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Book part
Publication date: 7 October 2019

Anja Gibson

Recently, the public and academic discussion on elite education and the selection of top performers in Germany has led to a renewed controversy about social exclusion and…

Abstract

Recently, the public and academic discussion on elite education and the selection of top performers in Germany has led to a renewed controversy about social exclusion and inequality. Consequently, the use of terms such as ‘elite’, ‘excellence’ and ‘intellectual giftedness’ have provoked a debate about the necessity, opportunities, and rejection of educational distinctions. This chapter takes a comparative perspective to examine a private boarding school with a rich tradition, and a relatively new state-run public boarding school, examining their status as exclusive educational institutions, including their selection processes, elite aspirations and educational philosophies. The analysis focusses on how the schools construe themselves as elite and how exclusive membership is created and negotiated within the boarding school context. Using a multilevel qualitative approach and empirical data, this chapter offers findings on mechanisms of elite formation in boarding schools between two poles: the reproduction of an existing elite status and the production of elites from scratch. The analyses show the establishment of a distinct composition of students – either selected by milieu affiliation or by cognitive abilities – resulting in specific processes of coherence and distinction within the school communities. Thus, this chapter makes a contribution to a differentiated observation of new educational hierarchies in Germany.

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Elites and People: Challenges to Democracy
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-915-6

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Financial Derivatives: A Blessing or a Curse?
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78973-245-0

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Book part
Publication date: 21 July 2022

Ian Ruthven

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Dealing With Change Through Information Sculpting
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-047-7

Book part
Publication date: 5 May 2023

Joseph C. Hermanowicz

The author argues that contemporary college culture is predicated on hedonism indicated by a use of predominantly social time in which parties, alcohol, casual sex, and lax…

Abstract

The author argues that contemporary college culture is predicated on hedonism indicated by a use of predominantly social time in which parties, alcohol, casual sex, and lax academics pervade students' experiences. Coincident with this culture, however, is a deleterious pattern among students that has developed dramatically: their compromised mental health. The situation presents an apparent paradox: why are many students suffering when enveloped by fun? This chapter draws a connection between fun and suffering by treating each as conditions that spring from the sociohistorical context that situates institutions of higher education. In so doing, a theory is set forth to explain why despair is rendered applicable and how it is institutionally installed in the minds of modern-day college students.

Book part
Publication date: 4 October 2018

Afsaneh Roshanghalb, Cristina Mazzali, Emanuele Lettieri and Anna Maria Paganoni

This study investigates the stability of the “hospital effect” on performance over time by administrative health data as a source of evidence. Using 78,907 heart failure adult…

Abstract

This study investigates the stability of the “hospital effect” on performance over time by administrative health data as a source of evidence. Using 78,907 heart failure adult records from 117 hospitals in the Lombardy Region (Northern Italy) over three years (2010–2012), we analyzed hospital performance in terms of 30-day mortality and 30-day unplanned readmissions to gather evidence about the stability of the “hospital effect.” Best/worst performers were identified through multi-level models that combine both patient and hospital covariates. Our results confirm that managerial choices affect hospital performance, and that the “hospital effect” is not, contrary to expectations, stable over the short term. Performance improvement/worsening over the three years has been also analyzed.

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Performance Measurement and Management Control: The Relevance of Performance Measurement and Management Control Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-469-5

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Book part
Publication date: 30 December 2013

Jens Leth Hougaard, Juan D. Moreno-Ternero and Lars Peter Østerdal

Health outcomes are often described according to two dimensions: quality of life and quantity of life. We analyze the measurement of inequality of health distributions referring…

Abstract

Health outcomes are often described according to two dimensions: quality of life and quantity of life. We analyze the measurement of inequality of health distributions referring to these two dimensions. Our analysis relies on a novel treatment of the quality-of-life dimension, which might not have a standard mathematical structure. We single out two families of (absolute and relative) multidimensional health inequality indices, inspired by the classical normative approach to income inequality measurement. We also discuss how to extend the analysis to deal with the related problem of health deprivation measurement in this setting.

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Health and Inequality
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-553-1

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Book part
Publication date: 24 October 2022

Einav Argaman

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A Sociological Perspective on Hierarchies in Educational Institutions
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-229-7

Book part
Publication date: 30 March 2023

Piero Formica

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Sciencepreneurship: Science, Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Economic Growth
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-365-7

Book part
Publication date: 7 October 2020

Francesco Duina and Frédéric Mérand

How should we make sense of Europe's current malaise? Focused on the great recession, the European Union (EU)'s architecture, or diverging national interests, the literature…

Abstract

How should we make sense of Europe's current malaise? Focused on the great recession, the European Union (EU)'s architecture, or diverging national interests, the literature offers useful economic, institutional, and political explanations. It is our contention that, however diverse, these works share one important limitation: a tendency to focus on rather immediate causes and consequences and not to step back with historical or comparative perspectives to gain a “longer” view of the dynamics at work. In this article, we begin by examining parallels between the EU's current conditions and the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Then, introducing the articles contained in this special issue, we raise research questions pertaining to long-term historical, social, cultural, economic, and political factors. Are the current challenges unprecedented or do they have roots or connections to past events and developments? Is there a European trajectory into which we can contextualize current events? Are there bright spots, and what do they suggest about Europe's present and future? To engage in such questions, the papers leverage the insights of historical and comparative sociology, as well as comparative politics. In so doing, they offer analyses that see the EU as an instance of state formation. They propose that a key dimension of tension and possible resolution is the classic problem of sovereignty. They grapple with the question of identity and institutions, exploring in that context the extent and limit of citizens' support for more Europe. And they delve into the nature of the nationalist and populist sentiments within and across European countries.

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Europe's Malaise
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-042-4

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Book part
Publication date: 19 March 2013

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Increasing Student Engagement and Retention in e-learning Environments: Web 2.0 and Blended Learning Technologies
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-515-9

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