Drug war crimes:
the consequences of prohibition
Jeffrey A. Miron




A balanced and sophisticated analysis of the true costs, benefits, and consequences of enforcing drug prohibition is presented in this book. Miron argues that prohibitions effects on drug use have been modest and that prohibition has numerous side effects, most of them highly undesirable. In particular, prohibition is shown to directly increase violent crime, even in cases where it deters drug use. Mirons analysis leads to a disturbing findingthe more resources given to the fight against drugs, the greater the homicide rate. The costs and benefits of several alternatives to the war on drugs are examined. The conclusion is unequivocal and states that any of the most widely discussed alternatives is likely to be a substantial improvement over current policy."

The Concept of Law from a Transnational Perspective
Detlef Von Daniels

Anteprima



This book brings together the fruits of different traditions in legal philosophy and draws on them to develop a systematic thesis on the concept of law. The respective strengths of each tradition can thus be used to elucidate the phenomenon in question. The work explores the underlying question of how current phenomena of transnational law are best understood by legal theory. The traditions dealt with are, on the one hand, Jürgen Habermas's critical theory and, on the other, H. L. A. Hart's analytic jurisprudence. The thesis is that the key to a fruitful dialogue and comprehensive understanding is to appreciate that the concept of law is not state-centered and must reflect relationships to other legal systems.

Fair trade, corporate accountability and beyond:
experiments in globalizing ...
Kate Macdonald,Shelley Marshall

Anteprima

Placing Blame: A Theory of the Criminal Law
Michael Moore




This is a collection of essays written by Moore which form a thorough examination of the theory of criminal responsibility. The author covers a wide range of topics, giving the book a coherence and unity which is rare in assembled essays. Perhaps the most significant feature of this book is Moore's espousal of a retributivist theory of punishment. This anti-utilitarian standpoint is a common thread throughout the book. It is also a trend which is currently manifesting itself in all areas of moral, political and legal philosophy, but Moore is one of the first to apply such attitudes so sytematically to criminal law theory. As such, this innovative, new book will be of great interest to all scholars in this field.

Human rights and their limits
Wiktor Osiatyński



Human Rights and Their Limits deals with social, political, cultural, and ethical issues related to human rights. Chapters on the history of human rights show how great powers tried to use rights for their own purposes and how the weak and powerless used rights for the growth of freedom. Osiatyński argues that although rights are a prerequisite of freedom, they should be balanced with other values that are indispensable for social harmony and personal happiness.

Penal Abolitionism
Vincenzo Ruggiero




Abolitionism is not only a strategy or a set of demands, aimed at the reduction (or suppression) of custody, it is also a perspective, a philosophy, an approach which challenges conventional definitions of crime. This book examines the origin, philosophy and achievements of abolitionism and reviews the literature on penal abolitionism from the 1960s to the 1980s. By collecting and discussing the key abolitionist arguments, the author critically analyzes the views expressed by its leading proponents; Nils Christie, Louk Hulsman, Thomas Mathiesen and Herman Bianchi, examining in particular how their views took shape, their philosophical foundations, and the social and political context of abolitionist ideas and perspectives. Policies, such as the virtual abolition of custody for young offenders in Italy, are presented and the area of informal justice is also addressed, with an overview of mediation and compensation practices, and an assessment of the degree of their effectiveness and desirability. Through assessment of these achievements and experiments of specific abolitionist ideas, the author attempts to identify the legacy of abolitionism from a European perspective, while bringing into focus more recent contributions concerning the study of terrorism and war"

Folk devils and moral panics:
the creation of the Mods and Rockers
Stanley Cohen

Anteprima


Folk Devils and Moral Panics" is a study of "deviant" subcultures and the "moral panic" they generate in the media and in public debate. Stanley Cohen's study of Mods and Rockers in the 1960s was a foundational text both in terms of investigating the workings of subcultural groups and identifying the concept of a "moral panic" generated by the media, which leads to groups being vilified in the popular imagination, and inhibits rational debate about solutions to the social problems such groups represent. The insights Cohen provides into subculture and mass morality are as relevant in 2002 as they were when the book was originally published in 1972, as illustrated by the author's introduction for this new edition, in which he tracks moral panics since the 1970s, commenting on the demonization of young offenders and asylum seekers and on the "News of the World's" "name and shame" campaign against paedophiles. Revisiting the theory of moral panic and exploring the way in which the concept has been used, this new edition features a select bibliography of key texts for further reading.

Generative social science:
studies in agent-based computational modeling
Joshua M. Epstein

Anteprima


Agent-based computational modeling is changing the face of social science. In Generative Social Science, Joshua Epstein argues that this powerful, novel technique permits the social sciences to meet a fundamentally new standard of explanation, in which one "grows" the phenomenon of interest in an artificial society of interacting agents: heterogeneous, boundedly rational actors, represented as mathematical or software objects. After elaborating this notion of generative explanation in a pair of overarching foundational chapters, Epstein illustrates it with examples chosen from such far-flung fields as archaeology, civil conflict, the evolution of norms, epidemiology, retirement economics, spatial games, and organizational adaptation. In elegant chapter preludes, he explains how these widely diverse modeling studies support his sweeping case for generative explanation. This book represents a powerful consolidation of Epstein's interdisciplinary research activities in the decade since the publication of his and Robert Axtell's landmark volume, Growing Artificial Societies. Beautifully illustrated, Generative Social Science includes a CD that contains animated movies of core model runs, and programs allowing users to easily change assumptions and explore models, making it an invaluable text for courses in modeling at all levels.

Moral panics:
the social construction of deviance
Erich Goode,Nachman Ben-Yehuda



Moral Panics is sure to become a classic in the literature of deviance and criminology. It reviews in a critical and informative manner the core concepts of the discipline taking an international focus.

Popular music and society
Brian Longhurst

Anteprima


This new edition of Popular Music and Society, fully revised and updated, continues to pioneer an approach to the study of popular music that is informed by wider debates in sociology and media and cultural studies. Astute and accessible, it continues to set the agenda for research and teaching in this area.
The textbook begins by examining the ways in which popular music is produced, before moving on to explore its structure as text and the ways in which audiences understand and use music. Packed with examples and data on the contemporary production and consumption of popular music, the book also includes overviews and critiques of theoretical approaches to this exciting area of study and outlines the most important empirical studies which have shaped the discipline.

Understanding Society Through Popular Music
Joseph A. Kotarba,Phillip Vannini

Anteprima



Popular music is one of the most important sources of culture in our society, a source that provides the soundtrack for everyday life in America, while also providing practical meanings for making sense of everyday life. Accordingly, Popular Music and Society is organized to accomplish two instructional objectives. First, it shows how popular music affects all major social institutions; and secondly, it illustrates how popular music can be used to illustrate fundamental sociological theories and concepts. Ultimately, this creative text brings the concepts of sociology to life through the example of popular music.

Leisure
Tony Blackshaw

Anteprima



No single introductory book has until now captured the range of thought appropriate for scrutinizing the idea of leisure. Beginning with a discussion of expressions in classical thought, etymological definitions and key leisure studies concepts, Blackshaw suggests that the idea abounds with ambivalence, which is unlikely ever to be resolved.After analyzing the rise and fall of modern leisure patterns, the emphasis shifts from the historical to the sociological and the author identifies and critically discusses the key modernist and postmodernist perspectives. Drawing on the idea that leisure studies is a 'language game', Blackshaw subsequently offers his own original theory of liquid leisure which asks some key questions about the present and the future of leisure in people's lives, as well as what implications it has for individuals' abilities to embrace the opportunity for an authentic existence that is both magical and moral.Leisure is an essential purchase for undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers and academics in the fields of Sociology of Leisure, Sports and Leisure Studies, and Popular Culture

Networks, Crowds, and Markets:
Reasoning About a Highly Connected World
David Easley,Jon Kleinberg

Anteprima



Over the past decade there has been a growing public fascination with the complex connectedness of modern society. This connectedness is found in many incarnations: in the rapid growth of the Internet, in the ease with which global communication takes place, and in the ability of news and information as well as epidemics and financial crises to spread with surprising speed and intensity. These are phenomena that involve networks, incentives, and the aggregate behavior of groups of people; they are based on the links that connect us and the ways in which our decisions can have subtle consequences for others. This introductory undergraduate textbook takes an interdisciplinary look at economics, sociology, computing and information science, and applied mathematics to understand networks and behavior. It describes the emerging field of study that is growing at the interface of these areas, addressing fundamental questions about how the social, economic, and technological worlds are connected.

Computational and mathematical modeling in the social sciences
Scott De Marchi

Anteprima



Mathematical models in the social sciences have become increasingly sophisticated and widespread in the last decade. This period has also seen many critiques, most lamenting the sacrifices incurred in pursuit of mathematical rigor. If, as critics argue, our ability to understand the world has not improved during the mathematization of the social sciences, we might want to adopt a different paradigm. This book examines the three main fields of mathematical modeling - game theory, statistics, and computational methods - and proposes a new framework for modeling. Unlike previous treatments which view each field separately, the treatment provides a framework that spans and incorporates the different methodological approaches. The goal is to arrive at a new vision of modeling that allows researchers to solve more complex problems in the social sciences. Additionally, a special emphasis is placed upon the role of computational modeling in the social sciences.

Crime and media: a reader
Chris Greer




This engaging and timely collection gathers together for the first time key and classic readings in the ever-expanding area of crime and media. Comprising a carefully distilled selection of the most important contributions to the field, Crime and Media: A Reader tackles a wide range of issues including: theoretical perspectives; research methods; media influence; crime news and fiction; media, criminal justice and social control; and new media and surveillance technologies. Specially devised introductory and linking sections contextualise each reading and evaluate its contribution to the field, both individually and in relation to competing approaches and debates. Accessible yet challenging, and packed with additional pedagogical devices, Crime and Media: A Reader will be an invaluable resource for students and academics studying crime, media, culture, surveillance and control.

Crime and Terrorism
Peter Grabosky,Michael Stohl

Anteprima



'In this important book veteran researchers Grabosky and Stohl draw on organized crime to illuminate the neglected terrain between terrorism and more ordinary forms of illegal behavior. The book is required reading for anyone interested in the critical intersection between political violence and illegal business.' - Gary LaFree, Director, National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, University of Maryland'Jargon-free and bristling with thought-provoking examples from around the globe, Grabosky and Stohl have produced a lucid overview of a much-neglected area within criminology - the often murky interface between organised crime and terrorism.' - Dr. Keith Hayward, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, University of Kent, UKTerrorism and crime are two areas of knowledge that have traditionally been looked at independently. In this timely and original text, two of the leading authors in the field provide a clear and thorough look at terrorism from a criminological perspective. Integrating the latest research, the book explores the motives of criminals and terrorists, the causes of crime and terrorism and the impact of the law and the legal system. Central to this exploration, the authors examine the nexus between criminal and terrorist organizations, and the commonalities and differences between them and what this means for public policy and safety and security within states. Cross-cultural and international in perspective, this is a fresh and original text that will appeal to undergraduates, academics, and researchers in criminology, politics, international relations, sociology, and cultural studies.« Riduci

Piani di zona in Lombardia.
Le sfide della programmazione sociale



L'esperienza lombarda di pianificazione zonale può essere considerata ormai matura, confermando la bontà dello strumento "Piani di Zona", che rappresenta una delle riforme di maggior successo introdotte dal legislatore nazionale nel campo delle politiche sociali. Il volume propone una riflessione ad ampio raggio, a partire dai dati di monitoraggio regionale, approfondendo dieci studi di caso con l'utilizzo di strumenti di analisi qualitativa. La metodologia di ricerca utilizzata permette di cogliere la complessità dei differenti territori della Lombardia, sviluppando originali elementi di analisi sui grandi temi della programmazione locale: i rapporti con le ASL, la partecipazione attiva del privato sociale, la diffusione delle forme di sostegno alla libera scelta dei cittadini, lo sviluppo delle forme di gestione associata.

Babini Valeria P.
Liberi tutti.
Manicomi e psichiatri in Italia:
una storia del Novecento




II 21 aprile 1980 chiude per volontà dei medici e della politica il manicomio di Trieste. Per la prima volta al mondo un ospedale psichiatrico viene dichiarato soppresso. Una nuova legge, la 180, approvata il 13 maggio del 1978, ha ormai aperto una nuova epoca per la cura delle malattie mentali. La reclusione manicomiale non esiste più. È l'esito culminante di un difficile cammino che, a partire dagli inizi del Novecento, ha attraversato non solo la comunità psichiatrica ma l'intera società italiana. Dialogando con le voci più varie che ne furono testimoni - medici, giornalisti, scrittori, politici, registi, ex degenti, cittadini - il libro ricostruisce e narra momenti e personaggi chiave di una straordinaria vicenda: i traumi da trincea della guerra '15-18, l'invenzione italiana dell'elettroshock, la "follia" di Violet Gibson l'attentatrice di Mussolini, la scoperta degli psicofarmaci, la rivoluzione psichiatrica degli anni Sessanta, la strada verso la nuova legge. Un racconto che mostra come la questione psichiatrica abbia rappresentato un momento centrale della storia d'Italia nel cammino verso la democrazia.

Baudrillard Jean
Patafisica e arte del vedere


"Patafisica e arte del vedere" raccoglie alcuni testi (cinque saggi, di cui quattro inediti in Italia) dedicati all'immagine di Jean Baudrillard, uno dei sociologi, semiologi e filosofi più conosciuti al mondo per la sua pungente e spietata analisi del "sistema degli oggetti": la realtà come simulazione e rappresentazione, come insieme di segni che ormai rimandano solo a se stessi e nulla hanno più a vedere con la sostanza "vera" della realtà.

Scenari di Mafia
orizzonte criminologico e innovazioni normative
a cura di Giovanni Fiandaca e Costantino Visconti