Search results for ‘Subject term:"social policy"’ Sort:
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The capabilities approach and critical social policy: lessons from the majority world?
- Author:
- CARPENTER Mick
- Journal article citation:
- Critical Social Policy, 29(3), August 2009, pp.351-373.
- Publisher:
- Sage
The capabilities approach (CA) most closely associated with the thinner and thicker versions of Sen and Nussbaum has the potential to provide a paradigm shift for critical social policy, encompassing but also transcending some of the limitations associated with the Marshallian social citizenship approach. The article argues, however, that it cannot simply be imported from the majority world, rather there is a need to bear in mind the critical literature that developed around it. This is generally discussed and then critically applied to case studies of CA in the developed capitalist world, particularly the Equalities Review conducted for the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Human rights, equality and democratic renewal in Northern Ireland
- Editor:
- HARVEY Colin J.
- Publisher:
- Hart
- Publication year:
- 2001
- Pagination:
- 336p.
- Place of publication:
- Oxford
Recent developments in Northern Ireland have correctly been described as historic. The Good Friday Agreement 1998 marked a significant departure from incrementalism and thus with the dominant logic of British constitutionalism. These papers offer a collection that both describes the changing legal and political landscape in Northern Ireland and provides a significant contribution to current debates on constitutionalism both in Northern Ireland and in the UK as a whole.
Gender equity in the 90's - Swedish style
- Author:
- SHAVER Sheila
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy Research Centre Newsletter, 70, August 1998, pp.1, 4-6.
- Publisher:
- University of New South Wales. Social Policy Research Centre
The author spent the last year in Sweden at the Universities of Umea and Stockholm. In this article she discusses gender equity provisions in contemporary Swedish social policy.
Towards a national health service for Spain: the search for equity and efficiency
- Authors:
- GUILLEN Ana M., CABIEDES Laura
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of European Social Policy, 7(4), November 1997, pp.319-336.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Assesses the decision-making process that led to the approval of the 1986 General Health Law by contemplating the roles played by the main social and political actors. The influence of policy legacies and impact of regime change are considered. Secondly, the article evaluates the implementation process of the reform law as regards the coverage criteria and span, the financial sources and the services provided. The analysis of these indicators leads to the conclusion that the health-care system in Spain has been transformed in to a national health service, although some minor characteristics of the previous model persist.
Theorizing notions of the participation of people in poverty in social policymaking: policing, politics and subjectification
- Authors:
- DEGERICKX Heidi, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Administration, 56(1), 2022, pp.19-32.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Since the 1990s, a paradigm of participation has gained prominence and become a dominant policy rhetoric in anti-poverty policymaking in Europe, embracing the key idea that people in poverty should participate as equal citizens in political decision-making processes. Based on a historical case study of the production process of a Belgian white paper, the General Report on Poverty (1994), this study investigates who participated in the GRP production process, and whether the underlying participatory and democratic mechanisms produced a shift in power and might have led to a more socially just and equal society. The researchers rely on a central set of ideas of the French philosopher Jacques Ranciere to theorize different notions of participation, and tease out whether the processing of equality had the capacity to move from policing towards politics through subjectification. This research study demonstrates how social change and a reconfiguration of the democratic order can appear as a moment of democracy, yet inevitably leads to a new police. (Edited publisher abstract)
Equality and territorial (in-)justice? Exploring the impact of devolution on social welfare for older people in the UK
- Author:
- CHANEY Paul
- Journal article citation:
- Critical Social Policy, 33(1), 2013, pp.114-139.
- Publisher:
- Sage
With a focus on constitutional reform in the UK, this article examines the impact of devolution on social policy making and welfare delivery for older people and public welfare distribution within and between constituent nations of the UK. It reports on a review of secondary data sources, including devolved policy documents and enactments and the literature of organisations representing older people, using policy discourse analysis. It presents and discusses the findings, including key themes identified in social policy for older people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and a comparison of policy developments in social welfare for older people in the devolved governments. It concludes that the analysis reveals significant territorial divergences in devolved welfare rights and entitlements for older people and variation in capacity to monitor and uphold age equality across the devolved governments. It suggests that UK devolution provides evidence of the tension between universal state-wide welfare provision and regional differentiation.
Reaching the hard-to-reach: conceptual puzzles and challenges for policy and practice
- Authors:
- MacKENZIE Mhairi, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Policy, 41(3), July 2012, pp.511-532.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
- Place of publication:
- Cambridge
The concept of systematic inequalities in social and health outcomes has come to form part of contemporary policy discourse. Moreover, there is a widespread view that those in more deprived circumstances are less likely than the more affluent to be in receipt of optimal public services. Such individuals and communities are variously described as excluded, disadvantaged, underserved or ‘hard-to-reach’. This paper is focused on understanding the concept of hard-to-reachness and has 2 purposes. First, it aims to offer a critical commentary on the concept of hard-to-reachness, particularly within the policy agenda of tackling health inequalities, considering who is viewed as hard to reach and why. Second, it tests the policy and practice implications of the concept, drawing on a case-study of a Scottish health improvement programme, Keep Well, aimed at reaching and engaging the hard to reach in preventive approaches to cardiovascular disease. While offering a case-study located explicitly within the health domain, Keep Well exemplifies key features of a broader policy approach to tackling inequalities. The article finds that a lack of conceptual clarity leads to ambiguous policy and practice and argues for possible theoretical refinements.
Disabled children and their families: a decade of policy change
- Authors:
- READ Janet, BLACKBURN Clare, SPENCER Nick
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Society, 26(3), May 2012, pp.223-233.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Based on a UK perspective, this article explores national and international policy and legal changes in relation to disabled children and their families. It examines attempts to transform the ways that disabled children are perceived and the rights accorded to them. The article discusses the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons, and specific UK policy initiatives and debates on universal and specialist provisions. Finally, consideration is given to whether these initiatives have contributed to equality of opportunity for disabled children. The association between poverty, deprivation, environmental factors and child disability is identified as a challenge for social policy. Implications for future policy directions are discussed.
Equality and human rights in Britain: principles and challenges
- Authors:
- RIDDELL Sheila, WATSON Nick
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Society, 10(2), April 2011, pp.193-203.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
In the UK, there are concerns about a range of social issues including immigrants, the educational attainment of marginalised groups and the gender pay gap. Increasingly, the government asserts that the promotion of equality and human rights policies are central to addressing these issues, with a view to creating societies which are both more equitable and more efficient. Over the past decade and a half, a period of economic growth followed recently by a major recession, the equality and human rights agenda enjoyed a high political profile. However, as discussed in this article, the social and economic optimism of the late 1990s and early 2000s has been followed by economic cutback, a commitment to the shrinking of the state and the public sphere across the UK, and a general move to the political right. This article examines the political context which led to the rise of the equality and human rights agenda before exploring equality within the UK social policy. Finally, progress which has been made towards achieving a more equal society in the UK over recent years is assessed.
Educational expansion and social mobility: the Scottish case
- Author:
- IANNELLI Cristina
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Society, 10(2), April 2011, pp.251-264.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
The idea behind reducing class inequalities in educational attainment has been based on the belief that this would help to level life opportunities. This paper, based on the main findings of three Economic and Social Research Council funded projects, examines the evidence on trends in social class inequalities in educational attainment and the role of education in promoting social mobility within Scotland. Results indicate that, despite the increase in overall levels of attainment, class differences in educational attainment continued. Educational policies in Scotland supported educational expansion which allowed larger numbers of working-class children to climb the social class ladder than in the past. However, these did not translate into equalities in the likelihood of entering the top-level employment. In conclusion, the author suggests that educational policies on their own are not enough to change patterns of social mobility.