The current context of social policy is one in which many of the old certainties of the past have been eroded. The predominantly inward-looking, domestic preoccupation of social policy has made way for a more integrated, international and outward approach to analysis which looks beyond the boundaries of the state. It is in this context that this Handbook brings together the work of key commentators in the field of comparative analysis in order to provide comprehensive coverage of contemporary debates and issues in cross-national social policy research. Organized around five themes, this thoroughly revised and updated second edition explores the contextual, conceptual, analytical and processual aspects of undertaking comparative social research. The contributions highlight specific areas of comparative social policy including child poverty and well-being, patterns of housing provision and housing inequalities, and social protection in East Asia as well as crime and criminology in a global context. The authors of the Handbook explore continuing and emerging themes as well as issues which are of particular relevance to understanding the contemporary social world. International in scope, this authoritative Handbook presents original cutting-edge research from leading specialists and will become an indispensable source of reference for anyone interested in comparative and international social research. It will also prove a valuable study aid for undergraduate and postgraduate students from a range of disciplines including social policy, sociology, politics, urban studies and public policy. Contributors include: D. Bainton, J. Billiet, J. Bradshaw, J. Clasen, G. Crow, R. Forrest, N. Ginsburg, I. Gough, L. Hantrais, B. Jessop, P. Kennett, H.-j. Kwon, N. Lendvai, S. Mangen, J. Midgley, R. Mishra, D. Nelken, J. O'Connor, A. Perez-Baltodano, A. Walker, C.-k. Wong

In the run-up to the 2012 presidential election, Democrats and Republicans were locked in a fierce battle for the female vote. Democrats charged Republicans with waging a "war on women," while Republicans countered that Democratic policies actually undermined women's rights. The women of the Senate wielded particular power throughout, planning press conferences, appearing on political programs, and taking to the Senate floor over gender-related issues such as workplace equality and reproductive rights. The first book to examine the impact of gender differences in the Senate, "Women in the Club" is an eye-opening exploration of how women are influencing policy and politics in this erstwhile male bastion of power. Gender, Michele L. Swers shows, is a fundamental factor for women in the Senate, interacting with both party affiliation and individual ideology to shape priorities on policy. Women, for example, are more active proponents of social welfare and women's rights. But the effects of gender extend beyond mere policy preferences. Senators also develop their priorities with an eye to managing voter expectations about their expertise and advancing their party's position on a given issue. The election of women in increasing numbers has also coincided with the evolution of the Senate as a highly partisan institution. The stark differences between the parties on issues pertaining to gender have meant that Democratic and Republican senators often assume very different roles as they reconcile their policy views on gender issues with the desire to act as members of partisan teams.

This open access book offers the first in-depth study of the history and current debates surrounding electronic cigarettes comparing the UK, US and Australia. Since their introduction, e-cigarettes have been the subject of much public, media and regulatory attention, with discussion centring on whether these devices encourage or discourage smoking. This study delves into the history of policymaking and institutions in three countries which have taken different approaches to the regulation of e-cigarettes. In the UK, the tradition of harm reduction through nicotine has helped form a response which has endorsed e-cigarettes, though not without considerable controversy. In contrast, the US has a cessation-only anti-tobacco agenda, and Australia has effectively banned e-cigarettes. This book argues that each country frames the long-term use of nicotine differently and prioritises the health of different groups within the population of smokers or non-smokers, set against a broad backdrop of national responses to addiction. By taking this comparative approach, the authors explore the relationship between history, evidence and policy in public health more widely.

Jacob Rees-Mogg is one of the most prominent and controversial figures in contemporary British politics. He is a man who divides opinion in his own party, in Parliament and across the country. An arch-Brexiteer with significant business interests and a large personal fortune, he has long been a vocal critic of the European Union and of Prime Minister Theresa May's attempts to negotiate a Brexit deal. As chairman of the powerful anti-EU organisation the European Research Group, he has also been a thorn in the side of those seeking to dilute Brexit. While many people mock him for his impeccable manners and traditional attitudes - he has been dubbed `the Honourable Member for the eighteenth century' - an equally great number applaud him for his apparent conviction politics. Undoubtedly, Rees-Mogg stands out among the current crop of MPs and his growing influence cannot be ignored. In this wide-ranging unauthorised biography of the Conservative Member of Parliament for North East Somerset, Michael Ashcroft, bestselling author of Call Me Dave: The Unauthorised Biography of David Cameron, turns his attention to one of the most intriguing politicians of our time.

Nutrition Economics: Principles and Policy Applications establishes the core criteria for consideration as new policies and regulations are developed, including application-based principles that ensure practical, effective implementation of policy. From the economic contribution of nutrition on quality of life, to the costs of malnutrition on society from both an individual and governmental level, this book guides the reader through the factors that can determine the success or failure of a nutrition policy. Written by an expert in policy development, and incorporating an encompassing view of the factors that impact nutrition from an economic standpoint (and their resulting effects), this book is unique in its focus on guiding other professionals and those in advanced stages of study to important considerations for correct policy modeling and evaluation. As creating policy without a comprehensive understanding of the relevant contributing factors that lead to failure is not an option, this book provides a timely reference.

In Well-Being and Fair Distribution: Beyond Cost-Benefit Analysis, author Matthew D. Adler provides readers with a comprehensive philosophically grounded argument for the use of social welfare functions as a framework for governmental policy analysis. Well-Being and Fair Distribution addresses a range of relevant theoretical issues, including the possibility of an interpersonally comparable measure of well-being, or "utility" metric; the moral value of equality, and how that bears on the form of the social welfare function; social choice under uncertainty; and the possibility of integrating considerations of individual choice and responsibility into the social-welfare-function framework. Adler's book also deals with issues of implementation, and explores how survey data and other sources of evidence might be used to calibrate both a utility metric and a social welfare function, and whether distributive goals are ever best pursued through regulation rather than the tax system. In working through this range of theoretical and practical issues, Well-Being and Fair Distribution draws from a wide variety of literatures, including philosophical scholarship on equality, responsibility, the nature of well-being, and personal identity over time; the social choice literature within economics; applied economic literatures concerning the measurement of inequality and poverty; legal and policy-analysis scholarship on cost-benefit analysis, environmental justice, and the choice between regulation and taxation; and the burgeoning field of "happiness studies."

Artificial intelligence (AI) and knowledge management can create innovative digital solutions and business opportunities in Asia from circular and green economies to technological disruption, innovation, and smart cities. It is essential to understand the impact and importance of AI and knowledge management within the digital economy for future development and for fostering the best practices within 21st century businesses. The Handbook of Research on Artificial Intelligence and Knowledge Management in Asia's Digital Economy offers conceptual frameworks, empirical studies, and case studies that help to understand the latest developments in artificial intelligence and knowledge management, as well as its potential for digital transformation and business opportunities in Asia. Covering topics such as augmented reality. Convolutional neural networks, and digital transformation, this major reference work generates enriching debate on the challenges and opportunities for economic growth and inclusion in the region among business executives and leaders, IT managers, policymakers, government officials, students and educators of higher education, researchers, and academicians.

After two decades of feminist challenges to mainstream theorising, gender has become a central element of social policy and the welfare state. A new literature has widened the focus of social policy from state and economy to a three-sided discourse encompassing the state, the market and the family. The Handbook on Gender and Social Policy provides a comprehensive introduction to this field with up-to-date accounts of debates and innovative original research by leading international authors. The Handbook covers the key areas of social policy that relate to the inequalities between men and women in the developed and developing world. It presents original research on contemporary issues at national and transnational levels across the central policy terrain of income, employment, care and family policy, including family policy models, same-sex marriage and child protection. It features chapters on key perspectives on gender and policy and six original studies of the state of play in different regions of the world. The Handbook on Gender and Social Policy is an excellent resource for advanced students and postgraduate students of sociology, political science, women?s studies, policy studies and related areas. It will also be of interest for practitioners and scholars of social policy seeking up-to-date coverage of how gender affects the contours of social policy and politics. Contributors include: E. Adamson, C. Arza, D. Balkmar, M. Bernstein, M. Blaxland, M. Brady, D. Brennan, R. Daiger von Gleichen, M. Daly, A.L. Ellingsaeter, V. Esquivel, H. Figueiredo, K.R. Fisher, L. Foster, J. Ginn, S. Harkness, B. Harvey, J. Hearn, B. Hewitt, J. Jenson, T. Knijn, R. Mahon, L. Marg, J. Martinez Franzoni, J. McCoy, S. Meyer, J. Outshoorn, K. Pringle, S. Razavi, E. Reese, J.l. Rubery, M. Seeleib-Kaiser, X. Shang, S. Shaver, S. Staab, C. Valiente, F. Williams, A. Yeatman

This book explores the Afro-diasporic experiences of African skilled migrants in Australia. It explores research participants' experiences of migration and how these experiences inform their lives and the lives of their family. It provides theory-based arguments examining how mainstream immigration attitudes in Australia impact upon Black African migrants through the mediums of mediatised moral panics about Black criminality and acts of everyday racism that construct and enforce their 'strangerhood'. The book presents theoretical writing on alternate African diasporic experiences and identities and the changing nature of such identities. The qualitative study employed semi-structured interviews to investigate multiple aspects of the migrant experience including employment, parenting, family dynamics and overall sense of belonging. This book advances our understanding of the resilience exercised by skilled Black African migrants as they adjust to a new life in Australia, with particular implications for social work, public health and community development practices.

This book examines language education policy in European migrant-hosting countries. By applying the Multiple Streams Framework to detailed case studies on Austria and Italy, it sheds light on the factors and processes that innovate education policy. The book illustrates an education policy design that values language diversity and inclusion, and compares underlying policymaking processes with less innovative experiences. Combining empirical analysis and qualitative research methods, it assesses the ways in which language is intrinsically linked to identity and political power within societies, and how language policy and migration might become a firmer part of European policy agendas. Sitting at the intersection between policy studies, language education studies and integration studies, the book offers recommendations for how education policy can promote a more inclusive society. It will appeal to scholars, practitioners and students who have an interest in policymaking, education policy and migrant integration.

This book dispels common myths about electricity and electricity policy and reveals how government policies manipulate energy markets, create hidden costs, and may inflict a net harm on the American people and the environment. Climate change, energy generation and use, and environmental degradation are among the most salient—and controversial—political issues today. Our country's energy future will be determined by the policymakers who enact laws that favor certain kinds of energy production while discouraging others as much as by the energy-production companies or the scientists working to reduce the environmental impact of all energy production. The Reality of American Energy: The Hidden Costs of Electricity provides rare insights into the politics and economics surrounding electricity in the United States. It identifies the economic, physical, and environmental implications of distorting energy markets to limit the use of fossil fuels while increasing renewable energy production and explains how these unseen effects of favoring renewable energy may be counterproductive to the economic interests of American citizens and to the protection of the environment. The first two chapters of the book introduce the subject of electricity policy in the United States and to enable readers to understand why policymakers do what they do. The remainder of the book examines the realities of the major electricity sources in the United States: coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydrodynamic, wind, biomass, solar, and geothermal. Each of these types of energy sources is analyzed in a dedicated chapter that explains how the electricity source works and identifies how politics and public policy shape the economic and environmental impacts associated with them.

This volume offers a comprehensive overview of the Lifanyuan and Libu, revising and assessing the state of affairs in the under-researched field of these two institutions. The contributors explore the imperial policies towards and the shifting classifications of minority groups in the Qing Empire. This volume offers insight into how China's past has continued to inform its modern policies, as well as the geopolitical make-up of East Asia and beyond.

Several presidents have created bioethics councils to advise their administrations on the importance, meaning and possible implementation or regulation of rapidly developing biomedical technologies. From 2001 to 2005, the President's Council on Bioethics, created by President George W. Bush, was under the leadership of Leon Kass. The Kass Council, as it was known, undertook what Adam Briggle describes as a more rich understanding of its task than that of previous councils. The council sought to understand what it means to advance human flourishing at the intersection of philosophy, politics, science, and technology within a democratic society. Briggle's survey of the history of U.S. public bioethics and advisory bioethics commissions, followed by an analysis of what constitutes a "rich" bioethics, forms the first part of the book. The second part treats the Kass Council as a case study of a federal institution that offered public, ethical advice within a highly polarized context, with the attendant charges of inappropriate politicization and policy irrelevance. The conclusion synthesizes the author's findings into a story about the possible relationships between philosophy and policy making. A Rich Bioethics: Public Policy, Biotechnology, and the Kass Council will attract students and scholars in bioethics and the fields of science, technology, and society, as well as those interested in the ethical and political dilemmas raised by modern science.

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.