Social Support Schemes

ＳｏｃｉａｌＳｕｐｐｏｒｔＳｃｈｅｍｅｓＷａｙｓｆｏｒｔｈｅｅｌｄｅｒｌｙａｎｄｔｈｅｗｉｄｏｗｅｄｔｏｂｅｃｏｍｅａｃｃｅｓｓｉｂｌｅｔｏｓｏｃｉａｌｓｅｃｕｒｉｔｙａｌｓｏｄｉｆｆｅｒｗｉｄｅｌｙ．Ｒｅｓｅｒｖｅｆｕｎｄｓａｒｅｏｎｌｙｕｓｅｄｔ...     

China''''s Social Security Policy

ForewordSocial security is one of the most importantsocioeconomic systems for a country in modern times.To establish and improve a social security systemcorresponding to the level of economic development is alogical requirement for coordinated economic and socialdevelopment. It is also an important guarantee for thesocial stability and the long-term political stability of acountry.China is the biggest developing country with a largepopulation, but its economic base is weak and there aregreat i…     

Population Aging and Social Security

ＰｏｐｕｌａｔｉｏｎＡｇｉｎｇａｎｄＳｏｃｉａｌＳｅｃｕｒｉｔｙＣｈｉｎａｈａｓｔｈｅｌａｒｇｅｓｔｅｌｄｅｒｌｙｐｏｐｕｌａｔｉｏｎｉｎｔｈｅｗｏｒｌｄ．Ｉｎ１９９０，ｔｈｅｐｏｐｕｌａｔｉｏｎａｇｅｄ６０ｙｅａｒｓａｎｄｏｌｄｅｒａｐｐｒｏａｃｈ...     

Social Security Programme for Farmers

ＳｏｃｉａｌＳｅｃｕｒｉｔｙＰｒｏｇｒａｍｍｅｆｏｒＦａｒｍｅｒｓ￥／／ＷｉｔｈｔｈｅｒｅｆｏｒｍｏｆＣｈｉｎａ＇ｓｒｕｒａｌｅｃｏｎｏｍｙ，ｔｈｅｉｍｐｌｅｍｅｎｔａｔｉｏｎｏｆｔｈｅＳｔａｔｅｆａｍｉｌｙｐｌａｎｎｉｎｇｐｏｌｉｃｙ，ｔｈｅｄｒａ...     

In Social Capital We Trust?

It has been widely postulated in the literature that social capital is positively related to or is the same as trust. The present study presents three theoretical perspectives regarding how individual and organizational social capital may be related to network trust and generalized trust: the compositional element (Putnam), functional equivalence (Fukuyama), and mutual independence (Lin). To each of these perspectives we allocated distinct measures of individual and organizational network mechanisms considering their operational definition of social capital. Using nationally representative data sets from the United States and China, we developed a comparative research design through which the three perspectives were put into an empirical test. In conclusion, we found that the compositional element perspective is most prone to cross-national contingencies, whereas the mutual independence perspective is freer from such contextual influences. In particular, the positive association between number of membership in voluntary associations (organizational social capital) and generalized trust exists only in the United States, whereas individual social capital based on network diversity and resources is unrelated to generalized trust in neither country. Lastly, the functional equivalence perspective does not get empirical support from the data, particularly with regard to the proposed negative relationship between network closure and generalized trust. These findings challenge the assumptions concerning the positive association or equivalence between social capital and trust in the literature.

     

China’s Social Security Policy

(Continued from Page 24, Vol. 21, No. 4-5)VI. Social WelfareThe Chinese government actively promotes thedevelopment of social welfare, raising funds throughvarious channels to provide social welfare benefitsfor the elderly, orphans and the disabled.Social Welfare for the ElderlyIn accordance with the Law of the People’s Republicof China on the Protection of Elderly People’s Rightsand Interests, the state and society have adoptedmeasures to improve conditions for such people’slivelih…     

Social Security and the National Economy

ＳｏｃｉａｌＳｅｃｕｒｉｔｙａｎｄｔｈｅＮａｔｉｏｎａｌＥｃｏｎｏｍｙＰｒｏｐｏｒｔｉｏｎｏｆａｇｅｄｐｏｐｕｌａｔｉｏｎ（６０ａｎｄｏｖｅｒ）Ｒａｔｉｏｏｆｔｏｔａｌｓｏｃｉａｌｓｅｃｕｒｉｔｙｅｘｐｅｎｄｉｔｕｒｅｔｏｎａｔｉｏｎａｌｉｎｃｏｍｅ...     

Statistics on China''''s 1996 Social Development

ｔａｔｉｓｔｉｃｓｏｎＣｈｉｎａ’ｓ１９９６ＳｏｃｉａｌＤｅｖｅｌｏｐｍｅｎｔＡｌａｒｇｅｓｉｚｅｓｅｗａｇｅｄｉｓｐｏｓａｌｐｌａｎｔｉｎＦｕｚｈｏｕＣｉｔｙ，ＦｕｊｉａｎＰｒｏｖｉｎｃｅ．ＥｄｕｃａｔｉｏｎａｌＤｅｖｅｌｏｐｍｅｎｔＣｈｉｎａｈ...     

China＇s Social Security Policy

The Chinese government actively promotes the development of social welfare, raising funds through various channels to provide social welfare benefits for the elderly, orphans and the disabled.     

Social Security and Protection For the Disadvantaged

More than twenty years of reform and opening-up has brought remarkable changes to China in both socioeconomic development and the income and living standards of its people. However, with the introduction of the contract responsibility system in rural areas and the reform of the employment and income distribution systems in urban areas, the concepts of an 搃ron bowl?and 揺ating from the same big pot?under the old system have been abandoned. Chinese society has left behind an era of universal p…     

Declining Social Cohesion in The Netherlands?

In the Netherlands, topics related to social cohesion, such as various aspects of participation and trust, are prominently on the political agenda. The bottom line is a widespread feeling that social cohesion in Dutch society is eroding, which is also reflected in a perception of a change from a high trust into a low trust society. Based on large-scale surveys (e.g. Labour Force Surveys, Permanent Survey on Living Conditions, Dutch Parliamentary Election Studies, and European Social Survey) and (population) registers, we investigate the development of: (a) Social contacts, informal help and volunteering; (b) Political participation (turnout and participation in political actions); (c) Social, institutional and political trust. Overall, we found no empirical evidence for a decline in participation and trust levels. However, there are large gaps between prevailing groups in Dutch society, in particular between lower and higher educated, natives and ethnic minorities, and various religious groups. Such gaps are rather stable for participation (since 1997) and trust (since 2002).     

Is Social Capital a Good Concept?

This paper explores whether the concept of social capital as popularized by Robert Putnam is a good social science concept. Taking Gerring’s work on concept evaluation as the starting point, the paper first presents a set of criteria for conceptual ‘goodness’ and discusses how social capital performs on these criteria. It is argued that social capital eventually may be a good concept if it can be shown empirically to be a unidimensional concept. An empirical section therefore explores the validity of the unidimensionality assumption and rejects it in four separate tests at both the individual and aggregate level. We conclude that even if social capital has been a remarkably productive idea, it is not a good concept as most popular conceptualizations define social capital as several distinct phenomena or as phenomena that already have been conceptualized under other labels.     

Ageing, Leisure, and Social Connectedness: How could Leisure Help Reduce Social Isolation of Older People?

This study investigates the relation between leisure activities and the social status of the elderly based on a heterogeneous sample of the Dutch population. Close relationships are also analyzed to identify which people could serve as successful stimulators of leisure participation. The social profile confirms that older people have fewer social contacts and often feel lonely. This study shows that leisure activities explain a significant part of older people’s social connectedness. Voluntary work, cultural activities, holiday, sports, reading books, hobbies and shopping are found to be successful predictors for social connectedness of older people. Watching TV, listening to the radio, and spending time behind the computer (passive activities) were not associated with social connectedness. Friends correlate positively to participation in leisure activities. Partners play a role in participation in cultural activities and sports; parents play a role in participation in voluntary work and holidays; siblings play a role in voluntary work and sports; and children play a role in cultural activities, reading books, and shopping. Local communities can use these close relationships and develop special programs to increase social connectedness and hence improve quality of life for older adults.     

Similar Others in Same-Sex Couples’ Social Networks

Same-sex couples experience unique minority stressors. It is known that strong social networks facilitate access to psychosocial resources that help people reduce and manage stress. However, little is known about the social networks of same-sex couples, in particular their connections to other same-sex couples, which is important to understand given that the presence of similar others in social networks can ameliorate social stress for stigmatized populations. In this brief report, we present data from a diverse sample of 120 same-sex couples in Atlanta and San Francisco. The median number of other same-sex couples known was 12; couples where one partner was non-Hispanic White and the other a person of color knew relatively few other same-sex couples; and there was a high degree of homophily within the social networks of same-sex couples. These data establish a useful starting point for future investigations of couples’ social networks, especially couples whose relationships are stigmatized or marginalized in some way. Better understandings of the size, composition, and functions of same-sex couples’ social networks are critically needed.     

Statistical Communique on National Economic and Social Development

I n 2001, under the leadership of the Central Party Committee and the State Council of China, governments at all levels rigorously implemented a series of policies aiming at expanding domestic demand, as well as a pro-active financial policy and a sound monetary policy. Due attention was focused on cultural and ethical progress. With the joint efforts made by people of all nationalities, the national economic and social development achieved remarkable progress, laying a solid foundation for…     

Social Relationships and Children’s Subjective Well-Being

The quality of relationships is now recognised as an important aspect of children??s subjective well-being. This article focuses on both positive and negative quality of relationships. It includes six areas of children??s relationships??family, neighbourhood adults, positive affect friendship, negative affect friendship, experiences of being bullied by other young people, and being treated unfairly by adults and analyses their association with children??s subjective well-being. Data for this study were obtained from a national survey among 4,673 children in secondary schools across England. Children??s relationships with their family, friends (positive affect) and neighbourhood adults appear to increase their well-being, whereas, negative aspects of friendship relations, experiences of being bullied and treated unfairly by adults is proved to decrease young people??s well-being. Relationships with family, positive relations with friends and experience of being bullied appear to have respectively the first, second and third highest effect on children??s subjective well-being. Although the influence was low, children??s relationships with neighbourhood adults, their experiences of being treated unfairly by adults and their negative relations with friends contributed significantly to explaining variations of their subjective well-being. These findings are discussed in the context of previous empirical studies and theories on social relationships and subjective well-being. Suggestions for future research are also put forward.     

Selections from SINET – The Social Indicators Network News

Social Indicators Research -     

Selections from Sinet – the Social Indicators Network News

Social Indicators Research -     

Accelerate Social Development to Promote the Advancement of Society

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