Citizenville

Citizenville
Author: Gavin Newsom
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2014-01-28
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0143124471

“A fascinating case for a more engaged government, transformed to meet the challenges and possibilities of the twenty-first century.” —President William J. Clinton A rallying cry for revolutionizing democracy in the digital age, Citizenville reveals how ordinary Americans can reshape their government for the better. Gavin Newsom, the lieutenant governor of California, argues that today’s government is stuck in the last century while—in both the private sector and our personal lives—absolutely everything else has changed. Drawing on wide-ranging interviews with thinkers and politicians, Newsom shows how Americans can transform their government, taking matters into their own hands to dissolve political gridlock even as they produce tangible changes in the real world. Citizenville is a timely road map for restoring American prosperity and for reinventing citizenship in today’s networked age.

Living with a Wild God

Living with a Wild God
Author: Barbara Ehrenreich
Publisher: Twelve
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2014-04-08
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1455501751

From the New York Times bestselling author of Nickel and Dimed comes a brave, frank, and exquisitely written memoir that will change the way you see the world. Barbara Ehrenreich is one of the most important thinkers of our time. Educated as a scientist, she is an author, journalist, activist, and advocate for social justice. In Living With a Wild God, she recounts her quest-beginning in childhood-to find ""the Truth"" about the universe and everything else: What's really going on? Why are we here? In middle age, she rediscovered the journal she had kept during her tumultuous adolescence, which records an event so strange, so cataclysmic, that she had never, in all the intervening years, written or spoken about it to anyone. It was the kind of event that people call a ""mystical experience""-and, to a steadfast atheist and rationalist, nothing less than shattering. In Living With a Wild God, Ehrenreich reconstructs her childhood mission, bringing an older woman's wry and erudite perspective to a young girl's impassioned obsession with the questions that, at one point or another, torment us all. The result is both deeply personal and cosmically sweeping-a searing memoir and a profound reflection on science, religion, and the human condition. With her signature combination of intellectual rigor and uninhibited imagination, Ehrenreich offers a true literary achievement-a work that has the power not only to entertain but amaze.

Technology in Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action

Technology in Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action
Author: John McNutt
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 77
Release: 2018-06-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 900437812X

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are major forces shaping our current age. ICT affects many areas of human existence and influences the both human wellbeing and human evil. The nonprofit sector is already heavily involved in technology both as a way to pursue its mission and as an influential factor in the evolution of the sector. This article examines how technology affects the sector and how the sector uses technology in its work. The article begins with a discussion of how the emerging information society will change the nonprofit sector. The sector that we know is grounded on our experience in the agrarian and industrial periods in the United States and Europe. We then explore how technology evolved in the sector. This is followed by an examination of technology and nonprofit organizational behavior. Technology changes the organizations that make use of its capacities. Next is a discussion of the types of technology that nonprofit organizations use. The final three sections deal with technology and social change, technology in nonprofit settings, and issues and trends. This article provides the reader with a current appreciation of the scholarly and professional literature on ICT in the nonprofit sector.

Faces of Labour

Faces of Labour
Author: Andy McSmith
Publisher: Verso
Total Pages: 412
Release: 1996
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781859849682

McSmith focuses on key individuals in the party whose careers cast a complex story into sharp relief. His choice of subjects is deliberately eclectic. It includes portraits of politicians like Peter Mandelson, Clare Short, David Blunkett, John Prescott and Tony Blair, who will play a leading role in any Labour government.

Reactionary Democracy

Reactionary Democracy
Author: Aurelien Mondon
Publisher: Verso Books
Total Pages: 271
Release: 2020-04-28
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1788734246

Democracy is not necessarily progressive, and will only be if we make it so. What Mondon and Winter call 'reactionary democracy' is the use of the concept of democracy and its associated understanding of the power to the people (demos cratos) for reactionary ends. The resurgence of racism, populism and the far right is not the result of popular demands as we are often told. It is rather the logical conclusion of the more or less conscious manipulation by the elite of the concept of 'the people' and the working class to push reactionary ideas. These narratives place racism as a popular demand, rather than as something encouraged and perpetuated by elites, thus exonerating those with the means to influence and control public discourse through the media in particular. This in turn has legitimised the far right, strengthened its hand and compounded inequalities. These actions diverts us away from real concerns and radical alternatives to the current system. Through a careful and thorough deconstruction of the hegemonic discourse currently preventing us from thinking beyond the liberal vs populist dichotomy, this book develops a better understanding of the systemic forces underpinning our current model and its exploitative and discriminatory basis. The book shows us that the far right would not have been able to achieve such success, either electorally or ideologically, were it not for the help of elite actors (the media, politicians and academics). While the far right is a real threat and should not be left off the hook, the authors argue that we need to shift the responsibility of the situation towards those who too often claim to be objective, and even powerless, bystanders despite their powerful standpoint and clear capacity to influence the agenda, public discourse, and narratives, particularly when they platform and legitimise racist and far right ideas and actors.

Beyond Transparency

Beyond Transparency
Author: Brett Goldstein
Publisher:
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2013-09-30
Genre: Economic development
ISBN: 9780615889085

The rise of open data in the public sector has sparked innovation, driven efficiency, and fueled economic development. While still emerging, we are seeing evidence of the transformative potential of open data in shaping the future of our civic life, and the opportunity to use open data to reimagine the relationship between residents and government, especially at the local level. As we look ahead, what have we learned so far from open data in practice and how we can apply those lessons to realize a more promising future for America's cities and communities? Edited by Brett Goldstein, former Chief Data Officer for the City of Chicago, with Code for America, this book features essays from over twenty of the world's leading experts in a first-of-its-kind instructive anthology about how open data is changing the face of our public institutions. Contributors include: Michael Flowers, Chief Analytics Officer, New York City Beth Blauer, former director of Maryland StateStat Jonathan Feldman, CIO, City of Asheville Tim O'Reilly, founder & CEO, O'Reilly Media Eric Gordon, Director of Engagement Game Lab, Emerson College Beth Niblock, CIO, Louisville Metro Government Ryan & Mike Alfred, Co-Founders, Brightscope Emer Coleman, former director of the London Datastore Mark Headd, Chief Data Officer, City of Philadelphia "As an essential volume for anyone interested in the future of governance, urban policy, design, data-driven policymaking, journalism, or civic engagement, "Beyond Transparency" combines the inspirational glow and political grit of Profiles in Courage with the clarity of an engineer's calm explanation of how something technical actually works. Here are the detailed how-to stories of many members of the first generation of open government pioneers, written in a generous, accessible style; this compilation presents us with a great deal to admire, ample provocation, and wise guidance from a group of remarkable individuals." -Susan Crawford, author of Captive Audience "Just as he did during his time in my administration, Goldstein has brought together industry leaders to discuss issues of relevance in the open data movement and the practical implications of implementing these policies... This book will help continue the work to make open government a reality across the country." - Mayor Rahm Emanuel, City of Chicago "A must-read for anyone who is passionate about what open data can do to transform city living." - Boris Johnson, Mayor of London

Breakout

Breakout
Author: Newt Gingrich
Publisher: Regnery Publishing
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2014-10-07
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1621572811

It is not between the Left and the Right, but between the past and the future. America is on the edge of a breakout. In fact, we are poised for one of the most spectacular leaps in human well-being in history. Pioneers of the future—innovators and entrepreneurs—are achieving breakthroughs in medicine, transportation, energy, education, and other fields that will make the world a dramatically different and better place. Unless the “prison guards” of the past stop them. Every American must choose a side. Will you be a champion of the future or a prisoner of the past? Every potential breakthrough has to get past a host of individuals and institutions whose power and comfort depend on the status quo. These prison guards of the past will strangle every innovation that threatens to change the way things have always been done—if we let them.

We The Future

We The Future
Author: David Pattinson
Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing
Total Pages: 170
Release: 2015-08-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1457540320

America has entered a new era. The Great Recession of 2007-09 completely altered the way our society approaches employment. The economy is placing an increasing emphasis on knowledge and technology. Our world is becoming more globalized and interconnected than ever. It is undeniable: our world is changing. Change is a good thing, but it can also be painful, and I believe that Millennials have born the pain of these historic shifts more than any other group. Since the start of the Recession, the unemployment rate for young adults has been significantly higher than the national average. Total student debt in America exceeds $1 trillion dollars. And young people continue to face serious challenges in obtaining meaningful employment. Despite these obstacles, I believe young people have the power to achieve success in this new era. But this will require major shifts in how we approach education, what we expect from our government, and how we plan our own careers. This book is a reflection of the trends and tribulations that have made up this post-Recession era, and offers guidance on how to build meaningful, dynamic careers. It is a collection of the important conversations young people (and those who advise them) need to have in order to grasp success in a new economic age. We are the future of America. I believe the future is bright if we decide to act now.

America's Moment: Creating Opportunity in the Connected Age

America's Moment: Creating Opportunity in the Connected Age
Author: Rework America
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 388
Release: 2015-06-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0393285146

It is time for a new conversation. Amid the biggest economic transformation in a century, the challenge of our time is to make sure that all Americans benefit from the wave of digital revolutions around the world that have permeated and upended modern life. Yet today's economic arguments seem stuck. We need a new vision of a hopeful future and a new action agenda. So many Americans are uncertain about the future. How can there be so many paths to opportunity with so few people traveling them? As a nation, we have to understand what is required to help Americans succeed now, and how to prepare our country for what comes next. We have been here before. A hundred years ago, America experienced the greatest economic transformation and technological revolution in its history. The transformation of the past twenty years—as the world has moved through the information era into the digital age—has turned our life and work upside down once again. It is a time of tremendous change but also of tremendous possibility. Rework America is a group of American leaders who know from experience the challenges we face—and the potential solutions. In America's Moment they suggest a practical agenda for an exciting future. It is illustrated by people who are already showing the way and includes actions Americans can take today in their own communities: preparing people to succeed, using the reach of the Internet and data to innovate jobs and to reach new markets all over the world, using technology to match employers and workers, and transitioning to a "no-collar" working world— neither blue collar nor white collar. Set against the history of how Americans succeeded once before in remaking their country, America's Moment is about the future. It describes how the same forces of change—technology and a networked world—can become tools that can open opportunity to everyone.