Socialinė teorija, empirija, politika ir praktika最新文献

{"title":"Ageless Assets: Social Investment and Active Aging Profiles in Lithuania","authors":"Violeta Vilkoitytė","doi":"10.15388/stepp.2024.29.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15388/stepp.2024.29.2","url":null,"abstract":"This article argues that the aging population significantly affects the welfare state. Social investment strategies could respond to a changed economic and social order by enhancing active aging. While the social investment perspective has been a topic of discussion for decades, certain aspects remain underexplored. This study, therefore, aims to assess the impact of social investments on active aging. The study, based on the social investment approach and active aging model, analyzes quantitative data from Wave 8 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The Lithuania sample included 1437 participants. In the analytical phase, Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis were utilized (SPSS ver. 26). The findings unveil four active aging profiles (low activity, moderate activity, balanced activity, and high activity). The two groups are distinguished by aging conditions, such as poor health, lack of social investment, and high reliance on social benefits. The positive impact of social investment is underscored by the improved aging conditions outlined in the last two profiles. This study enriches the social investment research domain by providing valuable insights into the influence of social investment policies on the lives of older individuals and their potential to age actively.","PeriodicalId":506308,"journal":{"name":"Socialinė teorija, empirija, politika ir praktika","volume":" 28","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141680706","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Financial Crisis, Confidence in Financial Markets and Participation in Private Pension Plans in Germany","authors":"Ulrich Brandt, Dagmar Zanker, Dina Frommert","doi":"10.15388/stepp.2024.29.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15388/stepp.2024.29.1","url":null,"abstract":"The financial crisis of 2008/2009 has not only left its mark on the value of retirement savings, but also on savings and investment behaviour. It has led to a loss of confidence in financial markets and its main protagonists. However, trust is a key mechanism for savings and investment decisions. We illustrate the loss of trust by looking at the number of pension plans purchased in the years following the financial crisis.\u0000The paper is based on data of the study on ‘Life courses and old-age provisions’ (LeA, Lebensverläufe und Altersvorsorge). The data was gathered in 2016 and provides information on the life histories of people living in Germany who were born between 1957 and 1976, as well as on pension entitlements in all three pillars of the German pension system. The analysis concentrates on so-called Riester pension plans, the most dynamic private pension scheme in Germany. We estimate a panel fixed-effects logit model to examine whether the financial crisis had an impact on the participation in Riester pension plans. Results show that instead of a shock effect relating to the crisis years, we see a negative linear effect following the crisis.","PeriodicalId":506308,"journal":{"name":"Socialinė teorija, empirija, politika ir praktika","volume":"52 s260","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141683034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Home Care Home – An Un-Total Institution. When the Care Home Logic Permeates the Private Space","authors":"Glenn Möllergren","doi":"10.15388/stepp.2024.29.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15388/stepp.2024.29.3","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines how the provision of home care services impact older individuals in Sweden, focusing on how it may subtly institutionalise their daily lives. Domiciliary care is found to negatively impact users’ individuality and independence, contrary to initial intentions of offering an emancipatory alternative to nursing facilities.\u0000The study uses Goffman’s concept of total institutions, operationalised by identifying aspects of everyday life within which institutionalisation manifests itself, including meals, daily rhythmics, and lifestyle choices.\u0000For this article, the experiences of home care users in Sweden were collected in 34 qualitative interviews and 15 observations with respondents aged between 68 and 96 years. The material was examined using theory-driven thematic analysis.\u0000Results show that while some care users find comfort in the structures imposed to their lives, many are faced with limitations related to the tight, minute-timed scheduling and the assembly-line style of care provision. The constraints affect everyday life choices related to eating, sleeping hours, hobbies, and the sense of home, which are all influenced by the care organisation’s work regime and scheduling.\u0000The analysis concludes by proposing the term “home care home”. This designation indicates the challenges to individuality entailed in the home care rationale, while acknowledging that the influence on users is “less-than-total”, as compared to typical institutionalising environments such as prisons or hospitals.\u0000While a total institution is commonly understood as a spatial structure, it also functions as a logic acting regardless of physical constraints – for instance, in a person’s home. Moreover, the study suggests that this logic may be at work anywhere within large-scale production of human services.\u0000In summary, this article addresses the individuality-eroding force ingrained in home care provision and emphasises the need to strengthen users’ influence on care provision in order to increase their independence.","PeriodicalId":506308,"journal":{"name":"Socialinė teorija, empirija, politika ir praktika","volume":"108 s419","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141682594","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Is It Possible to Increase Fertility in Latvia in the Near Future?","authors":"V. Komarova, Anita Sondore, E. Čižo, A. Kokarevica","doi":"10.15388/stepp.2024.28.7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15388/stepp.2024.28.7","url":null,"abstract":"This article aims to study the medium-term fertility trend in Latvia answering the following research question: is it possible to increase fertility in the near future, as planned in the “Population Reproduction Strategy FAMILY – LATVIA – 2030 (2050)”? The authors analyzed the total fertility rate (TFR) in Latvia for the period of 1970–2022 (53 years). This interdisciplinary (demography, mathematics, economics, sociology) study applies mathematical analysis for investigating socio-demographic trends, as well as the theory of economic cycles for identifying demographic cycles and their phases in Latvia and forecasting fertility rate in the near future. Furthermore, the analysis of data from comparative sociological surveys helped the authors to understand the main reason for the decline in fertility in Latvia. This reason is value changes in society, in which the child is no longer at the center of the value system of men and especially women in Latvia. In turn, short-term ups and downs in fertility are determined mainly by socio-economic and political factors. Based on the results of differentiating the function of the total fertility rate (TFR) it can be expected that the decline in fertility in Latvia will continue for several more years before the bottom of the next demographic cycle is reached and there will be an upturn in a linearly declining fertility trend. Although, the upcoming bottom will be lower than the previous one, i.e. below 1.22–1.25 children on average per woman and the next peak will most likely be below 1.74. Thus, the increase in TFR in Latvia to 1.77 by 2027, planned in the “Population Reproduction Strategy,” is considered by the authors of this study to be absolutely unattainable.","PeriodicalId":506308,"journal":{"name":"Socialinė teorija, empirija, politika ir praktika","volume":"14 14","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141356379","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pertekliniai įsiskolinimai – finansinės atskirties pranašas","authors":"Daiva Skučienė, Viktorija Buržinskaja","doi":"10.15388/stepp.2024.28.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15388/stepp.2024.28.5","url":null,"abstract":"The article explores the link between financial exclusion and the problems of social exclusion and the at-risk of poverty and highlights relevance in the context of social policy. The study seeks to analyze the problem of over-indebtedness as a threat to financial exclusion. The purpose of the study is implemented by disclosing the concept and causes of financial exclusion, analyzing over-indebtedness measurement and management. \u0000The tendency to over-indebtedness is determined by a whole palette of factors: social, demographic, economic, psychological, behavioral. It examines which groups of society are most likely to face financial difficulties in fulfilling their financial obligations and other household payments and to be over-indebted.\u0000Assessing gross debts of households and the scope of over-indebtedness, links with the socio-economic environment and available demographic data of debtors in Lithuanian municipalities are established. Over-indebtedness figures are analyzed using a secondary analysis of the Centre of Registers (database of open bailiffs’ files, 1995–2023), the Official Statistics Portal, and the Employment Service for 2022. The data are analyzed using descriptive statistics, also Pearson correlation and linear regression were performed.\u0000The result of the study shows alarming increase in the amount of over-indebtedness in Lithuania. Over-indebtedness arrears are unevenly distributed among the population of different ages. The situation is not homogeneous between large and small municipalities. Results show that in large municipalities there is strong positive link between debts per person, poverty rate and amount of average salary.\u0000The problem of financial exclusion, and especially over-indebtedness, requires further extended research and increased attention in the political agenda.","PeriodicalId":506308,"journal":{"name":"Socialinė teorija, empirija, politika ir praktika","volume":"10 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141020879","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Life in a State of Limbo – Narratives of Place, Health, and Integration Among Later Life Female Migrants in Sweden","authors":"Finnur Magnusson","doi":"10.15388/stepp.2024.28.6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15388/stepp.2024.28.6","url":null,"abstract":"International migration is a prioritized domain of European aging research. Using a qualitative approach, the author has gathered accounts among Iranian later-life females in the Swedish city of Malmö, suffering from social isolation. The women in this article found themselves in a situation like that of other later-life migrants in Sweden. Several studies have shown how these groups are at risk of ending up in a social isolation which can be hard to break. The situation of the later-life migrant women discussed in this study is characterized by the loss of numerous deep-seated and natural social bonds connected to ethnicity, family, language, and culture. To cope with their exposed situation, the local Iranian-Swedish association provided some self-arranged activities, offering opportunities to social integration. The aim of the study is to demonstrate how the women described their life situation where a local day center made up the key foundation of their social life in  a Swedish city in 2000–2008. Typical of that period was that solutions of the alarming situation of some foreign-born elderly citizens were discussed by local authorities, as well as volunteer organizations. Thus, the aim is not to describe the present situation among later life migrants. On the contrary, the perspective is retrospective. The theoretical inspirations used in the article derive from a broader backdrop of social-constructive assumptions that define narratives or accounts as explanations of the reality of everyday life and experiences. In the article the women’s stories are defined as small, local, erratic narratives, nevertheless explaining the reality of everyday life and experiences which in their turn reflect the state of illness, locally specific attachment and social isolation. Three salient themes emerge in the material: place bound experiences, illness and unsuccessful integration. The narratives are defined as small irregular accounts, contrasting larger narratives of later-life migration. The article shows how the women depicted their situation as a borderline between an Iranian life in exile and a Swedish society, leaving them in a state of Limbo. The women expressed ambitions of integrate into a Swedish community of senior citizens, providing privileges and civil rights. Thus, the narratives challenge common generalizing images of later-life migrants and their life conditions.","PeriodicalId":506308,"journal":{"name":"Socialinė teorija, empirija, politika ir praktika","volume":"43 S5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141018237","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Systematic Literature Review on the Relationship Between Quality of Work and Intentions to Retire Among Individuals Aged 50 and Older","authors":"Antanas Kairys, Raimonda Sadauskaitė, Olga Zamalijeva, Halldór S. Guðmundsson, I. Reine, L. Sakkeus, Signe Tomsone","doi":"10.15388/stepp.2023.27.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15388/stepp.2023.27.4","url":null,"abstract":"Europe, notably in countries like Lithuania, is facing substantial demographic shifts due to aging, impacting various systems, including the labor market. In this context understanding retirement intentions is crucial. Quality of work is a key determinant of retirement intentions, yet other factors such as financial situation, health, or family pressures also play a role, and a comprehensive understanding of their interactions remains a research gap. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a systematic literature review of research on the relationship between retirement intentions and quality of work, with a specific focus on potential control factors, moderators and mediators of this relationship. This systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses (PRISMA). Articles were electronically retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and EBSCO databases. Studies selected were full-text, peer-reviewed articles in English from 2003 to 2023, which used quantitative methodologies and focused on the relationship between retirement intentions and quality of work for workers aged 50+. The quality of the selected publications was assessed using the Appraisal Tool for Cross-Sectional Studies – AXIS tool. Of the initial 776 sources, after removing duplicates and irrelevant articles, 91 were fully screened, and 17 met the criteria for inclusion in the systematic review. This systematic literature review provided further insights into the relationship between retirement intentions and quality of work, highlighting the roles of moderators, mediators, and control factors in this relationship.","PeriodicalId":506308,"journal":{"name":"Socialinė teorija, empirija, politika ir praktika","volume":"5 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139827235","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Systematic Literature Review on the Relationship Between Quality of Work and Intentions to Retire Among Individuals Aged 50 and Older","authors":"Antanas Kairys, Raimonda Sadauskaitė, Olga Zamalijeva, Halldór S. Guðmundsson, I. Reine, L. Sakkeus, Signe Tomsone","doi":"10.15388/stepp.2023.27.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15388/stepp.2023.27.4","url":null,"abstract":"Europe, notably in countries like Lithuania, is facing substantial demographic shifts due to aging, impacting various systems, including the labor market. In this context understanding retirement intentions is crucial. Quality of work is a key determinant of retirement intentions, yet other factors such as financial situation, health, or family pressures also play a role, and a comprehensive understanding of their interactions remains a research gap. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a systematic literature review of research on the relationship between retirement intentions and quality of work, with a specific focus on potential control factors, moderators and mediators of this relationship. This systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses (PRISMA). Articles were electronically retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and EBSCO databases. Studies selected were full-text, peer-reviewed articles in English from 2003 to 2023, which used quantitative methodologies and focused on the relationship between retirement intentions and quality of work for workers aged 50+. The quality of the selected publications was assessed using the Appraisal Tool for Cross-Sectional Studies – AXIS tool. Of the initial 776 sources, after removing duplicates and irrelevant articles, 91 were fully screened, and 17 met the criteria for inclusion in the systematic review. This systematic literature review provided further insights into the relationship between retirement intentions and quality of work, highlighting the roles of moderators, mediators, and control factors in this relationship.","PeriodicalId":506308,"journal":{"name":"Socialinė teorija, empirija, politika ir praktika","volume":"42 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139886995","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vyresnio amžiaus asmenų naudojimasi internetu, laisvalaikio veiklų ir atminties gebėjimų lyginamoji analizė Baltijos šalyse","authors":"Viktorija Ivleva, Antanas Kairys, Vytautas Jurkuvėnas","doi":"10.15388/stepp.2023.27.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15388/stepp.2023.27.5","url":null,"abstract":"Advances in the healthcare system and socioeconomic progress have led to longer life expectancy, resulting in an ageing population and societal challenges for policymakers. Active ageing, promoted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe through the Active Ageing Index, highlights Capacity and Enabling Environment for Active Ageing. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use is crucial, enabling participation in social, economic, and cultural activities (UNECE, 2020).\u0000Research indicates cognitive changes in ageing, especially memory deterioration, associating these changes with genetics, education, and professional and leisure activities (Stern, 2009). According to research, ICT positively affects cognition, enhancing memory (Almeida et al., 2012; Benge et al., 2023), but may also pose cognitive issues (Nagam, 2023). Prioritizing cognitive health among the elderly in social policies is vital, with ICT playing a key role.\u0000The present study aimed to assess the links between Internet use and memory performance after controlling for demographic factors and leisure activities. Data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe’s 8th Wave (Börsch-Supan, 2022) included 2320 individuals aged 65–100 from Baltic countries. Memory was assessed using a modified Rey’s Auditory Verbal Learning Test. Participation in leisure activities was assessed by asking respondents if they had taken part in any of the listed activities in the past year, and Internet use was assessed by asking about Internet use in the past 7 days.\u0000Significant associations were found between memory, leisure activities, and Internet use. Internet use predicted memory capacity in older adults, remaining significant after controlling for demographics, health, and leisure activities. The current findings show that Internet use might be valuable in predicting memory functioning among older adults and can potentially contribute to the protection of cognitive function.","PeriodicalId":506308,"journal":{"name":"Socialinė teorija, empirija, politika ir praktika","volume":"493 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140482788","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Welfare State: The Challenges of Sustainability","authors":"S. Kuhnle","doi":"10.15388/stepp.2023.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15388/stepp.2023.5","url":null,"abstract":"It is nothing new that ‘the welfare state’ faces serious challenges. Ever since the 1970s, Western welfare states have by many researchers been regarded as being in crisis, but despite many policy adjustments and important variations among Western welfare states, the overall scope of the welfare state, as measured by social expenditure per capita, has by and large increased. At the same time, we can observe a globalization of social policy and the emergence of a more active social role of the state in many parts of the world during recent decades. But new challenges due to a variety of new security issues and new dimensions of uncertainty have appeared, not least following the unanticipated Russian large-scale invasion of and war on Ukraine and concomitant international political developments. Political unease about the future of the welfare state and scope of social policies in different parts of the world has escalated. Welfare political priorities must compete with increased priorities for defense, cyber security, and issues related to energy, climate, food, and the environment. Motivations for state responsibility for citizen welfare and well-being – as well as for the type and scope of responsibility - vary. The fate of the welfare state and social policies is clearly a question of political and normative commitment to what kind of socially active state is desired. The paper addresses the following topics: Why should a state be socially active? What were historical reasons for developing welfare states? What are current motivations for developing and maintaining welfare states? What are the economic, political, and moral dimensions of welfare state sustainability? In addition to possible national political responses to social challenges, it is argued that in a globalized world reinforced international cooperation, coordination and regulation may be necessary to achieve sustainability of (national) welfare states.","PeriodicalId":506308,"journal":{"name":"Socialinė teorija, empirija, politika ir praktika","volume":"175 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139173646","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}