Sociology - Book chapters

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    The social manifold
    (Routledge, 2019) Cuffe, James B.
    Chapter Five then brings the insights from preceding chapters together we can say something more of the impact of technology as a techno-social force in social change. Social development is necessarily dialogical so the task is then to account or seek a model for the transmission of experiential understanding from those who-have to those who-have-not. The proposed model is for a social manifold through which movements and openings provide mediated arenas for liminal characters so that experiential understanding can be communicated via interpretation rather than explanation. The proposed fields of incongruency is a descriptive term that portrays a role for communication in human cultural transmission that once communicated supersedes conventional understanding in favour of resonance i.e. congruence between lived experiences. Chapter five introduces the first case study looking at the Grass Mud Horse. Introducing some anthropological concepts and establishing a framework for understanding the cultural function of liminal characters and their role in social change, the chapter shows how communications technology radically facilitates the field for such vectors to converge and dissipate and therefore such liminal characters can have vastly exaggerated influence in our technologically complex social systems.
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    Diffuse disciplining: On the pervasive nature of autonomous systems and its consequences
    (Springer Nature Ltd., 2021) Cuffe, James B.; Završnik, Aleš; Badalič, Vasja
    This chapter introduces the term diffuse disciplining as a means to articulate the increasingly ubiquitous and pervasive nature of technologies of social control. In particular, the term diffuse draws attention to how borders become porous, legal mechanisms ineffective, and, accountability and responsibility obfuscated. Three proto-case studies are presented that highlight different aspects on how diffuse disciplining can be observed. These case studies (USA, China, Ireland) show how the use of mediative technologies can discipline thoughtlessly without regard to intentions by proponents, and how technical systems can discipline and influence social action without regard to political or cultural systems. This chapter asks us to question what unintended disciplinary effects such systems may have and where, if anywhere, we might locate agents of responsibility. The chapter concludes that criminological research needs to expand in both scope and area to cope with technological innovation in an area marked by learning algorithms, autonomous systems, and diffuse disciplining. If focusing solely on traditional areas of criminal justice and criminology we can miss the wider effects of technological deployment in the age of connectivity, big data, and augmented intelligences.
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    The Militarisation of Behaviours: Introduction
    (Springer, 2022-10-31) Kaucz, Błażej
    This chapter is devoted to an introduction to the process of the militarisation of behaviours. It is a mass process of social control employed by the state (and less often by non-state entities) where civilians are subjected to a treatment like that designed for soldiers. When this process is utilised, it leads sections of a society to be subdued to the will of the state officials. It can be a robust power-gaining mechanism used at the expense of the citizens. To build a framework to discuss this process, Ireland and Poland, the two states which are a part of the enquiry are introduced and initially compared. That is done to create a context for an analysis of the historical development of the twentieth-century criminal law in Poland and Ireland in the following two chapters. These two states, at first sight, might not have too much in common especially since both chose somewhat different paths to achieve the militarisation of behaviours. However, both Poland and Ireland promote individualism, self-determinism, and individual agency and it is easier to introduce the militarisation of behaviours in countries supporting these values.
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    Migration, memory and place: Arts and walking as convivial methodologies in participatory research - A visual essay
    (UCL Press, 2019) O'Neill, Maggie; Giaquinto, Bea; Hasedžic, Fahira; Berg, Mette Louise; Nowicka, Magdalena
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    Introduction: ‘Nothing about us without us’, a history and application for criminology
    (Policy Press, 2021-09-03) Ahmed, Yasmine; Windle, James; Lynch, Orla; Ahmed, Yasmin; Windle, James; Lynch, Orla
    ‘Nothing about us without us’ surmises a burgeoning movement in criminology that is about giving voice to diverse perspectives and a way of doing research. Primarily it refers to the importance of an approach to criminology that is inclusive of those voices that have historically been hushed, marginalised, silenced or ignored. It also refers to the need for researchers to work with state and grassroots practitioners, especially those who provide a conduit to peoples most impacted by social injustice and crime. This edited volume will explore the importance of diversity and inclusivity in criminological discourses and, consider how researchers might bridge the gap between theory and lived experience, and how the authenticity of the voices of those who have been silenced can be incorporated into a meaningful criminology. This introductory chapter will explore the conceptual history of ‘nothing about us without us’ before summarising some of the key themes explored in this volume.