Documents social aspect 339 results

"It is one of the most pressing and controversial questions of our time -- vehemently debated, steeped in ideology, profoundly divisive. Who should be allowed to immigrate and who not? What are the arguments for and against limiting the numbers? We are supposedly a nation of immigrants, and yet our policies reflect deep anxieties and the quirks of short-term self-interest, with effective legislation snagging on thousand-mile-long security fences and the question of how long and arduous the path to citizenship should be.

In Exodus, Paul Collier, the world-renowned economist and bestselling author of The Bottom Billion, clearly and concisely lays out the effects of encouraging or restricting migration. Drawing on original research and case studies, he explores this volatile issue from three perspectives: that of the migrants themselves, that of the people they leave behind, and that of the host societies where they relocate.

Immigration is a simple economic equation, but its effects are complex. Exodus confirms how crucial it will be that public policy face and address all of its ramifications. Sharply written and brilliantly clarifying, Exodus offers a provocative analysis of an issue that affects us all"

"What do we want from economic growth? What sort of a society are we aiming for? In everyday economics, there is no such thing as enough, or too much, growth. Yet in the world's most developed countries, growth has already brought unrivalled prosperity: we have `arrived'. More than that, through debt, inequality, climate change and fractured politics, the fruits of growth may rot before everyone has a chance to enjoy them. It's high time to ask where progress is taking us, and are we nearly there yet?
In fact, Trebeck and Williams claim in this ground-breaking book, the challenge is now to make ourselves at home with this wealth, to ensure, in the interests of equality, that everyone is included. They explore the possibility of `Arrival', urging us to move from enlarging the economy to improving it, and the benefits this would bring for all."

"This short, accessible book seeks to explore the future of work through the views and opinions of a range of expertise, encompassing economic, historical, technological, ethical and anthropological aspects of the debate. The transition to an automated society brings with it new challenges and a consideration for what has happened in the past; the editors of this book carefully steer the reader through future possibilities and policy outcomes, all the while recognising that whilst such a shift to a robotised society will be a gradual process, it is one that requires significant thought and consideration."

" « Un peu des deux » répondra souvent le Belge lorsqu'on lui demande s'il est Flamand ou Wallon.
Étrange territoire où vivent ces populations qui ne semblent plus partager de communauté de destin, mais qui ont pourtant bien plus d'affinités qu'on ne pense.
Ce livre invite le lecteur à un parcours plein de surprises dans ce pays étriqué mais si varié. Une diversité qui se reflète dans ses paysages et ses villes qui, à elles seules, valent le voyage : Anvers, fière et rebelle, Namur la placide, Liège la francophile, l'innovante et festive Gand, Bruges l'étape obligée, ou encore la royale Ostende, face à la mer du Nord.
Guerres, invasions, catastrophes... La Belgique a subi tellement de chocs qu'elle a fini par avoir le cuir épais, baigné de sa légendaire autodérision. Faut-il y voir un début d'âme belge, de « belgitude », ce concept flou qui masquerait la non-identité ? Et si c'était ce « creux » qui faisait à la fois son drame et son charme ?
Ce petit livre n'est pas un guide. Il lève le voile sur un étrange pays, parfois surréaliste et à l'humour caustique, une toile en clair-obscur qui cultive avec détermination son art de vivre."

"To reduce emissions and address climate change, we need to invest in renewables and rapidly decarbonise our energy networks. However, decarbonisation is often seen as a technical project, detached from questions of politics and social justice. What if this is leading to unfair transitions, in which some people bear the costs of change while others benefit?
In this timely and expansive book, Ed Atkins asks: are we getting decarbonisation right? And how could it be made better for people and communities? In doing so, this book proposes a different type of energy transition. One that prioritises and takes opportunities to do better – to provide better jobs, community ownership and improve people's homes and lives."

"Climate change mitigation and the Green Deal will remain a central topic for the EU. As a major historical contributor to greenhouse gases, it has the opportunity to reverse this trend of ever more emissions, including by providing a model to leapfrog the carbon age: EU funding and the assessment of state aid and competition law; legal Instruments, including technical standardisation, criminal law sanctions and market-based measures, such as tax incentives or the future extension of emissions trading to consumers; education; the external dimension, a potential new green hegemony and the CBAM; social aspects; climate rights enforcement; and issues arising in specific sectors, including energy, transport, public procurement, urban planning and migration."

"This report highlights how advancements in the EU's Green Public Procurement (GPP) process can pave the way for progress in Socially Responsible Public Procurement (SRPP). GPP and SRPP complement each other in the shared goal of transforming the EU into a fair and prosperous society with a modern and competitive economy as outlined in the EU Green Deal. This social dimension in public procurement also reflects the EU's commitments to the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, the United Nations 2030 Agenda, and the Porto 2021 Social Commitment.
In this summary report, UNI Europa conducts a comparative analysis, mapping advancements in
the public procurement across several sectoral files encompassing Green Public Procurement (GPP)
in relation to Socially Responsible Public Procurement (SRPP), while evaluating them in comparison
to the previous legislative files:
1. Clean Vehicles Directive
2. Energy Performance of Buildings Directive
3. Energy Efficiency Directive
4. Net Zero Industry Act Regulation
5. Energy Labelling Directive & Regulation
6. Batteries Regulation Directive & Regulation
7. Ecodesign of Sustainable Products Directive & Regulation
8. Construction Products Regulation
9. Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive & Regulation."

"Digitalisierung, Industrie 4.0 – warum sollen sich Linke für solche Themen interessieren? Was ist an Vernetzung, Smart Factories, Home-Office, Crowdwork, Big Data von Bedeutung? Die Antwort hängt wesentlich davon ab, welche sozialen Veränderungen sich hinter diesen technischen Begriffen überhaupt verbergen. Und damit beginnt schon das Problem. Denn unter dem Schlagwort «Digitalisierung» wird alles Mögliche verhandelt: technische Neuerungen, die es bereits gibt, Neuerungen, die kommen werden, Neuerungen, die technisch bloß denkbar sind, Neuerungen, die zwar technisch denkbar, aber ökonomisch – also im kapitalistischen Sinne – fragwürdig sind, sowie Neuerungen, die technisch und ökonomisch denkbar sind, deren soziale Folgen aber im Dunkeln liegen. Industrie 4.0 ist Realität, Versprechen und Drohung zugleich, eine Ankündigung, von der niemand weiß, ob sie eintritt, und wenn ja, in welcher Form. Sie wirkt massiv und diffus zugleich. ..."

"Technological change is often seen as something that follows its own logic - something we may welcome, or about which we may protest, but which we are unable to alter fundamentally. This reader challenges that assumption and its distinguished contributors demonstrate that technology is affected at a fundamental level by the social context in which it develops. General arguments are introduced about the relation of technology to society and different types of technology are examined: the technology of production; domestic and reproductive technology; and military technology.
The book draws on authors from Karl Marx to Cynthia Cockburn to show that production technology is shaped by social relations in the workplace. It moves on to the technologies of the household and biological reproduction, which are topics that male-dominated social science has tended to ignore or trivialise - though these are actually of crucial significance where powerful shaping factors are at work, normally unnoticed. The final section asks what shapes the most frightening technology of all - the technology of weaponry, especially nuclear weapons.
The editors argue that social scientists have devoted disproportionate attention to the effects of technology on society, and tended to ignore the more fundamental question of what shapes technology in the first place. They have drawn both on established work in the history and sociology of technology and on newer feminist perspectives to show just how important and fruitful it is to try to answer that deeper question. The first edition of this reader, published in 1985, had a considerable influence on thinking about the relationship between technology and society. This second edition has been thoroughly revised and expanded to take into account new research and the emergence of new theoretical perspectives."

"Cervical cancer is an emotive disease with multiple connotations. It has stood for the horror of cancer, the curse of femininity, the hope of cutting-edge medical technologies and the promise of screening for malignant tumours. For a long time, this disease was identified with the most dreaded aspects of malignancies: prolonged invalidity and chronic pain, but also physical degradation, shame and social isolation. Cervical cancer displayed in parallel the dangers of being a woman. In the 20th century, innovations initially developed to control cervical cancer - radiotherapy and radium therapy, exfoliate cytology (Pap smear), homogenisation of the 'staging' of tumours, mass campaigns for an early detection of precancerous lesions of the cervix - set standards for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of other malignancies. In the late 20th century, cervical cancer underwent another important change. With the display of the role of selected strands of HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) in the genesis of this malignancy, it was transformed into a sexually transmitted disease. This new understanding of cervical cancer linked it more firmly with lifestyle choices, and thus increased the danger of stigmatisation of patients; on the other hand it opened the possibility for efficient prevention of this malignancy through vaccination. Ilana Lowy follows the disease from antiquity to the 21st century, focussing on the period since the mid-19th century, during which cervical cancer was dissociated from other gynaecological disorders and became a distinct entity. Following the ways in which new developments in science, medicine, and society have affected beliefs about medical progress and an individual's responsibility, gender roles, reproduction, and sex, Lowy demonstrates our understanding of what cervical cancer is, and how it can be prevented and cured."