Suchergebnisse

This themed section has at its heart reflections on the development of policy of, and for, information in health and social care over the last ten years in both the UK and Australia. It addresses a set of concerns often overlooked within social policy, namely the use of information and information systems as tools by organisations, policy makers and practitioners in the modernisation or transformation of public services, including in this case health and social care. Not long ago, in both countries, information was perceived as a panacea for the problems of integrating care services between health and social care organisations and these organisations and the patient, client or user of services. The authors focus upon England and Australia and contrast them briefly with other countries in Europe where the state plays a range of roles in the provision of health and social care.

The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy held a timely conference entitled 'The Struggle for Democracy in Turbulent Times: Practical Solutions for US Policy' on June 12 at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, DC. The day was filled with informative panels and speeches from Middle East experts, politicians, and policymakers. Philip Gordon, former assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, and Keith Ellison, the US representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district, opened the program. Adapted from the source document.

The politics of so‐called "morality policies" including same‐sex marriage, abortion, gambling, and drug control have captured the attention of the public and social scientists in recent years. Drawing on data from journalistic accounts, legislative transcripts, elite interviews, and document analysis, this study examines the extensiveness of morality talk in debates over marijuana decriminalization in the United States. The results indicate that critics deployed moral (decriminalization sends the wrong message to youth, decreases risk perception, and promotes "normalization"), mixed (decriminalization has negative effects for families, communities, and society), and non‐moral (decriminalization negatively impacts individuals vis‐à‐vis physical, mental, and social health) arguments. The results both improve our understanding of the factors that will shape United States marijuana policy in the future and offer theoretical implications for our understanding of morality policy as a substantive category of public policy.

As the US government winds up an interagency review of rules governing the export of large drones, the conflicting goals of nonproliferation and commerce are creating a new test of the 27-year-old Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). Observers do not expect big changes to the MTCR, which seeks to prevent the proliferation of unmanned systems capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction. The MTCR, a voluntary arrangement that now includes 34 countries, originally was intended to curb the spread of ballistic missiles. In 1992 it was expanded to cover unmanned aerial vehicles and has become Washington's chief tool for controlling the spread of armed drones. The proliferation of armed drones to other countries could lead to more attacks on civilians and more armed conflict, and, if the drones fell into the wrong hands, could pose a threat to US security, arms control advocates say. Adapted from the source document.

For the past five and a half years, the US military has suffered the devastating effects of hundreds of billions of dollars in budget cuts. At the same time, China's armed forces have made dramatic gains. Today, the PLA boasts new strategic capabilities that validate Hagel's words about the new era of declining American military dominance. The new power balance -- a weakening American military facing a rising Chinese power -- has dire implications for global peace and stability. Furthermore, the sharp decline in funds for US military operations and modernization, coupled with China's rapid build- up of forces, has rendered Pres Obama's premier foreign-policy initiative, to strategically shift toward the Asia Pacific and away from conflicts in the Middle East and Southwest Asia, all but impossible to achieve. China is among several important foreign powers that have come to recognize that the Obama administration's behavior has opened new possibilities for them -- possibilities that are creating new and unprecedented threats to the US and the world. Adapted from the source document.

On February 24, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel walked into the Pentagon briefing room to deliver a speech unveiling the defense budget of the US for the coming fiscal year. The proposed defense budget for 2015 will consume only 3.4% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product -- down from 4.7% in 2011. This figure is projected to continue declining to a mere 2.3% of GDP by 2024, which would be the lowest level since 1940. Army leadership has stated that a force of 28 active-duty BCTs and 24 Guard BCTs, which would require an active-duty end-strength of 450,000 personnel, is the smallest acceptable force to implement the defense strategy mandated by the nation's political leadership in documents such as the Quadrennial Defense Review. The US Navy is already down to a battle force of 289, of which only 104 are deployed at any one time to cover the entire world. Adapted from the source document.

At present, our planet will be embraced in a network of new bilateral trade treaty. The driving forces are the old economic powers EU and USA. However, new actors in the global economy of the 21st century such as China and India are. Such agreements exert high pressure on competing economies in their respective regions. The EU-Korea and Korea-US So procured the South Korean electronics and automakers such a large cost advantage that the Japanese government to the negotiating table with the EU was forced (bilateral) and the USA (plurilateral Pacific agreement TPP). China has now responded. It is negotiating with Korea and Japan. Now it is considering even to join the negotiations on a plurilateral agreement on services (TISA). Adapted from the source document.