschool-age. For children where parents may suspect a disorder, this practice causes a lot of emotional distress alongside lost time for intervention. Thus, what contribution can parents and nursery staff make for the earlier detection of language difficulties? 34 children from four German kindergartens were tested with a standardized preschool screening for language problems by an SLT. Parents and nursery staff completed a questionnaire (FEE 3-4) that was designed to collect potential risk-factors and included the rating of children’s abilities across the main language domains. Outcomes from the FEE 3-4 were compared between parents and nursery staff as well as triangulated with results from the standardized screening. Agreement between parents and nursery staff re. individual children’s potential language difficulties was moderate (Kappa = 0.44, p = .050). Overall, nursery staff rated children’s language abilities more strictly and precisely than parents. Especially their rating of ‘word order’ (p = .022) and ‘verb endings’ contributed significantly to the identification of potential language difficulties similar to the standardized screening. The screening identified two children at risk without caregiver's concern, but not two others who were at risk of language disorder and for whom caregivers expressed concern. Caregiver’s awareness of early language difficulties appears to be rather intuitive. Young children at risk are most reliably detected if standardized instruments are used in combination with caregiver questionnaires. Ideally, this process includes data from parents and nursery staff to be interpreted by an experienced SLT, as the use of a standardized screening alone may lead to missed or mistaken identification where essential information about the child’s environment (e.g. risk factors) is not provided. If parents are concerned about children’s language, full assessment is clearly justified.

Kurzfassung: Die vorliegende Untersuchung untersucht die Auswirkungen der Dauer eines Auslandsaufenthaltes von Studierenden sowie von arbeitsbezogenen Persönlichkeitsfaktoren und Charakteristika auf die interkulturelle Kompetenz und die Integration der Teilnehmer. Die Untersuchung erfolgte in Form einer korrelativen Querschnittstudie. Insgesamt 202 Probanden mit akademischer Ausbildung wurden untersucht. Es wurden die interkulturelle Kompetenz, Persönlichkeitsmerkmale und arbeitsbezogene Einstellungen gemessen, sowie demographische Faktoren des Auslandsaufenthaltes und die Integration in die Zielkultur. Es gibt einen positiven Zusammenhang zwischen der Dauer von Auslandsaufenthalten und kognitiver, motivationaler und verhaltensbezogener interkultureller Kompetenz.

Symposion: Working for the greater good in services: risks and innovation impacts on employees’ wellbeing Oral presentation: Kumbruck: Digitalization in Health and Old People’s Care and the Impacts on the Interaction Work Purpose: Digitalization like roboter to lift or feed care receiver or like electronic patient documentation, e.g. on smartphones, changes interaction and communication between care givers and care receivers. From our research projects (Projektgruppe verfassungsverträgliche Technikgestaltung: Mobile information and communication tools in the hospital; Das Ethos fürsorglicher Praxis in der Pflege) shows impacts. Design/Methodology/Approach/Intervention: Qualitative studies (simulation studies; narrative Interviews, observations,) with more than 60 experimentees in different health care institutions. Results: The interaction is mediated by electronic tools. The nurses are confident by the electronic assistance and workload reduction; but they are afraid of more distance in the relationship to the patients, more mixing of private and working time activities or more observation by their superiors. The most critical aspect is seen in the patient documentation. Limitations: These studies are explorative ones. Especially the simulation study is an experimental design. Research/Practical Implications: There is need for more and quantitative studies. The results give a lot of indications that the organizational and political frameworks of health care are important moderators of the impacts of the digitalization in health care. Originality/Value: The studies have an important perspective on the change in the relationship between health care givers and receivers by digitalization – a topic, which concerns everybody.

Kurzfassung: Die vorliegende Untersuchung setzt sich mit den Problemfeldern der Personalauswahl und -entwicklung auseinander, welche die demografischen Veränderungen in Bezug auf Migration mit sich bringen. Explorativ soll die Ausprägung von sozialen und interkulturellen Kompetenzen und der Aspekt Diversity in Unternehmen untersucht werden. Hierzu wurden 69 Interviews durchgeführt und die intervallskalierten Selbsteinschätzungsskalen quantitativ verglichen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Mitarbeiter die Relevanz von Diversity-Einstellungen und Maßnahmen, Kompetenzen und Umsetzung dieser deutlich höher bewerten als die Führungskräfte. Die Ergebnisse weisen auf den Bedarf einer Kompetenzförderung hin, insbesondere in Bezug auf die interkulturelle Kompetenz.

Aims: Intercultural competence has become a key-competence, since the world has become more and more volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Therefore, insights in the development of intercultural competence and its´ links to individual traits are crucial for companies and researchers to face the requirements in a VUCA world. This study examines the relationship between the time, students spent abroad, personality traits and circumstances during this time with the student’s intercultural competence and integration performance in the target culture. The study had a correlative cross-sectional design. Design and sample: A total of 202 academic subjects were surveyed. The average age was 22 years. There was one measuring time, to which 58 % of the participants stated that they have had a stay abroad. Measurements: Metacognitive, cognitive, motivational and behavioural intercultural competence were measured with the Cultural Intelligence Scale. The personality traits involvement, discipline, social competence, cooperation, dominance and stability were captured with the "Bochum inventory for job-related personality description-6F". Work-related attitudes as patterns of behaviour and experience were measured using the "Work-related Behaviour and Experiencing Pattern 44" (German: Arbeitsbezogene Verhaltens- und Erlebensmuster, AVEM). This scale captures the way participants relate to work in general based on the measurement of personality traits and their fit to specific clusters, which describe, whether individuals have healthy or risky patterns. In addition, the demographic factors and characteristics of stays abroad as well as the integration into the target culture based on the Sociocultural Adaption Scale were examined. The data was tested for relationships and differences by tests for mean differences, variance and regression analyses. Results: There was a positive correlation between duration and cognitive, motivational and behavioural intercultural competence. The motivational competence is higher in subjects who have no risk pattern in the AVEM. The different types of competence influence each other at diverse times. Moreover, the suggested structural equation model could be confirmed. This showed the effect of the AVEM pattern on intercultural competence, moderated by the stay abroad and the social competence. Thus, the study contributes to the understanding of both the measurement of intercultural competence and the development process of intercultural competence in a globalized world.

This paper introduces ideas to reduce talent scarcity by binding female talent in India. As a theoretical lens Neo-Institutionalism in the Indian context is combined with the family-relatedness of work decision model. The qualitative research design and first results as well as propositions for companies are included.

Rationale: Three-dimensional (3D) motion analysis has proved helpful in the diagnosis of different musculoskeletal syndromes and identifying injurious movement patterns in high string players. Furthermore, an optoelectronic 3D motion capture system allows an accurate and objective assessment of upper body posture and motion during violin and viola performance. However, no reference upper body model of high string players has been proposed as yet. Moreover, a more physiological shoulder model that separates the joints of the shoulder complex has not been reported. Especially in view of given the role of the scapula in the normal movement of the humerus, it cannot be disregarded when evaluating musculoskeletal strain in the shoulder. The International Society of Biomechanics recommends definitions of joint coordinate systems for the report of upper body joint motion using anatomical landmarks as reference for the placement of surface markers. Using markers on the skin for some of the proposed locations is, however, inappropriate when an instrument is being played. There are skin movement artifacts, e. g. caused by the movement of the scapula underneath the skin, whereas some markers interfere with the instrument on the shoulder or might be occluded by the bowing arm in motion. Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop a marker-based method for quantifying 3D upper body kinematics of high string players and to demonstrate its clinical feasibility in violin and viola performance. The method is intended to provide an objective evaluation of high string players’ motor strategies, especially in the shoulder complex, while minimizing skin movement artifacts, marker occlusions and limitations in instrument placement. Methods: A custom marker set was developed consisting of thirty-one single markers to define the anatomical coordinate systems of sixteen upper body segments including the pelvis, thorax, spine and head, as well as both scapulae, upper arms, forearms and hands. Twenty-one of these markers as well as two pre-built and four custom-made rigid marker clusters were used for tracking the segment motions. Twelve professional violinists without history of musculoskeletal or neurological problems were recruited for assessing the clinical feasibility of the method. They were asked to perform a single sequence of two consecutive musical notes on each of two adjacent strings (G- and D-string) in real time, played at 50 bpm with tempo audibly regulated by a metronome, and using a standardized violin and bow. The participants played up- and down-bow alternately using the whole length of the bow. A custom biomechanical model was applied to the motion capture data and the rotation angles of fifteen joints were calculated. The location of each glenohumeral joint rotation center was computed by upper arm movements with respect to the scapula based on a functional method. For a description of the motion patterns, minimum, maximum and range of angular motion were averaged across participants for each string and rotation. Inter-subject variability was assessed by calculating the standard deviation (SD) at each sample of the angle-time series between participants for each rotation and for both strings. Then SD was averaged over sequences for each rotation and string. For comparing mean rotation angles between strings over time, random effect models were used. Results: The highest range of motion was observed in the right elbow flexion and right wrist flexion/extension. Also, high ranges of motion (> 10°) were found in all right glenohumeral rotations and right wrist deviation and pronation/supination. In conclusion, lumbar and thoracic spine, thorax, neck, and left upper limb were quite static, while large motion occurred in the right upper limb during up and down bowing. Most rotation angles showed a reasonable inter-subject variability except for left and right glenohumeral plane of elevation as well as left glenohumeral internal/external rotation, and left and right wrist pronation/supination (> 10°). Significant differences in the rotation angles between G- and D-string bowing were detected especially in the left wrist and right shoulder joints. Conclusions: This is the first study that used quantitative 3D analysis to explore the upper body kinematics of high string players during performance, providing a detailed view of the motor control in the shoulder as well as in the lumbar and thoracic spine. The biggest advantage over previously published methods is the more physiological shoulder and spine models while providing a simple application. The method was found to give consistent motion patterns across participants and to be sensitive to differences between adjacent strings. Although the method appears to be valid, more rigorous validation is necessary. Since there is no gold standard with which we could compare results, we were only able to assess the clinical feasibility. We believe that our method represents a good compromise between accuracy and practicability for clinical application. Due to the inclusion of multi-segmented shoulder and spine models, it will improve understanding of the motor strategies adopted by high string players and may contribute to injury prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

Background: Midwifery care in Germany is a legal right for every woman (SGB V). Midwives work employed or freelance in hospitals or in community services, providing maternal care from pregnancy until the end of breastfeeding (Sayn-Wittgenstein 2007). Increasingly, a shortage of midwifery care has been observed, forcing hospitals to understaff or to close their birth units, leaving women and their families without care (Sander et al. 2018). At the same time, birth rates are rising, thus leading to an increasing demand of midwifery care (Destatis 2019). As off today there is no central register for midwives across Germany’s 16 states. Therefor the exact number of registered midwives as well as the scope of services provided by midwives are not known (Niedersächsisches Landesgesundheitsamt 2019). Given the present situation, it seems to be imperative to establish effective midwifery workforce planning. The aim of this poster is to identify already existing health workforce planning approaches and to determine the extent to which those can be transferred to the German system of midwifery care. Methods: Health workforce planning approaches, already being used on a national and international level, have been analysed, focusing their applicability to midwifery services in Germany. Results: Particular elements of the workforce planning approaches already being used in Germany for registered physicians seem to be adoptable. However, they need to be adjusted and enhanced to ensure the characteristics of midwifery in the German public health services. Internationally used approaches are not readily transferable due to systemic differences in health care systems. Conclusions: The development of new specific workforce and service planning approaches for midwifery care in Germany is crucial to meet present and future needs of women and their families during the childbirth period.

Hintergrund: Sozial benachteiligte Schwangere sind in besonderem Maße vulnerabel. Sie befinden sich wie alle Schwangeren in einer biographischen Übergangssituation und tragen zusätzlich die mit ihrem sozialen Status assoziierten Gesundheitsrisiken. In diesem Zusammenhang stellt insbesondere die Geburtsvorbereitung als gesundheitsfördernde Maßnahme ein wichtiges niedrigschwelliges Angebot der Gesundheitsförderung dar. Denn durch diese kann bereits vor der Geburt die Unterstützung, Beratung und Vernetzung der betroffenen Mädchen und Frauen erfolgen. Die Verbesserung der Inanspruchnahme von Unterstützungsangeboten wie der Hebammenbetreuung setzt Detailwissen um die Bedürfnisse der angesprochenen Personengruppe voraus. Deren Erfassung ist daher ein wesentlicher Schwerpunkt dieser Studie. Methode: In der qualitativen Studie werden sowohl Frauen und Mädchen in schwierigen Lebenssituationen (n=19) zu ihren Bedürfnissen und Erfahrungen in der Schwangerschaft als auch Expertinnen, Familienhebammen und ein Sozialpädagoge retrospektiv teilstrukturiert befragt (n=7). Ergänzt werden die Aussagen durch Angebotsanalysen aus ausgewählten Städten und Gemeinden (n=7). Die Auswertung der Studie ist angelehnt an die Technik der Grounded Theory. Ergebnisse: Die Bedürfnisse der befragten Frauen und Mädchen in der Schwangerschaft sind komplex und weisen in ihren speziellen Ausprägungen besondere thematische Schwerpunkte auf. Durch die meist prekären Lebensverhältnisse stehen Sicherheitsbedürfnisse im Vordergrund. Soziale Beziehungen und die Rollenfindung als Mutter sind gleichfalls wichtige Themen, weil die Frauen von Diskriminierung betroffen sind oder diese befürchten. Das Informationsbedürfnis bezieht sich schwerpunktmäßig auf gegenwärtige Phänomene und Erfahrungen. Viele der geäußerten Bedürfnisse werden sowohl an die Menschen des sozialen Umfelds als auch an Mitarbeiter der Beratungsstellen oder Akteure des Gesundheitswesens adressiert. Hebammen bieten sich durch ihre spezielle Arbeitsstruktur insbesondere dann als Ansprechpartner an, wenn die Kontakte zu Familienmitgliedern oder den Menschen des direkten sozialen Umfelds unsicher sind. Übliche Geburtsvorbereitungskurse treffen nur bedingt die Interessen der Befragten und bringen das Risiko einer Ausgrenzung durch die Gruppe mit sich. Die Interviews mit den Expertinnen sowie die Angebotsanalysen zeigen außerdem, dass die Vernetzung der Professionen des Gesundheits- und Sozialwesens und eine Überweisung zu passgenauen Angeboten nur unzureichend realisiert sind. Ausgewählte Empfehlungen: Die speziellen Bedürfnisse der schwangeren Frauen und Mädchen in besonderen Lebenssituationen bedürfen einer inhaltlich abgestimmten Vernetzung von Ärzten, Hebammen und Beratern. Geburtsvorbereitungskurse sollten neben den üblichen curricularen Inhalten die Chance berücksichtigen, dass Frauen eine neue soziale Rolle im unkomplizierten Beisammensein mit anderen neu definieren und erproben können. Die thematischen Schwerpunkte sollten das Wachstum des Kindes und zeitnahe Erfahrungen in den Vordergrund stellen.