The Micro Politics Of Expert Knowledge

For many years Emmanuel Lazega has explored communication behavior and decision-making processes of small workgroups within larger organizations. To account for the knowledge claims of members of those groups, and for the ways in which such claims are legitimated collectively and translated into action, he presents a theory of the interactive elaboration of information on which decisions are based.

Since the reform and opening-up policy was implemented in China, consultations have been increasingly carried out during the policy-making process. This often involves experts, many of whom are based in think-tanks or similar institutions. The degree of access to the policy-making process varies, and consequently some experts influence the policy-making process significantly and others not. This book explores how experts in China engage with the policy-making process and the circumstances, which affect how far they are able to influence policy-making.

The problem of expertise is an important topic in contemporary science studies and increasingly important in philosophy, political studies, and sociology. Drawing on a global range of case studies, this volume provides an alternative to the developing standard interpretations of the problem of expertise within sociology, broadening the frame of reference to ask critical questions regarding the political meaning of expertise and the political role of knowledge claims.

This fascinating book investigates the strategic importance of the production and dissemination of expertise in the activities of the international organizations (IOs) that have come to symbolize the dominance of the Western political and economic order.

David E. Toohey's Borderlands Media: Cinema and Literature as Opposition to the Oppression of Immigrants is an in-depth analysis which explores the immigrant experience using a mixture of cinema, literary, and other artistic media spanning from 1958 onward. Toohey begins with Orson Welles's 1958 Touch of Evil, which triggered a wave of protest resulting in Chicana/o filmmakers acting out against the racism against immigrant and diaspora communities. The study then adds policy documents and social science scholarship to the mix, both to clarify and oppose undesirable elements in these forms of thought. Through extensive analysis and explication, Toohey uncovers a history of power ranging from lingual and visual to more widely recognized class and racial divisions. These divisions are analyzed both with an emphasis on how they oppress, but also how cinematic political thought can challenge them, with special attention to the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze. David E. Toohey's Borderlands Media is an essential text for scholars and students engaged in questions regarding the effect of media on the oppression of immigrants and diaspora communities.

Stephen Ball’s micro-political theory of school organization is a radical departure from traditional theories. He rejects a prescriptive ‘top down’ approach and directly addresses the interest and concerns of teachers and current problems facing schools. In doing so he raises question about the adequacy and appropriateness of the existing forms of organizational control in schools. Through case studies and interviews with teachers, the book captures the flavour of real conflicts in schools – particularly in times of falling rolls, change of leadership or amalgamations – when teachers’ autonomy seems to be at stake.

The Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Governance and Politics surveys the broad range of environmental and sustainability challenges in the emerging Anthropocene and scrutinizes available concepts, methodological tools, theories and approaches, as well as overlaps with adjunct fields of study. This comprehensive reference work, written by some of the most eminent academics in the field, contains 68 entries on numerous aspects across 7 thematic areas, including concepts and definitions; theories and methods; actors; institutions; issue-areas; cross-cutting questions; and overlaps with non-environmental fields. With this broad approach, the volume seeks to provide a pluralistic knowledge base of the research and practice of global environmental governance and politics in times of increased complexity and contestation. Providing its readers with a unique point of reference, as well as stimulus for further research, this Encyclopedia is an indispensable tool for anyone interested in the politics of the environment, particularly students, teachers and researchers.

For those who want to wallow in the past - this is a comfortable book that sets one's own experiences in context. For those who will still be working into the next century, here are the issues we must face as leaders. For those PhD and EdD students seeking topics to research, there are all the controversial issues here that still need investigation and it has a stunning list of references - a roll call of all the great and the good in the last 25 years of educational administration' -" International Studies in Educational Administration " The book is a challenge to everyone concerned with the present and future state of public education in the UK and the rest of the developed world.The issues are of special concern to those who are expected to provide leadership in schools and colleges and for those with public and political responsibilities. How should our conception of learning and its contribution to a Learning Society be defined? How can education and other aspects of social care and nurturing enhance our lives as people, irrespective of our performance' capabilities? What is the role of teachers who also manage' learning? This book contributes formatively to current debate. What can educationists do about the discontinuous changes which threaten parents and professionals alike? Must education submit to the stranglehold of economic rationalism'? It is hoped that this book will assist all those working to promote education's humane and learning aspirations in society.

This volume explores how the relation between knowledge and the political is developing in the rapidly evolving context of 'knowledge societies'. By analysing how the traditional boundaries and categories of the political are being redefined in the age of communication technologies and information economies, this monograph provides a novel perspective on current debates about 'knowledge societies'.