Community Charter Research Articles

E-PARTICIPATION IN THE TERRITORIAL COMMUNITIES OF UKRAINE IN THE TIME OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION PROCESSES: ELECTRONIC PETITIONS

The article examines the processes of implementation and effectiveness of electronic petitions in the context of public participation in Ukraine in recent years. The issue of introducing democratic innovations and e-participation in communities is considered, on the one hand, inextricably linked to the ongoing processes of Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, and, on the other hand, taking into account the challenges and limitations caused by the Russian full-scale war and the introduction of martial law in Ukraine. Electronic petitions are identified as an effective additional mechanism that can serve as a “public voice” at critical moments in the implementation of democratic reforms, recovery and reconstruction processes. Today in Ukraine, petitions are more common at the national level than at the local level. To analyze the state of use of the tool, we collected data from open sources, namely the EDEM digital platform (15 communities), local government websites (7 communities), and an earlier analytical study by the NGO “Chesno Movement”. The study focuses on the key factors that can affect the effectiveness of local governments in directly generating quality policies and implementing such participatory forms on the ground. These factors include security criteria; legislative conflicts caused by the introduction of martial law; physical and psychological exhaustion of employees, which affects the efficiency of service delivery and information; and technical problems. The conclusions note that in the process of effective use of electronic petitions, the key issue is the clear regulation of the procedure for applying the tool in the community charter, as well as the institutional capacity of the local self-government body to ensure a communication campaign on the availability of such a tool and further consideration of the received petitions in accordance with the procedure set out in the charter. Recommendations are made to improve the effectiveness of implementation of participation tools and involvement of citizens in these processes at the local level in general and in the case of electronic petitions in particular.

The effects of membership expansion on credit union risk and returns

Between 1996 and 2022, regulatory changes led to over a thousand federally chartered credit unions converting to community charters, significantly increasing credit union membership. This study attempts to determine whether these developments improve safety and soundness by enabling credit unions to diversify their loan portfolios, or whether risk increases as the social capital of a tight common bond becomes diluted. We use two-way fixed effects, doubly robust and generalized synthetic control methods with state chartered credit unions and commercial banks as controls to estimate both intent-to-treat (ITT) and average treatment-effect-on-the-treated (ATT) impacts on credit union risk and returns. We find that conversions to community charter unambiguously improve credit union returns but the effects on risk are mixed: liquidity and capital fall, but there is no change in indicators of asset quality. Overall, during the 25-year period from 1998 to 2022, only 1.47% of community-chartered credit unions failed. The results suggest that social capital is no longer an important factor in reducing credit risk in countries with developed financial sectors like the U.S.

การพัฒนาธรรมนูญชุมชนด้านสุขภาวะผู้สูงอายุในตำบลตลาดใหม่ อำเภอวิเศษชัยชาญ จังหวัดอ่างทอง

การวจยเชงปฏบตการแบบมสวนรวมนเกดจากความตองการของพนท มวตถประสงคหลกเพอพฒนาธรรมนญชมชนดานสขภาวะของผสงอายในตำบลตลาดใหม อำเภอวเศษชยชาญ จงหวดอางทอง เครองมอวจย ไดแก แบบสอบถามกงโครงสรางใชในการสนทนากลมระหวางผสงอาย จำนวน 15 คน เพอรวบรวมขอมลทวไป ความร และความคดเหนเกยวกบสขภาวะผสงอาย และแนวคำถามกบการสมภาษณเชงลกกบมสวนไดสวนเสย 10 คน เพอรวบรวมขอมลและแผนงานดานผสงอาย หลงจากนนจงจดเวทชมชน 3 เวท มวตถประสงคตางกน ดงน 1) เวทจดตงคณะกรรมการ 2) เวทวางแผนกำหนดทศทางอนาคต ขอตกลงของชมชน และจดทำแผนปฏบตการ กบ 3) เวทประกาศธรรมนญพรอมคนขอมลสชมชน กลมเปาหมาย ไดแก ผสงอายเวทละ 32 คน ทง 3 เวทจะมผสงอายจากการสมภาษณเชงลกรวมดวย ผลการศกษา การพฒนาธรรมนญดานสขภาวะของผสงอายประกอบดวยหมวดธรรมนญ 5 หมวดหลก 23 ขอปฏบต แสดงชดเจนวา ผสงอายมความตองการดานการเสรมสรางสขภาพ ดานสงเสรมการอยรวมกน และความสมพนธในชมชนมากทสด รองลงมา คอ ดานการสงเสรมการศกษาและการเรยนรตลอดชวต และดานการปรบปรงสงแวดลอมทเออตอการดำรงชวตของผสงอาย ดานทไดรบความสนใจนอยทสด คอ ดานการเสรมสรางเศรษฐกจและรายได และในหมวดน ไมรบรองขอปฏบตท 12 วาดวย สงเสรมการออมในรปแบบตางๆ เนองจากทผานมากจกรรมดงกลาวไมประสบความสำเรจ ขอเสนอแนะจากการวจย ไดแก ควรมการประเมนผลการนำขอปฏบตไปใชในชมชนในมตความสำเรจทางสงคม เศรษฐกจ สขภาพ และการเมอง ขอเสนอเพอการพฒนาพนท คอ ควรนำธรรมนญทไดในครงนเสนอเปนขอเสนอแนะในการดำเนนงานเกยวกบผสงอายในระดบจงหวดและเผยแพรสสมชชาสขภาพของประเทศไทย เพอความตอเนองในการดำเนนการพฒนา คำสำคญ: ธรรมนญชมชน สขภาวะผสงอาย การวจยเชงปฏบตการแบบมสวนรวม This participatory action research is conducted due to the area demand with the main purpose of developing the community charter on the elderly’s wellness at Talat Mai Sub-district, Wiset Chai Chan District, Ang Thong Province. The study tools include semi-structured interview using with the 15 elderlies in order to collect general information, knowledge, and opinions on elderlies’ wellness; and the question approaches using with 10 stakeholders in order to collect information and plans about elderlies. Then, the study holds 3 community forums with different purposes: 1) the committee appointment forum; 2) future direction planning, community agreement and workshop planning forum; and 3) announcement of charter forum. The target group includes 32 elderlies participating in each forum and in-depth interview. The results of the study obviously reveal the community charter development on the elderly’s wellness, which consists of 5 major categories and 23 procedures, that the elderlies are in need of health promotion, staying-together promotion, and community relationship the most. The following parts are education and live-long learning promotion and environment improvement for elderlies’ living. The least being interested in is found the economy and income promotion in which does not support the Article 12 of the procedure - the saving promotion. Due to the fact that the previous activities have been unsuccessful, the study suggests that there ought to be the evaluation of procedures application in the dimensions of social, economic, and political success. The suggestion for area development is to apply the charter from this study as the accommodation for provincial elderly-operation and distribution to Thai Health Assembly for the benefit of continuous development. Keywords: Community Charter, Elderly’s Wellness, Participatory Action Research

Attitudes towards Kratom use, decriminalization and the development of a community-based Kratom control mechanism in Southern Thailand

Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa Korth.) is an indigenous plant of Southeast Asia, which has been used in traditional medicine for centuries. Despite local communities in Southern Thailand viewing Kratom as a traditional remedy and not as an illicit drug, Thailand criminalized Kratom in 1943 which has led to tensions between government authorities and local communities. This study employed a mixed-method design to explore alternative ways to decriminalize Kratom, using a Participatory Action Research framework to develop a community charter to better manage Kratom in Tambon Namphu, a rural sub-district in Southern Thailand. Quantitative data consisted of face-to-face surveys with 457 Tambon Namphu residents, 104 students and teachers and on-line self-complete surveys conducted with 1,058 people outside Tambon Namphu. Qualitative data were collected using focus groups, in-depth interviews and through public forums conducted with Tambon Namphu residents. Survey results indicate that most participants agreed with decriminalization of both Kratom cultivation and consumption and typically reported positive attitudes towards people who use Kratom. The most common reasons for supporting Kratom decriminalization were Kratom's perceived benefits for work productivity and health. People had more positive attitudes towards the consumption of fresh Kratom leaves than Kratom decoctions which were deemed more harmful. Participatory action research methods were used to pilot the development of a community consensus framework for Kratom control in Donsai, a village of 127 households. Following successful piloting, the community consensus framework on Kratom control was adopted in Donsai, adapted across Tambon Namphu and then extended to cover 135 villages across Thailand.

STANDARDS OF EMPLOYEES' RIGHT TO A PROFESSIONAL (OFFICIAL) CAREER IN THE ACTS OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE AND THE EUROPEAN UNION

The article examines the standards of employee's right to a professional (official) career, enshrined in the acts of the Council of Europe and the European Union. It is established that the gradual harmonization of acts of national labour legislation with European standards of the employee's right to a professional (official) career is its adaptation. Forms of adaptation of legal acts of Ukraine in the research area are the adoption of new legislation and amendments to existing ones, which takes into account European standards of the employee's right to a professional (official) career. It is the effective adaptation of Ukraine's labour legislation to European human rights standards that is one of the guarantees for the successful completion of European integration and Ukraine's accession to the European Union. It is established that European standards of employees' right to a professional (professional) career are divided into general and special. The general standards of the studied law determine its structure, guarantees of implementation and in general the mechanism of provision (implementation, protection and defense). The content of the standards of the employee's right to a professional (official) career enshrined in the European Social Charter (revised) of 9 May 1996, the Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers of 9 December 1989, and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union of 7 December 2000 year. Special standards of the right to a professional (official) career apply to certain categories of workers, which, as a rule, are related to the implementation of certain functions of the state (administration of justice, law and order, etc.) and enshrine special powers of relevant categories of workers to meet their needs and interests of property and non-property nature, associated with professional growth and/ or promotion of work (service).

Everyday life of the Solovetsky monastery in the pre-revolutionary period of its history

The Spaso-Preobrazhensky Solovetsky monastery, founded in the second quarter of the XV century, made a great contribution to the colonization of the Russian North. The article is devoted to the analysis of everyday life of this Northern monastery in the pre-revolutionary period of its history. The founder of the Solovetsky monastery, the monk Zosima, was its Abbot for 26 years (1452-1478). During this period, he drew up the Charter of the monastery and established a hostel in it, which provided for undivided property and a common household, the same food and clothing for all monks, as well as the distribution of monastic works among the entire brotherhood. The manuscript of the monastery’s Charter, compiled by Zosima, was kept in the monastery until the beginning of the last century. Being brief in its content, this Charter was essentially reduced to the following regulations: all priests and ordinary monks do not have their own special income, but receive clothes and shoes from the Treasury of the monastery, gather for a common meal and eat a common meal. In addition to these rules, oral covenants were preserved, established, according to legend, by the founder of the monastery: Zosima bequeathed not to keep cattle in the monastery itself. The main occupation of novices and ordinary monks in addition to participation in worship was hard physical labor in the vast economy of the monastery. The monastic authorities, represented by the Abbot and the “Cathedral elders”, tried to keep and strictly follow the Statute of the monk Zosima, as the most important condition of the” spiritual fortress [[CHECK_DOUBLEQUOT_ENT]] of novices and monks. Revived in 1990 after a 70-year hiatus, the monastery, which is under the direct supervision of the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, bases its internal order of life on the community Charter reserved by its founder.

The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and its Impact on Labor Law : a Plea for a Proportionality-Test "Light"

Traditionally, fundamental human rights have occupied an important place in labor law. The ILO constitution of 1919 focuses, for example, on the right of freedom of association. Subsequent ILO documents stress other fundamental rights such as the right to non-discrimination in the field of labor. The fundamental rights of the worker did begin to get some attention in the EU too, especially in non-binding documents such as the Community Charter of the Rights of the Worker from 1989. Since the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, the Charter of Fundamental Rights introduced at the summit in Nice is legally binding to the same extent as the EU Treaty itself. The Charter includes fundamental rights in the field of labor law under the heading ‘solidarity'. In this article two basic questions will be addressed. The first question will address the ‘old' issue of the clash between fundamental (labor) rights and the four economic freedoms of the EU, which are seen by the ECJ as of fundamental nature as well. Since the seminal cases of Viking and Laval, a lot has been written about this theme by both European and labor lawyers. I will not revisit the literature that has been written about these cases, but the more dogmatic issue of a (potential) clash between the four economic freedoms and the fundamental rights is still in need of clarification. The second question is whether the fundamental human rights will get a more important place in the case law of the European Court of Justice now that the Charter of Fundamental Rights is of binding character, or, will there be just a continuation of the already developed relationship between fundamental freedoms and rights or between two different kind of fundamental human rights? I will focus here on case law in the field of labor law. The article will finish with a plea for a proportionality test ‘light' in order to limit the interference of EU law with the essence of fundamental rights.

It’s Elementary: Social Skills Boost Academics

It’s Elementary: Social Skills Boost Academics

WA30 The dying well community charter and dying matters: a united kingdom (uk) approach to public health and dying.

The Dying Matters Coalition, set up following the UK Government's End of Life Care Strategy in 2008, is led by the NCPC (UK umbrella organisation). Dying Matters supports changing knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards dying, death and bereavement, and through this to make 'living and dying well' the norm. The Coalition has over 30,000 members, and encourages people to talk to friends and family about their end of life wishes, including how they would like to be cared for, where they want to die and their funeral plans. The Dying Well Community Charter is an innovative approach to community development work, working with Pathfinder areas to pilot this approach, rather than encouraging health and social care services to "do" end of life care "to" people, to encourage them to work with community leaders to make end of life care everyone's responsibility. Participants will discover what has worked in the UK, including many low resource options, and a community development approach to palliative care. We worked with 8 Pathfinder communities to ask them to pilot the Dying Well Community Charter approach. Dying Matters was the first national awareness and behaviour change campaign around death, dying and bereavement. Dying Matters has over 30,000 members. Outcome of the Charter work is unknown, but more will be known by the time of the conference. How communities can come together for better death, dying and bereavement. That death and dying are not subjects that need to be avoided, and can be engaged with for better outcomes.

Can Virtue Be Taught?

2500 years ago, Socrates wrestled with the question: Can virtue be taught? And I’m still at it. I recall my experience as an Ethical Culture Leader, the head of the Ethical Culture Fieldston Schools, and Board Chair of the Ethical Community Charter School in Jersey City. Once more, I reflect on a life-long vocation: the problem of knowing, judging, deciding, and acting ethically. Can virtue be taught? Socrates answered “yes” and “no.” Figuring out what that means remains a continuing puzzle, which inspired this article.

Listening Carefully to the Narratives of Young Adolescent Youth of Color

Culture and community are considered key aspects of effective middle level education (National Middle School Association, 2010). Effective schools for young adolescents are inviting, inclusive, and supportive; are staffed with adults who support youths academic and personal development; and affirm the important role that families play in educating youth. In this article, we suggest that middle level educators can use the tools of research-specifically, narrative inquiry-to better understand the lives of the young adolescents they teach and to develop more supportive classroom communities and cultures. Such inquiry can enrich and deepen teachers complex understandings of adolescent students lives, enhance adolescent students affiliation with school, and develop relationships between middle level teachers and their students. Using research tools drawn from narrative inquiry methodologies (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000; Cole & Knowles, 2001; Linde, 1993; Mishler, 1999), teachers can come to understand dimensions of adolescent students lives that are not otherwise apparent. We encourage middle grades teachers to use such methods in their everyday practices as a means of student support and advocacy. In this article, we ask: How can middle level teachers draw on tools of narrative inquiry to better understand and support their students academic achievement, school affiliation, and general well-being? We illustrate the value of narrative inquiry through the stories of three adolescent students, gathered through life history interviews. All of these stories show key dimensions of the students lives to which teachers ordinarily might not be privy. We then connect the students stories to the broader literature that discusses both the importance of in schooling and research concerning African American families and the diverse resources they can leverage to support their childrens education. The role of in the educational lives of three students of color Amber Amber Madison (all names of people and places are pseudonyms) was a sixteen-year-old African American female who attended Pinesville Community Charter School (PCCS), a pre-K-to-12 public charter school in a rural community in the southeastern United States. Amy (first author) asked Amber, who was raised by her aunt and uncle, to recount the role her had played in her educational experiences. described how, in addition to seeking out the assistance of her aunt and uncle, she had intentionally recruited adults from diverse contexts in her life to construct an extended family network to help her attain her educational goals. mentioned two teachers from her earlier years of schooling, Mr. Hunter and Mrs. Monroe, whom she considered to be family, stating I look up to Mr. Hunter as a father. Amber told Amy how she enjoyed talking with him, and she said she knew he cared about her well-being. also recalled how Mrs. Monroe had functioned as a mother to her, frequently checking in on her and reminding her of the consequences of her actions: She will tell me, 'No, you should not have done that, or 'Why did you do it? Amber had demonstrated agency by pulling together a unit that put her on the path to attaining her educational goals. This unit included teachers who were willing to accept these roles in Ambers life; Mr. Hunter and Mrs. Monroe demonstrated deep interest in Amber, showing her they were willing to go beyond the usual role of teachers. They inquired about her life and shared parts of their own lives, forming strong personal bonds with Amber. Consequently, Ambers academic achievement and sense of affiliation with school were boosted, and she was able to extend her circle of support to adults beyond her aunt and uncle. Jonathan Jonathan Reynolds was a seventeen-year-old African American male who, like Amber, attended PCCS. Jonathan was living with his grandparents, mother, and younger brother. …

Finding True North

“Finding True North” tells the story of two remarkable schools in Rochester, New York. World of Inquiry School 58 and Genesee Community Charter School are successful on every traditional measure, with some of the highest test scores in New York State, and a host of awards and honors between them. What’s different about these schools, however, and what makes their story especially important at this time in the history of school reform, is that they demonstrate that children in low‐income urban areas do not need paternalistic approaches, heavily focused on basic skills instruction, and absent experiential methods or integrated arts and music, in order to do well on assessments. World of Inquiry and Genesee, both Expeditionary Learning schools, prove that teachers with good training, strong leadership, and a clear mission can teach their students the basics that they need with pedagogy and curriculum that is engaging, experiential, and interdisciplinary.

Comments on the East Asian Community Charter : From the Perspective of Forced Displacement and Constructivism

Comments on the East Asian Community Charter : From the Perspective of Forced Displacement and Constructivism

Posting of workers in the single market: attempts to prevent social dumping and regime competition in the EU

ABSTRACTThe so‐called ‘Posting of Workers Directive’ was an integral part of the European Commission (EC) Action programme linked to the Community Charter of Fundamental Rights of Workers and was meant to establish a legal frame for labour conditions of workers posted for a temporary period to another Member State. Its content is about equal treatment, a guarantee of minimum protection, fair competition and respect for the regulatory frame in the host country. In the cases included in this article, increased divergence can be observed with respect to the role of the state versus the social partners with regards to regulation and control. The over‐riding challenge nowadays is to develop effective mechanisms of enforcement compatible with the constraints of European Union principles and regulations. In the EC documents, any reference to the Community Charter of Basic Rights of Workers has disappeared and the weight of power has shifted in favour of the free market hardliners, who seem to regard the Directive as an oddity in breach with the logic of the four freedoms.

The Balance Between Economic and Social Objectives in the European Treaties

This study puts into historical perspective the balance defined by the European treaties between the economic and social dimensions of the European project. It highlights the two main characteristics of the building of social Europe. First, rather than constituting an objective for its own sake, social Europe has until recently developed as an accompanying measure of the economic integration between the Member States of the European Community, and now the European Union. Second, it has developed through a diversity of legal methods, including in the process a large array of actors. Social Europe today results, first, from certain provisions of the Rome Treaty, from legislative measures, and from the case-law of the European Court of Justice. But it also has developed from the adoption of political declarations which are not legally binding – such as the 1989 Community Charter of fundamental social rights of workers and the 2000 Charter of fundamental rights –, from European social dialogue, and from the “open” coordination between the Member States in the fields of employment and social inclusion. The study identifies the different historical stages in the building of social Europe, and it replaces those stages in a theoretical framework in order to shed light on the logic which connects them with one another.

Social protection of employees in labour code after Poland’s accession to the European Union

Social protection issues of employees is connected with laws to make in European Social Charter (1961) and Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers (1989). Some of the these rights are regulated in the Directives EC, which in the period of Polish assoiation with European Communities were implemented in the Polish labour law. After Polish accession to the European Community, three aspects of the social protection of employees are especially important and in these cases it is necessary to pay attention to them in this paper

Zur Suche nach neuen sozialen Ordnungen im europäisch-nordamerikanischen Kulturkreis. Problemaufriss und Zukunftsvision / The Search for New Social and Economic Orders in European and North-American Societies. An Outline of Problems and a Vision for the Future

Zusammenfassung Seit zwei Jahrzehnten sind weltweit Prozesse anhaltender Suche nach neuen Wirtschafts- und Sozialordnungen zu beobachten, nicht zuletzt auch in den USA und in den Mitgliedstaaten der EU. Der Verfasser untersucht für die USA und die Bundesrepublik die Ursachen für die Suche nach Reformkonzepten und die Inhalte der in beiden Ländern vorgeschlagenen Reformkonzepte. Er befasst sich mit folgenden Fragen: Kann die nordamerikanische Wirtschafts- und Sozialkultur für die EU-Mitgliedstaaten Vorbildcharakter haben? Kann die sog. „neue Bürger- und Sozialkultur” wesentliches Element einer Sozialstaatsreform sein? Welches Menschenbild und welche ideologische Orientierung soll dem ordnungspolitischen Leitbild zugrunde gelegt werden? Auf welcher politischen Ebene soll das neue Leitbild entwickelt und durchgesetzt werden? Nach Überzeugung des Verfassers können die USA kein Vorbild für eine Sozialstaatsreform sein. Wenngleich nichts dagegen spricht, ähnlich wie in den USA eine Renaissance des Sozialkapitals und die Durchsetzung der Grundgedanken des Kommunitarismus zu verfolgen, hält es der Verfasser für geboten, sich auf die europäische Sozialstaatstradition und ihren hohen gesellschafts- und wirtschaftspolitischen Wert zu besinnen und im Rahmen der Wirtschafts- und Sozialpolitik der EU die Erhaltung der in der „Gemeinschaftscharta der sozialen Grundrechte” von 1989 enthaltenen sozialstaatlichen Kernsubstanz anzustreben.

A Study on Legitimacy and Efficiency of Community Charter by the Theory of Self-Organized Collective Choice

A Study on Legitimacy and Efficiency of Community Charter by the Theory of Self-Organized Collective Choice

A Study on Legitimacy and Efficiency of Community Charter by the Theory of Self-Organized Collective Choice

A Study on Legitimacy and Efficiency of Community Charter by the Theory of Self-Organized Collective Choice

The European Union's Policy on the Equality of Women

As the European Union (EU) moves toward greater market integration, its progress toward women's equality has been a disappointment to many European women and feminists, although in forty years, actions of the European Community (EC) had led to some favorable developments in the member states with regard to women's rights as workers and women's political representation. The 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam, which has yet to be ratified by governments of the member states, does not contain the great institutional reforms for which EU citizens, both female and male, were waiting. It has not helped forward the construction of European citizenship, nor indeed has it produced any real solution to the enduring democratic deficit and the limited power of the European Parliament. It continues a policy of extreme gradualness in building European citizenship and democracy. The Amsterdam Treaty still fails to include a basic common standard of fundamental social rights guaranteed to EU citizens. In fact, the social rights recognized in the European Social Charter of 1961 and the 1989 Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers only figure in the Amsterdam treaty as general principles that are not legally binding. However, the most important innovation is the integration of the Social Policy Agreement into the treaty that broadens the EC's competence and the powers of the European Parliament in the area of social policy. This may foreshadow a positive new phase in social policy. Most pertinent for women, the Amsterdam Treaty also contains a new article, number thirteen, that empowers the Council of Ministers, acting unanimously, to take appropriate action to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age, or sexual orientation. This