Energy use and CO2 emissions by Shanghai’s commercial sector is expected to become a key challenge, compared with other major global cities in East Asia. This paper attempts to explore and assess commercial building energy governance in Shanghai. In order to do so, it will examine the applicable policy and the regulation system, while considering those factors that facilitate or constrain the application of best practices at the global-city scale. A multi-scale governing analytical framework is employed to investigate different policy actors, stakeholder participation, and intergovernmental relationships that shape commercial building energy governance in Shanghai. The policy recommendations offered at the close of this paper include tightening building energy policies and regulations, providing more market-driven incentives, strengthening building energy audit and supervision, encouraging comprehensive and integrated urban planning, and continuing public education efforts for green mind-set transformations

The possibility of a nationwide high speed rail system in the United States has been the topic of much excitement as well as skepticism since President Obama announced the allocation of a significant amount of federal funding for high speed rail development early in 2009. Though successful high speed rail systems have been in operation in Europe and Japan for over twenty years, it seems like the time has finally come for the development of a comprehensive high speed rail system in the U.S. Now that significant funding is being offered to initiate such a system in this country, critics and supporters alike are offering their arguments, armed with environmental data, cost projections, and political opinions. This paper addresses the various arguments for and against high speed rail in the United States and explores past, present, and future strategies towards high speed rail development.

This paper posits that mobility is a form of infrastructure commons – a common pool resource best managed in a manner of open accessibility that promotes significant positive externalities. Understanding of the commons has evolved over time: traditional definitions of the commons as argued by theorists such as Hardin (1968) and Rose (1986) have given rise to more recent exploration of physical infrastructure, and even the Internet, as commons. Further, striking parallels exist between the debate over the future of the Internet and Network Neutrality and the current issues with mobility in the United States. This paper considers the case example of Wilmington, Delaware, the current state of the mobility commons there and the potential implications with managing mobility in Wilmington as a common pool resource.

This paper examines the emergence of the Internet as the primary way for women to speak freely in patriarchal societies. The foundations for female suppression in patriarchal cultures are reviewed. Then this paper reveals how women in these cultures are using the virtual world as a resource for social change.

The labor movement of the U. S. continues to bring the issue of worker rights to the forefront of American policy debates. As the American economy again has shifted from one based on manufacturing and the production of hard goods to one reliant upon human, financial and informational services, the labor movement faces new challenges. Labor unions and business leaders continue to disagree on the proper role of collective action and the effectiveness of policies aimed at the workplace sector. Today, one of the largest debates is the continued role and expansion of Right-to-Work (RTW) legislation. The debate is often cast as one between two perspectives on the guaranteed right to freedom of association. Labor unions believe RTW limits the power of collective action and, subsequently, the collective rights of workers versus business management. Conversely, business management believes that individual choices to associate are taken away through union requirements (Hogler, 2005). This analysis will examine the history of Right-to-Work laws, their impact on state and individual economies, the issues generated from their implementation and offer a recommendation for policy reform.

Zero tolerance policies in American public schools, which prescribe stringent punishment such as suspension and expulsion for certain student misbehavior, rose to national prominence during the mid-1990s in response to a perceived increase in school violence. However, as zero tolerance policies spread throughout the country, critics emerged, arguing that the policies were too harsh and ineffective at reducing violence in schools. This paper provides an account of the current state of zero tolerance in American public schools. It introduces zero tolerance by discussing its origins and application in the public school context. Then, both sides of the zero tolerance debate are reviewed, including the theories and outcomes upon which proponents and opponents rely to analyze this controversial policy initiative. Lastly, this paper discusses the ongoing debate over zero tolerance in the state of Delaware where recent media attention thrust zero tolerance into the forefront of the state‟s education discourse. Delaware‟s zero tolerance debate serves as a useful illustration of where the issue presently stands in the United States.