On weekday afternoons, dismissal bells signal not just the end of the school day but also the beginning of another important activity: the federally funded after-school programs that offer tutoring, homework help, and basic supervision to millions of American children. Nearly one in four low-income families enroll a child in an after-school program. Beyond sharpening students’ math and reading skills, these programs also have a profound impact on parents. In a surprising turn—especially given the long history of social policies that leave recipients feeling policed, distrusted, and alienated—government-funded after-school programs have quietly become powerful forces for political and civic engagement by shifting power away from bureaucrats and putting it back into the hands of parents. In State of Empowerment Carolyn Barnes uses ethnographic accounts of three organizations to reveal how interacting with government-funded after-school programs can enhance the civic and political lives of low-income citizens.

Will new technologies, especially the Internet, bring freedom and democracy to authoritarian China? This book argues that the internet has brought new dynamics of sociopolitical change in China, not always supportive of democracy.

Technological innovations across the globe are bringing profound change to our society. Governments around the world are experiencing and embracing this technology-led shift. New platforms, emerging technologies, customizable products, and changing citizen demand and outlook towards government services are reshaping the whole journey. When it comes to the application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in any sector, the Government of India has emerged as an early adopter of these technologies and has also focused on last-mile delivery of citizen-centric services. Citizen Empowerment through Digital Transformation in Government takes us through the four-decade long transformational journey of various key sectors in India where ICT has played a major role in reimagining government services to citizens across the country. It touches upon the emergence of the National Informatics Centre as a premier technology institution of the Government of India and its collaborative efforts with the Central, State Governments, as well as the District level administration, to deliver best-in-class solutions. Inspiring and informative, the book is filled with real-life transformation stories that have helped to lead the people and the Government of India to realize their vision of a digitally empowered nation.

A Circle of Empowerment describes two studies. The first is a single case study which interprets the practical knowledge of an exemplary fine arts supervisor. An analysis of ethnographic data portrays the supervisor's practical knowledge as constructed around a dialectical orientation between two constructs or landscapes of imagery: the empowerment and power of teachers, and bureaucratic power and control of administration The second and extended study describes the supervisor's influence on the practical knowledge of the consultants and specialists with whom she worked. Through in-depth interviews with five women, it became apparent that feminist principles were emerging. The supervisor's transformational and charismatic leadership style was characterized through four dimensions: visionary qualities, communicating a vision, creating trust and commitment, and empowering others. These dimensions propelled the supervisor's commitment to teach leadership through mentoring. The results of these studies suggest that consultants and supervisors develop a unique form of practical knowledge geared to the political context of curriculum reform, and the practical knowledge of consultants and supervisors may influence the practical knowledge of teachers, specialists, and consultants. The studies suggest reconstructing leadership in favor of a role that is dedicated to commitment, caring, and collaboration within the circle of empowerment.

Challenging the simplistic story by which feminism has become complicit in neoliberalism, this book traces the course of globalization of women's economic empowerment from the Global South to the Global North and critically examines the practice of empowering low-income women, primarily migrant, indigenous and racialised women. The author argues that women's economic empowerment organizations become embedded in the neoliberal re-organization of relations between civil society, state and market, and in the reconfiguration of relations between the personal and the political. Also examined are the contractual nature of institutional arrangements in neoliberalism, the ontological divide between economy and society, and the marginalisation of feminist economics that persists in the field of women's economic empowerment. The book will be of interest to scholars and students of social sciences, gender studies, sociology, and economics. This book is based on the author's doctoral dissertation at the Humboldt University of Berlin, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Inna Michaeli is a sociologist who has been deeply involved in feminist and social movements for over two decades. Through her research, she has explored intersections of feminism and neoliberalism as well as identity and belonging, economic globalisation and knowledge production. She currently works at AWID, a global feminist organization.

This volume brings together leading gender and politics scholars to assess how women’s political empowerment can best be conceptualized and measured on a global scale. It argues that women’s political empowerment is a fundamental process of transformation for benchmarking and understanding all political empowerment gains across the globe. Chapters improve our global understanding of women's political empowerment through cross-national comparisons, a synthesis of methodological approaches across varied levels of politics, and attention to the ways gender intersects with myriad factors in shaping women’s political empowerment. This book is an indispensable resource for scholars of politics and gender, as well as being relevant to a global scholarly and policy community.

Much more than a historical look at America's social welfare system, this acclaimed book offers insights into our ambivalent social welfare policy and its impact on specific out-groups-African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, women, and others-that are often overlooked in other texts. In addition to comprehensive coverage of the historical development of the welfare system, author Bruce S. Jansson also analyzes its limits, strengths, and policies...how its evolution and structure compare with systems in other countries...and the effects of policy changes on the future of the social work profession. As they explore Jannson's highly respected text, your students will see how understanding historical events can be powerfully relevant to the study of current social welfare policy and the profession of social work. The book analyzes the evolution of the American welfare state from colonial times to present and places social policy in its political, cultural, and societal context. Using social policy as a catalyst, Jansson invites students to think critically about issues, developments, and policies in prior eras and in contemporary society. He encourages students to become social reformers and to develop their own policy identities.