Labour Controls, Unfreedom and Perpetuation of Slavery on a Tea Plantation

This article examines labour controls in traditional tea plantations in Bangladesh. This study finds how social and economic exclusion through discriminatory labour laws and labour–manager relations rooted in the ‘coolie’ system have built a captive workforce separated from the mainstream workforce. This ultimately produces and reproduces slavery–laden labour controls. An opaque but punitive incentive system, sunset-sunrise working hours, maximum engagement, and the restrictions of promotion to managerial posts are constant reminders of the historically rooted indentured labour system. This article contributes to understanding modern slavery in an organisational context and the obstacles that prevent ‘free’ labourers from walking away from exploitative conditions. Organisational sites such as tea plantations present clear examples of how specific types of labour control restrict freedom of choice and produce ‘willing slaves’.

Social Exclusion and High-Speed Railways: Evidence from China

Background: Despite their economic, social, and environmental advantages, HSRs are associated with some negative social impacts and controversy about their equitability. Gap: Very few studies have explored the relationship between HSR and social exclusion. Aims: This paper examines the relationship between HSR and social exclusion, and it focuses on China as a case study. Objectives: The objectives of the study are as follows; to identify the most important and favourable factors for choosing HSR from passengers' perspective; to reveal issues and reasons that inhibit passengers from using HSR and limit their accessibility to the service, and to propose some solutions and interventions. Methods: The study utilizes an online survey comprising a set of stated preference and revealed preference questions. A total of 3655 responses were collected, of which 3353 responses were complete and useful. Results: A key finding is that comfort is proven to be the most favourable factor for using HSR, followed by travel time and reliability. Another finding is that the economic exclusion followed by the geographical exclusion is prevailing across different age and monthly income groups of non-HSR users. Those who have the lowest income and the elderly experience the strongest levels of economic exclusion. Moreover, physical, time-based, and fear-based exclusions are also notable. Conclusion: To create a modal shift from other modes to HSR and allow more groups to access the service, HSR should be competitive in terms of affordability and accessibility. Possible solutions and policy interventions that may help to tackle categories of social exclusion in China are presented.

Opportunities of Digital Technologies in Leveling Financial and Socio-economic Exclusion Problems

The article reflects the current problems of society, in the direction of using digital technologies. The authors pay special attention to the possibilities of attracting digital technologies in the process of levelling financial and socio-economic exclusion among people with disabilities. The authors analysed modern methods of obtaining information when a person does not just receive educational services, but programs his brain to further produce it in a particular area. The authors came to the conclusion that the prevailing global goal of hedonism, with the inability to build images of the future, leads to the fact that society becomes less tolerant and counts on quick and easy success. Therefore, the rules of digital hygiene should become the legislative norm of the life of a modern person.

Social exclusion, mental health, and social well-being among African immigrants in the United States

This study examined the effects of social exclusion (socio-cultural and structural-economic exclusion) on the mental health and social well-being of African immigrants in the United States ( N = 409). We found that social exclusion increased depression and anxiety symptoms, decreased societal trust, increased subjective isolation, and increased worries about one’s safety among African immigrants. The results further indicated strong negative effects of discrimination on mental health and social well-being. The findings highlight the need for social work interventions that target discrimination and structural exclusionary mechanisms in efforts to improve the mental health and social well-being of African immigrants in the United States.

Introduction: Framing Economic Exclusion

Economic exclusion is a multidimensional concept that has particular relevance in the context of ageing populations and globalised economies. Sustaining adequate incomes in old age and protecting older citizens from poverty are major challenges for governments and policy makers and they have been amplified in the face of the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past few decades most countries have made adjustments to their pension systems and other welfare related policies that concern older citizens, and these reforms have already had and will continue to have a differential impact on economic exclusion. For some, extending the working life and pushing back the legal age of retirement can be a safeguard against inadequate incomes in old age, while for others who are excluded from the labour market, or who are working in low paid jobs, economic exclusion remains a reality. The labour market implications of the pandemic are likely to exacerbate this risk for those whose situation was already fragile before the crisis.

Theorizing Young People's Perceptions of Their Citizenship Identity

The paradigm of social justice gives voice to those without the resources to deal with responsibilities imposed by a neoliberal agenda. The authors focus on pupils in Sweden and England, countries which have moved from a sense of communality to the growth of neoliberal societal individualism. To clarify real citizenship (rather than formal), they apply the concepts of intersectionality and of human capabilities in place of rights, which means that people adhere to numerous simultaneous collectivities and having the capability to do something requires more than an entitlement to it. While everyone might have the right to an education and to a dignified life, many live in powerlessness and in political, social, and economic exclusion. Sufficient human capabilities are required in order to receive the education necessary for citizenship in its real meaning, and the intersectional approach enables interrogation of factors that coalesce, rather than viewing in them in isolation.

Unemployment at 50+: Economic and Psychosocial Consequences

Throughout the lifespan, unemployment has severe consequences in terms of economic exclusion, and overall social exclusion, but is compounded in older age. Within the EU, a growing number of older adults (50+) are affected by joblessness. Job loss at a later stage in a professional career may determine an early and permanent exit from the labour market with significant psychosocial consequences. Herein lies the age-specific risk for older unemployed adults: once becoming unemployed they are at greater risk at staying unemployed. As a result, older unemployed people may face income cuts, deprivation of a central adulthood role and their mental and physical health may suffer. In this chapter, we draw attention to the latent functions of work, and the psychosocial consequences of job loss in later life. Applying a life-course perspective, the aim of this chapter is to explore how job loss can be framed as a form of acute economic exclusion, and how this exclusion can have significant implications for poor mental health. In a context of rising retirement ages, and the lack of preparedness of the labour market to deal with an ageing workforce, it is essential to understand these dynamics to guide policy development.