How do men with paraplegia choose activities in the light of striving for optimal participation? A qualitative study,based on a phenomenological–hermeneutical method

The objective of this study was to explore the experiences of men with paraplegia with regard to how they choose activities. The study involved a qualitative research design, based on a phenomenological–hermeneutical method. The findings revealed that the activities participants were choosing could be on a continuum between the individual’s self and the influence from their environment. On this continuum, the choice to perform activities was influenced by two mediating factors: the individual’s activities performed during their life-history, and their activity challenges for the future. We conclude that choosing activities is an individually constructed internal process of negotiation. Feelings of resignation and revolt appear in combination with feelings of justice and injustice when balance is not found. This knowledge provides a better understanding of the impact of spinal cord injury, sheds light on the development of distress after spinal cord injury and sheds new light on individuals’ feelings of participation.     

Theorizing notions of the participation of people in poverty in social policymaking: Policing,politics and subjectification

Since the 1990s, a paradigm of participation has gained prominence and become a dominant policy rhetoric in anti-poverty policymaking in Europe, embracing the key idea that people in poverty should participate as equal citizens in political decision-making processes. Based on a historical case study of the production process of a Belgian white paper, the General Report on Poverty (1994), we investigate who participated in the GRP production process, and whether the underlying participatory and democratic mechanisms produced a shift in power and might have led to a more socially just and equal society. We rely on a central set of ideas of the French philosopher Jacques Rancière to theorize different notions of participation, and tease out whether the processing of equality had the capacity to move from policing towards politics through subjectification. Our research study demonstrates how social change and a reconfiguration of the democratic order can appear as a moment of democracy, yet inevitably leads to a new police.     

Autopoiesis and socialization: on Luhmann's reconceptualization of communication and socialization

In 1984, Niklas Luhmann published Soziale Systeme in which he applies the idea of autopoiesis (= self-production) to social systems. Abstracted from its biological connotations, the concept of autopoiesis leads to a sharp distinction between different kinds of autopoietic organization, i.e. between life, consciousness and communication. According to Luhmann, the relationship between social systems and human beings cannot be adequately analysed except by taking into account that they are environments for one another. If this theoretical background is accepted, the concepts and theory of socialization need to be revised. Luhmann takes issues with classical notions such as internalization, inculcation, or 'socialization to the grounds of consensus' (Talcott Parsons). After a historical overview of social systems research and general systems theory, it is indicated how communications trigger further communications and realize the autopoiesis of social systems. In the second part of the article, the distinction between social systems and psychic systems is used to discuss issues crucial to socialization theory. Both a revision of the concept of socialization, and lines for an empirical research programme are proposed in accordance with Luhmann's theory of social systems.     

AN ESTIMATED DYNAMIC STOCHASTIC GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM MODEL OF THE EURO AREA

This paper develops and estimates a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model with sticky prices and wages for the euro area. The model incorporates various other features such as habit formation, costs of adjustment in capital accumulation and variable capacity utilization. It is estimated with Bayesian techniques using seven key macroeconomic variables: GDP, consumption, investment, prices, real wages, employment, and the nominal interest rate. The introduction of ten orthogonal structural shocks (including productivity, labor supply, investment, preference, cost‐push, and monetary policy shocks) allows for an empirical investigation of the effects of such shocks and of their contribution to business cycle fluctuations in the euro area. Using the estimated model, we also analyze the output (real interest rate) gap, defined as the difference between the actual and model‐based potential output (real interest rate). (JEL: E4, E5)