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The Person as Agent and Resultant of Reputation

Kenneth H. Craik

in Reputation: A Network Interpretation

Chapter 6 considers the person as both agent and resultant of reputation. The person seeks to convey a particular social image to others while using feedback from others as a source of ... More

Chapter 6 considers the person as both agent and resultant of reputation. The person seeks to convey a particular social image to others while using feedback from others as a source of self-knowledge. General renown and approbation are seen as sources of social acceptance and social capital within a person’s community. This chapter examines the craft wisdom to be found in the professional realm of reputation management that is increasingly available to public figures, celebrities, and corporations. Publicity agencies offer proactive services to mold, circulate, and protect public visibility and image. False assertions may threaten our reputation, but we might also actually engage in undeniably disreputable conduct. For either case, a guild of specialists is ready to come to the rescue and provide reputation damage control.Less

The Structure of the Constitutional Conversation

Víctor Ferreres Comella

in Constitutional Courts and Democratic Values: A European Perspective

This chapter examines the forms of the constitutional conversation. The chapter argues here that various features of the European model help enhance the public visibility of constitutional courts, as ... More

This chapter examines the forms of the constitutional conversation. The chapter argues here that various features of the European model help enhance the public visibility of constitutional courts, as well as their impact on political debates. In a parliamentary system, the legislative body is deemed to be the most representative political institution since its members are directly elected by the people, whereas the officials who occupy the other branches of government are not, as a general rule. Most Western European countries follow this pattern, though in some countries there is also a popularly elected president. France is an exception, however, because the most important figure in the country's executive branch is the prime minister supported by the parliament, not the president.Less

Under the Spotlight, and the Disappearing Act

Eric Reinders

in Borrowed Gods and Foreign Bodies: Christian Missionaries Imagine Chinese Religion

This chapter focuses on the public visibility of Western missionaries in China. It discusses the situation of the missionaries when they were surrounded by Chinese giving them their full attention ... More

This chapter focuses on the public visibility of Western missionaries in China. It discusses the situation of the missionaries when they were surrounded by Chinese giving them their full attention and when they tried to be invisible. It suggests that the crowd was probably one of the strongest formative experiences of missionaries who arrived in China for the first time. It contends that though the Chinese public gaze wore down some Western missionaries, the curiosity value of foreign bodies was not without its benefits.Less

Overcoming Judicial Timidity

Víctor Ferreres Comella

in Constitutional Courts and Democratic Values: A European Perspective

This chapter presents the argument that, despite their public visibility, constitutional courts cannot be timid—in two senses. First, the court cannot shy away from constitutional issues and has to ... More

This chapter presents the argument that, despite their public visibility, constitutional courts cannot be timid—in two senses. First, the court cannot shy away from constitutional issues and has to confront them. Second, it is not easy for the court to be extremely deferential toward the legislature. A significant percentage of the laws that are challenged must be found to be totally or partially unconstitutional. Though several different factors can push judges in one direction or the other when it comes to how aggressively they exercise legislative review, some structural components of the European model operate as vectors of activism. A system of constitutional review is established to create a forum of principle where fundamental values are taken seriously.Less

“All My Afflictions”: Invalids and Authority in Nineteenth-Century Britain

Maria H. Frawley

in Invalidism and Identity in Nineteenth-Century Britain

In the first half of the nineteenth century, the figure of the invalid assumed a kind of public visibility unparalleled in earlier periods of English history. Charting the conditions that promoted ... More

In the first half of the nineteenth century, the figure of the invalid assumed a kind of public visibility unparalleled in earlier periods of English history. Charting the conditions that promoted this ascendancy, this chapter argues that the invalid assumed prominence because the figure apotheosized stasis. However “blessed” was the “borderland” that the invalid occupied, extended or chronic illness could also signify stagnation, immobility, and, in a broader sense, all that could be considered inconclusive. In “The Convalescent,” Charles Lamb evocatively likened his condition to a “flat swamp.” Epitomizing inertia, the invalid expressed the culture's profound skepticism not simply about the inability of scientific medicine to cure, but also about other social movements, institutions, and ideologies premised on the notion of progress—the economic progress of the nation, the spiritual progress of the pilgrim.Less

Scientists and Other Experts

in Science for All: The Popularization of Science in Early Twentieth-Century Britain

For every “big name,” there were dozens of experts who tried their hand at the occasional piece of writing for a popular magazine or for an educational book series. In popular fields such as natural ... More

For every “big name,” there were dozens of experts who tried their hand at the occasional piece of writing for a popular magazine or for an educational book series. In popular fields such as natural history, a small number of experts devoted a significant amount of time to writing. For those whose scientific career had stagnated, gaining public visibility provided an alternative form of recognition as well as useful extra income. Others wrote only a single book or a handful of articles, perhaps finding the problems of writing for a general readership insurmountable. J. Arthur Thomson's position as the science editor of a major educational book series shows how a scientist who became deeply involved with the publishing industry could serve as a conduit by which others could be drawn in and mentored while they served an informal apprenticeship as a writer. There seems to have been surprisingly little opposition to the practice of popular writing by scientists.Less

Direct Advocacy by “Super Citizens”

Darren R. Halpin and Anthony J. Nownes

in The New Entrepreneurial Advocacy: Silicon Valley Elites in American Politics

Chapter 4 explores the public pronouncements of SV150+ founders and CEOs. It does this initially by examining how publicly visible our CEOs and founders are. We find that by dint of their public ... More

Chapter 4 explores the public pronouncements of SV150+ founders and CEOs. It does this initially by examining how publicly visible our CEOs and founders are. We find that by dint of their public statements, some CEOs and founders are far more publicly visible than others. We ask: Who is most visible? And why are they most visible? From here, Chapter 4 examines the nature and extent of a new form of corporate leader engagement in politics—taking politics public by posting on social media. Examining Twitter posts of SV150+ CEOs and founders specifically, we ask: When CEOs and founders engage politically via social media, do they engage the same issues that their companies do? Or do they “do their own thing,” focusing on issues of interest to them personally? Are CEO and founder tweets partisan and ideological? If so, which way do CEOs and founders lean?Less