SAGE Swifts – serie

"In crystalline text steeped in cold rage, Sayer takes aim at the REF’s central claim, that it is a legitimate process of expert peer review. He critiques university and national-level REF processes against actual practices of scholarly review as found in academic journals, university presses, and North American tenure procedures. His analysis is damning. If the REF fails as scholarly review, how can academics and universities continue to participate? And how can government use its rankings as a basis for public policy?" - Tarak Barkawi, London School of Economics "Sayer makes a compelling argument that the Research Excellence Framework is not only expensive and divisive, but is also deeply flawed as an evaluation exercise. Rank Hypocrisies is a rigorous and scholarly evaluation of the REF, yet written in a lively and engaging style that makes it highly readable." - Dorothy Bishop, University of Oxford

Few decisions are as consequential for the funding and reputation of Britain's universities as those of REF panels. Not only do REF rankings determine the levels of research funding universities receive from the state. They equally affect institutions' ability to attract external grants, top-flight faculty, and graduate students.

Whatever benefit the UK's periodic research assessment exercises may have brought to research productivity, the REF has been widely criticized for its enormous costs in taxpayers' money and academics' time, its discouragement of innovative (and especially interdisciplinary) research, and its negative effects on collegiality and staff morale. Derek Sayer extends these arguments, notably through his discussion of the questionable staff selection processes used in REF2014 within his own university. Where Rank Hypocrisies goes beyond previous critiques is in its open challenge to the REF's claim to provide 'expert review of the outputs' - the very heart of its legitimacy.

Examining the composition and operation of REF disciplinary subpanels in forensic detail, Sayer paints a picture in which overburdened assessors assign vaguely defined grades in fields that are frequently not their own while ignoring all external indicators of the academic influence of the publications they are appraising, and then shred all records of their deliberations. Judged against international norms of peer review, the REF is an elaborate charade - and an insult to the core values of the academy.

Media pilgrimage has become a booming business in the 21st century. Fans of television shows, rock groups and books flock to places associated with their favorite series, artist or writer, trying to embody and perhaps understand what inspired the beloved piece of work, and, more importantly, to cobble together their own personal identity, seeking meaning in an ever-more divergent and fast-paced world. At the same time, participation in organized group activities are dropping. One of the largest down turns in the US and the UK can be seen in the steep decline of attendance at traditional religious venues. This trend dovetails with the radical uptick in on-line sites dedicated to pop culture and celebrities, as well as an array of niche-focused real-time tours allowing fans to experience the spaces, places and scenery featured in their favorite entertainment medium.

The Secular Religion of Fandom: Pop Culture Pilgrim examines the function of fandom, specifically the visiting of spaces which have been recently deemed worthy of sanctification and a newly elevated status of importance. It examines how such pilgrimages are used as a means for forming and maintaining a common language of culture, creating a replacement apparatus based on more traditional frameworks of religious worship and salvation, while becoming an ever more dominant mechanism for constructing individuality and finding belonging in a commodified culture. Looking at television shows such as The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, bands like The Stone Roses and Joy Division, and authors like J.K. Rowling and the Brontë sisters, The Secular Religion of Fandom: Pop Culture Pilgrim delves into these issues by examining spaces, fan communities and rituals, providing a unique and provocative investigation into how technology, media and humanistic need for guidance are forming novel ways of expressing value, forging self and finding significance in an uncertain world.

The topics of bullying and hazing have sparked interest and discussion in recent years. Hazing is a crime in the United States, and Western nations have made efforts to stamp out bullying in schools, the workplace, and institutions. However, for the most part, bullying and hazing are ill-defined and lack theoretical perspective. Mestrovic brings classical as well as contemporary social theory to bear on this discussion. Thorstein Veblen defined the predatory barbarian as the social type, enshrined by modernity, who prefers to use force over peacable means to achieve ends. On the other extreme, Marcel Mauss wrote about the spirit of the gift and its obligations - to give, to receive, and to reciprocate - as the fundamental basis of social life. Yet, he argued that the spirit of modernity was disappearing with the progress of modernity. Mestrovic traces this fundamental opposition between barbaric force or bullying versus benign obligation that is the spirit of the gift through a host of modernist and postmodernist thinkers and theories. He introduces the concept of the 'postemotional bully' as an alternative to both of these major bodies of social theory. The postemotional bully, as a social type, is fungible, beset by screen-images on media and social media that are isolating, and is at the mercy of the peer-group. Case studies focus on bullying and hazing, specifically the cases of an American solider who committed suicide in Afghanistan, instances of torture at Abu Ghraib, and the murder of a 23-year-old African-American inmate in a Southern state prison in the US.

"The political and academic worlds are fractured by two competing discourses: the universalism of human rights and cultural relativism. This fracture is represented by the deep separation of cultural analysis and theories of international politics. Derek Robbins in a brilliant interrogation of European thinkers from Montesquieu to Pierre Bourdieu seeks to replace cultural relativism with cultural relationism as a step towards reconciling Enlightenment universalism and anthropological insistence on cultural difference. Inter alia he reflects on the tensions between political and social science and takes up the challenge from Raymond Aron to construct a sociology of international relations. A dazzling achievement." - Bryan S. Turner, The Graduate Center, CUNY

Crayons and iPads examines the use of digital technology in the early stages of child development, and the way in which learning techniques have evolved in classrooms across the world.

Harwood explores how tablets can be used to provoke, ignite and excite children’s interest in the world around them, performing as accessible learning and instructional tools, and argues that it is through this engagement with technology that new discoveries are made and learning takes place.

Guiding readers through research-based insights into children’s thinking, interactions and being, Crayons and iPads offers an important starting point upon which to build play and inquiry-based learning opportunities within early learning programs, and will appeal to both educators and researchers across child development, early years education, and digital literacy.

Misogyny Online explores the worldwide phenomenon of gendered cyberhate as a significant discourse which has been overlooked and marginalised. The rapid growth of the internet has led to numerous opportunities and benefits; however, the architecture of the cybersphere offers users unprecedented opportunities to engage in hate speech. A leading international researcher in this field, Emma A. Jane weaves together data and theory from multiple disciplines and expresses her findings in a style that is engaging, witty and powerful. Misogyny Online is an important read for students and faculty members alike across the social sciences and humanities.

"David Walker’s analysis is incisive and hard hitting. Anyone who believes in the power of social science to inform better policy making should take his criticisms seriously." - Sue Duncan, Former Chief Government Social Researcher and Head of the Government Social Research Service

DIY check-outs, drones, self-driving cars, and e-government all are signs of the coming auto-industrial age. Will this end in mass unemployment or will new kinds of work emerge? Will 3D print production, desktop workshops and mass customization make up for lost blue-collar jobs? What will happen to health and education in the auto-industrial age? Will machines replace teachers and doctors? What might the economic and social future dominated by self-employment and a large DIY industry look like? Peter Murphy's lively, provocative book addresses these questions head-on.

Aimed directly at those who aspire to be university leaders in these turbulent times, and written as an academic counterpart to Machiavelli's The Prince, The Academic Caesar explores four themes that are central to the contemporary university:  its Caesar-leaders, its economics, its disciplines, and whether academics have a future in the universities.

Drawing on a wealth of experience writing about the social epistemology of higher education, Steve Fuller makes a witty, robust and provocative contribution to the ongoing debate about where the university has come from and where it is going.  

The Academic Caesar will prove a fascinating read for those seeking new insights into current crisis in higher education as well as researchers and academics interested in the sociology of leadership.

Questioning Performance Measurement: Metrics, Organizations and Power is the first book to interrogate the organizational turn towards performance metrics critically. Performance measurement is used to evaluate a diverse range of activities throughout the private, public and non-governmental sectors. But in an increasingly data driven world, what does it really mean to measure ‘performance’?

Do new “smart” technologies such as AI, robotics, social media, and automation threaten to disrupt our society? Or does technological innovation hold the potential to transform our democracies and civic societies, creating ones that are more egalitarian and accountable?

Disruptive Democracy explores these questions and examines how technology has the power to reshape our civic participation, our economic and political governance, and our entire existence. In this innovative study, the authors use international examples such as Trump’s America, and Bolsonaro’s recent election as President of Brazil, to lead the discussion on perhaps the most profound political struggle of the 21st century, the coming clash between a progressive “Techno-democracy” and a regressive “Techno-populism”.

In light of the recent global resurgence of radical and populist right-wing parties, this book examines hostile and anti-immigration rhetoric in Europe. Topical and timely, it deftly guides the reader through the trajectories of radical right parties and contextualises discriminatory rhetoric in wider immigration and integration politics.

Grounded in a focussed, comparative critical discourse study that draws on methods from social science and linguistics, the book:

Exposing the insidious nature of malevolent political rhetoric and its consequences, this book is a timely and essential read.

This book explores the intercultural policy paradigm emerging within diversity and migration studies. Drawing on empirical studies of cultural diversity and placing a focus on the current crises of identity in Europe, Zapata-Barrero argues for an intercultural model of citizenship that prioritises contact between diverse people. In looking forward to a post-multicultural era, his analysis suggests how we can better manage the challenges presented by our increasingly complex, multifaceted societies. This thoughtful text will appeal to students and scholars across politics, sociology, anthropology and social psychology, as well as policy makers and social entrepreneurs around the world grappling with issues around migration, diversity and citizenship. Ricard Zapata-Barrero is a Full Professor of Political and Social Sciences at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain). He is also Director of the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Immigration at UPF, and Master in Migration Studies. He is member of the Board of Directors for IMISCOE and Chair of the External Affairs Committee. For information about publications, go to his webpage:  www.upf.edu/web/ricard-zapata

At a time of huge pressures on mental health services, this highly topical, broad-ranging and thought-provoking analysis of the mental health crisis examines the current challenges in mental health service delivery and access using a range of perspectives (political, economic, and cultural, organisational issues). It then puts forward a number of alternatives, reviewing both current and alternative initiatives, and exploring what is needed for a mentally healthy society.

Addiction Debates explores the tumultuous landscape of addiction research, policy and practice. Covering all the 'hot topics' of the day in a balanced and informative manner, Comiskey provides international perspectives on each topic, stimulating debate and discussion via the different approaches taken globally.

Considering the complexities of debates around legalisation, rehabilitation, abstinence, harm reduction, and the current opioid epidemic, this SAGE Swift also looks into the health and social concerns related to drug consumption. Less-often debated topics include the ageing population of people who use drugs, the rights of the child of parents who use drugs, and the pressure these unique factors put on public health and associated services. A relevant text for a range of disciplines and people, sure to inform, challenge and continue the debate.

Populism, misogyny, rampage murders. Digital media seem to lie at the heart of sinister, intractable social challenges. Curiously, the very societies who fear such things are often dismissive of media research. Addressing key issues affecting global media industries, this book explains how to solve the present conundrum by appreciating the historical development of cultivation theory. Digital Media Influence ties cultivation themes, such as mean world syndrome, mainstreaming, the celebration of white male violence, the ridiculing of ageing women, the inhibition of activism, the mediatisation of religion and the erosion of trust in education, with contemporary digital media case studies. Considering the aftermath of the Parkland murders, political memes, Islamophobia, the fate of female reality TV stars and the bad press directed at media education, Ruddock shows how these phenomena are born of media practices that cultivation theory began to dissect in the 1950s.

Paying close attention to the life and work of George Gerbner, Digital Media Influence locates today’s questions in the historical forces and relationships that moved media industries closer to the heart of global politics in the mid-20th century. It makes Gerbner’s work relevant to all critical media researchers by providing a theoretical, methodological  and historical steer for understanding new media influences. In explaining how one of the world’s leading media theories developed in relation to intriguing historical circumstances – many of them deeply personal – this book helps researchers of all levels to find their voice in writing on media issues.

An exciting new book exploring why we have not seen the enduring changes that were once optimistically anticipated. Each chapter tackles an important question around gender and leadership, such as 'Why do leader stereotypes emphasize masculinity?', 'Why are there so few women in top management positions?' and 'Why do (some) men in top management feel free to sexually harass women?'.  Leading international scholar in the field, Gary N. Powell explores cutting-edge topics including;

With suggestions of practical steps that would work toward achieving a workplace in which all employees can reach their leadership potential regardless of their gender, Gender and Leadership is an important read for students and faculty members alike across the social sciences and humanities.

With relevance across public, private and not-for-profit sectors, and combining perspectives from both the business and psychology worlds, this book is a cross-disciplinary look at how destructive leaders can impact organisations and their workers, and how best to recognise and deal with them.

This text bridges the gap between the theory and the practical application, by taking the academic research and translating this for students, managers and practitioners in the field into practicable interventions they can use in their everyday practice to recognise and resolve issues raised by destructive leaders.

In the public sector inspection regimes and performance targets provide a powerful and dominant narrative, often placing pressure on professionals and organisations to continuously quantify the quality of services and to achieve targets.

This book explores the background, development, techniques and impact of such regimes across areas of the public sector including schools, universities, police forces, children’s services and health services. Putting inspection and audit regimes under scrutiny, the author questions their role and function across these organisations and builds a persuasive critical argument for the re-thinking of public accountability mechanisms and techniques.

One moment life was normal, the next, governments around the world were imposing radical lockdowns of their populations. But why were decision-makers so readily ignoring centuries of hard-won civil freedoms? Where was the discussion of ethics and human rights? Why were we so easily controlled and why were our controllers so willing to do it? 

In The Case for Democracy, David Seedhouse explores the psychological biases; distorted risk perceptions; frenetic journalism; the disputed science; the narrow focus of 'experts'; value judgements dressed up as truths; propaganda; the invisibility of ethics; and the alarming irrelevance of inclusive democracy that have been features of governmental responses to the covid-19 pandemic.

Seedhouse argues that the chaotic governmental response to Coronavirus, with no attempt to include the public, is the perfect argument for an extensive, participatory democracy; a democracy that demonstrates practical decision making by listening to everyone’s knowledge and expertise.

Now is the time for us to solve our problems together.