The present historical moment may seem a particularly inopportune time to review Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam's latest exploration of civic decline in America. After all, the outpouring of volunteerism, solidarity, patriotism, and self-sacrifice displayed by Americans in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks appears to fly in the face of Putnam's central argument: that \"social capital\" -defined as \"social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them\" (p. 19)'has declined to dangerously low levels in America over the last three decades. However, Putnam is not fazed in the least by the recent effusion of solidarity. Quite the contrary, he sees in it the potential to \"reverse what has been a 30to 40-year steady decline in most measures of connectedness or community.\"' As an example of how the current \"war on terrorism\" could generate a durable civic renewal, Putnam points to the burst in civic practices that occurred during and after World War II, which he says \"permanently marked\" the generation that lived through it and had a \"terrific effect on American public life over the last half-century.\" 3 If Americans can follow this example and channel their current civic

Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community

The four Visegrad states — Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia (until 1993 Czechoslovakia) and Hungary — form a compact area between Germany and Austria in the west and the states of the former USSR in the east. They are bounded by the Baltic in the north and the Danube river in the south. They are cut by the Sudeten and Carpathian mountain ranges, which divide Poland off from the other states. Poland is an extension of the North European plain and like the latter is drained by rivers that flow from south to north west — the Oder, the Vlatava and the Elbe, the Vistula and the Bug. The Danube is the great exception, flowing from its source eastward, turning through two 90-degree turns to end up in the Black Sea, forming the barrier and often the political frontier between central Europe and the Balkans. Hungary to the east of the Danube is also an open plain. The region is historically and culturally part of western Europe, but its eastern Marches now represents a vital strategic zone between Germany and the core of the European Union to the west and the Russian zone to the east.

Economy and Society

Poverty in the United Kingdom

Resena del libro:
Politics in Time. History, Institutions and Social Analysis.
PAUL PIERSON. Princeton University Press. New Jersey, 2004. 196 p.

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Politics in Time: History, Institutions and Social Analysis

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(11)61094-5.pdf

Mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian settings: Linking practice and research

The purpose of this project was to review existing sources on multi-dimensional disadvantage or severe forms of social exclusion characterised as ‘deep exclusion’; to recommend possibilities for secondary analysis of existing data sets to explore the dynamics of ‘deep exclusion’; to identify any relevant gaps in the knowledge base; and to recommend research strategies for filling such gaps.

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The Multi-dimensional Analysis of Social Exclusion

Part I: Introduction: Childcare markets: an introduction ~ Eva Lloyd Childcare markets: do they work? ~ Helen Penn What future for the mature UK childcare market? ~ Philip Blackburn Part II: Explorations in childcare markets: Local providers and loyal parents: competition and consumer choice in the Dutch childcare market ~ Janneke Plantenga Tinkering with early childhood education and care: the case of early education vouchers in Hong Kong ~ Gail Yuen Markets and childcare provision in New Zealand: towards a fairer alternative ~ Linda Mitchell Publicly available and supported early education and care for all: the case of Norway ~ Kari Jacobsen and Gerd Vollset Childcare markets in the US: supply and demand, quality and cost, and public policy ~ Laura Sosinsky Workforce shortages in the Canadian ECEC sector: how big, how costly and how solvable? ~ Robert Fairholm and Jerome Davis Raw and emerging childcare markets ~ Helen Penn Part III: Ethics and principles: Need markets be the only show in town? ~ Peter Moss ABC Learning and Australian early childhood education and care: a retrospective audit of a radical experiment ~ Jennifer Sumsion Childcare markets and government intervention ~ Gillian Paull.

Childcare markets : can they deliver an equitable service?

This article considers policies and strategies employed to professionalise the early childhood workforce in England since the Labour government took office in 1997. The term ‘professionalisation’ is associated here with moves towards creating a graduate early years workforce, which could have implications for training, pay and employment conditions, the specific body of knowledge and the professional identity of early years practitioners. The new status of Early Years Professional is explored, which has its legal underpinning in the 2006 Childcare Act. The discussion is informed empirically by the views of a small sample of practitioners training as Early Years Professionals. It is argued that the concept of professionalism applied here does not meet the criteria employed within sociological theories of the professions. It also contrasts with that of other professions working with young children, such as qualified teachers and social workers. Finally, it conflicts with early years practitioners' own views...

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Professionalising the Early Childhood Workforce in England: Work in Progress or Missed Opportunity?

New Labour's national childcare and family support strategies have been aimed at improving mothers' labour market participation and children's future educational achievements. As such, they constitute a key component of the child poverty agenda. HM Treasury has assumed a pivotal role in furthering the strategies' objectives. This article explores whether the mixed market economy selected as the vehicle to deliver childcare and family support provision, promotes separate markets for the poor and the better off, while hindering the achievement of child poverty strategy outcomes.

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The Interface between Childcare, Family Support and Child Poverty Strategies Under New Labour: Tensions and Contradictions

This paper reviews research on playgroups in the United Kingdom. Subjects covered include the geographical distribution of playgroups; the backgrounds of families who use them; the concept and practice of parental involvement; the position of playgroup workers; and the experience of children in playgroups. The review finds that the majority of children attend playgroup at some stage, mostly for 2 or 3 half‐day sessions per week. Parental involvement is higher in playgroups than in other pre‐school services, although there is much variation. Attendance at preschool appears to have benefits to the child, although the evidence is not such as to show whether playgroups are better or worse than other forms of provision in this respect. The review concludes that more research needs to be carried out into the provision and effectiveness of services for under‐5s.

Eva Lloyd

Papers

The Multi-dimensional Analysis of Social Exclusion

Childcare markets : can they deliver an equitable service?

Professionalising the Early Childhood Workforce in England: Work in Progress or Missed Opportunity?

The Interface between Childcare, Family Support and Child Poverty Strategies Under New Labour: Tensions and Contradictions

A review of research on playgroups