Trousson, Raymond / Vercruysse, Jeroom (dir.), Dictionnaire general de Voltaire. (Champion classiques, references et dictionnaires 18) 1272 p. 2020:10 (Champion, FR) <670-9>
ISBN 978-2-38096-016-7 paper ¥7,064.- (税込) EUR 38.00

Daly, Mary (ed.), Families, Welfare States and Resilience: Low-Resource Families Navigating Care, Employment and Welfare in Europe. 226 pp. 2025:6 (E. Elgar, UK) <747-365>
ISBN 978-1-0353-4675-2 hard ¥28,270.- (税込) GB￡ 100.00

This pioneering book critically reviews and develops the concept of resilience in relation to family life. It examines the experiences of low-resourced families in Belgium, Croatia, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, assessing how they manage challenges such as low income and poor working conditions whilst also caring for children and others needing care. It considers the resources that are available to families, how they are utilised and the role and effectiveness of the welfare state system in supporting families with low resources. Expert authors comparatively analyse the findings from focus group interviews with over 300 participants in the six countries. The participants came from a variety of backgrounds, including lone parent families, those with heavy care-related demands and those with an immigrant background. The book studies the resilience of families in a variety of low-income situations, identifying how they cope with family and employment transitions and risks and discussing the crucial linkages between care, paid work and income. Ultimately, it critiques welfare state provision from the perspective of family resilience and advocates for policy and practical reform in relation to childcare, labour market, and income and service support. Students and scholars of social policy, comparative welfare studies and sociology will greatly benefit from this cutting-edge book. It is also a vital resource for policymakers and practitioners working in social and labour policy.

Mueckenberger, Ulrich / Fechner, H. / Dingeldey, I. (eds.), Constructing Worlds of Labour: Coverage and Generosity of Labour Law as Outcomes of Regulatory Social Policy. (Global Dynamics of Social Policy) 355 pp. 2025:6 (Palgrave Macmillan, UK) <747-371>
ISBN 978-3-031-82410-4 hard ¥11,766.- (税込) EUR 49.99

This open access book simultaneously addresses both the segmenting and the egalitarian function of individual labour law, in almost all countries of the world, in some chapters following up from its origin to the present. Its socio-legal approach fills gaps for sociological, legal and historical research of regulatory social policy. Labour law is dealt with both in qualitative (theoretical, hermeneutic and historical) and in quantitative manner (with the leximetrics method developing new ways to measure generosity and coverage of law). This is a groundbreaking contribution to regulatory social policy research. By indicating the relevance and the mechanisms of legal segmentation for labour market segmentation, unequal opportunities and social stratification it provides evidence for the assumptions that social segmentation does not only stem from market forces, but also from the law itself. Even the rising impact of egalitarian law cannot fully cope with legal segmentation. The book chapters place particular emphasis on the development in countries of the Global South.

Galis, Vasilis / Vlassis, Vasileios-Spyridon (eds.), Digitalization, Data and Welfare: Sociotechnical Approaches to Service Delivery. 272 pp. 2025:8 (E. Elgar, UK) <747-376>
ISBN 978-1-0353-3814-6 hard ¥31,097.- (税込) GB￡ 110.00

This insightful book investigates the growing use of digital technologies to support welfare provision and examines which digital tools can have the greatest impact. It explores how these technologies influence and are influenced by social and cultural relations, working life, education, healthcare, markets, and organizations.Vasilis Galis and Vasileios-Spyridon Vlassis bring together renowned experts who analyze digital technologies for welfare provision as sociotechnical phenomena, that is, the welfare state is mutually constructed by welfare practices and digital technologies, an outcome of organizational reconfiguration, political-economic visions, and socio-technical imaginaries. They demonstrate that digitalization is not simply a question of implementing digital technologies but also an introduction of new governmental ideas that transform both the public sector and its services as well as inter-state and state-society relations. The book explores how the rapid implementation of digital tools in the provision of welfare services is bringing fundamental changes to welfare and provides experienced-based accounts of the transformations occurring in public service work.Digitalization, Data and Welfare is an essential resource for students and academics in welfare studies. Its practical insights into inter-state and state-society relations will also greatly benefit welfare policymakers and practitioners in innovation, science and technology.

デジタル・トランスフォーメーションと公共福祉サービス
Pedersen, John Storm, Digital Transformation and Public Welfare Services: The Opportunity, the Challenge, and the Wildcard. 160 pp. 2025:9 (E. Elgar, UK) <747-378>
ISBN 978-1-0353-2544-3 hard ¥22,616.- (税込) GB￡ 80.00

In this insightful book, John Storm Pedersen explores the consequences of the increasing digitalisation of public welfare services. With reference to the historical contexts of welfare states, Pedersen presents the seven main elements of this digital transformation and their advantages and disadvantages.Digital Transformation and Public Welfare Services focuses on three new concepts that reflect the ways in which digital transformation is significantly altering the welfare state and public service sector. The Opportunity is based on data-driven management, enabling increased welfare to citizens and win-situations for all stakeholders. The Challenge is based on automation and a version 2.0 of New Public Management and The Wildcard replaces citizens' physical presence with a digital presence within public service provision. Pedersen argues that societies should strive to employ the first concept, the Opportunity, as it provides a clear framework to improve welfare for all citizens, creating beneficial arrangements for stakeholders within public service provision.This is an important book for students and researchers of comparative social policy, digital sociology, and sociology and social policy. It will also be invaluable to professionals and policymakers working in the welfare state and public service sectors.

van Niekerk, Annelize / Harry, Nisha / Coetzee, M. (eds.), Unlocking Sustainable Wellbeing in the Digital Age: Theory, Research, Strategies and Practices. (Human Well-Being Research and Policy Making) 401 pp. 2025:6 (Springer, GW) <747-379>
ISBN 978-3-031-87615-8 hard ¥40,014.- (税込) EUR 169.99

This volume includes global and interdisciplinary reflections for innovative solutions to facilitate wellbeing in the digital age, at individual, team and organisational levels. It provides new perspectives, strategies, theories and practices through analyses of multidisciplinary wellbeing research in different contexts influenced by the unprecedented era of technological advancement. It features insights into sustaining human-centric wellbeing across four streams of thought: Gauging psychosocial wellbeing risks in the age of digital transformationBalancing the technostress epidemicOvercoming technophobia: building tech confidence and competenceNurturing a culture of human-centric digital wellbeing This volume includes empirical evidence and cases across sectors and provides scholars and practitioners with useful frameworks and resources to unlock human and workplace wellbeing.