No description available.

This study focuses its attention upon the experiences of a cohort of new entrants into the labour market in a period of mass unemployment. It is based upon information gathered in 1982 and 1983, through the use of both personal interview and postal questionnaires, from a group of young people who left schools, aged 16, in the Motherwell District of Lanarkshire in the Summer of 1982, supplemented where appropriate with data from official sources and that collected by the Motherwell Labour Market Project. That a study of young people entering the labour market should be undertaken stems mainly from the rising tide of unemployment which has hit most if not all western economies. This recession has particularly affected the young and whilst concern has been shown for all victims of unemployment the young have received most attention, for they are seen not only as innocent victims but also as the most vulnerable group for whom the experience of unemployment is likely to have the most serious and lasting impact. It is hoped that this study will give some insight into the transition from school to work at time of mass unemployment. A major theme which runs throughout the study is 'labour market information' as we believe that it is people's perceptions about situations which affect behaviour and the accuracy of their information may have implications for labour market success as this could affect their behaviour within the labour market, e.g. job search activity, participation decision at 16. It is through our analysis of a number of different issues during the transition from school to work that we hope to build up a picture of the transition period in the early 1980's and gain some impression as to the importance of labour market information. The specific areas of analysis are: (i) the school leaving decision (ii) the local labour market knowledge (iii) provision of occupational information (iv) job search behaviour (v) labour market experiences. A brief description of our results follows. Our analysis of the school leaving decision at 16 aimed to identify factors which would explain why some young people left school at the earliest opportunity. In building our model we reviewed economic theories, economic literature and educational and sociological literature to obtain suggestions as to possible variables to include in our analysis. As expected, the academically able were less likely to leave school at 16 as were those who had a pessimistic view of the unemployment situation facing young people - the discouraged worker effect. An interesting finding was a negative co-efficient attached to the wage variable, possibly indicating a backward bending supply curve of youth labour, or a lack of knowledge of youth wages - we elected to argue for the latter explanation. Our analysis of young people's knowledge of their local labour market justified the above conclusion. The sample exhibited a considerable degree of ignorance about the youth (and adult) labour market, though their knowledge of the Youth Opportunities Programme was on the whole accurate. The sample consistently under-estimated the level of wages paid to both young people and adults and over-estimated both youth unemployment and adult unemployment rates. In attempting to explain the degree of under/over estimation we argued that possible confusion over the terms `gross pay' and `unemployment rate' may have been partly responsible. Explaining variations between sample members' answers was less successful - chi-square statistics invariably failed to reach the desired level. Attempts by schools to impart occupational information and prepare young people for entry into the world of work went largely unnoticed by the sample. Careers Evenings, work-experience courses, careers education classes, did not appear to make any real impression upon the sample, the vast majority of whom felt that their final year at school had been a poor preparation for entry into the world of work. Only one-in-three of the sample had been interviewed by the Careers Service at the time of our initial contact which makes an assessment of their role in preparing young people for entering the labour market somewhat difficult. A considerable degree of job search activity was undertaken by the sample prior to leaving school and for the first six months after labour market entry. Extensive use was made of the various information channels both in terms of the number of different channels used and the frequency with which they were consulted. Despondancy resulting from lack of success crept in and search intensity declined in 1983. Although over 1300 applications were submitted, only 26 members of the sample contacted in 1983 had secured employment. Attempting to identify factors which may account for the success of these 26 individuals led us to search theory, and the literature on unemployment duration/re-employment probabilities to suggest variables to include in our model. A number of factors were found to be significant - number of jobs applied for, intensity of search, religious affiliation of school, sex, when began search - though a large degree of the variance was still left unexplained. Having discussed the many issues outlined above, we are able to offer some insight into the transition from school to work in the early 1980's and assess the important of labour market information in the transition period. The sample's lack of knowledge of youth wages and youth unemployment would not appear to have had an undesirable effect upon their job search behaviour. Under-estimating wages and over-estimating unemployment could have led to deciding not to search for work - the financial incentive was not there and there were few jobs anyway - but we found evidence of considerable search activity in 1982. Information pertaining to vacancies is obviously vitally important. For the majority in our sample the transition from school to work did not happen. They were caught up in the xiv unemployment - Y.o.P. - unemployment circle, with little hope of a job in their early years in the labour market.

This study addresses the issues of sexuality and learning disability. It is concerned with the views of professionals working with adults with learning disabilities and their parental carers. The views of professionals and parents regarding relationships, marriage and parenthood are explored. These form the basis of the emerging grounded theory, which incorporates the discrepancies between their ideologies of care. Although the subject of sexuality highlights these inherent differences, it is essentially the issue of sterilisation which magnifies them. It exacerbates the tension and potential conflict between professionals and parents. Furthermore, the focus on sterilisation has ramifications concerning the conflict between public and private concerns. There is controversy regarding the validity of consent to sterilisation by people with learning disabilities. This is because there is a final legal arbiter, which in Scotland is provided by the tutor-dative system. Ideologies of care have changed principally through normalisation. Although this is now the accepted orthodox philosophy, there remain some professionals who adhere to the superseded ideology of institutionalisation. As a result, they are more similar to those of parents than they are to their professional colleagues. The wider implications of these disparate ideologies of care are examined with respect to social work-family relations. Although these differences are at present irreconcilable, suggestions of how to alleviate tension and potential conflict between these two groups are made. Finally, the implications of normalisation with regard to sexuality are also addressed.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2002.

Concerned with the question of why governments display varying degrees of success in implementing social reforms, (judged by their ability to arrive at coherent policy outcomes), my dissertation aims to identify the most important factors responsible for the stagnation of social benefits reform in Russia, as opposed to its successful implementation in Kazakhstan. Given their comparable Soviet political and economic characteristics in the immediate aftermath of Communism’s disintegration, why did the implementation of social benefits reform succeed in Kazakhstan, but largely fail in Russia? I argue that although several political and institutional factors did, to a certain degree, influence the course of social benefits reform in these two countries, their success or failure was ultimately determined by the capacity of key state actors to frame the problem and form an effective policy coalition that could further the reform agenda despite various political and institutional obstacles and socioeconomic challenges. In the case of Kazakhstan, the successful implementation of the social benefits reform was a result of a bold and skilful endeavour by Kazakhstani authorities, who used the existing conditions to justify the reform initiative and achieve the reform’s original objectives. By contrast, in Russia, the failure to effectively restructure the old Soviet social benefits system was rooted largely in the political instability of the Yeltsin era, and a lack of commitment to the reforms on the part of key political actors. And when the reform was finally launched, its ill-considered policies and the government’s failure to form the broad coalition and effectively frame the problem led to public protests and subsequent reform stagnation. Based on in-depth fieldwork conducted in Russia and Kazakhstan in 2006 and 2008, my study enriches the literature on the transformation of post-communist welfare regimes, and contributes important insights to the central question in the literature on public policy, that is, when, why and how policies change. It also enhances our understanding of political and public policy processes in transitional and competitive authoritarian contexts.

Purpose. To explore the experiences of healthcare managers at a reformed CSSS (Centres de sante et de services sociaux) in Montreal, Quebec and to document the provincial reforms. The objective is to understand the managers' experiences during a period of transition. / Method. This study consists of two methods: a document review of relevant policies and reforms of Quebec's health and social services. Secondly, qualitative interview methods were used to explore the experiences of seven managers within a CSSS and their attitudes towards the reform. / Results. Managers described the following: a new window of opportunity, importance of leadership in the reform process, distorted communication, environment of trust, and culture of the organisation. / Conclusion. Quebec's health and social services is an ongoing discourse. Distorted communication creates an atmosphere of uncertainty which hinders the reform process. Implications include the need for further research in understanding healthcare professionals and other actors in the reform process.

No description available.

Starting from the 1970&rsquo / s, as a result of influx of immigration and of rise of ethno- cultural conflicts the issue of multiculturalism has come to become one of the significant themes of contemporary politics. In this respect, new policies have been developed in order to manage this increasing ethnic and cultural diversity. In this study it is aimed to get a critical perspective for the analysis of the question of multiculturalism in Turkey with reference to Turkey-EU relationships. As is widely accepted, the issue of multiculturalism is a conjunctural historical phenomenon emerging within the objective conditions of Western liberal democracies. When this issue is put within Turkey&rsquo / s political framework, Turkey with its own historical and political conditions constitute a distinct context in the sense that this question is taken into account with respect to broader problems including democratization or the extension of human rights. On this basis, it will be argued that, the politics of multiculturalism and normative premises associated with it have no taken for granted progressive meaning or role rather to what extent the relevant multicultural policy measures contribute to the solution of various ethnic or cultural conflicts is itself an empirical and political matter, and also part of changing power relations.

This thesis, depending on some Ottoman archival documents, examines the effects of the Tanzimat reforms on the Ottoman Armenians and Kurds and the origins of the conflicts amongst these communities in the Ottoman Empire. The reforms initiated in the Tanzimat era had such a transformative effect both on the Ottoman Armenian and Kurdish societies that social, political and economic structures of the two communities changed radically. Due to the effects of the Tanzimat reforms and of these structural changes, the relations between the Ottoman Armenian and Kurdish communities started to deteriorate and the communal conflicts emerged during the Tanzimat era. These conflicts between the Armenian and Kurdish communities continued after the Tanzimat era.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-107). / xi, 107 leaves, bound ill., maps 29 cm