Suchergebnisse

EU programme documents designed to influence the social policies of the member states are filled with concepts of social exclusion and social inclusion. This paper aims to clarify these concepts as they are employed in academic and public policy discourse and to discuss the societal function of this discourse and the impact of the European agenda of social inclusion. The authors show that although concepts of social exclusion and social inclusion are far from straightforward in meaning, their influence on public policy discourse and agenda is evident. The reason is that they redirect social policy towards a multidimensional approach, towards balancing rights and obligations, and towards more complex but also local and individualised policies, though the corresponding discourse bears the normative features of a social 'vision'. The EU's social policy agenda exhibits aspirations towards and some potential for achieving real policy change. On the other hand, there are reservations about its true impact. In this respect, the specifi c societal and political context of its implementation plays a crucial role.

This article, published in connection with the recent death of Otis Dudley Duncan (16 November 2004), sets out to provide a critical summary of the development - from its beginnings in the 1960s up to its final revision & modification in 1983 - of the socio-psychological model of the status attainment process. The article not only looks at the classic model of the social stratification process of Blau & Duncan, but also examines the influence of one of the founders of the socio-psychological branch of the study of social stratification, W. H. Sewell. Special attention is devoted to the development of the so-called Wisconsin model, primarily the work of William H. Sewell & his student, Robert M. Hauser, who, while as a student of Duncan also, considerably contributed to the use of structural modelling in sociology. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the main critical reactions to the socio-psychological model emphasising the 'allocational' paradigm of interpretation of the reproduction of social inequalities. The article should primarily help students of sociology gain an orientation in the massive amount of often poorly accessible literature on one of the most cited of sociology's 'products'.

The article describes the development of Czech social policy & the issues that have surrounded it since 1989. The author begins by describing the character of the communist welfare state & outlining its theoretical alternatives. Despite the introduction of energetic changes during the early years of transition, since the mid-1990s the area of social policy has been dominated by stagnation, & instead of any real & specific efforts in this area there are only debates. Despite all the problems that plague the current social policy, at present the system performs satisfactorily, as is evident in the very low rate of poverty. However, in the long run, concerns may arise over inadequate family situations, a frozen pension system, & poor work motivation. The 'reform' year of 2005 has seen the emergence of many different efforts relating to social policy, but it has not heralded any substantial changes aimed at a more efficient functioning of the system.