Andy Smith - Böcker

The Politics of Economic Activity confronts head-on deeply rooted understandings of how politics affects economics. The book proposes a robust, incisive alternative definition of politics: the mobilization of values to change or reproduce the institutions that orientate, and indeed make possible, economic activity.Drawing upon constructivist strands of institutionalism, political sociology, and industrial economics, this definition generates an analytical framework for understanding the 'political work' that constantly orientates the behaviour of both firms and public authorities. Specifically, a fundamental tension between the values of freedom and security is consistently examined. This is analysed by looking at conflicts within the definition of these two values, but also by examination of mobilizations of two subordinate values: equality and tradition. A hypothesis examined throughout the book's empirical chapters is that equality and tradition play either supporting, intervening, or silent roles within the freedom-security relationship that structures contemporary capitalism.Structured around controversies concerning the politics of economic activity at the global, European, national and local scales, the book examines the pharmaceutical, wine, local food, and car industries, as well as cross-cutting policies concerning issues such as regulating labour markets and inter-firm competition, geographical indications, and local economic development. Overall, the book's aim is to advocate a mode of thinking and research which challenges orthodox and dominant approaches to economics and its politics. It does so by placing a politics that is comprehensible, and therefore both 'studyable' and 'actionable', back at the centre of reflection about the economic and the political.

In unsteady political, societal and ecclesial times, what might a missional ecclesiology offer?Drawn from a consultation instigated by the Church of England’s Faith and Order Commission, this book seeks to offer a generative conversation involving theologians and practitioners across three key themes – the church’s worship as a gathered community, its witness as a scattered community, and its walk as a pilgrim community. So often the church speaks as if there was a binary division between ‘being’ and ‘doing’, yet the contributors to this book collectively demonstrate that the situation is more complex.Taken together, the chapters in this volume offer an important resource for all who want to deepen and widen their understanding of the church’s academic engagement with contemporary ecclesiology.With contributors including: Johnny Baker, Angus Ritchie and Cathy Ross.

Emotions are widely acknowledged as an inextricable feature of human behaviour, experience and interaction. They are, arguably, the glue that can bind people together or, alternatively, drive them apart. While social scientists have paid increasing attention to the centrality of emotions in social and pedagogical relationships, the sport coaching literature has remained largely free of emotions. Indeed, there remains a paucity of scholarship exploring how emotions such as excitement, joy, anger, anxiety, guilt, pride and embarrassment may be (re-)produced in, as well as through, the social interactions and contextual relations that constitute coaching. Similarly, we know very little about how these, and other, emotions are embodied in the everyday practice of individuals and groups. The aim of this book was to generate new and exploratory insights into the emotions that are an inherent feature of social relations and individual experience in coaching. Using a variety of psychological and sociological frameworks, the chapters in this book not only explore the interconnections between emotion, identity, cognition and learning, but they also serve as a platform for stimulating further inquiry in this topic area.The chapters were originally published in a special issue of Sports Coaching Review.

Set against the backdrop of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, this book examines the impact on public policy from broader political decisions taken in relation to Olympic- and Paralympic-related policy. It considers the major political justifications for hosting these global sports events, evidence for their expected impacts, and topical issues including environmental protection and sustainability, the use of technology, and political protest. The book will be essential reading for anyone with an interest in sport policy and politics, and how broader political decisions come to impact on the development of Olympic and Paralympic sport.This book was published as a special issue of the International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics.

The European Commission is an organization which has come to fascinate or repulse a range of national politicians, journalists and social scientists. In contrast to the prevailing image of the Commission as a 'bureaucrat's paradise', however, and by using the results of original research, this book deliberately sets out to investigate this organization's relationship to politics. It does so first by developing a variety of case-studies (health, development aid, preparations for Eastern enlargement, etc.) as a means of studying the relationships, networks and interdependencies which link commissioners and Commission officials to national politicians, civil servants and interest groups. Second, by looking in detail at how the Commission publicizes its work, notably through producing public information and liaising with the media, fresh light is shone upon the complex question of the Commission's legitimacy. Politics and the European Commission provides a framework for generating new information about, and interpretations of, the power struggles at the heart of the EU.

Disability sport is a relatively recent phenomenon, yet it is also one that, particularly in the context of social inclusion, is attracting increasing political and academic interest. The purpose of this important new text – the first of its kind – is to introduce the reader to key concepts in disability and disability sport and to examine the complex relationships between modern sport, disability and other aspects of wider society. Drawing upon original data from interviews, surveys and policy documents, the book examines how disability sport has developed and is currently organised, and explores key themes, issues and concepts including: disability theory and policy the emergence and development of disability sport disability sport development in local authorities mainstreaming disability sportdisability, physical education and school sport elite disability sport and the Paralympic Games disability sport and the media. Including chapter summaries, seminar questions and lists of key websites and further reading throughout, Sport, Disability and Society provides both an easy to follow introduction and a critical exploration of the key issues surrounding disability sport in the twenty-first century. This book is an invaluable resource for all students, researchers and professionals working in sport studies, disability studies, physical education, sociology and social policy.Nigel Thomas is Head of Sport and Exercise at Staffordshire University, UK, where his research focuses on the history, mainstreaming, and media coverage of disability sport. He previously worked for ten years with young disabled people as a sports development officer in local authorities and national governing bodies.Andy Smith is Lecturer in the Sociology of Sport and Exercise at the University of Chester, UK. He is a co-editor of the International Journal of Sport Policy, and a co-author of Sport Policy and Development: A Sociological Introduction, and An Introduction to Drugs in Sport: Addicted to Winning? Both books are published by Routledge (2009).

Disability sport is a relatively recent phenomenon, yet it is also one that, particularly in the context of social inclusion, is attracting increasing political and academic interest. The purpose of this important new text – the first of its kind – is to introduce the reader to key concepts in disability and disability sport and to examine the complex relationships between modern sport, disability and other aspects of wider society. Drawing upon original data from interviews, surveys and policy documents, the book examines how disability sport has developed and is currently organised, and explores key themes, issues and concepts including: disability theory and policy the emergence and development of disability sport disability sport development in local authorities mainstreaming disability sportdisability, physical education and school sport elite disability sport and the Paralympic Games disability sport and the media. Including chapter summaries, seminar questions and lists of key websites and further reading throughout, Sport, Disability and Society provides both an easy to follow introduction and a critical exploration of the key issues surrounding disability sport in the twenty-first century. This book is an invaluable resource for all students, researchers and professionals working in sport studies, disability studies, physical education, sociology and social policy.Nigel Thomas is Head of Sport and Exercise at Staffordshire University, UK, where his research focuses on the history, mainstreaming, and media coverage of disability sport. He previously worked for ten years with young disabled people as a sports development officer in local authorities and national governing bodies.Andy Smith is Lecturer in the Sociology of Sport and Exercise at the University of Chester, UK. He is a co-editor of the International Journal of Sport Policy, and a co-author of Sport Policy and Development: A Sociological Introduction, and An Introduction to Drugs in Sport: Addicted to Winning? Both books are published by Routledge (2009).

Who makes sport policy and why do we need it? What is the purpose of sport development programmes? Sport Policy and Development answers these questions and more by closely examining the complex relationships between modern sport, sport policy and development and other aspects of the wider society. These important issues are explored via detailed case studies of key aspects of sport policy and sport development activity, including: school sport and physical educationsocial inclusionhealthelite sportsporting mega-events.Each case study demonstrates the ways in which the sport policy and development fields have changed, and are continually changing in response to the increasing political, social and cultural significance of sport. The book helps the reader to understand the complexities of the sport policy-making process, the increasing intervention of government in the sport policy and development fields, and how the short-term, ever-changing and frequently contradictory political priorities of government come to impact on the practice of sport policy and development. Accessible and engaging, this textbook is an invaluable introduction to sport policy and sport development for students, practitioners and policy-makers alike.

Who makes sport policy and why do we need it? What is the purpose of sport development programmes? Sport Policy and Development answers these questions and more by closely examining the complex relationships between modern sport, sport policy and development and other aspects of the wider society. These important issues are explored via detailed case studies of key aspects of sport policy and sport development activity, including: school sport and physical educationsocial inclusionhealthelite sportsporting mega-events.Each case study demonstrates the ways in which the sport policy and development fields have changed, and are continually changing in response to the increasing political, social and cultural significance of sport. The book helps the reader to understand the complexities of the sport policy-making process, the increasing intervention of government in the sport policy and development fields, and how the short-term, ever-changing and frequently contradictory political priorities of government come to impact on the practice of sport policy and development. Accessible and engaging, this textbook is an invaluable introduction to sport policy and sport development for students, practitioners and policy-makers alike.

The European Commission is an organization which has come to fascinate or repulse a range of national politicians, journalists and social scientists. In contrast to the prevailing image of the Commission as a 'bureaucrat's paradise', however, and by using the results of original research, this book deliberately sets out to investigate this organization's relationship to politics. It does so first by developing a variety of case-studies (health, development aid, preparations for Eastern enlargement, etc.) as a means of studying the relationships, networks and interdependencies which link commissioners and Commission officials to national politicians, civil servants and interest groups. Second, by looking in detail at how the Commission publicizes its work, notably through producing public information and liaising with the media, fresh light is shone upon the complex question of the Commission's legitimacy. Politics and the European Commission provides a framework for generating new information about, and interpretations of, the power struggles at the heart of the EU.

Traditional research methods textbooks tend to present an idealized and simplistic picture of the research process. This ground-breaking text however, features leading international sport researchers explaining how they actually carried out their real life research projects, highlighting the practical day-to-day problems, false starts and setbacks that are a normal part of the research process. This book focuses on ten pieces of research that have made a distinctive and valuable contribution to the study of sport. For each one the author of that research explains how the project was conducted and the issues that they faced. In addition, each piece of research has a commentary from a leading sport scholar outlining why it is regarded as being an important contribution to the discipline of sport studies and how that research can inform studies being carried out today.Contributors to the book describe how in their own real life research projects, they initially conceptualized and defined their research projects secured funding and/or sponsorship from relevant bodies handled enforced changes to the research plans confronted/overcame obstacles presented by outside bodies managed inter-personal/emotional relationships in the research encounter managed possible threats to their personal safety or physical integrity managed good luck, bad luck and serendipitous findings dealt with favourable and hostile media reaction to research findings.Doing Real World Research in Sport Studies enables students and researchers to develop a more realistic understanding of what the research process actually involves. It charts the development of key research projects in sport and should be essential reading for any sport research methods course.

Traditional research methods textbooks tend to present an idealized and simplistic picture of the research process. This ground-breaking text however, features leading international sport researchers explaining how they actually carried out their real life research projects, highlighting the practical day-to-day problems, false starts and setbacks that are a normal part of the research process. This book focuses on ten pieces of research that have made a distinctive and valuable contribution to the study of sport. For each one the author of that research explains how the project was conducted and the issues that they faced. In addition, each piece of research has a commentary from a leading sport scholar outlining why it is regarded as being an important contribution to the discipline of sport studies and how that research can inform studies being carried out today.Contributors to the book describe how in their own real life research projects, they initially conceptualized and defined their research projects secured funding and/or sponsorship from relevant bodies handled enforced changes to the research plans confronted/overcame obstacles presented by outside bodies managed inter-personal/emotional relationships in the research encounter managed possible threats to their personal safety or physical integrity managed good luck, bad luck and serendipitous findings dealt with favourable and hostile media reaction to research findings.Doing Real World Research in Sport Studies enables students and researchers to develop a more realistic understanding of what the research process actually involves. It charts the development of key research projects in sport and should be essential reading for any sport research methods course.

The Routledge Handbook of Youth Sport is a comprehensive survey of the latest research into young people’s involvement in sport. Drawing on a wide diversity of disciplines, including sociology, psychology, policy studies, coaching, physical education and physiology, the book examines the importance of sport during a key transitional period of our lives, from the later teenage years into the early twenties, and therefore helps us develop a better understanding of the social construction of young people’s lives.The book covers youth sport in all its forms, from competitive game-contests and conventional sport to recreational activities, exercise and lifestyle sport, and at all levels, from elite competition to leisure time activities and school physical education. It explores youth sport across the world, in developing and developed countries, and touches on some of the most significant themes and issues in contemporary sport studies, including physical activity and health, lifelong participation, talent identification and development, and safeguarding and abuse.No other book brings together in one place such a breadth and depth of material on youth sport or the engagement of young people in physical activity. The Routledge Handbook of Youth Sport is therefore important reading for all advanced students, researchers, practitioners and policy-makers with an interest in youth sport, youth culture, sport studies or physical education.

Proven strategies for harnessing the power of social media to drive social change Many books teach the mechanics of using Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to compete in business. But no book addresses how to harness the incredible power of social media to make a difference. The Dragonfly Effect shows you how to tap social media and consumer psychological insights to achieve a single, concrete goal. Named for the only insect that is able to move in any direction when its four wings are working in concert, this book Reveals the four "wings" of the Dragonfly Effect-and how they work together to produce colossal resultsFeatures original case studies of global organizations like the Gap, Starbucks, Kiva, Nike, eBay, Facebook; and start-ups like Groupon and COOKPAD, showing how they achieve social good and customer loyaltyLeverage the power of design thinking and psychological research with practical strategiesReveals how everyday people achieve unprecedented results-whether finding an almost impossible bone marrow match for a friend, raising millions for cancer research, or electing the current president of the United StatesThe Dragonfly Effect shows that you don't need money or power to inspire seismic change.

The Routledge Handbook of Youth Sport is a comprehensive survey of the latest research into young people’s involvement in sport. Drawing on a wide diversity of disciplines, including sociology, psychology, policy studies, coaching, physical education and physiology, the book examines the importance of sport during a key transitional period of our lives, from the later teenage years into the early twenties, and therefore helps us develop a better understanding of the social construction of young people’s lives.The book covers youth sport in all its forms, from competitive game-contests and conventional sport to recreational activities, exercise and lifestyle sport, and at all levels, from elite competition to leisure time activities and school physical education. It explores youth sport across the world, in developing and developed countries, and touches on some of the most significant themes and issues in contemporary sport studies, including physical activity and health, lifelong participation, talent identification and development, and safeguarding and abuse.No other book brings together in one place such a breadth and depth of material on youth sport or the engagement of young people in physical activity. The Routledge Handbook of Youth Sport is therefore important reading for all advanced students, researchers, practitioners and policy-makers with an interest in youth sport, youth culture, sport studies or physical education.

To what extent is business activity governed at a European scale? Since the advent of the recent economic crisis, the EU’s choices about the euro, debt ratios and interest rates have caught the headlines and highlighted the importance of EU decision-making arenas. However, these macro-economic events actually tell us only part of the story about the extent to which business activity is now governed at a European scale. Based upon original research on four manufactured or processed goods industries (cars, wine, pharmaceuticals and aquaculture), and driven by theory that is constructivist, institutionalist and sociological, this book sets out to analyse just what Europe governs, by whom and why. In doing so, it reveals three recurrent features of the European government of industries: its omnipresence, its incompleteness and its de-politicization. The authors show that the many gaps in the EU’s mode of governing industries stem from struggles over economic doctrine as well as the continued unwillingness of many actors to accord the EU a legitimacy to act politically in the name of industrial government.This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of European Studies and Political Economy as well as those studying Political Science, Economics, Sociology and Business Studies.

Emotions are widely acknowledged as an inextricable feature of human behaviour, experience and interaction. They are, arguably, the glue that can bind people together or, alternatively, drive them apart. While social scientists have paid increasing attention to the centrality of emotions in social and pedagogical relationships, the sport coaching literature has remained largely free of emotions. Indeed, there remains a paucity of scholarship exploring how emotions such as excitement, joy, anger, anxiety, guilt, pride and embarrassment may be (re-)produced in, as well as through, the social interactions and contextual relations that constitute coaching. Similarly, we know very little about how these, and other, emotions are embodied in the everyday practice of individuals and groups. The aim of this book was to generate new and exploratory insights into the emotions that are an inherent feature of social relations and individual experience in coaching. Using a variety of psychological and sociological frameworks, the chapters in this book not only explore the interconnections between emotion, identity, cognition and learning, but they also serve as a platform for stimulating further inquiry in this topic area.The chapters were originally published in a special issue of Sports Coaching Review.

To what extent is business activity governed at a European scale? Since the advent of the recent economic crisis, the EU’s choices about the euro, debt ratios and interest rates have caught the headlines and highlighted the importance of EU decision-making arenas. However, these macro-economic events actually tell us only part of the story about the extent to which business activity is now governed at a European scale. Based upon original research on four manufactured or processed goods industries (cars, wine, pharmaceuticals and aquaculture), and driven by theory that is constructivist, institutionalist and sociological, this book sets out to analyse just what Europe governs, by whom and why. In doing so, it reveals three recurrent features of the European government of industries: its omnipresence, its incompleteness and its de-politicization. The authors show that the many gaps in the EU’s mode of governing industries stem from struggles over economic doctrine as well as the continued unwillingness of many actors to accord the EU a legitimacy to act politically in the name of industrial government.This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of European Studies and Political Economy as well as those studying Political Science, Economics, Sociology and Business Studies.

Set against the backdrop of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, this book examines the impact on public policy from broader political decisions taken in relation to Olympic- and Paralympic-related policy. It considers the major political justifications for hosting these global sports events, evidence for their expected impacts, and topical issues including environmental protection and sustainability, the use of technology, and political protest. The book will be essential reading for anyone with an interest in sport policy and politics, and how broader political decisions come to impact on the development of Olympic and Paralympic sport.This book was published as a special issue of the International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics.

Varietals of Capitalism shows that politics is an omnipresent part of the economics of wine and of economic activity in general. Based on a four-year research project encompassing fieldwork in France, Spain, Italy, and Romania, Xabier Itçaina, Antoine Roger, and Andy Smith examine the causes and effects of a radical reform adopted at the EU level in 2008. Regulatory change politically transformed the rationale of EU support to the wine industry, from shaping the supply side to encouraging producers to adapt to the demands of a supposedly "new consumer."To explain the adoption and impact of the reform, the authors develop an analytical framework to capture the actors—their perceptions, preferences, and interdependencies—within an industry crisscrossed by institutions located at the global, European, national, and local scales. This framework combines concepts and lessons from historical institutionalism and regulationist economics, Bourdieu's field theory, and the sociology of public policymaking. The authors reject accounts that attribute policy change simply to material determinants and "the invisible hand of the market." They emphasize the crucial importance of institutions within sectors of the economy, and propose ways to bolster constructivist approaches to political economy by linking industrial change to scientific and bureaucratic balances of power. This book's novel focus on different levels of institutional impact should prove influential in the study of the politics of industry, and more broadly within the comparative analysis of capitalism.

How has French society been made, by whom and why? And how in turn has it influenced the French? This book sets out the institutionalized rules and norms that continue to structure France, together with the ‘political work’ that has recently changed or reproduced these power relations. Exploring a range of age groups and types of social activity, including work, business, entertainment, political mobilizations and retirement, Made in France examines where significant change has occurred over the last four decades. Smith argues that while transformation has occurred in France's financial and education sectors, only relatively marginal shifts have occurred elsewhere in French society. To explain this pattern of continuity and isolated change, the book strongly nuances claims that neo-liberalism, globalization or a rise in populism have been its causes. References to these trends have impacted upon French politics to varying extents, Smith argues; however, France continues to be dominated by issues which are specific to the country and linked to its deep societal structures and history. Smith provides a comprehensive account of French society and politics and in doing so proposes an insightful analytical framework applicable to the comparative analysis of other nations.

How has French society been made, by whom and why? And how in turn has it influenced the French? This book sets out the institutionalized rules and norms that continue to structure France, together with the ‘political work’ that has recently changed or reproduced these power relations. Exploring a range of age groups and types of social activity, including work, business, entertainment, political mobilizations and retirement, Made in France examines where significant change has occurred over the last four decades. Smith argues that while transformation has occurred in France's financial and education sectors, only relatively marginal shifts have occurred elsewhere in French society. To explain this pattern of continuity and isolated change, the book strongly nuances claims that neo-liberalism, globalization or a rise in populism have been its causes. References to these trends have impacted upon French politics to varying extents, Smith argues; however, France continues to be dominated by issues which are specific to the country and linked to its deep societal structures and history. Smith provides a comprehensive account of French society and politics and in doing so proposes an insightful analytical framework applicable to the comparative analysis of other nations.