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The use of collaboration vouchers (CoVr) is a proposal where people are given vouchers to be spent on joining in-person groups in their local community.
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The use of collaboration vouchers (CoVr) is a proposal where people are given vouchers to be spent on joining in-person groups in their local community.
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The primary intention of this policy idea is to build social capital through people forming meaningful in-person relationships amid constructive activities, rather than spending large amounts of time in online spaces or consuming streaming services, or less constructive in-person activities such as recreational shopping or gambling. The flow-on benefit should be improved mental health, [1] which has been declining in each generation since the Internet arrived. [2] Collaboration vouchers have been proposed as "annual grants given to each citizen, able to be spent on the membership fees of any registered collaboration. Unions may become registered collaborations, able to receive vouchers, and hence represent not only salaried employees but also the precariat and unemployed". [3] The policy remains theoretical; however, some success has been achieved with using such vouchers for funding youth activities in Australia [4] [5] and Iceland. [6]
Collaboration vouchers (CoVr) have been compared with other mechanisms designed to improve people's standard of living and enjoyment of life, such as a universal basic income (UBI) and universal basic services (UBS). The primary dimensions of both these approaches, and CoVr, is cost, target, and ethos.[ citation needed ]
Alleviating poverty and social inequality by increasing people's capacity to function as part of organisations and networks is an indirect method relative to a UBI but may be significantly more effective. [10] Functional people are more productive, which grows the common wealth rather than just redistributing it. Membership of local community groups may offer people access to new networks, and also significant improvements to mental health and interpersonal skills. These should work in tandem to offer opportunities, while equipping the person to take advantage of them.[ citation needed ]
The necessities of life, such as housing, transport, food and clothing, must exist before people can consider joining local groups. Thus CoVr would require a traditional, targeted (means tested) welfare system, but may work well in conjunction with a UBS.[ citation needed ]
The secondary intent of CoVr is to make society more resilient to misinformation and extremism. Both are products of largely online information silos, magnified by in-person self-assortment, [11] [12] where people congregate with (or even move house to be closer to) similar others. In a population sense, self-assortment takes various forms, with the most common being class [13] (wealth) and education [14] (intelligence).
Commonly, more educated and wealthy people prefer (and can afford) urban areas, whereas less educated and wealthy people prefer (and can afford) rural areas. Overall, self-assortment magnifies the silos produced by the internet and leads to extremism, both on the left and the right. CoVr is intended to reduce misinformation and extremism by promoting in-person rather than online interaction, and by creating an ecosystem of groups whereby the more friendly are preferred. Groups with a friendly culture are more likely to contain members with moderate views, who will tend to gently challenge extreme or misinformed viewpoints.
Collaboration vouchers are intended to create a dynamic marketplace of local groups, where members vote with their feet. While a smaller-scale market in community groups may already exist, such as on MeetUp, the requirement for members or leaders to self-fund dramatically reduces the options that exist, and fewer options reduce the effect of quality control. For example, if only one book club exists in a local area, people who do not like that group have no choice except not to attend any book club.[ citation needed ]
People are given a certain amount of money in vouchers per month, which they can spend on the membership fee to join local groups registered to the system. A month is deemed long enough to learn whether a person likes a group, but not too long that the person is locked in, and unable to join another should they wish. Fluidity in membership improves the ecosystem-like quality because less friendly and functional groups will lose members faster to those providing a better member experience. This is like free-market capitalism, where consumer choice provides quality control.[ citation needed ]
The innovative dynamism of cities [15] provides evidence for the power of such a marketplace in social options. It is not coincidental that cities also tend to be more liberal (left-wing), because more social options, and the ability to leave undesirable social environments, promotes more enjoyable and functional (collaborative rather than hierarchical) groups. [16]
A collaboration voucher scheme has numerous potential flaws:[ citation needed ]
Some of these flaws have proposed solutions, [17] [ better source needed ] which may or may not prove viable. The latter two flaws would rely upon the availability of vouchers promoting their usage, even by otherwise busy people. In time, it is also hoped that an expectation will arise that everyone takes part in their local community, and not only their family and workplace and existing friendship circles.
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, sensory, or a combination of multiple factors. Disabilities can be present from birth or can be acquired during a person's lifetime. Historically, disabilities have only been recognized based on a narrow set of criteria—however, disabilities are not binary and can be present in unique characteristics depending on the individual. A disability may be readily visible, or invisible in nature.
Acceptance in human psychology is a person's recognition and assent to the finality of a situation without attempting to change or protest it. This plays out at both the individual and societal level as people experience change.
Community health refers to non-treatment based health services that are delivered outside hospitals and clinics. Community health is a subset of public health that is taught to and practiced by clinicians as part of their normal duties. Community health volunteers and community health workers work with primary care providers to facilitate entry into, exit from and utilization of the formal health system by community members as well as providing supplementary services such as support groups or wellness events that are not offered by medical institutions.
Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, especially in "language, mobility, learning, self-help, and independent living". Developmental disabilities can be detected early on and persist throughout an individual's lifespan. Developmental disability that affects all areas of a child's development is sometimes referred to as global developmental delay.
Social stigma is the disapproval of, or discrimination against, an individual or group based on perceived characteristics that serve to distinguish them from other members of a society. Social stigmas are commonly related to culture, gender, race, socioeconomic class, age, sexual orientation, sexuality, body image, physical disability, intelligence or lack thereof, and health. Some stigma may be obvious, while others are known as concealable stigmas that must be revealed through disclosure. Stigma can also be against oneself, stemming from negatively viewed personal attributes in a way that can result in a "spoiled identity".
Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. In the EU context, the European Commission defines it as "a situation whereby a person is prevented from contributing to and benefiting from economic and social progress". It is used across disciplines including education, sociology, psychology, healthcare, politics and economics.
Out of 10,000 female individuals 13 are homeless. Although studies reflect that there are many differences among women suffering homelessness and there is no universal experience, the average homeless woman is 35 years old, has children, is a member of a minority community, and has experienced homelessness more than once in their lifetime.
Poverty is measured in different ways by different bodies, both governmental and nongovernmental. Measurements can be absolute, which references a single standard, or relative, which is dependent on context. Poverty is widely understood to be multidimensional, comprising social, natural and economic factors situated within wider socio-political processes.
Residential segregation is the physical separation of two or more groups into different neighborhoods—a form of segregation that "sorts population groups into various neighborhood contexts and shapes the living environment at the neighborhood level". While it has traditionally been associated with racial segregation, it generally refers to the separation of populations based on some criteria.
Services for mental health disorders provide treatment, support, or advocacy to people who have psychiatric illnesses. These may include medical, behavioral, social, and legal services.
A cash transfer is a direct transfer payment of money to an eligible person. Cash transfers are either unconditional cash transfers or conditional cash transfers. They may be provided by organisations funded by private donors, or a local or regional government.
Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive a minimum income in the form of an unconditional transfer payment, i.e., without a means test or need to work. In contrast a guaranteed minimum income is paid only to those who do not already receive an income that is enough to live on. A UBI would be received independently of any other income. If the level is sufficient to meet a person's basic needs, it is sometimes called a full basic income; if it is less than that amount, it may be called a partial basic income. As of 2024, no country has implemented a full UBI system, but two countries—Mongolia and Iran—have had a partial UBI in the past. There have been numerous pilot projects, and the idea is discussed in many countries. Some have labelled UBI as utopian due to its historical origin.
Housing inequality is a disparity in the quality of housing in a society which is a form of economic inequality. The right to housing is recognized by many national constitutions, and the lack of adequate housing can have adverse consequences for an individual or a family. The term may apply regionally, temporally or culturally. Housing inequality is directly related to racial, social, income and wealth inequality. It is often the result of market forces, discrimination and segregation.
Housing discrimination in the United States refers to the historical and current barriers, policies, and biases that prevent equitable access to housing. Housing discrimination became more pronounced after the abolition of slavery in 1865, typically as part of Jim Crow laws that enforced racial segregation. The federal government didn't begin to take action against these laws until 1917, when the Supreme Court struck down ordinances prohibiting blacks from occupying or owning buildings in majority-white neighborhoods in Buchanan v. Warley. However, the federal government as well as local governments continued to be directly responsible for housing discrimination through redlining and race-restricted covenants until the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
Universal basic income in India refers to the debate and practical experiments with universal basic income (UBI) in India. The greatest impetus has come from the 40-page chapter on UBI that the Economic Survey of India published in January 2017. It outlined the three themes of a proposed UBI programme:
In a study in Western societies, homeless people have a higher prevalence of mental illness when compared to the general population. They also are more likely to suffer from alcoholism and drug dependency. It is estimated that 20–25% of homeless people, compared with 6% of the non-homeless, have severe mental illness. Others estimate that up to one-third of the homeless have a mental illness. In January 2015, the most extensive survey ever undertaken found 564,708 people were homeless on a given night in the United States. Depending on the age group in question and how homelessness is defined, the consensus estimate as of 2014 was that, at minimum, 25% of the American homeless—140,000 individuals—were seriously mentally ill at any given point in time. 45% percent of the homeless—250,000 individuals—had any mental illness. More would be labeled homeless if these were annual counts rather than point-in-time counts. Being chronically homeless also means that people with mental illnesses are more likely to experience catastrophic health crises requiring medical intervention or resulting in institutionalization within the criminal justice system. Majority of the homeless population do not have a mental illness. Although there is no correlation between homelessness and mental health, those who are dealing with homelessness are struggling with psychological and emotional distress. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration conducted a study and found that in 2010, 26.2 percent of sheltered homeless people had a severe mental illness.
Universal basic income pilots are smaller-scale preliminary experiments which are carried out on selected members of the relevant population to assess the feasibility, costs and effects of the full-scale implementation of universal basic income, or the related concept of negative income tax (NIT), including partial universal basic income and similar programs. The following list provides an overview of the most famous universal basic income pilots, including projects which have not been launched yet but have been already approved by the respective political bodies or for the negotiations are in process.
Media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic has varied by country, time period and media outlet. News media has simultaneously kept viewers informed about current events related to the pandemic, and contributed to misinformation or fake news.
Social media became an active place to interact during the COVID-19 pandemic, following the onset of social distancing. Overall messaging rates had risen by above 50%, according to a study by Facebook's analytics department. Individuals at home used social media to maintain their relationships and access entertainment to pass time faster.
Disability in Kenya "results from the interaction between individuals with a health condition with personal and environmental factors including negative attitudes, inaccessible transport and public buildings, and limited social support. A person's environment has a huge effect on the experience and extent of disability." Having a disability can limit a citizen's access to basic resources, basic human rights, and social, political and economic participation in Kenyan society. There are three forms of limitation of access linked to disability: impairment, disability, and handicap. An impairment is "the loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological or anatomical structure or function." A disability results from an impairment as "the restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity in the manner considered normal for a human being", and the requirement for accommodation. Finally, a handicap "results from a disability, and limits or prevents the fulfilment of a role that is normal for that individual."
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