In European industrialized countries, a large number of companies in the healthcare, hotel, and catering sectors, as well as in the technology sector, are affected by demographic, political, and technological developments resulting in a greater need of skilled workers with a simultaneous shortage of skilled workers (CEDEFOP, 2015, 2016). Consequently, employers have to address workers who have not been taken into account such as low-skilled workers, workers returning from a career break, people with a migrant background, older people, and jobseekers (...) and train them, in order to guarantee the professionalization of this workforce (Festing and Harsch, 2018). Continuing vocational education and training (CVET) is seen as an indispensable tool; because CVET has advantages for both employers and employees, it helps to increase the productivity of companies (Barrett and O’Connell, 2001), to prevent the widening of socioeconomic disparities (Dieckhoff, 2007), and to open up career opportunities for the workforce (Rubenson and Desjardins, 2009). However, participation rate on CVET seems to differ, depending on institutional factors (such as sector and size of the company) and individual characteristics (such as qualification level, migration background, age and time of absence from work) (e.g., Rubenson and Desjardins, 2009; Wiseman and Parry, 2017). In contrast to previous research, our study aims to provide a holistic view of reasons for and against CVET, combining the different perspectives of employers and (potential) employees. The analysis of reasons and barriers was carried out based on semi-structured interviews. Fifty-seven employers, 73 employees, and 42 jobseekers (potential employees) from the sectors retail, healthcare and social services, hotels and catering, and technology were interviewed. Results point to considerable differences in the reasons and barriers mentioned by the disadvantaged groups. These differences are particularly significant between employees on the one side and employers, as well as jobseekers, on the other side, while the reasons to attend CVET of jobseekers are more similar to those of employers. The results can be used to tailor CVET more closely to the needs of (potential) employees and thus strengthen both the qualification and career opportunities of (potential) employees and the competitiveness and productivity of companies. (shrink)

This book reformulates the sociological subdiscipline known as the sociology of knowledge. Knowledge is presented as more than ideology, including as well false consciousness, propaganda, science and art.

Der Arbeitsbegriff Hegels ist mehrdeutig: Er umfasst den Bereich der ökonomischen Arbeit ebenso wie die Arbeit, die den Geist der Menschheit in der Geschichte, der Kunst und der Gesellschaft hervorbringt und entwickelt. Die Gemeinsamkeit dieser unterschiedlichen Arbeitsbegriffe liegt nach Hegel darin, dass sie von der menschlichen Existenz nicht wegzudenken sind. Beide bestimmen den vernünftigen Zugriff der Menschen auf ihre Umwelt in der gleichen Weise: Die Menschen formulieren Zwecke, die sie an ihre Umwelt herantragen und durch geeignete Mittel zu verwirklichen suchen, (...) gleich, ob diese Zwecke ökonomisch, kulturell oder moralisch bestimmt sind. Darüber, dass die zweckmäßige Bestimmung als Form der Bestimmung und Gestaltung der Welt im Geist der Menschheit insgesamt verstanden wird, wird die ökonomische mit der moralischen Arbeit vermittelt und Arbeit bei Hegel so insgesamt zum Ausdruck von Selbstbestimmung. Hegel vertritt damit einen Arbeitsbegriff, der für die Moderne prototypisch ist. Dass Arbeit frei mache, ist nicht nur die in grausamer Weise ideologisch umgesetzte Devise der Nationalsozialisten, sondern ein Gedanke, der eine Grundannahme der normativen Ideale der Moderne im gesamten politischen Spektrum darstellt. Diese Problematik aufnehmend, nimmt die Autorin die Hegelsche Intention einer vernünftigen Begründung des Verhältnisses der Menschen zu sich selbst, zu einander und zu ihrer Umwelt ernst und befragt seinen Arbeitsbegriff nach den Grenzen vernünftiger Begründbarkeit. Sie unterstellt dabei, dass die kritische Aufarbeitung nicht nur der Auslegung eines ‚Klassikers‘ dient, sondern einen Begriff zu klären vermag, an dem auch unsere Gegenwart sich messen lassen muss. (shrink)

I am most grateful to Professors Garfield and Westerhoff for their comments on my article "Acquiring Emptiness: Interpreting Nāgārjuna's MMK 24 : 18" in the January 2010 issue of Philosophy East and West. Their responses to my essay and the critiques they offer, grounded in their considerable expertise in Buddhist philosophical schools, are well argued and rooted in thorough commentarial analysis. In what follows, I attempt to respond to their critiques and concerns.There can be no doubt that the occurrence of (...) the phrase sā prajñāptir upādāya in MMK 24 : 18 has been understood by the bulk of the commentarial literature on the treatise as a compound technical term meaning something like "dependent designation." The .. (shrink)

Periods of transition are often symbolically associated with death, making the latter the paradigm of liminality. Yet, many volumes on death in the social sciences and humanities do not specifically address liminality. This book investigates these "ultimate ambiguities," assuming they can pose a threat to social relationships because of the disintegrating forces of death, but they are also crucial periods of creativity, change, and emergent aspects of social and religious life. Contributors explore death and liminality from an interdisciplinary perspective and (...) present a global range of historical and contemporary case studies outlining emotional, cognitive, artistic, social, and political implications. (shrink)

A fun piece discussing the challenges to and prospects of building machines that are able to produce and understand natural language.

This letter responds to the essay “Securing the Trustworthiness of the FDA to Build Public Trust in Vaccines,” by Leah Z. Rand, Daniel P. Carpenter, Aaron S. Kesselheim, Anushka Bhaskar, Jonathan J. Darrow, and William B. Feldman, in the special report “Time to Rebuild: Essays on Trust in Health Care and Science,” in the September‐October 2023 issue of the Hastings Center Report.

Drawing on the thought of Heidegger, this book puts forward a new conception of attention as human presence, showing how its state determines the efficacy of public spaces in articulating and achieving visions of the common good. A valuable resource for scholars of philosophy of mind, political philosophy, phenomenology, and cognitive science.

The last time you went to your doctor, you might have emerged feeling dissatisfied and disoriented. Nothing was clear after you left the office, and you don’t know whether it’s your fault or the doctor’s. While patients need to take control of the visit and set their agenda, the latest research shows that doctors and patients need to connect on a more emotional level as well. -/- In Talking to Your Doctor, readers will learn to: -/- •Talk to your doctor—and (...) get your doctor to talk to you • Remake the relationship with your doctor, and our health care system, on the basis of good communication •Make sure your visit with the doctor is productive and meets your needs •Help yourself and others avoid over-testing and over-treatment -/- Starting with the conversation can redress imbalances and put the relationship of doctor and patient, and eventually the entire health care system, back on a healthy footing. Using illuminating model dialogues, real transcripts from the clinic and hospital, resources for communication improvement, and a brief history of doctor-patient communication, the author helps readers develop strategies for obtaining better care from their doctors, from the minute they step into the exam room. (shrink)

This book takes its point of departure from the work of the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, whose book 'Distinction' is considered a classic work of sociological analysis. The topics dealt with are shown in the table of contents below. The book is distinctive in that it offers discussions of four methodologies/theories used in discussing taste: semiotics, psychoanalytic theory, sociological theory and Marxist theory and then applies these theories in the second part of the book to a variety of topics involving (...) taste, such as yogurt, dogs, the singer Celine Dion, ocean cruises, brands, smartphones, men's facial hair, and so on. Readers of the book will learn four methodologies they can use in analyzing taste and see how these methodologies were applied. (shrink)