Social policy in the UK

Social policy is a very complex area, and this chapter has only offered a brief summary of the most significant recent changes to the UK welfare state. Social policy expenditure has fluctuated over time, with considerable increases through the late 1990s and 2000s, but reductions planned in many areas by the current Coalition Government. The UK welfare state has slowly come to terms with women’s engagement in the labour market, but failed to overcome the persistent inequality between male and female incomes. While competition and choice have been introduced in many areas of the welfare state, their impacts have been varied and contested. Aside from health and education, UK social policy has become increasingly ‘residualised’, with many transfers now means-tested and services like social housing becoming less widely available. At the same time, however, different patterns can be observed across the UK, particularly in the fields of social care and education, where different arrangements apply in different nations. Future developments in social policy are likely to be shaped by the challenge of an ageing population, and the recently hardened public attitude towards particular groups of social policy beneficiaries.

Strategies against racism: a comparison of a social movement and case studies of anti-racist policy and practice in the local state

The thesis compares two contrasting strategies employed with the aim of combating particular forms of racism within contemporary Britain. Both are assessed as political strategies in their own right and placed within the broader context of reformist and revolutionary political traditions. The sociology of social movements is examined critically, as are Marxist and post-Marxist writings on the role of human agency within social structures and on the nature of social movements. The history of the Anti Nazi League (ANL) in the late 1970s and its opposition to the National Front is considered as an example of anti-racist social movement based on the Trotskyist model of the United Front. The degree to which the Anti Nazi League corresponded to such a model is analysed as are the potential broader applications for such a strategy. The strategy with which the ANL is compared is the development of anti-racist and equal opportunities policies within local government in the 1980s, primarily by Labour-controlled local authorities. The theory of the local state and the political phenomenon of municipal socialism are discussed, specifically the role of various groups operating in and around local authorities in the formation and implementation of anti-racist policy and practice. Following this general discussion, two case studies in each of the areas of local authority housing, education and employment are explored to consider in depth the problems of specific anti-racist policies. In summation the efficacy of the two strategies are considered as parts of wider political currents in tandem with their declared specific objectives.

Innovation and policy networks:the social shaping of BSE-related technologies and the inadequate assessmant of related risks

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Biologising parenting:neuroscience discourse, English social and public health policy and understandings of the child

In recent years, claims about children's developing brains have become central to the formation of child health and welfare policies in England. While these policies assert that they are based on neuro-scientific discoveries, their relationship to neuroscience itself has been debated. However, what is clear is that they portray a particular understanding of children and childhood, one that is marked by a lack of acknowledgment of child personhood. Using an analysis of key government-commissioned reports and additional advocacy documents, this article illustrates the ways that the mind of the child is reduced to the brain, and this brain comes to represent the child. It is argued that a highly reductionist and limiting construction of the child is produced, alongside the idea that parenting is the main factor in child development. It is concluded that this focus on children's brains, with its accompanying deterministic perspective on parenting, overlooks children's embodied lives and this has implications for the design of children's health and welfare services.

Biologising parenting:neuroscience discourse, English social and public health policy and understandings of the child

In recent years, claims about children's developing brains have become central to the formation of child health and welfare policies in England. While these policies assert that they are based on neuro-scientific discoveries, their relationship to neuroscience itself has been debated. However what is clear is that they portray a particular understanding of children and childhood, one that is marked by a lack of acknowledgment of child personhood. Using an analysis of key government-commissioned reports and additional advocacy documents, this chapter illustrates the ways that the mind of the child is reduced to the brain, and this brain comes to represent the child. It is argued that a highly reductionist and limiting construction of the child is produced, alongside the idea that parenting is the main factor in child development. It is concluded that this focus on children's brains, with its accompanying deterministic perspective on parenting, overlooks children's embodied lives and this has implications for the design of children's health and welfare services.

A vállalatok politikája – vállalati, társadalmi felelősségvállalás, vállalati közösségek és a vállalati stratégia jövője (Corporate policy – corporate social responsibility, corporate communities, and future of corporate strategy)

A vállalati társadalmi felelősségvállalás (CSR) a diszciplinarizálódás korai szakaszában különböző tudományos hagyományokból táplálkozva, a vállalatirányítás, az üzleti etika, a környezetgazdálkodás és a marketingkommunikáció határvidékének szélesítésével, különböző hangsúlyú kiterjesztésével igyekszik saját helyét kijelölni a gazdálkodástudomány keretei között. Jelen tanulmány egy, az érintetti elméletekből kiinduló, ám alapvetően történeti és politikai hagyományhoz köti a CSR jelenét és jövőjét, majd ebből a megközelítésből kiindulva helyezi el a CSR elméletét és lehetséges managementgyakorlatát a vállalatirányítás és a marketingkommunikáció világában. A szerző álláspontja szerint a CSR inkább forma, mint tartalom; az üzleti értelemben vett fenntarthatóságot a vállalatok kevésbé jó ügyek képviselete révén, mint az érintetti (stakeholder) demokrácia megvalósulásának elősegítésével teremthetik meg. Jelen dolgozat azt mutatja meg, hogy az érintetti demokrácia mint üzleti működési modell megvalósulása messzemenő következményekkel járhat mind a vállalatirányítás, mind a modern marketingkommunikáció számára. ______ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is in an early phase of disciplinarization and works towards establishing its level scholarly playing field from different traditions. It attempts to extend its territory on the boarderline of management, business ethics, environmental studies, and marketing-communications. This study applies a historical and political approach to the understanding of the present and future of CSR and places CSR in the area of management studies and marketing- communications from this starting point. CSR is more form than content; business sustanaibility is achieved less through good causes but via assisting in the establishment of stakeholder democracy. This study attempts to show what results stakeholder democracy as business modell would bring to the world of both corporate management and marketingcommunications.

Magyar alkalmazkodás az Európai Unió foglalkoztatás és szociálpolitikájához – tanulságok (The experiences from the Hungarian adaption to the common employment and social policy of the European Union)

A tanulmányban áttekintjük az európai foglalkoztatás- és szociálpolitika kialakulását és történetét, valamint a területen alkalmazott speciális koordinációs módszert. Ezt követően a csatlakozási tárgyalások elemzésével bemutatjuk a hazai politika helyzetét a csatlakozás időpontjában. Az elmúlt időszak foglalkoztatási adatai segítségével megvizsgáljuk a hazai és európai foglalkoztatás- és szociálpolitikai intézkedések hatásait. A cikk zárásaként a magyar EU-elnökség prioritásait és az aktuális közösségi terveket vesszük szemügyre. ______ The article gives a review on the history of the common employment and social policy in the European Union, with special attention to the coordination methods used in the field. The article also analyses the accession negotiations and the domestic policy situation at that time of Hungary's accession to the EU. With the data of recent years, the effects of the Hungarian and common EU measures are also examined. Finally, the priorities of the Hungarian Presidency of the European Council along with the current common policy plans are also demonstrated.

ALBA: A Political Tool for Venezuela’s Foreign Policy

Despite its founding by Hugo Chávez on the heels of the failed Free Trade Area for the Americas (FTAA) negotiations which took place November 2003, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA, as it is known for its Spanish acronym) has evolved into a political tool that uses “social power” to facilitate Venezuela‟s positioning as the leader of the anti-U.S. agenda in the region. Fostering political favors and goodwill through the financing of social development projects, ALBA has created a political environment whereby countries on the take and their respective leaders seem deterred from taking public opposing viewpoints to Chávez. To that end, it has provided billions in economic aid to several nations in Latin American and the Caribbean, winning their favor and support for its policies. To date, ALBA counts on eight member nations. Besides Venezuela, it includes Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It also has several observer nations, among them, Grenada, Haiti, Paraguay, Uruguay, and a non-Latin American country, Syria. Throughout its recent history Venezuela has used its oil wealth to pursue political capital. Under the Chávez government it is doing so as part of a strategic effort countering the U.S. Following Cuba‟s demise in the region as the anti-American socialist camp leader, Chávez is attempting to step into Cuba‟s shoes, picking up where Cuba left off over a decade ago and has used the ALBA as a mechanism to help promote his foreign policy. Relying on its own resources, not those of the Soviet Union as Cuba once did, Venezuela has already shown its influence in the international arena, challenging U.S. positions at the Organization of American States (OAS), the United Nations, and even in matters having little if nothing to do with the region, such as Iran‟s nuclear proliferation. Taking advantage of Venezuela‟s oil prices bonanza, Chávez has been spreading economic aid throughout the region, funding several development projects. From stepping in to buy Bolivia‟s soy beans when the U.S. ceased doing so, to helping finance and construct an airport in Dominica, Venezuela‟s ALBA has provided assistance to many states in the region. As in the past, Venezuela has invested significantly both in time and money in the Caribbean, providing development assistance and oil at a discount to Haiti, St. Kitts and Nevis, and the Dominican Republic, although the latter two are neither member nor observer states of ALBA. The aid Chávez has been spreading around may be coming at a cost. It seems it has begun to cause cracks within the CARICOM community, where ALBA already counts on six of its 15 members, leading experts and leaders in the region to question traditional alliances to each other and the U.S. Yet, ALBA‟s ability to influence through aid is dependent on the Venezuelan economy. Its success hinges on continued Venezuelan oil sales at stable prices and the ability of Chávez to remain in power.

To land or not to land : How do stakeholders perceive the zero discard policy in European small-scale fisheries?

The authors wish to acknowledge the valuable comments and suggestions made by members of the Committee of Fisheries of the European Parliament. The authors also thank the financial support of the European Parliament (IP/B/PECH/IC/2014–084) and the assistance of Ojama Priit and Marcus Brewer. SV acknowledges the financial support from the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) (Grant no 11-CAP2–1406) and the Galician Government (Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria, Xunta de Galicia) (Grant no R2014/023). MC acknowledges the financial support from the European Commission through the Marie Curie Career Integration Grant Fellowships – PCIG10-GA-2011–303534 - to the BIOWEB project. CP and GP acknowledge the financial support of Caixa Geral de Depósitos (Portugal) and the University of Aveiro. CP would also like to acknowledge FCT/MEC national funds and FEDER co-funding, within the PT2020 partnership Agreement and Compete 2020, for the financial support to CESAM (Grant no UID/AMB/50017/2013). JMDR and JGC thanks the financial support from the European Commission (MINOW H2020-SFS-2014–2, No 634495) and Xunta de Galicia (GRC 2015/014 and ECOBAS). MA acknowledges financial aid of Xunta de Galicia through Project GPC 2013–045. URS and CP acknowledge the Too Big to Ignore Partnership supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

Fishers' perceptions about the EU discards policy and its economic impact on small-scale fisheries in Galicia (North West Spain)

The authors acknowledge the valuable comments and suggestions made by members of the Committee of Fisheries of the European Parliament. The authors would also like to thank the financial support of the European Parliament (Grant N° IP/B/PECH/IC/2014-084). SV and MA thank financial support from the Galician Government (Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria, Xunta de Galicia) (Grant N° GPC 2013-045). RS acknowledges the support of the Too Big to Ignore Partnership sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. JMDR and JGC thank the financial support from the European Commission (Grant N° MINOW H2020-SFS-2014-2, N° 634495) and Xunta de Galicia (Grant N° GRC 2015/014 and ECOBAS). CP and GJP acknowledge the financial support of Caixa Geral de Depósitos (Portugal) and the University of Aveiro. CP would also like to acknowledge FCT/MEC national funds and FEDER co-funding, within the PT2020 partnership Agreement and Compete 2020, for the financial support to CESAM (Grant N° UID/AMB/50017/2013). Finally, the authors would like to acknowledge and thank the assistance of Ojama Priit and Marcus Brewer (European Parliament), and all small-scale fishers that took part in the survey.

Social Policy in Canada – Looking Back, Looking Ahead (Working Paper 46)

This paper discusses recent policy trends, the changing role of the various actors in the system, international comparisons and a range of other social policy topics. The immediate purpose of the paper is to examine the reasons why social policy analysts need to look into the future, and to explore ways of managing the inevitably large risks associated with such future-looking exercises. The underlying purpose, however, is simply to introduce a range of important Canadian social policy topic to students and others who are interested in social policy, but without much previous background in the area.

The Olivia Framework:Concepts for Use in Finely-Grained, Integrated Social Policy Analysis (Working Paper 45)

The Olivia framework is a set of concepts and measures that, when mature, will allow users to describe, in a consistent and integrated manner, everything about individuals and institutions that is of potential interest to social policy. The present paper summarizes the current stage of development in achieving this highly ambitious goal. The current version of the framework supports analysis of social trends and policy responses from many perspectives: • The point-in-time, resource-flow perspectives that underlie most traditional, economics-based policy analysis. • Life-course perspectives, including both transitions/trajectories analysis and asset-based analysis. • Spatial perspectives that anchor people in space and history and that provide a link to macro-analysis. • The perspective of the purposes/goals of individuals and institutions, including the objectives of different types of government programming. The concepts of the framework, which are all potentially measurable, provide a language that can support integrated analysis in all these areas at a much finer level of description than is customary. It provides a language that is especially well suited for analysis of the incremental policy changes that are typical of a mature welfare state. It supports both qualitative and quantitative analysis, enabling some integration between the two. It supports citizen-centric as well as a government-centric view of social policy. In its current version, the concepts are most highly developed as they related to social policies as they related to labour markets, equality and social integration, care-giving, immigration, income security, sustainability, and social and economic well-being more generally. However the paper points to likely extensions in the areas of health, justice and safety.