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Social Policy
No full textWhat is social policy, and why are welfare systems important? How have they been affected by the global financial crisis? The fourth edition of this well-respected textbook provides an excellent introduction to social policy in the twenty-first century. Expert contributors examine the development, delivery, and implications of welfare, as well as the social and economic context by which it is shaped. With numerous helpful learning features and an attractive two-colour text design it is an ideal starting point for students new to the subject, and for those looking to take their learning further. The fourth edition includes three new chapters on the history and development of social policy, making social policy in a global context, and how to research and write about social policy. It is up-to-date with the coalition government's social policy agenda, and offers increased coverage of the important issues of equality, gender, ethnicity, migration, globalization and sustainability
The Care of Older people in Urban China: Who is Responsible
Full text linkAs an ageing society going through dramatic economic and political transitions, the care of older people in urban China has increasingly become a source of social anxiety and a topic of policy debate. This study has identified three key actors in the provision of care to older people in urban China, namely the family, the neighbourhood and the state. While the Confucian emphasis on filial piety and intergenerational responsibility has put the family as the primary care provider for older people, the neighbourhood is also conventionally perceived as a safety net for them. In a society that was once dominated by the values of communal reciprocity and collective responsibilities, the state has restricted its support only to those most deprived, and has thus played a limited role in promoting welfare entitlements for older people. Yet, since the 1980s, the transition from a collective socialist economy to a competitive market economy has also transformed societal values on issues such as individuality, family, responsibility, privacy and autonomy, which subsequently changed social expectations of how the care of older people should be best delivered. I argue that in order to understand the changing social expectations and the corresponding responses from different stakeholders, one has to first comprehend the shifting ideas of the rights and responsibilities associated with the care of older people. The changing perspectives towards different types of old-age support were examined, based on 39 qualitative interviews with key stakeholders (older people, academics, government officials and local Residents Committee officers and NGO staff) in two Chinese cities, Beijing and Guangzhou. This research contributes knowledge to social gerontology and social policy field through a broader understanding of the pursuance of a 'good life' by older people in contemporary China. It points to my argument that independence and autonomy in old age, as valued by the interviewees, will not be realised unless there is a fundamental shift in policy. That is to say, policies should recognise and respect the individuality of older people and facilitate their life choices. Most importantly, a balanced welfare mix requires the state to play a stronger role in filling the care provision gap left by the family and the neighbourhood
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Approaches to Fighting poverty among older persons in Uganda: A Study of Wakiso and Luwero Districts
Full text linkUganda experienced significant economic growth from 1992 to 2009. Following economic restructuring, the national poverty rate fell from about 56 per cent in 1992 to 25 per cent in 2009/10. However, while the overall proportion of the people living in poverty dropped significantly, in 2007, 64 per cent of older people were still living below the poverty line (Help Age International, 2007).
Older people in Uganda make up 4.2 per cent of the total population which is 30.7 million. They are economically active: 84 per cent are involved with agriculture. However, over 90 per cent of the older persons live in rural areas where poverty rates are higher than in urban areas. Older people are vulnerable owing to HIV/AIDs: 12 per cent of Ugandan children are AIDS orphans and a quarter of these live in a household headed by an older person. In addition, out of the 16 per cent of the population with a disability, older people comprise 53 per cent. Furthermore, more than half of the older persons have never been to school. However, the majority of older persons provide for their households, this challenges the government position that ‘older people are generally too weak to perform productive work and are economically dependent on others’ (UNHS, 2009/10:137).
This thesis focuses on the following questions: What is poverty? What explains the exclusion of older people from poverty reduction programmes? How do older people address poverty in their households?The study used qualitative methods, employing 120 interviews, including in-depth interviews with 18 representatives of government and Community Based Organisations (CBOs) six focus group discussions and 60 semi-structured interviews, to provide insight into the strategies used to fight poverty at the Sub County level. Narrative interviews and observation of non-verbal communication were employed to analyse older people’s experience of Poverty reduction programmes and identify their poverty alleviation strategies. Programme guidelines and policy documents were reviewed to gain detailed information about the backgrounds to the strategies, the modes of implementation and the theories that influenced the strategies. The study was carried out in Katabi and Mbututumula subcounties of Wakiso and Luwero respectively.
This study found that the Government and CBO’s official views of what poverty is do not seem to differ much, but when it comes to identification of the poor then differences arise. The research demonstrates that both sectors support the monetary perspective on poverty and identify minimum income and expenditure in terms of a level of consumption below which poverty is identified. This understanding has its roots in an absolute perspective on poverty. Meanwhile, older people’s perspectives on poverty included a wide range of deprivations in their households. For example, the inability to send their grandchildren to school was a common type of self-reported deprivation for the majority of respondents. Older people used a relative concept to define poverty. What was needed for basic survival did depend on the cultural context and involved comparison with what other people in that context could afford.
Despite the government’s objective of fighting poverty at the Sub County level, it was clear that government strategies did not include old-age poverty alleviation.Anti-poverty approaches were more strongly linked to the government’s own agenda than to the needs of older people. Yet in all these the older people in poverty were disadvantaged. Older people tended to be excluded by strict eligibility rules and conditions and by individual relationships within the groups formed to tackle poverty. Older people in poverty shy away from Poverty reduction programmes leaving the relatively poor, but those not in absolute poverty, to participate. The participants’ definitions of poverty and living standards observed during the interviews revealed that they were living well above the official poverty line. Furthermore, findings revealed that the right of older people to participate in government Poverty reduction programmes was not supported by legislation and there was limited information available to enable them to demand accountability or even influence policy strategies to address poverty.
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In contrast, community based organisations have been remarkable in seeking to reduce poverty among the older persons. Their approach provided support for participation of older people in Poverty reduction programmes. CBOs have conducted skills and possession audits among older people and, based on the results, old-age poverty has been included in development programmes. Such strategies have led to the establishment of credit facilities through community saving schemes and village banks, and age-friendly projects such as hand craft, mat and basket making, mushroom and vegetable growing. These motivate older people to participate and take into account their physical abilities. The formation of groups seems to be a major strategy used by CBOs to enable members to support each other and facilitate both the collective participation in decision making and the barter exchange strategy for goods and services among group members.
This study concludes that despite the difficult living conditions of older people in poverty, the majority live independent lives, are self-reliant and use a variety of strategies to address poverty. These include involvement in agriculture, use of community banks, use of manual and business skills, fostering children, family visits, joining religious and collective social groups and training to gain new skills. The present study extends the literature by showing why old age poverty persists despite efforts to counter it.
Some implication of the study’s findings are that strict eligibility rules should be used to ensure that poverty alleviation support reaches those who need it most, the formation of groups should not be used as a condition to qualify for government support, information on anti-poverty programmes should be readily available to older persons in poverty and best practices from CBOs and individuals should be incorporated in anti-poverty policies.
Keywords: Uganda, poverty alleviation strategies, anti-poverty, older people, community based organisations, government, older people associations
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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