Perspectives for Digital Social Innovation to Reshape the European Welfare Systems: An Introduction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabrizio Davide
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Cognitive Frames ◽  
Welfare Systems ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Many

This chapter summarizes the argument of the book “Perspectives for Digital Social Innovation to reshape the European Welfare Systems”. We consider different and parallel perspectives that can support welfare innovation and namely the rise of information and communication technologies in the public sector, the burgeoning initiatives of social innovation in the welfare sector and social changes challenges to the current welfare settlement. This chapter introduces the terms of the discourse starting from the current debate in EU on new policy trends for social protection and its financing. It discusses nature and effects of digital thinking and connects the long-lasting history of social innovation to its recent interpretation as a complex institutional space that changes “the dominant cognitive frames that frame the social problems”. We describe the theoretical implications and the need for multidisciplinary research in a number of fertile areas. Holistic approaches to welfare innovation, emerging digital technologies and the conditions for DSI to produce structural social change need to be studied in depth. Furthermore, the collection reports many situations in which digital social innovations respond to instances in the welfare sector and contribute to the democratic debate with social experiments. Post-hoc analyzes produce interpretative models that will be useful for informing policy decision-making when political agendas are mature. We intended to recreate the lively debate going on in the field of welfare innovation and represent the many “orders of the discourse” a reader may encounter. The innovation of the book itself concerns the logic of presentation of new theories, descriptive models and empirical cases, and the resonance of the subtexts that run through all the chapters.

Shaping the Welfare Society: Unleashing Transformation Through ICT-Enabled Social Innovation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianluca Misuraca ◽  
Giulio Pasi
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
New Governance ◽  
Digital World ◽  
Welfare Systems ◽  
Welfare Society ◽  
The Future ◽  
Resilient Communities ◽  
The One

This chapter is set to provoke a debate on how to envision the future of welfare systems, with a specific focus on the European society. To this end, building on the discussion of the man trends and implications of the digital transformation on social protection systems, an institutional perspective to navigate through the social innovation narrative emerged in the last decade, with a particular attention to the role of Information and Communication Technologies to shape a new generation of social services and design policies to foster more resilient communities is proposed. The chapter goes on debating the drivers of change and possible governance innovation mechanisms required for addressing the macro-trends identified and defines two main dimensions of impact directing the future social development of our societies. These will be characterized by the trade-off between stability and change on the one side, and openness and engagement in the digital world. Within this context solidarity and collaboration emerge as key values upon which welfare production mechanisms will be built and resulting in a mix of welfare arrangements based on competition, cooperation and partnership models. The resulting scenarios are then presented, depicting four possible future welfare systems as thought-provoking proposals. While the Collaborative Multi-Layer-Nested Welfare Model represents somehow the ideal scenario to which we should aspire, how to reach such a future is not easy to be answered. Some suggestions are however outlined in the conclusions of the chapter, where it emerges clear that new governance systems and a profound institutional redesign are needed to address old and new societal challenges and make sure that collectively we can build a more resilient welfare society, where solidarity, openness and cohesion are the keyword for a renewed inclusive growth, which take advantage of the potential of digital technologies combined with social innovation and innovative financial mechanisms.

scholarly journals Professional Development of Bachelor Designers by Means of Information and Communication Technologies

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 5119-5122
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Education System ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Transfer Of Knowledge ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Information And Communication

A developed information community assumes a broad and active use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the education system, which is due to a number of factors that accompany the process of social development. One of the first to highlight is the introduction of information and communication technologies in education in order to accelerate the transfer of knowledge and experience accumulated by mankind from generation to generation, and from person to person. The second factor to be called is the possibility of improving the quality of education in the process of mastering information and communication technologies, which allows a person to more successfully adapt to what is happening around, i.e. to social changes. The third factor is the active and fairly effective implementation of information and communication technologies in the education system, which is a guarantee of updating the education system in accordance with the needs of modern society. This paper discusses the use of information and communication technologies in the preparation of future bachelors-designers as one of the organizational forms of innovative type teaching at a university, based on modern achievements of the psychological and pedagogical sciences, educational materials of a new generation and widespread use of electronic educational resources. The variety of diverse actions performed by a designer requires their systematization by means of information and communication technologies and bringing them into line with the competencies mastered in the learning process. Through the introduction of computer technologies in the design education system and mastering ArchiCad and Artlantis Render programs by a student going improvement of his/her professional skills as future experts in the field of design, and accordingly, increasing their competitiveness in the labour market. At the same time, the process of forming the creative activity of future designers requires, first of all, the development of their spatial and design thinking; therefore, when teaching a teacher, it is necessary to make the process of mastering information and communication technologies proportionate to the process of developing student's intellectual characteristics

scholarly journals Empowering Youth Employment through European Digital Bootcamps (EDIBO)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Begoña Sáiz Mauleón ◽  
Lenin Guillermo Lemus Zuñiga ◽  
Jorge E. Luzuriaga ◽  
Miguel Angel Mateo Pla ◽  
Jose Vicente Benlloch Dualde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Youth Employment ◽  
European Economic Area ◽  
Decent Work ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Ict Training ◽  
Sustainable Economic Growth

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are transforming every area of economic and social life all around the world. New types of jobs different from the traditional ones are created rapidly. The demand for highly skilled staff who uses technology effectively has become a requirement for success of companies and the growing industry.   However, the number of IT graduates is not keeping up with the current demand. In addition, companies have little or no training programs to develop ICT skills. Initiatives from the European Economic Area (EEA) and Norway Grants to support transnational projects for Youth Employment including European Digital Bootcamps (EDIBO) contribute to increase the job opportunities for young people outside of the labour market. In this way the Sustainable Development Goal 8 which aims to “promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all” could be fulfilled.   Nowadays, EDIBO is developing different training labs in order to achieve a success model of all processes involved with the organization, execution and evaluation. The goal of this document is to allow a rapid replication of the intensive ICT training among the partners of the project as well to the social innovation community in general.

scholarly journals Divergencia empresarial en la productividad total de los factores en el período de crisis y recuperación económica en el sector turístico español

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-42
Author(s):  
Albert Miró ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Balance Sheet ◽  
Economic Recovery ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Trade Theory ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Tourism Sector ◽  
Ict Adoption ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Analysis System

The main aim of this research is to contrast the existence of a positive relationship between the total factor productivity (TFP) of companies in the Spanish tourism sector and their use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). in the understanding that the trend is for companies to opt for ICT in‑ vestment and development to improve their TFP and their interaction with the international market (export and import) also leads to an improvement in TFP in the context of the “New” new trade theory. Likewise, the current debate on the dispersion of TFP has affected all economic sectors. In this case, the hy‑ pothesis revolves around the existence of a divergence of this variable between a period of crisis (2007‑2011) and a period of economic recovery (2012‑2017). The data from the Iberian Balance Sheet Analysis System (SABI) were extracted fto the ends of the correct development of this research which has allowed the TFP to be estimated using MCO, EF and LP, as well as the correct verification of the hypotheses using the SEM method. Three conclusions are reached: i) that the Spanish tourism sector seems to have a low level of ICT adoption in its business structure; ii) that TFP dispersion is demonstrated with respect to the two subperiods analysed (crisis and economic recovery), and that iii) internationalisation has a significant result on TFP.

Institutional Isomorphism and New Technologies

2011 ◽  
pp. 2066-2071 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Amoretti ◽  
Fortunato Musella
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Institutional Isomorphism ◽  
Social Construct ◽  
Cognitive Frames ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Information And Communication

Technological factor is mainly underestimated in the literature on institutions and organizations. Although organizational studies and information technology are disciplines dedicated respectively to studying socio-political and technical aspects of organizing, cross-fertilization among such fields has remained quite limited. Only rarely the variable of technology has been interpreted as a crucial element for explaining institutional uniformity. From a more general point of view, changing technical factors have been considered “relatively unimportant sources of organizational change in a mature organizational field” (Yang, 2003, p. 433). Only after the spread of the information and communication technologies (ICTs), a good number of studies has started to consider the relationships among information technology and organizational structure (Guthrie, 1999). Neo-institutional analysis on the use of information technology was mostly directed at showing how the embeddedness of organizational actors “in cognitive, cultural, social, and institutional structures influences the design, perceptions, and uses of the Internet and related [information technology]” (Fountain, 2001, p. 88). Therefore, it can been argued that most of the literature on this field concerns the way in which technology represents a social construct, because it shows that any technological application is strongly influenced by social aspects, such as cognitive frames, political culture, local traditions and so forth. Yet, a few contributions have been dedicated until now to investigate how institutions change through the introduction of new technologies. Although technological innovation is said to be the source of variation in a given institutional context, as “new technology offers new possibilities for solving problems [and] new practices arise when innovative organizations take advantage of its novel benefits” (Leblebici, 1991, p. 335), little attention is focused on technological variables. Despite such disregard, in the following article some examples of the strategic use of information and communication technologies will be included, with specific reference to pressures exerted by ICTs for producing “institutional isomorphism.”

Introducing social innovation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Baglioni ◽  
Stephen Sinclair
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
Labour Markets ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Social Innovations ◽  
Welfare Systems ◽  
Public Organisations

The introductory chapter outlines some of the major social changes (e.g. in demography, employment and labour markets) which pose significant challenges to established social welfare systems. It discusses how and why social innovation has emerged and been promoted as a response to these challenges. The chapter clarifies the meaning of social innovation by considering how it has been defined, and explains how it relates to innovation in technology and business, and how it differs from social enterprise. Examples of social innovations are provided which illustrate the wide range of activities and diverse forms they take. A typology is provided to classify these variants. The nature of innovation within public organisations is discussed (i.e. intrepreneurialism). The chapter concludes by setting out some of the questions which should be asked of social innovation in relation to social and public policy reform.

scholarly journals ICT Uptake and Technology Linkages in Rural Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 133
Author(s):  
Juseuk Kim
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Electronic Communication ◽  
High Tech ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Creative Solutions ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Impact

This report focuses on how quickly and creatively electronic communication is spreading and transforming rural areas in Africa and, particularly, two selected communities in Zambia as case studies. The report also shows ways in which communities are adapting information and communication technologies (ICTs). And this research is interested in studying how quickly electronic communication is spreading and transforming rural areas in Africa and, in particular, the Republic of Zambia. The impact of social networks is being used in dynamic, creative ways to not only spread business opportunities but to energize economies and society. They want to gather community and household information to understand the many ways communities are adapting these technologies. Their methods of adoption and adaptation of technologies do not resemble high-tech societies where governments support massive infrastructure projects.  For example, highly creative uses of low-tech cell phones are energizing commerce and spawning new ways of building creative solutions, making African countries some of the fastest growing economies in the world today.

scholarly journals A Seeping Commodification: The Long Revolution in the Proliferation of Communication Commodities

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 142-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jernej A. Prodnik
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Historical Materialism ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Market Exchange ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
New Information ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Critical Approaches

The main goal of this paper is to conceptualize a seeping commodification. The author of the paper claims we are in the midst of a considerable qualitative transformation in the processes of commodification that is, in large part, owed to an overwhelming capitalist enclosure of the wider communicative field. The key reason for what seems to be an important qualitative transformation in the commodification process lies in the fact that communication and information flows today run through most social relations and spheres – which non-critical approaches often explain with the concept of the ‘mediatization of society’. A materialist approach, distinctive of (critical) political economy of communication, enables an apt critique of these processes. In an epoch, in which capital has enclosed the wider field of communication, mediatization is in fact nothing else than a continuing commodification of our everyday lives. The author of the paper claims that commodification of communication and informational resources must be seen as a long-term process, which has accompanied the rise of capitalism. A considerable proliferation of the economic importance of communication, information, and culture has – to be precise – been enhanced in a large part by political interventions occurring in the last decades (which were a response to the economic tendencies and crises of the time). While the immediate results are observable especially in the proliferation of the new information and communication technologies and the global role of intellectual property rights, the wider social consequences of these developments have been much broader and more influential. This study proceeds from the perspective of historical materialism and adopts dialectics in an attempt to grasp contradictory social changes. The analysis is done through different methods of historicizing: firstly, by observing long-term changes in communication, information, and culture, as they have been slowly transformed into commodities produced for market exchange since the emergence of capitalism; and, secondly, by defining fundamental political and economic processes occurring in recent decades that help with an explanation of the rise in the influence of communication and information (as peculiar types of commodities) in the current epoch.

scholarly journals PENGEMBANGAN KURIKULUM DENGAN MEMANFAATKAN TEKNOLOGI INFORMASI DAN KUMUNIKASI, SUATU GAGASAN

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
NFn Sutjipto
Keyword(s):  
Curriculum Development ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Information And Communication Technology ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Technology And Communication ◽  
The Cost

The purpose of this paper was to examine the repertoire of ideas for curriculum development by utilizing information and communication technology in order to provide a breakthrough on the dynamics and complexity of curriculum development practices. Results of the study showed. First, the management of the curriculum development process that includes activities to share ideas, argument, contributedscientific papers, give feedback, provide feedback, the rationality of the policy decision makers, data processing, how the curriculum management, and results of develop ment can utilize information and communication technologies. Second, to take advantage of information technology and communication in curriculum development has some added value, such as easy in terms of faster information obtained, the cost in the sense that it does not require huge resources, broad reach in the sense that everyone can get involved, efficient and effective way to share, and provide a forum of freedom of speech which is at once loose the bonds of values or certain cultural norms. Third, the idea of developing a curriculum by utilizing information and communication technology as well as encouraging developers literate not only technology, but also able to understand, perceive, and apply power to the significance of the technology. Fourth, curriculum development by utilizing information and communication technology is considered a breakthrough way of working in this digital era AbstrakTujuan dari penulisan ini adalah ingin mengkaji khasanah gagasan pengembangan kurikulum dengan memanfaat kan teknologi informasi dan komunikasi yang diharapkan dapat memberi terobosan mengenai dinamika dan kompleksitas praktik (praxis) pengembangan kurikulum. Hasil kajian menunjukkan. Pertama, pengelolaan proses pengembangan kurikulum yang mencakup aktivitas berbagi gagasan, adu argumen, berkontribusi karya tulis ilmiah, memberi tanggapan, memberi masukan, rasionalitas kebijakan pembuat keputusan, pengolahan data, cara kerja manajemen kurikulum, dan hasil dari pengembangan dapat mendayagunakan teknologi informasi dan komunikasi. Kedua, dengan memanfatkan teknologi informasi dan komunikasi dalam pengembangan kurikulum memiliki beberapa nilai tambah, seperti mudah dalam arti informasi lebih cepat diperoleh, murah dalam arti tidak memerlukan sumber daya yang besar, jangkauan luas dalam arti semua orang dapat terlibat, efisien dan efektif untuk berbagi, dan memberi wadah kebebasan berpendapat yang sekaligus lepas dari ikatan nilai-nilai atau norma budaya tertentu. Ketiga, gagasan pengembangan kurikulum dengan memanfaatkan teknologi informasi dan komunikasi sekaligus mendorong pengembang bukan hanya literate teknologi, tetapi juga mampu memahami, mempersepsi, dan mengaplikasikan arti penting daya guna teknologi. Keempat, pengembangan kurikulum dengan memanfaatkan teknologi informasi dan komunikasi dinilai merupakan terobosan cara kerja di era digital ini

scholarly journals Probation in Azerbaijan: first results and development prospects

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-52
Author(s):  
Musa Gumbatov
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Technical Equipment ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Road Map ◽  
First Results ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Probation Service ◽  
The Republic

The organization of the Probation Service in the Republic of Azerbaijan is discussed, the first results of the work are summarized and the prospects for the development of this new structure are indicated in the article. The article describes the experience of using modern information and communication technologies, including electronic control devices (so-called electronic bracelets) in punishments execution. The author notes that the tasks set by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan to state bodies, including the probation Service, are a kind of road map, which has a long-term and programmatic nature, and have already been successfully implemented. For example, over the past three years, there has been a steady trend towards decrease in the number of persons sentenced to imprisonment, and increase the proportion of persons sentenced to punishments not connected with isolation from society. For example, in 9 months of 2019, 10.7% more convicts were on probation record than in the same period last year. These changes in sentencing practices and increase in the proportion of alternative types of punishment, including the number of convicted persons on probation record, are not only an indicator of the implementation of the President’s initiatives to humanize the state’s criminal law policy, but also a result of the confidence of judges in the Probation Service, which ensures the effective execution of sentences that are not related to the isolation of the convicted person from society. The analysis of first results of the Probation Service’s activity and study of public opinion show the timeliness of the decision of the head of state to create this structure, which makes it possible to look optimistically into the future, which requires continued measures for its development. According to the author, the further development of the Probation Service should be carried out in three main directions. First, it is necessary to complete the process of improving legislation, first of all to adopt a separate law on probation, and continue to bring the regulatory framework for sentences execution in accordance with time realities. Second, for the purpose of independent activities organization and ensuring effective control, the structure of the service should also be optimized in view of the increased workload. Third, it is necessary to create a modern system of training and advanced training of Probation Service employees, ensure their reliable legal and social protection, and provide them with modern technical equipment.

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