Academic literature on the topic 'Public policies’ exceptionality'

Scotland is often perceived as having a relatively welcoming view towards migrants and is presented as such by its politicians and policymakers. This positioning sits within a broader political context in which the Scottish Government favours immigration but has limited policy levers with which to directly influence it. This paper seeks to scrutinise the supposition that Scotland can be seen as ‘different’ to the rest of the UK in terms of how immigration is perceived in the public realm. This is pursued through the analysis of attitudinal data to explore public views on migration, the potential drivers of these perceptions and their implications for future immigration policy in the context of the 2014 referendum on the constitutional future of Scotland. The research finds that the public in Scotland does hold relatively positive views towards migration and that this could be related to Scotland's particular experience of population in and out movements. However there is evidence of some (growing) hostility towards migration on the part of the general public in Scotland and a possible link between nationalist leanings and opposition to ‘Others’. These findings have significant implications for debates regarding possible future immigration policies in Scotland.

In 2018, Daniel Sawka directed independent feature length movie Icebox, which narrates the story of a 12-year old Honduran boy whose parents push him to migrate northbound in order to escape forced gang recruitment. Without giving way to ideological bias, Sawka reproduces his journey, providing a useful tool for raising awareness on some of the key matters related to the ongoing debate on US immigration and border policies. The operation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities and the detention of Central American children at the US- Mexico border represent a transnational gray area in the extension of sovereign power, turning the border itself in a kenotic space of exception legitimated by the construction of a specific public discourse on immigration and national boundaries. Furthermore, the movie describes the existence of the evident normalization of inhumanity intrinsic to the detention process and praxis, leading to dehumanization of detainees and a suspension—both individual and public—of questioning the tasks performed by border enforcement agencies from an ethical or moral perspective.

The exceptionality of the Coronavirus-related quarantines motivated the design of a longitudinal study aimed at exploring how the confinement can affect psychological well-being. 205 participants (81% female) took part in the study. Personality, time perspective, and morningness were assessed at the beginning of the quarantine, along with levels of depression, anxiety, and satisfaction with life as mood and well-being indicators. A post measure was taken 2 weeks after the first data collection. Two weeks later, a supplementary follow-up measure was performed again. A significant increase in depression and anxiety was found between pre and post measures that remained stable at follow up, whereas life satisfaction was not affected. Past-negative temporal orientation and neuroticism were the highest risk factors for a decline in psychological well-being. Results are discussed in terms of how individual differences should be considered in assessing citizens’ response to public health policies regarding isolation measures.

The exceptionality of the Coronavirus-related quarantines motivated the design of a longitudinal study aimed at exploring how the confinement can affect psychological well-being. 205 participants (81% female) took part in the study. Personality, time perspective, and morningness were assessed at the beginning of the quarantine, along with levels of depression, anxiety, and satisfaction with life as mood and well-being indicators. A post measure was taken 2 weeks after the first data collection. Two weeks later, a supplementary follow-up measure was performed again. A significant increase in depression and anxiety was found between pre and post measures that remained stable at follow up, whereas life satisfaction was not affected. Past-negative temporal orientation and neuroticism were the highest risk factors for a decline in psychological well-being. Results are discussed in terms of how individual differences should be considered in assessing citizens’ response to public health policies regarding isolation measures.

The State of Trade-Unionism in the Police. The level of trade-union membership is exceptionally high in the police force. Trade-unionism in the police is therefore strong ; it is equally autonomous but also divided, due notably to its categorised nature. Following on from the 1980s, when a union, the FASP, occupied centre stage pursuing a policy of co-management with governing authorities, unionism in the police has entered a complex phase of recomposition and regrouping, marked by internal crises and demands for the pursuit of corporate interests.

AbstractThis article offers a critical review of the Spanish Plan Estratégico Nacional de Lucha Contra la Radicalización Violenta (National Strategic Plan to Fight Violent Radicalization or “PEN-LCRV”), focusing on its most controversial discursive elements. While it is not possible to perform a complete empirical examination of its impact after five years, we can highlight some if its achievements, effects and shortcomings. Through a review of the key concepts and logic underlying the PEN-LCRV, this article considers how the notion of security can enable the design and implementation of public policies, as well as the current trends regarding the relationship between social protection and punitive control.

The process of creation, development, adoption and enforcement of public policy presents an exceptionally challenging issue for several reasons. First of all, public policies are used to identify and resolve certain social problems and social issues, them being their primary aim. Furthermore, public policy articulates the aims of governing political subject, through which they strive to realize their programs. And finally, public policy satisfies certain needs of citizens and business community. It is therefore very difficult to achieve the full correlation of these three goals while simultaneously fulfill all genuine needs of society and ideological and political goals of governing elites. Something like this presents a challenge in the complex societies of post-conflict and countries of post-socialist transition, as Western Balkans countries are considered to be. Namely, for many decades such environments had a narrowly set and monolithic approach to the projection of public policy, though the concept of their strategic planning was radically revised a decade ago and entered into a completely different qualitative and quantitative phase. The subject of this paper is the Analysis of the alignment of public policies development in the Western Balkan countries with the European Union standards. The paper will envelop a brief review of public policy adoption process in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania. The pillar in the presentation of the said countries constitutes the existing criteria and tools which were projected and evaluated by SIGMA-OECD organization, with the aim to converge public administrations of Western Balkans countries with European administrative region. The paper uses the methods of legal exegesis, content analysis, comparative methods, principles and indicators of SIGMA-OECD, and provides an empirical review of the assessment of the situation conducted on the given thematic by the said organization.

Free School Meals (FSM) have been the site of renewed contestation and extensive campaigning in the last half-decade. Until recently, children in families with ‘no recourse to public funds’ because of their immigration status were excluded from accessing FSMs, despite being some of the most destitute in Britain. Through an analysis of campaign materials and interviews with advocates, we consider this dynamic policy terrain in light of the UK's ‘hostile environment’ and consider lessons for campaigners. By exploring imaginaries of childhood, poverty, and nation shaping FSM policies, we offer a warning that campaigns can end up justifying exclusions at the same time as aiming for more expansive support. How campaigns represent their causes has implications, which, in this case, is often through the exceptionalism and hyper-deservingness of childhood. We argue these representations reduce discussion to technical questions about who is ‘deserving’, thereby risking shoring up an exclusionary and hostile state.

Korea provides an illuminating case of state intervention to promote economic development. Like many other third world governments, Korea's government has selectively intervened to affect the allocation of resources among industrial activities. It has used taxes and subsidies, credit rationing, various kinds of licensing, and the creation of public enterprises, for example. But these policies have been applied in the context of a radically different development strategy, one of export-led industrialization. Moreover, Korea's economy has experienced exceptionally rapid development with relatively equitable distribution of the gains. This paper argues that the government's selective industrial policies have contributed importantly to Korea's rapid achievement of international competitiveness in a number of industries. Though accepted by many knowledgeable observers, the conclusion is controversial—inherently so owing to insufficient historical information and lack of agreement about the required counterfactual.

The paper considers the nature and scale of the benefits and costs of gambling, with special reference to machine gaming. Although the industry is argued to be unlikely to have a significant macroeconomic impact, evidence is consistent with it generating considerable benefits to individual (responsible) consumers, whether measured by consumer surplus or through the pattern of responses to a wellbeing question. At the same time, a minority of users of gaming facilities, problem gamblers, appear to make consistently flawed decisions such that those with gambling disorder experience exceptionally low wellbeing. Public policy and regulatory decisions should consider the effects, on the margin, on both the net benefits to recreational gamblers and the net costs to problem gamblers. Many policy decisions may involve a trade-off between the welfare of recreational gamblers and the welfare of problem gamblers. Contemporary interest in targeted policies appears to represent an attempt to avoid the need to confront such a trade-off by searching for policies which are aimed very explicitly at problem gamblers alone.

São numerosos a produção de textos e os debates centrados na arrecadação de tributos, mas é extremamente pequeno o interesse demonstrado pela nossa doutrina pela forma como é empregada a altíssima carga tributária exigida dos contribuintes. A questão torna-se incompreensível em razão da extrema miséria em que vive 1/5 da população brasileira e do fato de que os órgãos controladores só exercitam a sua competência saneadora depois do dano consumado. Controle prévio, no entanto, não é só aquela participação formal de concordância em relação a certos atos do Poder Público, é o momento em que ocorre a fiscalização do Tribunal, não a obrigatoriedade mecânica exigida para a eficácia do ato. Esses desacertos ocorrem em razão dos inadequados paradigmas do Direito Administrativo e do Direito Constitucional, que insistem em sobreviver em um Estado moderno, democrático e republicizado. O Direito (material e formal) deveria promover uma ininterrupta interatividade entre o Estado e a sociedade e a formação de uma consciência cívica capaz de impedir a exclusão do cidadão na gestão pública. O controle social proposto encontra seu fundamento último nas imperfeições do sistema democrático representativo e na insegurança jurídica que a judicialização de políticas públicas e uma mais ampla atuação do Tribunal de Contas, capaz de chegar até o trâmite dos tipos orçamentários, poderiam provocar. Assim, o jogo democrático não seria exercido somente na aparência, porquanto democracia e contestabilidade são prismas de uma mesma materialidade. Em síntese, o estado de exceção permanente em que vivemos, produto de um extremo desequilíbrio entre fato, valor e norma, exige uma imediata mudança no inoperante sistema de checks and balances. O alargamento dos meios de controle, entretanto, só serão seguros se o sistema permitir uma efetiva participação popular no amplo debate que deve ser travado entre todos os atores representativos de uma democracia verdadeiramente deliberativa. O controle social não é a panacéia de todos os males, mas é a única forma de tornar eficaz o complexo conjunto de opções empregadas para o controle interno e externo eficaz de políticas públicas. Como adverte Bobbio, citado na conclusão do trabalho, \"já estamos demasiadamente atrasados (...) Não temos muito tempo a perder\".
The production of texts is wide and the discussions are focused on tax collection but the interest demonstrated by our scholars on the way whereby the very high tax burden charged from taxpayers is used is extremely poor. The issue becomes unintelligible in view of the extreme poverty in which one fifth of the Brazilian population lives and of the fact that the controlling authorities exercise their remedying powers only after the damage is consummated. However, prior control is not only that formal participation consisting in the agreement with certain acts performed by Public Authorities, it is the time when the Court exercises its surveillance, not the mechanical obligatoriness required for effectiveness of the act. Such mismatching occurs because of the inadequate paradigms of Adrninistrative Law and Constitutional Law, which insist in surviving in a modern and democratic State, and further, a State conformed to the republican system. In opposition, the Law (both material and formal) must promote an interrupted interactivity between the State and society and the creation of a civic awareness, capable of preventing the citizen\'s exclusion from public management. The social control proposed is ultimately grounded on the imperfections of the representative democratic system and on legal unsafety, which the judicialization of public policies and a wider performance by the Audit Court, capable of reaching the channels of the budget types, could provoke. Thus, the democratic game would not be played only in appearance, since democracy and the exercise of contestation are angles of the same materiality. In short, the state of permanent exceptionality in which we live, which is the product of an extreme unbalance among fact, value and norm, requires an immediate change in the inoperative checks-and-balances system. However, the enlargement of the control means shall only be safe if the system allows the population\' s actual participation in the wide discussion that must be conducted among all actors who represent an actual deliberative democracy. Social control is not a remedy for all diseases, but the only form of rendering effective the complex set of options used for the efficiency of internal and external controls of public policies. As warned by Bobbio, quoted in the conclusion of the work, \"we are already too late (...). We have not much time to waste\".

En droit international privé, l’ordre public est un outil de la justice conflictuelle dont la mission est de défendre le corpus juridique et la cohésion sociale de l’État requis. Pour ce faire, l’ordre public international repose sur un mécanisme dont les deux composantes sont les lois de police et l’exception d’ordre public. Dans les contentieux témoignant d’un élément d’extranéité, l’ordre public international peut s’opposer à l’application d’une loi étrangère pour trancher un litige ou faire obstacle à la circulation d’un acte public étranger en raison des atteintes qu’ils pourraient porter aux valeurs fondamentales du for. En droit français, l’ordre public international trouve un fondement textuel dans l’article 6 du Code civil qui dispose qu’« [o]n ne peut déroger, par des conventions particulières, aux lois qui intéressent l'ordre public et les bonnes mœurs ». Cela signifie qu’en théorie, si l’ordre public international défend l’axiologie du for, il faut que le législateur ait au préalable déterminé la substance de l’ordre public international ; le cas échéant, le principe d’ordre public consacré par le Code civil resterait lettre morte. Effectivement, le juge national ne peut pas créer du droit. Pourtant, en matière d’ordre public international, c’est au juge qu’est revenu la mission de déterminer les normes juridiques, principes et valeurs devant intégrer l’ordre public international. Ce constat fut l’occasion de formuler plusieurs remarques. Dans le système légaliste français, le juge n’a pas la légitimité nécessaire pour être le seul décisionnaire en la matière et l’ordre public international virtuel est souvent critiqué par les juristes pour sa variabilité et son imprévisibilité. En outre, la Constitution française, qui détermine le processus d’élaboration de la norme, habilite exclusivement le législateur à produire un discours normatif. Enfin, le juge n’est pas le porteur de la vox populi qui ne peut s’exprimer, d’après le contrat social, qu’à travers la règle de droit adoptée par le législateur en sa qualité de représentant du Peuple. À l’aune de ces considérations, il ressort qu’un décalage entre l’« être » et le « devoir-être » du système juridique affecte l’organisation sociétale française a fortiori en droit international privé. À ce titre, la première partie de l’étude a été consacrée à l’exposition de la relativité des présupposés et dogmes sur lesquels reposent la construction de l’ordre public international textuel. Cela nous a permis de mettre en exergue l’importance de la complémentarité de la textualité et de la virtualité de l’ordre public international, mais plus encore, l’impossibilité de considérer avec absoluité l’objectif de parvenir à édicter un ordre public international textuel. A contrario, nous avons mis en lumière la rationalité intrinsèque du phénomène de la virtualité en droit, qui en la matière est motivé par une démarche constructive initiée par le juge au service du système juridique français. La virtualité de l’ordre public international participe à l’édification de la Nation en préservant les règles les plus structurantes pour les individus sur le territoire du for. La deuxième partie de l’étude s’est attelée à démontrer l’existence de l’influence psychique de l’individu sur le système juridique, mais aussi le fonctionnement et la mission de l’ordre public international. Les besoins motivationnels des individus et les mécanismes conscients comme inconscients de la vie mentale des personnes physiques ont une résurgence sur la finalité de l’ordre public international. Cela fut l’occasion de mettre en perspective la multiplicité des fonctions de l’ordre public international et de s’intéresser à leur utilité dans le contexte juridique contemporain. In fine, c’est au profit d’une approche pluridisciplinaire et éclectique que nous sommes parvenu à faire émerger la rationalité des fonctions de l’ordre public international et de sa dimension virtuelle
In private international law, public policies are a tool of conflict laws, whose mission is to defend the legislative corpus and the social cohesion of the required State. In order to do so, international public policies rely on a mecanism made out of two main components: mandatory laws and public policies’ exceptionality. When an extraneous element is present in a given case, international public policies can go against the application of a foreign law in order to settle a case or to oppose the traffic of a foreign public act going against the founding values of the forum. In French law, international public policies are based on article 6 of the Code civil, which states that "one cannot, through specific conventions, go against the laws of public policies and good morals". This means that, in theory, if international public policies defend the forum’s axiology, the lawmaker must previously have determined international public policies’ substance; if it is so, the principle behind public policies sanctionned in the Code civil would be held in abeyance. Indeed, a national judge cannot create law. However, when it comes to international public policies, judges have ended up with the responsibility to determine legislative norms, principles and values meant to become international public policies. This observation presents an opportunity to elaborate on a few points. In the French legal system, the judge does not have the necessary legitimacy to be the sole decision-maker on this topic and international public policies are often criticized by legal practitioners for their changeability and unforseeable nature. What is more, the French Constitution, which determines the process through which norms are drawn up, only authorizes the law maker to produce prescriptive discourse. Finally, the judge is not the vox populi’s herald: according to the social contract, the rule of law is its sole expression as it stems from the proper representative of the People, the law maker. From these observations, one can conclude that a discrepancy exists between the legal system’s being and its duty, which affects the French social organisation, especially when it comes to private international law. This has allowed us to stress the importance of the balance between the written and virtual aspects of private international law, and more than that, the impossibility of considering in absolutes the aim of creating written international public policies. On the other hand, we have brought to light the intrinsic rationality of virtual law, motivated in this case by a constructive approach initiated by the judge in service of the French legal system. The written nature of international public policies takes part in the edification of the Nation by preserving the most structuring rules for individuals within the territory of the forum. The second part of our study shows an existing psychological influence on the legal system as well as on international public policies’ operating and objectives. People’s motivational needs and the mechanisms, both conscious and unconscious, that drive their mental lives have an impact on international public policies’ aim. Once again, this was an opportunity to put into perspective the many functions of international public policies and to delve into their use in a contemporary legal context. Ultimately, it is through a multidisciplinary and eclectic approach that we have managed to bring to the surface the rationale behind international public policies’ functions, and its virtual characteristic

Chapter 1 challenges the conventional wisdom on American exceptionalism in regard to tax and social policy. After setting up the puzzle and outlining why previous theories cannot explain them, it lays out the book’s main arguments in detail. First, it outlines the book’s theory of fiscalization as an obfuscation strategy. Second, it outlines a new theory of the cultural legacies of public policies. It is not, as most scholars argue, the legacy of the Poor Law that explains America’s exceptional tax credits but rather the absence of a legacy of family allowances. It argues that “logics of appropriateness,” institutionalized in policy legacies, can limit the ability of future policymakers to extend benefits to seemingly deserving target populations. The legitimacy of a policy depends not only on who is receiving it and whether it is effective but also on how they are receiving it.

This chapter focuses on American exceptionalism in parole release and supervision. It first establishes a clear understanding of what is meant by granting parole and parole supervision in the United States and Europe within the respective sentencing schemes and then gives a comparative statistical picture. The chapter then considers the history of parole on both sides of the Atlantic, before examining and comparing current policies in the United States and Europe in more detail. The principal finding is that European parole, unlike its American counterparts, is dominated by a discourse that stresses and highlights human dignity and procedural justice rather than public safety. In the American discourse, by contrast, there is less emphasis on the rights of parolees. Parole decision-making and supervision are mainly shaped by risk aversion. To conclude, this chapter reflects on whether European ideals for parole may take root in the United States.

The drug policies of the Nordic countries have been relatively strict. Since this seems to contradict the internationally recognized liberal criminal policy in general, analyses have been devoted to try to understand this gap. Why doesn’t the “Scandinavian exceptionalism” apply to the drug policies? The new question in relation to drug policy is, however, if and how the Nordic countries will adapt to a situation when several countries all over the world are questioning ‘the war on drugs’ and orienting themselves in the direction of decriminalization and legalization. An analysis of a possible change in drug policies must be undertaken against the background of the existing policies. There are both similarities and differences between the five countries. A common feature is a stress on the demand side through both treatment and punishments directed against the user and abuser. Differences are shown in degrees of toughness in drug policies with Sweden strongest stressing a zero-tolerance stand and Denmark being the most liberal in the Nordic context. The strong welfare state ideology of all the countries is important for understanding the obstacles to a more liberal and permissive drug policy. The welfare state is an interventionist state. To not do anything about what is considered to be a problem both for the individual and the society is just not an option. In most of the countries the traditions from the temperance movements also have influenced the drug policies through the stepping-stone or gateway theory, not making a distinction between soft and hard drugs. At the same time, a number of facts and processes work in the direction of change. The drug policies of the countries have not delivered, including high numbers of drug-related deaths. The debate has opened up in just a short period of time. Many of the political youth parties demand decriminalisation of use of drugs and so have some public authorities. Human rights arguments are increasingly being put forward as a critique of police interventions. A tendency for politicians to meet the critique seems to be to separate the marginal abuser from the recreational user. The first one should be given treatment and care according to welfare state ideology. The second one, however, could be punished since the user in line with neo-liberal theory can choose and by the use contributes to the drug trade and even the killings in poor suburbs. The Nordic countries stand at a crossroads, but what new roads will be taken is far from clear.

Abstract The usual version of the history of funding for HIV-related prevention and treatment programs is one that emphasizes the “exceptionalism” of HIV and the success of public health officials and advocates in obtaining funding for HIV- specific public health programs. Indeed, Figure 6-1 indicates, funding did increase dramatically in the first years of the epidemic for these categorical discretionary programs. But approaches to funding HIV prevention and care programs were not necessarily exceptional since they were patterned on preceding public health efforts to create and/or increase funding for specific health concerns. Such categorical programs, despite initial funding successes, often clash with each other for funding and tend to be poorly integrated with one another and the larger health-care delivery system.

Abstract The chapter shows that the reluctance of politicians to follow public opinion is a normative ideal rather than an empirical reality. Once politicians are asked about their daily work, it immediately becomes clear that their public opinion perceptions have a pervasive influence on their political undertakings. Perceptions matter. Foremost, (perceived) public opinion has a strong agenda-setting effect. Representatives choose to invest in initiatives where they have the public on their side and to abort or postpone initiatives for which there presumably is no support. They rarely deliberately cross their own electorate and when they do, preventive measures are put in place to avoid (electoral) harm. Politicians confirm that besides generating congruent policies, communication is one of the reasons why having accurate public opinion perceptions is so important. If they (exceptionally) decide to go against public opinion, they want to anticipate citizens’ reactions and to adapt their explanations accordingly.

International Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences defines local government as a public entity which is a sub-unit of a state or of a region, charged with the determination and carrying out of certain public policies in a relatively small territory. Local authorities are created to respond to certain needs of the inhabitants in local communities. These are mainly administrative, political and social factors. Leaving aside a few exceptionally small states, carrying out of all the public services from a single center is almost impossible. In order to ensure efficient performance of public services and to avoid both “apoplexy” at the center on one hand, and “anemia” in the periphery, there is a need to reduce the load on the shoulders of the central government and to take necessary measures to strengthen local authorities.

Abstract This chapter conceives police constables in India as security laborers who suffer exceptionally poor living and working conditions with few viable avenues to critique or transform those conditions. Drawing on ethnographic and historical data sources, I demonstrate how the everyday experiences of insecurity by police personnel themselves work to reproduce insecurity among the public at large. This structure of relations is rooted in colonial forms of knowledge and administration that figure rank-and-file police as expendable “security laborers” and reflect broader forms of structural violence and social inequality. Analyzing how the Indian state has continuously suppressed attempts by police to unionize or find other avenues for voicing labor concerns, the chapter concludes by suggesting that fundamental changes in relational structures may realize substantive improvements in police practice and effectiveness, which in turn could enhance both “internal security” and social justice in the world’s most populous democracy.

This chapter examines Pigou's life during World War I. At no time in his life were his private thoughts about noneconomic values more public than between 1914 and 1918. Economists often grant that war is a period of exception, that policies and rules considered wise in peacetime are not applicable during wars. For Pigou, this exceptionalism applied not only to matters of economic policy but also to his own silence on policy and ethical imperatives. Yet the war left Pigou disheartened by the human capacity for atrocity. Moreover, the byzantine machinations of politics and bureaucracy left him disenchanted with something else entirely: the state apparatus. Thus, the war and its aftermath hollowed Pigou out; his youthful idealism was shaken, and his conception of the state as a fundamental theoretical agent in his system of welfare economics shattered.

This chapter looks at the grave flaws in the current treatment of international law in American courts. Both the status and content of public and private international law in the United States are uncertain, frequently governed by contradictory or parochial rules of State law; the resulting body of international law that is applied by U.S. courts is unpredictable and incoherent. Over the past fifty years, U.S. federal courts have also increasingly marginalized both international law and the role of American courts in resolving international disputes. This treatment of international law threatens serious damage to historic U.S. values and frustrates vitally important national policies. The chapter then considers how the current treatment of international law in American courts is also contrary to the U.S. Constitution’s allocation of authority over the nation’s foreign relations and international trade, which vests the federal government with both plenary and exclusive authority over U.S. foreign relations and commerce, while, exceptionally, forbidding State involvement in either field. Moreover, this treatment conflicts with vital national interests and policies in both fields, frustrating long-standing national interests in the nation’s compliance with international law and development of the international legal system.

Abstract In 136, two years before his death, Hadrian had prepared for the succession by adopting one of the consuls for that year, Lucius Ceionius Commodus, under the name of L. Aelius Caesar. However, the latter’s own premature death forced a new choice on the emperor. This time he settled upon the man whom we know as Antoninus Pius, a distinguished member of the senate who had acquired a reputation for honesty and devotion to duty. He had been a consular since 120, and towards the end of Hadrian’s reign he became a member of the emperor’s consilium, the advisory committee that was analogous to the group of senior friends on whom Roman magistrates relied for counsel. Hadrian had made the consilium principis more formal than before, and there can be no doubt that Antoninus’ long career in the public service, and his closeness to the emperor towards the end, gave him intimate knowledge of the workings of the empire and of Hadrian’s own policies in matters of state. In the emperor’s last year Antoninus had largely administered the empire on Hadrian’s behalf He thus came to the throne exceptionally well prepared. To extend the principle of adoptive succession further, Hadrian had also required Antonomous to adopt both Marcus

Abstract This book might be considered a sequel to my earlier study White Supremacy: A Comparative Study in American and South African History, but it is not one that I planned or expected to write when that work was published in 1981. White Supremacy compared the attitudes, ideologies, and policies associated with white or European domination over blacks and other people of color in the history of both societies. In the introduction, I acknowledged the “obvious limitations” of this approach: “Comparative studies of non white responses and resistance movements would be enormously valuable and should be done. But a useful prelude to such a work is awareness of what non whites were up against.…”At the time, nothing was further from my mind than writing my own study of the other side of the black-white confrontation. I thought of White Supremacy as a one-shot excursion into comparative history involving South Africa, after which I would revert to my previous vocation as simply an historian of the United States with a special interest in black white relations. But two things happened to change my mind. The first was my growing sense of the unlikelihood that anyone else would undertake a study such as the one I had proposed. It eventually dawned on me that the broad understanding of South African history that I had acquired in writing White Supremacy had prepared me exceptionally well to carry on such work and that if I did not do it no one else was likely to in the foreseeable future. The second new consideration was the remarkable course of events in South Africa in the 1980s. I watched with fascination as a massive resistance movement challenged white supremacy as it had never been challenged before. Like most other observers writing in the previous decade, I had not expected such a development; my studies of the ideas and institutions associated with white domination had made it seem that the apartheid regime was backed by sufficient white power and determination to make it, if not invulnerable, at least in control of the situation for several years to come. As events unfolded in South Africa, I became intensely curious about the history of the black opposition-how it had developed, what its governing ideas were, and how it compared with the African-American freedom struggle that had been central to my public consciousness since the 1950s and that I had long wanted to study and write about.

Aim/Purpose: This paper provides the results of the preliminary analysis of the findings of an ongoing study that seeks to examine the social media use, cultural and political awareness, civic engagement, issue prioritization, and social activism of Gen Z students enrolled at four different institutional types located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The aim of this study is to look at the group as a whole as well as compare findings across populations. The institutional types under consideration include a mid-sized majority serving or otherwise referred to as a traditionally white institution (TWI) located in a small coastal city on the Atlantic Ocean, a small Historically Black University (HBCU) located in a rural area, a large community college located in a county that is a mixture of rural and suburban and which sits on the border of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and graduating high school students enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) programs in a large urban area. This exploration is purposed to examine the behaviors and expectations of Gen Z students within a representative American region during a time of tremendous turmoil and civil unrest in the United States. Background: Over 74 million strong, Gen Z makes up almost one-quarter of the U.S. population. They already outnumber any current living generation and are the first true digital natives. Born after 1996 and through 2012, they are known for their short attention spans and heightened ability to multi-task. Raised in the age of the smart phone, they have been tethered to digital devices from a young age with most having the preponderance of their childhood milestones commemorated online. Often called Zoomers, they are more racially and ethnically diverse than any previous generation and are on track to be the most well-educated generation in history. Gen Zers in the United States have been found in the research to be progressive and pro-government and viewing increasing racial and ethnic diversity as positive change. Finally, they are less likely to hold xenophobic beliefs such as the notion of American exceptionalism and superiority that have been popular with by prior generations. The United States has been in a period of social and civil unrest in recent years with concerns over systematic racism, rampant inequalities, political polarization, xenophobia, police violence, sexual assault and harassment, and the growing epidemic of gun violence. Anxieties stirred by the COVID-19 pandemic further compounded these issues resulting in a powder keg explosion occurring throughout the summer of 2020 and leading well into 2021. As a result, the United States has deteriorated significantly in the Civil Unrest Index falling from 91st to 34th. The vitriol, polarization, protests, murders, and shootings have all occurred during Gen Z’s formative years, and the limited research available indicates that it has shaped their values and political views. Methodology: The Mid-Atlantic region is a portion of the United States that exists as the overlap between the northeastern and southeastern portions of the country. It includes the nation’s capital, as well as large urban centers, small cities, suburbs, and rural enclaves. It is one of the most socially, economically, racially, and culturally diverse parts of the United States and is often referred to as the “typically American region.” An electronic survey was administered to students from 2019 through 2021 attending a high school dual enrollment program, a minority serving institution, a majority serving institution, and a community college all located within the larger mid-Atlantic region. The survey included a combination of multiple response, Likert scaled, dichotomous, open ended, and ordinal questions. It was developed in the Survey Monkey system and reviewed by several content and methodological experts in order to examine bias, vagueness, or potential semantic problems. Finally, the survey was pilot tested prior to implementation in order to explore the efficacy of the research methodology. It was then modified accordingly prior to widespread distribution to potential participants. The surveys were administered to students enrolled in classes taught by the authors all of whom are educators. Participation was voluntary, optional, and anonymous. Over 800 individuals completed the survey with just over 700 usable results, after partial completes and the responses of individuals outside of the 18-24 age range were removed. Findings: Participants in this study overwhelmingly were users of social media. In descending order, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Tik Tok were the most popular social media services reported as being used. When volume of use was considered, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and Twitter were the most cited with most participants reporting using Instagram and Snapchat multiple times a day. When asked to select which social media service they would use if forced to choose just one, the number one choice was YouTube followed by Instagram and Snapchat. Additionally, more than half of participants responded that they have uploaded a video to a video sharing site such as YouTube or Tik Tok. When asked about their familiarity with different technologies, participants overwhelmingly responded that they are “very familiar” with smart phones, searching the Web, social media, and email. About half the respondents said that they were “very familiar” with common computer applications such as the Microsoft Office Suite or Google Suite with another third saying that they were “somewhat familiar.” When asked about Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Blackboard, Course Compass, Canvas, Edmodo, Moodle, Course Sites, Google Classroom, Mindtap, Schoology, Absorb, D2L, itslearning, Otus, PowerSchool, or WizIQ, only 43% said they were “very familiar” with 31% responding that they were “somewhat familiar.” Finally, about half the students were either “very” or “somewhat” familiar with operating systems such as Windows. A few preferences with respect to technology in the teaching and learning process were explored in the survey. Most students (85%) responded that they want course announcements and reminders sent to their phones, 76% expect their courses to incorporate the use of technology, 71% want their courses to have course websites, and 71% said that they would rather watch a video than read a book chapter. When asked to consider the future, over 81% or respondents reported that technology will play a major role in their future career. Most participants considered themselves “informed” or “well informed” about current events although few considered themselves “very informed” or “well informed” about politics. When asked how they get their news, the most common forum reported for getting news and information about current events and politics was social media with 81% of respondents reporting. Gen Z is known to be an engaged generation and the participants in this study were not an exception. As such, it came as no surprise to discover that, in the past year more than 78% of respondents had educated friends or family about an important social or political issue, about half (48%) had donated to a cause of importance to them, more than a quarter (26%) had participated in a march or rally, and a quarter (26%) had actively boycotted a product or company. Further, about 37% consider themselves to be a social activist with another 41% responding that aren’t sure if they would consider themselves an activist and only 22% saying that they would not consider themselves an activist. When asked what issues were important to them, the most frequently cited were Black Lives Matter (75%), human trafficking (68%), sexual assault/harassment/Me Too (66.49%), gun violence (65.82%), women’s rights (65.15%), climate change (55.4%), immigration reform/deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) (48.8%), and LGBTQ+ rights (47.39%). When the schools were compared, there were only minor differences in social media use with the high school students indicating slightly more use of Tik Tok than the other participants. All groups were virtually equal when it came to how informed they perceived themselves about current events and politics. Consensus among groups existed with respect to how they get their news, and the community college and high school students were slightly more likely to have participated in a march, protest, or rally in the last 12 months than the university students. The community college and high school students were also slightly more likely to consider themselves social activists than the participants from either of the universities. When the importance of the issues was considered, significant differences based on institutional type were noted. Black Lives Matter (BLM) was identified as important by the largest portion of students attending the HBCU followed by the community college students and high school students. Less than half of the students attending the TWI considered BLM an important issue. Human trafficking was cited as important by a higher percentage of students attending the HBCU and urban high school than at the suburban and rural community college or the TWI. Sexual assault was considered important by the majority of students at all the schools with the percentage a bit smaller from the majority serving institution. About two thirds of the students at the high school, community college, and HBCU considered gun violence important versus about half the students at the majority serving institution. Women’s rights were reported as being important by more of the high school and HBCU participants than the community college or TWI. Climate change was considered important by about half the students at all schools with a slightly smaller portion reporting out the HBCU. Immigration reform/DACA was reported as important by half the high school, community college, and HBCU participants with only a third of the students from the majority serving institution citing it as an important issue. With respect to LGBTQ rights approximately half of the high school and community college participants cited it as important, 44.53% of the HBCU students, and only about a quarter of the students attending the majority serving institution. Contribution and Conclusion: This paper provides a timely investigation into the mindset of generation Z students living in the United States during a period of heightened civic unrest. This insight is useful to educators who should be informed about the generation of students that is currently populating higher education. The findings of this study are consistent with public opinion polls by Pew Research Center. According to the findings, the Gen Z students participating in this study are heavy users of multiple social media, expect technology to be integrated into teaching and learning, anticipate a future career where technology will play an important role, informed about current and political events, use social media as their main source for getting news and information, and fairly engaged in social activism. When institutional type was compared the students from the university with the more affluent and less diverse population were less likely to find social justice issues important than the other groups. Recommendations for Practitioners: During disruptive and contentious times, it is negligent to think that the abounding issues plaguing society are not important to our students. Gauging the issues of importance and levels of civic engagement provides us crucial information towards understanding the attitudes of students. Further, knowing how our students gain information, their social media usage, as well as how informed they are about current events and political issues can be used to more effectively communicate and educate. Recommendations for Researchers: As social media continues to proliferate daily life and become a vital means of news and information gathering, additional studies such as the one presented here are needed. Additionally, in other countries facing similarly turbulent times, measuring student interest, awareness, and engagement is highly informative. Impact on Society: During a highly contentious period replete with a large volume of civil unrest and compounded by a global pandemic, understanding the behaviors and attitudes of students can help us as higher education faculty be more attuned when it comes to the design and delivery of curriculum. Future Research This presentation presents preliminary findings. Data is still being collected and much more extensive statistical analyses will be performed.