Despite 15 years of reform efforts, the incarceration rate in the United States remains at an unprecedented high level. This book provides the first comprehensive survey of these reforms and explains why they have proven to be ineffective. After many decades of stability, the imprisonment rate in the United States quintupled between 1973 and 2003. Since then, nearly all states have adopted multiple reforms intended to reduce imprisonment, but the U.S. imprisonment rate has only decreased by a paltry two percent. Why are American sentencing reforms since 2000 been largely ineffective? Are tough mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders the primary reason our prisons are always full? This book offers a fascinating assessment of the wave of sentencing reforms adopted by dozens of states as well as changes at the federal level since 2000, identifying common themes among seemingly disparate changes in sentencing policy and highlighting recent reform efforts that have been more successful and may point the way forward for the nation as a whole. In The Failed Promise of Sentencing Reform, author Michael O'Hear exposes the myths that American prison sentencing reforms enacted in the 21st century have failed to have the expected effect because U.S. prisons are filled to capacity with nonviolent drug offenders as a result of the "war on drugs," and because of new laws that took away the discretion of judges and corrections officials. O'Hear then makes a convincing case for the real reason sentencing reforms have come up short: because they exclude violent and sexual offenders, and because they rely on the discretion of officials who still have every incentive to be highly risk-averse. He also highlights how overlooking the well-being of offenders and their families in our consideration of sentencing reform has undermined efforts to effect real change. Clearly identifies the real reasons that the wave of post-2000 sentencing reform has had minimal impact on reducing national imprisonment rates Explains why reforms must target the excessive sentences imposed on violent and sexual offenders, even though the members of these offender groups are considered "justifiably punished" by long prison terms in the public eye Enables readers to understand why increased consideration for the well-being of offenders and their families is likely a prerequisite to the acceptance of more fundamental changes to the U.S. sentencing system

Government interest in wellbeing as an explicit goal of public policy has increased significantly in recent years. This has led to new developments in measuring wellbeing and initiatives aimed specifically at enhancing wellbeing, that reflect new thinking on 'what matters' and challenge established notions of societal progress. The Politics and Policy of Wellbeing provides the first theoretically grounded and empirically informed account of the rise and significance of wellbeing in contemporary politics and policy. Drawing on theories of agenda-setting and policy change, Ian Bache and Louise Reardon consider whether wellbeing can be described as 'an idea whose time has come'. The book reflects on developments across the globe and provides a detailed comparative analysis of two political arenas: the UK and the EU. Offering the first reflection grounded in evidence of the potential for wellbeing to be paradigm changing, the authors identify the challenge of bringing wellbeing into policy as a 'wicked problem' that policymakers are only now beginning to grapple with. This pioneering account of wellbeing from a political science perspective is a unique and valuable contribution to the field. The authors' theoretical and empirical conclusions are of great interest to scholars of politics and wellbeing alike.

Throughout history, humanity has sought the betterment of its communities. In the 21st century, humanity has technology on its side in the process of improving its cities. Smart cities make their improvements by gathering real-world data in real time. Still, there are many complexities that many do not catch-they are invisible. It is important to understand how people make sense at the urban level and in extra-urban spaces of the combined complexities of invisibilities and visibilities in their environments, interactions, and infrastructures enabled through their own enhanced awareness together with aware technologies that are often embedded, pervasive, and ambient. This book probes the visible and invisible dimensions of emerging understandings of smart cities and regions in the context of more aware people interacting with each other and through more aware and pervasive technologies. Visibilities and Invisibilities in Smart Cities: Emerging Research and Opportunities contributes to the research literature for urban theoretical spaces, methodologies, and applications for smart and responsive cities; the evolving of urban theory and methods for 21st century cities and urbanities; and the formulation of a conceptual framework for associated methodologies and theoretical spaces. This work explores the relationships between variables using a case study approach combined with an explanatory correlational design. It is based on an urban research study conducted from mid-2015 to mid-2020 that spanned multiple countries across three continents. The book is split into four sections: introduction to the concepts of visible and invisible, frameworks for understanding the interplay of the two concepts, associated and evolving theory and methods, and extending current research as opportunities in smart city environments and regions. Covering topics including human geography, smart cities, and urban planning, this book is essential for urban planners, designers, city officials, community agencies, business managers and owners, academicians, researchers, and students, including those who work across multiple domains such as architecture, environmental design, human-computer interaction, human geography, information technology, sociology, and affective computing.

Despite deep divisions on the issue of immigration, this book shows that immigration promotes economic innovation, expands the job market, and contributes to diversity and creativity in the United States. Immigration, as a conduit for bringing new talent, ideas, and inventions into the United States, is essential to the success and vitality of our economy and society. In this timely book, researched and written by the Immigration Book Project Team at Penn State University, immigration is approached from historical, economic, business, and sociological perspectives in order to argue that treatment of immigrants must reflect and applaud their critical roles in supporting and leading the economic, social, cultural, and political institutions of civil society. Approaching immigration as both a socioeconomic phenomenon and a matter of public policy, The Danger of Devaluing Immigrants offers demographics and statistics on workforce participation and job creation along with stories of individual immigrants' contributions to the economy and society. It supports the idea that, when immigration is challenged in the political sphere, we must not lose sight of the valuable contributions that immigrants have made-and will continue to make-to our democracy. Approaches immigration from many perspectives: economic, business, historical, and sociological Investigates the substantial roles of immigrants in critical industries and sectors across the U.S. economy Emphasizes the bimodal nature of attitudes toward immigrants depending on their education and skill level and abilities Includes personal stories and case studies from immigrants Draws on the expertise of a team from the Smeal College of Business at Penn State University

Written by one of the world's leading scholars in the field, this book provides a unique perspective on the connections between energy justice and human rights. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the author offers an accessible discussion about the implementation of energy justice in practice. The book explores the rise of justice issues in the energy sector, the interdisciplinary nature of energy justice, the economics of energy justice and provides a practical case study on distributive justice. The penultimate chapter focuses on human rights and energy justice in a world first, and explores the topic from the perspective of the opportunity of last resort. This 'opportunity of last resort' is the national courts and is the place where societies can seek to have justice enforced through a variety of human rights being protected. Finally, energy justice risks are highlighted alongside the author's proposed framework for the next generation of energy justice scholars.

This book focuses mainly on strategic decision making at a global level, which is rarely considered in approaches to sustainability. This book makes a unique contribution as the work looks at global consequences of mineral exhaustion and steps that can be taken to alleviate the impending problems. This book highlights how sustainability has become one of the most important issues for businesses, governments and society at large. This book explores the topic of sustainability as one that is under much debate as to what it actually is and how it can be achieved, but it is completely evident that the resources of the planet are fixed in quantity, and once used, cannot be reused except through being reused in one form or another. This is particularly true of the mineral resources of the planet. These are finite in quantity, and once fully extracted, extra quantities are no longer available for future use. This book argues and presents evidence that the remaining mineral resources are diminishing significantly and heading towards exhaustion. Once mined and consumed, they are no longer available for future use other than what can be recycled and reused. This book demonstrates that future scarcity means that best use must be made of what exists, as sustainability depends upon this, and best use is defined as utility rather than economic value, which must be considered at a global level rather than a national level. Moreover, sustainability depends upon both availability in the present and in the future, so the use of resources requires attention to the future as well as to the present. This book investigates the alternative methods of achieving the global distribution of these mineral resources and proposes an optimum solution. This book adds to the discourse through the understanding of the importance of the depletion and finiteness of raw materials and their use for the present and the future, in order to achieve and maintain sustainability.

In 2006, millions of Latinos mobilized in opposition to H.R. 4437, an immigration proposal pending before the US Congress. In her new book, Heather Silber Mohamed suggests that these unprecedented protests marked a turning point for the Latino population—a point that is even more salient ten years later as the issue of immigration roils the politics of the 2016 presidential election. In The New Americans? Silber Mohamed explores the complexities of the Latino community, particularly as it is united and divided by the increasingly pressing questions of immigration.

This Handbook brings together leading scholars of European social policy to reinvigorate theoretical, conceptual and substantive debates around European welfare states and societies as well as the 'social dimension' of the European Union. This unique and original collection comes together at a time of substantial economic, social and political turbulence across Europe, changing narratives, ideas and attitudes towards welfare, increasing institutional complexity in the delivery of services, and a 'crisis of legitimacy' for the European project itself compounded by Brexit. It is against this backdrop that the Handbook draws together key commentators in European social policy to engage with and further develop theoretical, conceptual and substantive understandings of social policy in post-crisis Europe. Issues covered include, amongst others, varieties of welfare capitalism, cultural political economy, austerity, territoriality, engendering, multiculturalism, socio-ecological changes, social investment and public attitudes. The Handbook of European Social Policy offers a comprehensive and state-of-the-art reflection on theoretical debates on welfare regimes and the trajectories of the EU's social dimension. It is a key reading and teaching resource for students and academics in social policy. Contributors include: D. Bailey, E. Barberis, D. Beland, A. Borchorst, C. Bruzelius, D. Clegg, M. Daly, C. de la Porte, F. Dukelow, V. Fargion, B. Greve, E. Heins, A. Hemerijck, B. Hvinden, B. Jessop, Y. Kazepov, P. Kennett, B. Kovacs, J. Kvist, N. Lendvai-Bainton, T. Meyer, T. Modood, B. Nolan, K. Petersen, B. Pfau-Effinger, F. Roosma, C. Saraceno, M.A. Schoyen, M. Schroeder, M. Seeleib-Kaiser, B. Siim, M. Souto-Otero, N.-L. Sum, W. van Oorschot

This is the first book length study of performance activism. While Performance Studies recognizes the universality of human performance in daily life, what is specifically under investigation here is performance as an activity intentionally entered into as a means of engaging social issues and conflicts, that is, as an ensemble activity by which we re-construct/transform social reality. Performance Activism: Precursors and Contemporary Pioneers provides a global overview of the growing interface of performance with education, therapy, conflict resolution, civic engagement, community development and social justice activism. It combines an historical study of the processes by which, over the course of the 20th Century, performance has been loosened from the institutional constraints of the theatre with a mosaic-like overview of the diverse work/play of contemporary performance activists around the world. Performance Activism will be of interest to theatre and cultural historians, performance practitioners and researchers, psychologists and sociologists, educators and youth workers, community organizers and political activists.

This book provides a critical approach to research on the social acceptance of renewable energy infrastructures and on energy transitions in general by questioning prevalent principles and proposing specific research pathways and lines of inquiry that look beyond depoliticised, business-as-usual discourses and research agendas on green growth and sustainability. It brings together authors from different socio-geographical and disciplinary backgrounds within the social sciences to reflect upon, discuss and advance what we propose to be five cornerstones of a critical approach: overcoming individualism and socio-cognitivism; repoliticisations - recognising and articulating power relations; for interdisciplinarity; interventions - praxis and political engagement with research; and overcoming localism and spatial determinism: As such, this book offers academics, students and practitioners alike a comprehensive perspective of what it means to be critical when inquiring into the social acceptance of renewable energy and associated infrastructures.

The Future of Open Data flows from a multi-year Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Grant project that set out to explore open government geospatial data from an interdisciplinary perspective. Researchers on the grant adopted a critical social science perspective grounded in the imperative that the research should be relevant to government and civil society partners in the field. This book builds on the knowledge developed during the course of the grant and asks the question, "What is the future of open data?" The contributors' insights into the future of open data combine observations from five years of research about the Canadian open data community with a critical perspective on what could and should happen as open data efforts evolve. Each of the chapters in this book addresses different issues and each is grounded in distinct disciplinary or interdisciplinary perspectives. The opening chapter reflects on the origins of open data in Canada and how it has progressed to the present date, taking into account how the Indigenous data sovereignty movement intersects with open data. A series of chapters address some of the pitfalls and opportunities of open data and consider how the changing data context may impact sources of open data, limits on open data, and even liability for open data. Another group of chapters considers new landscapes for open data, including open data in the global South, the data priorities of local governments, and the emerging context for rural open data.

This definitive Handbook addresses the current lack of research into European policy-making and development using an interpretive perspective. Questioning areas that mainstream approaches tend to neglect, contributors target the ways in which ideas, arguments and discourses shape policies in the institutional context of the EU. The Handbook of European Policies provides an in-depth and comprehensive introduction for all significant policy areas in the EU, highlighting the theories of post-positivism and interpretivism. With rich explanations of different methodological and conceptual approaches to post-positivist research, key chapters consider the essential exchange between EU integration studies and EU policy studies, examining how both can benefit from this new and exciting approach. Offering theoretically grounded answers, this Handbook creates a dialogue between critical policy studies and European integration theory. Academics and practitioners concerned with the functioning of EU policies will benefit from the eminent contributors? insights into issues high on the institutional agenda of the EU and its member states. In addition, the Handbook is suitable for both undergraduate and graduate courses concerned with European integration and EU policies. Contributors include: R. Atkinson, P. Biegelbauer, Y. Bollen, D. Dakowska, F. Daviter, P.H. Feindt, H. Heinelt, J. Kantola, J.D. Kelstrup, M. Knodt, X. Kurowska, E. Lombardo, S. Munch, F. Nullmeier, J. Orbie, K.T. Paul, W. Petzold, C.M. Radaelli, D. Sack, E.K. Sarter, S. Saurugger, M.A. Schreurs, K. Serrano Velarde, V.A. Schmidt, M.A. Schreurs, H. Strassheim, M. Weber, K. Zimmermann