Social Action Plan Research Articles

THE EUROPEAN PILLAR OF SOCIAL RIGHTS

The European Pillar of Social Rights is a high-profile political reaffirmation of twenty social rights and principles. Its implementation deploys the full EU governance arsenal: regulations, directives, recommendations, communications, new institutions, funding actions, and country-specific recommendations. As such, the static imagery evoked by a ‘pillar’ does not capture the true nature of the initiative, which is dynamic and fluid, wide-ranging, and permeating. An equation of the Pillar with the set of twenty rights and principles it proclaims similarly fails to capture its true significance, which lies in its programmatic nature. Several important measures have already been proposed as part of this new social action plan for Europe, some of which are close to adoption. This Article analyses the meaning of the Pillar and its potential significance, by considering its content sensu largo, and its broader context. It argues that even if the Pillar cannot address all the EU's social failings, it has put a surprising social spin on the Better Regulation Agenda that was threatening to erode the social acquis, it has rekindled the EU's relationship with the International Labour Organization and Council of Europe, and it helps rebalance the EU's output by reviving the use of the Treaty's Social Title.

The European Pillar of Social Rights: An Assessment of its Meaning and Significance

AbstractThe European Pillar of Social Rights is a high-profile political reaffirmation of twenty social rights and principles. Its implementation deploys the full EU governance arsenal: regulations, directives, recommendations, communications, new institutions, funding actions, and country-specific recommendations. As such, the static imagery evoked by a ‘pillar’ does not capture the true nature of the initiative, which is dynamic and fluid, wide-ranging, and permeating. An equation of the Pillar with the set of twenty rights and principles it proclaims similarly fails to capture its true significance, which lies in its programmatic nature. Several important measures have already been proposed as part of this new social action plan for Europe, some of which are close to adoption. This Article analyses the meaning of the Pillar and its potential significance, by considering its contentsensu largo, and its broader context. It argues that even if the Pillar cannot address all the EU's social failings, it has put a surprising social spin on the Better Regulation Agenda that was threatening to erode the socialacquis, it has rekindled the EU's relationship with the International Labour Organization and Council of Europe, and it helps rebalance the EU's output by reviving the use of the Treaty's Social Title.

Strength, solidarity, strategy and sustainability: A counseling psychologist’s guide to social action

The roles of counseling psychologists vary by setting, population, and circumstances. Yet, social justice can be a unifying force beyond the boundaries of daily responsibilities. No matter how insightful or profound counseling psychology theories or practice are, if they are focused on individual change alone, they will never sufficiently address injustice. Injustice and the inadequacy of traditional, individually focused paradigms present tensions between counseling psychologists’ work to help individuals cope with life’s challenges and inadvertent (or intentional) support of systems that perpetuate oppression. This paper explores this dichotomy, avenues for moving to action, and personal sustainability in the face of professional fatigue. Experiences as a counselor and counseling psychologist, as well as research, shape the way I see advocacy and activism and have given rise to strategies I have found helpful. A resulting framework for developing a “personal social action plan” is represented by four pillars: Strength, Solidarity, Strategy and Sustainability (S-Quad). National and local challenges across the globe reflect enormous differences in contexts, needs, politics, and resources. Yet, sharing strategies for social action, activism, and advocacy can provide seeds for optimism and action toward justice and positive change.

Narratives as Catalysts for Transformation and Social Action Planning within the Hong Kong Indonesian Migrant Community

This paper discusses the use of written and oral narratives, composed as classroom assignments by adult Indonesian migrant workers, sojourning in Hong Kong. Individually written narratives embody group-common elements that can be acted upon, thus becoming catalysts for personal growth and for group social action planning. Personal growth includes refocusing personal identity away from the societally imposed and devalued ‘domestic helper’, toward identities that offer self-empowerment. Redefining personal identity within a group learning situation also builds group identity which can be directed toward confronting hegemonic forces. This is done on four fronts: firstly, by claiming the symbolic right of cultural space and by demanding respect within the larger Hong Kong community; secondly, by publicly agitating against government policies, such as human rights and minimum wage legislation, that migrant workers believe disadvantage them; thirdly, by increasing ability in English, Cantonese, and basic computer applications that specifically meet Indonesians’ work requirements and interests; and finally, by building the capacity to confront employers in claiming government guaranteed minimum wages and rest days. Through these actions, the opportunity for both personal and societal transformation is created.Data was collected through journal narratives and semi-structured qualitative interviews with migrants who were taking weekly English languages classes at a small private training center in Hong Kong.

Strategic Social Action Plan for MERCOSUR: Income transfer programs in the context of a neoliberal offensive

Abstract This article analyzes the Strategic Social Action Plan for the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR), based on its relationship with the Millennium Development Goals, which means articulating the reflection to the context of the neoliberal offensive in Latin America. Epistemologically the study is based on the dialectical-critical method, involving exploratory research, with a survey of documentary and bibliographic sources. This research revealed that the focus of the social agenda is the establishment of an exit door or the sustained emancipation of families, by means of individual training, based on the theory of human capital and neoliberal ideology. The scope of the study presupposes presenting the contents of the historic processes and the theoretical concepts that permeate the proposals contained in the Strategic Plan, to stimulate the debate about the issue.

Limbic Interference During Social Action Planning in Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is characterized by social interaction deficits contributing to poor functional outcome. Hand gesture use is particularly impaired, linked to frontal lobe dysfunction and frontal grey matter deficits. The functional neural correlates of impaired gesturing are currently unclear. We therefore investigated aberrant brain activity during impaired gesturing in schizophrenia. We included 22 patients with schizophrenia and 25 healthy control participants matched for age, gender, and education level. We obtained functional magnetic resonance imaging data using an event-related paradigm to assess brain activation during gesture planning and execution. Group differences in whole brain effects were calculated using factorial designs. Gesture ratings were performed by a single rater, blind to diagnoses and clinical presentation. During gesture planning and execution both groups activated brain areas of the praxis network. However, patients had reduced dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and increased inferior parietal lobe (IPL) activity. Performance accuracy was associated with IPL activity in patients. Furthermore, patients activated temporal poles, amygdala and hippocampus during gesture planning, which was associated with delusion severity. Finally, patients demonstrated increased dorsomedial prefrontal cortex activity during planning of novel gestures. We demonstrate less prefrontal, but more IPL and limbic activity during gesturing in schizophrenia. IPL activity was associated with performance accuracy, whereas limbic activity was linked to delusion severity. These findings may reflect impaired social action planning and a limbic interference with gestures in schizophrenia contributing to poor gesture performance and consequently poor social functioning in schizophrenia.

Fourth Graders Confront an Injustice: The Anti-Bullying Campaign—A Social Action Inquiry Project

As the development of active, democratic citizens has become, arguably, the primary purpose of social studies education, the model of instruction in citizenship education varies significantly. Although current models of citizenship education typically foster a sense of societal conformity and law-obeyance to the exclusion of social change, this article illustrates how elementary school students engaged in the critical examination of a pertinent social issue and guided the direction of a social action plan devised to overcome the injustice of bullying. The focus of this article is to illustrate how one fourth-grade teacher harnessed her students’ enthusiasm and interest in activism through an inquiry-based, interdisciplinary social action unit devised to solve elementary school bullying. A detailed, step-by-step narrative of the unit is described.

Hope and Fear in an Advertisement Context: Understanding How Hope Undoes Fear

The study investigates the oppositional prospect-based emotions of fear and hope in an advertisement context. The broaden-and-build theory of emotions provides a framework for establishing a theoretical link between fear and hope. The findings suggest that: (1) Fear narrows and hope broadens the thought–action repertoire; (2) age moderates the impact of a prospect-based measure of hope on behavioral change intentions and ad attitude; (3) three undoing strategies undo fear with hope, including personal action plans, social action plans of good deeds, and reframing in a positive light; and (4) when fear is high, hope is energized through self-focus, and when fear is low, hope is energized through a focus on others.

Dispelling the Myth of Equality: A Report on the Status of Women in Canadian Theatre

In 2003, the Women’s Caucus of the Playwrights Guild of Canada partnered with Nightwood Theatre to support a new study on the status of women in Canadian theatre. The discouraging findings of preliminary investigations, the passionate responses encountered at community events, the added involvement of organizations like the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT) and the support of the Canada Council for the Arts led to the launch, in the following year, of Equity in Canadian Theatre: The Women’s Initiative. Modelling its efforts on Rina Fraticelli’s landmark report, “The Status of Women in the Canadian Theatre” (1982), the Initiative developed a two-fold mandate: to assess the status of women in Canadian theatre and to create social action plans to help eliminate remaining obstacles. To gather the necessary information, in the summer of 2005, the Initiative sent a survey on employment and production practices to Canadian theatres, the results of which form the backbone of the research study, posted on line in the final report, “Adding It Up: The Status of Women in Canadian Theatre” (2006).1

Perspectives of Research on Aging in India

Summary Any social action plan, scheme, or program for welfare or intervention can be formulated only on the basis of data generated by research findings. Empirical data forms the backbone of the formulation of policy. This paper outlines the summary of the Indian research effort in the area of aging. An examination of the research trends shows both strengths and weaknesses. The generation of large and varied pieces of data across disciplines is a strength, while the absence of methodological rigor, integration of research effort, and the building of theory are the lacunae. The needs of the elderly, elder-care issues, State vs. family care, elder abuse, interventional and action plan research are some areas that need accentuation. Documentation of data, creation of databases, and a national body for overseeing research are requirements that cannot be delayed any longer.

The impact of structural adjustment policies on women's and children's health in Tanzania.

Since 1981, in an attempt to deal withTanzania's present social and economic crisis which dates back to the late 1970s, the government has adopted a variety of policy measures including The National Economic Survival Plan (NESP), Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), Economic Recovery Programme (ERP) I (1986) and II (1989); the Economic and Social Action Plan (ESAP) and Priority Social Action Plan (PSAP) (1989). The principal objective of these adjustment measures has been to attain macroeconomic balance by bringing national expenditure into line with national income to reduce inflation and to increase exports. Other objectives have been to maintain egalitarian income distribution and provision of basic social services to the majority of the population. In order to realise these objectives, the government has been controlling credit and has removed subsidies on certain food items and agricultural inputs; introduced a system of progressive devaluation; liberalised trade; and has been trying to reduce government expenditure by introducing cost sharing measures in the education and health sector. The erosion of real incomes and increased poverty have had a devastating effect on women and children: rural women have yet heavier workloads as males migrate to the urban areas to look for work; there is increased maternal mortality; chronic malnutrition and poverty are rendering the implementation of HIV/AIDS intervention strategies difficult. But most of all, the danger lies in the lack of care for future generations.

Positive Social Action in the Treatment of Male Sexual Abuse Victims

A sexual abuse group treatment model for adolescents in a residential center was developed. The use of a positive social action plan was particularly successful with a group of male adolescent sexual abuse victims. The action plan was described as a means for the adolescents to help others in a positive social activity. Male and female group differences are also discussed.

Ethical Perspectives on Political Excuses

Self-styled policy scientists pride themselves on their sensitivity to the ethical implications of social policies. However, the very nature of their enterprise focuses attention on certain aspects of political evaluation at the expense of others. For assessing social action-plans, the obvious bits of moral philosphy to borrow are those for appraising the behaviour of individual moral agents. Such instruments are well suited to praising or blaming policy-makers, individually and perhaps even collectively. But there is more to political evaluation than policy evaluation construed in this narrow way. Some moral goods, in politics as elsewhere, come as simple windfalls for which no one deserves credit; and there are some evils for which no one can be faulted. Thus, the virtue of the state, its balance of good over evil, is partially independent of anyone’s actions. Ethical equipment for levelling recriminations is totally inadequate for assessing these other dimensions of moral goodness. These shortcomings are nowhere more apparent than with the familiar moral maxim, ‘ought implies can’, and its political analogue, ‘politics is the art of the possible’.