{"product_id":"the-metric-society-on-the-quantification-of-the-social-9781509530410","title":"The Metric Society: On the Quantification of the","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn today’s world, numbers are in the ascendancy. Societies dominated by star ratings, scores, likes and lists are rapidly emerging, as data are collected on virtually every aspect of our lives. From annual university rankings, ratings agencies and fitness tracking technologies to our credit score and health status, everything and everybody is measured and evaluated.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this important new book, Steffen Mau offers a critical analysis of this increasingly pervasive phenomenon. While the original intention behind the drive to quantify may have been to build trust and transparency, Mau shows how metrics have in fact become a form of social conditioning. The ubiquitous language of ranking and scoring has changed profoundly our perception of value and status. What is more, through quantification, our capacity for competition and comparison has expanded significantly – we can now measure ourselves against others in practically every area. The rise of quantification has created and strengthened social hierarchies, transforming qualitative differences into quantitative inequalities that play a decisive role in shaping the life chances of individuals.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis timely analysis of the pernicious impact of quantification will appeal to students and scholars across the social sciences, as well as anyone concerned by the cult of numbers and its impact on our lives and societies today.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘In this brilliant book, Steffen Mau does not simply demonstrate the distortions that occur when excessive reliance is placed on statistical indicators, but shows how the current mania for measurement and quantification eats away at social relationships and even our sense of ourselves.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eColin Crouch, Emeritus Professor at the University of Warwick\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e‘Mau, a leading expert on inequality in Europe, is tackling a question of growing significance: the relationship between quantification, status comparison and social competition. His probing analysis offers a fresh perspective for understanding the brave new world of self-monitoring we live in. It offers convincing explanations for current anxieties of performance that are fed by growing inequality and neoliberalism. Influential in Germany, this excellent book should find a wide readership in the English-reading public.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMichèle Lamont, past President, American Sociological Association\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"A timely, informative and appropriately pessimistic book.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMorning Star\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e‘A wide-ranging tour through rankings and ratings, stars and points, charts and graphs… the metric society may prove a means for faraway data overlords to capture power and entrench inequality in the guise of efficiency.  It risks descending into a 21\u003csup\u003est\u003c\/sup\u003e-century dystopia that is almost as bleak, in its impersonal way, as those imagined in the darkest novels of the 20\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e.’\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Economist\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"The book is well grounded in a vast and relevant literature and covers an extensive array of topics, from academic rankings to actuarial justice, through to credit scores, travel reviews, professional assessment, and reputation building through social media, among others. In the process, it offers important insights and raises relevant questions, many of which have a clear Foucaultian inspiration.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSociological Research Online\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntroduction 1\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1 The Measurement of Social Value 10\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhat does quantification mean? 12\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe calculative practices of the market 15\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe state as data manager 17\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEngines of quantification: digitalization and economization 21\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2 Status Competition and the Power of Numbers 26\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDispositives of comparison 28\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCommensurability and incommensurability 31\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNew horizons of comparison 33\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRegisters of comparison and investive status work 35\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3 Hierarchization: Rankings and Ratings 40\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eVisibilization and the creation of difference 40\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn your marks! 43\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eUniversity rankings 47\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHere today, gone tomorrow: the market power of rating agencies 53\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4 Classification: Scoring and Screening 60\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCredit scoring 63\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eQuantified health status 67\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMobility value 71\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e‘Boost your score’ – academic status markers 74\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSocial worth investigations 78\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e5 The Evaluation Cult: Stars and Points 81\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfaction surveys 82\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEvaluation portals as selectors 84\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePeer-to-peer ratings 87\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eProfessions in the evaluative spotlight 89\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLike-based reputations on social media 93\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e6 The Quantified Self: Charts and Graphs 99\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHealth, exercise and mood 101\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe collective body 104\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMotivation techniques 106\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e7 The Power of Nomination 111\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe nomination power of the state 112\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerformance measurement and the framing of competition 115\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe nomination power of experts 119\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlgorithmic authority 123\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCritique of nomination power 125\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e8 Risks and Side-Effects 129\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReactive measurements 129\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLoss of professional control 133\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLoss of time and energy 135\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMonoculture versus diversity 137\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e9 Transparency and Discipline 141\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNormative and political pressure 144\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe power of feedback 147\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTechnological surveillance in the workplace 149\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe new tariff systems 151\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe interdependence of self- and external surveillance 153\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe regime of averages, benchmarks and body images 155\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e10 The Inequality Regime of Quantification 158\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEstablishment of worth 160\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReputation management 162\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCollectives of non-equals 166\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom class conflict to individual competition 168\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInescapability and status fluidity 170\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelf-reinforcing effects 174\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBibliography 177\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex 196\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"John Wiley and Sons Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49409526726999,"sku":"9781509530410","price":15.19,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781509530410.jpg?v=1730507106","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-metric-society-on-the-quantification-of-the-social-9781509530410","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}