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Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social issues > Ethical issues & debates
How has America censored British films? In this original,
fascinating book, Anthony Slide answers this question, making full
use for the first time of the recently opened US Production Code
Administration files. Film by film from the 1930s through to the
1960s, he tells the inside story of the ongoing dialogue between
the British film making industry and the American censors. The book
shows graphically how the Production Code system operated,
revealing how the censors viewed moral issues, violence, bad
language and matters of decorum as well as revealing acute national
differences, such as American concern over the British
preoccupation with toilets. It also dispels myths, depicting chief
censor Joseph Breen and his staff as knowledgeable people who
sympathized with and admired the British film industry.
View the Table of Contents Read the Introduction. "Historians of medicine and technology will find this book an
interesting introduction to a highly politicized and novel area of
scholarship. This work should inspire research projects into more
diverse and less categorized areas of disability." "With this work, Longmore and Umansky offer historians,
sociologists and other readers intrigued by this area of
scholarship an opportunity to understand disabilities as broader
and more complex than a single, generic and primarily medical
category." "The essays introduce into the historical record a diverse group
of people whose views and experiences have been largely excluded,
challenge conventional notions of bodily integrity, and represent
an important new subfield in American history from which we can
expect rich and exciting innovation." "The fifteen essays contained in it are thorough, wide-ranging
and convincing in their interpretations. . . . This is a powerful
contribution to the emancipatory efforts of disabled activists and
one that historians should seek to encourage. For this, Longmore
and Umansky's collection should be strongly commended." "The New Disability History: American Perspectives is a truly
groundbreaking volume and is well-deserving of the praise heaped on
its back cover." The essays show us that disability has a place in various parts
of our history. While there is an enormous diversity of disability,
the collection of essays reminds us of how comparable social perils
recur across various disability groups andthroughout their
particular histories." Disability has always been a preoccupation of American society and culture. From antebellum debates about qualification for citizenship to current controversies over access and "reasonable accommodations," disability has been present, in penumbra if not in print, on virtually every page of American history. Yet historians have only recently begun the deep excavation necessary to retrieve lives shrouded in religious, then medical, and always deep-seated cultural, misunderstanding. This volume opens up disability's hidden history. In these pages, a North Carolina Youth finds his identity as a deaf Southerner challenged in Civil War-era New York. Deaf community leaders ardently defend sign language in early 20th century America. The mythic Helen Keller and the long-forgotten American Blind People's higher Education and General Improvement Association each struggle to shape public and private roles for blind Americans. White and black disabled World War I and II veterans contest public policies and cultural values to claim their citizenship rights. Neurasthenic Alice James and injured turn-of-the-century railroadmen grapple with the interplay of disability and gender. Progressive-era "rehabilitationists" fashion programs to make "crippled" children economically productive and socially valid, and two Depression-era fathers murder their sons as public opinion blames the boys' mothers for having cherished the lads' lives. These and many other figures lead readers through hospital-schools, courtrooms, advocacy journals, and beyond to discover disability's past. Coupling empirical evidence with the interdisciplinary toolsand insights of disability studies, the book explores the complex meanings of disability as identity and cultural signifier in American history. Table of Contents
When it comes to crime, everyone seems to take evil seriously as an explanatory concept - except criminologists. This book asks why, and why not, through exploring a variety of interdisciplinary approaches to evil from the perspectives of theology, philosophy, literary and cultural studies, and the social sciences.
This book identifies risk and protective factors influencing routes into, through and out of sexual exploitation and sex work. It explores how the sense made of key childhood and adult experiences influences the ability to manage roles and identities and choices they feel empowered or forced to make.
"There is much of value in Jenkins' work. He manages to discuss CP
calmly, while at the same time making clear his personal revulsion,
an achievement in itself in an area characterized by so much
hysteria." "Magnificently readable social science on a widely misunderstood
subject." "A useful introduction to the methods that the kiddie-porn
community uses to hide its activities...a smart history of the
child-porn industry" "This is a troubling book that exposes how child pornography has
found a safe haven on the Internet. Philip Jenkins's innovative
research methods let him explore and map the secret electronic
networks that link individuals whose deviance seems not just
outrageous, but incomprehensible. Jenkins shows how culture and
social structure emerge in a virtual--and decidedly not
virtuous--world. This book raises profound questions about the
nature of deviance in an electronic future." "A disturbing, thought-provoking study" "A detailed yet engaging account . . . . Engrossing" Perhaps nothing evokes more universal disgust as child pornography. The world of its makers and users is so abhorrent that it is rarely discussed much less studied. Child pornographers have taken advantage of this and are successfully using the new electronic media to exchange their wares without detection or significant sanction. What are the implications of this threat for free speech and a free exchange of ideas on the internet? And how can we stop this illegal activity, which is so repugnant that eventhe most laissez-faire cyberlibertarians want it stamped out, if we know nothing about it? Philip Jenkins takes a leap onto the lower tiers of electronic media in this first book on the business of child pornography online. He tells the story of how the advent of the internet caused this deviant subculture to become highly organized and go global. We learn how the trade which operates on clandestine websites from Budapest or Singapore to the U.S. is easy to glimpse yet difficult to eradicate. Jenkins details how the most sophisticated transactions are done through a proxy, a "false flag" address, rendering the host computer, and participants, virtually unidentifiable. And these sites exist for only a few minutes or hours allowing on-line child pornographers to stay one step ahead of the law. This is truly a globalized criminal network which knows no names or boundaries, and thus challenges both international and U.S. law. Beyond Tolerance delves into the myths and realities of child pornography and the complex process to stamp out criminal activity over the web, including the timely debates over trade regulation, users' privacy, and individual rights. This sobering look and a criminal community contains lessons about human behavior and the law that none interested in media and the new technology can afford to ignore.
The current fossil fuel-based system of mobility is associated with a wide range of environmental and social problems. There is a growing body of literature on system innovations and transitions which has as a common understanding that long-term transformative change is necessary to deal with these complex problems. However, knowledge on the crucial role of citizen-consumers in sustainable mobility transitions is still underdeveloped. By incorporating the viewpoint of consumption patterns and everyday life routines, this book provides (new) knowledge on the role of citizen-consumers in sustainable mobility transitions. Theoretically, a practice based approach is developed as a novel framework to analyse, understand and influence transition processes to sustainable mobility at the level of everyday life. The focus in each of the three cases studies is on situated interactions between consumers and producers. Amongst these is an analysis of the role environmental information and subsidies in new car purchasing. Also, various examples in which an attempt was made to orchestrate a (modal) shift in commuting practices are examined. Each of the empirical case studies shows the important role of contextual factors in understanding and influencing mobility behaviour of citizen-consumers. In addition, this book helps to understand how and why innovation in mobility practices takes place or not.
Tracing the rise of extreme art cinema across films from Lars von Trier's 'The Idiots' to Michael Haneke's 'Cache', Asbjorn Gronstad revives the debate about the role of negation and aesthetics and reframes the concept of spectatorship in ethical terms.
This book explores the absent and missing in debates about science and security. Through varied case studies, including biological and chemical weapons control, science journalism, nanotechnology research and neuroethics, the contributors explore how matters become absent, ignored or forgotten and the implications for ethics, policy and society.The chapter 'Sensing Absence: How to See What Isn't There in the Study of Science and Security' is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license via link.springer.com.
Changes in earth's atmosphere, oceans, soil, weather patterns, and ecosystems are well documented by countless scientific disciplines. These manifestations of climate change harm public health. Given their goals and social responsibilities, influential health organizations recognize health impacts compounded by geography, social values, social determinants of health, health behaviors, and relationships between humans and environments primarily described in feminist ethics and environmental ethics. Health impacts are relevant to, but seldom addressed in bioethics, global health, public policy, or health or environmental policy. This book is the first to describe cultural, geographic, and socioeconomic factors that influence the regional significance of these impacts and frame them for bioethics and policy analyses.
An intimate and original look at the lives of Nevada's legal sex workers through the voices of current and former employees, brothel owners, madams, and local law enforcement The state of Nevada is the only jurisdiction in the United States where prostitution is legal. Wrapped in moral judgments about sexual conduct and shrouded in titillating intrigue, stories about Nevada's legal brothels regularly steal headlines. The stigma and secrecy pervading sex work contribute to experiences of oppression and unfair labor practices for many legal prostitutes in Nevada. Sex and Stigma engages with stories of women living and working in these "hidden" organizations to interrogate issues related to labor rights, secrecy, privacy, and discrimination in the current legal brothel system. Including interviews with current and former legal sex workers, brothel owners, madams, local police, and others, Sex and Stigma examines how widespread beliefs about the immorality of selling sexual services have influenced the history and laws of legal brothel prostitution. With unique access to a difficult-to-reach population, the authors privilege the voices of brothel workers throughout the book as they reflect on their struggles to engage in their communities, conduct business, maintain personal relationships, and transition out of the industry. Further, the authors examine how these brothels operate like other kinds of legal entities, and how individuals contend with balancing work and non-work commitments, navigate work place cultures, and handle managerial relationships. Sex and Stigma serves as a resource on the policies guiding legal prostitution in Nevada and provides an intimate look at the lived experiences of women performing sex work.
Genocide, global warming, organizational negligence, and oppressive social practices are four examples of moral contexts in which the interplay between individuals and collectives complicate how we are to understand moral responsibility. Moral Responsibility in Collective Contexts is a philosophical investigation of the complex moral landscape we find in collective situations such as these. Tracy Isaacs argues that an accurate understanding of moral responsibility in collective contexts requires attention to responsibility at the individual and collective levels. Part One establishes the normative significance of collective responsibility. Isaacs argues that collective responsibility is indispensible to providing a morally adequate account of collective actions such as genocide, and that without it even individual responsibility in genocide would not make sense. Isaacs explains the concepts of collective intention and collective intentional action, provides accounts of collective moral responsibility and collective guilt, and defends collective responsibility against objections, including the objection that collective responsibility holds some responsible for the actions of others. Part Two focuses on individual responsibility in collective contexts. Isaacs claims that individuals are not morally responsible for collective actions as such, but they can be responsible in collective actions for the parts they play. She argues that the concept of collective obligation can help to address large scale global challenges such as global warming, environmental degradation, and widespread poverty and malnutrition. Finally, Isaacs discusses cases of widespread ignorance and participation in wrongful social practice, whether it constitutes an excuse, and how to effect social change in those conditions.
Sachdev provides a detailed examination of the psychological responses of women who have had abortions. The author surveyed a sample of unmarried women aged 18 to 25 who had had abortions during the past six months to one year. Based on in-depth interviews with these women, the study presents quantitative and qualitative findings. While some authors have stressed the negative psychological impact of abortion, Sachdev demonstrates that the majority of women in his study were comfortable with their decisions and experienced few adverse psychological reactions. Impressively researched, this insightful study persuasively refutes claims and myths such as: --women are increasingly using abortion as their primary method of contraception --the abortion experience is more traumatic than giving up a newborn infant for adoption --unrestrictive abortions encourage irresponsible sex --sex education and the ready availability of contraceptive devices encourage sexual experimentation --unmarried women get pregnant because they want to for some "underlying motives" --most unmarried abortees experience pathological guilt and depression following abortion surgery --abortions performed in hospitals are therapeutic and emotionally healthy The volume begins with a look at the abortion controversy in North America. The following chapter presents general information on the psychological effects of abortion. Sachdev then discusses his research methodology in detail, and through the chapters that follow he records and analyzes the attitudes and experiences of the women interviewed. The study includes information on the sexual activity and contraceptive history of the participants, their reaction to theirbecoming pregnant, the factors that persuaded them to have an abortion, and their experiences after the surgery. Unique features of this book: * provides an engaging and thorough account of the author's extensive interviews with women who have had an abortion * examines the sexual activity, the pregnancy, and abortion experience of unmarried women in the context of their social networks, i.e., peers, parents, male partners, siblings, an important aspect largely neglected in previous studies * the author integrates his findings with a broad survey of relevant literature * written in a lucid, crisp, and engaging style that captures the women's most vivid and intimate experiences in sex relations, and with pregnancy and abortion * based on a carefully selected sample of women, Sachdev breaks new ground in many areas, including the role of male partners, doctors and nurses, and of the hospital milieu in shaping the women's responses to pregnancy and abortion * integrates in a unique way pragmatic policy advice along with applied research
Examining the successful movements to abolish capital punishment in the UK, France, and Germany, this book examines the similarities in the social structure and political strategies of abolition movements in all three countries. An in-depth comparative analysis with other countries assesses chances of success of abolition elsewhere.
"Hurwitz surveys the types of expression that have been subject to censorship, repression, and punishment in the US. . . . This valuable reference work is highly recommended for all libraries." Choice
..".a richly textured analysis of medical and lay abortion discourses and practices, artistic representations of the procedure, and of women's, particularly lower-class women's, own perceptions and experiences of abortion. Skilfully using an impressive variety of sources, Usborne provides a meticulous, insightful, and lively study that questions some of the continuing assumptions about the Weimar Republic.and provides an exciting example of how to approach the history of the body." . Medical History "Based on a careful reading of court files, this investigation reveals a rich and often ambiguous repertoire of perceptions and descriptions...Cultures of Abortion is not only the seminal study on one of the most contested and high-profile issues in Weimar politics, it is also a superb demonstration of how 'gender' can be used to complicate well established historical narratives." . German History "With inspiration from Alltagsgeschichte(history of the everyday) and body history, Usborne presents a fascinating collection of stories about how abortion was practiced in both rural and urban, medicalized and folk-healing contexts... It] performs several valuable services. It brings us far closer to the actual experiences of Weimar women who underwent abortions than we have ever been before, it usefully questions our tendency to respect complex medical procedures over simpler but often just as effective techniques, and it provides considerable evidence that the practice and social acceptance of abortion were far more widespread in this period than previously appreciated." . Bulletin of the History of Medicine "This revealing study teases out the various ways that official discourses often clashed with women s everyday experiences and attitudes towards abortion...Overall, this monograph is an important addition for any scholar interested in abortion, the body, medical discourses, gender and modern Germany." . H-Soz-u-Kult "Usborne provides a vivid picture not only of...individuals, but of the communities that they lived in and the social networks that facilitated their relationships and contacts. Many of her conclusions are fascinating... a] compelling book." . German Studies Review "The book includes introductory and concluding chapters that effectively place the story in the historiography of modern Germany and of modern abortion and, more broadly, the female body. Usborne's monograph contains much of worth and interest for scholars and students of modern Germany, gender relations, sexuality, medicine, and, certainly, abortion." . American Historical Review Abortion in the Weimar Republic is a compelling subject since it provoked public debates and campaigns of an intensity rarely matched elsewhere. It proved so explosive because populationist, ecclesiastical and political concerns were heightened by cultural anxieties of a modernity in crisis. Based on an exceptionally rich source material (e.g., criminal court cases, doctors' case books, personal diaries, feature films, plays and literary works), this study explores different attitudes and experiences of those women who sought to terminate an unwanted pregnancy and those who helped or hindered them. It analyzes the dichotomy between medical theory and practice, and questions common assumptions, i.e. that abortion was "a necessary evil," which needed strict regulation and medical control; or that all back-street abortions were dangerous and bad. Above all, the book reveals women's own voices, frequently contradictory and ambiguous: having internalized medical ideas they often also adhered to older notions of reproduction which opposed scientific approaches."
Few ethical issues create as much controversy as invasive
experiments on animals. Some scientists claim they are essential
for combating major human disease, or detecting human toxins.
Others claim the contrary, backed by thousands of patients harmed
by pharmaceuticals developed using animal tests. Some claim all
experiments are conducted humanely, to high scientific standards.
Yet, a wealth of studies have recently revealed that laboratory
animals suffer significant stress, which may distort experimental
results.
What rallies or inspires people to champion the different causes surrounding filtering or free expression? How do people vary in their views on what the First Amendment guarantees? This book encourages students to think critically about the pros and cons of censorship. The profiles of individuals who are active in free speech debates show that while there aren't always black and white answers, there are numerous ways to take a firm stand on the issues. Readers will be introduced to a wide variety of people, from feminists arguing both sides of the debate over pornography, to those who believe no one can clearly define what is harmful and what is not. The book also presents people motivated by religious convictions to censor material they consider negative or detrimental. Fifty individual stories about activists on frontlines, fighting for what they believe, bring the controversies surrounding filtering and freedom of expression into sharp focus, offering a rich platform for consideration and debate.
From 1815 to 1914, European governments and their political oppositions were engaged in a constant "war" for the minds of the general population, especially the working classes. The German socialist newspaper, Hamburger Echo, declared on September 27, 1910, "In waging our war, we do not throw bombs. Instead we throw our newspapers amongst the masses of the working people. Printing ink is our explosive." The most comprehensive study ever published about European censorship practices during the 1815-1914 period, this book discusses the censorship of books, newspapers, caricatures, theater, and film through an analytical introductory survey and six chapters by leading specialists who summarize 19th-century censorship practices in the six major countries of continental Europe: Germany, Italy, France, Austria, Russia, and Spain. As a result of the massive transformation of European life in the post-Napoleonic period and the simultaneously rapid growth in industrialization, urbanization, literacy, transportation, and communication, the average European emerged quite suddenly as a potential player who could no longer be ignored by the ruling elite.
Shocked by the fact that, in the Netherlands, psychiatric patients are considered potentially appropriate candidates for physician-assisted suicide, Olevitch examines the research and data and finds that, even in the United States, the situation is threatening. She describes how the rhetoric of the assisted-suicide movement can confuse potential suicide victims and their helpers, and how surrogate medical decisions are a growing threat in the lives of incompetent patients. Olevitch argues the assisted-suicide movement is based not on the level-headed realism its advocates claim, but on a lack of information about up-to-date ways of bringing about psychological wellness, on a misguided panic about finances, a phobic view of medical procedures, a lack of understanding of the support needed by average medical patients, and a misguided belief in superficial safeguards. Olevitch describes how Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy can be used to help terminally ill or disabled people overcome their profound depression. Another cognitive focus is added as she presents material answering questions including what patients are really thinking when they request assisted suicide or when they decline medical procedures. Well-known psychologist Albert Ellis says of the volume, Carefully read this unusual book and see how it can be useful to you, whether you are a physician, a mental health professional, or an unfortunate patient
Nonprofit organizations hold a special place in society as the nation's ethical sector. They promote service, goodwill and kindness and serve to better humanity. Like any business, however, they can also experience ethical indiscretions. The group of organizations whose sole purpose in this world is to "be" good and to "spread" that good has yet to fully form an operational code of ethics--a code that promotes humanity as only the nonprofit sector can. Describing the challenges facing today's charities, Doug White explains how nonprofits must reassess their commitment to their role in society. This corrective journey can serve as a role model for all the for-profit businesses as well as the government sector. By reexamining the business of philanthropy with a new and ethics-based mindset, nonprofits can push themselves to be their very best and continue to make the world a better place.
Abortion is one of the most compelling public policy issues facing government and the public in the United States today. Most societies have enacted laws and statutes regarding abortion, and most societies have strong feelings regarding birth control and abortion. But the legal statutes and attitudes follow markedly different approaches. Simon examines how this issue is being faced in the United States, Canada, a sample of Western and Eastern European countries, Middle Eastern, African, and Latin American societies, and, among Asian countries, Japan, China, and India, along with Australia. After a brief historical introduction, Simon examines the legal statutes pertaining to abortion in the selected countries and then reviews public attitudes toward abortion based on responses to national public opinion polls. She concludes by discussing the relationships between the laws and statutes pertaining to abortion and the nations' policies vis- DEGREESDa-vis population growth and control. "Abortion" is the first volume in a series that will examine major public policy issues using an explicitly comparative approach. Each will serve as a handbook for students, researchers, and scholars, containing basic empirical data and comprehensive references on the social issue or practice under examination.
This book examines how feminist movements have contested the dominant discourses and state politics that have impeded women's autonomy over their bodies since the late 1960s. It deals with two important facets of this struggle, prostitution and the right to abortion, as they relate to the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden.
Despite its safety and efficacy, emergency contraception (EC) continues to spark political controversy worldwide. In this edited volume, authors explore how emergency contraception has been received, interpreted, and politicized, through the in-depth examination of the journey of EC in 16 individual countries.
Bowers argues that, when correctly interpreted and applied, the Constitution and the theory of liberty on which it is based require government to reject the conventional pro-choice and anti-abortion perspectives as too extreme and incomplete. Instead, this book sets forth a position that government is constitutionally obligated to approach abortion policy from a middle perspective. Relying on a jurisprudence of original theory, Pro-Choice and Anti-Abortion forcefully asserts that government is constitutionally constrained to formulate abortion policy that is at once pro-choice and anti-abortion. In so arguing, this book walks readers through this constitutionally mandated middle position by introducing them to the liberal teachings of John Locke that were so influential to the framers of the Constitution and by applying this political theory to the major issues of the abortion controversy--including the individual liberty interest in the abortion decision, minors and abortions, the liberty interest of the fetal-being, and the Freedom of Choice Act. |
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