Public Welfare Policies Research Articles

Sentience and the Issue of Animal Welfare

Abstract In this article, I discuss a precondition of moral consideration that sets the bar lower at sentience. The popular sentience thesis identifies the capacity to feel pain as its condition of consideration. By appealing to the capacity to feel, it is possible to address some fundamental questions about anthropocentrism such as a threat to sentient animals in factory farming and unnecessary experimentation on nonhuman animals. This article interrogates the issue of animal welfare and exposes how discussions on moral considerations focusing on animal sentience exclude non-sentience animals from public welfare policy. While the sentience thesis is a well-established approach in the animal welfare literature, I argue that it lacks robust normative force and, as such, is inadequate for promoting animal welfare since it forces fragmentation of our moral life.

Analysis and Optimization of Labor Market Policy in East Germany After German Reunification

The merger of East and West Germany in 1991 was a very important event in world history and had a great impact not only on the world but also on Germany itself. In particular, the transition of the former GDR is of great concern. Among them, the labor market problem in eastern Germany is one of the important challenges that the former GDR has to face in the transition. Using documentary and comparative analysis, this paper focuses on the excessive unemployment rate and the lack of public welfare policies in the labor market of eastern Germany after 1991. This paper aims to analyze whether the policies adopted by the German government to alleviate the problem are effective in the long run. Although these policies were controversial at the beginning of their implementation, some scholars consider them a failure. However, in view of the current development, these policies are beneficial and feasible for developing the eastern part of Germany in the long run.

Association between Socioeconomic Factors and the Risk of Gastric Cancer Incidence: Results from an Ecological Study.

Gastric cancer (GC), one of the most common cancer worldwide, remains the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality. The etiology of GC may arise from genetic and environmental factors. This study aimed to determine the association between GC incidence and socioeconomic status in Iran. An ecological study was designed to investigate the relationship between socioeconomic factors and the risk of GC incidence. The data of socioeconomic variables such as income changes, unemployment rate, urbanization ratio, inflation rate, and air pollution changes in 31 provinces were collected from the Statistical Center of Iran, and the data of GC of 31 provinces were provided from the Iranian National Population-based Cancer Registry (INPCR). Data from 2014 to 2017 was analyzed using panel data analysis, the fixed effects model by EViews software. Panel data model was suitable for the present study. Results showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between GC incidence and socioeconomic factors including income changes (P≤ 0.001), unemployment rate (P≤0.01), inflation rate (P≤ 0.05), and air pollution changes (P≤ 0.001). The urbanization ratio showed a negative relationship and was not statistically associated with GC incidence (P> 0.05). Our findings suggest a positive and significant association between socioeconomic status and GC incidence, proposing a GC risk factor. The key public health policies and welfare policies' priority should therefore be to schedule for the GC management.

Fineman Speaks to Dobbs

It is an honor to comment on the scholarship of the preeminent legal theorist Martha Fineman. Throughout her pioneering career, she has challenged liberal feminist ideals grounded in anti-discrimination principles. She shows how sex neutrality and formal equality in law and policy fail to realize justice for women and children. In the last few decades, she has broadened her analysis to a critique of autonomy as a foundational ideal in law. In its place, she offers an account of the state’s obligation to respond to universal human vulnerability. As an entirety, I have found Fineman’s scholarship important to my own work because it offers a formidable normative argument for affirmative entitlements for caregivers and caretaking. Her specific analyses have ranged across diverse socio-legal arenas from divorce law and child custody, to the structure of the workplace, to public assistance and welfare policies.
 In this Essay, I explore the import of Fineman’s ideas for a pressing feminist issue upon which neither of us have focused in our scholarship: abortion. Given her longstanding focus on the social debt owed to mothers (including men who perform the labor of mothering), it is interesting that Fineman has not specifically spoken to the importance of women’s freedom from motherhood. In this Essay, however, I argue her ideas offer a critique of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and a theoretical foundation for abortion access. I hope this nascent exploration offers new insight into both the range and power of Fineman’s scholarship and productive paths forward for the reproductive justice movement.

Integration of sex and gender in public health and welfare policies: an analysis of the French National Authority of Health

The International Journal of Integrated Care (IJIC) is an online, open-access, peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes original articles in the field of integrated care on a continuous basis.IJIC has an Impact Factor of 5.120 (2020 JCR, received in June 2021)The IJIC 20th Anniversary Issue was published in 2021.

Effects of Relative Leisure Deprivation between Regions on Life Satisfaction in Koreans: Focusing on Baby Boomers.

Regional disparities in leisure facilities deprive residents of opportunities to participate in leisure. This study aimed to provide basic data for establishing public leisure welfare policies to reduce the leisure gap among different regions and to verify the effects of relative leisure deprivation (RLD) on the life satisfaction of Koreans, with a focus on the baby boomer generation. For this purpose, 7 items of demographic characteristics related to gender, age, marital status, job status, residence area, monthly income, and educational background, 18 items of relative leisure deprivation consisting of egoistical, resourceful, cognitive, and emotional leisure deprivation, and 5 items of life satisfaction were investigated. The questionnaire consisted of a total of 30 questions and a mobile survey was conducted in October 2020, and a total of 412 copies were used for the final analysis. The results showed that there were differences in RLD and life satisfaction depending on where the participants lived; RLD (M = 3.21, M = 2.95) was higher and life satisfaction (M = 3.36, M = 3.72) was lower in rural areas, as compared with urban areas. Second, baby boomers’ RLD had a negative effect (β = −0.5391, p < 0.001) on life satisfaction. Third, the place of residence moderated (β = 0.5240, p < 0.001) the relationship between RLD and life satisfaction; a higher RLD led to a lower level of life satisfaction for baby boomers living in rural areas (95% CI: −0.7369~−0.3413), whereas the RLD of those in urban areas did not affect their life satisfaction. Therefore, central or local governments must effectively narrow the regional gap through a balanced distribution of leisure resources to remote and underdeveloped environments, thereby minimizing the RLD of citizens and seeking improvement in life satisfaction. Finally, the part that the psychological aspect of the individual study was not considered due to the limitations of quantitative research suggests the direction of subsequent research.

Perspective Commentary: The Implementation of Welfare Policies Are Not Held to the Same Ethical Standards as Research: Raising Intergenerational Health Inequality Concerns.

Over the last 12 years the United Kingdom (UK) has seen the introduction of an austerity programme—a fiscal policy—with the primary goal to reduce the government's budget deficit and the role of the welfare system. Between 2010 and 2015 there was an estimated reduction of £14.5 billion in spending, attributable to decreasing the value of benefits and restricting entitlement to benefit claimants. By 2020, there had been an estimated unprecedented £27 billion less spent on welfare compared with spending in 2010. Whilst fiscally-successful at reducing spending, some implemented welfare policies have had direct consequences for people's health, increasing inequalities which have been heavily criticized. Moreover, there is growing concern that this has an intergenerational effect. In this paper, we describe the ethical principles in human research, how these have been considered in public health policy, and the existing evidence of the direct and intergenerational health and welfare consequences of some recent, nationally-implemented welfare policies. We argue that ethical principles, specifically the ethical principle of safety that is applied in all research, should be applied to all public welfare policies to stop the rising inequalities in health we are seeing across generations. We highlight that initial changes implemented to welfare policies as a response to COVID-19 demonstrate that there can be a political and societal perceived value in going further to support individuals and their families during times of adversity, and consider the ethical implications of this.

Lutheranism from Above and from Below: “Pastoral Professionals” and Trust within the Nordic State/Society Nexus

AbstractThe article points to the dispersion, democratization, and feminization of “pastoral” forms of power and authority since the mid‐19th century as a key to understanding the exceptionally high degree of social trust in the Nordic countries. Taking Norway as its central case, it argues that the Nordic welfare state has been shaped by an older, distinctively Lutheran–Pietist combination of educational forms of government from above and edifying popular self‐organization from below. This trust‐producing synthesis has been sustained by such “pastoral” professions as teaching, nursing, and social work, functioning as mediators between public welfare policies and the life world of citizens.

A review of research into social tourism: Launching the Annals of Tourism Research Curated Collection on Social Tourism.

This article reviews the literature on social tourism for the first time. Social tourism has been in existence since the development of modern tourism but remains a niche research area. Partially, this is because social tourism constitutes part of public welfare policy and directed towards supporting participation in tourism activities by people whose financial or other circumstances prevent them from doing so. This literature review takes a conceptual approach to examine the theoretical underpinnings of social tourism. It combines a bibliometric analysis with an analytic review approach that assesses the key themes and evolution of published research articles in the field and develops a tourism as welfare model that identifies directions for the future development of research in this field.

FEATURES OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN RUSSIA, GREAT BRITAIN AND CHINA

The state youth policy requires deep study and justification by representatives of social sciences, including sociology and socio-economic geography, which allows us to synthesize various methods of studying society and its well-being. Social geography, having a spatial approach, allows us to determine the territorial features of the course of social phenomena, to identify cause-and-effect relationships between them, to study the general and specific features of the development of territorial communities and population strata. Using the example of Great Britain, China and Russia, the current social problems of young people in countries with different types of socio-economic development are revealed through a comparative analysis of socio-demographic processes. In the context of concepts of well-being, the article considers various aspects of social dependency as a new and little-studied phenomenon. It is revealed that the UK, which implements the liberal principle of public welfare policy, has extensive experience in social work with young people, and the pioneering research of NEET-youth is of international significance. In China social dependency has acquired specific forms, which is largely determined by the principle of egalitarianism, the consequences of demographic policy and traditional mentality. The analysis of modern problems of Russian youth has shown that the rejection of the paternalistic model of social protection of the population had a negative impact on the situation of young people. The article analyzes the results of statistical, sociological research, expert evaluation, included interviews, etc., which revealed the social problems of Russian, British and Chinese youth, including the phenomenon of dependency. It was revealed that the study of dependency in the framework of youth policy and social work will help to activate the younger generation, accelerate its inclusion in society, and improve technologies for solving social problems.

PLANTAS ÚTILES DE LOS PATIOS DE SANTO DOMINGO, OCOTITLÁN, TEPOZTLÁN, MORELOS, MÉXICO

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background.&lt;/strong&gt; The patios are traditional productive units that provide plants with multiple use value to the rural families of Mexico. However, capitalism promotes its deterioration and violates food security. &lt;strong&gt;Objetive.&lt;/strong&gt; Analyze the useful plants of the courtyards to the families of Santo Domingo Ocotitlán in Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico. &lt;strong&gt;Methodology.&lt;/strong&gt; Ethnobotanical knowledge was documented of 27 open interviews, guided tours and collection of botanical material for identification; the Cultural Value Indices (CVI) and medicinal diversity (MDV) of each plant were calculated. &lt;strong&gt;Results.&lt;/strong&gt; 94 species belonging to 45 botanical families were recorded, Rosaceae highlighted (11.1%). Ten use values were recorded, with food (37.2%) and medicinal (29.7%) standing out. The medicinal plants treat 27 diseases classified in 10 categories, highlighting: digestive system (35.5%) and respiratory system (22.6%). 90% of the species are destined for self-sufficiency. The plants with the highest CVI were: &lt;em&gt;Persea americana&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;Citrus aurantifolia&lt;/em&gt; (0.47). The species with the highest MDV was &lt;em&gt;Aloe vera&lt;/em&gt; (0.19).&lt;strong&gt; Implications. &lt;/strong&gt;The information generated in this research must be included in public management, conservation and social welfare policies.&lt;strong&gt;Conclusion&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;.&lt;/strong&gt; The traditional patios studied provide environmental goods and services to the peasant families of Santo Domingo.&lt;/p&gt;

Eco-Social Divides in Europe: Public Attitudes towards Welfare and Climate Change Policies

In the face of accelerating global warming and attendant natural disasters, it is clear that governments all over the world eventually have to take measures to mitigate the most adverse consequences of climate change. However, the costs of these measures are likely to force governments to reconsider some of their tax and spending priorities, of which social spending is the largest expenditure item in developed welfare states. Unless carried out in a way that is considered as fair by most citizens, such trade-off is likely to add a new, ecological dimension to the existing social cleavages in people’s preferences for public provision. Whether or not the possible tensions between the two sets of policies have already resulted in the emergence of a new, eco-social divide in Europe is an open question. In this paper, we hypothesise that there are four distinct attitude groups in relation to welfare and climate change policies, and that the probability of belonging to any of these groups is influenced by individuals’ socioeconomic and ideological characteristics, as well as the country context in which they live. We test our hypotheses using data from the eighth round of the European Social Survey conducted in 2016/17 in multinomial regression models. Results suggest that across Europe people are considerably divided in their support of public welfare and climate policies, but that support for both dimensions is highest in the Nordic countries. At the micro level, we find political ideology and trust in public institutions to be the most important drivers of a newly emerging eco-social divide.

Influence of Socio-Ecological Factors on COVID-19 Risk: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on 178 Countries/Regions Worldwide

Background: The initial outbreak of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 in China in 2019 has been severely tested in other countries worldwide. To address the challenges posed by COVID-19, the links among the transmission of COVID-19, socio-economic factors and climatic factors must be understood to suggest better strategies for predicting, preventing, coping with and mitigating the associated challenges. We aimed to describe the distribution of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide and assess the effects of various socio-ecological factors, including climate and socio-economic factors, on COVID-19 risk. Methods: We collected COVID-19 pandemic infection data of 178 countries/regions worldwide from the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Visual Dashboard data repository, operated by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering (JHU-CSSE), and collected socio-ecological data from the Global Surface Summary of the Day (GSOD) and World Development Indicators dataset. We established the Potential Risk Assessment Framework for COVID-19. We used econometrics method to assess the global and local correlation of COVID-19 risk indicators (the incidence rate, cumulative mortality rate and daily cumulative index) for COVID-19. To estimate the adjusted IRR, we modelled negative binomial regression analysis with information and socio-ecological factors. Findings: By April 6, 2020, 178 cases were reported globally. The test results for local correlations indicated that 37, 29 and 39 countries/regions were strongly opposite from the IR, CMR and DCI index spatial autocorrelation hypothesis, respectively. The IRs were significantly positively associated with GDP per capita, the use of at least basic sanitation services and social insurance program coverage, and were significantly negatively associated with the proportion of the population spending more than 25% of household consumption or income on out-of-pocket health care expenses and the poverty headcount ratio at the national poverty lines. The CMR was significantly positively associated with urban populations, GDP per capita and current health expenditure, and was significantly negatively associated with the number of hospital beds, number of nurses and midwives, and poverty headcount ratio at the national poverty lines. The DCI was significantly positively associated with urban populations, population density and researchers in R&D, and was significantly negatively associated with the number of hospital beds, number of nurses and midwives and poverty headcount ratio at the national poverty lines. We also found that climatic factors (temperature, relative humidity, precipitation and wind speed) did not significantly reduce COVID-19 risk.I nterpretation: Attention must be paid to the similarities in COVID-19 transmission characteristics (such as transmission speed and mortality rate) across countries/regions, and national/regional early warning and protection measures must be successfully implemented. Governmental regulation of social and economic factors is particularly important to reduce COVID-19 risk. To fight against COVID-19 more effectively, countries/regions should pay more attention to controlling population flow, improving diagnosis and treatment capacity, and improving public welfare policies. Funding Statement: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research. Declaration of Interests: DS, YC, MT and YZ are funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 71473096; No. 71673101; No. 71974066). YZ is funded by Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR No. UL1TR002240). All other authors declare no competing interests.

Effects of Economic Uncertainty on Mental Health in the COVID-19 Pandemic Context: Social Identity Disturbance, Job Uncertainty and Psychological Well-Being Model

Psychological well-being is a major global concern receiving more scholarly attention following the 2008 Great Recession, and it becomes even more relevant in the context of COVID-19 outbreak. In this study, we investigated the impact of economic uncertainty resulting from natural disasters, epidemics, and financial crisis on individuals’ mental health. As unemployment rate exponentially increases, individuals are faced with health and economic concerns. Not all society members are affected to the same extent, and marginalized groups, such as those suffering from chronic mental illnesses or low-income families cannot afford the downsizing, mass lay-offs and lack of access to public health services. Psychiatric profession is familiarized with the phenomenon of intolerance of uncertainty (IU), and we examine how this concept is associated with job uncertainty and social identity disturbance. Several studies have formally investigated the effects of IU, but to our knowledge, this is the first research integrating the psychological well-being, job uncertainty and identity disturbance caused by economic breakdown. Literature points to many reported cases of PTSD, anxiety, depression and suicidal tendencies following major social disasters. Yet, we have undertaken to analyze the subjective experiences underlying the self-harming behaviors in an attempt to fill the methodological gap by drawing insights from prominent psychological, sociological and economic theories. We find economic uncertainty to have a positive relation to job uncertainty and identity disturbance, and a negative relationship with psychological well-being. Psychological well-being depends on coherency between both abstract subjective and concrete objective identity, and when these perceptions are inconsistent, cognitive dissonance arises resulting in identity disturbance. We argue that stability is not associated with monetary advantage only, but also with a wide range of other benefits that are crucial for individuals’ growth, satisfaction and sense of identity. Therefore, we propose the implementation of social support and public welfare policies to mitigate health risks during the turbulent socio-economic changes.

Impact of Distress Seasonal Migration from a Socio-economic Perspective: A Case Study of Nuapada District in Kalahandi Balangir Koraput Region of Odisha

Distress seasonal migration to the informal sector for livelihood reasons has been a rampant and perennial phenomenon in the rural areas of Odisha. The present study investigates the impact of the phenomenon on the livelihood of the people by using the primary data collected from a sample of 225 seasonal migrant households during 2011–2012 and 2012–2013 in the Nuapada District of Odisha coming under the most backward Kalahandi Balangir Koraput (KBK) region. Applying paired sample t-test, the study finds that distress seasonal migration is a survival strategy, as it does not lead to a significant improvement in the current income position and in the standard of living of the migrants. Further, it is found that the adverse impacts of distress seasonal migration in terms of structural changes, changes in wage rates in the traditional economies, the prospect of the public welfare policies, etc., are realized in both the source and the destination areas.

The Limited Persuasiveness of the Neoliberal Ideology

During the last three decades the basic neoliberal positions remain dominant and comprise the main directions for policy-making in the majority of advanced countries. The central pillars of neoliberalism are the market and the individual, while the basic neoliberal objective is “the retreat of the public boundaries”, on the basis that unregulated capitalism in the market is more effective towards growth and general prosperity. In other words, the economy, according to neoliberal thinkers, operates more efficiently without governmental interventions. While unregulated market capitalism is effective and leads to economic growth and expanded prosperity, public intervention undermine individual initiative and discourage entrepreneurship. Thus, governmental intervention, even if it possesses rational and ethically tolerable intentions, has an inhibiting effect on economic activity. Specifically, for neo-liberals the promotion of the private interests refers to a procedure that is regarded as a good practice while the promotion of the public could create several disparities. Such ideas are linked to a form of extreme individualism, as expressed in Margaret Thatcher’s famous statement that “there is no society, only individuals and their families”. The intervening state is considered a mechanism that cultivates a culture of dependence and thus undermines freedom, which is understood as a freedom of choice. On the other hand, self-help, individual responsibility and entrepreneurship, are supported by neoliberals. In general, these ideas are thought to be promoted through the process of globalization, which is often characterized as “neoliberal globalization” (Heywood, 2000: 83). The basic neoliberal policies include privatization, reduction of public spending, deregulation, tax cuts (mainly in businesses and direct taxes) and welfare state policies’ dismantling. In this context and for more than three decades, neoliberalism was the dominant economic ideology. While, as an ideology, emerged unharmed from the global economic crisis of 2008-9, neoliberalism is now exposed - more than ever - to several critiques which claim that it has failed to fulfill its initial and fundamental promises-objectives. This study aims to analyze the basic parameters of neoliberalism in order to investigate the level of persuasiveness of the neoliberal ideology.

Bienestar animal y legislación; El reto de los animales destinados al consumo humano en México

In this paper we examine the conflict between animals destined for human consumption and animal welfare in Mexico. We particularly analyze the intention to reform different articles of the Federal Law to Animal Health and the Federal Criminal Code published on March 28, 2017 in the official newspaper of the Federal Congress which include the addition of animal cruelty as a crime at the federal level and the extension of the sanction for transgressions of zoosanitary provisions related to the slaughter of animals for human consumption. We conclude that it is necessary to carry out transversal public welfare policies to benefit the conditions of the non-human animals against anthropogenic activities as a tool for abolitionism and biodiversity conservation.

Limited Public Healthcare Coverage as Binding Child Welfare Constraint: a Perspective of Selected Southern States in the USA

Healthcare coverage and child well-being have improved nationally as a result of public healthcare and welfare policies along with various outreach efforts across the USA. However, some southern states continue to register higher numbers of uninsured children and lower scores on child well-being index. This article operationalizes limited public healthcare coverage as medical neglect in child welfare context and reflects on the potential link between adequate healthcare coverage and child welfare in selected southern states. A review and synthesis of secondary data obtained from the Kaiser Commission Research, Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) National Health Interview Survey Data, Child Welfare Gateway, and Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count data book are presented. The data shows that improvement in healthcare coverage and outreach efforts does not correlate to the lower child well-being index in some southern states. Recommendations for enhancing children’s healthcare coverage with intended positive outcomes on child welfare variables including physical health, childcare, education, and psychological development are provided.

Wage inequality, skill inequality, and employment: evidence and policy lessons from PIAAC

This paper investigates international differences in wage inequality and skills and whether a compressed wage distribution is associated with high unemployment across core OECD countries. Wage dispersion and wage structure are widely debated among policymakers; compressed wage structure is often perceived as an important cause of high unemployment. Firstly, this paper examines differences in wage dispersion across OECD countries and their link to skill dispersion. Some countries that have more compressed (dispersed) wage structures simultaneously have more compressed (dispersed) skill structures as well, and skill differences explain part of the differences in wage dispersion. However, even when accounted for skills, some countries have a more compressed wage structure, most likely caused by labor market institutions. We do not find an effect of wage compression on the labor market performance in the low-skill sector. Based on the Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) survey of adult skills for core OECD countries, this paper cannot confirm the skill compression nor wage compression hypotheses. Rather than insisting on the deregulation of labor market institutions and reductions in public welfare policy as the main policy recommendations to achieve higher employment (and higher wage inequality), policymakers should reconsider aggregate demand deficiency and the variation in macroeconomic policies as potential explanations for the employment differences across countries. JEL Classification: J31, J24, E24

Cancer in patients with schizophrenia: What is the next step?

People with schizophrenia, who constitute approximately 0.3-1% of the general population, have a nearly 20% shorter life expectancy than the general population. The incidence of varied types of cancers in patients with schizophrenia is controversial. The majority of previous research has demonstrated that patients who have schizophrenia and cancer have early mortality compared to the general population with cancer. The causes of early mortality in patients with schizophrenia and cancer might be attributed to a lower cancer screening rate and lack of effective treatment, including: (i) patient factors, such as poor lifestyle, passive attitude toward treatment, or comorbidity; (ii) physician factors, such as physician bias, which may decrease the delivery of care for individuals with mental disorders; and (iii) hospital administration factors, such as stigma and discrimination. Additional studies on patients with schizophrenia and cancer are warranted and should include the following: a comprehensive review of previous studies; a focus on differentiating the specific types of cancer; and methods for improvement. To decrease the early mortality of patients with schizophrenia, the following measures are proposed: (i) enhance early detection and early treatment, such as increasing the cancer screening rate for patients with schizophrenia; (ii) provide effective, timely treatment and rehabilitation; (iii) improve patients' psychiatric symptoms and cognitive impairment; (iv) promote healthy behavior in the general population and emphasize healthy lifestyles in vulnerable populations; and (v) remove the stigma of schizophrenia. To reduce disparities in physical health, public health strategies and welfare policies must continue to focus on this group of patients.