Search results for "Social welfare"

Book Review: Mia Arp Fallow and Cory Blad (eds) Social Welfare Responses in a Neoliberal Era. Policies, Practices, and Social Problems

2020

Foreign Direct Investments and Economic Growth in Central and Eastern Europe: A Panel-Based Analysis

2018

One of the most discussed issues related to foreign direct investments (FDI) refers to the impact they have on the economic and social welfare of a country. Moreover, if these effects are positive, the question is to what extent and by what instruments they can be enhanced by host country governments. In recent decades, the general political opinion on FDI changed, as they are rather understood as generating competitiveness and growth for host countries and less in terms of their negative effects on the economy. Our paper investigates the relationship between FDI flows and economic growth in countries from Central and Eastern Europe that are also EU members using the panel methodology and i…

Soten "neljäs tuotantokausi"

2020

A central political goal of Juha Sipilä’s government was to implement comprehensive reform concerning health and social services. In this article we study how leaders of change, whose task it was to prepare and implement the reform together with regional institutions, experienced the political process aimed to prepare and implement the reform. Key theoretical concepts discussed herein are different models of democracy, dialogue and trust. Our empirical data consists of 17 interviews with the leaders of change. The key focus is on interaction and trust at the interface of politics and the public authorities involved in the implementation process. According to our results political guidance a…

Co-Production in the Context of Finnish Social Services and Health Care: A Challenge and a Possibility for a New Kind of Democracy

2016

Alongside the ongoing renewal process of the Finnish welfare state, the role of the citizens is also revisited. So far the attention has mainly focused on how the responsibility for service provision is shared between the public sector and the service users, while the role of public services as a part of the democratic system has been more or less ignored. Based on the results from a 3-year participatory action research project called KAMPA, this article will discuss if the development of co-production in the context of public welfare services shows the way forward toward a new kind of society where democracy is an inseparable part of the structures and procedures of the service provision. …

‘Back Door Sentencing’ in Italy: Common Reasons and Main Consequences for the Recall of Prisoners

2012

Italian law only provides the general conditions for the institution of recall. It follows that significant discretionary powers are enjoyed by the surveillance judges (and in particular by the Surveillance Tribunal) who evaluate on a case-by-case basis whether the commission of another offence or the infringement of parole conditions demonstrate the offenders' negative attitude to reintegrate into society. However, especially with reference to the commission of serious crimes, the judges' discretionary assessment can result in a restrictive application of the law on recall with the consequence that parolees are returned to prison even when they commit minor violations. The Italian peniten…

‘We Don’t Differentiate between Old and New Arrivals’. Research Notes on Social Capital Formation in Religious Organizations among Polish Young Migra…

2017

With more than half a million Poles living in the UK, Polish Catholic Church has become an important provider for religious and social services in the UK. In this context, a plethora of religious organizations has been developing around the Polish Parishes especially focusing on youth. Drawing on 12 participant observations and semi-structured interviews with priest, association leaders and Polish youth, this paper asks how social capital is created within religious association by the Polish youth living in the UK. The research identifies 3 types of religious organizations operating in the religious communities and which are the main types of social networks that are formed within these rel…

Assessment of Social Services’ Disaster Risk Management: Case Finland

2017

Local actors are crucial in disaster risk management; thus, their capacities should be assessed periodically. In this study, local social services’ preparedness plans were assessed using Emergency Management Program Measurement and quantitative document analysis. The specific aim was to study how social service areas of various sizes were prepared for disasters in Finland. The results showed that disaster risk management capacity varied significantly between large and small service areas. Larger areas were better prepared for supporting management, and had better procedures to activate their response, modern public information and deeper cooperation with the private sector and the civil soc…

The care of the informal caregiver's burden by the Spanish public system of social welfare: a review.

2010

Abstract This work analyzes the public social services system developed in Spain to attend dependent persons and their informal caregivers, examining in a more detailed way the current capacity of the Spanish public In-Home Help Service (HHS) to meet the demands of dependent elderly persons and its impact on their informal caregiver's burden. We begin with a brief introduction of the services by the Spanish public social services system developed to attend dependency; next, the evolution of the Spanish public HHS is described in a thorough way to identify the pros and cons of this service regarding the informal caregivers’ burden of dependent elders. Finally, recommendations are proposed to…

Nursing home vouchers in Spain: the Valencian experience

2002

The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the innovative nursing home voucher scheme that was introduced by the Valencia Autonomous Region of Spain in the early 1990s to implement targets laid down by the national plan for the development of older people's services. The article begins with a review of the evolution of Spanish social services, and especially the nursing home sector, and then summarises the genesis, objectives and characteristics of the voucher scheme. The main part of the paper reports a performance analysis and economic evaluation of the programme. On the basis of detailed information over four years, it is concluded that nursing home vouchers have contributed to the in…

Transformation by stealth: the retargeting of home care services in Finland

2011

This paper analyses the trends and changes that home care services for older people have undergone during the last two decades in Finland. The data used come from national social care statistics, covering the time period from 1990-2010. The results show that, in contrast to many other European nations that have expanded their home care provisions, the coverage levels in Finland have dropped dramatically during this period. Those with the highest needs do receive increased amounts of support, but others have become excluded from publicly funded home care provisions and often need to rely on family members. In most localities, public service provision is focused on personal care, and no longe…