Turning inside out?: Globalization, neo-liberalism and welfare states

Apocalyptic accounts of globalization bringing about the end of the welfare state (and the nation state) have been countered by political-institutionalist views of adaptation. Such views treat globalization as an external force, or pressure, rather than a set of processes that are also internalized within nations. I argue that a more differentiated view of globalization can reveal how it has unsettled welfare state/nation-state formations. In the process, taken-for-granted meanings and boundaries of nation-state-welfare have been destabilized. I conclude by suggesting that these processes have made citizenship a distinctive focus of political tensions and conflicts

New New Deals: Reforming Welfare Again?

In both the Unites States and the United Kingdom, the idea of the New Deal has proved a potent political symbol during this crisis. In what follows, I explore some of the ways in which the imagery of the New Deal has been deployed and consider some of the historical questions that are generated by this imagery. What does the image of the New Deal evoke, and to what does it lay claim? Three aspects of current political discourse seem to me to be of particular interest: the return of publicness; the problematization of capitalism; and the revival of the New Deal as a progressive imaginary. They are, of course, interlinked, not least in their attempt to define this as an epochal moment while struggling to “save the system” from itself

Disorganising the public?

Despite their centrality to Western modernity, ideas and institutions of the public have been challenged by recent social, political and eco-nomic transformations. Although neo-liberalism is usually seen as the central force, driving process such as privatization, deregulation and the withdrawal of the state, this article argues that the tendencies and transitions in publicness are heterogeneous. It explores this heteroge-neity by examining four different aspects of the disorganisation of the public: organizational, occupational, social and spatial. The article con-cludes by reflecting on three different approaches to this question of het-erogeneity: a distinction between real and superficial changes; a view of disorganisation as a political strategy; and a conjunctural view of hetero-geneity as the outcome of multiple forces, tendencies and projects

Cognitive style and computer‐assisted learning: Problems and a possible solution1

Although the notion of cognitive style has been around for some time, only in relatively recent times has there been a research interest in examining its effect on the performance of Computer‐Assisted Learning (CAL) users. There are a number of practical difficulties associated with catering for different cognitive styles of CAL users. This paper identifies not only a style which influences CAL‐user performance and overcomes many of the difficulties, but also a possible suitable measure of that style. Data on the reliability of this measure is reported, along with preliminary work on its use to cater for CAL users with different cognitive styles. Future work will focus on the development of the package and the predictive validity of the style measure

Governance puzzles

About the book: Developing hand in hand with e-Business in its use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), e-Government emerged in the 1990s with the promise of a more accessible, efficient, and transparent form for public institutions to perform and interact with citizens. The successes–and some critics say, general failures–of e-Government initiatives around the world have led to the development of e-Governance–a broader, more encompassing concept that involves not only public institutions but private ones as well. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, this book explores e-Governance in theory and practice with an analytical narrative from heterodox perspectives. Covering such essential issues as global governance of the internet, the European Knowledge Economy, the transformative promise of mobile telephony, the rise of e-Universities, internet accessibility for the disabled, and e-Governance in transition economies, the book draws on contributions from experienced academics and practitioners with an expertise in an emerging field. In addition, each chapter includes such features as discussion of key issues that draw on case studies in order to facilitate significant discussion questions

Rethinking Space, Light, And Pedagogy

Classic

“In Pursuit Of Purified Persuasions”: Making (Some) Sense of the Modern Mind

What is more essential to the philosophical act, what we study or how we study? Taking its cue from a line by Thomas Aquinas on the corruptibility of the natural law, this essay seeks to make some sense of the ways in which our way of knowing and, consequently, of being, is affected by the sins of our philosophical forefathers. The essay advises against putting faith in any particular school of thought, be it the pensee d\u27jour or philosophia perennis, since our ability to comprehend and converse in their varying tenets is compromised by the very state of the post-modern mind. Instead, the essay argues, reason and knowledge would do well to attend to the power of faith to illuminate what is darkened and to heal what is corrupted

On ungrounded ground: a poet in residence at the dump

‘On ungrounded ground’ reflects upon a writer’s yearlong ‘residency’ at a landfill site and resource recovery facility. The article explores the significance of contemporary waste management within an archaeological, ecological and geological context. It reflects upon the psychological and aesthetic impact of rubbish, and describes some of the challenges faced by a writer trying to describe an object that contains so much contemporary, ephemeral material culture. How should they begin to decipher this monument constructed from the dark matter of late-consumer capitalism? The article suggests that the dump ultimately passes beyond the power of metonymic representation and remains other to the text that tries to represent it. It also asserts that the dump is an intense combination of natural and man-made processes. Referencing Val Plumwood’s concept of the ‘shadow place’, it identifies the dump as a hidden landscape upon which our celebration of natural landscapes and places depends. Quotes from interviews with staff and visitors to the dump are included, and, despite the impossibility of representing the dump, an attempt is made to give a taste of the physical, emotional and intellectual impact of spending time at the site

The instabilities of expertise: remaking knowledge, power and politics in unsettled times

In this article, we explore the implications of contemporary populist challenges to established forms of expertise in the UK, USA and elsewhere. Drawing on a Foucauldian conception of knowledge and power as always articulated, we argue for a conjunctural approach to understanding the ways in which formations of expertise become stabilized and de-stabilized, vulnerable to challenge and contestation. We trace the role of economic expertise in defining the limits of political and policy “realism” before and after the crash of 2007–8. We then consider the rise of nationalist-populist political mobilizations which challenged existing “expertise” in the name of popular wisdom. In the context of de-stabilized forms of expertise, we ask about emergent attempts at reconfiguring knowledge, power and politics in different ways