Young people is at the center of many of the rapid changes taking place in contemporary society and has to deal with the uncertainties that follows. One uncertainty is linked to the transition between leaving full time studies and entering employment were unemployment has become a natural step in becoming an adult. Hence the "becoming" has become a longer period of time in young people’s lives. The economic crisis in many European countries in recent years are the cause of many problems young people experience today. In relation to this brief background the thesis examines how social problems i.e. unemployment, deprivation, dependent on social welfare, low education and disability (affecting a person’s ability to work) is accumulated over time. The thesis point of departure is what Merton (1968) described in terms of The Matthew effect according to the Gospel of St. Matthew: For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. It is the last part of this “effect” that is the center of attention. The research questions are: is there such a thing as the Matthew effect and if so how this process can be understood. Theoretically the study at hand elaborates the accumulation process by drawing on the concept of marginalization and social exclusion. By analyzing changes over time (3 years) in the five social problems described above (unemployment, deprivation etc.) for 64236 young people in the age of 19 to 25 years living in Sweden it is possible to describe patterns of social problem and how and why one specific problem or social problems in combination may lead to the accumulation of problem over time. These results are also combined with data from in-depth interviews whit young people that have accumulated social problem over time. It is argued that the combination of research methods gives a better understanding to the phenomenon at hand. The theoretical contribution relates to a better understanding of the process of accumulation of social problems for young people and to a better understanding of different steps in the accumulation process as well as central fault lines in this process. These findings can be used in practice for pinpointing groups of young adults in need of more as well as less support in handling and overcoming social problem and the transition from school to work.

This thesis focuses on the social exclusion of children of primary school age in India and Mozambique by examining two related aspects: the policies that have been adopted in both countries to tackle social exclusion and the indicators they have used to identify it. It is argued that existing policy indicators in both countries can provide a partial answer to the question of how far they have been able to address social exclusion but that indicators and analyses need to be more fine grained both to monitor social exclusion and provide leads as to how it can better addressed. The purpose is not to compare the two country analyses in order to evaluate how they differ in terms of magnitude or severity in the form of the exclusion. Rather, it is to understand the diverse nature of exclusion, and the different remedies and analyses that are required in the two countries. This analysis suggests that one size fits all policies, as once suggested by the World Bank, are inappropriate. The thesis develops an understanding of the concept of social exclusion and contrasts it with previous accounts of poverty in countries like India and Mozambique. It also adopts a normative Human Rights approach in viewing primary schooling as crucial to questions of social exclusion. It also shows how these key concepts can be related. Through the two country analyses offered in this thesis, it can be shown that because data collection processes are largely based on aggregate indicators, there is insufficient information to undertake an adequate analysis of social exclusion. In order to establish this point, official data sets are reanalyzed to see how far they can take us in helping to understand the complex nature of social exclusion. In particular, it will be shown that the indicators related to the education status of children are insufficiently disaggregated to enable an improved understanding of the characteristics of children that continue to be excluded. From this analysis it will be argued that a broader list of indicators needs to be developed related to the dynamics at the level of the school, community and household. However, given that social exclusion may be structured differently in various contexts it is argued that participatory research is required that facilitates the assessment and analysis of these dynamics by all the key stakeholders, including children, at the various levels. In particular, policy makers fail to involve children in the process of assessing and analyzing the reasons for exclusion, and therefore do not benefit from their perceptions and insights. Further analysis of the various dynamics which relate to exclusion provide useful insights to better understand the policy and programmatic initiatives that effectively address the social exclusion of children from primary school.

A pesar de la importancia de la exclusión social, no existe consenso sobre como se debe definir este fenómeno, ni de cómo debe medirse. El objetivo de esta tesis es afrontar estos problemas, definiendo una medida adecuada de exclusión social, para analizar posteriormente su dinámica. He desarrollado un enfoque de medición, de acuerdo con la definición operativa de exclusión social (considerando también estudios anteriores), para establecer si la exclusión social es un fenómeno parcialmente transitorio, así como para analizar las eventuales trayectorias de dependencia que la exclusión puede generar. Mi análisis es un nuevo enfoque para estudiar la exclusión social, y ofrece nueva evidencia empírica sobre la dinámica de la exclusión social en España desde el 1994 hasta el 2000 (usando los datos del panel europeo).He definido exclusión social como el proceso multi-dimensional que lleva a un estado individual de exclusión respecto al resto de la sociedad donde el individuo vive. La exclusión social en un instante del tiempo se define como la imposibilidad de conseguir algunos importantes "functionings". La elección de una medida adecuada de exclusión social no es nada fácil. Propongo usar un caso especial de la generalization multidimensional del índice de Foster-Green-Thorbecke. La motivación principal es que este índice tiene buenas propiedades axiomáticas (Bourguignon and Chakravarty, 2003) y es capaz de operazionalizar el enfoque de la capacidad de Sen. Remarcar que este índice es también adecuado para capturar la multidimensionalidad de la exclusión social y da una idea sobre la intensidad de la exclusión.He estudiado en profundidad la movilidad de la exclusión social siguiendo un enfoque relativo y utilizando las matrices de transición (análisis "two-stages"). Los principales motivos para usar las matrices de transición son los siguientes: primero, el análisis "two-stages" nos da una imagen sencilla de los movimientos de los individuos entre las clases especificas de exclusión social y, segundo, este análisis es robusto frente a la contaminación de los datos. Este tipo de análisis muestra que la exclusión social fue parcialmente un fenómeno transitorio. Me he centrado también en las causas del proceso de exclusión social, y encontré que un individuo que experimenta exclusión hoy, tiene mayor probabilidad de experimentar exclusión mañana, debido a la heterogeneidad observable y no-observable entre individuos, así como a la existencia de un verdadero estado de dependencia. El análisis ha consistido en estimar un modelo no-lineal de datos de panel. He utilizado un enfoque "random effects", y he elegido la solución propuesta en Wooldridge (2002) para solucionar el problema de las condiciones iniciales. Este enfoque muestra la importancia de la existencia de un verdadero estado de dependencia, así como de heterogeneidad entre individuos tanto observable como no-observable. / Despite its importance, there is remarkably little consensus among scientists on the definition of "social exclusion" and, therefore, on the best way to measure it. My aim in this thesis has been to address key problems regarding how to identify an adequate measure of social exclusion and how to analyse social exclusion dynamics. I then proceeded to develop an approach to measurement which was in accord with the working definition of social exclusion (considering also the previous literature), and I used it to establish if social exclusion was partially transitory, and to study eventual dependence paths that exclusion might generate. Note that my analysis proposes new approaches to study social exclusion and offers fresh empirical evidence on social exclusion dynamics in Spain from 1994 to 2000 (using ECHP data).I define social exclusion as a multidimensional dynamic process leading to a state of individual exclusion relative to the rest of the society where the individual lives in. Social exclusion at a point in time is defined as the impossibility to achieve some relevant functionings. The choice of an index able to adequately measure exclusion is not easy. I have proposed to use a special case of the multidimensional generalization of the Foster-Green-Thorbecke index. The main reason has been that this index fulfils a set of axiomatic properties (Bourguignon and Chakravarty, 2003) and it is able to operazionalize Sen's capability approach. Note that this index is also adequate to capture the multidimensionality of social exclusion and gives us information about the intensity of exclusion.I have performed a detailed analysis of social exclusion mobility following the relative approach and using transition matrices (two-stage analysis). The main advantages of using transition matrices are the following: first, two-stage analysis provides a simple picture of the "movement" of the individuals among the specific social exclusion classes and, second, it is shown to be robust to data contamination. This kind of analysis have shown that social exclusion was partially a transitory phenomenon. I have also focused on the causes leading to social exclusion process. I did find that an individual experiencing exclusion today was more likely to experience exclusion tomorrow due to both observed and unobserved individual heterogeneity and true state of dependence. The analysis has been done estimating a dynamic non-linear panel data model. I have used the random effects approach, and I have applied the solution proposed by Wooldridge (2002) to solve the initial condition problems. This approach have shown evidence of the importance of both true state dependence and observed/unobserved heterogeneity.

The aim of this study was to explore refugees experiences of an introduction program in a small Swedish municipality. The study was based on semi-structured interviews with six refugees and was conducted to explore how the introduction program contributed or has not contributed to feelings of being integrated. Our informants have got different backgrounds but have all been forced to flee their home country to Sweden. The interview data was interpreted through earlier research, theories about social exclusion and concepts which were relevant for our study. Our study showed that the informants felt kindly received in the small municipality. The informants emphasizes the small village where segregation among Swedes and refugees was less of a problem. The different parts of the introduction program was of importance, according to the informants, but they also stressed that the introduction program, in itself, isn’t enough to become integrated in the Swedish country. The informants explained that the individual person must take responsibility for its own integration beside taking part of the introduction program. The study showed that the most difficult problems occur when the introduction program is ended and the time to find “established” employment has come.

The present MA paper aims to analyse one of the most important objects of the governmental social politics – social exclusion as a result of long-term unemployment. Social exclusion is understood as human rights violations existing in society for certain groups of people, involuntary (or voluntary) remoteness from social, economical and cultural values, as well as the break of social contacts. An overcome of social exclusion is related to the governmental social security politics. Despite the fact that this process depends on the three main groups of factors – legal political, social economical and cultural psychological factor, special attention should be paid to unemployment, which is one of the main reasons of social exclusion. In case of loss of job, a person loses the possibility to satisfy his or her communication and self-expression needs. The proposed hypothesis of the present MA paper is that the passive support means for the unemployed are dominant in Lithuania. These means make the problem of the social exclusion even deeper and they do not encourage the unemployed (especially the ones who have been unemployed for a long time) to search for job. This paper aims to summarise the specific character of the social exclusion, which was caused by unemployment during the period of independence in Lithuania. Moreover, the paper deals with the influence of the social support in case of unemployment and strives to state its differences in cities and countryside.

The processes of three area-based initiatives relating to health provision, urban and neighbourhood renewal in Luton are used to examine whether political participation affects social exclusion. Government policies presume that increased participation reduces exclusion, while critical literature questions the type of participation produced in state initiatives, and also whether the discourse of exclusion adequately articulates social inequality. Participation is analysed in its relations to power, the political and to a social typology. Exclusion is analysed by delineating its contested meaning, and developing a dialectical model of inclusion and exclusion, that enables exclusion to be prefigured both as an analytical concept and as a critical component for exploring inequality. This thesis explores the processes of participation and exclusion via voluntary and community groups by presenting a predominantly qualitative analysis of the frameworks and processes of participation and the circumstances and experiences of exclusion. The study finds that: • The participation of the voluntary and community groups in the initiatives was on an unequal basis with the statutory sector, it was constrained by bureaucratic procedures, and led to a combative relationship between the sectors in two of the initiatives. • The voluntary and community sectors -elements of which are here characterised as "remedial movements" -had some effects on micro-and mesolevel processes, but no direct effect on macro-policy that controls the initiatives. Participation in the groups and initiatives faced a number of structural dilemmas. • Social exclusion in the areas was heterogeneous, but associated with the lack of interactional processes that enable inclusion. The range of experiences of exclusion demonstrated what I shall define as an "inequality of capabilities for inclusion". The research concludes that participation via initiatives does not necessarily result in the total incorporation of the voluntary and community sector, and claims for rights to be recognised had both achieved gains and reflected an antagonistic, if complementary, approach by some groups to the state. If the aim is to increase participation, however, the evidence implies that it needs to be consistently driven; that while the initiatives have affected exclusion, their effects have been limited and are fragile, and that reducing inequality is necessary to enable inclusive participation.

No description available.

Prior research has shown that the distress associated with social exclusion (i.e., social pain) and physical pain share biological and neural substrates. This social-physical pain overlap has spawned a number of hypotheses regarding how both types of pain might interact. The dissertation research reported here employed diverse methodologies to investigate two questions stemming from these hypotheses: 1) what is the effect of social pain on physical pain sensitivity and 2) what is the effect of physical pain on social pain sensitivity? Pertaining to the first question, Study 1 showed that a socially disconnecting live interaction with a partner led to a decrease in physical pain sensitivity. This result, however, was not replicated in Study 2 using an imagination paradigm to conjure two different types of social exclusion experiences, nor did low levels of social connectedness predict subsequent physical pain levels in a sample of chronic pain patients in Study 3. Pertaining to the second question, pain levels did not predict subsequent reports of social disconnection in the diaries of chronic pain patients in Study 3, nor did participants experiencing capsaicin-induced physical pain report social judgments any different from their pain-free counterparts in Study 4. The reasons for, and meaning of, these findings are discussed in detail. Crucial questions that must be confronted to continue advancement in this area of research and recommendations for future studies are also explored.

Prior research has shown that the distress associated with social exclusion (i.e., social pain) and physical pain share biological and neural substrates. This social-physical pain overlap has spawned a number of hypotheses regarding how both types of pain might interact. The dissertation research reported here employed diverse methodologies to investigate two questions stemming from these hypotheses: 1) what is the effect of social pain on physical pain sensitivity and 2) what is the effect of physical pain on social pain sensitivity? Pertaining to the first question, Study 1 showed that a socially disconnecting live interaction with a partner led to a decrease in physical pain sensitivity. This result, however, was not replicated in Study 2 using an imagination paradigm to conjure two different types of social exclusion experiences, nor did low levels of social connectedness predict subsequent physical pain levels in a sample of chronic pain patients in Study 3. Pertaining to the second question, pain levels did not predict subsequent reports of social disconnection in the diaries of chronic pain patients in Study 3, nor did participants experiencing capsaicin-induced physical pain report social judgments any different from their pain-free counterparts in Study 4. The reasons for, and meaning of, these findings are discussed in detail. Crucial questions that must be confronted to continue advancement in this area of research and recommendations for future studies are also explored.

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro / Compreendido como um fenômeno da contemporaneidade, a partir da década de 80 o movimento feminista é um exemplo do que se convencionou denominar por novos movimentos sociais. A partir desse momento, verifica-se uma tendência de as demandas dos movimentos expandirem-se para lutas estruturadas em torno de opressões sofridas, principalmente identitárias, no lugar de militâncias da esfera estritamente econômica. Neste contexto é que o presente estudo insere-se. Este trabalho tem como objetivo verificar as motivações de jovens brasileiras, de origens pobres, moradoras em áreas de favelas ou bairros populares, em movimentos feministas no Rio de Janeiro. Foram analisadas suas motivações iniciais e as que as manteriam militando, observando-se algumas tensões existentes nessas participações políticas. Visando ao mapeamento da ambientação histórica e política dos movimentos sociais que se abriam como possibilidades a estas jovens, buscamos traçar um breve histórico dos movimentos sociais na contemporaneidade e, em especial, nos contextos latino-americano e brasileiro, a partir da bibliografia disponível sobre o tema. Para o caso específico dos movimentos no Rio de Janeiro, foram realizadas entrevistas com antigas militantes. Tendo em vista que as entrevistadas advinham de famílias pobres, consideramos importante enveredar nas discussões sobre as exclusões sociais, a partir de uma literatura crítica ao conceito, e procurando verificar os rebatimentos das teorias à situação especial em estudo. A pesquisa de campo contou com entrevistas semi-estruturadas realizadas com cinco jovens, com idades entre 19 e 29 anos. Para efeitos analíticos, compreendemos suas histórias a partir da metodologia da História Oral, a qual visa evidenciar a multiplicidade de vozes outrora desprezadas pelo saber científico, sublinhando o caráter militante do entrevistador. Buscando conhecer as histórias de vida das entrevistadas, foram focalizados aspectos tais como: suas origens familiares, suas condições de jovens; situação de moradia e circulações pela cidade; percursos escolares e trajetórias de trabalho. A partir desses dados abordarmos suas trajetórias militantes. / Acknowledged as a contemporary phenomenon, starting in the 80s, the feminist movement is an example of what has been called new social movements. Starting at that moment, the trend is for the movements demands to expand for struggles around oppressions, specially those related to identity, instead of movements structured in a strictly economical sphere and it is in that context that we find the present research. The research had as its goal to investigate the motivations of young Brazilian women, from deprived backgrounds, living in favelas or impoverished neighborhoods, in feminist movements in Rio de Janeiro. Their initial motivations were analyzed as well as what would keep them militating, taking into account some existing tensions in such political participations. In order to understand the historical and political context of the social movements that have been set as opportunities to those young women, we searched to establish a brief history of the contemporary social movements, specially, in the Latin-American and Brazilian context, taking into consideration the available bibliography. In Rio de Janeiros case, in particular, old militants were interviewed. Since we established that the young women interviewed were from deprived backgrounds, we considered important to also discuss social exclusions, considering the critical theories on the concept and searching to verify how the theory applied to the situations we found in this research. Fieldwork had semi-structured interviews with five young women, aged from 19 to 29 years old. We searched to understand their stories using the Oral History methodology that tries to evidentiate the multiplicity of voices previously not taken into consideration by science, in order to highlight the militant aspect of the interviewer. In order to get to know their life stories, we focused on aspects such as their family origins, their conditions as young people, their habitational situation and trajects around the city; scholarly and word trajectories, to, later on, investigate their militant trajectories.