The course exists of different parts:

1. The course starts from explaining supply and demand on a perfect labour market, while continuing by explaining that the perfect labour market does not exist, especially not in the context of European welfare states. The labour market is not a market like any other where the usual laws of supply and demand apply. It is a domain of extensive government intervention. There are different institutions that make the labour market “imperfect”. The theoretical workings of different labour market institutions, as well as their outcomes in terms of efficiency and equity, will be explained. Attention will be paid to a set of specific and important labour market institutions, while ways of measuring and comparing them will be presented. The most important institutions include: a. Wage setting mechanisms b. Unemployment benefits c. Employment protection legislation d. Minimum wage e. Active labour market policies f. Working hours regulation g. Education and training h. Pensions and retirement It will also be shown that there are interactions and complementarities between these institutions that shape labour market outcomes and that one can identify labour market regimes, just like there are welfare state regimes.

2. In the second part of the course, the focus will shift to different threats to economic growth, employment and the welfare state, and the role that labour market policies play in the debates addressing these threats. Ageing populations, globalization, technological change, individualisation, and the current financial and economic crisis all have an impact on how countries organise their labour markets. Moreover, governments have used these threats as arguments for introducing reforms. The course will pay attention to the different ways these threats can impact labour markets and the types of policy responses that have been launched in different countries.

3. Reforming labour market institutions is often slow and complicated. This partly has to do with different groups in society that are well-organised and that have an interest in upholding the status quo. These groups include labour market organisations such as trade unions and employer representatives, but also for example middle-class voters and pensioners’ organisations. When policy-makers initiate reforms, they often have to take into account the interest of such parties, depending of course on how policy processes are organised in a specific country.

The course will pay attention to how decision-making processes are organised in different countries and what roles various interest organisations can play in these. The course will consist of a series of seminars where lectures will be combined with discussions on the basis of the literature that the students are required to read in preparation. Apart from reading some articles that serve as a theoretical background, the main focus will be placed on critically reading policy-oriented reports and publications. These include recent publications of the OECD (e.g. the Employment Outlook), the European Commission and other international organisations, as well as national governments. In this way, the students can familiarize themselves with current debates and different ways of conducting policy-oriented research.

The schedule of the course (dates, topics):

1.    25.10.2013    Introduction & practicalities. What are labour market policies/institutions? What do they do and why do they matter in the welfare state?
2.    1.11.2013    Wage-setting: the state, employers and unions. Minimum wage
3.   8.11.2013    Job and income protection: employment protection legislation and unemployment benefits
4.   15.11.2013    Smoothening transitions: active labour market policies and training. Transitions from education to the labour market and from the labour market into retirement
5.    22.11.2013    Challenges of post-industrialism. Labour markets during the crisis
6.    29.11.2013    The political economy of labour market reform. Instructions for final assignment, work in small groups
--      6.12.2013    Independence day break
7.    13.12.2013    How to write a policy report?

The course will be structured and scheduled according to seven thematic sessions. In the beginning of the course we will draw an overview of the extent and distribution of the financial crisis and economic depression in the EU countries since 2008. We will focus on outcomes and consequences of the economic recession in terms of employment and social risks. Secondly we will tackle the forms, methods and outcomes of employment protection introduced by individual countries and globally in the European Union. After critical analyses of the actual problems of employment protection, we will review the challenges and alternatives of future development of employment protection.

Contents:
1. lecture: Introduction – Restructuring European work and welfare systems in the context of Recession.
2. lecture: The Concept of Employment Protection (early ideas of employment (labour) protection; dimensions of employment protection; waves of development in industrial countries)
3. lecture: Short history of employment protection in the developed industrial countries (national regulations; ILO regulations, other international regulations, etc.)
4. Lecture: Old and New Risks of (in) Employment and Risks Sharing (old and new risks of employment, role of social policies, perceptions of job insecurity)
5. lecture: Transitional labour markets (national settings, the role of institutions)
6. lecture: Social risks of mobile labour (international mobility of labour, risks related to migration and national variation of social norms)
7. lecture: New issues of labour and safety rules and labour law (Regulative concepts and new social risks in employment)
8. Evaluation

Preegistration in NettiOpsu in 14. - 31.10.2013

The course will be organised as an online course including virtual lectures, materials for reading and discourses organised in the Moodle environment. The course is structured along seven weekly thematic topics.  Each weekly topic consists of a virtual lecture, readings and active participation in the discourse on weekly topics in the Moodle. Every new topic starts on Tuesdays at noon with a virtual lecture of the teacher. Thereafter students have 2 days to read the course material. An evaluation and critical analyses of weekly topic starts on Thursday and continues until next Tuesday. An active participation into the discourse in the Moodle is expected and is one of the criteria of successful completion of the course.

In principle an online learning liberates the student and teacher from time and place giving more space for individual choices. That’s true also in this case but, in order to make the learning and interaction efficient some basic timely boundaries and practices are important. These rules concern teachers and students timetables and responsibilities.

Teacher: Teacher will lecture on Tuesdays, follows and supervises the online discourse regularly and helps students during the course. Teacher will be actively supervising the discussion all the time and we can even open some chat rooms for the discussion

Student: Will follow the course, read all the material offered to be read and takes actively part in the discussion on weekly topics.  Student is expected to take actively part into discussion and contribute to the course with her/his knowledge.

Number of students: 30. Priority is given to degree students in the COSOPO master's porogramme.

The course will be structured and scheduled according to seven thematic sessions. In the beginning of the course we will draw an overview of the extent and distribution of the financial crisis and economic depression in the EU countries since 2008. We will focus on outcomes and consequences of the economic recession in terms of employment and social risks. Secondly we will tackle the forms, methods and outcomes of employment protection introduced by individual countries and globally in the European Union. After critical analyses of the actual problems of employment protection, we will review the challenges and alternatives of future development of employment protection.

Contents:
1. lecture: Introduction – Restructuring European work and welfare systems in the context of Recession.
2. lecture: The Concept of Employment Protection (early ideas of employment (labour) protection; dimensions of employment protection; waves of development in industrial countries)
3. lecture: Short history of employment protection in the developed industrial countries (national regulations; ILO regulations, other international regulations, etc.)
4. Lecture: Old and New Risks of (in) Employment and Risks Sharing (old and new risks of employment, role of social policies, perceptions of job insecurity)
5. lecture: Transitional labour markets (national settings, the role of institutions)
6. lecture: Social risks of mobile labour (international mobility of labour, risks related to migration and national variation of social norms)
7. lecture: New issues of labour and safety rules and labour law (Regulative concepts and new social risks in employment)
8. Evaluation

Preegistration in NettiOpsu in 14. - 31.10.2013

The course will be organised as an online course including virtual lectures, materials for reading and discourses organised in the Moodle environment. The course is structured along seven weekly thematic topics.  Each weekly topic consists of a virtual lecture, readings and active participation in the discourse on weekly topics in the Moodle. Every new topic starts on Tuesdays at noon with a virtual lecture of the teacher. Thereafter students have 2 days to read the course material. An evaluation and critical analyses of weekly topic starts on Thursday and continues until next Tuesday. An active participation into the discourse in the Moodle is expected and is one of the criteria of successful completion of the course.

In principle an online learning liberates the student and teacher from time and place giving more space for individual choices. That’s true also in this case but, in order to make the learning and interaction efficient some basic timely boundaries and practices are important. These rules concern teachers and students timetables and responsibilities.

Teacher: Teacher will lecture on Tuesdays, follows and supervises the online discourse regularly and helps students during the course. Teacher will be actively supervising the discussion all the time and we can even open some chat rooms for the discussion

Student: Will follow the course, read all the material offered to be read and takes actively part in the discussion on weekly topics.  Student is expected to take actively part into discussion and contribute to the course with her/his knowledge.

Number of students: 30. Priority is given to degree students in the COSOPO master's porogramme.

SOSM5 Research Methods in Social Sciences (5 credits)

PhD Methods Course, Doctoral Program in Social Sciences (5 credits)

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Discursive Psychology and Membership Categorization Analysis

Teacher: Professor Elizabeth Stokoe, University of Loughborough

Time: Monday March 31st & Wednesday April 2nd, 9:15 – 16:00

Place: Linna, room 6017

The aim of this course is to introduce two related methods for analysing talk and text: Discursive Psychology (DP) and Membership  Categorisation Analysis (MCA).The course will be organized around  lectures and practical exercises, with all the data supplied.

On  completing this course, students will be able to:
analysing talk and text: Discursive Psychology (DP) and Membership  Categorisation Analysis (MCA).

The course will be organized around lectures and practical exercises, with all the data supplied.

On completing this course, students will be able to:
·  Understand the development and basis of DP and MCA
·  Identify and use some of DP’s and MCA’s analytic objects
·  Understand the relationship between DP, MCA and other methods of analysis, including conversation analysis
·  Develop research questions using DP and MCA
·  Conduct DP and MCA on different types of discourse data.

In order to gain 5 credits the students will take part in both course days and return an exercise/essay on the course subjects. You can also take part in lectures only, in which case no credits are given.

More information: johanna.ruusuvuori@uta.fi

For MA students: Registration for the course in NettiOpsu, deadline 21.3.

Kurssia suositellaan opiskelijoille, jotka käyttävät tai harkitsevat käyttävänsä pro gradu -työssään tai väitöskirjassaan diskursiivisia/jäsenyyskategorisointiin perustuvia menetelmiä.