Suchergebnisse

The paper addresses the issue of current immigration to Finland in the context of population ageing. It is estimated that about 40% of the present labour force will have withdrawn from the Finnish labour market by the year 2020. The government of this rapidly ageing country is seeking possible remedies to the problem of a shrinking labour force. The necessity of attracting a new workforce as well as the growing number of immigrants in the ethnically homogeneous Finnish society create a need for more detailed and creative immigration policy. The paper analyzes the age and economic structure of the immigrant population, its participation in the labour market as well as the importance of immigration in contemporary demographic changes in Finland. Another aim of this paper is to outline major issues concerning Finnish immigration policy.

The paper addresses the issue of current immigration to Finland in the context of population ageing. It is estimated that about 40% of the present labour force will have withdrawn from the Finnish labour market by the year 2020. The government of this rapidly ageing country is seeking possible remedies to the problem of a shrinking labour force. The necessity of attracting a new workforce as well as the growing number of immigrants in the ethnically homogeneous Finnish society create a need for more detailed and creative immigration policy. The paper analyzes the age and economic structure of the immigrant population, its participation in the labour market as well as the importance of immigration in contemporary demographic changes in Finland. Another aim of this paper is to outline major issues concerning Finnish immigration policy.

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on an independent evaluation of a three-year "Creative Ageing" programme, focussing on the impacts for participants and factors promoting successful delivery of sessions.


Design/methodology/approach
Artists provided feedback through reflective journals and questionnaires, while the views of care staff and participants were also captured in a standard format at the end of each arts session. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data identified common themes.


Findings
Twenty-three arts projects were delivered across a range of settings and through diverse art forms including dance, drama, music, visual arts and poetry. They reached nearly 2,200 participants who recorded over 8,100 session attendances in total. Participation in high quality creative experiences improved well-being for older people, as well as increasing social interaction and reducing isolation. Several factors facilitated successful implementation and delivery of the activities, particularly the need to hold planning meetings with staff to provide guidance around participant numbers and suitability, minimising disruption of the sessions and the supportive role of staff during the sessions. Opportunities for reflection enabled artists to address potential challenges and adapt their practice to meet the needs and preferences of participants and to the complexities of diverse settings.


Originality/value
Previous research has largely focussed on the impact of activities in a single setting. This study supports the role of creative arts in increasing social interaction as an attempt to tackle isolation and loneliness, both for older people living in the community and for those living in a communal setting such as care homes and supported living schemes.

Cultural policy is one of the factors that determine the conduciveness of a city to the creativity of social groups and individuals. It is directly linked to several dimensions measured almost in all the Creative City Indexes: access to culture, cultural offers and facilities, cultural/creative industries development. Indirectly, it impacts other important dimensions of the creative city: openness, tolerance and diversity. The paper aims to summarize the main features of cultural policy of five cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for urban development and lay in top 10 creative EU countries, according to the currently existing creativity indexes. The scope of the analysis is an institutional framework of the cultural policy formation and implementation and the mechanism of the municipal financing of culture. The analysis is based on the publicly available online information: data from the official websites of cities, statistical sources, communications and publications of the cities' councils, projects' reports.

Cultural policy is one of the factors that determine the conduciveness of a city to the creativity of social groups and individuals. It is directly linked to several dimensions measured almost in all the Creative City Indexes: access to culture, cultural offers and facilities, cultural/creative industries development. Indirectly, it impacts other important dimensions of the creative city: openness, tolerance and diversity. The paper aims to summarize the main features of cultural policy of five cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for urban development and lay in top 10 creative EU countries, according to the currently existing creativity indexes. The scope of the analysis is an institutional framework of the cultural policy formation and implementation and the mechanism of the municipal financing of culture. The analysis is based on the publicly available online information: data from the official websites of cities, statistical sources, communications and publications of the cities' councils, projects' reports.

This volume-"Selected Contemporary Challenges of Aging Policy"-is the most international of all published monographs from the series "Czech-Polish-Slovak Studies in Andragogy and Social Gerontology." Among the scholars trying to grasp the nuances and trends of social policy, there are diverse perspectives, resulting not only from the extensive knowledge of the authors on the systematic approach to the issue of supporting older people but also from the grounds of the represented social gerontology schools. In the texts of Volume VII interesting are both distinct and coherent elements presenting the role of local, regional and global policies in the prism of the countries from which the authors originate: the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Italy, Turkey, and the United States. The chapters show a wealth of methodological approaches to the perception of social policy and its tools. In the texts there are issues related to the idea of active ageing, discrimination against older people in the workplace, comparability of solutions friendly to employment of older adults in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia as well as focused on the importance of educational forms (universities of the third age, senior clubs, folk high schools, and other non-formal solutions) determining an active life in old age. This monograph also attempted to answer the question regarding how to transfer the idea of intergenerational learning into the realm of practice. This issue complements the chapter on the implementation of intergenerational programs in institutions providing long-term care support. The book also outlines a public policy on ageing in the perspective of the changes over the last few decades (Slovenia) and the case demonstrating solutions to accelerate self-reliance as a key to active ageing (Turkey). We hope that seventh volume of our series will be an intellectual stimulus for further international research on change in social policy and will contribute to the dissemination of best ...

The challenges currently facing systems of media provision across Europe require critical, multidisciplinary research informed by creative economy and policy perspectives. Creative economy themes of relevance to media include the exceptional economic characteristics of cultural and creative content, production activities and markets. The use and efficacy of copyright and alternative policy interventions to support creativity represent important emerging areas for media-related research. The effects of changing technology are another priority. More research is needed that builds our critical understanding of the implications of contemporary changes in audience behaviour, of converged multi-platform strategies for supplying content and of globalised distribution for creative outputs.

Crichton reviews 'Ageing and Social Policy in Australia' edited by Allan Borowski, Sol Encel and Elizabeth Ozanne.

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to relate the growing body of evidence about the impact of creative arts on the health and well-being of older people to the debate about active ageing, prevention and demographic change.


Design/methodology/approach
It draws on a range of researched examples in order to illustrate the impact of three different art forms – singing, dance and visual arts – on health and well-being.


Findings
The evidence exists in increasing volume and diversity that creative arts not only improve personal feelings of well-being but also key physiological measures. The arts are increasingly recognised as playing a major potential role in the delivery of health and social care interventions. Greater recognition and action are needed from policy makers, commissioners and care providers in health and social care that the arts are not a marginal and elitist avenue but a mainstream tool supporting older people to remain active, healthy and independent. Importantly, they represent a powerful source of motivation, agency and confidence.


Social implications
It argues that creative arts should become an integral and more prominent part of ageing policy. The evidence exists in increasing volume and diversity that creative arts not only improve personal feelings of well-being but also key physiological measures. The arts are increasingly recognised as playing a major potential role in the delivery of health and social care interventions. Greater recognition and action are needed from policy makers, commissioners and care providers in health and social care that the arts are not a marginal and elitist avenue but a mainstream tool supporting older people to remain active, healthy and independent. Importantly, they represent a powerful source of motivation, agency and confidence.


Originality/value
An important research challenge remains, namely to plot cause (arts intervention) and effect (reduced demand on health and care services), if the creative arts are to occupy a central place in commissioning investment at a time of acute financial stringency in the public sector.