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The Meritocracy Myth challenges the widely held American belief in meritocracyOCothat people get out of the system what they put into it based on individual merit. Fully revised and updated throughout, the second edition includes compelling new case studies, such as the impact of social and cultural capital in the cases of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and new material on current topics such as the impact of the financial and credit crisis, intergenerational mobility, and the impact of racism and sexism. The Meritocracy Myth examines talent, attitude, work ethic, and character as elements of merit and evaluates the effect of non-merit factors such as social status, race, heritage, and wealth on meritocracy. A compelling book on an often-overlooked topic, first edition was highly regarded and proved a useful examination of this classic American ideal.
This book challenges the widely held American belief in meritocracy_that people get out of the system what they put into it based on individual merit. The book first reviews each of the four components of merit--being talented, having the right attitude, working hard, and having high moral character_in terms of its impact on getting ahead. The book then identifies various non-merit factors that suppress, neutralize, or negate the effects of merit. These non-merit factors include the effects of inheritance as unequal starting points in the race to get ahead, the effects of who you know (social capital) and 'fitting in' (cultural capital), being at the right place at the right time (luck), unequal access to educational opportunities, decline in rates of self-employment and the prospects of being a 'self-made' person, and discrimination on the bases of race, sex, age, sexual orientation, physical disability, region, religion, and physical appearance. To more closely approximate a true meritocracy, societal-level reforms would be necessary. In the meantime, the myth of meritocracy is itself harmful because it unfairly exalts the rich and unfairly condemns poor.
The Meritocracy Myth challenges the widely held American belief in meritocracy—that people get out of the system what they put into it based on individual merit. The book examines talent, attitude, work ethic, and character as elements of merit and evaluates the effect of nonmerit factors such as family background, social connections, luck, market conditions, unequal educational opportunities, and discrimination. The fourth edition has been revised and streamlined throughout. It features new material on the current economic and political climate; the reasons behind the increasing levels of inequality in the United States and globally; how economic, social, and cultural factors shaped Donald Trump’s rise to political prominence, and more. The fourth edition includes a new chapter on marriage and mobility that examines how patterns in marriage tend to increase the concentration of wealth and pass on nonmerit advantages to children, furthering trends toward social inequality. A compelling book on an often-overlooked topic, The Meritocracy Myth is ideal for introducing students to this provocative topic while sparking discussion and reflection.
Inheritance and Wealth in America is a superb collection of original essays, written in nontechnical language by experts in sociology, economics, anthropology, history, law, and other disciplines. Notable chapters provide - an outstanding interpretative history of inheritance in American legal thought - a critical review of the literature on the economics of inheritance at the household and societal levels - a superb history of Federal taxation of wealth transfers, and - a sociological examination of inheritance and its role in class reproduction and stratification. This groundbreaking work is of value to any researcher dealing with the transmission of wealth and privilege across generations.
Research Ethics in Exercise, Health and Sports Sciences puts ethics at the centre of research in these rapidly expanding fields of knowledge. Placing the issues in historical context, and using informative case studies, the authors examine how moral theory can guide research design, education, and governance. As well as theoretical analysis, key practical concerns are critically discussed, including: informed consent anonymity, confidentiality and privacy plagiarism, misappropriation of authorship, research fraud and ‘whistleblowing’ ethics in qualitative research vulnerable populations trans-cultural research. Providing an accessible and robust theoretical framework for ethical practice, this book challenges students, researchers and supervisors to adopt a more informed and proactive approach to ethics in exercise, health and sports research. This insightful text will be of great interest to those taking a kinesiology, human movement, sport science or sport studies degree course.
The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Sport is a landmark publication in sport studies. It goes further than any book has before in tracing the contours of the discipline of the philosophy of sport and in surveying the core themes, approaches and theories that form its disciplinary fabric. The book explores the ways in which an understanding of philosophy can inform our understanding of important prevailing issues in sport. Edited by two of the most significant figures in the development of the philosophy of sport, Mike McNamee and Bill Morgan, and with contributions from many of the world’s leading sport philosophers, this is an invaluable companion reference volume for any course in the social scientific study of sport, and an essential addition to the bookshelf of any serious scholar of the philosophy and/or ethics of sport.
Revisions of papers presented at a conference at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 1996.
"Based on a workshop on Regional Approaches to Parks and Protected Areas in North America, held at Tijuana, Mexico, March 1999"--p. xv.
A new interpretation of Weberian sociology, showing its relevance to current world isues.