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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Central government > Central government policies
Just days after September 11, 2001, Kenneth Feinberg was appointed
to administer the federal 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, a unique,
unprecedented fund established by Congress to compensate families
who lost a loved one on 9/11 and survivors who were physically
injured in the attacks. Those who participated in the Fund were
required to waive their right to sue the airlines involved in the
attacks, as well as other potentially responsible entities. When
the program was launched, many families criticized it as a brazen,
tight-fisted attempt to protect the airlines from lawsuits. The
Fund was also attacked as attempting to put insulting dollar values
on the lives of lost loved ones. The families were in pain. And
they were angry. Over the course of the next three years, Feinberg
spent almost all of his time meeting with the families, convincing
them of the generosity and compassion of the program, and
calculating appropriate awards for each and every claim. The Fund
proved to be a dramatic success with over 97% of eligible families
participating. It also provided important lessons for Feinberg, who
became the filter, the arbitrator, and the target of family
suffering. Feinberg learned about the enduring power of family
grief, love, fear, faith, frustration, and courage. Most
importantly, he learned that no check, no matter how large, could
make the families and victims of 9/11 whole again.
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which
commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out
and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and
impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes
high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using
print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in
1950.
Industrial toxic emissions on the South Baltimore Peninsula are
among the highest in the nation. Because of the concentration of
factories and other chemical industries in their neighborhoods,
residents face elevated rates of lung cancer and other respiratory
illnesses in addition to heart attacks, strokes, and cardiovascular
disease, all of which can lead to premature death. Fighting to
Breathe follows a dynamic and creative group of high school
students who decided to fight back against the race- and
class-based health disparities and inequality in their city. For
more than a decade, student organizers stood up to unequal land use
practices and the proposed construction of an incinerator and
instead initiated new waste management strategies. As a Baltimore
resident and activist-scholar, Nicole Fabricant documents how these
young organizers came to envision, design, and create a more just
and sustainable Baltimore.
Behavioural public policies, or nudges, have become increasingly
popular in recent years, with governments keen to use light-touch
interventions to improve the success of their public policies. In
this unique book, Peter John explores nudges, their successes and
limitations, and sets out a bold manifesto for the future of
behavioural public policy. This book traces the beginnings of nudge
in behavioural economics and tracks the adoption of its core ideas
by policy-makers, providing examples of successful applications. By
considering the question ?how far to nudge??, John reviews why it
is crucial for governments to address citizen behaviours, and
reviews the criticisms of nudge and its ethical limitations.
Looking to its future, this book proposes the adoption of a radical
version of nudge, nudge plus, involving increased feedback and more
engagement with citizens. How Far to Nudge? will be a vital text
for students of behavioural public policy and policy analysis, as
well as for anyone looking for an introduction to nudge policy and
an explanation for its growth in popularity.
The editors and the contributors have produced what can only be
described as the definitive guide to the growing field of critical
policy studies. It is comprehensive and well written and will be
welcomed by all students and practitioners of public policy and
policy analysis. No personal or institutional library would be
complete without it!' - Wayne Parsons, Cardiff University, UK 'This
comprehensive Handbook, with contributions from leading figures in
the field, is a valuable source of information on practical and
theoretical aspects of critical policy studies, its argumentative
and deliberative turn and its methods of analysis which is likely
to stimulate further debate on the big issues in the study and
analysis of policy.'BR>- Norman Fairclough, Lancaster
University, UK 'The field of critical policy studies goes from
strength to strength, and this Handbook provides a much-needed
review that will be essential reading for scholars, students and
practitioners. It is at the same time a critical introduction for
those new to the field (including those coming from more
conventional approaches to public policy), a comprehensive
reference book for people in the field and a guide to emerging
issues and challenges in the study of the communicative practice of
public policy.' - John Dryzek, University of Canberra, Australia
Critical policy studies, as this volume illustrates, challenges
conventional approaches to public policy inquiry with its focus on
discursive politics, policy argumentation and deliberation, and
interpretive modes of analysis. Assembling the voices of
established and emerging scholars, the Handbook of Critical Policy
Studies fills a major gap in the policy literature. Moving beyond
the false neutrality of empiricism and positivism, this Handbook
highlights the responsibility of inquirers to take account of
social and political context - including present conditions, past
trends and prevailing power relationships - to advance inquiry that
relies not only on experts but also on citizens in a manner
supporting and encouraging democracy. Not only does this call for a
reconsideration of the interplay of qualitative and quantitative
methods but also for robust attention to the role of values.
Accessible to scholars, practitioners and students alike, the book
offers a compilation of new critical work that both assesses past
developments and appraises emerging issues. Contributors: H. Am,
M.R. Banjade, M. Barbehoen, K. Braun, V. Dubois, A. Durnova, L.
Elgert, S.A. Ercan, S.S. Fainstein, F. Fischer, S. Griggs, D.
Howarth, H. Ingram, B. Jessop, S. Jin Park, W. Lamping, R.P.
Lejano, E. Loevbrand, T.W. Luke, R.F. Mendonca, S. Munch, H.R.
Ojha, M. Orsini, S.J. Park, S. Paterson, D. Plehwe, T. Saretzki, F.
Scala, V.A. Schmidt, A.L. Schneider, K.K. Shrestha, H. Strassheim,
J. Stripple, N.-L. Sum, D. Torgerson, H. Wagenaar, D. Yanow
This book examines the reintroduction and recovery of the wolf in
the Northern Rocky Mountains. The wolf was driven to brink of
extinction through conscious government policy. The Endangered
Species Act of 1973 provided the means for wolf's return, which
began in the Carter administration and continues in the Obama
administration. The battle over the wolf is part of a larger
struggle over the management of public lands, generating public law
litigation. Interest groups brought suit in federal courts,
challenging the Department of Interior's implementation of policy.
The federal courts were required to interpret the statutory
mandates and review Interior's decisions to insure statutory
compliance. The analysis of this public law litigation demonstrates
that the federal courts correctly interpreted the statutory
mandates and properly supported and checked Interior's decisions.
This book focuses on the controversial role of the courts in the
resolution of public policy conflicts. Judicial skeptics argue that
the courts should not get involved in complex public policy
disputes as Judges lack the expertise and information to make
informed decisions. Judicial proponents, by contrast, argue that
judicial involvement is necessary so Federal courts can oversee
federal agencies, which are under conflicting pressure from
interest groups, the President, Congress, and their own internal
dynamics. This book supports the conclusions of judicial proponents
and points out that the federal courts have been instrumental in
the return and recovery of the wolf to the Northern Rocky
Mountains.
This volume provides an extensive overview of the Ethics of
Artificial Intelligence for the Sustainable Development Goals. The
authors are experts contributing with perspectives from different
fields. The comprehensive collection of chapters illustrates the
pressing governance problems related to using AI for the SDGs, and
case studies describing how AI is advancing and can advance the
achievement of the Goals. Students, scholars, and practitioners
working on AI for SDGs, the ethical governance of AI,
sustainability, and the fourth revolution can find this book a
helpful reference.
Since the landmark 1965 Supreme Court ruling "Griswold" v.
"Connecticut" established a Constitutional right to privacy, the
regulation of sexuality has become an extremely volatile area of
American politics. From reproductive rights to sex education,
pornography to gay marriage, the balance between community norms
and individual autonomy has been fiercely contested. These and
related subjects are often viewed in isolation, as though they were
entirely separate issues. Yet as the documentary record makes
clear, they are in fact closely interrelated, and their impact is
cumulative. By addressing a broad array of topics at the
intersection of sexuality and politics, this volume highlights the
connections and makes an important contribution to a debate that
touches every American.
Taking as a starting point the 1965 "Griswold"
decision--sometimes said to have launched the sexual
revolution--the approximately 100 primary source documents
assembled here either mark watersheds in themselves or are
representative of a broad range of political developments. The
documents are drawn from all quarters of U.S. political life. They
include legislative texts; proposed laws and constitutional
amendments; state and federal court rulings; political party
platforms; and interest-group position statements.
Over recent years Complexity Science has revealed to us new limits
to our possible knowledge and control in social, cultural and
economic systems. Instead of supposing that past statistics and
patterns will give us predictable outcomes for possible actions, we
now know the world is, and will always be, creative and surprising.
Continuous structural evolution within such systems may change the
mechanisms, descriptors, problems and opportunities, often negating
policy aims. We therefore need to redevelop our thinking about
interventions, policies and policy making, moving perhaps to a
humbler, more learning approach. In this Handbook, leading thinkers
in multiple domains set out these new ideas and allow us to
understand how these new ideas are changing policymaking and
policies in this new era.' - Peter M Allen, Cranfield University,
UK'Complexity Theory has come to the fore because the world we live
in is complex and many of the issues which confront us cannot be
handled by the conventional tools of science, including social
science. In public policy and professional practice, we are well
aware of wicked issues where simple interventions often make things
worse instead of better. The chapters in this excellent Handbook
put complexity to work where it matters in informing our thinking
and action across governance and public policy.' - David Byrne,
Durham University, UK Though its roots in the natural sciences go
back to the early 20th century, complexity theory as a scientific
framework has developed rapidly from the 1970s onwards. Since the
1990s, it has been increasingly integrated into the social sciences
and public policy. The ground-breaking and wide-ranging Handbook on
Complexity and Public Policy brings together the latest work from
top academics, researchers and policy actors working with
complexity and policy from Europe, North America, Brazil and China
and organizes it into three clear and cohesive parts: - Theory and
Tools - Methods and Modelling for Policy Research and Action -
Applying Complexity to Local, National and International Policy.
With its distinctive combination of theory, methods and policy
applications, comprehensive coverage of the field and state of the
art overview, this Handbook is an essential read for students,
academics and policy practitioners. Contributors include: S.
Astill, U.Bilge, T. Bovaird, P. Cairney, A. Caloffi, T. Carmichael,
M. Darking, G. de Roo, B. Edmonds, C. Gershenson, R. Geyer, M.
Givel, B. Gray, M. Hadzikadic, P. Haynes, C. Hobbs, M. Howlett, L.
Johnson, R. Kenny, K.E. Lehmann, A. Little, Q. Liu, E.
Mitleton-Kelly, G. Morcoel, D. Nohrstedt, S. Occelli, J. Price, J.
Rayner, C. Ricaurte, G. Room, F. Rossi, M. Russo, F. Semboloni, K.
Treadwell Shine, J. Stroud, T. Tenbensel, C. Warren-Adamson, T.E.
Webb, A. Wellstead, J. Whitmeyer
Agent Orange, the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, the Virginia Tech
massacre, the 2008 financial crisis, and the Deep Horizon gulf oil
spill: each was a disaster in its own right. What they had in
common was their aftermath- each required compensation for lives
lost, bodies maimed, livelihoods wrecked, economies and ecosystems
upended. In each instance, an objective third party had to step up
and dole out allocated funds: in each instance, Presidents,
Attorneys General, and other public officials have asked Kenneth R.
Feinberg to get the job done. In Who Gets What? , Feinberg reveals
the deep thought that must go into each decision, not to mention
the most important question that arises after a tragedy: why
compensate at all? The result is a remarkably accessible discussion
of the practical and philosophical problems of using money as a way
to address wrongs and reflect individual worth.
National security has always been an integral consideration in
immigration policy, never more so than in the aftermath of
September 11, 2001. This is the first history of American
immigration policy written in the post-9/11 environment to focus
specifically on the role of national security considerations in
determining that policy. As LeMay makes clear, this is not the
first time America has worried about letting "foreigners" through
our "gates." By the time readers reach the final chapter, in which
current policies regarding the interplay between immigration and
national security are discussed, they have the historical
perspective necessary to assess the pros and cons of what is
happening today. They are able to more clearly answer questions
such as: Does putting the Immigration and Naturalization Service
under the Department of Homeland Security make the country more
secure? Do vigilantes improve border security? How are we handling
the balance between national security and civil liberties compared
to the ways in which we handled it during World Wars I and II and
the Cold War? LeMay does not advocate a specific policy; rather, he
gives citizens and students the tools to make up their own minds
about this enduringly controversial issue.
The Welfare State in Britain presents a history of British social
policy from the election of Clement Attlee to the fall of Margaret
Thatcher.Michael Hill focuses upon the political processes which
influenced the key reforms of the late 1940s, and the ways in which
those reforms have subsequently been consolidated and undermined.
He critically examines some of the theories drawn from political
science which have been used to explain the growth of the welfare
state in Britain. The so called 'crisis of the welfare state' that
has dominated recent rhetoric is shown to have its origins in the
very period when the welfare state was believed to have been
created. Despite its importance for electoral politics, social
policy is shown to have often been subordinate to economic and
foreign policy. The book will be essential reading for all students
of social welfare and social policy as well as the political
history of Britain since 1945.
This book promotes the well-being of the commons through
representation and accountability through monitoring from below in
order to operationalize engagement. This book views the commons as
a legal concept, a transformative governance concept, and a basis
for systemic ethics. The chapters focus on practical responses to
address complex problems that comprise many interrelated variables
and are perceived differently by stakeholders with different values
and life experiences. By considering these different stakeholders,
the goal is to highlight ways to regenerate and invigorate
employment opportunities. The book identifies pathways towards
ethical vocational education to enable lifelong engagement by
active citizens which requires action learning to address areas of
perceived policy concern. Throughout the chapters in this book, the
authors discuss transformative research and its implications on
stakeholders. They focus on re-presentation and its implications
for thinking and practice. One author makes the case for fostering
non anthropocentric approaches to ethical development. In addition,
the chapters cover case studies including governance challenges
associated with water management using a mixed method approach and
also production of mushrooms in collaboration with coffee growers
in Jakarta. The book focuses on ways to de-colonialise knowledge
formation in public policy and makes the case for an alternative
approach to governance and democracy that takes into account a
range of local people's perspectives.
This book provides a comprehensive overview of drug policy in the
United States from the early 1900s through the present day,
providing historical and social context through the telling of the
colorful and often tragic stories of the events and individuals
throughout this period. Substance Abuse in America: A Documentary
and Reference Guide examines the history of U.S. drug policy
chronologically, from the early 1900s through the current day,
covering topics such as patent medicines, Prohibition, Reefer
Madness, the psychedelic '60s, Nixon's War on Drugs, and the
powerful warring Mexican drug cartels that currently threaten
political instability in that country. This book provides a
comprehensive overview of U.S. drug policy that will fascinate
general readers and benefit those in the field of substance abuse
treatment or policy. Each chapter includes an analysis of a primary
source document that serves to illuminate drug policy in America at
a particular point in time as well as the reasons for the waxing
and waning popularity of various drugs. The author provides
accurate historical context that explains perceptions about
substance abuse in American history, and draws compelling parallels
across different time periods to show that much of what may seem
new and unique for the present generation actually has a historical
precedent. Suggestions for further readering are provided with each
chapter, including books and book chapters, articles in the popular
press, government documents, and links to Internet resources
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which
commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out
and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and
impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes
high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using
print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in
1953.
At a time when there is growing concern in many countries over the
funding of expanding public sectors, this important new book brings
together leading specialists in public finance to re-examine the
economics of public sector growth. Several chapters document
changes in the size of the public sector over recent decades for
major OECD and Third World economies. Subsequent chapters then
explore prominent explanations including public choice
perspectives, bureaucracy models, relative price effects and
Wagner's Law, and assess their contribution to current knowledge.
The book also provides a number of new case studies of specific
government activities - education, health and social security.
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