社会工作介入社会救助的必要性、任务及体制机制

随着改革开放和经济社会发展，我国目前已建成包括农村扶贫开发、城市就业扶助的反贫困行动，通过社会保险的贫困预防体系，以及通过社会救助的反贫困行动等主要的反贫困行动体系。在整个反贫困体系中，社会救助体系是最基本、最直接的反贫困行动体系。经过十几年的建设和发展，我国城乡社会救助的制度体系已经基本形成，并在反贫困行动中发挥了重要作用。     

相对贫困的理论与政策聚焦 ——兼论建立我国相对贫困的治理体系

贫困一直是世界各国首要解决的社会问题。本文基于我国全面进入小康社会,需要建立解决相对贫困长效机制这一战略转换背景,从相对贫困与绝对贫困关系入手,围绕相对贫困内涵的争论,聚焦我国相对贫困的表现形式,并基于我国国情,提出建立相对贫困治理体系的建议。在机制上,充分发挥基本公共服务的作用,建立相对贫困人口发展的基础性机制;形成"政府主导、社会参与、市场促进"的贫困治理的整体性机制;建立干预代际贫困传递的阻断性机制。在具体措施上,围绕低收入家庭,要建立生活负担减免制度;健全以生产帮扶和就业帮扶为主的专项援助制度;按需救助,对低收入户开展"救助会诊";建立相对贫困家庭陪伴式服务制度。     

社会工作介入社会救助领域路径选择研究

随着我国社会救助制度转型,社会的快速发展,社会救助在我国社会保障制度中占据着重要地位,但是当前社会救助领域存在着不足之处。社会救助需要其他社会力量的帮助,社会工作介入社会救助领域已是必要选择。本文主要是从当前社会救助领域中存在的问题进行分析,找准社会工作者在社会救助领域中的角色定位,通过社会工作介入社会救助领域的可行性分析,提出相应的对策及建议,以期更好的完善我国的社会救助工作。     

中国的城市贫困问题与社会保障——以东阳地区为例

上世纪90年代以来,中国开始了经济体制转轨和社会结构转型,鼓励农村城市化,却没有相应完善的社会保障制度作支撑,城市的贫困问题一直困扰着中国社会。本文就中国城市存在的贫困问题,以东阳为样板城市进行分析,分析了其现今存在的贫困现状,以及导致贫困的几大原因,并就此提出了一系列解决方案。城市贫困是一个需要长期关注和治理的社会问题,不能一蹴而就,也无法短时间内完成。这个问题影响着中国社会的长治久安,反贫困势在必行。     

项目教学法在短期劳动力转移就业培训中的应用

目前,国家正在加大力度实施贫困地区劳动力转移就业的"雨露计划",力争在2020年基本解决贫困地区的贫困问题。通过技能培训,能让农村剩余劳动力进入城市实现快速转移就业,让贫困家庭脱贫、致富。由于培训时间只有一至三个月,为达到培训学员"能力为本,就业导向"的培养目标,学校积极尝试新的培训模式与培训方法。     

我国医疗救助制度存在的问题及对策

我国医疗救助制度从制定以来，在实施的过程中存在救助资金不足、救助方式不完善、与其他社会医疗保障制度衔接不畅以及其社会属性不明显等方面的问题，对此提出拓宽医疗救助资金来源、实现“三位一体”的医疗救助方式、重视贫困边缘人群等对策建议，以期望医疗救助制度能更好的惠及更多的贫困人群．     

城市老年人贫困程度的探讨

根据全国第五次人口普查的结果，中国城乡60岁以上的老年人已经达到了1．3亿，已经占到了全国总人口的10％以上，我们的国家已经进入了老龄型人口的社会。城乡老年人口比例的增加，老年人的问题也正在成为整个社会关注的问题。从年龄上讲，人们普遍地认为中国城乡的老年人是一个弱势群体，然而人们更应当关注的是处于贫困状态下的老年人，关注贫困的规模、贫困的程度。目前，城市中居住的非农业户口的贫困老年人已经被纳入到最低生活保障的救助制度内，虽然，这一制度并没有涵盖城市中农业户口的老年人以及广大农村地区贫困的老年人。然而，即使对于在城市居住的非农业户口的贫困老年人来说，救助的力度是否充分并及时到位，对于改善处于贫困中老年人的状况也具有十分现实的意义。本文将根据中国老龄科研中心2000年调查和1992年调查数据分析的基础上，探讨中国城乡老年人中贫困的变化情况，为救助贫困老年人的社会介入提供参考。     

我国城市贫困治理中的社会工作

针对当前社会救助事业及社会工作发展现状，笔者认为，在城市贫困治理中引入社会工作，应采取“设岗、搭台、培育、购买”等措施，使社会工作由专业教育逐步转型为社会实践，不断推进社会工作的本土化进程，使社会工作更好地服务于社会救助事业。     

港珠澳大桥对城市社会治理的影响分析

时空压缩效应是港珠澳大桥最本质的影响。从时空压缩效应对社会行为的影响出发,本文主要依据默顿的"社会期待持续时间"视角,指出在大桥建成之后将会改变香港和珠海居民关于对方城市的认知和行为,促进香港和珠海之间的人口迁移和劳动力转移就业。在此基础上,本文分析了这种人口迁移和劳动力转移就业在未来5-10年所带来的社会治理议题,并提出相应的政策建议。     

以色列贫困问题的治理路径及其困境

贫困问题是对以色列国家和社会发展进程产生重要影响的难题.当前,以色列社会群体分化比较明显,贫困问题逐渐凸显.部分极端正统派犹太人群体、以色列阿拉伯人群体、大屠杀幸存者群体、失业者群体构成了以色列社会主要的贫困群体.为了回应公众压力并保障国民的基本生活,以色列政府通过转移支付和税收调节的方式向贫困人口提供养老、医疗、教育、失业等社会保险;鼓励自由市场竞争,降低包括住房在内的生活成本;推动以职业培训和提高劳动参与率为基本内容的就业促进政策;发挥慈善团体的社会救助功能.当前的贫困治理对缓解贫困率和提高人民的幸福指数有积极的促进作用,但以色列社会长期存在的宗教群体与世俗群体、犹太人与阿拉伯人之间的鸿沟制约着贫困问题的有效解决.     

The internal logic and contradictions of migration control: An excursion into theory and practice in relation to east‐west migration

The migration problem has acquired a new dimension with the breakdown of State‐Communism which has induced new and variable waves of migration out of Eastern Europe. The response of the West to these waves, as well as to the ever‐increasing likelihood of emigration from countries of the Third World has been one of mounting regulation. The present article critically juxtaposes the underlying, albeit short‐term, logic of regulation with that of East‐West migration — itself a highly variated and differentiated process — in an attempt to demarcate a more comprehensive approach to the East‐West migration subject.     

When what you have is not enough—Acquiring Australian qualifications to overcome non-recognition of overseas skills

Skilled migration is an important strategy in developed economies seeking to address skills shortages and population ageing. Research on the labour market outcomes of skilled migrants tends to focus on employers' devaluation of skills without considering the role of immigration policy in the migration process. Moreover, there is little understanding of whether efforts to meet employer demands for local qualifications improve labour market outcomes. Drawing on a study on skilled migrants sponsored under the State-Specific and Regional Migration Scheme in the regional state of South Australia, we explore the shaping of skills and skills recognition in the migration journey, particularly migrants' strategy of reskilling in response to employer demands for local qualifications. Our logistic regressions on the association between the acquisition of Australian qualifications and labour market outcomes reveal only marginal returns to these efforts. We argue that Australia should consider developing a more coherent skilled migration process to better harness the human capital of skilled migrants.     

New Patterns of Internal Migration in Emigrant‐Sending Communities: the Case of China

Despite the large number of migrants at both international and internal scales in developing countries, literature on building the links between the two migration processes is still lacking. Using survey data from China's Fujian Province, we elaborate a novel link between international and internal migration processes by examining the response of internal migration to international migration in the migrant origins. Our findings suggest that emigration of one individual initially deterred the internal migration of other family members. Yet, over time individuals from emigrant‐related households had an increasing propensity to migrate internally. During the internal migration process, emigrants’ family members received greater financial returns and had reached farther destinations than other internal migrants. Those emigrant‐related internal migrants with enhanced economic profiles would benefit their domestic destinations in a variety of ways. These benefits support a more optimistic view on the impact of international migration on the development of migrant‐sending countries.     

A critique of gender-blind migration theories and data sources

Despite this being the era of migration, no systematic theory of international migration has emerged, nor is there an academic or political agreement on ways in which migration is a ‘gendered’ process. Both theoretically and as inputs in the policy-making process, gender-blind approaches have actually rendered the gender dimension of migration more or less invisible. Through an in-depth examination of the place of gender in the key theories of migration and relevant sources of data, the paper seeks to take stock of how these theories treat this dimension and investigate the cross-sectional challenges in uncovering gender in international migration data. It, therefore, provides a critical review of both theory and data by shedding much-needed light on their neglect of the gender aspects. Our findings based on a conceptual review of the literature and a case study based on Eurostat data on migration drivers demonstrate that migration theories and statistics typically equate gender with sex, which limits our ability to develop a comprehensive understanding of how complex gender dimensions shape the migration process. Moreover, given the extent to which existing data and theories overlook the intersectionality between the drivers of migration and diversity within migrant groups, this gap in knowledge presents an obstacle to gender-responsive migration governance. In light of this, the paper discusses priorities for ‘gendering’ international migration research. We argue that in addition to improving accuracy and coverage of sex-disaggregated statistics on international migration, both regular and irregular, it is crucial to develop quantitative as well as qualitative indicators to monitor the gender dimension in this area.     

Doubling Up or Moving Out? The Effect of International Labor Migration on Household Size

We use household panel data from Tajikistan to explore the change in living arrangements as a response to income shifts related to international labour migration. In addition, we analyse the interaction between the effect of idiosyncratic income increase resulting from a completed migration episode, and the effect of an aggregate shock – the global financial crisis – and show how different households adjust their household size during times of financial hardship. The empirical evidence indicates that while current migration is associated with an increase in household size, a completed migration episode two years before the interview was followed by family members moving out. At the same time, our empirical analysis demonstrates that migrant families doubled up in response to a financial crisis to the same extent as non-migrant families, which suggests that labour migration in Tajikistan does not insure against economic shocks in the long run.     

Informal but Effective: Regional Consultative Processes as a Tool in Managing Migration

During the 1990s, the number of regional consultative processes focusing on migration increased significantly. These non‐binding fora brought together representatives of States, civil society and international organizations at the regional level to discuss migration‐related issues in a cooperative manner. Regional consultative processes, which are increasingly supported by governments, are partly a response to the growing complexity and diversity of international migration. Their emergence attests the importance that governments attach to a regional approach to migration management. Regional processes act informally, focusing on cooperative dialogue with an emphasis on information exchange and technical cooperation. The information exchange and confidence‐building that occurs in regional processes is quite important in terms of developing links between States and influencing the likelihood of future bilateral and multilateral agreements. This article focuses upon the development of regional processes, using examples as illustrations. It suggests that the development of regional processes can be understood in terms of a four‐stage model: first, the decision to address issues of concern in a cooperative regional forum; second, to agree upon a “common language”; third, to agree upon a list of goals and, fourth, a shift toward a more operational process.     

Morocco's Migration Experience: A Transitional Perspective1

Using a ‘transitional’ perspective on migration, which combines three theoretical approaches on dynamic development‐migration linkages, this paper interprets the evolution of migration within, from, and to Morocco over the twentieth century. Colonization and the incorporation of rural areas, along with a certain level of socio‐economic development, have spurred internal and international wage labour migration both within Morocco and from Morocco to Europe. Migration seems to be the result of development rather than the lack of development. Populations from highly marginalized regions were less likely to participate in migration than populations from the three, moderately enclosed “migration belts” which had established traditions of pre‐modern, largely circular migration. At the onset of large‐scale emigration in the 1960s, the spatial patterns of labour migration were significantly infuenced by colonial bonds with Spain and France, selective labour recruitment, and Moroccan selective passport issuance policies. However, the influence of such policies rapidly decreased due to the effects of migration‐facilitating networks. Increasingly restrictive policies coincided with a growing reliance on family migration, permanent settlement, undocumented migration, and the exploration of new migration itineraries, and had no success in reducing migration levels.Alongside patterns of decentralizing internal migration, a spatial diffusion of international out‐migration has expanded beyond the historical migration belts in response to new labour opportunities in southern Europe. Persistent demand for migrant labour, along with demographic factors and increasing aspirations, suggest that migration over formally closed borders is likely to remain high in the near future. However, in the longer term, out‐migration might decrease and Morocco could increasingly develop into a migration destination for migrants from sub‐Saharan Africa, a transition process which may already have een set in motion.     

The world economic system and international migration in less developed countries: an ecological approach

This study examines net migration in less developed countries (LDCs) within the context of a world economic system and an urban ecological framework. Data are obtained from the "1987 World Development Report," the "1983 and 1987 World Bank Tables," and the 1984 UN Demographic Yearbook. It is posited that international migration is a direct response to the changes in the ecological subsystems in LDCs. The framework of this analysis relies on analyses by Sly and Tayman that found in multi-equation models that migration was a demographic response to environmental conditions created by organization and technology. The maximum likelihood estimates derived from the proposed structural model indicate that net capital flows positively influence net migration rate directly. Large transfers of capital were associated with net migration. It is suggested that a reduced percentage in the labor force in agriculture may have a greater impact on emigration than wages or social disadvantages. Gross national product had a smaller impact on migration than net capital outflows. Exports had a positive impact on net migration. There was a direct negative effect of value added to manufacturing on net migration, and the direct negative effect was greater than the positive indirect effect. The percentage of persons economically active had a positive impact on net migration. Increased economic activity was related to increased emigration. The evidence suggests that world economic systems did have an impact on emigration, when profits were not invested in domestic economies of LDCs. Findings suggest that the value added to manufacturing, the percentage engaged in agriculture, and the economically active population mediated the impact of trade on net migration.     

Changing the Status Quo of Migration and Asylum Policies in Turkey: A Narrative Inquiry

Abstract

Turkey has been experiencing a migration policy transformation in the wake of a new ruling entitled the ‘Foreigners and International Protection Law’ (FIPL). This qualitative inquiry investigates this major change process by focusing on the planned reorganisation which is a result of the legislation process, with the aim of connecting the change process to a change model. The researcher interviewed twenty-seven middle and upper-level managers and experts from the Foreigners, Border, and Asylum Department (FBAD) and Asylum and Migration Bureau (AMB) of the Turkish Ministry of the Interior. Both their implementation of the change process and perceptions on such a transformation period were investigated. The study also examined the change process of the irregular migration and asylum regime within Turkey’s bid for full European Union membership as well as implementation of the draft FIPL. This study provides an example of a policy change process by analysing how governmental practice and legislation have evolved with regard to irregular migration, asylum seekers, and refugees in Turkey. The results noticeably reveal that, instead of seeing irregular migration and asylum as merely a threat to national security or a welfare issue, Turkey has chosen a way of developing a humanitarian approach in both the legislative and administrative fields. This is the first study which attempts to analyse a particular policy change process in the migration and asylum regime in Turkey. The results could influence policy dynamics and set priorities by suggesting policy solutions.