Roger M. Barker
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199576814
- eISBN:
- 9780191722509
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199576814.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, International Business, Corporate Governance and Accountability
The corporate governance systems of continental Europe have traditionally been quite different to those of the liberal market economies (e.g., the United States and the United Kingdom). Company ...
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The corporate governance systems of continental Europe have traditionally been quite different to those of the liberal market economies (e.g., the United States and the United Kingdom). Company ownership has been dominated by incumbent blockholders, with a relatively minor role for minority shareholders and institutional investors. However, since the mid‐1990s, European corporations have adopted many of the characteristics of the Anglo‐American shareholder model. Furthermore, such an increased shareholder orientation has coincided with a significant role for the Left in European government. This presents a puzzle, as conventional wisdom does not conceive of the European Left as the natural ally of pro‐shareholder capitalism. This book provides an analysis of this paradox by arguing that the postwar support of the European Left for the prevailing blockholder‐dominated corporate system depended on the willingness of blockholders to share economic rents with employees, both through higher wages and greater employment stability. However, during the 1990s, product markets became more competitive in many European countries. The sharing of rents between social actors became increasingly difficult to sustain. In such an environment, the Left chose to relinquish its traditional social partnership with blockholders and embraced many aspects of the shareholder model. The hypothesis is initially explored through a panel data econometric analysis of fifteen non‐liberal market economies. Subsequent case study chapters examine the political economy of recent corporate governance change in Germany and Italy.Less
The corporate governance systems of continental Europe have traditionally been quite different to those of the liberal market economies (e.g., the United States and the United Kingdom). Company ownership has been dominated by incumbent blockholders, with a relatively minor role for minority shareholders and institutional investors. However, since the mid‐1990s, European corporations have adopted many of the characteristics of the Anglo‐American shareholder model. Furthermore, such an increased shareholder orientation has coincided with a significant role for the Left in European government. This presents a puzzle, as conventional wisdom does not conceive of the European Left as the natural ally of pro‐shareholder capitalism. This book provides an analysis of this paradox by arguing that the postwar support of the European Left for the prevailing blockholder‐dominated corporate system depended on the willingness of blockholders to share economic rents with employees, both through higher wages and greater employment stability. However, during the 1990s, product markets became more competitive in many European countries. The sharing of rents between social actors became increasingly difficult to sustain. In such an environment, the Left chose to relinquish its traditional social partnership with blockholders and embraced many aspects of the shareholder model. The hypothesis is initially explored through a panel data econometric analysis of fifteen non‐liberal market economies. Subsequent case study chapters examine the political economy of recent corporate governance change in Germany and Italy.
Mario Diani and Doug McAdam (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199251780
- eISBN:
- 9780191599057
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199251789.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Illustrates relational approaches to the study of social movements and collective action. Contributors analyse most recent developments in the analysis of the role of networks as facilitators or ...
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Illustrates relational approaches to the study of social movements and collective action. Contributors analyse most recent developments in the analysis of the role of networks as facilitators or constraints of individual recruitment, various forms of interorganizational networks, and the relationship between social networks and the political context in which social movements operate. They also relate the growing attention to social networks by social movement analysis to broader theoretical debates. Both quantitative and qualitative network analysis are considered, and attention is paid to the time dimension and the evolution of networks, through both simulation models and empirical data. Empirical chapters cover both contemporary and historical episodes of collective action, in reference to authoritarian as well as progressive, left‐libertarian movements. Chapters focusing on individual networks specify different effects of network embeddedness over participation in different types of collective action (Passy, Anheier). Interorganizational relations are explored by looking at leadership dynamics (Diani), the relationship between categorical traits and network position within coalitions (Ansell), and the role of individuals in linking different organizations both synchronically and diachronically (Osa). Network approaches to the political process illustrate shifts in alliance and conflict networks at a time of regime change (Tilly and Wood), the evolution of social networks during protest cycles (Oliver and Myers), and the role of local elites in shaping protest networks in the community (Broadbent). Theoretical chapters discuss network perspectives on social movements in relation to recent theoretical developments in rational choice theory (Gould), cultural analysis (Mische), and the analysis of social mechanisms (McAdam). A radical case is also made for a reorientation of the whole social movement agenda along network lines (Diani).Less
Illustrates relational approaches to the study of social movements and collective action. Contributors analyse most recent developments in the analysis of the role of networks as facilitators or constraints of individual recruitment, various forms of interorganizational networks, and the relationship between social networks and the political context in which social movements operate. They also relate the growing attention to social networks by social movement analysis to broader theoretical debates. Both quantitative and qualitative network analysis are considered, and attention is paid to the time dimension and the evolution of networks, through both simulation models and empirical data. Empirical chapters cover both contemporary and historical episodes of collective action, in reference to authoritarian as well as progressive, left‐libertarian movements. Chapters focusing on individual networks specify different effects of network embeddedness over participation in different types of collective action (Passy, Anheier). Interorganizational relations are explored by looking at leadership dynamics (Diani), the relationship between categorical traits and network position within coalitions (Ansell), and the role of individuals in linking different organizations both synchronically and diachronically (Osa). Network approaches to the political process illustrate shifts in alliance and conflict networks at a time of regime change (Tilly and Wood), the evolution of social networks during protest cycles (Oliver and Myers), and the role of local elites in shaping protest networks in the community (Broadbent). Theoretical chapters discuss network perspectives on social movements in relation to recent theoretical developments in rational choice theory (Gould), cultural analysis (Mische), and the analysis of social mechanisms (McAdam). A radical case is also made for a reorientation of the whole social movement agenda along network lines (Diani).
Elizabeth Frazer
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295648
- eISBN:
- 9780191599316
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198295642.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Offers a detailed critical analysis of the ideal of ‘community’ in politics. Traces elements of the idea of community in a number of social, philosophical, and political contexts over the last ...
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Offers a detailed critical analysis of the ideal of ‘community’ in politics. Traces elements of the idea of community in a number of social, philosophical, and political contexts over the last century, exploring how these have been and continue to be articulated in recent political and public policy debates. ‘Community’ is invoked as a justification for reorganization of state institutions, as the source of care and support for individuals, and as an entity that is valuable in its own right and must therefore be sustained and defended. In community development, community action, community care and community politics, the tensions and contradictions within the concept are invariably felt. Community is both inclusive and exclusive, both organized and unstructured, both hierarchical and egalitarian. The book argues that analysis of the concept ‘community’ reveals the role of ideas and ideals in shaping political action, the barriers to the realization of community in practical contexts, and ultimately the untenability of the ideal itself.Less
Offers a detailed critical analysis of the ideal of ‘community’ in politics. Traces elements of the idea of community in a number of social, philosophical, and political contexts over the last century, exploring how these have been and continue to be articulated in recent political and public policy debates. ‘Community’ is invoked as a justification for reorganization of state institutions, as the source of care and support for individuals, and as an entity that is valuable in its own right and must therefore be sustained and defended. In community development, community action, community care and community politics, the tensions and contradictions within the concept are invariably felt. Community is both inclusive and exclusive, both organized and unstructured, both hierarchical and egalitarian. The book argues that analysis of the concept ‘community’ reveals the role of ideas and ideals in shaping political action, the barriers to the realization of community in practical contexts, and ultimately the untenability of the ideal itself.
Maarten A. Hajer
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199281671
- eISBN:
- 9780191713132
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199281671.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Mediatic representation has become an integral part of politics and policy. The dominance of incident-oriented media formats has led students of politics and media to fear a trend of ‘dumbing down’: ...
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Mediatic representation has become an integral part of politics and policy. The dominance of incident-oriented media formats has led students of politics and media to fear a trend of ‘dumbing down’: the privileging of style over content. This book takes issue with the ‘dumbing down’ thesis both on theoretical and empirical grounds. In particular it investigates how an authoritative governance is possible in crisis-ridden circumstances in a mediatized environment. Maarten Hajer comes up with a communicative understanding of authority, creating a new basis for an authoritative governance in a world marked by political and institutional fragmentation. Extending his discourse-analytical framework, Hajer uses both discursive and dramaturgical methods to study policy makers in their struggle for authority. Three elaborate case studies provide a wealth of details of the dynamics of authority in today's mediatized polity and the peculiar role of crisis and incidents in this. The message of the book is that in the age of mediatization governance needs to be performed. Hajer illuminates contours of a new authoritative governance that encompass different elements than usually get represented in the media or indeed in textbooks on media studies, public policy, or governance. The book shows new ways to recombine traditional government of standing institutions to notions of network governance. The book thus provides new ideas about authoritative governance which is based on the need to actively create relations with a variety of publics.Less
Mediatic representation has become an integral part of politics and policy. The dominance of incident-oriented media formats has led students of politics and media to fear a trend of ‘dumbing down’: the privileging of style over content. This book takes issue with the ‘dumbing down’ thesis both on theoretical and empirical grounds. In particular it investigates how an authoritative governance is possible in crisis-ridden circumstances in a mediatized environment. Maarten Hajer comes up with a communicative understanding of authority, creating a new basis for an authoritative governance in a world marked by political and institutional fragmentation. Extending his discourse-analytical framework, Hajer uses both discursive and dramaturgical methods to study policy makers in their struggle for authority. Three elaborate case studies provide a wealth of details of the dynamics of authority in today's mediatized polity and the peculiar role of crisis and incidents in this. The message of the book is that in the age of mediatization governance needs to be performed. Hajer illuminates contours of a new authoritative governance that encompass different elements than usually get represented in the media or indeed in textbooks on media studies, public policy, or governance. The book shows new ways to recombine traditional government of standing institutions to notions of network governance. The book thus provides new ideas about authoritative governance which is based on the need to actively create relations with a variety of publics.
Christopher Hood, Henry Rothstein, and Robert Baldwin
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199243631
- eISBN:
- 9780191599507
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199243638.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Why does the regulation of risks to human health and safety vary so dramatically from one policy domain to another? Why are some risks regulated aggressively and others responded to only modestly? Is ...
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Why does the regulation of risks to human health and safety vary so dramatically from one policy domain to another? Why are some risks regulated aggressively and others responded to only modestly? Is there any logic to the techniques we use in risk regulation? This book addresses these important questions by systematically examining variety amongst risk regulation regimes across policy domains, analysing the significant driving forces shaping those regimes, and identifying the causes of regulatory failure and success. In order to do so, the book develops a systems‐based concept of a ‘risk regulation regime’, which enables comparative description and analysis of the rules, institutional arrangements, and cultures that are bound up with the handling of risk within and between regimes. Using that framework, the book analyses how regimes and their constituent components are differentially shaped by three major driving forces—namely, the pressures exerted by market failure, by public opinion, and by organized interests inside and outside the state apparatus—and blame‐avoidance responses of regimes in the face of pressures for greater openness. The book applies the method to analyse a range of risk regulation regimes that cross the divide between ‘natural’ and ‘socially created’, state‐created and market‐created, ‘voluntary’ and ‘involuntary’, high‐tech and low‐tech, individually, and corporately produced risks. Those regimes include the release of paedophiles into the community, air pollution, local road safety, radon, pesticides, and dangerous dogs. The analysis reveals both variations and paradoxes that can neither be identified by single case studies, nor be easily explained by macro‐oriented approaches to understanding risk regulation. The Government of Risk shows how such an approach is of high policy relevance as well as of considerable theoretical importance.Less
Why does the regulation of risks to human health and safety vary so dramatically from one policy domain to another? Why are some risks regulated aggressively and others responded to only modestly? Is there any logic to the techniques we use in risk regulation? This book addresses these important questions by systematically examining variety amongst risk regulation regimes across policy domains, analysing the significant driving forces shaping those regimes, and identifying the causes of regulatory failure and success. In order to do so, the book develops a systems‐based concept of a ‘risk regulation regime’, which enables comparative description and analysis of the rules, institutional arrangements, and cultures that are bound up with the handling of risk within and between regimes. Using that framework, the book analyses how regimes and their constituent components are differentially shaped by three major driving forces—namely, the pressures exerted by market failure, by public opinion, and by organized interests inside and outside the state apparatus—and blame‐avoidance responses of regimes in the face of pressures for greater openness. The book applies the method to analyse a range of risk regulation regimes that cross the divide between ‘natural’ and ‘socially created’, state‐created and market‐created, ‘voluntary’ and ‘involuntary’, high‐tech and low‐tech, individually, and corporately produced risks. Those regimes include the release of paedophiles into the community, air pollution, local road safety, radon, pesticides, and dangerous dogs. The analysis reveals both variations and paradoxes that can neither be identified by single case studies, nor be easily explained by macro‐oriented approaches to understanding risk regulation. The Government of Risk shows how such an approach is of high policy relevance as well as of considerable theoretical importance.
Colin Crouch
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199286652
- eISBN:
- 9780191713354
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199286652.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Political Economy
Over the last decade, the neo-institutionalist literature on comparative capitalism has developed into an influential body of work. This book assesses this literature and proposes a major ...
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Over the last decade, the neo-institutionalist literature on comparative capitalism has developed into an influential body of work. This book assesses this literature and proposes a major re-orientation of the field. It critiques many aspects of this work and finds a way of modelling how creative actors trying to achieve change — institutional entrepreneurs — tackle these constraints. Central to the account is the concept of governance, as it is by recombining governance mechanisms that these entrepreneurs must achieve their goals. In seeking how to analyse the spaces in which they operate, the book criticises and deconstructs some dominant approaches in socio-political analysis: to typologies, to elective affinity and complementarity, to path dependence. It develops a theory of governance modes, which includes potentially decomposing them into their core components. Finally, it proposes a reorientation of the neo-institutionalist research programme to take more account of detailed diversity and potentiality for change. The book is primarily theoretical, but it makes liberal use of examples, particularly from studies of local economic development and politics.Less
Over the last decade, the neo-institutionalist literature on comparative capitalism has developed into an influential body of work. This book assesses this literature and proposes a major re-orientation of the field. It critiques many aspects of this work and finds a way of modelling how creative actors trying to achieve change — institutional entrepreneurs — tackle these constraints. Central to the account is the concept of governance, as it is by recombining governance mechanisms that these entrepreneurs must achieve their goals. In seeking how to analyse the spaces in which they operate, the book criticises and deconstructs some dominant approaches in socio-political analysis: to typologies, to elective affinity and complementarity, to path dependence. It develops a theory of governance modes, which includes potentially decomposing them into their core components. Finally, it proposes a reorientation of the neo-institutionalist research programme to take more account of detailed diversity and potentiality for change. The book is primarily theoretical, but it makes liberal use of examples, particularly from studies of local economic development and politics.
Alfredo Bellen and Marino Zennaro
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198506546
- eISBN:
- 9780191709609
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198506546.001.0001
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Numerical Analysis
The main purpose of the book is to introduce the numerical integration of the Cauchy problem for delay differential equations (DDEs) and of the neutral type. Comparisons between DDEs and ordinary ...
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The main purpose of the book is to introduce the numerical integration of the Cauchy problem for delay differential equations (DDEs) and of the neutral type. Comparisons between DDEs and ordinary differential equations (ODEs) are made using examples illustrating some unexpected and often surprising behaviours of the true and numerical solutions. The book briefly reviews the various approaches existing in the literature and develops an error and well-posedness analysis for general one-step and multistep methods. The continuous extensions of Runge-Kutta methods are presented in detail, which are useful for more general problems such as dense output and discontinuous equations. Some deeper insight into convergence and superconvergence is then carried out for DDEs with various kinds of delays. The stepsize control mechanism is developed on a firm mathematical basis. Classical results and an unconventional analysis of stability with respect to forcing term are reviewed for ODEs in view of the subsequent stability analysis for DDEs. Moreover, an exhaustive description of stability domains for some test DDEs is carried out and the corresponding investigations for the numerical methods are made. Reformulations of DDEs as partial differential equations and subsequent semi-discretization are described and compared with the classical approach. A list of available codes is provided.Less
The main purpose of the book is to introduce the numerical integration of the Cauchy problem for delay differential equations (DDEs) and of the neutral type. Comparisons between DDEs and ordinary differential equations (ODEs) are made using examples illustrating some unexpected and often surprising behaviours of the true and numerical solutions. The book briefly reviews the various approaches existing in the literature and develops an error and well-posedness analysis for general one-step and multistep methods. The continuous extensions of Runge-Kutta methods are presented in detail, which are useful for more general problems such as dense output and discontinuous equations. Some deeper insight into convergence and superconvergence is then carried out for DDEs with various kinds of delays. The stepsize control mechanism is developed on a firm mathematical basis. Classical results and an unconventional analysis of stability with respect to forcing term are reviewed for ODEs in view of the subsequent stability analysis for DDEs. Moreover, an exhaustive description of stability domains for some test DDEs is carried out and the corresponding investigations for the numerical methods are made. Reformulations of DDEs as partial differential equations and subsequent semi-discretization are described and compared with the classical approach. A list of available codes is provided.
Simon Scott
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198568360
- eISBN:
- 9780191594748
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198568360.001.0001
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Analysis
This text provides a broad account of the theory of traces and determinants on geometric algebras of differential and pseudodifferential operators over compact manifolds. Trace and determinant ...
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This text provides a broad account of the theory of traces and determinants on geometric algebras of differential and pseudodifferential operators over compact manifolds. Trace and determinant functionals on geometric operator algebras provide a means of constructing refined invariants in analysis, topology, differential geometry, analytic number theory and QFT. The consequent interactions around such invariants have led to significant advances both in pure mathematics and theoretical physics. As the fundamental tools of trace theory have become well understood and clear general structures have emerged, so the need for specialist texts which explain the basic theoretical principles and the computational techniques has become increasingly exigent. This text is the first to deal with the general theory of traces and determinants of operators on manifolds in a broad context, encompassing a number of the principle applications and backed up by specific computations which set out in detail to newcomers the nuts-and-bolts of the basic theory. Both the microanalytic approach to traces and determinants via pseudodifferential operator theory and the more computational approach directed by applications in geometric analysis, are developed in a general framework that will be of interest to mathematicians and physicists in a number of different fields.Less
This text provides a broad account of the theory of traces and determinants on geometric algebras of differential and pseudodifferential operators over compact manifolds. Trace and determinant functionals on geometric operator algebras provide a means of constructing refined invariants in analysis, topology, differential geometry, analytic number theory and QFT. The consequent interactions around such invariants have led to significant advances both in pure mathematics and theoretical physics. As the fundamental tools of trace theory have become well understood and clear general structures have emerged, so the need for specialist texts which explain the basic theoretical principles and the computational techniques has become increasingly exigent. This text is the first to deal with the general theory of traces and determinants of operators on manifolds in a broad context, encompassing a number of the principle applications and backed up by specific computations which set out in detail to newcomers the nuts-and-bolts of the basic theory. Both the microanalytic approach to traces and determinants via pseudodifferential operator theory and the more computational approach directed by applications in geometric analysis, are developed in a general framework that will be of interest to mathematicians and physicists in a number of different fields.
John C Gower and Garmt B Dijksterhuis
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198510581
- eISBN:
- 9780191708961
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198510581.001.0001
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Probability / Statistics
Procrustean methods are used to transform one set of data to represent another set of data as closely as possible. This book unifies several strands in the literature and contains new algorithms. It ...
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Procrustean methods are used to transform one set of data to represent another set of data as closely as possible. This book unifies several strands in the literature and contains new algorithms. It focuses on matching two or more configurations by using orthogonal, projection, and oblique axes transformations. Group-average summaries play an important part, and links with other group-average methods are discussed. The text is multi-disciplinary and also presents a unifying ANOVA framework.Less
Procrustean methods are used to transform one set of data to represent another set of data as closely as possible. This book unifies several strands in the literature and contains new algorithms. It focuses on matching two or more configurations by using orthogonal, projection, and oblique axes transformations. Group-average summaries play an important part, and links with other group-average methods are discussed. The text is multi-disciplinary and also presents a unifying ANOVA framework.
Alexander A. Ivanov
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198527596
- eISBN:
- 9780191713163
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198527596.001.0001
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Pure Mathematics
This book illustrates how different methods of finite group theory including representation theory, cohomology theory, combinatorial group theory, and local analysis, are combined to construct one of ...
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This book illustrates how different methods of finite group theory including representation theory, cohomology theory, combinatorial group theory, and local analysis, are combined to construct one of the last of the sporadic finite simple groups — the fourth Janko group J4. This book's approach is based on analysis of group amalgams and the geometry of the complexes of these amalgams with emphasis on the underlying theory.Less
This book illustrates how different methods of finite group theory including representation theory, cohomology theory, combinatorial group theory, and local analysis, are combined to construct one of the last of the sporadic finite simple groups — the fourth Janko group J4. This book's approach is based on analysis of group amalgams and the geometry of the complexes of these amalgams with emphasis on the underlying theory.
Theo van Leeuwen
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195323306
- eISBN:
- 9780199869251
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195323306.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
Building on Bernstein's concept of recontextualization, Foucault's theory of discourse, Halliday's systemic-functional linguistics and Martin's theory of activity sequences, this book defines ...
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Building on Bernstein's concept of recontextualization, Foucault's theory of discourse, Halliday's systemic-functional linguistics and Martin's theory of activity sequences, this book defines discourses as frameworks for the interpretation of reality and presents detailed and explicit methods for reconstructing these frameworks through text analysis. There are methods for analyzing the representation of social action, social actors and the timings and spatial locations of social practices as well as methods for analyzing how the purposes, legitimations and moral evaluations of social practices can be, and are, constructed in discourse. Discourse analytical categories are linked to sociological theories to bring out their relevance for the purpose of critical discourse analysis, and a variety of examples demonstrate how they can be used to this end. The final chapters apply aspects of the book's methodological framework to the analysis of multimodal texts such as visual images and children's toys.Less
Building on Bernstein's concept of recontextualization, Foucault's theory of discourse, Halliday's systemic-functional linguistics and Martin's theory of activity sequences, this book defines discourses as frameworks for the interpretation of reality and presents detailed and explicit methods for reconstructing these frameworks through text analysis. There are methods for analyzing the representation of social action, social actors and the timings and spatial locations of social practices as well as methods for analyzing how the purposes, legitimations and moral evaluations of social practices can be, and are, constructed in discourse. Discourse analytical categories are linked to sociological theories to bring out their relevance for the purpose of critical discourse analysis, and a variety of examples demonstrate how they can be used to this end. The final chapters apply aspects of the book's methodological framework to the analysis of multimodal texts such as visual images and children's toys.
Alan K. Bowman and Michael Brady (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197262962
- eISBN:
- 9780191734533
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197262962.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Archaeological Methodology and Techniques
These fifteen chapters explore the ways in which recent developments in imaging, image analysis, and image display and diffusion can be applied to objects of material culture in order to enhance ...
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These fifteen chapters explore the ways in which recent developments in imaging, image analysis, and image display and diffusion can be applied to objects of material culture in order to enhance historians' understanding of the period from which the objects came (in this case, the remote past). In interpreting artefacts, the historian acts out a perceptual-cognitive task of transforming often noisy and impoverished signals into semantically rich symbols that have to be set within a cultural and historical context. Engineering scientists, equipped with a range of sophisticated techniques, equipment and highly specialised knowledge, are not always as aware as they might be of the range and the exact nature of problems faced by historians in interpreting objects of material culture. By providing the opportunity for scholars from these communities to explain to each other what they are doing and how, the chapters explore the ways in which the scientific contributors and the historians are thinking about subjectivity of interpretation, visual cognition, and the need to improve methods of presenting evidence so as to feed directly back into their own scientific thinking and to encourage genuine innovation in their approach to developing methods of image-enhancement and interpretation of objects. A significant further dimension is the improvement of techniques of providing high quality images of important and valuable collections of original artefacts to scholars who cannot always study the originals directly. Another important development discussed here is the fact that such imaging techniques now offer the researcher valuable insurance against the processes of deterioration to which such artefacts are inevitably subject. Seven of the chapters are scientific and technical, while the other eight have an archaeological or historical focus.Less
These fifteen chapters explore the ways in which recent developments in imaging, image analysis, and image display and diffusion can be applied to objects of material culture in order to enhance historians' understanding of the period from which the objects came (in this case, the remote past). In interpreting artefacts, the historian acts out a perceptual-cognitive task of transforming often noisy and impoverished signals into semantically rich symbols that have to be set within a cultural and historical context. Engineering scientists, equipped with a range of sophisticated techniques, equipment and highly specialised knowledge, are not always as aware as they might be of the range and the exact nature of problems faced by historians in interpreting objects of material culture. By providing the opportunity for scholars from these communities to explain to each other what they are doing and how, the chapters explore the ways in which the scientific contributors and the historians are thinking about subjectivity of interpretation, visual cognition, and the need to improve methods of presenting evidence so as to feed directly back into their own scientific thinking and to encourage genuine innovation in their approach to developing methods of image-enhancement and interpretation of objects. A significant further dimension is the improvement of techniques of providing high quality images of important and valuable collections of original artefacts to scholars who cannot always study the originals directly. Another important development discussed here is the fact that such imaging techniques now offer the researcher valuable insurance against the processes of deterioration to which such artefacts are inevitably subject. Seven of the chapters are scientific and technical, while the other eight have an archaeological or historical focus.
Rolf Niedermeier
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198566076
- eISBN:
- 9780191713910
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198566076.003.0016
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Combinatorics / Graph Theory / Discrete Mathematics
This chapter concludes the book, summarizes the ideas discussed, and puts forward a list of three central challenges for parameterized algorithm design.
This chapter concludes the book, summarizes the ideas discussed, and puts forward a list of three central challenges for parameterized algorithm design.
EYAL ZAMIR and BARAK MEDINA
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195372168
- eISBN:
- 9780199776078
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372168.003.12
- Subject:
- Law, Philosophy of Law
The conclusion briefly summarizes the main argument of the book.
The conclusion briefly summarizes the main argument of the book.
Lukasz Gruszczynski
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199578924
- eISBN:
- 9780191722646
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199578924.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law, Environmental and Energy Law
The last sixty years witnessed an unprecedented expansion of international trade. The system created by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and later by the World Trade Organization (WTO) has ...
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The last sixty years witnessed an unprecedented expansion of international trade. The system created by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and later by the World Trade Organization (WTO) has proved to be an efficient tool for the elimination of trade tariff barriers. This process also coincided with the increased national risk regulatory controls. Governments, responding to the demands of their domestic constituencies, have adopted a wide range of regulatory measures aimed at protecting the environment and human health. Although for the most part, these new regulatory initiatives served legitimate objectives, it has also turned out that internal measures might become an attractive vehicle for protectionism, taking the place that was traditionally occupied by tariff barriers. The WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) is an attempt by the international community to limit possible abuses while accepting a considerable margin of regulatory discretion of WTO Members. Does it optimally strike a balance between competing objectives of international free trade and regulatory freedom in the field of risk regulation? In answering this question, the book engages in a comprehensive and critical examination of the substantive provisions of the SPS Agreement and the corresponding case law. Special attention is paid to three specific issues: the appropriateness of the disciplines established by the SPS Agreement, the consistency of their interpretation by the WTO case law, and the normative content of those requirements that have not yet been addressed by SPS jurisprudence. The book concludes that despite some failures of the SPS system, the Agreement provides an operable and efficient mechanism for the supervision of domestic SPS measures.Less
The last sixty years witnessed an unprecedented expansion of international trade. The system created by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and later by the World Trade Organization (WTO) has proved to be an efficient tool for the elimination of trade tariff barriers. This process also coincided with the increased national risk regulatory controls. Governments, responding to the demands of their domestic constituencies, have adopted a wide range of regulatory measures aimed at protecting the environment and human health. Although for the most part, these new regulatory initiatives served legitimate objectives, it has also turned out that internal measures might become an attractive vehicle for protectionism, taking the place that was traditionally occupied by tariff barriers. The WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) is an attempt by the international community to limit possible abuses while accepting a considerable margin of regulatory discretion of WTO Members. Does it optimally strike a balance between competing objectives of international free trade and regulatory freedom in the field of risk regulation? In answering this question, the book engages in a comprehensive and critical examination of the substantive provisions of the SPS Agreement and the corresponding case law. Special attention is paid to three specific issues: the appropriateness of the disciplines established by the SPS Agreement, the consistency of their interpretation by the WTO case law, and the normative content of those requirements that have not yet been addressed by SPS jurisprudence. The book concludes that despite some failures of the SPS system, the Agreement provides an operable and efficient mechanism for the supervision of domestic SPS measures.
Rebecca Krawiec
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195129434
- eISBN:
- 9780199834396
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195129431.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
Analyzes the evidence for the lives of women living in the White Monastery, located in upper Egypt, under its third abbot, Shenoute, who served from 385–464 c.e. Several of Shenoute's letters, which ...
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Analyzes the evidence for the lives of women living in the White Monastery, located in upper Egypt, under its third abbot, Shenoute, who served from 385–464 c.e. Several of Shenoute's letters, which were written in Coptic and survive in fragmentary form, address periods of conflict either between female monks or between the female community and Shenoute. As a result, they differ in genre from any other evidence of female monasticism in late antiquity and so present a unique corpus of material for investigation. A key issue pertains to Shenoute's efforts to establish his monastic authority over the women's community, which was physically separate from the men's, and the evidence for the women's acceptance and resistance to that expansion. I then argue that gender analysis reveals that Shenoute regarded his efforts as part of the creation of a universal monasticism, which had uniform requirements for male and female monks, including the controversial subject of corporal punishment. It simultaneously reveals, however, points of gender asymmetry, and so inequity, within monastic authority and practices, some promoted by Shenoute and some by the women themselves. Finally, Shenoute's use of the family as a model for the monastery helped him create kinship bonds among all monks, both those who had left their families and those who brought their relatives with them. Like gender, with which the family is intimately connected, this model also allows Shenoute to negotiate tensions and contradictions using egalitarian language while simultaneously constructing patriarchal authority.Less
Analyzes the evidence for the lives of women living in the White Monastery, located in upper Egypt, under its third abbot, Shenoute, who served from 385–464 c.e. Several of Shenoute's letters, which were written in Coptic and survive in fragmentary form, address periods of conflict either between female monks or between the female community and Shenoute. As a result, they differ in genre from any other evidence of female monasticism in late antiquity and so present a unique corpus of material for investigation. A key issue pertains to Shenoute's efforts to establish his monastic authority over the women's community, which was physically separate from the men's, and the evidence for the women's acceptance and resistance to that expansion. I then argue that gender analysis reveals that Shenoute regarded his efforts as part of the creation of a universal monasticism, which had uniform requirements for male and female monks, including the controversial subject of corporal punishment. It simultaneously reveals, however, points of gender asymmetry, and so inequity, within monastic authority and practices, some promoted by Shenoute and some by the women themselves. Finally, Shenoute's use of the family as a model for the monastery helped him create kinship bonds among all monks, both those who had left their families and those who brought their relatives with them. Like gender, with which the family is intimately connected, this model also allows Shenoute to negotiate tensions and contradictions using egalitarian language while simultaneously constructing patriarchal authority.
A. P. David
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199292400
- eISBN:
- 9780191711855
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199292400.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Poetry and Poets: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This book develops an authentic and revolutionary musical analysis of ancient Greek poetry. It brings the interpretation of ancient verse into step with the sorts of analyses customarily enjoyed by ...
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This book develops an authentic and revolutionary musical analysis of ancient Greek poetry. It brings the interpretation of ancient verse into step with the sorts of analyses customarily enjoyed by works in all the more recent poetical and musical traditions. It departs from the abstract metrical analyses of the past in that it conceives the rhythmic and harmonic elements of poetry as integral to the whole expression, and decisive in the interpretation of its meaning. Such an analysis is now possible because of a new theory of the Greek tonic accent, set out in the third chapter, and its application to Greek poetry understood as choreia — the proper name for the art and work of ancient poets in both epic and lyric, described by Plato as a synthesis of dance rhythm and vocal harmony, in disagreement moving toward agreement. The book offers a thorough-going treatment of Homeric poetics: here some remarkable discoveries in the harmonic movement of epic verse, when combined with some neglected facts about the origin of the hexameter in a ‘dance of the Muses’, lead to essential new thinking about the genesis and the form of Homeric poetry. The book also gives a foretaste of the fruits to be harvested in lyric by a musical analysis, applying the new theory of the accent and considering concretely the role of dance in performance.Less
This book develops an authentic and revolutionary musical analysis of ancient Greek poetry. It brings the interpretation of ancient verse into step with the sorts of analyses customarily enjoyed by works in all the more recent poetical and musical traditions. It departs from the abstract metrical analyses of the past in that it conceives the rhythmic and harmonic elements of poetry as integral to the whole expression, and decisive in the interpretation of its meaning. Such an analysis is now possible because of a new theory of the Greek tonic accent, set out in the third chapter, and its application to Greek poetry understood as choreia — the proper name for the art and work of ancient poets in both epic and lyric, described by Plato as a synthesis of dance rhythm and vocal harmony, in disagreement moving toward agreement. The book offers a thorough-going treatment of Homeric poetics: here some remarkable discoveries in the harmonic movement of epic verse, when combined with some neglected facts about the origin of the hexameter in a ‘dance of the Muses’, lead to essential new thinking about the genesis and the form of Homeric poetry. The book also gives a foretaste of the fruits to be harvested in lyric by a musical analysis, applying the new theory of the accent and considering concretely the role of dance in performance.
Peter Lyons and Howard J. Doueck
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195373912
- eISBN:
- 9780199865604
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195373912.001.0001
- Subject:
- Social Work, Research and Evaluation
This book is intended to be read at any stage in the dissertation process, but will be particularly useful in the early stages of preparation for a social work dissertation, and as a reference ...
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This book is intended to be read at any stage in the dissertation process, but will be particularly useful in the early stages of preparation for a social work dissertation, and as a reference resource throughout. The book is a guide to successful dissertation completion. Content includes a brief history and overview of social work doctoral education in the United States, the importance of values in social work, and the relationship between personal, research, and social work values. Chapter 2 addresses issues in selecting and working with the dissertation supervisor and committee, as well as the role and tasks of all three parties in successful completion of the dissertation. In Chapter 3 strategies for researching, and evaluating the literature, as well as writing the literature review are discussed. In addition, the relevance of theory to social work research is examined. Chapter 4 describes ethical issues in social research and requirements for the protection of human subjects. In addition, an overview of both quantitative and qualitative research methods is provided. In Chapter 5 sample design and sample size are discussed in relation to both quantitative and qualitative research. The significance of the psychometric properties of measurement instruments is also discussed. Chapter 6 addresses issues in data collection, data management, and data analysis in qualitative and quantitative research. Finally Chapter 7 presents strategies for dissertation writing including structure and content, as well as data presentation.Less
This book is intended to be read at any stage in the dissertation process, but will be particularly useful in the early stages of preparation for a social work dissertation, and as a reference resource throughout. The book is a guide to successful dissertation completion. Content includes a brief history and overview of social work doctoral education in the United States, the importance of values in social work, and the relationship between personal, research, and social work values. Chapter 2 addresses issues in selecting and working with the dissertation supervisor and committee, as well as the role and tasks of all three parties in successful completion of the dissertation. In Chapter 3 strategies for researching, and evaluating the literature, as well as writing the literature review are discussed. In addition, the relevance of theory to social work research is examined. Chapter 4 describes ethical issues in social research and requirements for the protection of human subjects. In addition, an overview of both quantitative and qualitative research methods is provided. In Chapter 5 sample design and sample size are discussed in relation to both quantitative and qualitative research. The significance of the psychometric properties of measurement instruments is also discussed. Chapter 6 addresses issues in data collection, data management, and data analysis in qualitative and quantitative research. Finally Chapter 7 presents strategies for dissertation writing including structure and content, as well as data presentation.
Patrick Dattalo
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195315493
- eISBN:
- 9780199865475
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195315493.001.0001
- Subject:
- Social Work, Research and Evaluation
Sample size determination is an important and often difficult step in planning an empirical study. From a statistical perspective, sample size depends on the following factors: type of analysis to be ...
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Sample size determination is an important and often difficult step in planning an empirical study. From a statistical perspective, sample size depends on the following factors: type of analysis to be performed, desired precision of estimates, kind and number of comparisons to be made, number of variables to be examined, and heterogeneity of the population to be sampled. Other important considerations include feasibility, such as ethical limitations on access to a population of interest and the availability of time and money. The primary assumption of the book is that, within the context of ethical and practical limitations, efforts to obtain samples of appropriate size and quality remain an important and viable component of social science research. This text describes the following available approaches for estimating sample size in social work research and discusses their strengths and weaknesses: power analysis; heuristics or rules-of-thumb; confidence intervals; computer-intensive strategies; and ethical and cost considerations. In addition, strategies for mitigating pressures to increase sample size, such as emphasis on model parsimony (e.g., fewer dependent and independent variables), simpler study designs, an emphasis on replication, and careful planning of analyses are discussed. The book covers sample-size determination for advanced and emerging statistical strategies, such as structural equation modeling, multi-level analysis, repeated measures MANOVA, and repeated measures ANOVA which are not discussed in other texts.Less
Sample size determination is an important and often difficult step in planning an empirical study. From a statistical perspective, sample size depends on the following factors: type of analysis to be performed, desired precision of estimates, kind and number of comparisons to be made, number of variables to be examined, and heterogeneity of the population to be sampled. Other important considerations include feasibility, such as ethical limitations on access to a population of interest and the availability of time and money. The primary assumption of the book is that, within the context of ethical and practical limitations, efforts to obtain samples of appropriate size and quality remain an important and viable component of social science research. This text describes the following available approaches for estimating sample size in social work research and discusses their strengths and weaknesses: power analysis; heuristics or rules-of-thumb; confidence intervals; computer-intensive strategies; and ethical and cost considerations. In addition, strategies for mitigating pressures to increase sample size, such as emphasis on model parsimony (e.g., fewer dependent and independent variables), simpler study designs, an emphasis on replication, and careful planning of analyses are discussed. The book covers sample-size determination for advanced and emerging statistical strategies, such as structural equation modeling, multi-level analysis, repeated measures MANOVA, and repeated measures ANOVA which are not discussed in other texts.
Wilfrid S. Kendall and Ilya Molchanov (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199232574
- eISBN:
- 9780191716393
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199232574.001.0001
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Geometry / Topology
Stochastic geometry is a subject with roots stretching back at least 300 years, but one which has only been formed as an academic area in the last 50 years. It covers the study of random patterns, ...
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Stochastic geometry is a subject with roots stretching back at least 300 years, but one which has only been formed as an academic area in the last 50 years. It covers the study of random patterns, their probability theory, and the challenging problems raised by their statistical analysis. It has grown rapidly in response to challenges in all kinds of applied science, from image analysis through to materials science. Recently, still more stimulus has arisen from exciting new links with rapidly developing areas of mathematics, from fractals through percolation theory to randomized allocation schemes. Coupled with many ongoing developments arising from all sorts of applications, the area is changing and developing rapidly. This book is intended to lay foundations for future research directions by collecting together seventeen chapters contributed by leading researchers in the field, both theoreticians and people involved in applications, surveying these new developments both in theory and in applications. It will introduce and lay foundations for appreciating the fresh perspectives, new ideas, and interdisciplinary connections now arising from stochastic geometry and from other areas of mathematics now connecting to this area.Less
Stochastic geometry is a subject with roots stretching back at least 300 years, but one which has only been formed as an academic area in the last 50 years. It covers the study of random patterns, their probability theory, and the challenging problems raised by their statistical analysis. It has grown rapidly in response to challenges in all kinds of applied science, from image analysis through to materials science. Recently, still more stimulus has arisen from exciting new links with rapidly developing areas of mathematics, from fractals through percolation theory to randomized allocation schemes. Coupled with many ongoing developments arising from all sorts of applications, the area is changing and developing rapidly. This book is intended to lay foundations for future research directions by collecting together seventeen chapters contributed by leading researchers in the field, both theoreticians and people involved in applications, surveying these new developments both in theory and in applications. It will introduce and lay foundations for appreciating the fresh perspectives, new ideas, and interdisciplinary connections now arising from stochastic geometry and from other areas of mathematics now connecting to this area.
