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By understanding better how certain socioeconomic systems work, what chances for transformation they contain, and hence determining on these bases how they may evolve, we will be in a better position to look for the compatibilities and synergies that may be established among economic activities, social policies, and interventions in defense of environmental equilibria. It will also become clearer if, and how, it is possible to make these different needs interact for the better of all concerned. The research project illustrated here intends to contribute to our knowledge in this sense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing mainly on qualitative evidence gathered from interviews with migrant handymen and with labour-using households in the UK, this paper analyses how this migration typifies economic and social divisions within Europe and embodies conflicting tensions between economic and social policies at an interpersonal level. By supplying household services, migrant handymen enable labour-using households to alleviate time pressures and conflicts in time priorities arising from tensions between economic expectations regarding working hours and work commitment, and social expectations regarding contemporary ideas of active parenting. Similarly to the outsourcing of feminized domestic labour and care, these tensions are in part resolved for labour-using households by extending class divisions across national boundaries while leaving gender divisions changed but not transformed and in some instances exacerbating work/ life tensions among the migrants. These broad findings are complicated by differential desires and capabilities around fathering practices among fathers in labour-using households and among the migrants, and economic differentiation among the migrant population. Although we cannot tell from our study whether such movement reinforces or redresses uneven development, what we can say is that existing cohesion policies are insufficient to redress uneven development, and individual responses including migration can reinforce existing social divisions. Further, existing social policies for promoting gender equality fail to recognize or redress the deeply embedded gendered norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social quality has been presented as a theory that can explain economic and social progress of the daily lives of a population. The components of social quality include: socio-economic security, social inclusion, social cohesion and social empowerment. The social quality perspective views people as interacting within collective identities that provide the contexts of self-realisation. The paper tests the social quality theory by focusing on the relationship between social inclusion and social cohesion, the notion of social relations, to socio-economic security using the context of the family as a facilitator of self-realisation. Using data from the Israel Social Survey 2003, six indicators of socio-economic security were analysed. There was a small but positive and significant relationship between social inclusion and socio-economic security. We found no relationship between socio-economic security and social cohesion. These findings tend to undermine those aspects of social quality theory which posit close connections between these elements on a conceptual level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite being more intensely involved in European cooperation and exchange activities, social work in Europe still presents a picture of disunity. The present paper outlines the simultaneous processes of standardisation and diversification that have characterised this profession from the beginning. This has produced, for example, the duality of social work and social pedagogy, which has to be understood in the context of the diversity of cultural and social policy across European nation states. Social work's professional development has oscillated periodically between engagement with this diversity and withdrawal to scientific positions of detachment and universality. Rather than rating this as an indicator of the profession's weakness, the paper seeks to explore the positive and paradigmatic meaning of this characteristic, especially in light of the current challenges of economic globalisation and the social politics of neoliberalism. Although there is a discernible tendency of the social professions arranging themselves with organisational and methodological changes demanded by neoliberalism, such as managerialism and methods of client activation, there is also a strong countermovement that recognises the complexity of social and political relationships in societies no longer inspired by the promises of modernity. Facing up to historical contingency and cultural relativity emerges as a paradigmatic stance of a critical form of professionalism to be forged in transnational encounters and as a core reference point for an emergent model of "European social work" that could become of conceptual and methodological significance beyond the specific European context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distribution of economic resources in society is a central concern for social policy. But research in this area has primarily concentrated on the bottom of the economic distribution, namely ‘the poor’. In this article, we argue that it is time for social policy to move away from a narrow focus on poverty to consider the brooder issue of inequality between different groups in the economic distribution and, by implication, the position of better-off citizens. This raises a number of conceptual challenges due to the current lack of consideration of wealth and inequality at a political, theoretical or empirical level. The article discusses the challenges and concludes by outlining a possible research agenda. However, the underpinning argument is that social policy needs to develop a broader understanding of the economic distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the social quality in Slovenia. Accordingly, the social quality in the country include historical context with only recent national independence and now the adhesion to the European Union, the change in political system and ideology, and the country's history of Catholicism. The country's economic conditions have been relatively favorable, and its personal networks of social support have been well developed. Its health system has been highly inclusive, but the narrowing of services covered by compulsory health insurance can lead to exclusion of those with lower income.

The article provides a perspective regarding the social quality in Hungary. Its political and economical transition has changed the social and economic conditions. This process was called transition wherein it involves the ability of adjustment to new conditions. The author defines social quality as the extent where people are able to participate in the social and economic life of their communities under conditions enhancing their well-being and individuality. In this context, the researchers aim to outline the essential elements of social quality in the conditional factors socio-economic security, social inclusion, social cohesion and social empowerment.

The article presents a perspective regarding the social quality indicators in Belgium. In this context, the researchers explain the national situation concerning these indicators without reflecting on the theory of social quality. Belgian Constitution incorporates economic rights. The basic social rights include health care, education and political citizenship. With regards to good practice of social quality, the researchers refer to the Belgian system of working conditions. In this aspects, the four components of social quality can be determined.

This article explains the context of Lula's election for the Brazilian presidency, and the scope for progressive economic and social change in the country. We argue that although the ruling coalition is on the political left, the new administration is not, and it will face grave difficulties to achieve traditional left objectives, including universal citizenship and greater equality of income and wealth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The paper explores the relevance of social enterprise to social work practice and policy development. Social enterprise refers to a broad set of approaches that use business acumen to address social goals. A marginal activity in social work for a long time, recently social enterprise has been thrust into the spotlight in debates about the future of social policy and community services. It is important that social workers understand the meaning and implications of social enterprise if they are to apply it critically and reflectively in practice and participate in contemporary debates about its relevance in promoting individual and community empowerment. The paper provides an overview of the meaning of social enterprise, outlines the reasons for the renewed focus on social enterprise and related concepts in social policy debates, particularly community economic development, and examines its underlying values. It concludes with a discussion of questions and concerns surrounding the implementation of social enterprise in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article assesses contemporary social policy in Poland within the context of its rapidly changing social, political and economic institutions and a dynamic ideological environment. It could be anticipated that the trend toward privatization and a market-based economy would result in social policies that favor citizenship autonomy over social guarantees. Perhaps the most noteworthy trends are those toward privatization with respect to social welfare in the areas of employment, housing and health care. The privatization of industry has resulted in the unemployment or underemployment of workers. There are some positive results from the painful fear of losing a job and the resulting worsening of one's economic condition, such as an increase of work quality and personal discipline. However, there are many negative effects as well. Because of the fear that they will be replaced at the work site, many working people do not use the rights to which they are entitled. The well-being of all of its citizens should be the goal of any social policy development. Social planners should consider ways to coordinate the interactions of ideology and socioeconomic and political institutions to more effectively enhance citizen well-being, as suggested by Iatridis.

The article describes the transformation of social policy in China and the trends of welfare development. In common with most countries in the world, China is facing an increasing demand for welfare. The free-market economic reforms of the last decade have dramatically transformed social policy in China, which is gradually retreating from an egalitarian and collective approach and moving towards a pluralistic and "residual" orientation. In China, welfare development is affected by three interacting factors; historical legacies, socialist ideology and the process of economic modernization. When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) came to power in 1949, Mao Zedong tried to introduce a socialist system which was partly rooted in traditional Chinese culture and partly reflected influences from the Soviet Union. With high priority given to economic growth, the CCP denounced the "iron rice bowl" system of welfare as an impediment to improvement in work incentives, efficiency and productivity. Under the slogan of "dismantling the iron rice bowl," major welfare reforms were introduced in the 1980s. This article serves to describe the transformation process and delineate the trends of welfare development.

Focuses on social policy. Standards and preconditions for qualities of life; Principles of social development.

Comments on the business aspects of social policy researches. Difficulty of achieving objectivity in conducting research on one' funding agency; Researchers' tailoring of academic pursuit to funders' priorities; Inability to recruit a senior academic willing to comment freely on the conduct of the periodic Research Assessment Exercise in Great Britain.