Browsing by Author "Dervis, Oana Alexandra"

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Pluralist welfare egalitarianism and the expensive tastes objection
(Springer Nature, 2016) Volacu, Alexandru; Dervis, Oana Alexandra
In this article we aim to reduce the force of the expensive tastes objection to equality of welfare by constructing a pluralist welfare egalitarian theory which is not defeated by it. In the first part, we argue that Cohen’s condition of responsibility-sensitiveness is not able to provide a satisfactory rebuttal of the expensive tastes objection for at least a class of theories of justice, namely those that adhere to a methodologically fact-sensitive view. In the second part, we explore the possibility of constructing a welfare egalitarian theory that gives weight to both equality and efficiency. We propose two alternatives, which integrate a utilitarian constraint and a Weak Pareto constraint on equality and show that both theories consistently differentiate between compensable and non-compensable expensive tastes, but should ultimately be rejected because of other unattractive implications. Finally, we develop a fairness-constrained theory of welfare egalitarianism and suggest that it can distinguish between compensable and noncompensable expensive tastes in both a conceptually consistent and a morally plausible manner, without generating decisive additional objections.
The socio-economic challenges in access to Romanian higher education : student perception and funding policy directions
(Springer Nature, 2022) Dervis, Oana Alexandra; Trifan, Elena; Jitaru, Gabriela
Access to education, specifically in relation to socio-economic background, is one of the enduring issues in educational research. The theme is particularly salient for the Romanian case from a policy perspective, given the increase in social polarisation specific to the post-communist transition and its effect on access to higher education. Recent reforms in university funding have started to address this issue, with the inclusion of several mechanisms that allocate financial resources according to university efforts towards social equity. The main objective of our research is to provide an overview of the policies concerning the inclusion of students from low socio-economic backgrounds and assess the degree to which progress has been made towards reaching current national targets regarding access to higher education. We argue that although significant improvements have been made at the level of policy initiative, more precise targeting is needed in order to meet labour market demands, given that most current efforts are directed either at fresh high school graduates or at diminishing the dropout rate. These efforts, even if 100% successful, will not prove sufficient given current demographic trends. Therefore, we consider another potential avenue for increasing student numbers, suggesting that an orientation towards non-traditional students (adult students) might be beneficial. With this in mind, in the second half of the paper, we explore the main characteristics and trends concerning Romanian mature students using the results from the EUROSTUDENT VI and EUROSTUDENT VII studies, with the goal of formulating policy proposals that aim to unlock the potential of this demographic.