This study implemented a social media based content analysis to examine the subjective experiences and the current public perceptions of sexism in STEM fields. Participants included men and women who a) identified as either in STEM or not identified as in STEM and b) commented through Facebook on HuffPost Women articles about women in STEM. The analysis indicated that sexism remains an issue for women in STEM careers. Women in STEM identified several gender-based challenges that they have experienced; some participants discussed how they handled those challenges. Men both in and not in STEM were less likely to acknowledge and more likely to deny that sexism was a problem for women in STEM than were women participants. Though findings showed a high rate of supportive commentary from women, they also showed a substantial number of male commenters displaying overt sexism. The analysis helped identify a new form of sexism to the literature on subtle sexism: Threat to Masculinity. More specifically, both men and women were found to display overt sexism to men who supported women by utilizing gender based stereotypes to validate their claims and police gender roles. Findings from this study support the literature suggesting that sexism remains an issue that needs to be addressed; the analysis begins to build a theory about how such sexism is portrayed through social media commentary as an important arena of social and cultural debate. Current policies aimed at ending sexism/discrimination should be expanded to support and encourage women’s participation in STEM careers.

The dissertation "Social policy of the EU and its impact on czech legislation" is dealing with the problem of the European social policy, as a policy with shared competences (that means that there are shared competences - between national states and it's authorities and the EU 's authorities), and it's increasing impact on the czech legislation. This growing influence of EU's authorities and EU primary and secondary law is caused by the czech EU membership (originated in 2004). In this dissertation, there were set two main goals. First of these two aims is to find out, in whitch scale is the czech legislation influenced by European Union's law, especially in the field of social policy. The second aim is to present particular changes and modifications of czech nation law, caused by the EU secondary law - by the regulations and implemented directives. The research methods used in this dissertation were: The European primary law analysis, witch led to the findings about the scale of EU authorities competences, in sence of czech national law transformation. The second half of this dissertation used the method of comparison. There were compared two labour law codes - the labour law code number 65/1965 and labour law code number 262/2006. As we should be able to find out, which chnages brought EU primary law, and...

Analysis and evaluation of positive law of benefits which are drawn by people in the Czech republic was my main intention. The result of frequent amendments is questionable interpretation of particular provisions and decline of legal certainty, because neither instructed employees who work in employment offices or in others can help general public. In the Czech republic there is a stronge social-democratic feeling from interwar period that is receding from the reality of our lives. Quick economic changes during 90'caused admission of liberal measures. These consequences carried into effect, that Czecch family policy of the begining of this millenium is a combination of various wals, very difficult to be classify. On the one hand I see a problem in current concepts of role of the family by young people because it devaluates gradually which you can notice in a big amount of divorces, fall of marriages, in a way to postpone pragnancy, drop of new-born babies etc. On the other hand it is necessary to say, that in fact, there is still distrust in a case to employ mothers of small children and that's why i tis very difficult to join both, care about family and building of career. Compared with other developed countries employers placed in the Czech republic offer parents who would like to work for, still few...

Czech School of Social Policy This thesis deals with the most famous representatives of the Czech school of social policy, their main attitudes and contributions. The thesis is composed of six main chapters. Chapter One is introductory and defines the term of "social policy" and basic goals of this thesis. Chapter Two deals with the historical evolution of Czech social services. The analysis begins in the period of Bismarck's Germany, which had an effect on social provisions in a lot of other states. One of them was Austria-Hungary including the Czech country. Thus, the first social laws introduced in the independent state of Czechoslovakia formed after World War One were based on the legislation of the former monarchy. But Czechoslovakia started to implement its own laws very early. Therefore, the final part of Chapter Two focuses on this social development and the establishment of the Czech Social Institute. This part also describes the most important laws in the social field. Chapter Three characterises some of the main representatives of the First- Republic social system. It attempts to sketch their private lives through short biographies. This part of the thesis also tackles their work with the aim to introduce their opinions and ways of thinking in the social field. The very first...

This thesis aims to describe the history of welfare state and forms of social security, which preceded the welfare state. Chapter one opens up the topic of the state's role in the social security. It further defines the concept of welfare state, social rights and the link between these phenomenons. Distinctions between social rights and other types of fundamental rights and freedoms are also explored. Chapter two of this thesis aims to describe different approaches to division of welfare state into individual categories. Typology of welfare states is essential to understanding the most important characteristics of individual types of welfare states, the function of welfare state and the ideological, cultural, historical and other roots of the concept of welfare state. Chapter three, the most extensive part of this thesis, describes the welfare state's history itself. The third chapter also summarizes the historical overview of forms of social security, which preceded the welfare state, since the welfare state must be perceived as one of the stages of social security's evolution. Contemporary welfare state carries within itself the heritage of precedeing forms of social security and that is why it is necessary to mention these forms characteristic for ancient times, the middle ages and early modern...

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Economics / This thesis focuses on sectoral growth composition, foreign debt and social welfare in selected African economies. Data for the study were obtained from International Financial Statistics (IFS), the World Bank (WB), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) annual reports, and the Penn World Table (PWT). The thesis has 5 chapters. Chapter 1 is the general introduction. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 are stand-alone related papers on social welfare, external debt, and real exchange rate. Chapter 5 is the conclusion of the study. Chapter 1 presents the background to the study, the motivating problems, the research objectives and questions, the significance of the study, the literature gaps, and contributions. The chapter ends with an outline on the organization of the study. Chapter 2 examines the impact of the composition of growth on poverty and inequality in 36 African countries. Specifically, the study demonstrates how changes in the composition of growth can affect the welfare of the segments of the population that are socially and economically deprived. While previous studies have presented different results for different continents, much of the findings show that in Africa, the primary sector is the most effective sector that improves the levels of poverty and inequality. This study re-examines this claim based on the belief that previous findings suffer from measurement bias in the estimation of parameters. This study employed a measurement approach that corrected for the observed differences. The generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation technique was adopted, and the findings were robust, showing that rather than the much-touted primary sector, the secondary and tertiary sectors are actually the main drivers of welfare improvement in the African continent. It is therefore recommended that for a sustained welfare improvement strategy, policy-making institutions in Africa should as a matter of urgency adopt appropriate industrial policy targets on the secondary and tertiary sectors with specific focus on the construction, manufacturing, mining, wholesale, retail, and hotel sectors. vii Chapter 3 investigates the impact of growth composition on external debt (ED) in selected African countries. Precisely, the study examines how each of the three productive sectors (agriculture, industry, and services) impacts on the level of ED in Africa. While many development studies have relied on aggregate output growth to investigate debt-growth dynamics, received literature shows that studies which examine the impact of growth on ED are scarce. Relying on two frameworks – “perfect capital mobility” of the Neoclassicals, and the “Dualism” theory, this study investigates the composition of the growth-debt relationship in Africa. The study applies the dynamic generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation technique to conduct its analysis. The results show that the composition of growth has significant effect on the levels of ED a country can maintain. Although, the results were lagged at different periods, the outcome suggests that the industrial (construction and manufacturing) and services sectors (wholesale, retail, and hotels ‒ WRH) are the leading sectors that drive the growth-ED relationship. The result shows more robustness when a country’s institutional quality, real interest rate, and current account balance were controlled for. Chapter 4 examines the effectiveness of real exchange rate (RER) as a policy tool for industrial diversification. Economic experts have emphasized the need for industrial diversification, especially for developing countries. However, in spite of the numerous socio-economic gains associated with industrial diversification, little effort has been made in Africa to identify and develop the sectors that achieve higher output growth for the region. The effective management of real exchange rate (RER) has provided economies with the needed tool for achieving these growth objectives. Recent empirical literature finds that undervalued RERs help countries to achieve faster economic growth, while overvaluation of the RER slows economic growth. Furthermore, recent growth studies have shown that different sectors respond differently to changes in RER. This study shows that even though many of the previous works have drawn up policy recommendations from these researches, the findings may be driven by inappropriate estimation assumptions, which inevitably results in biased findings. When these assumptions are re-specified, the empirical findings for a sample of 36 countries suggest that in Africa, sectors such as agriculture, construction, mining and utility lead to appreciation of the RER, while the manufacturing, transport and communications, “WRH” sectors, and “other” lead to depreciation of RER among countries. Although the coefficients for manufacturing, and transport and communications are not significant, this is probably due to the levels of development of the sectors within the African continent. Improving the level of development in these sectors therefore through appropriate economic policy framework will certainly impact on the strength of the coefficients of the three sectors, thereby leading to industrial revolution. Chapter 5 concludes the study with a summary of the key findings from Chapters 2, 3, and 4 with highlights of the policy implications of the findings. The highlights include: (1) the need for policy frameworks that discourage continual channelling of resources into sectors other than the industrial and services sectors. (2) A policy thrust in favour of improving domestic sources of revenue through targeting specific subsectors of the industrial and services sectors with appropriate policy instruments. This will provide the needed resources that will reduce the high debt stock per aggregate national income of African countries. (3) A policy thrust that reverses the undermining of development in the manufacturing, and transport and communications sectors. The reversal will stimulate exports and aggregate economic growth through the policy of undervaluation of the RER. Concluding the chapter, the study suggests areas for further research. / MT2017

Este estudo analisou a experiência de construção da participação social no Sistema Único de Saúde, tendo como objeto de estudo o Conselho Municipal de Saúde de Ribeirão Preto, no período de 1991-1998. Construiu-se o referencial teórico a partir da redemocratização do país e da Reforma Sanitária, abordando o objeto de estudo nas dimensões: Direito à Saúde, Participação, Controle Social e Cidadania. A metodologia foi o Estudo de Caso, na abordagem qualitativa da pesquisa em saúde. Procurou-se, a partir de Análise documental e de Entrevistas com Conselheiros e ex-Secretários Municipais de Saúde, através da técnica de Análise Temática, identificar relações estabelecidas entre os sujeitos sociais que compõem o Conselho, projetos de interesse e concepção de Direito à Saúde; buscou-se apontar limites e potencialidades do espaço de participação para a construção da cidadania. Principais limites: os temas são levados ao Conselho, apenas para aprovação, não oportunizando discussões prévias; a vinculação do Fundo Municipal de Saúde à Secretaria da Fazenda, impede Gestor e Conselho de terem autonomia na decisão do uso dos recursos; alguns segmentos não levam para o Conselho suas demandas, utilizando outros canais; o corporativismo de alguns segmentos, impede a publicização de projetos de interesse. Como potencialidade, verificou-se que os entrevistados têm no Conselho, o fórum político legítimo, para discutir e deliberar as diretrizes políticas para a saúde no município, legitimando-o, enquanto espaço público de construção do Direito e da Cidadania. Isto permitiu o funcionamento, nestes 8 anos, sem solução de continuidade. / This study analysed the experience of building social participation in the Unique Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde), having as its study object the Municipal Health Council of Ribeirão Preto, during the period of 1991 - 1998. The theoretical reference was built from the county’s redemocratization and the Sanitary Reform, broaching the study object in the dimensions: the Right to Health, Participation, Social Control and Citizenship. The methodology was Case Study, in the qualitative aspect of health research. We sought, from document analysis and interviews with Counsellors and former Municipal Healt Secretaries, through the technique of Thematic Analysis, to identify relations established among the social subjects which compose the Council, projects of interest and the conception on the Right to Health; we sought to point out limits and potencialities of the space of participation for the construction of citizenship. Main limits: the themes are sent to the Council for aprovement only, not allowing previous discussions; the bond between the Municipal Health Fund and the Secretary of Treasure, obstructs Manager and Council of having autonomy in the decision on the use of resources; some segments don’t take their pleas to the Council, using other channels; the corporativism of some segments don’t allow publicizing projects of interest. As potentiality, we observed that those interviewed have in the Council, the legitimate political forum to discuss and deliberate on the political directions for health in the Municipality, legitimating it as a public space for the construction of Rights and Citizenship. This allowed its functioning, during 8 years, without interruption.

O objeto deste estudo são instituições com projetos dirigidos a jovens, compreendidas como aquelas que concretizam em forma e conteúdo a política, por sua vez tomada como resposta ao conflito entre necessidades de grupos sociais e entre diferentes projetos de hegemonia. Tomou-se juventude como categoria social, que não se encerra no âmbito individual, construída a partir das contradições inerentes à organização e ao funcionamento do modo de produção. Para delineamento do estudo, foi considerado jovem aquele entre 15 e 24 anos. Partiu-se do pressuposto, pautado em revisão bibliográfica, de que as experiências institucionais estariam focalizadas em jovens considerados problemáticos pelas condições de reprodução social ou por seu comportamento desviante e as ações pulverizadas em diferentes entidades de atendimento, para responder a situações/grupos de risco, distante da finalidade de responder necessidades das juventudes. Os objetivos foram descrever as instituições com projetos e ações voltados a jovens do município de Santo André; analisar as características dos projetos e ações desenvolvidas por essas instituições; analisar como os projetos e as ações desenvolvidos por elas se articulam entre si, e com o projeto público municipal. O estudo foi realizado no município paulista de Santo André, onde ressalta-se o acúmulo de atuação resultante de três gestões petistas consecutivas. Onze instituições aceitaram participar da entrevista, instrumento usado para a coleta de dados. Os projetos destinam-se a jovens com precárias condições de reprodução social, selecionados por agrupamento de riscos, com ações que respondem a critérios pré-estabelecidos para se adequarem a algum repasse direto ou indireto de verbas. A juventude como etapa problemática é a abordagem em que se pautavam projetos e ações de dez instituições e apenas em uma a concepção adotada era a do jovem como ator estratégico do desenvolvimento. Paradoxalmente, os projetos oferecem espaços de socialização e acesso a renda que possibilita ao jovem uma certa realização pessoal. Entretanto, a finalidade institucional primordial é afastar jovens do ócio e do desemprego, entendidos como causas de desvios comportamentais, violência e pobreza. As ações mais relatadas são aulas e palestras, para transmissão de técnicas operacionais básicas e de comportamentos para concorrer a colocações no mercado de trabalho. Os resultados evidenciaram ainda que as instituições têm caráter privado. Os projetos institucionais não se articulam e não são monitorados pelo poder público local. A precariedade e a constante ameaça de cortes no orçamento são as marcas profundas desses projetos, que refletem os encaminhamentos das políticas públicas. / The focus of this study is institutions that have projects aimed towards young people, and specifically those that put public policies into operation. Such policies are implemented as responses to the conflict between the needs of social groups and between different civilizing projects. Youth was taken to be a social category that was not closed at individual level, and this was constructed from the contradictions inherent to the organization and functioning of the means of production. To delineate the study, young people were taken to be between 15 and 24 years of age. The initial presupposition, backed by a review of the literature, was that institutional experiences would be focused on young people who were considered problematic (because of the conditions of social reproduction or because of their deviant behavior) and that the disseminated actions at different care-providing entities, for responding to situations and groups at risk, would be far from the purpose of responding to the needs of such young people. The objectives were to describe the institutions that had projects and actions aimed towards young people in the municipality of Santo André; to analyze the characteristics of the projects and the actions developed by these institutions; and to analyze how the projects and actions thus developed interlinked with each other and with the municipal public project. The study was conducted in the municipality of Santo André, state of São Paulo, where it is highlighted that the cumulative actions are the result from three consecutive administrations in the hands of the Workers Party. Eleven institutions agreed to participate in interviews, which were the data gathering instrument. The projects were aimed towards young people with precarious conditions of social reproduction, who were selected through risk grouping, with actions that responded to preestablished eligibility criteria for direct or indirect fund allocation. Youth as a problematic stage was the approach governing the projects and actions of ten institutions, while only one institution took the concept of young people as strategic players for development. The projects provided spaces for socialization and access to income that enabled the young people to achieve a certain degree of self-fulfillment. However, the basic institutional objective was to lead young people away from idleness and unemployment, which were understood to be the causes of behavioral deviation, violence and poverty. The actions most often reported were classes and talks, in order to pass over basic operational and behavioral techniques for competing for placements within the job market. The results also showed that the institutions have private nature. The institutional projects did not interlink and were not monitored by the local public authorities. Precariousness and the constant threat of budgetary cuts deeply marked these projects, which reflected the directions of public policies.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. / Department of Government and Public Administration

L'objet de cet étude est la vérification de l'existence d'une protection des droits sociaux au niveau de l'Union. Et donc on analyse le panorama des droits sociaux dans le cadre des systèmes des États membres ainsi que leur reconstruction dans le cadre de l’acquis communautaire. Afin de mettre en lumière le lien entre les droits sociaux reconnues par l’Union et son politique social substantielle, la recherche se concentre sur les droits relatifs au travail, à la santé et à l'instruction qui sont garantis par le Traité de Lisbonne et la CDF. La protection de ces situations s’analyse à travers de la jurisprudence de la Cour de Justice. Au final le dernière chapitre traite, de la jurisprudence de la Cour de Strasbourg relative aux droits sociaux, en rapport avec celle de la Cour de Justice en vue de la future adhésion de l’Union à la CEDH. A la lumière de ces données, on conclue que la justiciabilité effective des droits sociaux dans le cadre de l’Union reste liée à la volonté politique des États et il est impossible d’affirmer que l’usage inspirateur et propulsif de la Charte de la part de la CJE soit renforcé en faveur d’un protection fort des droits sociales dans le système de l’Union. / The object of this thesis is the analysis of the level of justiciability of social rights in EU. The research first presents an overview of different welfare states within EU national systems. The investigation focuses on national constitutional provisions enshrining social rights, for the individuation of a nucleus of social rights, justiciable under the Member States legal orders.Indeed, the second chapter focuses on the jurisprudence of the ECJ, in particular the one applying to the crossborder access to economic social services of the different member States. From this analysis, it is possible to determine the impact of the Charter of Fundamental rights on the protection of social in the EU legal order. The third chapter deals with the problems connected with the future accession of the EU in the ECHR, in particular it shows the different approaches of the two Courts in the determination of the level of protection of social rights. The thesis concludes with a reflection, on the present economic situation in Europe and its impact on the effectiveness and justiciability of social rights, and on the other, on the welfare states of member States.