Sentencing Policy and Changing Notions of Social Justice

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph Henham
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Values ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Value Pluralism ◽  
Constructive Approach ◽  
Penal Policy ◽  
Irregular Migrants ◽  
The Past ◽  
Sentencing Policy

This chapter considers the importance of reflecting social values in the practice of sentencing. It explores this issue in the context of the sentencing policy of England and Wales during the past twenty-five years, focusing on the extent to which social change and value pluralism has damaged the essential connections between penal ideology and sentencing policy. More specifically, it emphasises how the fragmentation of communities and the ensuing breakdown in social cohesion has affected public perceptions of punishment. It also considers how the increasing politicization of penal policy has obfuscated the values justifying state intervention. Thus, the chapter concludes that neo-liberal values have taken priority at the expense of any broader consideration of which social values should inform a more inclusive and socially constructive approach to sentencing. The argument is illustrated by describing how these tensions have impacted the sentencing of so-called ‘irregular’ migrants.

Sentencing Policy and Social Justice

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph Henham
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Moral Values ◽  
Social Utility ◽  
Financial Crime ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Irregular Migrants ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sentencing Policy ◽  
Public Disorder

The book argues that the promotion of social justice should become a key objective of sentencing policy. It rejects the idea that current forms of justice delivery can respond adequately to the social realities of social exclusion, discrimination, and poverty and their impact on criminality and victimization. Rather, it argues that a deeper understanding of the moral values that underpin punishment by the state is necessary, one that engages more convincingly with the justice needs and expectations of citizens and communities. It concludes that meaningful normative change is only possible where the moral foundations that underpin penal ideology and inform the sentencing policies and practices of the courts reflect a ‘real’ sharing of values about the social utility of sentencing and its outcomes. This aspiration is not portrayed as some kind of vague utopian notion, but as a fundamental necessity for the future legitimacy of penal governance. The book explores how sentencing might contribute more effectively to the achievement of social justice by engaging with some controversial and difficult problems, such as the sentencing of irregular migrants, offences of serious public disorder, sentencing for financial crime, and the sentencing of women. It concludes by proposing some practical reforms to sentencing in England and Wales based on the arguments developed in the earlier chapters, including an expanded role for the Sentencing Council in the development of a more regional and community-focused sentencing policy.

Buddhism in Crisis? Institutional Decline in Modern Japan

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Reader
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Japanese Population ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Japanese People ◽  
Death Rituals ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
The Past ◽  
Modern Cities ◽  
Modern Japan ◽  
Institutional Decline

Concerns that established temple Buddhism in Japan is in a state of crisis have been voiced by priests in various sectarian organizations in recent years. This article shows that there is a very real crisis facing Buddhism in modern Japan, with temples closing because of a lack of support and of priests to run them, and with a general turn away from Buddhism among the Japanese population. In rural areas falling populations have led to many temple closures, while in the modern cities people are increasingly turning away from the prime area in which Japanese people have traditionally engaged with Buddhist temples — the processes of death and their aftermath. Partly this is due to competition from new secular funeral industries, but partly also it is because public perceptions of Buddhism — which has become over-reliant on death rituals in Japan — have become highly negative in modern times. Even practices which have often been seen as areas in which Buddhist temples have been able to attract people — such as pilgrimages — are proving less successful than in the past, contributing further to a sense of crisis that threatens to undermine Buddhism’s roots in Japan.

Establishing New Foundations and Structures for Governance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph Henham
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Structural Reforms ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Moral Diversity ◽  
Theory To Practice ◽  
Sentencing Policy ◽  
Government Reforms ◽  
Recent Government

This chapter considers the case for recasting the moral values that inform sentencing and the policy implications of such a fundamental change of approach. It suggests that prospects for promoting social justice through sentencing continue to be constrained by existing penal values, with procedural justice, communication systems, and decision-making evaluated against this governance framework. The chapter argues for new foundational principles and explores how such a moral transition might be effected through structural reforms to domestic sentencing. Emphasis is placed on the difficulties of recasting values and structures to reflect sentencing’s changed role as a tool for engaging with social justice issues. The chapter examines specific areas of policy change within England and Wales and the problem of moving from theory to practice through the analysis of recent government reforms, highlighting how sentencing policy and practice might respond more effectively to changes in social values and moral diversity.

Bridging the Gap between Political and Penal Legitimacy

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph Henham
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Social Value ◽  
The Political ◽  
Institutional Reforms ◽  
Social Morality ◽  
Penal Policy ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Sentencing Policy ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter argues that the relationship between penal policy and the political economy provides important insights into the political and institutional reforms required to minimize harsh and discriminatory penal policies. However, the capacity of sentencing policy to engage with this social reality in a meaningful way necessitates a recasting of penal ideology. To realize this objective requires a profound understanding of sentencing’s social value and significance for citizens. The greatest challenge then lies in establishing coherent links between penal ideology and practice to encourage forms of sentencing that are sensitive to changes in social value. The chapter concludes by explaining how the present approach taken by the courts of England and Wales to the sentencing of women exacerbates social exclusion and reinforces existing divisions in social morality. It urges fundamental changes in ideology and practice so that policy reflects a socially valued rationale for the criminalization and punishment of women.

Sentencing Policy as a Force for Social Cohesion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph Henham
Keyword(s):  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Social Values ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Normative Approach ◽  
The Social ◽  
Sentencing Policy

This chapter sets out the case for adopting a normative approach to conceptualizing the social reality of sentencing. It argues that policy-makers need to comprehend how sentencing is implicated in realizing state values and take greater account of the social forces that diminish the moral credibility of state sponsored punishment. The chapter reflects on the problems of relating social values to legal processes such as sentencing and argues that crude notions of ‘top down’ or ‘bottom up’ approaches to policy-making should be replaced by a process of contextualized policy-making. Finally, the chapter stresses the need for sentencing policy to reflect those moral attachments that bind citizens together in a relational or communitarian sense. It concludes by exploring these assertions in the light of the sentencing approach taken by the courts following the English riots of 2011.

scholarly journals Does the Law Determine What Heritage to Remember?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Sophie de Clippele
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
Historical Knowledge ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Political Will ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Law ◽  
Ideological Manipulation

AbstractCultural heritage can offer tangible and intangible traces of the past. A past that shapes cultural identity, but also a past from which one sometimes wishes to detach oneself and which nevertheless needs to be remembered, even commemorated. These themes of memory, history and oblivion are examined by the philosopher Paul Ricoeur in his work La mémoire, l’histoire, l’oubli (2000). Inspired by these ideas, this paper analyses how they are closely linked to cultural heritage. Heritage serves as a support for memory, even if it can be mishandled, which in turn can affect heritage policies. Memory and heritage can be abused as a result of wounds from the past or for reasons of ideological manipulation or because of a political will to force people to remember. Furthermore, heritage, as a vehicule of memory, contributes to historical knowledge, but can remain marked by a certain form of subjectivism during the heritage and conservation operation, for which heritage professionals (representatives of the public authority or other experts) are responsible. Yet, the responsibility for conserving cultural heritage also implies the need to avoid any loss of heritage, and to fight against oblivion. Nonetheless, this struggle cannot become totalitarian, nor can it deprive the community of a sometimes salutary oblivion to its own identity construction. These theoretical and philosophical concepts shall be examined in the light of legal discourse, and in particular in Belgian legislation regarding cultural heritage. It is clear that the shift from monument to heritage broadens the legal scope and consequently raises the question of who gets to decide what is considered heritage according to the law, and whether there is something such as a collective human right to cultural heritage. Nonetheless, this broadening of the legislation extends the State intervention into cultural heritage, which in turn entails certain risks, as will be analysed with Belgium’s colonial heritage.

scholarly journals Intellectual Freedom and Social Justice: Tensions Between Core Values in American Librarianship

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Emily J. M. Knox
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Core Values ◽  
Intellectual Freedom ◽  
Bill Of Rights ◽  
Hate Groups ◽  
Ethical Philosophy ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

AbstractOver the past few years, tensions between two core values in U.S. librarianship, intellectual freedom and social justice, have roiled the profession. This conflict was most recently seen in the insertion and subsequent removal of “hate groups” to the list of entities that cannot be denied access to library meeting rooms in the American Library Association’s Meeting Rooms Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights. This paper is intended to provide context for this conflict. It begins by situating its arguments within ethical philosophy, specifically the study of values or axiology. It then provides an overview of the theoretical foundations of the values of liberalism. Next, the paper discusses the values of truth and freedom from harm in librarianship. Finally, it suggests that a fuller understanding of the library’s place within the public sphere is a possible model for mitigating the tensions currently found in American librarianship. The paper is intended to provide a theoretical foundation for further research.

Rural Women in Colombia, Facing the Postconflict: A Qualitative Synthesis

2021 ◽  
pp. 152483802199598
Author(s):  
Daniel Felipe Martín Suárez-Baquero ◽  
Martha Patricia Bejarano-Beltrán ◽  
Jane Dimmitt Champion
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Reproductive Health ◽  
Rural Women ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Sexual And Reproductive Health ◽  
Conflict Studies ◽  
Qualitative Synthesis ◽  
The Past ◽  
Analysis Process ◽  
Women's Role

Women have been the major victims of the Colombian armed conflict for more than 50 years. Nowadays, when the country faces an aftermath focused on reconciliation, understanding women’s experiences during the conflict is key to providing them tools for social justice and effective fulfilling of their needs. This qualitative synthesis of literature includes publications in Spanish and English of electronic databases over the past 20 years regarding rural women and the Colombian armed conflict. Studies were included for review if they were published between 2000 and 2019, were qualitative peer-reviewed articles, and addressed directly or indirectly the pregnancy process as well as the women’s sexual and reproductive health in rural Colombia. Seven of 169 articles initially identified were included for an inductive analysis of categories and themes. After the analysis process, three main themes emerged from the literature: (a) crumbling families, (b) being a woman: the challenges between being a peacemaker and a victim, and (c) protecting and caring of life. These three themes comprise 10 categories and 20 subcategories that provide support to the inductive qualitative synthesis. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of the Colombian armed conflict focused on the victimization of women. It concludes with reflections about the Colombian women’s role in transitioning toward peace.

ASPECTS REGARDING THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN IMPROVING DEFENSE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 323-330
Author(s):  
Gabriela-Florina NICOARĂ ◽  
Gergonia-Cristiana BOGĂȚEANU
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Technological Progress ◽  
Digital Systems ◽  
Constructive Approach ◽  
The Past ◽  
A Priority ◽  
High Level

Abstract: Regarding the society evolution dominated by a high-level technology, we consider this article a constructive approach. The aim of the paper is to highlight a few activities/places/spots in which competences of humans/soldiers interfere with different elements of the artificial intelligence. We deem that the technological progress in the past few years has been impressive. Nowadays, thousands of activities that were mostly or exclusively executed by people can be done faster and often with greater precision using digital systems. In this instance and considering the achievement of functional compatibility between Romanian Army and forces from NATO as being a priority, the development of the technology based on artificial intelligence is vital within the defense resource management.

scholarly journals Social Psychology and Social Justice: Dilemmas, Dynamics, and Destinies

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth J. Gergen
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Current Work ◽  
Value Pluralism ◽  
History Of

The emergence of this handbook on social justice represents a groundbreaking event in the history of social psychology. In this summary discussion, I outline significant limits to social justice work embedded in the empiricist tradition of inquiry and point to ways in which the current work transcends these limits. However, I also view the present endeavors as in a fledgling state. In the service of enriching and rendering these pursuits more effective, I discuss five domains in which tensions currently prevail and suggest directions for future undertakings. Challenges are discussed in terms of epistemological schisms, presumed ontologies, value pluralism, explanatory paradigms, and the limits of representationalism. A final invitation is made to shift from a mirroring orientation to research to world-making.

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