New directions in welfare: rights-based social policies in post-neoliberal Latin America

What happens to the politics of welfare in the Global South when neoliberal values are questioned? How is welfare re-imagined and re-enacted when governments seek to introduce progressive change? Latin America provides an illustration and a valuable entry point to debates about ‘interruptions’ of neoliberalism and the changing nature of social policy. Drawing on examples of disability policies in Ecuador and care provision in Uruguay, we argue that there is a ‘rights turn’ in welfare provision under the left that reflects a recognition that previous welfare models left too many people out, ethically and politically, as well as efforts to embed welfare more centrally in new patterns of respect for socio-economic and identity-based human rights. Given Latin America’s recent contestation of neoliberal development as well as its history of sometimes dramatic welfare shifts, the emergence of rights-based social provision is significant not just for the region but also in relation to global struggles for more equitable governance.     

Piecing Together the ‘Turkish Puzzle’ on Female Labour Force Participation: Comparative Insights from Southern Europe

Southern Europe has seen remarkable turnarounds in female labour force participation (FLFP) over the past four decades. In Turkey, however, scores of women have yet to join the labour force. To address this ‘Turkish puzzle’, we present comparative data on women’s work in Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece (SE-4) and Turkey. Through Qualitative Comparative Analysis, we identify the factors behind rising FLFP in Southern Europe to explore the prospects for a steeper rise of FLFP in Turkey. We reveal two causal pathways to rising FLFP: (i) left party rule, or (ii) combinations of higher levels of take-up of early education and care, higher levels of tertiary education among women and larger size of service sector employment.     

The regulatory state and the UK Labour Government's re‐regulation of provision in the English National Health Service

Following its election in 1997, the UK Labour Government embarked upon a 10 year program of reform of the National Health Service (NHS). By 2005, Labour had doubled the NHS budget and dramatically transformed the shape of the Service. In England, a basic characteristic of the NHS is the organizational split between provider and commissioning agencies. In this article I argue that Labour's re‐regulation of NHS provision is a coherent representation of the influence of the “regulatory state” in restructuring arrangements between government, market, and society. The article offers an account of the regulatory state based on a discussion of five key theses: The Audit Society, Regulation Inside Government, The New Regulatory State, The British Regulatory State, and Regulatory Capitalism. The article unfolds Labour's program of reform across themes common to these accounts: the division of labor between state and society, the division of labor within the state, the formalization of previously informal controls, and the development of meta‐regulatory techniques of enforced self‐regulation. It concludes that the key themes of the regulatory state are at work in Labour's transformation of NHS provision and it offers a discussion of the implications for both scholars of regulation and the UK and European health policy literature.     

Atherosclerotic and Hypertensive Cardiovascular Disease are Associated with Death at Sublethal Carboxyhemoglobin Levels: A Postmortem Study

Residential fires are a significant cause for morbidity and mortality in the United States. Death is often the result of soot and smoke inhalation causing carbon monoxide (CO) toxicity. The approximate lethal level of carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) in healthy adults has been well described. However, a significant number of medical examiner cases involve infirmed decedents, often elderly, with complex cardiovascular disease burdens. It is well known that death in these cases will occur at sublethal levels of COHb; however, increased lethality has been largely documented via anecdotal experience and lacks quantification. Fifty-five cases were identified where death resulted from smoke and soot inhalation suffered in a residential fire. The control group, with no cardiovascular disease, had an age-adjusted mean COHb level of 61.6% at the time of death. Presence of hypertensive cardiovascular disease showed a 30% reduction in COHb (age-adjusted mean 43.2%), atherosclerotic disease showed a 33% reduction (age-adjusted mean 41.5%), and combined disease presentation accounted for 41% reduction (age-adjusted mean 36.3%). When controlling for age, atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular diseases were each associated with statistically significant decreases in COHb (p < 0.01). Increasing age was associated with decreased COHb levels at 2.8% per 10 years of life (p < 0.01), even when modeled with hypertensive and atherosclerotic disease. These findings carry important public health significance, as well as practical significance for the medical examiner when interpreting COHb levels in cases of suspected deaths due to smoke and soot inhalation.     

Friendship and care: gendered practices within personal communities in Portugal

What is the role of friends in practices of care within intimate relationships, either towards each other, or in supporting caring practices towards other persons (children, parents or other kin)? And to what extent are these caring practices gendered? I explore how friendship either disrupts, or reproduces, the ethics of care that cross-cuts gender relations throughout society. I focus on the experience of Portuguese men and women and take as reference their personal community, understood as the active and meaningful personal ties they consider to be central in their lives. Drawing on qualitative data from 30 in-depth interviews, I explore their experiences of care in three dimensions: caring for others; caring for oneself; and being cared for. Results show that, while it is not possible to assert a complete centring of personal lives on friendship, friends stand out as important sources of care in these three different situations, providing both emotional and practical support.     

西安坊上回族居住空间与言语社区的分化

居住空间的分化是族群内部分化的外部表征。20世纪90年代以来,西安坊上回族社区的居住空间分化为自建房和单元楼两种形式,并形成了相对独立的两个子社区。对调查数据的量化和质化分析发现,居住空间的重置引发了坊上回族社区语言使用和语言认知的分化,回族通过不同语言变体的选择及其价值判断,强化子社区内部的言语规范和身份认同。研究表明,从居住空间视角深入探索语言变体社会意义的演变,有助于揭示说话人新的身份认同的构建机制。     

浅析城市生活垃圾处理方案选择

在进行城市生活垃圾处理方案选择时应对城市概况、技术、经济和财务、环境以及法律政策等 5方面的因素进行全面、详细的调查、分析和评价 ,最终进行总体评价 ,选择出最适宜的方案。     

人口老龄化压力下的现实选择--低龄老年人力资源开发的思考

本文对老年人力资源开发的一些问题做了探讨,指出由低龄健康老人组成的老年人力资源是人力资源的重要组成部分,开发这部分人力资源对于缓解人口老龄化的压力具有重要的意义.老年人力资源开发状况受经济发展水平、继续工作的机会、社会配套制度与机构、身体状况和文化素质的制约,所以老年人的就业思路应当与老年人的心理、生理特点相适应.老年人离退休后继续工作,并不存在与年轻人争夺岗位的问题.开发老年人力资源应注意积极实现老年自养,同时也需要全社会的关注与支持,尤其需要各级政府采取有力措施.     

河南省农村养老服务机构的发展现状

随着老龄化社会的到来,如何养老成为人们关注的话题。本文通过对河南省农村养老服务机构发展现状的分析,看到河南存在养老观念陈旧、农村养老服务机构数量少、空间分布不均衡和运营不规范等问题,制约了农村养老服务机构的发展。为适应新形势对农村养老服务机构的需求,政府应发挥主导作用,从政策扶持、观念宣传、机构管理等多方面着手,积极探索新的养老模式,拓宽养老途径,满足农村老年人日益增长的养老需求。     

论“微时代”网络技术的异化

马克思的"异化"观点揭示了资本主义私有制条件下劳动产品及劳动对劳动者奴役的现象,现代科技"异化"是对马克思"异化"观的引申和发展。现代网络通信技术的发展在给人们生活带来极大便利的同时,又在一定程度上超出了人的控制,甚至成为支配、统治人的异己力量。要消除网络技术的负效应,必须凸显科技的人文关怀,推动网络技术的可持续发展,实现科技与社会的良性互动。