The Sociology of Cosmopolitanism:Globalization, Identity, Culture and Government

The dream of a cosmopolitical utopia has been around for thousands of years. Yet the promise of being locally situated and at the same time globally connected and mobile has never seemed more possible than it is today. The question remains as to whether it is positive and realistic for us to have multiple loyalties. Can we sustain community and solidarity with our neighbours while we look beyond our nation? And if we can't - or won't – consider distant strangers as part of our own world, are there increasingly dire consequences? This book reconnects classical sociological theory and contemporary ideas on mobility, otherness, material assemblages, consumption and surveillance to render the idea of a global cosmopolitan utopia amenable to sociological investigation. The book takes a realistic approach to the development of cosmopolitical arrangements. It embraces the imaginative impulses the cosmopolitan dream provides, but takes into account the political, ethical and cultural dimensions of such cosmopolitan developments. In revisiting the relevance of classical sociological approaches in the context of contemporary theoretical challenges, the distinctive approach this book takes to understanding cosmopolitanism will be of use to scholars and students alike.

Independent television production, TV formats and media diversity in China

Beginning around 2003, television studies has seen the growth of interest in the genre of reality shows. However, concentrating on this genre has tended to sideline the even more significant emergence of the program format as a central mode of business and culture in the new television landscape. "Localizing Global TV" redresses this balance, and heralds the emergence of an important, exciting and challenging area of television studies. Topics explored include reality TV, makeover programs, sitcoms, talent shows and fiction serials, as well as broadcaster management policies, production decision chains and audience participation processes. This seminal work will be of considerable interest to media scholars internationally.

How to tell the difference between production and consumption : a case study in Doctor Who fandom

A television series is tagged with the label "cult" by the media, advertisers, and network executives when it is considered edgy or offbeat, when it appeals to nostalgia, or when it is considered emblematic of a particular subculture. By these criteria, almost any series could be described as cult. Yet certain programs exert an uncanny power over their fans, encouraging them to immerse themselves within a fictional world.In Cult Television leading scholars examine such shows as The X-Files; The Avengers; Doctor Who, Babylon Five; Star Trek; Xena, Warrior Princess; and Buffy the Vampire Slayer to determine the defining characteristics of cult television and map the contours of this phenomenon within the larger scope of popular culture.Contributors: Karen Backstein; David A. Black, Seton Hall U; Mary Hammond, Open U; Nathan Hunt, U of Nottingham; Mark Jancovich; Petra Kuppers, Bryant College; Philippe Le Guern, U of Angers, France; Alan McKee; Toby Miller, New York U; Jeffrey Sconce, Northwestern U; Eva ViethSara Gwenllian-Jones is a lecturer in television and digital media at Cardiff University and co-editor of Intensities: The Journal of Cult Media.Roberta E. Pearson is a reader in media and cultural studies at Cardiff University. She is the author of the forthcoming book Small Screen, Big Universe: Star Trek and Television.

Do strategy choices matter for nascent firms? A study on effectuation and causation impacts on new ventures outcomes

Principal Topic : Nascent entrepreneurship has drawn the attention of scholars in the last few years (Davidsson, 2006, Wagner, 2004). However, most studies have asked why firms are created focussing on questions such as what are the characteristics (Delmar and Davidsson, 2000) and motivations (Carter, Gartner, Shaver & Reynolds, 2004) of nascent entrepreneurs, or what are the success factors in venture creation (Davidsson & Honig; 2003; Delmar and Shane, 2004). In contrast, the question of how companies emerge is still in its infancy. On a theoretical side, effectuation, developed by Sarasvathy (2001) offers one view of the strategies that may be at work during the venture creation process. Causation, the theorized inverse to effectuation, may be described as a rational reasoning method to create a company. After a comprehensive market analysis to discover opportunities, the entrepreneur will select the alternative with the higher expected return and implement it through the use of a business plan. In contrast, effectuation suggests that the future entrepreneur will develop her new venture in a more iterative way by selecting possibilities through flexibility and interaction with the market, affordability of loss of resources and time invested, development of pre-commitments and alliances from stakeholders. Another contrasting point is that causation is ''goal driven'' while an effectual approach is ''mean driven'' (Sarasvathy, 2001) One of the predictions of effectuation theory is effectuation is more likely to be used by entrepreneurs early in the venture creation process (Sarasvathy, 2001). However, this temporal aspect and the impact of the effectuation strategy on the venture outcomes has so far not been systematically and empirically tested on large samples. The reason behind this research gap is twofold. Firstly, few studies collect longitudinal data on emerging ventures at an early enough stage of development to avoid severe survivor bias. Second, the studies that collect such data have not included validated measures of effectuation. The research we are conducting attempts to partially fill this gap by combining an empirical investigation on a large sample of nascent and young firms with the effectuation/causation continuum as a basis (Sarasvathy, 2001). The objectives are to understand the strategies used by the firms during the creation process and measure their impacts on the firm outcomes. Methodology/Key Propositions : This study draws its data from the first wave of the CAUSEE project where 28,383 Australian households were randomly contacted by phone using a specific methodology to capture emerging firms (Davidsson, Steffens, Gordon, Reynolds, 2008). This screening led to the identification of 594 nascent ventures (i.e., firms that are not operating yet) and 514 young firms (i.e., firms that have started operating from 2004) that were willing to participate in the study. Comprehensive phone interviews were conducted with these 1108 ventures. In a likewise comprehensive follow-up 12 months later, 80% of the eligible cases completed the interview. The questionnaire contains specific sections designed to distinguish effectual and causal processes, innovation, gestation activities, business idea changes and ventures outcomes. The effectuation questions are based on the components of effectuation strategy as described by Sarasvathy (2001) namely: flexibility, affordable loss and pre-commitment from stakeholders. Results from two rounds of pre-testing informed the design of the instrument included in the main survey. The first two waves of data have will be used to test and compare the use of effectuation in the venture creation process. To increase the robustness of the results, temporal use of effectuation will be tested both directly and indirectly. 1. By comparing the use of effectuation in nascent and young firms from wave 1 to 2, we will be able to find out how effectuation is affected by time over a 12-month duration and if the stage of venture development has an impact on its use. 2. By comparing nascent ventures early in the creation process versus nascent ventures late in the creation process. Early versus late can be determined with the help of time-stamped gestation activity questions included in the survey. This will help us to determine the change on a small time scale during the creation phase of the venture. 3. By comparing nascent firms to young (already operational) firms. 4. By comparing young firms becoming operational in 2006 with those first becoming operational in 2004. Results and Implications : Wave 1 and 2 data have been completed and wave 2 is currently being checked and 'cleaned'. Analysis work will commence in September, 2009. This paper is expected to contribute to the body of knowledge on effectuation by measuring quantitatively its use and impact on nascent and young firms activities at different stages of their development. In addition, this study will also increase the understanding of the venture creation process by comparing over time nascent and young firms from a large sample of randomly selected ventures. We acknowledge the results from this study will be preliminary and will have to be interpreted with caution as the changes identified may be due to several factors and may not only be attributed to the use/not use of effectuation. Meanwhile, we believe that this study is important to the field of entrepreneurship as it provides some much needed insights on the processes used by nascent and young firms during their creation and early operating stages.

Leonardo Bruni, the Medici, and the Florentine histories

Others, like the prominent humanist and anti-Medicean agitator Francesco Filelfo, would soon join the first wave of exiles.4 Bruni was not only linked to such men by ties of patronage and friendship; he had also for many years acted as the chief ideologue of the preMedicean oligarchy.5 One might logically expect that he too would become a victim of Medici vengeance in 1434, or soon thereafter. Other scholars have stressed that Bruni-despite the occasional flamboyance of his civic rhetoric-was always an advocate of restricted government.8 While the power struggle between the Medici and their adversaries was real enough, the system Cosimo and his associates introduced after 1434 differed from its predecessor only in the consistency with which it was applied.

Southern theory : the global dynamics of knowledge in the social sciences

Up front I am impelled to acknowledge an intellectual debt to Raewyn Connell as one of my PhD supervisors about 20 years ago and as having a lasting influence on my own sociological approach to research. One of key themes of this book is that southern theorists are rarely read in the northern hemisphere. This is not the case for Connell, however, one of Australia’s most internationally renowned scholars. The tome reads as the creative outpouring of her lifelong thirst for social science. Its main claim is that southern theory ‘has as much intellectual power as metropolitan social thought, and more political relevance’ (p. xii). A big but compelling claim, as I will explain.

Crime in Rural and Regional Areas

This Chapter provides an overview of available corrent data measuring crime in Australia's States and Territories broken down into regions and localities The data is limited, has reliability problems and lots of gaps. Nevertheless when the data are analysed according to offence type (in particulary violence versus property offences) an interesting but complicated empirical picture emerges that departs from what most scholars and policy makes have commonly assumed about crime and rural communities - that there is not much of it! The chapter begins with an assessment of the uses and limitations of different ways of measuring crime for those interested in a spatialised analysis of crome dispersion in rural communities.

A comparative analysis of the victim policies across the Anglo-speaking world

The study of criminal victimisation has developed to such an extent that victimology is now regarded as a central component to the study of crime and criminology. This focus of concern has been matched by the growth and development of support services for the victim of crime alongside increasing political concern with similar issues. The central purpose of this book is to bring together leading scholars to produce an authoritative handbook on victims and victimology that provides a comprehensive review of these developments, reflecting contemporary academic, policy, and political debates on the nature, extent and impact of criminal victimisation and policy responses to it.

Public asset management framework for local governments : opportunities and challenges for public asset managers

The aim of the study is to identify the opportunities and challenges a local government public asset manager is most likely to deal with when adopting the appropriate Public Asset Management Framework especially in developing countries. In order to achieve its aim, this study employs a Case Study in Indonesia for collecting all data i.e. interviews, document analysis and observations at South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The study concludes that there are significant opportunities and challenges that local governments in developing countries, especially Indonesia, might be required to manage if apply public asset management framework appropriately. The opportunities are more effective and efficient local government, accountable and auditable local government organization, increase local government portfolio, reflect up to date information for decision makers in local government, and improve the quality of public services. On the other hand, there are also challenges. Those challenges are local governments has no clear legal and institutional framework to support the asset management application, non-profit principle of public assets, cross jurisdictions and applications in public asset management, the complexity of public organization objectives, and data availability required for managing public property. The study only covers the condition of developing countries where Indonesia as an example, which could not represent exactly the whole local governments’ condition in the world. Further study to develop an asset management system applicable for all local governments in developing countries is urgently needed. Findings from this study will provide useful input for the policy maker, scholars and asset management practitioners to develop an asset management framework for more efficient and effective local governments.

The significant of public asset management framework application for Indonesian local governments : Opportunities and challenges

The purpose of this paper is to emphasis the significance of public asset management in Indonesia that is by identifying opportunities and challenges of Indonesian local governments in adopting current practice of Public Asset Management System. A Case Study, in South Sulawesi Provincial government was used as the approach to achieve the research objective. The case study involved two data collection techniques i.e. interviews followed by study on documents. The result of the study indicates there are some significant opportunities and challenges that Indonesian local government might deal with in adopting current practice of public asset management. There are opportunities that can lead to more effective and efficient local government, accountable and auditable local government organization, increase local government portfolio, and improve the quality of public services. The challenges include no clear institutional and legal framework to support the asset management application, non-profit principle of public assets, cross jurisdictions in public asset management, complexity of local government objectives, and unavailability of data for managing public property. The study only covers condition of South Sulawesi Province, which could not represent exactly the whole local governments’ condition in Indonesia. Findings from this study provide useful input for the policy makers, scholars and asset management practitioners in Indonesia to establish a public asset management framework that suitable for Indonesia.

Measuring performance of municipal real estate : softening the impact of financial crisis to local governments

Asset management in local government is an emerging discipline and over a decade has become a crucial aspect towards a more efficient and effective organisation. One crucial feature in the public asset management is performance measurement toward the public real estates. This measurement critically at the important component of public wealth and seeks to apply a standard of economic efficiency and effective organisational management especially in such global financial crisis condition. This paper aims to identify global economic crisis effect and proposes alternative solution for local governments to softening the impact of the crisis to the local governments organisation. This study found that the most suitable solution for local government to solve the global economic crisis in Indonesia is application of performance measurement in its asset management. Thus, it is important to develop performance measurement system in local government asset management process. This study provides suggestions from published documents and literatures. The paper also discusses the elements of public real estate performance measurement. The measurement of performance has become an essential component of the strategic thinking of assets owners and managers. Without having a formal measurement system for performance, it is difficult to plan, control and improve local government real estate management system. A close look at best practices in public sectors reveals that in most cases these practices were transferred from private sector reals estate management under the direction of real estate experts retained by government. One of the most significant advances in government property performance measurement resulted from recognition that the methodology used by private sector, non real estate corporations for managing their real property offered a valuable prototype for local governments. In general, there are two approaches most frequently used to measure performance of public organisations. Those are subjective and objective measures. Finally, findings from this study provides useful input for the local government policy makers, scholars and asset management practitioners to establish a public real estate performance measurement system toward more efficient and effective local governments in managing their assets as well as increasing public services quality in order to soften the impact of global financial crisis.

Red clover (Trifolium pratense) isoflavones and serum homocysteine in premenopausal women : a pilot study

Background: There is limited information on the effect of isoflavones on homocysteine concentrations, a risk factor for a number of chronic diseases. Methods: Twenty-three premenopausal women participated in a double-blind, randomized, parallel study for four menstrual cycles. Subjects consumed either placebo or purified red clover (Trifolium pratense) isoflavone (86mg/day) tablets. Blood samples were collected weekly during cycles 1, 3, and 4 for determination of serum folate and total homocysteine concentrations. Dietary intake was monitored monthly. Results: Concentrations of folate and homocysteine in serum did not change significantly in either group, and there were no significant differences observed between the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. The participants' dietary records indicated that nutrient intake was constant, and compliance was confirmed by analysis of urinary isoflavone concentrations and tablet counts in returned containers. Conclusions: These results suggest that in the absence of any dietary modification, supplementation with purified isoflavones that are predominantly methoxylated has no effect on serum homocysteine or folate in premenopausal women.

The 2010 Native American and Indigenous Studies Association Conference

The 2010 Native American Indigenous Studies Conference was held at The Westin La Paloma Resort, Tucson, Arizona, USA from 20-22 May. The conference was scholarly and interdisciplinary and intended for Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars who work in American Indian/ Native American/ First Nations/ Aboriginal/ Indigenous Studies. The 2010 gathering attracted 768 registrations from the USA, Canada, Hawaii, Mexico, New Zealand and Australia and other countries. This paper is a personal reflection and overview of the 2010 Conference.

Global knowledge cultures

Knowledge is about cultural power. Considering that it is both resource and product within the brave new world of fast capitalism, this collection argues for knowledge cultures that are mutually engaged and hence more culturally inclusive and socially productive. Globalized intellectual property regimes, the privatization of information, and their counterpoint, the information and creative commons movements, constitute productive sites for the exploration of epistemologies that talk with each other rather than at and past each other. Global Knowledge Cultures provides a collection of accessible essays by some of the world’s leading legal scholars, new media analysts, techno activists, library professionals, educators and philosophers. Issues canvassed by the authors include the ownership of knowledge, open content licensing, knowledge policy, the common-wealth of learning, transnational cultural governance, and information futures. Together, they call for sustained intercultural dialogue for more ethical knowledge cultures within contexts of fast knowledge capitalism.

Libr@ries : changing information space and practice

This volume examines the social, cultural, and political implications of the shift from traditional forms of print-based libraries to the delivery of online information in educational contexts. Despite the central role of libraries in literacy and learning, research of them has, in the main, remained isolated within the disciplinary boundaries of information and library science. By contrast, this book problematizes and thereby mainstreams the field. It brings together scholars from a wide range of academic fields to explore the dislodging of library discourse from its longstanding apolitical, modernist paradigm. Collectively, the authors interrogate the presuppositions of current library practice and examine how library as place and library as space blend together in ways that may be both complementary and contradictory. Seeking a suitable term to designate this rapidly evolving and much contested development, the editors devised the word “libr@ary,” and use the term arobase to signify the conditions of formation of new libraries within contexts of space, knowledge, and capital.