Research
You will find a complete range of our peer-reviewed monographs, multi-authored and edited works, including original scholarly research across the social sciences and aligned disciplines. We publish long and short form research and you can browse the Bristol University Press and Policy Press archive.
Policy Press also publishes policy reviews and polemic work which aim to challenge policy and practice in certain fields. These books have a practitioner in mind and are practical, accessible in style, as well as being academically sound and referenced.
In today’s digital world, platforms are everywhere, shaping our social and cultural landscapes. This groundbreaking book shows how platforms are not just technical systems, but complex networks involving diverse people, practices and values. It explores a wide range of digital platforms, using insights from science and technology studies, anthropology, sociology and cultural theories to offer fresh perspectives on how platforms, media and devices function and evolve.
Blending ethnographic work with technical analysis, this is essential reading for anyone wanting a deeper understanding of the digital age.
This chapter explores the concept of alignments and their significance in understanding platforms as ensembles, particularly in the context of scientific platforms and their modeling of Earth processes. It examines three specific models:Â the Lorenz attractor, daisyworld, and FAIR 2.0, highlighting their different approaches to representing complex phenomena. It argues that these models, despite their simplifications, offer valuable insights into the dynamics of Earth systems and the challenges of modeling them. The chapter further explores the concept of narratives and their role in shaping our understanding of Earth processes, highlighting the influence of the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) used in climate change modeling. It argues that alignments, whether along attractors, through feedback loops, or through the tuning of models to ensembles, are crucial for making sense of complex phenomena and for informing collective action.
This chapter explores closures, a concept found in coding, set theory, and even everyday language, as a way of understanding how ensembles, or groups of diverse elements, are formed and function. It starts by discussing closures in coding, where they allow functions to “remember” their surrounding context, enabling complex operations like callbacks. The chapter uses the example of Stack Overflow, a platform for developers, to illustrate how closures shape online communities. It points out the gendered dynamics of participation on Stack Overflow, using the concept of “heterodynamic closures” to explain how technology and social identities are co-produced. The chapter then shifts to discuss closures in set theory, particularly the Kleene closure, which allows sets to expand while maintaining their coherence. This concept is linked to the rise of data science and the increasing importance of data in online platforms. It argues that data science itself can be seen as a form of closure, formatting participation and shaping how developers work with data. The chapter concludes by suggesting that closures, in their various forms, offer a way to understand the complex dynamics of online platforms and the ensembles they create.
This chapter explores edges and their significance in understanding the complex nature of platforms. Rather than being mere lines of demarcation, platform edges are presented as zones of fusion where different elements and practices converge. The chapter begins by exploring the historical evolution of platform edges through the lens of Amazon’s “hardening of the edges” edict and the development of terminal interfaces. It also discusses the role of terminals as important sites for understanding platform edges, tracing their evolution from physical devices to software emulators and emphasizing the diverse attachments and practices associated with them. The chapter argues that the compression of ensemble practices in terminal operations provides “every kind of niche,” revealing the intricate and often opaque layers of operations that underpin platforms.
This chapter examines the concept of embeddings and their significance in understanding the multifaceted nature of platforms, particularly in the context of embedded devices. It explores the specific case of the BBC micro:bit, a small, programmable device designed to introduce students to coding and making. The chapter presents embeddings in three distinct senses:Â technoeconomic, embodying, and as manifold. It highlights the technoeconomic embedding of the micro:bit, analyzing its material components, manufacturing processes, and connection to global supply chains. It then explores the embodying aspect of embedding, examining how the micro:bit interacts with the physical world through sensors, actuators, and coding practices. The chapter further explores embedding as manifold, demonstrating how the micro:bit is situated within a network of actors, institutions, and discourses that shape its meaning and use. It argues that understanding these different layers of embedding is crucial for a more nuanced and grounded understanding of platforms.
This chapter examines the concept of containers and their significance in understanding platforms as ensembles. It begins by exploring the historical development of container figures in Euclidean geometry, highlighting how these figures are used to create and contain knowledge through the use of numbers and diagrams. It then shifts to contemporary platforms, arguing that they rely heavily on various forms of containers, such as software containers and hash functions, to organize and manage data. The chapter further explores the concept of hashing as a fundamental platform numbering practice, demonstrating how it enables the unique identification and addressability of complex configurations. It also discusses the role of containers in platform commutability, highlighting how they allow for the flexible rearrangement and combination of elements within platforms. It concludes by emphasizing the need to understand the diverse forms of containers and their impact on the structure, functionality, and evolution of platforms.
