Search results for ""Debate""

Over roughly the past decade, oil and gas production in the United States has surged dramatically-thanks largely to technological advances such as high-volume hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as "fracking." This rapid increase has generated widespread debate, with proponents touting economic and energy-security benefits and opponents highlighting the environmental and social risks of increased oil and gas production. Despite the heated debate, neither side has a monopoly on the facts. In this book, Daniel Raimi gives a balanced and accessible view of oil and gas development, clearly and thoroughly explaining the key issues surrounding the shale revolution. The Fracking Debate directly addresses the most common questions and concerns associated with fracking, including: What is fracking? Does fracking pollute the water supply? Will fracking make the United States energy independent? Does fracking cause earthquakes? How is fracking regulated? Is fracking good for the economy? Coupling a deep understanding of the scholarly research with travels to every major U.S. oil- and gas-producing region, Raimi highlights stories of the people and communities affected by the shale revolution, for better and for worse. The Fracking Debate provides the evidence and context that have so frequently been missing from the national discussion of the future of oil and gas production, offering readers the tools to make sense of this critical issue.

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Does government surveillance make us safer? The thirteenth Munk Debate, held in Toronto on Friday, May 2, 2014, pitted Michael Hayden and Alan Dershowitz against Glenn Greenwald and Alexis Ohanian to debate whether state surveillance is a legitimate defence of our freedom — the democratic issue of the moment.In a risk-filled world, democracies are increasingly turning to large-scale state surveillance, at home and abroad, to fight complex and unconventional threats — but is it justified? For some, the threats more than justify the current surveillance system, and the laws and institutions of democracies are more than capable of balancing the needs of individual privacy with collective security. But for others, we are in peril of sacrificing to a vast and unaccountable state surveillance apparatus the civil liberties that guarantee citizens’ basic freedoms and our democratic way of life.In this edition of the Munk Debates, former head of the CIA and NSA Michael Hayden and civil liberties lawyer Alan Dershowitz square off against journalist Glenn Greenwald and reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian to debate the legitimacy of state surveillance. With issues of Internet privacy increasingly gaining prominence, the Munk Debate on the Surveillance State asks: Should government be able to monitor our activities in order to keep us safe?

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A Stage for Debate presents a detailed analysis of the repertoire of the leading German-language stage of the nineteenth century, Vienna’s Burgtheater. The book explores the extent to which the Burgtheater repertoire contributed to important political and cultural debates on individual liberty, the role of women in society, and the understanding of national and regional identity. The relevance of the Burgtheater as a forum for political debate is assessed not by the degree to which the performed plays transgressed established norms, but by the range of positions that were voiced on a given topic. Martin Wagner investigates the roughly 1,000 plays from across Europe that were introduced to the Burgtheater’s repertoire between 1814 and 1867 by combining a general overview with detailed interpretations of especially successful plays. Wagner reveals that the Burgtheater was significantly more involved in contemporary debates than the stereotype of this stage as an artistically refined but apolitical institution suggests. Drawing from theatre studies and German and Austrian studies more broadly, A Stage for Debate revises the history of one of Europe’s leading theatres.

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'This is about gob-smacking science at the far end of reason … Take it nice and easy and savour the experience of your mind being blown without recourse to hallucinogens' Nicholas Lezard, Guardian For most people, quantum theory is a byword for mysterious, impenetrable science. And yet for many years it was equally baffling for scientists themselves. In this magisterial book, Manjit Kumar gives a dramatic and superbly-written history of this fundamental scientific revolution, and the divisive debate at its core. Quantum theory looks at the very building blocks of our world, the particles and processes without which it could not exist. Yet for 60 years most physicists believed that quantum theory denied the very existence of reality itself. In this tour de force of science history, Manjit Kumar shows how the golden age of physics ignited the greatest intellectual debate of the twentieth century. Quantum theory is weird. In 1905, Albert Einstein suggested that light was a particle, not a wave, defying a century of experiments. Werner Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and Erwin Schrodinger's famous dead-and-alive cat are similarly strange. As Niels Bohr said, if you weren't shocked by quantum theory, you didn't really understand it. While "Quantum" sets the science in the context of the great upheavals of the modern age, Kumar's centrepiece is the conflict between Einstein and Bohr over the nature of reality and the soul of science. 'Bohr brainwashed a whole generation of physicists into believing that the problem had been solved', lamented the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Murray Gell-Mann. But in "Quantum", Kumar brings Einstein back to the centre of the quantum debate. "Quantum" is the essential read for anyone fascinated by this complex and thrilling story and by the band of brilliant men at its heart.

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Technology evolves at a dazzling speed, and nowhere more so than in the field of genetic engineering, where the possibility of directly changing the genes of one's children is quickly becoming a reality. The public is rightly concerned, but interestingly, they have not had much to say about the implications of recent advancements in human genetics. Playing God? asks why and explores the social forces that have led to the thinning out of public debate over human genetic engineering. John H. Evans contends that the problem lies in the structure of the debate itself. Disputes over human genetic engineering concern the means for achieving assumed ends, rather than being a healthy discussion about the ends themselves. According to Evans, this change in focus occurred as the jurisdiction over the debate shifted from scientists to bioethicists, a change which itself was caused by the rise of the bureaucratic state as the authority in such matters. The implications of this timely study are twofold. Evans not only explores how decisions about the ethics of human genetic engineering are made, but also shows how the structure of the debate has led to the technological choices we now face.

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Technology evolves at a dazzling speed, and nowhere more so than in the field of genetic engineering, where the possibility of directly changing the genes of one's children is quickly becoming a reality. The public is rightly concerned, but interestingly, they have not had much to say about the implications of recent advancements in human genetics. Playing God? asks why and explores the social forces that have led to the thinning out of public debate over human genetic engineering. John H. Evans contends that the problem lies in the structure of the debate itself. Disputes over human genetic engineering concern the means for achieving assumed ends, rather than being a healthy discussion about the ends themselves. According to Evans, this change in focus occurred as the jurisdiction over the debate shifted from scientists to bioethicists, a change which itself was caused by the rise of the bureaucratic state as the authority in such matters. The implications of this timely study are twofold. Evans not only explores how decisions about the ethics of human genetic engineering are made, but also shows how the structure of the debate has led to the technological choices we now face.

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Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) is by any measure the single most influential philosopher in Tibetan history. His articulation of Prasangika Madhyamaka, and his interpretation of the 7th Century Indian philosopher Candrakirti's interpretation of Madhyamaka is the foundation for the understanding of that philosophical system in the Geluk school in Tibet. Tsongkhapa argues that Candrakirti shows that we can integrate the Madhyamaka doctrine of the two truths, and of the ultimate emptiness of all phenomena with a robust epistemology that explains how we can know both conventional and ultimate truth and distinguish truth from falsity within the conventional world. The Sakya scholar Taktsang Lotsawa (born 1405) published the first systematic critique of Tsongkhapa's system. In the fifth chapter of his Freedom from Extremes Accomplished through Comprehensive Knowledge of Philosophy, Taktsang attacks Tsongkhapa's understanding of Candrakirti and the cogency of integrating Prasangika Madhyamaka with any epistemology. This attack launches a debate between Geluk scholars on the one hand and Sakya and Kagyu scholars on the other regarding the proper understanding of this philosophical school and the place of epistemology in the Madhyamaka program. This debate raged with great ferocity from the 15th through the 18th centuries, and continues still today. These two volumes study that debate and present translations of the most important texts produced in that context. Volume I provides historical and philosophical background for this dispute and elucidates the philosophical issues at stake in the debate, exploring the principal arguments advanced by the principals on both sides, and setting them in historical context. This volume presents English translations of each of the most important texts in this debate.

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During the past few decades, high-profile cases like that of Terry Schiavo have fueled the public debate over forgoing or withdrawing artificial nutrition and hydration from patients in a persistent vegetative state (PVS). These cases, whether involving adults or young children, have forced many to begin thinking in a measured and careful way about the moral legitimacy of allowing patients to die. Can families forgo or withdraw artificial hydration and nutrition from their loved ones when no hope of recovery seems possible? Many Catholics know that Catholic moral theology has formulated a well-developed and well-reasoned position on this and other end-of-life issues, one that distinguishes between "ordinary" and "extraordinary" treatment. But recent events have caused uncertainty and confusion and even acrimony among the faithful. In his 2004 allocution, Pope John Paul II proposed that artificial nutrition and hydration is a form of basic care, thus suggesting that the provision of such care to patients neurologically incapable of feeding themselves should be considered a moral obligation. The pope's address, which seemed to have offered a new development to decades of Catholic health care ethics, sparked a contentious debate among the faithful over how best to treat permanently unconscious patients within the tenets of Catholic morality. In this comprehensive and balanced volume, Ronald Hamel and James Walter present twenty-one essays and articles, contributed by physicians, clergy, theologians, and ethicists, to reflect the spectrum of perspectives on the issues that define the Catholic debate. Organized into six parts, each with its own introduction, the essays offer clinical information on PVS and feeding tubes; discussions on the Catholic moral tradition and how it might be changing; ecclesiastical and pastoral statements on forgoing or withdrawing nutrition and hydration; theological and ethical analyses on the issue; commentary on Pope John Paul II's 2004 allocution; and the theological commentary, court decisions, and public policy resulting from the Clarence Herbert and Claire Conroy legal cases. A valuable resource for students and scholars, this teachable volume invites theological dialogue and ethical discussion on one of the most contested issues in the church today.

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Over roughly the past decade, oil and gas production in the United States has surged dramatically—thanks largely to technological advances such as high-volume hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as “fracking.” This rapid increase has generated widespread debate, with proponents touting economic and energy-security benefits and opponents highlighting the environmental and social risks of increased oil and gas production. Despite the heated debate, neither side has a monopoly on the facts. In this book, Daniel Raimi gives a balanced and accessible view of oil and gas development, clearly and thoroughly explaining the key issues surrounding the shale revolution.The Fracking Debate directly addresses the most common questions and concerns associated with fracking: What is fracking? Does fracking pollute the water supply? Will fracking make the United States energy independent? Does fracking cause earthquakes? How is fracking regulated? Is fracking good for the economy? Coupling a deep understanding of the scholarly research with lessons from his travels to every major U.S. oil- and gas-producing region, Raimi highlights stories of the people and communities affected by the shale revolution, for better and for worse. The Fracking Debate provides the evidence and context that have so frequently been missing from the national discussion of the future of oil and gas production, offering readers the tools to make sense of this critical issue.

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The author devotes this volume to a debate concerning the application of the rule of cause prevention. He shows that a strict and extremist application has been the reason for many restrictions that social tradition in many Muslim countries have imposed on women, depriving them of much that is permissible in Islam. He cites clear evidence confirming that women’s full participation in social life was part of the Prophet’s guidance. His approach is always balanced between the freedom Islam gives to women’s participation in life’s activities and the need to adhere to Islamic regulations and values concerning attire and behaviour.

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Los procesos de escolarización y el establecimiento de estrategias coherentes y respetuosas en relación a la acogida del alumnado de origen inmigrante son cuestiones que hoy están en el centro de un debate social y educativo. Éstas obligan a redefinir el concepto mismo de educación pública y a revisar el papel que los municipios deben tener en la gestión y planificación escolar. Una educación para todos y de calidad supone asimismo una mejora en la coordinación entre los centros educativos y los diferentes agentes escolares. El libro analiza la experiencia en un municipio concreto (Vic, Barcelona) cuyas singularidades más destacables han sido la fusión de centros y la distribución del alumnado inmigrante. En ellas se condensan, en un proceso abierto con luces y sombras, algunos de los aspectos más significativos de las políticas educativas actuales.

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Communication is a crucial issue in our complex societies tinted by distrust. It is the core of democratic life and almost all human and social actions. Therefore it is essential for communication to be responsible. But responsible communication cannot only be conceived as a deontological issue, framed by ethical compliance requirements or good practices promotion. It should be considered with all the virtualities of communication, from conversation to consideration, going through narrative, interpretation and argumentation. Indeed each of these communicational capacities has its properties, assets, complementarities and limitations. They constitute different ways to be responsive. This book offers a contribution to the debate of Theory of Deliberative Theory (TDD), reexamined here within its different inspiration sources, notably the opposition between communicational turn and system, the fact of moral pluralism and the public reason.

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In Selfish Libertarians and Socialist Conservatives?, Nathan W. Schlueter and Nikolai G. Wenzel present a lively debate over the essential questions that divide two competing political philosophies. Wenzel—a libertarian who believes the state should be restricted to protecting life, liberty, and property—and Schlueter—a conservative who thinks the state has a larger role to play in protecting public welfare, safety, and morals—explore the fundamental similarities and differences between their respective positions. Over a series of point-counterpoint chapters, they lay out the essential tenets of their own stances, critiquing the other. This engaging dialogue introduces readers to the foundations of each political philosophy. To vividly illustrate the diverging principles underlying conservatism and libertarianism, the authors explore three different hot-button case studies: marriage, immigration, and education. Compact, accessible, and complete with suggestions for further reading, Selfish Libertarians and Socialist Conservatives? is an ideal teaching tool that places these two political perspectives in fruitful dialogue with one another.

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This volume brings together one of the most provocative debates among historians in recent years. The center of controversy is the emergence of the antislavery movement in the United States and Britain and the relation of capitalism to this development. The essays delve beyond these issues, however, to raise a deeper question of historical interpretation: What are the relations between consciousness, moral action, and social change? The debate illustrates that concepts common in historical practice are not so stable as we have thought them to be. It is about concepts as much as evidence, about the need for clarity in using the tools of contemporary historical practice. The participating historians are scholars of great distinction. Beginning with an essay published in the American Historical Review (AHR), Thomas L. Haskell challenged the interpretive framework of David Brion Davis's celebrated study, The Problem of Slavery in the Age of Revolution. The AHR subsequently published responses by Davis and by John Ashworth, as well as a rejoinder by Haskell. The AHR essays and the relevant portions of Davis's book are reprinted here. In addition, there are two new essays by Davis and Ashworth and a general consideration of the subject by Thomas Bender. This is a highly disciplined, insightful presentation of a major controversy in historical interpretation that will expand the debate into new realms.

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Christianity Today Book Award Winner Regarding gender relations, the evangelical world is divided between complementarians and egalitarians. While both perspectives have much to contribute, the discussion has reached a stalemate. Michelle Lee-Barnewall critiques both sides of the debate, challenging the standard premises and arguments and offering new insight into a perennially divisive issue in the church. She brings fresh biblical exegesis to bear on our cultural situation, presenting an alternative way to move the discussion forward based on a corporate perspective and on kingdom values. The book includes a foreword by Craig L. Blomberg and an afterword by Lynn H. Cohick.

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In Because of Race, Mica Pollock tackles a long-standing and fraught debate over racial inequalities in America's schools. Which denials of opportunity experienced by students of color should be remedied? Pollock exposes raw, real-time arguments over what inequalities of opportunity based on race in our schools look like today--and what, if anything, various Americans should do about it. Pollock encountered these debates while working at the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights in 1999-2001. For more than two years, she listened to hundreds of parents, advocates, educators, and federal employees talk about the educational treatment of children and youth in specific schools and districts. People debated how children were spoken to, disciplined, and ignored in both segregated and desegregated districts, and how children were afforded or denied basic resources and opportunities to learn. Pollock discusses four rebuttals that greeted demands for everyday justice for students of color inside schools and districts. She explores how debates over daily opportunity provision exposed conflicting analyses of opportunity denial and harm worth remedying. Because of Race lays bare our habits of argument and offers concrete suggestions for arguing more successfully toward equal opportunity.

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Josef Pieper was one of this century’s most influential thinkers. A leading Catholic philosopher, he won a wide audience through such books as The Four Cardinal Virtues and About Love. This book is one of few extended studies of Pieper’s thought—in particular, of the concept of hope. Pieper was one of the first modern philosophers to explore the idea of hope, and Schumacher discusses his development alongside contributions by Sartre, Jaspers, Marcel, Heidegger, Bloch, and other thinkers. He examines Pieper’s treatment of hope as an aspect of individual potential and as an historical force, exploring such themes as dignity, ethics, the good, and the just.

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The ebook edition of this title is Open Access, thanks to Knowledge Unlatched funding, and freely available to read online. In recent decades the video games industry has grown astronomically, quickly becoming a substantial part of our everyday lives. Alongside the rise of this technology, the media, academia and, in some cases, governments, have drawn correlations between video games and serious instances of violence, focusing most notably on mass shootings. This narrow debate has distracted from our understanding of many of the harms which video games can, in some cases, cause, perpetuate or hide.Drawing upon the emerging deviant leisure perspective, this book seeks to re-orientate the debate on video games and their associated potential harms. Through the examination of culturally embedded harms such as gambling, sexual violence and addiction, together with the rise in swatting and other activities, the authors explore the notion that video games are inexplicably intertwined with aspects of deviancy.

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Learn how to make data-driven research accessible to decision makers, policymakers, and the general public Many researchers, scholars, and analysts fail to develop communication strategies that work in today’s crowded landscape of content, research, and data. To be successful, modern researchersneed to share their insights with the wider audience that lies beyond academia. Elevate the Debate helps researchers of all types more effectively communicate their work in any number of areas, from traditional news outlets to the new media platforms of the digital age. After reading this book, you will be inspired and equipped to use traditional and digital media environments to your advantage. This real-world guide helps you present your data-driven research with greater clarity, coherence, and impact. An array of practical strategies and proven techniques enables you to make your research accessible to diverse audiences, form engaging narratives, and design and implement meaningful outreach plans. Each chapter examines a specific communications strategy, such as data visualization, presentation skills, social media, blog writing, and reporter interactions. Written by expert members of the Urban Institute’s Communication department, and edited by Jonathan Schwabish, a Senior Fellow at Urban, Elevate the Debate guides you on how to use the media environment to your advantage and make a difference through policy insights and policy solutions. This valuable book teaches you how to: Develop and apply data-driven and story-focused communication Use the “Pyramid Philosophy” of rooting accessible, engaging communications products in sophisticated research. Solve problems with your research by defining goals and recommending conclusions-based actions Identify the researchers, organizations, funders, influencers, and policymakers who are most important to your goals and precisely target their information needs Employ communication styles and strategies to get your work in the hands of people who can use it and act upon it. Elevate the Debate: A Multi-layered Approach to Communicating Your Research is a must-have resource for academic researches, policy researchers, and all analysts of data-driven research.

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Solapa: Desde la publicación de la formación histórica de la clase obrera, Edward P. Thompson es uno de los más conocidos historiadores actuales. Además, su protagonismo dentro de la izquierda europea ha crecido exponencialmente, desde sus orígenes como miembro original y disidente del PC británico hasta su actual papel dirigente en el movimiento europeo por el desarme nuclear (END). Perry Anderson, director durante veinte años de la New Left Review, ha mantenido desde los primeros tiempos de esta revista una polémica relación con Thompson, de la que el mejor exponente es su discusión de 1964-65 sobre las peculiaridades de la formación social inglesa. En 1978 Thompson emprendió un devastador ataque contra la obra y la influencia de Louis Althusser: Miseria de la teoría. Anderson, que no se considera a sí mismo un althusseriano, vio en la obra de Thompson una doble oportunidad. Por una parte, la ocasión para tratar de establecer un diálogo fraternal con Thompson que eliminara la

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Gregory Palamas, a monk of Mount Athos and metropolitan of Thessalonike from 1347 to 1357, was a leading fourteenth-century Byzantine intellectual. He was the chief spokesman for the hesychasts in the controversy bearing that name, which began when a charge of heresy was laid against him in 1340 and ended with his proclamation as a saint in 1368. Although excellent English translations of some of Palamas’ theological writings are available, very few texts relating to his historical role have yet been translated. This book contains the first English translation of the contemporary Life of Palamas by Philotheos Kokkinos, which is our principal source of biographical information on him. Also translated into English for the first time are the Synodal Tomoi from 1341 to 1368, which chart the progress of the hesychast controversy from the viewpoint of the victors, together with the corpus of material relating to Palamas’ year of captivity among the Turks, which offers a unique insight into conditions for Christians and Muslims in the early Ottoman emirate. The translations, all of which are based on critical texts, are preceded by introductions which set Palamas in his historical context and propose some changes to the conventional chronology of his life.

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The authors of this volume attempt to define the concept of retribution by looking beyond its diversity in Jewish and Christian writings, and seeking the common objects and components that govern it in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity, as well as Greek, Islamic and Buddhist texts. They argue that the concept should not be seen as a set of ideas acquired and accepted, but rather as an on-going process. The epistemological current of the Begriffsgeschichte understands conceptualization as a continual process of contesting and questioning, rather than something fixed or final. Each study therefore explicitly examines the actors involved, their environments and receptions, and whether they were accepted, rejected, or modified as components of compensation. The associations made with concepts of wealth, poverty, power, their exchange, transfer, and instance are also taken into consideration.

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Looking at the predominant form of land use in America, known as sprawl, this text examines where it came from, what it is and what the alternatives are. The author argues that sprawl is here to stay and that by understanding it we can address the problems it has created.

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This textbook enables readers to understand the current debate amongst macroeconomists by examining the major theoretical controversies that have raged in macroeconomics since the publication of Keynes's General Theory.

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Focusing on the tension between elite and popular models of democracy, individuals and movements that made a difference, and recent events, THE DEMOCRATIC DEBATE makes American democracy become more relevant, compelling, and lively.

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What does it mean to be human? We invite the reader to discuss this most fundamental issue in philosophy and to do so in an intercultural framework. The question of the human was the starting point for a legendary discussion between two German philosophers who met in Davos in 1929. We return to this historical event and re-imagine the debate between Martin Heidegger and Ernst Cassirer from a global perspective. Generating twenty papers from elaborate discussions, our authors contribute to the thought experiment by inviting the Japanese philosopher Nishida Kitarō from Kyoto and other Japanese thinkers into the debate to overcome the challenge of Eurocentrism inherent to these historic days in Davos.

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This book presents a correspondence between two friends who disagree about how to answer the question, “What does it mean to be a Christian?” Crosby argues that Christians understand themselves as hearing a definitive word of revelation spoken by God and intended for all human beings. But Betty sees Christianity as one of several options, usually the preferred way for those born in the faith, but no more unique or special than Hinduism or Buddhism. It is a debate over the kind of initiative the Christian God takes, or does not take, toward human beings. Throughout the debate Crosby alleges that Betty’s God is a very finite god, an all-too-human god, and for that very reason is something different from the God venerated by Christians, while Betty maintains that his theism remains within the Christian orbit and is a much needed corrective to a religion with exclusivist tendencies.The debate between the two friends is presented here in the form of a correspondence they conducted over a period of two years (and did not originally intend for publication). It has undergone very little editing and revision; the authors have wanted to preserve the spontaneous give and take of their exchange. Together they have produced a work of philosophical dialogue that is unusually fruitful in its ability to clarify some fundamental issues of religion.

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Examines the ways Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish politicians present themselves and their messages in televised election debates. This book seeks to discover how the inequalities, especially that of gender, manifest themselves. It is of interest to students of anthropology, communications, gender studies, and political science.

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Why do Blacks underperform in school? Researchers continue to pursue this question with vigor not only because Blacks currently lag behind Whites on a wide variety of educational indices but because the closing of the Black-White achievement gap has slowed and by some measures reversed during the last quarter of the 20th century. The social implications of the persistent educational "gap" between Blacks and Whites are substantial. Black people's experience with poor school achievement and equally poor access to postsecondary education reduces their probability for achieving competitive economic and social rewards and are inconsistent with repeated evidence that Black people articulate high aspirations for their own educational and social mobility. Despite the social needs that press us towards making better sense of "the gap," we are, nevertheless, limited in our understanding of how race operates to affect Black students' educational experiences and outcomes. In Beyond Acting White we contend with one of the most oft cited explanations for Black underachievement; the notion that Blacks are culturally opposed to "acting White" and, therefore, culturally opposed to succeeding in school. Our book uses the "acting White" hypothesis as the point of departure in order to explore and evaluate how and under what conditions Black culture and identity are implicated in our understanding of why Black students continue to lag behind their White peers in educational achievement and attainment. Beyond Acting White provides a response to the growing call that we more precisely situate how race, its representations, intersectionalities, and context specific contingencies help us make better sense of the Black-White achievement gap.

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'Before the 2010 General Election, David Cameron placed the ''Big Society'' at the heart of his efforts to rebuild Britain's ''broken society''. The essays in this volume probe the historical origins of the concept and seek to evaluate it in the light of both historical and contemporary evidence. They raise profound questions about the provenance of the ''Big Society'' and its relevance to contemporary social concerns. They should be of interest to anyone who cares about the past, present or future of British social policy.'- Bernard Harris, University of Southampton, UK 'There is nothing new about the notion of a Big Society. This book combines historical scholarship, international research and grassroots experience to shine a critical spotlight on the rhetoric behind the coalition government's big idea.' - Bill Jordan, University of Plymouth, UK 'Armine Ishkanian and Simon Szreter's fascinating book provides important insights into the way political elites use slogans and imagery to sway public opinion on social policy issues. This highly original work will be a major scholarly resource for years to come.' - James Midgley, University of California, Berkeley, US The expert contributors to this detailed yet concise book collectively raise questions about the novelty of the Big Society Agenda, its ideological underpinnings, and challenges it poses for policy makers and practitioners. The book is divided into two sections, history and policy, which together provide readers with a historically grounded, internationally informed, and multidisciplinary analysis of the Big Society policies. The introduction and conclusion tie the strands together, providing a coherent analysis of the key issues in both sections. Various chapters in this study examine the limitations and consider the challenges involved in translating the ideas of the Big Society agenda into practice. By drawing on international examples, from developed and developing countries in order to analyze and discuss Big Society policies, this book will prove invaluable for students, academics and policy makers. Contributors: M. Albrow, K. Bradley, L. Charlesworth, R. Fries, J. Harris, M. Hill, M. Hilton, J. Holgate, A. Ishkanian, M. Ketola, D. Leat, D. Lewis, R. McGill, N. Ockenden, J. Page, C. Pharoah, L. Richardson, J. Stuart, S. Szreter, D. Weinbren

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Is there enough evidence to believe Jesus rose from the dead, or must such a judgment be based only on faith? Can the resurrection story be considered a fact of history, or should it be viewed as an ahistorical account? Two renowned professors, atheist Carl Stecher and Christian Craig Blomberg, engage in a groundbreaking new debate on these very questions. Other experts on the resurrection, atheist Richard Carrier and Christian Peter S. Williams, comment on the outcome. Presenting new approaches to these centuries-old questions and taking into account the latest scholarly research, Resurrection: Faith or Fact? is a must-have not only for all those following the resurrection question—but also for those skeptics and Christians alike who are interested in determining for themselves the truth behind this foundational doctrine of the Christian faith.

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The abbe Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes (1748-1836) distinguished himself as the chief theoretician of the French Revolution--and as a revolutionary constitutional and social theorist in his own right--through his rigorously analytical theory of representative government and its corollary, the representative character of social life in general. He expressed the essence of his thought in a series of three pamphlets published in the months leading up to the meeting of the Estates-General in 1789. This volume presents all three essays--Views of the Executive Means, An Essay on Privileges, and What Is the Third Estate?--in their entirety. The third essay, in a new translation by Michael Sonenscher, is followed by Sieyes's 1791 newspaper debate with Tom Paine on the merits of monarchy versus republicanism. Elucidated by Sonenscher's insightful Introduction, these texts will fascinate anyone interested in the history of the French Revolution, the history of social and political thought, or the origins and character of modern liberalism.

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This Open Access book presents unique evidence from the first comprehensive study of the outcomes of open adoption from care in Australia. It contributes to the international debate concerning the advantages and disadvantages of face-to-face post adoption contact with birth families.The chapters assess whether adoption provides a better chance of permanence and more positive outcomes than long-term foster care for abused and neglected children in care who cannot safely return to their birth families. They also explore whether open adoption can avoid some of the detrimental consequences of past policies in which adoption was shrouded in secrecy and children frequently grew up with a conflicted sense of identity. The book will appeal to policy makers, practitioners and students of social policy, social work, the law, psychology and psychiatry. It should also be of interest to adult adoptees and adoptive parents, whose experiences it reflects.

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