Download or read book Handbook of Quality of Life in the Enlarged European Union written by Jens Alber and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2007-10-15 with total page 447 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent enlargement to the east made the European Union a more diverse social space and brought it into more direct contact with the social and cultural aftermath of communism. The purpose of this book is to help social scientists, policy makers and other observers cope with the unfamiliarity of this new world by bringing together a collection of informative analyses of key domains of social life in the new member states and candidate countries, viewed in comparison both to each other and to the 'old' EU-15. The focus is on social conditions, such as social exclusion, poverty and living conditions, work and labour markets, family and housing. But is also offers accounts of the institutional contexts within which these conditions arise. The analyses makes use of a range of data, including a new data source, the European Quality of Life Survey 2003.

Download or read book Global Handbook of Quality of Life written by Wolfgang Glatzer and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-01-22 with total page 878 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This handbook provides a comprehensive historical account of the field of Quality of Life. It brings together theoretical insights and empirical findings and presents the main items of global quality of life and wellbeing research. Worldwide in its scope of topics, the handbook examines discussions of demographic and health development, the spread of democracy, global economic accounting, multi-item measurement of perceived satisfaction and expert-assessed quality of life and the well-being of children, women and poor people. It looks at well-being in specific regions, including North and Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, South America and Eastern and Western Europe. In addition to contributions by leading and younger authors, the handbook includes contributions from International Organizations about their own work with respect to social reporting.

Download or read book Management and Culture in an Enlarged European Commission written by C. Ban and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-03-25 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores how the European Commission faced the challenge of enlargement. Based on extensive interviews, the work provides a lively and readable picture of life within the Commission, exploring how thousands of newcomers were recruited and socialized and how they changed the organization, including its gender balance.

Download or read book European Societies written by Mau, Steffen and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2010-10-08 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title looks at the European model in historical perspective, commonalities and intra-European exchange, and characteristics of the European social structure.

Download or read book Economic and Social Integration written by Dagmar Schiek and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Dagmar Schiek has written a timely and vital book. Following financial and sovereign debt crises, the European Union is in crisis. As responses to crisis – for example fiscal union – appear to be couched in wholly technocratic terms, a European public is entitled to ask whether the European Union has any respect for established national traditions of social constitutionalism and social welfare. Dagmar Schiek addresses these questions, both in a historical and contemporary context of social constitutionalism, arguing forcefully for the need to establish social legitimacy within Europe. I recommend this book to all researchers and students of European Union.' – Michelle Everson, Birkbeck College, University of London, UK 'Is there a "European social space"? What is the place of "social integration" alongside "economic integration" in the EU? Has a "socially embedded constitutionalism" been developed in parallel with the internal market case law of the CJEU? Dagmar Schiek in her comprehensive and interdisciplinary study gives refreshing new answers under the recent Lisbon Treaty.' – Norbert Reich, Universität Bremen, Germany 'At a time of crisis and therefore a crucial juncture in European politics, Dagmar Schiek offers us an inspiring vision of the potential of the European Union. In her brilliant study, she exposes the obstacles that economic integration has posed for achievement of social justice, and provides a bold solution. Rejecting more limited models of constitutionalism, she presents a convincing alternative which is socially embedded, allowing space for action by manifold actors at multiple levels of governance.' – Tonia Novitz, University of Bristol, UK This well-researched book analyses the positioning of EU constitutional law towards economic and social integration by contrasting liberal and socially embedded constitutionalism. The book draws on a unique content and discourse analysis of all Grand Chamber decisions on substantive EU law since May 2004. It finds the EU's 'judicial constitution' to be more nuanced and more uniform than expected. While the Court of Justice enforces the constitution of integration, it favours economic freedoms under mainly liberal paradigms, but socially embeds constitutionalism in citizenship cases. The 'judicial constitution' contrasts with EU Treaties after the Treaty of Lisbon in that their new value base enhances European social integration. However, the Treaties too seem contradictory in that they do not expand the EU's competence regime accordingly. In the light of these contradictions, Dagmar Schiek proposes a 'constitution of social governance': the Court and EU institutions should encourage steps towards social integration at EU level to be taken by transnational societal actors, rather than condemn their relevant activity. Economic and Social Integration will appeal to academics and postgraduate students in EU law, EU politics, European sociology, international relations, international law, labour law, and welfare state theory. Undergraduate students in labour law, policy advisors on EU social policy and welfare state, government departments and EU Commission departments will also find much to interest them in this book.

Download or read book The Pursuit of Human Well Being written by Richard J. Estes and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-01-09 with total page 808 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This handbook informs the reader about how much progress we, the human race, have made in enhancing the quality of life on this planet. Many skeptics focus on how the quality of life has deteriorated over the course of human history, particularly given World War II and its aftermath. This handbook provides a positive perspective on the history of well-being. Quality of life, as documented by scientists worldwide, has significantly improved. Nevertheless, one sees more improvements in well-being in some regions of the world than in others. Why? This handbook documents the progress of well-being in the various world regions as well as the differences in those regions. The broad questions that the handbook addresses include: What does well-being mean? How do different philosophical and religious traditions interpret the concept of well-being within their own context? Has well-being remained the same over different historical epochs and for different regions and subregions of the world? In which areas of human development have we been most successful in advancing individual and collective well-being? In which sectors has the attainment of well-being proven most difficult? How does well-being differ within and between different populations groups that, for a variety of socially created reasons, have been the most disadvantaged (e.g., children, the aged, women, the poor, racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities)?

Download or read book Handbook of European Societies written by Stefan Immerfall and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009 with total page 698 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: European integration is one of the most ambitious and socially far-reaching developments in world politics and in world economics. Against growing opposition and despite increasing social heterogeneity, the European Union continues to expand and to acquire new competences. But to what extent is the self-proclaimed "ever closer union among the peoples of Europe" a social reality? In which ways is the political European project anchored in social developments? How does social change impinge upon political integration? Societal trends in multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and socially diverse Europe have never been studied systematically. Handbook of European Societies: Social Transformations in the 21st Century sets to rectify this neglect of societal developments in Europe, providing a groundwork for the sociology of European integration. The book portrays social life and social relations in the enlarged Europe, and gives a perspective on the European Union as an evolving social entity. Handbook of European Societies is a pioneering source book analyzing the current social patterns on the continent. It covers a representative selection of major topics of social concern and sociological relevance, such as Collective Action, Consumption, Identity, Power Structure, Sexuality, Stratification and Well-being. Each contribution probes key developments in a strictly comparative manner. The Handbook thus offers a detailed look into the intricacies of the national societies of Europe and into the prospect of an emerging European society. The Editors have enlisted leading researchers to synthesize existing knowledge and to make use of many different data sources in a straight-forward style. The contributions stay away from jargon, simple labeling and sweeping assertions. Instead, they provide solid and accessible information on a wide variety of social trends and processes within and across European societies

Download or read book Social Failures of EU Enlargement written by Guglielmo Meardi and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-06-17 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is the EU enlargement the success EU institutions proclaim? Based on fifteen years of fieldwork research across Central and Eastern Europe and on migrants in the UK and Germany, this book provides a less glittering answer. The EU has betrayed hopes of social cohesion: social regulations have been forgotten, multinationals use threats of relocations, and workers, left without institutional channels to voice their concerns, have reacted by leaving their countries en masse. Yet migration, for many, increases social vulnerability. Drawing on Hirschman’s concepts of ‘Exit’ and ‘Voice’, the book traces the origins of such failures in the management of EU enlargement as a pure economic and market-creating exercise, neglecting the inherently political nature of labour relations. The reinforcement of market mechanisms without political counterbalances has resulted in an increase in opportunistic ‘exit’ behaviour by both employers and employees, and thereby in a worsening quality of democracy, at workplace, national and European levels. As a result of this process, the EU has become more similar to the North American Free Trade Agreement between USA, Canada and Mexico, where social rights are marginalized and economic integration does not translate into better development.

Download or read book The Quality of European Societies written by Eduardo Bericat and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-05-10 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume presents a compilation of composite indicators created in order to measure important aspects of the quality of European societies. It examines three main questions: do Europeans live in good societies and enjoy good lives; are European societies becoming better as time passes, or is their quality slowly deteriorating; is the quality of life of Europe’s citizens improving over time or is it gradually and irrecoverably getting worse. The volume uses a precise and rigorous system of information to answer these questions and to assess the current situation and monitor the quality of European societies. It describes and discusses fourteen key domains, and per chapter, presents five rankings of EU countries based on composite indicators, which are used as one of the best instruments social science has to synthesize a large amount of information, and they are especially well suited to measure multidimensional social phenomena. The new System of Indices on the Quality of European Societies (SIQES) presented in this volume offers a very broad and rich empirical overview of more than 70 social composite indicators and their nearly 300 dimensions. One of the key findings coming out from the SIQES is that, according to the societal quality of European countries, there exist five different “Europes” inside Europe.

Download or read book Poverty and Deprivation in Ireland in Comparative Perspective written by and published by ESRI. This book was released on with total page 101 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Rich and the Poor in Modern Europe 1890 2020 written by Hartmut Kaelble and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2023-04-14 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As social inequality grows, historical analysis on wealth and income distribution across the 20th century often does not take into account inequality of education, health, housing and chances of social mobility, nor does it differentiate statistical inequality from the realities of peoples’ actual experience. With this broad understanding in mind, in a long look back on the history of social inequality in Europe, The Rich and the Poor in Modern Europe addresses these neglected subjects. It also tackles the commonplace notion that modern capitalism inevitably produces wealth gaps and asks whether the facts and figures we possess also lead to alternate interpretations of examples of mitigated inequality. Covering the 20th century and the beginnings of the 21st century in Europe through wars, and economic crises, through periods of unprecedented economic prosperity and staggering economies, both exacerbating and dampening the problem, acclaimed historian Hartmut Kaelble offers a rigorous response to understanding our present-day challenge of social inequality.

Download or read book Exploring Inequality in Europe written by Martin Heidenreich and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2016-06-24 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Europe has become a dominant frame for the generation, regulation and perception of social inequalities. This trend was solidified by the current economic crisis, which is characterized by increasing inequalities between central and peripheral countries and groups. By analysing the double polarization between winners and losers of the crisis, the segmentation of labour markets and the perceived quality of life in Europe, this book contributes to a better understanding of patterns and dynamics of inequality in an integrated Europe.

Download or read book Down and out written by Saunders, Peter and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2011-04-20 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This landmark study provides the first comprehensive assessment of the nature and associations between the three main forms of social disadvantage in Australia: poverty, deprivation and social exclusion. Drawing on the author's extensive research expertise and his links with welfare practitioners, it explains the limitations of existing approaches and presents new findings that build on the insights of disadvantaged Australians and views about the essentials of life, providing the basis for a new deprivation-based poverty measure.

Download or read book Rethinking Gender Work and Care in a New Europe written by Triin Roosalu and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-04-29 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Given the growing importance of Eastern European countries in the development of the EU, there is an urgent need to reconstruct the recent dynamic developments in women's work and care in these societies, and the socio-political determinants thereof. Considering their specific cultural, economic and historical development, it can be assumed that the trends and determinants of women's labour market trajectories in CEE countries differ significantly from those in the other European countries that have frequently made up the basis for established theories in social and labour market research. This being the case, can 'standard' theoretical approaches, mostly modelled on evidence from Western Europe, be transferred to the analysis of Eastern European countries? This edited collection scrutinises pivotal aspects of women's careers in Eastern Europe, providing a detailed overview of trends and determinants of women's employment in Eastern Europe, and reflecting critically on theoretical approaches in social and labour market research.

Download or read book Welfare written by Mary Daly and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-04-26 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Welfare is an important concept in the social sciences. It is also challenged and contested not only by alternative concepts but also as a political goal in itself. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, this book takes a fresh look at the continuing relevance of welfare in the context of public policy, recent scholarly developments and changes in popular attitudes and behaviour. The book connects theory and practice. Tracing the concept's background in economics, political science and social policy, the book juxtaposes welfare with newer approaches, such as subjective well-being, capabilities, care, social exclusion and social capital. The links between welfare and political ideas are also elaborated. The welfare state, as it developed historically in Europe and as it is changing in different countries, is given an important place in the analysis. Drawing on a range of empirical work, the book in its final part considers how individuals and groups attain welfare and how this shapes people's decisions and actions in their everyday lives. Written in a lively style, the book provides students of sociology, social policy and political science with a valuable point of access to a range of debates and thinking in the field of welfare and related concepts.

Download or read book Welfare States and Public Opinion written by Claus Wendt and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2011-01-01 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Welfare States and Public Opinion comprises an informed inquiry into three fields of social policy - health policy, family policy, and unemployment benefits and social assistance. Though the analyses stem from research spanning fifteen countries across Europe, the conclusions can be applied to social policy problems in nations worldwide. Combining a detailed analysis of the institutional structure of social policy with the study of public attitudes toward healthcare, family policy, and benefits for the unemployed and poor, this book represents a new stream in public opinion research. The authors demonstrate that the institutional designs of social policies have a great impact on inequalities among social groups, and provide best practices for gaining public support for social policy reform. The wealth of information found in this comprehensive study will be of interest not only to scholars and students of sociology, political science, social policy, public policy and law, but to health and social policymakers the world over

Download or read book Child Care and Preschool Development in Europe written by K. Scheiwe and published by Springer. This book was released on 2009-01-15 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explains the differences between European countries in the supply and forms of public child care and preschool provisions by reference to the historical context in which these forms originated and to the institutional constraints underlying their development.