Hope is a powerful yet complex phenomenon. Can hope be harnessed for positive social change? What does it mean for a society to "hope well?" How do institutions abuse individual hope?

This issue of The Annals delves into the complicated notions of hope and how it can be encouraged and nurtured on several levels. The contributors to this issue explore institutions of hope in operation and explain how those institutions can function effectively.

Divided into two parts, the first set of articles define institutions of hope as "sets of rules, norms, and practices that ensure that we have some room not only to dream of the extraordinary, but also to do the extraordinary."

Using a combination of theory and practice, the contributors address several different models in the construct of institutions of hope. With a series of case studies, Part I demonstrates institutions of hope at work and shows not only how collective hope may be used constructively but also how it may be abused by those in power.

Part II of this issue identifies ways that institutionalizing hope can address the individual needs on a psychological level. The authors in this second set of papers ask questions such as "What does it mean for an individual to hope well?" and "How and why is hope such a fundamental component of being human?"

Taken together, these two general approaches to hope - on both an individual and a collective level - give readers insight into the challenges of designing institutions that allow collective hopes to be practiced. Calling for an agenda that encourages both theory and practice, the contributors to this special issue set a solid foundation for future research into ways that will narrow the gap between the psychological needs of the individual and the limitations of social institutions.

This book is a major contribution to regulatory theory from three members of the world-class regulatory research group based in Australia. It marks a new development in responsive regulatory theory in which a strengths-based pyramid complements the regulatory pyramid. The authors compare the accomplishments of nursing home regulation in the US, the UK and Australia during the last 20 years and in a longer historical perspective. They find that gaming and ritualism, rather than defiance of regulators, are the greatest challenges for improving safety and quality of life for the elderly in care homes. Regulating Aged Care shows how good regulation and caring professionalism can transcend ritualism. Better regulation is found to be as much about encouragement to expand strengths as incentives to fix problems. The book is underpinned by one of the most ambitious, sustained qualitative and quantitative data collections in both the regulatory literature and the aged care literature. This study provides an impressive evidence base for both theory development and reassessment of policy and practitioner responses in the field. The book will find its readership amongst regulatory scholars in political science, law, socio-legal studies, sociology, economics and public policy. Gerontology and health care scholars and professionals will also find much to reflect upon in the book.

This innovative book presents a theory of tax defiance, integrating five years of research on people's hopes, fears and expectations of the tax system and the authority that administers it. Valerie Braithwaite makes a major contribution to regulatory theory by mapping the psychological processes of defiance. At the heart of the analysis is the concept of motivational posturing - signals sent to indicate how favourably an authority is viewed and readiness to defer to an authority's demands. The author explains how resistant defiance expresses disapproval of the way an authority operates and signals to government the need to improve performance to win back public confidence. Resistance weakens as the authority claws back its institutional integrity. Dismissive defiance, on the other hand, is challenging and undermining, and is not so responsive. The book argues for institutional reforms that are both mindful of grievance and of alternative authorities that challenge power. It illustrates that in delivering institutional reform, commitment to democratic principles and integrity of government will enable authorities to argue their case for community co-operation where appropriate. Finally, the book goes on to show that power sharing is likely to be a more apt remedy when dismissive defiance is entrenched. Safeguarding these deliberations in mature democracies are moral obligation and social capital, both of which are likely to erode when authorities show neither justice nor wisdom in handling defiance. This unique and innovative example of how psychology can be integrated into new institutional theory and public policy practice will prove an interesting read for scholars, students and researchers in the fields of regulatory studies, economics, public policy and public finance, politics and psychology.

The integrity of tax systems as we know them are being challenged throughout the world. Tax avoidance schemes of various kinds are proving increasingly attractive and lucrative to wealthy individuals and large corporations. As governments fear the erosion of their tax base among those who are most able to contribute, the public is looking on, as one of its most public institutions attempts to re-invent itself through changing laws and administrative procedures. In this book, a number of experts develop the idea of responsive regulation in relation to taxation. They demonstrate how law in this area is undermining social norms and social norms are undermining law. A key factor in their analysis is the perception of justice. Explanations as to why the integrity of tax systems is under siege, and possible solutions, are examined.

Tax evasion is a complex phenomenon which is influenced not just by economic motives but by psychological factors as well. Economic-psychological research focuses on individual and social representations of taxation as well as decision-making. In this 2007 book, Erich Kirchler assembles research on tax compliance, with a focus on tax evasion, and integrates the findings into a model based on the interaction climate between tax authorities and taxpayers. The interaction climate is defined by citizens' trust in authorities and the power of authorities to control taxpayers effectively; depending on trust and power, either voluntary compliance, enforced compliance or no compliance are likely outcomes. Featuring chapters on the social representations of taxation, decision-making and self-employed income tax behaviour, this book will appeal to researchers in economic psychology, behavioural economics and public administration.

The integrity of tax systems as we know them are being challenged throughout the world. Tax avoidance schemes of various kinds are proving increasingly attractive and lucrative to wealthy individuals and large corporations. As governments fear the erosion of their tax base among those who are most able to contribute, the public is looking on, as one of its most public institutions attempts to re-invent itself through changing laws and administrative procedures. In this book, a number of experts develop the idea of responsive regulation in relation to taxation. They demonstrate how law in this area is undermining social norms and social norms are undermining law. A key factor in their analysis is the perception of justice. Explanations as to why the integrity of tax systems is under siege, and possible solutions, are examined.

This ground-breaking book is a sequel to John Braithwaite's influential book Crime, Shame and Reintegration. It contributes to our understanding of shame in a theoretical sense, and through its detailed analysis of shame management in cases of drink-driving and school bullying, in a practical sense. Ultimately, the book develops an ethical-identity conception of shame, and a theory of reintegrative shame. Written by the key exponents of restorative justice and presenting important new research, the book will be influential in the often controversial debate about punishing and shaming.

In Restorative and Responsive Human Services, Gale Burford, John Braithwaite, and Valerie Braithwaite bring together a distinguished collection providing rich lessons on how regulation in human services can proceed in empowering ways that heal and are respectful of human relationships and legal obligations. The human services are in trouble: combining restorative justice with responsive regulation might redeem them, renewing their well-intended principles. Families provide glue that connects complex systems. What are the challenges in scaling up relational practices that put families and primary groups at the core of health, education, and other social services? This collection has a distinctive focus on the relational complexity of restorative practices. How do they enable more responsive ways of grappling with complexity than hierarchical and prescriptive human services? Lessons from responsive business regulation inform a re-imagining of the human services to advance wellbeing and reduce domination. Readers are challenged to re-examine the perverse incentives and contradictions buried in policies and practices. How do they undermine the capacities of families and communities to solve problems on their own terms? This book will interest those who harbor concerns about the creep of domination into the lives of vulnerable citizens. It will help policymakers and researchers to re-focus human services to fundamental outcomes at the foundation of sustainable democracies. This book is available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution- Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Tax evasion is a complex phenomenon which is influenced not just by economic motives but by psychological factors as well. Economic-psychological research focuses on individual and social representations of taxation as well as decision-making. In this 2007 book, Erich Kirchler assembles research on tax compliance, with a focus on tax evasion, and integrates the findings into a model based on the interaction climate between tax authorities and taxpayers. The interaction climate is defined by citizens' trust in authorities and the power of authorities to control taxpayers effectively; depending on trust and power, either voluntary compliance, enforced compliance or no compliance are likely outcomes. Featuring chapters on the social representations of taxation, decision-making and self-employed income tax behaviour, this book will appeal to researchers in economic psychology, behavioural economics and public administration.

This ground-breaking book is a sequel to John Braithwaite's influential book Crime, Shame and Reintegration. It contributes to our understanding of shame in a theoretical sense, and through its detailed analysis of shame management in cases of drink-driving and school bullying, in a practical sense. Ultimately, the book develops an ethical-identity conception of shame, and a theory of reintegrative shame. Written by the key exponents of restorative justice and presenting important new research, the book will be influential in the often controversial debate about punishing and shaming.

Hope is a powerful yet complex phenomenon. Can hope be harnessed for positive social change? What does it mean for a society to "hope well?" How do institutions abuse individual hope?

This issue of The Annals delves into the complicated notions of hope and how it can be encouraged and nurtured on several levels. The contributors to this issue explore institutions of hope in operation and explain how those institutions can function effectively.

Divided into two parts, the first set of articles define institutions of hope as "sets of rules, norms, and practices that ensure that we have some room not only to dream of the extraordinary, but also to do the extraordinary."

Using a combination of theory and practice, the contributors address several different models in the construct of institutions of hope. With a series of case studies, Part I demonstrates institutions of hope at work and shows not only how collective hope may be used constructively but also how it may be abused by those in power.

Part II of this issue identifies ways that institutionalizing hope can address the individual needs on a psychological level. The authors in this second set of papers ask questions such as "What does it mean for an individual to hope well?" and "How and why is hope such a fundamental component of being human?"

Taken together, these two general approaches to hope - on both an individual and a collective level - give readers insight into the challenges of designing institutions that allow collective hopes to be practiced. Calling for an agenda that encourages both theory and practice, the contributors to this special issue set a solid foundation for future research into ways that will narrow the gap between the psychological needs of the individual and the limitations of social institutions.