The Europe 2020 strategy of the European Commission (EC) as well as the national reform and stability programmes attribute a central role to wage moderation policies. Real wage growth below productivity growth and policies to deregulate the labour market in order to achieve this are recommended to increase the international competitiveness of the EU. However, the track record of these policies in the last three decades has been poor growth performance along with a declining share of wages in national income and rising inequality. Our results of a new project for the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) show that the EC policy of wage moderation is counter-productive, and leads to a stagnation in growth, risk of deflation, and destabilizing growth models driven by debt or export surpluses in the absence of a healthy growth in wages.
This article focuses on workplace mediation and, in particular, how mediators conceptualise success and whether the disputing parties share their mediator's view as to whether or not a dispute has been successfully resolved. Based on a case study of mediations by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas), the article finds that success for many mediators is obtaining an agreement, written and/or verbal, that mediators mainly do not seek to find out later what actually transpired, and that disputing parties' views are less positive than those of their mediator. The article concludes that, in place of absolute measures of success, none of which are problem free, a more nuanced criterion should be adopted: mediators should judge success relative to what they are trying to do, whether to contain/manage the dispute, or to settle the overt conflict, or to resolve the root causes. Moreover, their judgements should be made in the context of the tractability of the dispute, the parties' commitment to mediation, the commissioner's objectives, and evaluations by the parties and the commissioner, both immediately after the mediation, and after an elapse of time.
In contemporary youth justice in England and Wales, there is too much emphasis on offence- and offender- focused approaches and an insufficient focus on promoting positive outcomes for children in conflict with the law. What is more, since the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, the voices of children embroiled in the Youth Justice System have been marginalised and their participatory rights rendered invalid. Both children and Youth Offending Team workers are finding involvement in the Youth Justice System (e.g. assessment, planning, intervention, supervision and review) to be a disempowering and disengaging experience. In this paper, we outline a number of contemporary tensions and conflicts in relation to youth justice law, policy and practice: the highly political context of youth justice, the criminalising risk, prevention and early intervention agendas and the unique and specialised nature of youth justice services. We also introduce a focus for future developments and 'creative possibilities' for youth justice. Specifically, we advocate for Children First, Offenders Second (CFOS), a progressive and principled model of youth justice that advocates for child sensitive, child appropriate services, diversion and the promotion of positive behaviours and outcomes for children, underpinned by evidence-based partnership working and the engagement of children (and parents) at all stages of the youth justice process.
Era-Globalisasi sedikit demi sedikit sudah mulai merubah wajah dunia saat ini mulai dari politik, ekonomi maupun budaya. Efek dari globalisasi sendiri telah membawa sistem perdagangan bebas dimana setiap Negara di dunia bebas memasarkan produknya ke negara manapun di dunia. Indonesia sebagai Negara yang sedang berkembang di kawasan ASEAN juga dihadapkan dalam fenomena perdagangan bebas ini, sejak tahun 2014 pemerintah sudah mensosialisasikan AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area). Bukan hanya AFTA saja, Indonesia juga sudah menjalin kerjasama dengan China (CAFTA -China Asean Free Trade Agreement ) serta Jepang (IJEPA -Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement) dan Dalam jalinan kerjasama ini tentunya akan semakin banyak barang atau jasa yang akan masuk ke Indonesia serta para investor yang menginvestasikan modalnya ke negara ini. Era-perdagangan bebas ini tentunya akan menarik bagi para pemilik modal dan bukan bagi masyarakat kelas bawah. Hal ini akan memunculkan sistem kapitalisme yang berujung pada timbulnya jarak pemisah yang semakin besar antara si-kaya dan si-miskin. Ketimpangan atau kesenjangan yang ditimbulkan dari sistem perdagangan bebas ini akan memunculkan kecemburuan sosial yang pada akhirnya akan berujung pada konflik kelas sosial di Indonesia. Kata Kunci : Perdagangan Bebas, Konflik Sosial, Kesenjangan Kelas Sosial, Kemiskinan
This paper presents an analysis of the historical development and interpretation of prison tourism in the UK Britain and the influence of this on current representations of prison museums via prison museum websites. While there has been significant examination of various prison museums overseas there has been comparatively little published on these institutions in the UK Britain. In response to contending pressures, prison museums have endeavoured to present a balanced and objective depiction of past prison systems whilst their promotional websites, which serve to draw in customers, frequently rely on 'popular' depictions. These representations raise important questions as prisons cannot be seen as neutral or apolitical, neither those in the early 21st century nor those of the past. Despite these pressures, prison museums have great potential to increase public understanding of the prison; this paper promotes a more ethical, multi-perspective and politically diverse interpretation within prison museums.
Employment generation should be a high priority for European policy makers, in particular in light of the extremely high levels of unemployment in many European countries in the aftermath of the globla financial ciris. Using the Cambridge Alphametrics Model (CAM) this paper compare and contrasts two policy scenarios: an austerity scenario and an employment-focuses scenario. In the the austerity scenario we assume taht the current basic direction of austerity policies is maintained through 2030. On the other hand, in the employment-focused scenario we assume increases in government spending, government income and private investmetn as the strategic basis to generate substantial increases in GPD and emplyoment in Europe. Our alternative employment-led recovery scenario also assumes that the European budget will be gradually increased and directed to spur public and private investment across Europe, and particularly in the Eurozone periphery. Results generated by the CAM model for these two scenarios show that European nations would experience significantly higher growth adn employment rates under our alternative expansionary employment-focused scenario.
The purpose of this paper is to provide a reflection on the current trajectory of youth justice policy. The paper offers fresh insight into the changing face of youth justice. Design/methodology/approach: – The paper draws on a range of sources, including published journal articles and statistical evidence. In so doing it critically reviews relevant academic literature. Findings: – Three critical insights arise from the review. First, there are promising approaches emerging in youth justice organised around the principle of avoiding formal processing of young people where possible; such as, for example, Triage, the Youth Restorative Disposal, Youth Justice Liaison and Diversion schemes, the Swansea Bureau and the Durham Pre- Reprimand Disposal. Thus there is evidence of an emerging consensus, across the domains of policy, practice and legislation which seem to endorse the idea of community-based minimum intervention, supported by principles of offender rehabilitation and restoration. Second, whilst they have not intruded to any great extent in the sphere of youth justice so far, there is no doubt that the government is keen to extend the remit of Payment by Results schemes. Perhaps most concerning is the issue with private sector organisations engaging in "gaming activities" where maximising profit becomes the intention over enhancing the well-being of the young person. Third, it is argued that in order to reconcile the lack of user-led engagement of offenders, and experiences of disempowerment, the priority should be, throughout the Youth Justice System, to involve young people in assessment and decision-making processes. Research limitations/implications: – As an exploratory paper, it does not set out to provide a blueprint on "how" the issues outlined should be resolved. Rather, it provides a basis for further discussion, and highlights some examples of promising practice, particularly around the issues of offender engagement, participation and rights compliance. This is particularly important considering that the UK government will report to the United Nations this year (2014) on its progress in 3 / 7 implementing and complying with the children's right agenda. Practical implications: – The paper highlights the issues and ambiguities facing practitioners working within a payment by results framework which is contextualised by what appears to be a more liberal tone in public policy. It also explores the challenges delivering participatory approaches. Originality/value: – The paper investigates a neglected area in youth justice, namely that of participatory approaches. It argues that, although there are resource pressures and time constraints, service user participatory techniques should be encouraged, particularly as they promote positive engagement and motivation, principally by offering a sense of control over choice.
The mandatory requirement for admission into the first year degree programmes for all Nigeria universities and tertiary institutions are the combination of: Secondary School Certificate (SSCE) or equivalentand Universal tertiary matriculation examination (UTME). The validity of these examinations have been subjected to scrutiny because of the poor performance of many of the students at their final year examinations. Hence most universitieshad introduced the Post UTME examinations to further assess their prospective students.Afe Babalola is one of them. There exist varied findings on the relationship of the various entry qualifications in the universities with students' final year performances. This work examined the academic admission scores of; SSCE, UTME, PUTME and WAITAV as predictors for the performance of the pioneer graduating students. Descriptive statistics, scatter plot, bi-variate correlation matrix and regression analysis were employed using the SPSS V 16 software. The SSCE, PUTME, WGHT and gender had positive significant correlation values of 0.183, 0.132 0.115 and 0.10 respectively with performance. The female performed better. Age and UTME had negative correlation. Since UTME is a bad predictor, yet a government compulsory requirement for admission, universities should continue to combine the UTME and PUTME but assign less weight to the UTME value in the computation WGHTAV. The managers of the UTME must reevaluate the reliability and integrity of the examination.
China has been at the forefront of the recent global expansion of renewable energy (RE) activity. This study examines how the country has achieved its position as the world's largest producer and exporter of RE products, and biggest power generator from renewables. More specifically, it explores the main motives driving RE development in China, how this is embedded in broader new development thinking on realising 'ecological civilization' goals, evolving government policies on strategic planning on renewables and the complex multi-layered landscape of China's RE business where various types of state-owned enterprises collaborate and compete among each other alongside a now large number of private companies, especially in equipment manufacturing.
Risk is big business. It has assumed almost universal acceptance as an ever-present reality of life, something out there waiting to cause harm (most notably to political, economic and health systems). It commands vast resources to develop preventative measures that are the preserve of experts issuing often contradictory advice and warnings. Children's play is caught up in this account. No longer something that children just do, it is subject to adult scrutiny that simultaneously and paradoxically attempts to manage risk and promote "risk-taking" for its perceived instrumental benefits, primarily the development of risk assessing skills. Adults thus guide children's play, rendering children passive and needy recipients of expertise. This article takes a broader perspective to consider how this contemporary understanding of risk plays out in material discursive practices in relation to childhood, play, health and wellbeing. It then draws on conceptual tools of relationality, materiality and performativity to reconfigure playing as an emergent co-production of entangled bodies, affects, objects, space and histories in ways that make life better for the time of playing. Such moments produce health-affirming potential as an intra-dependent phenomenon rather than an individual achievement. Finally, it considers implications for "health promotion" and health enabling environments.
Im Mai 2014 wurde die Staatspräsidentin Malawis, Joyce Banda, abgewählt; die Wahlen verliefen friedlich. In ihrer Amtszeit engagierte sie sich für mehr Transparenz und gegen Korruption, war aber auch selbst von Skandalen betroffen. Die Unzufriedenheit in der Bevölkerung wuchs, es gab immer wieder massive Proteste. Dennoch kam es nie zu einem gewaltsamen Konflikt. Analyse Subsahara-Afrika ist der Kontinent mit den meisten inner- und nichtstaatlichen Kriegen. Gleichwohl gibt es einige Länder, für die dieser allgemeine Trend nicht gilt und die trotz ähnlicher politischer, wirtschaftlicher und sozialer Ausgangsbedingungen nicht von organisierter Gewalt betroffen sind, die sogenannten "Friedensinseln". Dabei kommt es in diesen Ländern durchaus zu politischen Protesten, doch ein großflächiger Ausbruch von Gewalt konnte bislang verhindert werden. In den Friedensinseln Subsahara-Afrikas (Äquatorialguinea, Gabun, Swasiland, Benin und Malawi) bestätigen sich die Annahmen der statistischen Friedensforschung: Sowohl demokratische Regime wie Malawi und Benin als auch autokratische Regime wie Äquatorialguinea, Gabun und Swasiland sind tendenziell eher friedlich. Staaten im Wandel oder mit politischen Mischformen hingegen sind anfälliger für großflächige Gewalt und Krieg. Dabei spielt die langfristige Stabilität der Regime eine große Rolle: Sind Regierungen bereits lange an der Macht oder ist ein System über längere Zeit stabil, ist der Erhalt von Frieden wahrscheinlicher. Demgegenüber bietet die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung der fünf Länder keine ausreichende Erklärung für ihre friedliche Entwicklung: Ein Großteil der Bevölkerung dieser Länder lebt in Armut. Die vorliegende Analyse geht von einem negativen Friedensbegriff aus: Die Friedensinseln werden als frei von organisierter, direkter Gewalt, die eine gewisse Schwelle von Todesopfern überschreitet, gekennzeichnet. Die Definition eines konsolidierten, langfristigen Friedens sollte über einen eingeschränkten Friedensbegriff hinausgehen und positive Aspekte, wie die Anerkennung von Minderheitenrechten und demokratische Teilhabe, einbeziehen.
Following renewed interest in Marx?s political economy in the wake of the financial crisis, the paper aims to make a contribution to debates re-evaluating Marx?s theory of capitalism and his conceptualisation of the relationship between the polity and economy. We bring together our approaches from political philosophy, economic sociology, and political economy, making the case for a renewal of historical materialism. We develop a perspective of a radically politicised economy, rather than treating polity and economy as separate spheres. The political implications of this perspective involve an insistence on political and economic democratisation and human rights as an integral part of any socially egalitarian alternatives to capitalist political economies. The paper, written without the full academic paraphernalia, engages with current defences of the classical Marxist understanding of exploitation, especially the labour theory of value, and presents an alternative, neo-Polanyian analysis
If you type in the word 'revolution' in the Google search engine the top result that comes up is a chain of bars called Revolution. Other results on the first page of the search engine include a commercial radio station, clothing, a skate park and a software company. A Wikipedia page and the website of the Revolutionary Socialist Youth are the only non-commercial results Google provides us on its first page. This says as much about the business model of Google than it does about the changes at the level of meanings attributed to revolution. Revolution, it will be argued here, is a political signifier emptied of its radical connotations and currently used graciously as a brand or as a buzzword to mean change in whatever direction. As a result, revolution has been firmly incorporated into the neoliberal discourse and value system.
The enhancing information and communication technology drives government to implement e-government. Many government bodies deliver their services through internet / online and many e-government websites are built during the late of 2000s. It consists of information about the government services, city agendas, city news and history, and many more. The purpose of the erection of e-government website is to support the society with valid and transparent information. This paper evaluates the provincial capital e-government websites in Indonesia. There are 33 provinces, so there will be 33 e-government websites that will be evaluated. The evaluation method is using egWet (e-government website evaluation) instruments. There are six categories that will be used to evaluate the government websites, (1) security/privacy, (2) usability, (3) content, (4) services, (5) citizen participant, (6) features. The paper outputs are, first to provide data and information about the development of egovernment in Indonesia, second, to give recommendation for the e-government website improvement.
