46 research outputs found
Spotlights on Contemporary Family Life
Spotlights on Contemporary Family Life covers four issues of
cross-cutting importance to families
Structures and forms of families: issues relating to a diversification of families
away from the ‘traditional nuclear family form’ are relatively uncontroversial
from an academic perspective, but much more so for policy makers and family
associations. Chapter 1 provides a thorough overview of the state of contemporary
European families.
Solidarities in families: too often the issue of an ‘ageing society’ is simply
reduced to the problem of over-burdening social care systems, but longevity
also represents opportunities for new kinds of solidarities inside families and
family networks, and new relations between family members – not to mention
the satisfaction felt by people who can continue to live fulfilling and rewarding
lives long after they’re considered ‘elderly’. Chapter 2 gives voice to authors who
identify these new opportunities and challenges.
Demographic change: women are having fewer children and having them
later in life. Having children is now a conscious decision and fertility rates have
declined below the level required to sustain our current populations. At the
same time we witness the ‘greying’ of Europe, which brings with it a whole host
of opportunities and challenges. Chapter 3 raises important issues for policy
makers today.
Volunteering: inspired by family associations who could not survive without
the support of volunteers, this chapter gives an overview of what’s known -
and what isn’t - about volunteering. Coinciding with the European Year of
Volunteering 2011, this chapter takes a timely look at the efforts that families
put into volunteering across Europe and the important benefits that Europe gains
from all of this combined voluntary effort.
Linden Farrer and William Lay work for the Confederation of Family Organisations
in the European Union (COFACE). This publication was produced by FAMILYPLATFORM,
a project funded by the European Commission
Spotlights on Contemporary Family Life
Spotlights on Contemporary Family Life covers four issues of
cross-cutting importance to families
Structures and forms of families: issues relating to a diversification of families
away from the ‘traditional nuclear family form’ are relatively uncontroversial
from an academic perspective, but much more so for policy makers and family
associations. Chapter 1 provides a thorough overview of the state of contemporary
European families.
Solidarities in families: too often the issue of an ‘ageing society’ is simply
reduced to the problem of over-burdening social care systems, but longevity
also represents opportunities for new kinds of solidarities inside families and
family networks, and new relations between family members – not to mention
the satisfaction felt by people who can continue to live fulfilling and rewarding
lives long after they’re considered ‘elderly’. Chapter 2 gives voice to authors who
identify these new opportunities and challenges.
Demographic change: women are having fewer children and having them
later in life. Having children is now a conscious decision and fertility rates have
declined below the level required to sustain our current populations. At the
same time we witness the ‘greying’ of Europe, which brings with it a whole host
of opportunities and challenges. Chapter 3 raises important issues for policy
makers today.
Volunteering: inspired by family associations who could not survive without
the support of volunteers, this chapter gives an overview of what’s known -
and what isn’t - about volunteering. Coinciding with the European Year of
Volunteering 2011, this chapter takes a timely look at the efforts that families
put into volunteering across Europe and the important benefits that Europe gains
from all of this combined voluntary effort.
Linden Farrer and William Lay work for the Confederation of Family Organisations
in the European Union (COFACE). This publication was produced by FAMILYPLATFORM,
a project funded by the European Commission
UN POSTO DA ABITARE. DALLA CASA DELLA TRADIZIONE ALL'INCERTEZZA DELLO SPAZIO-TEMPO GLOBALE
«Dov’è la nostra casa, oggi?». Nella storia dell’Occidente, non era mai accaduto, prima d’ora, che questo interrogativo si ponesse come un problema generalizzato. Indizio di una fragilità crescente dei soggetti, di fronte al compito di definire il significato e i confini della propria collocazione nella realtà globale contemporanea. La principale difficoltà deriva dal fatto che, oggi, sembrano messe in discussione le due condizioni-chiave, che hanno sempre sostenuto i processi dell’abitare, nelle diverse forme in cui si sono fissati storicamente. La prima condizione è la capacità dello spazio fisico di delimitare e organizzare l’esperienza sociale e individuale, dandole un senso e una prospettiva di divenire. La seconda è la capacità del tempo di sostenere un’idea di trascendenza, posta a fondamento della lunga durata della società e del significato delle biografie.
C’è un futuro per l’abitare, in un mondo privo di confini, culturalmente poliedrico, istituzionalmente indefinito? Il libro affronta questo interrogativo, spostando l’attenzione dalla dimensione del «non più», verso quella del «non ancora». Il «non più» delle certezze che si stanno perdendo, con il venir meno delle «case» del passato, da quella «comune», della tradizionale idea di patria, a quella «privata» della dimora di famiglia. Il «non ancora» di quelle che si possono costruire, grazie agli spiragli che si aprono all’esercizio della creatività umana, sulle ceneri degli assetti del passato: nuove forme di socialità , nuovi assetti istituzionali, nuovi modi per «sentirsi a casa» nel mondo
Lavoro e incertezza biografica
L’articolo prende le mosse dalla riflessione sociologica sulle trasformazioni strutturali – economiche, istituzionali e socio-culturali – in atto da tempo nelle società occidentali contemporanee, per sottolineare il legame esistente fra l’insieme di tali trasformazioni e i nuovi significati che il lavoro sta assumendo nella vita degli individui. In particolare, l’autrice sottolinea la natura ambivalente di tali significati, che si riflette nel concetto di incertezza biografica, proposto come chiave di lettura dell’esperienza individuale, oggi. Da ultimo, l’articolo mostra come la recente crisi economica globale contribuisca ad accentuare, non solo le disuguaglianze sociali, di genere, di generazione, ma anche l’ambivalente significato del lavoro, particolarmente nell’esperienza delle giovani generazioni