Social Policy Research Articles

GERMANY: STRATEGIES FOR LABOUR FORCE REPLACEMENT AMID DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGES

The article examines the current situation in the German labour market and measures aimed at overcoming the existing challenges. It explains the reasons for the emerging crisis in the labour market related to the demographic situation in the country. The shortage of qualified labour force is shown as the main challenge, with regional disproportions in the shortage of personnel being highlighted. It is noted that the main way to ease the labour shortage is to attract foreign specialists due to the low costs of such a strategy. The main mechanisms aimed at both integrating foreigners into the labour market and attracting them to the country are described. The prospects for integrating foreigners already living in the country are assessed and the problems complicating this process are analysed. The difficulties in implementing social policy in the area of pensions and the current government's approaches to addressing the relevant demographic challenges are highlighted. The assessment of the German expert community as well as other economic actors with regard to the government's pension reforms is presented. Special attention is paid to the issue of retaining pensioners in the labour market in order to solve the shortage of personnel in the country.

Economic Obligations in Implementing Corporate Social Policy of Large Entrepreneurial Structures in the Russian Federation

The subject of the article is economic obligations in the implementation of social policy of large business structures. The aim of the study is to describe and summarize the practices of implementing economic obligations in the corporate social responsibility of large business structures, supplemented by identifying its impact on the performance indicators of the enterprise. The object of the study is the public joint-stock company KAMAZ — the largest automobile corporation of the Russian Federation, one of the 20 leading world manufacturers of heavy trucks, promoting the positioning of a socially responsible enterprise, which is reinforced in practice by the company’s leading positions in thematic ratings. The methodological basis of the study was the concept of corporate social responsibility. Research methods include case study, correlation and regression analysis. As a result, the relationship between investments in human capital and labor productivity of personnel was proven. Social programs within the framework of internal corporate social responsibility affect the interest of employees in labor relations, increase motivation, level of involvement and activity of personnel. Furthermore, the analysis revealed and proved the connection between investments in sustainable development of the enterprise and revenue. Social security of employees and satisfaction with working conditions motivates them to work more conscientiously, increase the level of involvement and activity of personnel. Thus, the efficiency and quality of work performed by personnel increases, and this in turn has a positive impact on the financial results of the company.

BASIC IMPERATIVES FOR MODELING PENSION PAYMENTS IN THE PENSION SECURITY SYSTEM OF UKRAINE

The purpose of the article is to research and analysis of the amount of indexation of pension payments related to inflationary processes. The object of the study is the state of pension provision in Ukraine. The subject of the study is the process of indexation of pension payments as a result of the implementation of social policy in Ukraine. An analysis of the history of the development and reform of pension provision in Ukraine was carried out. This allowed for a deeper understanding of the content of events related to the establishment of pension provision in Ukraine. The research methodology involves the synergy of mathematical methods of analytical geometry and economic-mathematical modelling. It is shown that the presence of inflationary processes in the national economy leads to the need to increase the pension provision of citizens. At the same time, the size of the increase in pension payments should be differentiated in order to ensure social "justice". The scientific task set in the article is to demonstrate a modern approach to choosing a strategy for implementing the state pension policy in Ukraine. As a result of the research, two models of appropriate indexation of pension payments in Ukraine are presented. The calculation made it possible to choose the most significant model. In the future, it is advisable to direct the research to the search for other more effective ways of indexing pensions. It is assumed that for this it is necessary to formalize the mathematical formulation of the problem of finding the optimal value of the index of pension payments as extreme, taking into account the necessary restrictions. A scientific novelty in solving this issue is the receipt of practically significant recommendations regarding the indexation of pensions. The practical significance of the obtained results lies in the elimination of social defects in the indexation of pension payments. Further research should be directed to the search for rational solutions that will stimulate the creation of an effective pension system in Ukraine.

Strengthening health systems during non-pandemic period: Toward universal health coverage in the pandemic agreement.

Reflecting the experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global response was reviewed by the Independent Review Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response. Based on the panel reports, the World Health Organization (WHO) member states decided to establish the intergovernmental negotiating body for drafting a WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, aiming for approval at the 77th World Health Assembly in 2024 (May 27- June 1). Amidst this process, the National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Japan (NCGM), as a global health organization focusing on health system strengthening in low- and middle-income countries, from the perspective of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), provided technical inputs to the representatives of the Japanese government. This paper summarizes crucial aspects of the NCGM inputs, including maintaining essential health services delivery during a pandemic, responding to evolving demand of health workforce, and ensuring the equitable distribution of pandemic products. These aspects can contribute to not only strengthening health crisis response and preparedness, but also achieving UHC. Therefore, the concerted efforts focusing on UHC and health crisis could yield synergistic effects. In addition, another aspect stresses the importance of social protection systems beyond health sector to reach vulnerable populations experiencing hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the whole-of-government approach including social policies is covered in the draft pandemic agreement, it is hoped that the upcoming pandemic agreement will trigger each member state to expand the scope of health crisis management beyond the health sector.

역사적 신제도주의를 통한 중소기업정책의 변화 - 경로의존과 단절적 균형을 중심으로

This study examined how small and medium-sized enterprise(SMEs) policies focused on protecting and fostering SMEs changed under the Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun and Lee Myung-bak governments in the 2000s through historical new institutionalism. A path-dependent institutional change appeared in that both the quantitative growth of SMEs through the Kim Dae-jung government’s venture business development policy and their qualitative growth through the Roh Moo-hyun government’s innovative SMEs development policy were promoted for the purpose of creating jobs and securing new growth engines. The policy ideas of strengthening the competitiveness of SMEs, expanding competition, and transitioning to a technology- and knowledge-intensive industrial structure influenced the actors’ choice. Under the Lee Myung-bak administration, due to the external factor of the global financial crisis, there were not many restrictions on policy ideas for actors’ selection of institution, resulting in a punctuated equilibrium in which the social policy nature was greatly weakened and the political nature was strengthened. The abolition of the collective private contract system and designation of distinct business system appeared as a form of punctuated equilibrium between the ‘protection and development’ paradigm and the ‘autonomy and competition’ paradigm. It suggests that policies need to support industries that require protection in a selective and focused manner to ensure competitiveness of SMEs. It also suggests that effectiveness through institutional change should be improved by presenting a clear single policy stance on policy ideas to be considered when changing the institution.

The Politics of Social Policy Implementation: The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and Uneven Development in India

Since the onset of the twenty-first century, India has initiated various social welfare programs to provide social protection for the people who have been marginalized from the formal social safety net. Since 2005, legislation has granted a series of social rights to marginalized rural households. Among these rights-based welfare programs, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) stands out as the flagship initiative of India’s new welfare system. It has targeted marginalized informal rural households, who have not enjoyed the fruits of the social safety net, by formally granting them the right to employment. It has also incorporated new governance ideas such as a demand-driven approach, decentralized implementation, and social audit to increase accountability and transparency. The MGNREGA has emerged as the largest social welfare scheme in terms of budget allocation and coverage, yielding positive outcomes such as increased beneficiary incomes, advancement of gender equality, and creation of assets in rural areas. Nonetheless, despite the expansion of the MGNREGA all over India, policy outcomes have been uneven between the states in terms of participation rates, the relationship between poverty level and participation, and cumulative average person-days per household. This prompts the question: why does the MGNREGA produce superior policy outcomes in certain states but not in others? By delving into the politics surrounding policy implementation at the local level, this paper argues that the degree of goal congruence between policy implementers shapes divergent policy outcomes.

Knowledge, Attitude and Uptake of Formal Sector Social Health Insurance Programme in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

This study investigated knowledge, attitude and uptake of the formal sector social health insurance programme (FSSHIP), a social health insurance pool of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) designed for federal civil servants in Nigeria. The study adopted a qualitative research design to achieve its objectives using federal civil servants in Akwa Ibom State as its population. A purposive sampling technique was adopted in the study and structured interview was used to generate primary data for the study. The thematic analysis method was used in analyzing the data. The result revealed that federal civil servants in Akwa Ibom State were aware of the National Health Insurance Scheme and equally demonstrated a positive attitude towards the Scheme. However, it was discovered that the level of uptake of the National Health Insurance scheme was very low. It was therefore recommended, among others, that sensitization that targets increasing utilization should be conducted for enrollees by the relevant stakeholders, while the scheme should be adequately funded to ensure quality service delivery.

Inequalities and Trends in Under-Five Mortality Between Formal and Informal Areas in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

The physical expansion of the city of Ouagadougou, the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso, subsided in 2015 after the government banned land speculation that contributed to the growth and entrenchment of informal areas. The government subsequently implemented social policies such as free health care for pregnant women and children under 5years of age. Against this background, we tested the convergence of under-5 mortality trends between formal and informal areas in the city between 2010 and 2019; data covering that period came from the Ouagadougou Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS). The analyses included the calculation of all-cause and cause-specific mortality rates, the implementation of a Poisson regression model, and competing risk models. Over the study period, children in formal areas had lower mortality than those in informal areas. However, the inequality gap decreased over time due to a faster mortality decline in informal areas. This decline was explained by a rapid decline in deaths from malaria and other causes including sepsis, HIV/AIDS, measles, meningitis, and encephalitis. The pursuit of upgrading informal areas and the implementation of social policies targeting the poorest are likely to accelerate the mortality decline in Ouagadougou overall.

Appearance-related cyberbullying and its association with the desire to alter physical appearance among adolescent females

Cyberbullying is associated with various mental health concerns in adolescents, including body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviours. However, there is a significant research gap concerning the unique effects of appearance-related cyberbullying (ARC) on adolescent mental health. This study examined the prevalence and psychological consequences of ARC among middle to late adolescent females (aged 14–19 years, Mage = 15.98, N = 336). Participants completed an online survey regarding their experiences of ARC, body image variables, and eating disorder symptomology. Findings indicate the widespread occurrence of ARC among adolescent females, with body shape and size emerging as predominant targets. Experiences of ARC-victimisation positively correlated with increased concerns about body shape, body shame, and eating disorder symptomology. Conversely, experiences of ARC-victimisation were negatively correlated with body esteem and body appreciation. Finally, appearance-related cybervictimisation was significantly associated with adolescent females’ desire to pursue appearance alterations through methods such as dieting and exercising, altering self-presentation, and undergoing cosmetic procedures due to perceived experiences of ARC. These findings highlight the urgent need for preventative measures, such as age-appropriate social media policies and health promotion programs that encourage positive online behaviour, and strategies to address the impacts of ARC to protect the mental well-being of adolescent females.

Berufskrankheiten in der Grünen Branche (Folge 4): Kollege Roboter – Autonome Fahrzeuge und Maschinen in der Grünen Branche

Occupational diseases in the green sector (Part 4): Robot colleague – autonomous vehicles and machines in the green sector Robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) are finding their way into the green sector. The German Social Insurance for Agriculture, Forestry and Horticulture (SVLFG) is involved in the development of new safety standards and advises manufacturers on the development of self-propelled, highly automated vehicles and machines.

Formulation and standardization of calendula officinalis for wound healing

The treatment alternatives are accessible for the administration of most kinds of wounds which intense just as incessant. One operator that has been utilized for a long time for the treatment of dermatological issue and has a numerous quantity of pharmacological activities that are valuable to wound mending that is Calendula officinalis, or pot marigold. Home grown plants give a rich source to social insurance to forestall and treat diverse neurotic states. Calendula officinalis, the pot marigold, normal marigold or Scotch marigold, is a plant of the family Asteraceae. The fundamental synthetic segments found in the flowers are saponins, triterpenes, liquor triterpenes, unsaturated fat esters, carotenoids, flavonoids, coumarines, basic oils, hydrocarbons, and unsaturated fats. Calendula officinalis is a plant that has numerous pharmacological activities like injury mending, aggravation, eye disease, menstrual period issues, ulcer, stomach upset etc. In this investigation, the ethanolic extract methodology is done to acquire the concentrate of calendula officinalis herb just as the tender Thin Layer Chromatography profile of calendula officinalis leaf, blossom and stamps of the plant. This exploratory examination will uncover that calendula officinalis introduced calming properties acting in a positive manner on the provocative of the mending procedure. Extractive value and Ash value also determine the quality of the crude drug and that crude drug ethanolic extract use for the formulation of herbal cream and further evaluation process to be used to test calendula officinalis extract ethanolic herbal cream.

ВОПРОСЫ СОЦИАЛЬНОЙ ПОЛИТИКИ И ЗАЩИТЫ НАСЕЛЕНИЯ В ИНДИЙСКОМ ГОСУДАРСТВЕ МИРЗО БАБУРА

The article reveals the social policy of Babur, the founder and first ruler of the Mughal Empire in India. Based on the analysis of Babur’s works “Baburname”, “Mubayin” and “Wasiyat”, his attitude towards representatives of different classes is examined.

The Challenge of Evaluating the Impact of NGOs on the Human Capital and Life Satisfaction of Syrian Refugees in Turkey

Abstract The number of projects designed by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to meet refugees’ needs in Turkey has steadily increased since the arrival of Syrian refugees. In existing studies, the projects of NGOs working with Syrian refugees have not been evaluated from a lens of human capital and life satisfaction. Given the crucial role of NGOs in implementing social policies within host countries, it becomes imperative to conduct thorough analyses of the effects of their projects on the target groups. The objective of this study is to evaluate the significance of human capital and life satisfaction within NGO projects, as perceived by NGO employees. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with national and international NGO representatives in Istanbul to probe the impact of the projects on Syrian refugees. Based on the findings, despite the considerable number of projects carried out with Syrian refugees, the absence of a dedicated methodology to measure changes in participants’ human capital and life satisfaction poses significant challenges in evaluating project outcomes. In this research, I propose a five-step method for assessing the impacts of NGO-applied projects. This method acknowledges existing limitations and promotes the improvement of the evaluation process.

REQUEST FOR CHANGES: PUBLIC EXPECTATIONS AND MODALITY OF PRESENTATION

The article analyzes the results of long-term sociological studies of the peculiarities of the transformation of Russian society associated with the growing public demand for change, the modality of which has not decreased for a long time. It is shown that this is due to increased social activism associated with “helping behavior”, mutual assistance and cooperation. This allowed us to understand that the administrative and bureaucratic class has built convenient “capsules” for itself, blocking the development of a natural, from the point of view of common sense, business and civic initiative of society, allowing its members to participate in making socially significant decisions. The society is set up to improve the institutional infrastructure of social development, first of all, to reduce the degree of corruption, alienation of the population from power, unblocking channels for promoting and realizing public interests. In addition, the problem of people’s dissatisfaction with the growing polarization of social incomes is being raised, which reduces the quality of social policy in terms of improving demographic indicators, increasing social upward mobility based on meritocratic principles, and improving the structure of social and labor motivation. This exacerbates the sense of social justice, which, when blocked, can lead to negative social consequences, forming “combustible material” and, accordingly, the risks of unconventional social actions associated with social explosions and revolutionary consequences of expressing discontent. It is shown that at the moment the majority of the population is set up in a reformist way, since they are only getting rid of the neurotic syndrome after the coronavirus pandemic and the onset of SMO. A certain energy impulse for change is also set by consolidated public opinion associated with the “rewiring” of Russian society along the line of differentiation from Western universalist approaches, the search for its own civilizational and cultural code of development, the revival of neotraditionalist narratives of the formation of a value-symbolic framework of public consciousness.

ПСИХОЛОГО-ПЕДАГОГИЧЕСКИЕ ТЕХНОЛОГИИ РАЗВИТИЯ МЫШЛЕНИЯ У МЛАДШИХ ШКОЛЬНИКОВ С ЗПР

According to the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Social Policy of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, the number of children with disabilities is increasing every year. The main nosology that is observed in school institutions is children with delayed mental development. In the context of the implementation of inclusive education, adapted educational programs are developed for students with mental retardation, which take into account the peculiarities of their development and are aimed at helping to assimilate the educational program. The main branch in this work is the development of higher mental functions, including thinking. The problem of the development of thinking in primary school children is central in special pedagogy and psychology, it is the lack of intellectual activity that is determined as the main reason for the school failure of children in this category. Teachers are faced with the task of developing and implementing such programs using psychological and pedagogical technologies to develop thinking in younger students with mental retardation. The article presents an integrated approach using psychological and pedagogical technologies to the development of thinking in younger students with mental retardation, which favorably affects the dynamics of the development of their thought operations. The practical significance of the study lies in the expansion and deepening of empirical research on the problem of thinking of younger students with mental retardation as a result of obtaining new qualitative and quantitative data that can be used by psychologists. A psychological program for correcting the thinking of younger students with mental retardation can be recommended to psychologists, teachers, and other specialists who work with younger students with mental retardation.

Follow-up Performance assessment of a Social Health Insurance Scheme in a southwest Nigeria state

Aims: Social health insurance and other forms of prepayment health schemes are effective approaches to enhancing access to available healthcare services. While prepayment schemes are generally common and well established in developed countries, they are relatively new and in the early stages of development in sub-Saharan countries, including Nigeria. Social health insurance in Nigeria, hitherto centralized, has devolved to the subnational state levels. The Oyo State Health Insurance Scheme, which is managed by the Oyo State Health Insurance Agency (OYSHIA), is one of the subnational schemes. The present study is a follow-up on the first three-year performance assessment of OYSHIA. The aim is also to assess the performance of the scheme and, most importantly, whether the recommendations made in the first study were used and if these recommendations have had a desirable impact on the scheme. Methods: Secondary data on enrolment in the social health insurance scheme of Oyo State between July 2020 and June 2023 were downloaded from the server of OYSHIA. The data were collated and analyzed. Data extraction, cleaning, and analysis covered a period of one and a half months (February–AApril, 2024). Excel software was used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data. Population coverage distributions were expressed as frequencies and percentages. Frequency tables and graphs were generated to disaggregate the findings. Results: Although population coverage was still generally low, as it was in the first three-year performance assessment of the scheme, However, the present study shows that population coverage in the informal sector is very encouraging. Conclusions: In the absence of external limitations, the Oyo State social health insurance scheme has the potential to perform and achieve universal health coverage. Acknowledgements: The authors wish to acknowledge the Oyo State Health Insurance Agency for their permission to make use of the data and to submit the manuscript for publication. All enrollees are also appreciated. Contributions: David Adewole conceived and designed the study. Sola Akande, Boluwatito Orimadegun, and Ganiyu Owolabi were responsible for the data collection and analysis. Adewole, Akande, Orimadegun, Osungbade, and Owolabi contributed equally to the manuscript write-up. All authors read through the manuscript draft a second time. All authors agreed to the final manuscript.

Social and Employment Policy Trends in the European Union and their Impact on Lithuanian Social Law

Social and Employment Policy Trends in the European Union and their Impact on Lithuanian Social Law

Rethinking Transportation Mobility and Social Equity Policy in Lagos Metropolis

Rethinking Transportation Mobility and Social Equity Policy in Lagos Metropolis

Миграционный процесс как фактор обеспечения финансово-правовой политики Республики Таджикистан

The relevance of the article under consideration is due to the fact that the migration process affects the political, social, financial and legal policy and security of the state. It notes that the migration process currently acts as an indicator that regulates the financial and legal policy of the state and the population of the Republic of Tajikistan. The emerging outflow of the young generation of the country, including educated and qualified personnel, indicates insufficiently high wages and living standards in the republic. Based on this, the author believes that due to the growing number of migrants from the countries of the exporter of labor resources, at the same time in the host country, new problems arise in terms of adaptation to life in big cities, mentality, legislation and labor law and order. The modern globalization of migration processes also transforms to more reasonable relations of rapprochement of peoples, legal interethnic relations, the study of history, culture, customs, traditions, customs and many other factors of national values from each other, creating friendly relations, where they unite them even more, develop friendship between peoples. All this is a sign that the host country has a positive attitude towards the migration flow. The task of the state, the exporting labor force and the country receiving labor resources is, first of all, independently, taking into account the circumstances and certain principles of public administration, to harmonize migration legislation in order to stabilize and develop it. Since public administration in this area is an independent area of activity of executive authorities, directly related to ensuring state security and socio-economic development of the country, the state faces the task of systematizing migration legislation. The author comes to the conclusion that, together with the multiplicity and sometimes inconsistency of legal acts in the field of migration, their application is significantly more difficult, which leads to inconsistency in the actions of law enforcement agencies that regulate these processes. In addition, there are barriers to providing social protection for migrants that lead to discrimination, such as labor, legal, language and cultural barriers, insufficient information about the rights of migrants to social protection and the mechanism for their implementation.

A model-based assessment of social isolation practices for COVID-19 outbreak response in residential care facilities

BackgroundResidential aged-care facilities (RACFs, also called long-term care facilities, aged care homes, or nursing homes) have elevated risks of respiratory infection outbreaks and associated disease burden. During the COVID-19 pandemic, social isolation policies were commonly used in these facilities to prevent and mitigate outbreaks. We refer specifically to general isolation policies that were intended to reduce contact between residents, without regard to confirmed infection status. Such policies are controversial because of their association with adverse mental and physical health indicators and there is a lack of modelling that assesses their effectiveness.MethodsIn consultation with the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, we developed an agent-based model of COVID-19 transmission in a structured population, intended to represent the salient characteristics of a residential care environment. Using our model, we generated stochastic ensembles of simulated outbreaks and compared summary statistics of outbreaks simulated under different mitigation conditions. Our study focuses on the marginal impact of general isolation (reducing social contact between residents), regardless of confirmed infection. For a realistic assessment, our model included other generic interventions consistent with the Australian Government’s recommendations released during the COVID-19 pandemic: isolation of confirmed resident cases, furlough (mandatory paid leave) of staff members with confirmed infection, and deployment of personal protective equipment (PPE) after outbreak declaration.ResultsIn the absence of any asymptomatic screening, general isolation of residents to their rooms reduced median cumulative cases by approximately 27%. However, when conducted concurrently with asymptomatic screening and isolation of confirmed cases, general isolation reduced the median number of cumulative infections by only 12% in our simulations.ConclusionsUnder realistic sets of assumptions, our simulations showed that general isolation of residents did not provide substantial benefits beyond those achieved through screening, isolation of confirmed cases, and deployment of PPE. Our results also highlight the importance of effective case isolation, and indicate that asymptomatic screening of residents and staff may be warranted, especially if importation risk from the outside community is high. Our conclusions are sensitive to assumptions about the proportion of total contacts in a facility accounted for by casual interactions between residents.