Deborah Stone

The trusted guide to honing your public policy writing skills and making a significant impact on the world, thoroughly updated and expanded. Effective policy writing holds the transformative power to inspire action, shape public opinion, and influence outcomes. In the third edition of Public Policy Writing That Matters, communications expert David Chrisinger, who directs the Harris Writing Workshop at the University of Chicago and worked in the US Government Accountability Office for nearly a decade, continues to demystify the art of writing persuasively about public policy. Effective public policy writing is a catalyst for meaningful societal change. Chrisinger argues that by mastering the craft of clear, concise, and compelling communication, writers can elevate their ability to influence decision-makers, mobilize communities, and drive lasting and positive change. The book combines practical advice, insightful analysis, and hands-on exercises to provide a comprehensive guide for readers who want to improve their policy-writing skills. Offering real-world examples and cautionary tales, it offers a step-by-step approach to crafting impactful policy analysis, leveraging evidence, and framing arguments persuasively. Aimed at helping students and professionals overcome their default impulses to merely "explain," this book reveals proven tips for writing sophisticated and persuasive policy analysis that is also easy to understand. For anyone interested in planning, organizing, developing, writing, and revising accessible public policy, Chrisinger offers a step-by-step guide that covers everything from the most effective presentation methods to the best ways to write a sentence.

Early in her extraordinary career, Deborah Stone wrote Policy Paradox, a landmark work on politics. Now, in Counting, she revolutionises how we approach numbers and shows how counting shapes the way we see the world. Most of us think of counting as a skill so basic that we see numbers as objective, indisputable facts. Not so, says Stone. In this playful-yet-probing work, Stone reveals the inescapable link between quantifying and classifying, and explains how counting determines almost every facet of our lives—from how we are evaluated at work to how our political opinions are polled to whether we get into higher education or even out of prison. But numbers, Stone insists, need not rule our lives. Especially in this age of big data, Stone’s work is a pressing and spirited call to reclaim our authority over numbers, and to take responsibility for how we use them.

Early in her extraordinary career, Deborah Stone wrote Policy Paradox, a landmark work on politics. Now, in Counting, she revolutionises how we approach numbers and shows how counting shapes the way we see the world. Most of us think of counting as a skill so basic that we see numbers as objective, indisputable facts. Not so, says Stone. In this playful-yet-probing work, Stone reveals the inescapable link between quantifying and classifying, and explains how counting determines almost every facet of our lives—from how we are evaluated at work to how our political opinions are polled to whether we get into higher education or even out of prison. But numbers, Stone insists, need not rule our lives. Especially in this age of big data, Stone’s work is a pressing and spirited call to reclaim our authority over numbers, and to take responsibility for how we use them.

No one wants to think about getting older. It’s true. At any age, when things are moving along normally day to day and everyone seems fit and well, there seems no reason to think about future problems that your friends and relatives might (and probably will) come across as they age. In fact, it might even seem a little morbid to think such thoughts, or possibly even tempting fate? Yet there will come a time when you must raise these issues and, ideally, this should be before any problems arise. The Essential Family Guide to Caring for Older People is the ultimate source of information and help for families with care responsibilities. Deborah Stone draws on her extensive experience working in elder care to offer practical advice on every aspect of the field indepth. Topics range from how to get help immediately, legal information, care funding options, a guide to useful technology and advice on the main physical and mental health issues that affect older people. Plus guidance is given on dealing with social services and ensuring you choose the right care for your situations. Crucially, the book also offers help on how to cope as a carer with practical advice on juggling family, work and your caring responsibilities while looking after yourself.

Sasha is just about managing to hold her life together, dealing with family struggles as well as holding down her job. But when her son begins to suspect that he has a secret sibling, Sasha realises that she must relive the events of a devastating night which she has done her best to forget for the past nineteen years.

Journeying by river provides the perfect opportunity to discover new places or see a new side of a familiar destination. Presented here are 50 remarkable and memorable trips chosen because of the stunning scenery they pass through as well as the historic and cultural sites that can be visited from side excursions. Some cover lengthy trips such as a cruise on the Danube that passes through ten countries from its source before emptying into the Black Sea; others are shorter but have a strong, unifying theme, such as Portugal's Douro River that was built on viticulture. In Southeast Asia, the leisurely pace of a river trip along the Yangtze, Mekong or Ayeryawaddy Rivers allows time to take in the ancient cultures and exotic landscapes. Beautiful countryside, wine-rich valleys and dramatic gorges are the highlights of a river journey; the scenery is constant and ever changing. But as well as the natural wonders, there are also remarkable man-made engineering feats to experience as you pass through intricate lock systems or under state-of-the-art bridges. All the important landmarks and cities, scenery and architecture are described for each journey, and each one is illustrated with a route map.

Policy making is a political struggle over values and ideas. By exposing the paradoxes that underlie even seemingly straightforward policy decisions, Policy Paradox shows students that politics cannot be cleansed from the process in favor of “rationality.” Author Deborah Stone has fully revised and updated this popular text, which now includes many paradoxes that have arisen since September 11. Examples throughout the book have been updated, and the prose has been streamlined to make a great read even better.

The defining assumptions and assumed definition of the welfare state