This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
The current economic crisis has pushed the European Union member states into recession. Most affe... more The current economic crisis has pushed the European Union member states into recession. Most affected are the new member states which adhered in 2004 and 2007. The foundation of the European identity recorded at the level of citizens' representations was built also on the consolidated system of welfare which was specific to western countries. Within the context of a post-crisis evolution, the article offers the possibility to reflect to an evaluation of the dynamics of political and technical decisions undertaken by the European institutions to support new member states for an active participation into European construction during the crisis period. From this perspective, it is worthy to note that the delay in the decision making processes designed to diminish the effects of economic crisis in an integrative manner is due both to the lack of experience in the management of major critical situations within the EU-27 formula but also to a prudent and timed exercise of the new member states in terms of their fully undertaking the European identity into a welfare space defined by liberty, security and justice. The article underlined the success of positive conditionality recorded during the pre-accession period, for most of the member states shall become institutionalized due to new measures adopted by European institutions, and on the long run, shall encourage co
Principalele obiective ale raportului de faţă sunt identificarea efectelor sociale cauzate de pan... more Principalele obiective ale raportului de faţă sunt identificarea efectelor sociale cauzate de pandemia de coronavirus (Covid-19) şi propunerea unor politici de răspuns. România se confruntă, în paralel, cu două crize: prima, criza medicală, ce ţine de evoluţia şi dinamica pandemiei, a cărei durată rămâne imprevizibilă. A doua criză este de natură economică. Spre deosebire de cea medicală, care produce efecte imediate, criza economică are implicaţii sociale care încep să se resimtă şi vor fi vizibile pe termen imediat şi mediu. În raport sunt tratate două tipuri de probleme: (1) probleme socio-economice, cauzate de pandemia de coronavirus şi (2) probleme structurale ale societăţii româneşti. În perioada de creştere economică din ultimul deceniu, acestea din urmă au fost, în bună parte, trecute în plan secund. Sub şocul pandemiei, problemele structurale îşi vor (re)face resimţită prezenţa şi vor deveni din ce în ce mai presante. Pentru a ne face o idee despre ce ne aşteptăm în plan economic şi social în această perioadă foarte dinamică, raportul porneşte de la lecţiile crizelor prin care a trecut România. Contextul dificil de la începutul anului 2020 schimbă perspectiva asupra politicilor de răspuns şi constrângerilor la care trebuie să facă faţă. O parte dintre veniturile populaţiei sunt deja afectate de pandemie. Vorbim, în principal, despre veniturile primare, care s-au redus în mod vizibil. În raport sunt analizate şi veniturile din redistribuire şi principalele probleme ale celor două componente ale sistemului de protecţie socială: asigurările sociale şi asistenţa socială. Pentru fiecare dintre acestea sunt formulate recomandări de politici sociale. O problemă complexă a crizelor prin care a trecut România ţine de finanţarea deficitului public, respectiv de finanţarea relansării economiei şi a susţinerii protecţiei sociale. Raportul oferă recomandări şi în această direcţie. Comportamentele sociale în contextul stării de urgenţă, controlul social şi câteva situaţii specifice sunt tratate în ultima parte.
Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership (DCGEP) completed an independent evaluation of its... more Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership (DCGEP) completed an independent evaluation of its Learning Center project in Romania. The purpose of the evaluation was to obtain objective data (enrollment, attendance, pass rates, retention rates) from DCGEP Learning Centers and control schools, to implement creativity test in GEP Learning Centers and in control schools and to identify Learning Centers best practices in three levels - individual, institutional and community. Creativity test was applied in all the six schools chosen to participate in the programme. The data was collected from an equal number of schools that had participated in the DCGEP Learning Center project (“intervention schools”), and schools that had not (“control schools”), in order to be able to compare differences. The control schools were carefully selected to match the intervention schools in terms of their size, context development and location. In order to identify best practices, school directors, teache...
The NEET concept, an acronym for "Not in Education, Employment or Training" is used as of 2010 wi... more The NEET concept, an acronym for "Not in Education, Employment or Training" is used as of 2010 within the European Union for describing a category of youths with ages between 16 and 24 years, who are not professionally employed, nor pursuing any educational or vocational training program. Also as of 2010, on the political agenda of the European Union were included in the discussion the issues related to this category regarding the labor market addressing this, diminishing unemployment, and finding solutions so that as many as possible NEET young Europeans might be effectively employed. Romania's goals must be updated with the purpose of integrating the situation of the young Romanian NEET, the gender perspective, and their needs of employment on the labor market in the future planning. In this context, the paper presents statistics and national strategic documents, ways of monitoring and analyzing the prevalence of labor market vulnerability, as well as the quantification of issues that are met and/or are created by the young NEETs, because labor market exclusion most often than not results in financial difficulties and their extended dependence on family, which might slow down the process of personal development.
The aim of the study is to offer to decision-makers the necessary data regarding European policie... more The aim of the study is to offer to decision-makers the necessary data regarding European policies of social inclusion for the Roma, with focus on the practices which have shown a positive impact in the fields of education, employment, housing and health, and to accompany the analysis with policy recommendations for a more efficient and effective action in promoting Roma inclusion. The second chapter, Social Inclusion Policies at the European Level: Mainstreaming versus Targeting offers a brief historical overview of the European policy framework within which social inclusion was conceptualised and its corresponding policies were articulated, along with preoccupations with the situation of the Roma, defined as a European minority subject to centuries-long discrimination. It reminds the reader the definition of "social inclusion" mentioned in European documents and connects the development of the concept and its corresponding social policies to the discourse on the risks of poverty and social exclusion, which can be found already in the 1984 documents of the Council of European Communities. The first part of the chapter presents the emergence and evolution of the Lisbon agenda (2000) and the Open Method of Coordination in the Domain of Social Policies (OMC) that became operational soon after, along with the main indicators aimed to measure the extent and depth of poverty and social exclusion in EU member states, i.e. the Laeken indicators and the currently employed AROPE indicator. It discusses the role of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion, launched in 2010 as part of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable development that fosters social inclusion. The Platform aims to stand for a political commitment of EU member states to promote social innovation and more efficient use of European funds for the objectives of social inclusion. Recently, the European Commission also recommended adding a series of social indicators (i.e. the rate of long term unemployment and the neither-in-work-nor-in-education rate among the youth) in the monitorization of the European common market.
Transylvanian review of administrative sciences, 2013
In Romania, the term of social economy is rather new and almost unknown for the public at large, ... more In Romania, the term of social economy is rather new and almost unknown for the public at large, and the legal framework contains only regulations specific for different types of entities which perform activities or which generate effects that may be considered as partial forms of social economy. This paper reviews the recent literature which approached mostly the problems of conceptualization and definition of the social economy, both at the national and European level. The paper also proposes an evaluation of the social economy sector in Romania in terms of its development capacity on medium-term. The paper reviews scientific contributions from Romania and abroad, reports of public or private institutions, and development policies. All these documents are used to develop a theoretical framework of the social economy and to describe the social economy as a sector of activity within the European Union and Romania, taking into consideration several criteria.
During the past 20 years, social economy became a subject of interest because its organisations h... more During the past 20 years, social economy became a subject of interest because its organisations had to assume an increasing role in the production and supply of social goods and services of public interest. In Romania, although forms of social economy existed for a very long time in society, we can not speak of an institutionally or juridical determined area, with actual outputs. This study5 shows the stage of social economy development taking into consideration three forms of social economy which are present in Romania: the cooperatives, the non-governmental organisations and the mutual aid organisations. The three types of organisations have a low potential for social economy activities. There is no specific legislative framework which to encourage the development of social economy activities, while the availability of the public institutions to support the organisations addressing the vulnerable groups is very limited. The cases in which the three forms of social economy address ...
Concepție grafică, machetare şi tehnoredactare: Luminița LOGIN Coperta: Nicolae LOGIN DESPRE AUTO... more Concepție grafică, machetare şi tehnoredactare: Luminița LOGIN Coperta: Nicolae LOGIN DESPRE AUTORI Simona Maria STĂNESCU este cercetător științific III în Institutul de Cercetare a Calității Vieții (ICCV), Academia Română. Este doctorand în sociologie al Universității București, Facultatea de Sociologie și Asistență Socială, cu o temă de analiză a statului bunăstării. Domeniile de interes: politică socială, construcție instituțională și cadru legislativ în domeniul social, drepturile omului și economia socială. Printre publicații: Aderarea României la Uniunea Europeană: impactul asupra statului bunăstării românesc (coordonator, 2004); Enciclopedia dezvoltării sociale (co-coordonator, 2007); Politici de incluziune socială în perioada de criză economică (co-coordonator, 2010); Raport de cercetare privind economia socială în România din perspectivă europeană comparată (co-coordonator, 2010). simona_vonica@yahoo.com Sorin CACE este doctor în sociologie și în economie, cercetător științific I în ICCV, Academia Română. Domeniile de interes: statul bunăstării, ocuparea forței de muncă, situația romilor și economia socială. Printre publicații: Legal şi egal pe piața muncii pentru comunitățile de romi. Diagnoza factorilor care influențează nivelul de ocupare la populația de romi (cocoordonator, 2010); Economia socială în Europa (coautor, 2010); Economia socială-două profiluri regionale (co-coordonator, 2010); Bune practici în domeniul economiei sociale (coautor, 2010).
HIDDEN COMMUNITIES FERENTARI*The book Hidden Communities Ferentari, published by Express (Buchare... more HIDDEN COMMUNITIES FERENTARI*The book Hidden Communities Ferentari, published by Express (Bucharest, 2011) in Romanian and English, is an innovative and present-time approach of the sensitive aspects of the marginalised urban communities, pauper and lacking resources - the slums. The book describes, within a multidisciplinary framework, several essential dimensions of the social and economic life in an urban area living at the societal periphery of the Romanian Capital, using the methodologies specific to the field research. Such a diagnosis is close to the analytical style in which the Anglo-Saxon literature describes the "classical" slums.The book analyses the relationship between the social exclusion and space, within the context of the slum located in Bucharest, Ferentari district, area of the Livezilor Lane. As the coordinator motivates this study, "the respective area has many of the characteristics found in specialized literature as defining ghettos, because, in the public conscience, this territory is a ghetto" (p. 18). The authors show from the very beginning that "But the main issue we currently have in Romania is not the issue of solutions, but the fact that there is a lack of knowledge and public recognition of these areas. Neither the public authorities, nor the researchers show any special interest in this type of community, which is very difficult to enter. Authoritative data on these areas are scarce, since many of the residents have no identification papers and no ownership or rental documents for the houses they live in." (p. 18).The coordinator of the book - Florin Botonogu, expert of the foundation Policy Center for Roma and Minorities (PCRM), participated in the first initiatives, beginning with 2010, to implement the project targeting the children from this community, having thus the opportunity to observe and work with the people living in the slum. Consequently, the book argues the complex approach needed by such goal and integrates the efforts of specialists in the different dimensions of the analysis: urbanism and dwelling (architect Catalin Berescu), good governance (Florina Presada), justice administration and prevention of the illicit drug consumption (Victor Nicolaescu, Adrian Marcel Iancu, Gabriel Oancea, Andreea Faur, Diana Serban, Daniela Nicolaescu), educational policies (Florin Botonogu), occupation (Simona Maria Stanescu), criminality (Valeriu Nicolae). Starting from this organisation of the area of knowledge one can notice that the longitudinal discourse correlated with the different sequences leads to an integrating approach of the identified problems next to various solutions which have priority for decreasing the risks of social exclusion in Ferentari-type the urban slum. The work represents a concrete analysis which has been previous revealed theoretically and sectorial by diverse authors (Precupetu I., 2001; Cace, S. & Vladescu, C., 2004; Neamtu G., 2009).The first chapter highlights the importance of the space in the debate on poverty and social exclusion within the economic, politic, social or cultural globalization. It also shows the fast changes which took place in the social policy of Romania, with obvious consequences for the local community development on the background of the economic crisis. The authors draw attention that the pauper population will be confronted with serious problems of social inclusion by localisation in these "urban pocket of poverty". Another observation refers to the high poverty rates of the Roma population, which proves a close relation of the Romanian slum with the ethnic affiliation.The urbanistic and architectural description, completed with the history and situation of dwelling in the slum from Livezilor Lane are the subjects of Chapter 2. Within this context, additional data are given regarding other disfavoured living areas from Romania and from other (Roma) slums across Europe. The conclusion of the chapter shows the difficulty of intervention and particularly the limits of the sectoral intervention: "Any immediate program which, for example, only proposes improving the thermal insulation or waterproofing restoration but does not take into consideration an intervention for the entire area and is not supported by a coherent social and urban integration policy cannot produce lasting improvements. …
During the past 20 years, social economy became a subject of interest because its organisations h... more During the past 20 years, social economy became a subject of interest because its organisations had to assume an increasing role in the production and supply of social goods and services of public interest. In Romania, although forms of social economy existed for a very long time in society, we can not speak of an institutionally or juridical determined area, with actual outputs. This study 5 shows the stage of social economy development taking into consideration three forms of social economy which are present in Romania: the cooperatives, the non-governmental organisations and the mutual aid organisations. The three types of organisations have a low potential for social economy activities. There is no specific legislative framework which to encourage the development of social economy activities, while the availability of the public institutions to support the organisations addressing the vulnerable groups is very limited. The cases in which the three forms of social economy address directly the higher employment of the disadvantaged groups are rather isolated. As a general characteristic, except for 1 The article has enjoyed the support of the CNCSIS grant, IDEI 226/2007: "Capacity of Romanian
The progress achieved by the social economy differs within the European Union from one member sta... more The progress achieved by the social economy differs within the European Union from one member state to another member state because the critical situations, the actions, the institutional and legal framework, the overall context of the social economy are different in each individual European country. Despite this lack of homogeneity in this field, there are many social economy organisations which actually contribute to the social cohesion, there are successfully accomplished programs and activities aiming the social integration of the vulnerable groups and which support actively the fight against social exclusion. Several independent materials have been studied (guidebooks, reports, working documents etc.) in order to identify the different mechanisms for the transfer of social economy information related to improvement of the social inclusion at the local level. The approach of social inclusion in a structured and innovating manner specific to the social economy is a common coordinate for most EU member states within the context of the current economic crisis.
The current article describes the development of a methodology to collect field data in order to ... more The current article describes the development of a methodology to collect field data in order to measure poverty and in work poverty at local level and it is part of a set of methodologies developed in order to map existing / necessary social services and infrastructure, poverty and in work poverty in Romania, for The Romanian Ministry of Labour and Social Justice. The article highlights the sources of data for this demarche and it also explains step by step the design, the used indicators and the research tools for field data collection. The proposed model will use locally collected data for all localities in Romania and therefore provides the premises for in-depth analyses at regional, county, but also local level, with various analysis objectives.
Abstract: Trust in the doctor-patient relationship is an indispensable structural element for the... more Abstract: Trust in the doctor-patient relationship is an indispensable structural element for the medical profession. The discourse concerning trust and its importance in the healthcare context, although quite old, elicits increasingly more interest in research, especially for empirical approaches. The importance of trust in the doctor and in the medical profession can be demonstrated by starting from the Christian meaning of illness and medicine; generally, the patristic sources see medicine and physicians as God’s gifts. The perception of Christian physicians as dedicated, unselfish and compassionate preservers or restorers of health, always committed to the good of their patients is well known. The model of the Christian physician is a Hippocratic model, of one who seeks the sick so that he may bring relief to them and strengthen them. When illness occurs, Christianity affirms an ethical duty to struggle against sickness, which if unaddressed can lead to death. The moral requirem...
The re-emergence of the social economy sector as important agent for occupation, economic growth,... more The re-emergence of the social economy sector as important agent for occupation, economic growth, social solidarity, associationism and social services, coincided with a higher importance of running program and project- based activities in all European countries, irrespective whether they are member states of candidate states. Within the context of the benefits specific to the social economy projects it is important to debate and analyse the subject of continuing the activities of this form of economy by consolidating the financial allocations. Thus, complementary to the identification of new consistent sources of financing of the activity performed by the social economy organisations, it is important to know the position of the initiatives within the current context of the global economy and to apply rigorously the project implementation methodology.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
The current economic crisis has pushed the European Union member states into recession. Most affe... more The current economic crisis has pushed the European Union member states into recession. Most affected are the new member states which adhered in 2004 and 2007. The foundation of the European identity recorded at the level of citizens' representations was built also on the consolidated system of welfare which was specific to western countries. Within the context of a post-crisis evolution, the article offers the possibility to reflect to an evaluation of the dynamics of political and technical decisions undertaken by the European institutions to support new member states for an active participation into European construction during the crisis period. From this perspective, it is worthy to note that the delay in the decision making processes designed to diminish the effects of economic crisis in an integrative manner is due both to the lack of experience in the management of major critical situations within the EU-27 formula but also to a prudent and timed exercise of the new member states in terms of their fully undertaking the European identity into a welfare space defined by liberty, security and justice. The article underlined the success of positive conditionality recorded during the pre-accession period, for most of the member states shall become institutionalized due to new measures adopted by European institutions, and on the long run, shall encourage co
Principalele obiective ale raportului de faţă sunt identificarea efectelor sociale cauzate de pan... more Principalele obiective ale raportului de faţă sunt identificarea efectelor sociale cauzate de pandemia de coronavirus (Covid-19) şi propunerea unor politici de răspuns. România se confruntă, în paralel, cu două crize: prima, criza medicală, ce ţine de evoluţia şi dinamica pandemiei, a cărei durată rămâne imprevizibilă. A doua criză este de natură economică. Spre deosebire de cea medicală, care produce efecte imediate, criza economică are implicaţii sociale care încep să se resimtă şi vor fi vizibile pe termen imediat şi mediu. În raport sunt tratate două tipuri de probleme: (1) probleme socio-economice, cauzate de pandemia de coronavirus şi (2) probleme structurale ale societăţii româneşti. În perioada de creştere economică din ultimul deceniu, acestea din urmă au fost, în bună parte, trecute în plan secund. Sub şocul pandemiei, problemele structurale îşi vor (re)face resimţită prezenţa şi vor deveni din ce în ce mai presante. Pentru a ne face o idee despre ce ne aşteptăm în plan economic şi social în această perioadă foarte dinamică, raportul porneşte de la lecţiile crizelor prin care a trecut România. Contextul dificil de la începutul anului 2020 schimbă perspectiva asupra politicilor de răspuns şi constrângerilor la care trebuie să facă faţă. O parte dintre veniturile populaţiei sunt deja afectate de pandemie. Vorbim, în principal, despre veniturile primare, care s-au redus în mod vizibil. În raport sunt analizate şi veniturile din redistribuire şi principalele probleme ale celor două componente ale sistemului de protecţie socială: asigurările sociale şi asistenţa socială. Pentru fiecare dintre acestea sunt formulate recomandări de politici sociale. O problemă complexă a crizelor prin care a trecut România ţine de finanţarea deficitului public, respectiv de finanţarea relansării economiei şi a susţinerii protecţiei sociale. Raportul oferă recomandări şi în această direcţie. Comportamentele sociale în contextul stării de urgenţă, controlul social şi câteva situaţii specifice sunt tratate în ultima parte.
Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership (DCGEP) completed an independent evaluation of its... more Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership (DCGEP) completed an independent evaluation of its Learning Center project in Romania. The purpose of the evaluation was to obtain objective data (enrollment, attendance, pass rates, retention rates) from DCGEP Learning Centers and control schools, to implement creativity test in GEP Learning Centers and in control schools and to identify Learning Centers best practices in three levels - individual, institutional and community. Creativity test was applied in all the six schools chosen to participate in the programme. The data was collected from an equal number of schools that had participated in the DCGEP Learning Center project (“intervention schools”), and schools that had not (“control schools”), in order to be able to compare differences. The control schools were carefully selected to match the intervention schools in terms of their size, context development and location. In order to identify best practices, school directors, teache...
The NEET concept, an acronym for "Not in Education, Employment or Training" is used as of 2010 wi... more The NEET concept, an acronym for "Not in Education, Employment or Training" is used as of 2010 within the European Union for describing a category of youths with ages between 16 and 24 years, who are not professionally employed, nor pursuing any educational or vocational training program. Also as of 2010, on the political agenda of the European Union were included in the discussion the issues related to this category regarding the labor market addressing this, diminishing unemployment, and finding solutions so that as many as possible NEET young Europeans might be effectively employed. Romania's goals must be updated with the purpose of integrating the situation of the young Romanian NEET, the gender perspective, and their needs of employment on the labor market in the future planning. In this context, the paper presents statistics and national strategic documents, ways of monitoring and analyzing the prevalence of labor market vulnerability, as well as the quantification of issues that are met and/or are created by the young NEETs, because labor market exclusion most often than not results in financial difficulties and their extended dependence on family, which might slow down the process of personal development.
The aim of the study is to offer to decision-makers the necessary data regarding European policie... more The aim of the study is to offer to decision-makers the necessary data regarding European policies of social inclusion for the Roma, with focus on the practices which have shown a positive impact in the fields of education, employment, housing and health, and to accompany the analysis with policy recommendations for a more efficient and effective action in promoting Roma inclusion. The second chapter, Social Inclusion Policies at the European Level: Mainstreaming versus Targeting offers a brief historical overview of the European policy framework within which social inclusion was conceptualised and its corresponding policies were articulated, along with preoccupations with the situation of the Roma, defined as a European minority subject to centuries-long discrimination. It reminds the reader the definition of "social inclusion" mentioned in European documents and connects the development of the concept and its corresponding social policies to the discourse on the risks of poverty and social exclusion, which can be found already in the 1984 documents of the Council of European Communities. The first part of the chapter presents the emergence and evolution of the Lisbon agenda (2000) and the Open Method of Coordination in the Domain of Social Policies (OMC) that became operational soon after, along with the main indicators aimed to measure the extent and depth of poverty and social exclusion in EU member states, i.e. the Laeken indicators and the currently employed AROPE indicator. It discusses the role of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion, launched in 2010 as part of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable development that fosters social inclusion. The Platform aims to stand for a political commitment of EU member states to promote social innovation and more efficient use of European funds for the objectives of social inclusion. Recently, the European Commission also recommended adding a series of social indicators (i.e. the rate of long term unemployment and the neither-in-work-nor-in-education rate among the youth) in the monitorization of the European common market.
Transylvanian review of administrative sciences, 2013
In Romania, the term of social economy is rather new and almost unknown for the public at large, ... more In Romania, the term of social economy is rather new and almost unknown for the public at large, and the legal framework contains only regulations specific for different types of entities which perform activities or which generate effects that may be considered as partial forms of social economy. This paper reviews the recent literature which approached mostly the problems of conceptualization and definition of the social economy, both at the national and European level. The paper also proposes an evaluation of the social economy sector in Romania in terms of its development capacity on medium-term. The paper reviews scientific contributions from Romania and abroad, reports of public or private institutions, and development policies. All these documents are used to develop a theoretical framework of the social economy and to describe the social economy as a sector of activity within the European Union and Romania, taking into consideration several criteria.
During the past 20 years, social economy became a subject of interest because its organisations h... more During the past 20 years, social economy became a subject of interest because its organisations had to assume an increasing role in the production and supply of social goods and services of public interest. In Romania, although forms of social economy existed for a very long time in society, we can not speak of an institutionally or juridical determined area, with actual outputs. This study5 shows the stage of social economy development taking into consideration three forms of social economy which are present in Romania: the cooperatives, the non-governmental organisations and the mutual aid organisations. The three types of organisations have a low potential for social economy activities. There is no specific legislative framework which to encourage the development of social economy activities, while the availability of the public institutions to support the organisations addressing the vulnerable groups is very limited. The cases in which the three forms of social economy address ...
Concepție grafică, machetare şi tehnoredactare: Luminița LOGIN Coperta: Nicolae LOGIN DESPRE AUTO... more Concepție grafică, machetare şi tehnoredactare: Luminița LOGIN Coperta: Nicolae LOGIN DESPRE AUTORI Simona Maria STĂNESCU este cercetător științific III în Institutul de Cercetare a Calității Vieții (ICCV), Academia Română. Este doctorand în sociologie al Universității București, Facultatea de Sociologie și Asistență Socială, cu o temă de analiză a statului bunăstării. Domeniile de interes: politică socială, construcție instituțională și cadru legislativ în domeniul social, drepturile omului și economia socială. Printre publicații: Aderarea României la Uniunea Europeană: impactul asupra statului bunăstării românesc (coordonator, 2004); Enciclopedia dezvoltării sociale (co-coordonator, 2007); Politici de incluziune socială în perioada de criză economică (co-coordonator, 2010); Raport de cercetare privind economia socială în România din perspectivă europeană comparată (co-coordonator, 2010). simona_vonica@yahoo.com Sorin CACE este doctor în sociologie și în economie, cercetător științific I în ICCV, Academia Română. Domeniile de interes: statul bunăstării, ocuparea forței de muncă, situația romilor și economia socială. Printre publicații: Legal şi egal pe piața muncii pentru comunitățile de romi. Diagnoza factorilor care influențează nivelul de ocupare la populația de romi (cocoordonator, 2010); Economia socială în Europa (coautor, 2010); Economia socială-două profiluri regionale (co-coordonator, 2010); Bune practici în domeniul economiei sociale (coautor, 2010).
HIDDEN COMMUNITIES FERENTARI*The book Hidden Communities Ferentari, published by Express (Buchare... more HIDDEN COMMUNITIES FERENTARI*The book Hidden Communities Ferentari, published by Express (Bucharest, 2011) in Romanian and English, is an innovative and present-time approach of the sensitive aspects of the marginalised urban communities, pauper and lacking resources - the slums. The book describes, within a multidisciplinary framework, several essential dimensions of the social and economic life in an urban area living at the societal periphery of the Romanian Capital, using the methodologies specific to the field research. Such a diagnosis is close to the analytical style in which the Anglo-Saxon literature describes the "classical" slums.The book analyses the relationship between the social exclusion and space, within the context of the slum located in Bucharest, Ferentari district, area of the Livezilor Lane. As the coordinator motivates this study, "the respective area has many of the characteristics found in specialized literature as defining ghettos, because, in the public conscience, this territory is a ghetto" (p. 18). The authors show from the very beginning that "But the main issue we currently have in Romania is not the issue of solutions, but the fact that there is a lack of knowledge and public recognition of these areas. Neither the public authorities, nor the researchers show any special interest in this type of community, which is very difficult to enter. Authoritative data on these areas are scarce, since many of the residents have no identification papers and no ownership or rental documents for the houses they live in." (p. 18).The coordinator of the book - Florin Botonogu, expert of the foundation Policy Center for Roma and Minorities (PCRM), participated in the first initiatives, beginning with 2010, to implement the project targeting the children from this community, having thus the opportunity to observe and work with the people living in the slum. Consequently, the book argues the complex approach needed by such goal and integrates the efforts of specialists in the different dimensions of the analysis: urbanism and dwelling (architect Catalin Berescu), good governance (Florina Presada), justice administration and prevention of the illicit drug consumption (Victor Nicolaescu, Adrian Marcel Iancu, Gabriel Oancea, Andreea Faur, Diana Serban, Daniela Nicolaescu), educational policies (Florin Botonogu), occupation (Simona Maria Stanescu), criminality (Valeriu Nicolae). Starting from this organisation of the area of knowledge one can notice that the longitudinal discourse correlated with the different sequences leads to an integrating approach of the identified problems next to various solutions which have priority for decreasing the risks of social exclusion in Ferentari-type the urban slum. The work represents a concrete analysis which has been previous revealed theoretically and sectorial by diverse authors (Precupetu I., 2001; Cace, S. & Vladescu, C., 2004; Neamtu G., 2009).The first chapter highlights the importance of the space in the debate on poverty and social exclusion within the economic, politic, social or cultural globalization. It also shows the fast changes which took place in the social policy of Romania, with obvious consequences for the local community development on the background of the economic crisis. The authors draw attention that the pauper population will be confronted with serious problems of social inclusion by localisation in these "urban pocket of poverty". Another observation refers to the high poverty rates of the Roma population, which proves a close relation of the Romanian slum with the ethnic affiliation.The urbanistic and architectural description, completed with the history and situation of dwelling in the slum from Livezilor Lane are the subjects of Chapter 2. Within this context, additional data are given regarding other disfavoured living areas from Romania and from other (Roma) slums across Europe. The conclusion of the chapter shows the difficulty of intervention and particularly the limits of the sectoral intervention: "Any immediate program which, for example, only proposes improving the thermal insulation or waterproofing restoration but does not take into consideration an intervention for the entire area and is not supported by a coherent social and urban integration policy cannot produce lasting improvements. …
During the past 20 years, social economy became a subject of interest because its organisations h... more During the past 20 years, social economy became a subject of interest because its organisations had to assume an increasing role in the production and supply of social goods and services of public interest. In Romania, although forms of social economy existed for a very long time in society, we can not speak of an institutionally or juridical determined area, with actual outputs. This study 5 shows the stage of social economy development taking into consideration three forms of social economy which are present in Romania: the cooperatives, the non-governmental organisations and the mutual aid organisations. The three types of organisations have a low potential for social economy activities. There is no specific legislative framework which to encourage the development of social economy activities, while the availability of the public institutions to support the organisations addressing the vulnerable groups is very limited. The cases in which the three forms of social economy address directly the higher employment of the disadvantaged groups are rather isolated. As a general characteristic, except for 1 The article has enjoyed the support of the CNCSIS grant, IDEI 226/2007: "Capacity of Romanian
The progress achieved by the social economy differs within the European Union from one member sta... more The progress achieved by the social economy differs within the European Union from one member state to another member state because the critical situations, the actions, the institutional and legal framework, the overall context of the social economy are different in each individual European country. Despite this lack of homogeneity in this field, there are many social economy organisations which actually contribute to the social cohesion, there are successfully accomplished programs and activities aiming the social integration of the vulnerable groups and which support actively the fight against social exclusion. Several independent materials have been studied (guidebooks, reports, working documents etc.) in order to identify the different mechanisms for the transfer of social economy information related to improvement of the social inclusion at the local level. The approach of social inclusion in a structured and innovating manner specific to the social economy is a common coordinate for most EU member states within the context of the current economic crisis.
The current article describes the development of a methodology to collect field data in order to ... more The current article describes the development of a methodology to collect field data in order to measure poverty and in work poverty at local level and it is part of a set of methodologies developed in order to map existing / necessary social services and infrastructure, poverty and in work poverty in Romania, for The Romanian Ministry of Labour and Social Justice. The article highlights the sources of data for this demarche and it also explains step by step the design, the used indicators and the research tools for field data collection. The proposed model will use locally collected data for all localities in Romania and therefore provides the premises for in-depth analyses at regional, county, but also local level, with various analysis objectives.
Abstract: Trust in the doctor-patient relationship is an indispensable structural element for the... more Abstract: Trust in the doctor-patient relationship is an indispensable structural element for the medical profession. The discourse concerning trust and its importance in the healthcare context, although quite old, elicits increasingly more interest in research, especially for empirical approaches. The importance of trust in the doctor and in the medical profession can be demonstrated by starting from the Christian meaning of illness and medicine; generally, the patristic sources see medicine and physicians as God’s gifts. The perception of Christian physicians as dedicated, unselfish and compassionate preservers or restorers of health, always committed to the good of their patients is well known. The model of the Christian physician is a Hippocratic model, of one who seeks the sick so that he may bring relief to them and strengthen them. When illness occurs, Christianity affirms an ethical duty to struggle against sickness, which if unaddressed can lead to death. The moral requirem...
The re-emergence of the social economy sector as important agent for occupation, economic growth,... more The re-emergence of the social economy sector as important agent for occupation, economic growth, social solidarity, associationism and social services, coincided with a higher importance of running program and project- based activities in all European countries, irrespective whether they are member states of candidate states. Within the context of the benefits specific to the social economy projects it is important to debate and analyse the subject of continuing the activities of this form of economy by consolidating the financial allocations. Thus, complementary to the identification of new consistent sources of financing of the activity performed by the social economy organisations, it is important to know the position of the initiatives within the current context of the global economy and to apply rigorously the project implementation methodology.
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