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- Author or Editor: David Phillips x
Over the past decades, there has been a fierce debate among politicians and policy makers about what constitutes ‘the good society’. Among the visions of the so-called good society include: an all-encompassing universalist and collectivist welfare state and a minimalist state providing a safe social environment where families and individuals can freely pursue their interests. This chapter explores the manner in which policy is used to represent visions of ‘the good society’ and how this usage travels in the national and supranational arenas and the extent to which visions can become reality. From the perspective of the process of EU enlargement, the chapter views the relations between policies and values. It presents policy as a representation of a vision and as an expression of the fundamental aspirations of collectivities. It also raises key matters of competition and dialogue and the elements of policy that are increasingly becoming important in the globalising world.
This much-needed new textbook introduces readers to the development of China’s welfare polices since its conception of an open-door policy in 1978. Setting out basic concepts and issues, including key terms and the process of policy making, it overcomes a major barrier to understanding Chinese social policy.
The book explores in detail the five key policy areas of employment, social security, health, education and housing. Each is examined using a human well-being framework comprising both qualitative and quantitative data and eight dimensions: physical and psychological well-being, social integration, fulfilment of caring duties, human learning and development, self-determination, equal value and just polity. This enables the authors to provide not only factual information on policies but also an in-depth understanding of the impact of welfare changes on the quality of life of Chinese people over the past three decades.
A major strength of the book lies in its use of primary Chinese language sources, including relevant White Papers, central and local government policy documents, academic research studies and newspapers for each policy area. There are very few books in English on social policy in China, and this book will be welcomed both by academics and students of China and East Asian studies and comparative social policy and by those who want to know more about China’s social development.
Effective management and good leadership are vital for public services. Yet, while both are important for effective public services, leadership and management are two distinct concepts. Taking the difference between management and leadership as a starting point, this chapter examines leadership and management with reference to public services. It explores the main theories of leadership and management and traces their development over time. Throughout the chapter, leadership and management are placed in ‘real world’ contexts through a series of case studies for modern public service organisations.
What counts as an environmental problem changes over time. Yet few would deny that current environmental challenges are many. In this chapter we aim to provide an overview of major environmental challenges of direct relevance to students and researchers in the social sciences. The primary focus is on global climate change, as many other challenges relate, directly or indirectly, to this issue. For example, concerns about biological diversity can arise directly from the destruction of habitats; habitat destruction, however, could be the result of land management policies aimed at increasing the production of plant stuffs to make biofuel (an alternative to fossil fuels). At the same time, the shift towards biofuels has led to food production problems: for example, land is being used to farm plants for fuel rather than plants for food, thereby affecting food supplies and costs. Also, climate change effects result in some crops becoming no longer suitable for certain environments. Thus, a wide range of environmental issues is actually intertwined and forms a complex web of concerns. Additionally, matters of the environment and socio-political concerns are rarely easy to separate and what may look like a potential technical or social solution to an environmental problem may reinforce existing, or create new, environmental and social problems.
The Earth’s temperature has not been constant in the past. Indeed our planet has gone through several periods of global cooling and global warming as it has moved in and out of what we call ‘ice ages’. Why, then, is so much attention being paid now to the phenomenon of global warming if it is something that has happened before? This is because some of the warming that is taking place now is believed to have different causes from previous warmings; it is what the textbooks call ‘anthropogenic’, which means it has been caused primarily by human activity, unlike previous global temperature shifts which were due entirely to natural causes.
In Asia-Pacific societies, demographic change and rapid socio-economic development have been linked to a generalised decline in close family relationships, and especially the reciprocal family responsibilities known as filial piety. David Phillips and Kevin Cheng focus on population ageing on the one hand and on value systems, social norms and traditions within filial piety on the other. The chapter shows how traditional values are changing in the Asia-Pacific region and the degree to which such changes vary across societies, posing new risks of exclusion for some older people. In some settings, changing interpretations of filial piety have led to a growing acceptance that personal care no longer needs to be provided solely by family members, and that filial contributions can also be fulfilled by providing cash or access to services provided by non-kin. Elsewhere, quality of institutional care provision has become a key indicator of children’s enduring filial commitment to ageing parents.
This book introduces the development of China’s welfare polices since its conception of an open-door policy in 1978. Setting out basic concepts and issues, including key terms and the process of policy making, it overcomes a major barrier to understanding Chinese social policy. The book explores in detail the five key policy areas of employment, social security, health, education and housing. Each is examined using a human well-being framework comprising both qualitative and quantitative data and eight dimensions: physical and psychological well-being, social integration, fulfilment of caring duties, human learning and development, self-determination, equal value and just polity. This means that the book provides not only factual information on policies but also an in-depth understanding of the impact of welfare changes on the quality of life of Chinese people over the past three decades. A major strength of the book lies in its use of primary Chinese language sources, including relevant White Papers, central and local government policy documents, academic research studies and newspapers for each policy area.
This book introduces the development of China’s welfare polices since its conception of an open-door policy in 1978. Setting out basic concepts and issues, including key terms and the process of policy making, it overcomes a major barrier to understanding Chinese social policy. The book explores in detail the five key policy areas of employment, social security, health, education and housing. Each is examined using a human well-being framework comprising both qualitative and quantitative data and eight dimensions: physical and psychological well-being, social integration, fulfilment of caring duties, human learning and development, self-determination, equal value and just polity. This means that the book provides not only factual information on policies but also an in-depth understanding of the impact of welfare changes on the quality of life of Chinese people over the past three decades. A major strength of the book lies in its use of primary Chinese language sources, including relevant White Papers, central and local government policy documents, academic research studies and newspapers for each policy area.
This book introduces the development of China’s welfare polices since its conception of an open-door policy in 1978. Setting out basic concepts and issues, including key terms and the process of policy making, it overcomes a major barrier to understanding Chinese social policy. The book explores in detail the five key policy areas of employment, social security, health, education and housing. Each is examined using a human well-being framework comprising both qualitative and quantitative data and eight dimensions: physical and psychological well-being, social integration, fulfilment of caring duties, human learning and development, self-determination, equal value and just polity. This means that the book provides not only factual information on policies but also an in-depth understanding of the impact of welfare changes on the quality of life of Chinese people over the past three decades. A major strength of the book lies in its use of primary Chinese language sources, including relevant White Papers, central and local government policy documents, academic research studies and newspapers for each policy area.
This chapter reports on the extent of people’s well-being in China’s modern welfare system. It also draws conclusions on the key features of the Chinese welfare system, including: minimal levels of assistance; urban- and labour market-oriented welfare provision; collective surveillance and social segregation, leading to a cycle of deprivation among poor families; gradually introducing laid-off workers to the open employment market; administrative absorption of welfare dissatisfaction; and a gap in welfare implementation. The long-term development of China’s welfare system is unclear although there have been some signs of improvement under the administration of Chairman Wu and Premier Wen. The development of social policy over the past three decades, revealed the exclusion of migrant workers from basic needs, and the welfare gap between men and women, shows that China’s traditional socialist welfare values centred on equality and human needs have been severely suppressed.
This chapter explores the key features and structure of the Chinese healthcare system in 1978. It also examines China’s healthcare initiatives after 1978, including change in the nature of hospital management and ownership, the introduction of the medical insurance scheme for urban workers and the building of a New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme. Furthermore, the impact of Chinese government medical reforms on the well-being of patients is considered. The present health services in China have become hospital-oriented, and the link between clinics and hospitals is now relatively weak. It is noted that the development of health services was shaped by the Chinese government’s approach to the privatisation and decentralisation of social policy. The Chinese government is also taking a more active role in correcting the deficiencies of market forces and making more investments in public health.
