Europeanisation and the Youth Guarantee: The case of France

In 2013, the European Council approved the Youth Guarantee (YG) to counteract youth unemployment. Because of its specific features, the YG is useful for understanding whether the EU has triggered policy change in national youth unemployment policies. Contrary to most of the literature on similar topics, we focused in this study on the effect of this specific European measure rather than on broader EU strategies or policies. The study contributes to the literature by qualifying the degree of fit/misfit and suggesting a counterfactual analysis, using the case of France. We first situate the article within the broader Europeanisation debate and present our research design. The second section introduces the policy structure of the YG and investigates youth unemployment policy in France, prior to and after the European initiative. The third section discusses whether the French youth unemployment policy would have been developed in the same way without the YG. A final section concludes.     

The impact of the European Youth Guarantee on active labour market policies: A convergence analysis

The European Union’s (EU) Youth Guarantee aims to improve the labour market situation of young people. Rather than prescribing a uniform policy model, it acknowledges that supportive measures need to align with national, regional and local circumstances. It thus seeks to promote mutual policy learning through the open method of coordination. As an innovative measure, the EU has deployed funding programmes to support the domestic measures related to the Youth Guarantee. We therefore examined in this study whether this mix of recommendations and financial incentives has entailed a convergence of member state policies. Our analysis of policy outputs for the period 2007?2014 yields a mixed empirical picture. There is catching‐up convergence regarding policies’ sectoral coverage but increasing divergence concerning the number of adopted policy instruments. The first two years of financial incentives did not produce any effect on enhancing policy experimentation among less active member states. We offer an optimistic and a pessimistic interpretation of these findings.     

‘My profession is gone’: how social workers experience de-professionalization in the Netherlands

Recently social work in the Netherlands underwent two major changes. Specialized agencies were replaced by one-stop shops (district teams) and the welfare state was replaced by a ‘participation society’, in which vulnerable groups have to rely on their social network rather than resort to professional care. The first change is termed ‘de-specialization’; the second ‘basic de-professionalization’. The research question in this article is: how do Dutch social workers experience and evaluate these two developments? Qualitative interviews with 29 experienced social workers show that most of them endorse de-specialization, as this type of aid is deemed better for clients with complex problems. Moreover, many social workers like to take on new tasks. Basic de-professionalization is met with more reserve. Social workers observe that many clients do not have a suitable network and need professional help. In addition, they feel that their profession is being degraded as lay people and volunteers take over (part of) their work. However, they feel unable to resist this development, because resistance might get them sacked. Some social workers even enhance basic de-professionalization because of their willingness to continue working as (retired) volunteers. Social workers and theorists need to address and counter the move towards basic de-professionalization.     

The role of the welfare state in supporting economic transitions following family bereavement: Comparing Britain and Israel

Despite its centrality to the experience of death and grief, it is only in recent years that the economic burden following family bereavement has been recognized by social care professionals and scholars. Based on the realization that death and bereavement are grounded in social context, and assuming this economic burden is a multifaceted phenomenon, the present study compares the British and Israeli welfare systems in three policy settings: social security, funeral services, and bereavement leave. The findings suggest that while in both systems bereavement and especially widowhood is considered a deserving category, recent pressures for restructuring the British welfare state have been successful in shifting provision from the state to the market. The findings also show that in both cases, albeit to a lesser extent in Israel, current policy measures are not fully aligned with critical scholarship on bereavement and its financial consequences, nor with socio‐economic and demographic trends. These disparities are addressed using the notion of disenfranchised grief and by emphasizing the pivotal, although often overlooked role of the welfare state in constituting it. Lastly, the differences between the two cases are discussed in terms of the powerful role of Judaism in shaping Israeli policy.     

Everything for the Children: Orphans Growing Up in Informal Adoptive Families in China

Most orphaned children in China are cared for by their extended families or become state wards under the guardianship of child welfare institutions. Some exceptions are children who are found and cared for by families in the community, without a formalized adoption or foster relationship. In some locations, institutions now accept guardianship for these children and support the informal adoptive family to continue to care for them. This article examines the outcomes for these children as they became young adults by comparing these 12 children raised within the system as they approach or have approached young adulthood (now aged 16–40 years-old). Some of the participants were either informally adopted or lived in institutional care. The results of this study found that the family environment was more conducive to the young people’s wellbeing as they approached or entered adulthood. The participants raised in informal care appeared to be treated similar to the biological children in these families. When the institution formalized the state guardianship responsibility, it also meant the families had state resources for support to protect the children’s rights to economic security, education, health care, and social participation. This practice by the institution supported the addition of informal adoption, as one step closer to permanency than foster care. Future implications include considering this option to help promote the family system assisting these children, families, and the state.     

论外层空间物体的登记国

外层空间物体的登记国是指依《登记公约》进行登记的一个发射国。当存在多个发射国时,应当共同决定登记国。在无法达成一致时,应按照一定的规则确定登记国。如果外层空间物体所有权转移给其他发射国,可以进行变更登记;如果转移给非发射国,则不能由非发射国进行登记,但非发射国可以对外层空间物体行使管辖权或控制权。外层空间物体的登记对登记国具有一定的法律效果。     

江泽民依法治国思想探析

以江泽民同志为核心的第三代领导集体,首次提出了"依法治国,建设社会主义法治国家"的治国方略。准确把握江泽民同志依法治国的科学内涵,德治与法治的相互关联以及建设法治国家的主要途径等法治思想,对于全面建设社会主义小康社会和和谐社会意义深远。     

张载的大心工夫论

在张载哲学中,心具有客观存在与主观活动、体和用这样的心性两重的辨证结构。张载的大心,就是"复其性"、"复其初"的"心"回复为"性"和"气"的方法,此乃一切工夫的核心。在张载看来"民吾同胞,物吾与也"的境界,正是通过大心实现的万物一体的境界。     

中国社会养老的文化分析

本文关注福利文化对社会养老制度和实践的影响,从文化视角审视中国现代社会养老项目的发展,揭示了老年社会福利模式与特定社会政策制定者对社会福利概念的理解和传统福利文化之间的关系。限定主义的价值观和公民权利意识的缺失阻碍着中国老年社会福利模式从剩余性到制度性的转变,抑制了社会福利在缩小老年群体内阶层差异方面的作用,促使了福利资源分配的不公。尽管人口老龄化和福利国家的文化扩散正在促使中国老年社会福利呈多元化发展趋势,多元福利体系的最终建立还有赖于社会公众和政策制定者对个人和国家关系的重新解读。     

文体与国体--日本近代民族国家转型中的文体变革

日本近代的文体变革与民族国家的转型是相辅相成的。从明治维新开始,日本迈向了民族国家的征程。在国家意识的支配下,日本以东京话为标准建立“国语”来统合全体国民。随着民族主义的盛行,日本知识界在书面语系统着意削减汉字、增加假名,建构与“汉文脉”不同的“言文一致体”。通过报纸杂志的传播、学校教育的推广,以及自由民权运动的政治动员和战争报道的大量应用,最终形成了一种与口语密切结合、并适用于所有国民的新型文体。