107 5 A Bite of the Apple We recommend that the Department of Health co-ordinate a programme of systematic social and medical research aimed at establishing the reasons for, and reducing the incidence of, low birthweight. (Social Services Committee 1988-9: ix) For some issues open-ended interview techniques are essential. We have to listen to what people say and allow them to define the problem in their own terms. (Richards 1983: 165) When she entered the pilot study for the Social Support and Pregnancy Outcome project, Tracey Arkwright1 was a 20-year
Key messages Identifying the group with attitudes and behaviours furthest away from the target assumptions of the programme makes it possible to see the intervention’s effects on these ‘bad apples’. The findings suggest a small but significant positive change among both the intervention group and the comparison group, these changes are however greater in the comparison group than in the intervention group. There is a risk that the MVP programme only leads to positive changes for those with knowledge and attitudes already close to the programme’s target
Just what is the role and impact of corporate elites in contemporary reforms of public sector universities and schools?
Providing fresh perspectives on matters of governance and vibrant case studies on the particular types of provision including curriculum, teaching and professional practices, Gunter, Hall and Apple bring together contributions from Argentina, Australia, England, Indonesia, Singapore and US to reveal how corporate elites are increasingly influencing public education policy, provision and service delivery locally, nationally and across the world.
Leading scholars, including Patricia Burch, Tanya Fitzgerald, Ken Saltman, and John Smyth scrutinise the impact elites are having on opportunity, access and outcomes through political and professional networks and organisations.
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As the US contends with issues of populism and de-democratization, this timely study considers the impacts of digital technologies on the country’s politics and society.
Timcke provides a Marxist analysis of the rise of digital media, social networks and technology giants like Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft. He looks at the impact of these new platforms and technologies on their users who have made them among the most valuable firms in the world.
Offering bold new thinking across data politics and digital and economic sociology, this is a powerful demonstration of how algorithms have come to shape everyday life and political legitimacy in the US and beyond.
At a time when the practices of technology companies continue to attract fierce criticism, this book asks what it actually means to hold a 'monopoly' in the tech world and how it might affect the way in which an organization operates.
Combining new and traditional Marxian perspectives, the authors offer an in-depth analysis of how these technology giants are produced, financialized, and regulated.
As technology firms continue to shape our political and socio-economic landscape, this book will be an invaluable resource for scholars and students who seek to understand the function of technological monopolies in contemporary capitalism.
At a time when public education and reform agendas are changing the way we approach education, this book critically examines the key issues facing the public with implications for education policy makers, professionals and researchers.
Drawing on empirical evidence gathered over 20 years, Helen Gunter confronts current issues about social justice and segregation. She uses Arendtian ideas to help the reader to ‘think politically’ about education and how and why public services education can be reimagined for the future.
As individuals increasingly seek ways of accessing, understanding and sharing data about their own bodies, this book offers a critique of the popular claim that ‘more information’ equates to ‘better health’. In a study that redefines the public, academic and policy related debates around health, bodies, information and data, the authors consider the ways in which the phenomenon of self-diagnosis has created alternative worlds of knowledge and practises which are often at odds with professional medical advice. With a focus on data that concerns significant life changes, this book explores the potential challenges related to people’s changing relationships with traditional health systems as access to, and control over, data shifts.
Labour exploitation is a highly topical though complex issue that has international resonance for those concerned with social justice and social welfare, but there is a lack of research available about it. This book, part of the Studies in Social Harm series, is the first to look at labour exploitation from a social harm perspective, arguing that, as a global social problem, it should be located within the broader study of work-based harm.
Written by an expert in policy orientated research, he critiques existing approaches to the study of workplace exploitation, abuse and forced labour. Mapping out a new sub-discipline, this innovative book aims to shift power from employers to workers to reduce levels of labour exploitation and work-based harm. It is relevant to academics from many fields as well as legislators, policy makers, politicians, employers, union officials, activists and consumers.
The 21st century has been characterised by great turbulence, climate change, global pandemic, and democratic decay.
Drawing on post-structural political theory, this book explores two dominant concepts used to make sense of our disturbed reality: the state and the network. The book explains how they are inextricably interwoven, while showing why they complicate the way we interpret our present.
In seeking a better understanding of today’s world, this book argues that we need to pull apart the familiar lines of our maps. By looking beneath and across these lines, an ‘unmapping’ presents new insights and opportunities for a better future.
Social media platforms hold vast amounts of biographical data about our lives. They repackage our past content as ‘memories’ and deliver them back to us. But how does that change the way we remember?
Drawing on original qualitative research as well as industry documents and reports, this book critically explores the process behind this new form of memory making. In asking how social media are beginning to change the way we remember, it will be essential reading for scholars and students who are interested in understanding the algorithmically defined spaces of our lives.
