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The Quality Cure
by David CutlerIn the United States, the soaring cost of health care has become an economic drag and a political flashpoint. Moreover, although the country's medical spending is higher than that of any other nation, health outcomes are no better than elsewhere, and in some cases are even worse. In The Quality Cure, renowned health care economist and former Obama advisor David Cutler offers an accessible and incisive account of the issues and their causes, as well as a road map for the future of health care reform--one that shows how information technology, realigned payment systems, and value-focused organizations together have the power to resolve this seemingly intractable problem and transform the US health care system into one that is affordable, efficient, and effective.
Quality in Higher Education as a Tool for Human Development: Enhancing Teaching and Learning in Zimbabwe (Routledge Studies in Development and Society)
by Patience MukwamboWhilst many studies have explored how quality in higher education is conceptualised in the Global North, less attention has been paid to quality in higher education in Africa and the Global South. This book uses the human development and capabilities approach to demonstrate how quality in teaching and learning contributes to a range of benefits, such as improved wellbeing, economic outcomes, political engagement, and human capital formation amongst graduates. The book interrogates the various dimensions of quality as well as factors that impact on the realisation of quality in universities and society at large. Recognising that measures of quality are context and stakeholder specific, the book uses the Zimbabwean context as a Global South case study. It evaluates how quality is conceptualised and operationalised in Zimbabwean universities, and how that impacts on teaching and learning policy and practice. The book also demonstrates the need for economic resources for individuals and universities, and emphasises the importance of a social and educational environment conducive to critical learning, and post-university opportunities. This book will be of interest to researchers across Education, African and Development Studies, as well as to policymakers and practitioners with an interest in quality assurance and the promotion of teaching and learning in universities in the Global South.
Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology: A Comprehensive Guide to Assistive Technology Services
by Susan Mccloskey Diana Foster Carl Gayl Bowser Jane Edgar Korsten Joan Breslin Larson Joy Smiley Zabala Kathleen Lalk Kelly Fonner Penny Reed Scott Marfilius Terry Vernon FossMore than 6 million children with disabilities in North America require assistive technology and related services each year in order to participate and succeed in school. This book, Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology, provides an essential guide for assessing a child's needs, choosing and implementing the right technologies and services, and training education professionals in how to optimize learning with these critical tools.
The Quality of European Societies: A Compilation of Composite Indicators (Social Indicators Research Series #75)
by Eduardo Bericat María Luisa Jiménez-RodrigoThis volume presents a compilation of composite indicators created in order to measure important aspects of the quality of European societies. It examines three main questions: do Europeans live in good societies and enjoy good lives; are European societies becoming better as time passes, or is their quality slowly deteriorating; is the quality of life of Europe’s citizens improving over time or is it gradually and irrecoverably getting worse. The volume uses a precise and rigorous system of information to answer these questions and to assess the current situation and monitor the quality of European societies. It describes and discusses fourteen key domains, and per chapter, presents five rankings of EU countries based on composite indicators, which are used as one of the best instruments social science has to synthesize a large amount of information, and they are especially well suited to measure multidimensional social phenomena. The new System of Indices on the Quality of European Societies (SIQES) presented in this volume offers a very broad and rich empirical overview of more than 70 social composite indicators and their nearly 300 dimensions. One of the key findings coming out from the SIQES is that, according to the societal quality of European countries, there exist five different “Europes” inside Europe.
The Quality of Growth and Poverty Reduction in China
by Xiaolin Wang Limin Wang Yan WangThe rapid growth over the past three decades has been instrumental in lifting over 600 million people in China out of poverty, and people want to know why and how it happened. International evidence has made it clear that a global economy based on current patterns of consumption and production is simply not sustainable. Policymakers have repeatedly been advised that economic growth, poverty reduction, equity, and environment and resource sustainability must be integrated into national development strategies. What about China? The principle limitation of existing China-focused economic studies lies in its imbalances from the perspective of analysis and the impact of growth on poverty and inequality. A limited number of studies are devoted to structural transformation and China's structural imbalances, social disparities and the impact of science and technology on growth and productivity. This book addresses the alarming environmental consequences of China's growth patterns within an overall quality growth framework. It contributes to the economic growth and development literature and current policy discourse on China by expanding the policy analysis to include several important new areas using the most recent data available. This includes analyzing the macroeconomic factors that underlie the need for China to advance its economic transformation; examining how social inequalities, including health, education and gender, have evolved and presenting the scale of environmental problems associated with China's growth miracle. This report represents the first attempt to integrate the issue of environmental sustainability and climate change into the quality growth context, providing readers with a comprehensive account of China's success and challenges in its three decades of rapid economic growth.
The Quality of Growth in Africa (Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia: Challenges in Development and Globalization)
by Akbar Noman Joseph E. Stiglitz Ravi KanburIn recent years, concerns about the outcomes and nature of economic growth have given way to a new emphasis on its quality. This volume brings together prominent international contributors to consider a range of interrelated questions concerning the quality of growth in Africa, with a primary focus on sub-Saharan countries.Contributors discuss the measurement of growth, the transformations necessary to sustain it, and issues around equity and well-being. They consider topics such as the distribution of income gains from growth; the extent to which economic growth has resulted in improvements in employment, poverty, and security; structural transformations of the economy and diversification of the sources of growth; environmental sustainability; and management of urbanization. Offering both diagnoses and prescriptions, The Quality of Growth in Africa helps envision a future that goes beyond increasing GDP to ensuring that growth translates into advancements in well-being. Although the book focuses on sub-Saharan Africa, much of the contributors’ incisive analysis has implications for countries outside the region.
The Quality of Learning: An Essay Concerning the Education of Dull Children (Routledge Library Editions: Special Educational Needs #39)
by Ronald MorrisFirst published in 1951. This book examines the challenges and difficulties that schools may face when it comes to the teaching of children with special needs. The author explores the argument that any challenges can be eliminated by the expenditure of more money, or whether these challenges cannot be solved merely by increased expenditure and a well-directed administrative effort to provide teachers, classrooms and materials.
Quality of Life: Perspectives and Policies
by Sally Baldwin Christine Godfrey Carol PropperConcern about the quality of life and its measurement is probably greater now than ever before. The last five years have seen considerable changes in policy, particularly in health and social service markets bringing into question appropriate measures of input and output. The issues addressed in this volume range from the philosophical question of what the good life is, to detailed studies of what constitutes a good quality of life for particular client groups.Quality of Life will be valuable reading for researchers and practitioners in social policy, social work and economics.
Quality of Life Among Cancer Survivors
by Tanya R. FitzpatrickThis multidisciplinary reference explores the concepts and realities of quality of life among cancer survivors in its physical, psychological, cognitive, social, and familial dimensions. Informed by a broad range of fields including genetics, psychiatry, nursing, dentistry, rehabilitation, and ethics, it addresses daily challenges of living for this population, from self-care to cultural concerns and from social interactions to experiences with providers. Family issues of pediatric, young adult, and elder survivors, caregiving parents, and siblings are a major area of concern. And contributors describe interventions for survivors as individuals, in family content, and as part of integrated care across primary and specialty settings. Included among the topics: Play, leisure activities, and cognitive health among older cancer survivors. Genetic mutations in cancer susceptibility genes: a family history of cancer. Cancer patients in a pediatric intensive care unit: a single center experience. The impact of childhood cancer on the quality of life among healthy siblings. When cancer returns: family caregivers and the hospice team. Experiencing cancer services: a story of survival and dissatisfaction. A significant addition to the cancer survivorship literature, Quality of Life Among Cancer Survivors is a practice-building resource for oncology and allied health professionals, health psychologists, and social workers, as well as researchers in these fields.
Quality of Life and Daily Travel (Applying Quality Of Life Research Ser.)
by Dick Ettema Margareta Friman Lars E. OlssonThis volume analyses the relevance of daily travel in the quality of life of individuals. It provides a broad understanding of the links between life satisfaction, well-being and travel, the importance of commuting, and different evaluations and measures to assess the experience of commuting and quality of life. Chapters in this book relate travel and quality of life to the built environment, accessibility and exclusion, travel mode choice, travel satisfaction and emotions. It brings together distinguished researchers from a variety of academic backgrounds providing conceptualizations and applications, presented as case studies, for daily travel and well-being. Findings presented in this book are highly relevant for transport planners, transport marketers, public transport authorities, and environmental professionals in the pursuit of improving people’s life.
Quality of Life and Disability: An Approach for Community Practitioners
by Ivan Brown Roy Brown'A refreshing book that can hold the reader's interest throughout. Quality of Life and Disability should be a compulsory text for all students in the disability field and would make a useful one for experienced practitioners including social workers.' - Australian Social Work 'Among the recent proliferation of books on quality of life, this is a standout! Not only is Quality of Life and Disability: An Approach for Community Practitioners placed squarely in the disability field, but it has an applied emphasis that is rare for a topic that so abounds in vague and often conflicting theories and terminologies. Rather than burdening the reader with the conceptual conundrums of a construct as ambitious as whole of life quality, Brown and Brown dive into the real life issues. This quality of life text will appeal to many practitioners in the disability field. A welcome addition to the bookshelves of many practitioners.' - Paul Bramston, University of Southern Queensland, Australia 'Excellent guide demonstrating to practitioners, not only what they have to do to increase the quality of life of the people they look after, but also how they should start doing it.' - Wspolne Tematy 'A remarkably rich mixture of experience, guidance and insight into the determination of people's quality of life, and into ways in which a wide variety of care staff, managers and policy-makers can understand and respond to disabled people's wants and needs.' - Care and Health magazine 'One of the most refreshing approaches in the contemporary literature on quality of life and disability. The authors are to be congratulated for the very user friendly way the book has been designed.' - Trevor R. Parmenter, University of Sydney 'This book reflects the authors' extensive experience and admirable insight as they bring quality of life ideas closest to those who are in the best position to apply them - the practitioners. Useful, stimulating and well written.' - Robert L. Schalock, Hastings College, Nebraska 'The authors weave their text seamlessly, reminding us at every turn that quality of life varies across individuals, cultures and time... tightly-structured and practical.' - Patricia Noonan Walsh, University College, Dublin 'This excellent book is a valuable contribution to training literature in the field of community rehabilitation.' - Mitchell Clark, Mount Royal College, Calgary, Canada Quality of life - physical, psychological and environmental well-being - is a crucial consideration for professionals working with people with a disability. The authors of this practical book apply ideas about quality of life to the field of disability to assist front-line professionals, managers and policy-makers in effective service provision. They examine the historical context of the concept of quality of life and discuss the application of quality of life in the daily lives of people who have disabilities. Using recent studies to show how the development of quality of life approaches have led to changes in rehabilitation, and how an understanding of the issue can inform practice in assessment, intervention, management and policy, this is an indispensable book for all practitioners and managers working with people with disabilities.
Quality of Life and Early British Migration (SpringerBriefs in Well-Being and Quality of Life Research)
by Thomas JordanThis book discusses the quality of life of early modern Britons emigrating to the New World, which became possible with advances in shipbuilding and long-distance sailing. It examines the status and quality of life of those crossing the Atlantic Ocean under legal contract, the indenture – largely to the Carolinas and the communities adjoining Chesapeake Bay in the USA in the 17th century, and also describes and numerically estimates the quality of life among Britons sentenced to “transportation beyond the seas,” who were transported to Australia in the mid-19th century. The author examines the experience of migrants, both adults and children, traveling to the New World and their fate, drawing on documentary sources like state historical records as well as self-documentation from the few surviving diaries. The book also creates profiles of the quality of life of emigrants by gender and age and places the processes of emigration in the social–political contexts of the 17th and 19th centuries.By considering ways in which aspects of social life were organized in eras before structural inquiry into the quality of life, the book provides interesting historical perspectives as well as methodological insights. It appeals to researchers and students interested in the quality of life and wellbeing, and in the history of modern Europe, particularly of the British Empire.
Quality of Life and Well-Being for Residents in Long-Term Care Communities: Perspectives on Policies and Practices (Human Well-Being Research and Policy Making)
by Kevin E. Hansen Jennifer L. Johs-ArtisensiThis book explores key factors long-term care recipients have identified as impacting their quality of life and offers programmatic and policy recommendations to enhance well-being within long-term care communities. Leadership and staff who work in nursing homes and other residential care communities serve as gatekeepers to resident well-being, often without recognizing how residents’ quality of life is impacted by their decision-making. This book takes a life domain approach to build on research-based studies that document key drivers of care recipients’ quality of life, including relationships, autonomy and respect, activities and meals, environment, and care. Using a framework that enhances understanding of resident quality of life, it outlines practical, programmatic, and policy suggestions for long-term care stakeholders, such as administrators, managers, front-line staff, family members, and policy-makers, whose directives and actions impact the lived experience of long-term care residents. As such, this book serves as a roadmap for leaders and managers of long-term care communities, along with policymakers who regulate health and human services, to best structure care environments to maximize quality of life and well-being for long-term care recipients.
Quality of Life and Well-Being in an Indian Ethnic Community: The Case Of Badagas (SpringerBriefs in Well-Being and Quality of Life Research)
by Gareth DaveyThis book explores the quality of life among Badagas, an ethnic minority group in South India, as they navigate a society in flux, with specific reference to rural-to-urban migration and new media. At an empirical level, it reveals how Badagas understand themselves and the multifaceted changes in their culture and daily lives, exploring a pertinent concern at the forefront of debate about the future from a global perspective. The book draws attention to the fact that people are adopting flexible identities and lifestyles in an attempt to survive and thrive in a changing India and world, a new ‘Indian-ness’ shaped at the local level. It offers a timely update on previous research on Badagas, which dates to the 1990s, and also serves as an important case study on people’s experiences of the social and economic transformation of Indian society as they become accustomed to new ideas, products, and ways of life. As such, it is a must-read for all those interested in quality of life in India and developing societies.
Quality of Life and Work in Europe: Theory, Practice and Policy
by M. Bäck-Wiklund T. Van Lippe L. Den Dulk A. Doorne-Huiskes Tanja van der Lippe Laura Den DulkIntense globalization, rapidly changing workplaces and family patterns have renewed the international interest in quality of life. This book examines different institutional arrangements, work-place conditions and gendered work and care that affect the conditions for achieving quality of work and life in European countries.
Quality of Life in Argentina: Maps, Indexes and Regional Analysis from 2010 (The Latin American Studies Book Series)
by Claudia Andrea Mikkelsen Santiago Linares Guillermo Angel VelázquezThis book studies inequalities in the quality of life of the Argentine population at the regional level. It considers the six regions of the National Statistical System: Northwest, Northeast, Cuyo, Pampa, Metropolitan, and Patagonia. A series of thematic maps is provided and interpreted, which are related to: a. socioeconomic issues (education, health, housing) and b. environmental aspects (environmental problems and recreational resources). These dimensions (socioeconomic and environmental) are integrated into quality of life indexes that allow the comparison of the situation of the population residing in any region of the national territory.
The Quality of Life in Asia
by Takashi Inoguchi Seiji FujiiThis book studies and compares quality of life in 29 countries/societies in Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Korea(South), Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. We utilize the AsiaBarometer Surveys conducted annually from 2003 through 2008. We focus on the notion of subjective quality of life and conceptualize it as two levels, global and domain. After we explain about the AsiaBarometer Survey Project, we explore current country profile, demographics, lifestyles, value priorities, specific life domain assessment and overall quality of life. We then estimate the independent effects of demographics, lifestyles, value priorities, life domain assessment on the overall quality of life within each society. As well as comparing the results between nations, we look for key generalized characteristics of life quality for the entire and sub-regions of Asia.
The Quality of Life in Latin American Cities
by Eduardo Lora Andrew Powell Pablo Sanguinetti Bernard M. S. van PraagA growing number of cities around the world have established systems for monitoring the quality of urban life. Many of those systems combine objective information with subjective opinions and cover a wide variety of topics. This book assesses a method that takes advantage of both types of information and offers criteria to identify and rank the issues of potential importance for urban dwellers. This method-which combines the so-called "hedonic price" and "life satisfaction" approaches to value public goods-was tested in pilot studies in six Latin American cities: Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Lima, Medellín, Montevideo, and San José of Costa Rica. It provides valuable insights to address key questions such as, Which urban problems have the greatest impact on people's opinions of city management and the most widespread effects on their lives? Do gaps between perception and reality vary from one area of the city to another, especially between high- and low-income neighborhoods? Where can homebuilders most feasibly seek solutions to problems such as inadequate road infrastructure, a lack of recreational areas, or poor safety conditions? Which problems should government authorities address first, in light of their impact on the well-being of various groups of individuals and given private actors' abilities to respond? Which homeowners benefit the most from public infrastructure or services? When can or should property taxes be used to finance the provision of certain services-or the solution of certain problems? 'The Quality of Life in Latin American Cities: Markets and Perception' proposes a monitoring system that is easy to operate and that entails reasonable costs but also has a solid conceptual basis. Long the ideal of many scholars and practitioners, such a system may soon become a reality and have the potential to make a significant contribution to the decision-making processes in any city concerned with the well-being of its residents.
The Quality of Qualitative Research (Introducing Qualitative Methods)
by Clive Seale`Apart from its inherent readability, I found three other attractive features about the book: First is the use of exemplars based on case studies from qualitative studies, including Whyte's Street Corner Society; second, is the quotes from key methodological texts reflecting on a range of qualitative research traditions; and third, is the use of philosophical argument and reference in the book which provided an added depth to the debate, often lacking in more practically oriented books. These deliberations take readers to a higher plane, whilst still allowing the novice to philosophy to gain an insight into theory' - Forum for Qualitative Research `Seale steers a dispassionate course - both pragmatic and thoughtful - through the sometimes stormy waters of qualitative analysis. Anyone wanting an up-to-date picture of qualitative analysis will benefit from this book. It is truly a quality contribution to the field' - Nigel Fielding, University of Surrey `Clearly and engagingly written, this book covers crucially important issues such as the generalisability of findings, the grounding of theory and the validity and reliability of research reports. With frequent summaries of key points, criteria for evaluating research reports and discussions exercises, this is an extremely useful text for students and professionals alike' - Derek Layder, University of Leicester `This is a brilliant, carefully crafted, even-handed, comprehensive analysis of the multiple ways in which quality is assessed in contemporary qualitative inquiry. Clive Seale provides a balanced, subtly nuanced treatment of this key problem' - Norman Denzin, University of Illinois, Urbana-Chanpaign `The coverage is impressive and the depth of scholarship impeccable. Both students and seasoned investigators will find the author's pragmatic approach refreshing and helpful. It will appeal to the naturalistic researcher as well as to empirically-oriented scholars smitten by postmodern questions. I would definitely recommend it to my students. A splendid leading text for classroom adoption' - Jaber F Gubrium, University of Florida `Clive Seale has performed an important service for social science researchers by finding a sane middle ground between the twin fanaticisms of radical interpretivism and quantiative scientism. His book is practical, telling people who want to get research done how to do that in an effective and reasonable way. His explanations are clear and concise, his examples well chosen, and the practices he recommends are doable. You can learn a lot about how to approach research from this book' - Howard S Becker, University of California, Santa Barbara `For the undergraduate, or postgraduate looking for a comfortable drive through an increasingly unmanageable literature, this book provides an outstanding introduction' - Qualitative Research
The Quality of the Archaeological Record
by Charles PerreaultPaleobiology struggled for decades to influence our understanding of evolution and the history of life because it was stymied by a focus on microevolution and an incredibly patchy fossil record. But in the 1970s, the field took a radical turn, as paleobiologists began to investigate processes that could only be recognized in the fossil record across larger scales of time and space. That turn led to a new wave of macroevolutionary investigations, novel insights into the evolution of species, and a growing prominence for the field among the biological sciences. In The Quality of the Archaeological Record, Charles Perreault shows that archaeology not only faces a parallel problem, but may also find a model in the rise of paleobiology for a shift in the science and theory of the field. To get there, he proposes a more macroscale approach to making sense of the archaeological record, an approach that reveals patterns and processes not visible within the span of a human lifetime, but rather across an observation window thousands of years long and thousands of kilometers wide. Just as with the fossil record, the archaeological record has the scope necessary to detect macroscale cultural phenomena because it can provide samples that are large enough to cancel out the noise generated by micro-scale events. By recalibrating their research to the quality of the archaeological record and developing a true macroarchaeology program, Perreault argues, archaeologists can finally unleash the full contributive value of their discipline.
The Quality of the Urban Environment: Essays on "New Resources" in an Urban Age (Routledge Revivals)
by Harvey S. PerloffThe quality of the environment in which people live, work, and play influences to no small degree the quality of life itself. The environment can be satisfying and attractive and provide scope for individual development or it can be poisonous, irritating and stunting. The papers in this volume, first published in 1969, are concerned with the urban environment – in which the majority of Americans live – or, more accurately, with the environment of urbanites, for the concern extends to outlying areas where urban dwellers visit and play. The chapters aim to provide a better understanding of the natural resource elements in the urban environment, and will be of interest to students of environmental studies and human geography.
Quality Telefantasy: How US Quality TV Brought Zombies, Dragons and Androids into the Mainstream (Routledge Advances in Television Studies)
by Andrew LynchThis book explores the relatively new genre of ‘Quality Telefantasy’ and how it has broadened TV taste cultures by legitimating and mainstreaming fantastical content. It also shows how the rising popularity of this genre marks a distinct and significant development in what kinds of TV are culturally dominant and critically regarded. By expanding and building on the definition of US Quality TV, this book brings together a number of popular science fiction, fantasy and horror TV series, including Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and Westworld, as case studies which demonstrate the emergence of the Quality Telefantasy genre. It looks at the role of technology, including internet recap culture and subscription video on demand distribution, in Quality Telefantasy’s swift emergence, and analyses its success internationally by considering series created outside the US like Kingdom (South Korea, Netflix) and Dark (Germany, Netflix). The book argues that Quality Telefantasy series should be considered a part of the larger Quality TV super-genre, and that the impact they are having on the global TV landscape warrants further investigation as it continues to evolve. This is a valuable text for students and scholars studying or undertaking research in the areas of television studies, new media and pop-cultural studies.
Quantenphysik und Soziologie im Dialog: Betrachtungen zu Zeit, Beobachtung und Verschränkung
by Werner VogdSei es in der Quantenphysik, den Kognitionswissenschaften oder der Soziologie – die Problematik des Beobachters und die Einbeziehung von Nicht-Wissen und Unbestimmtheiten ist in verschiedenen wissenschaftlichen Feldern nicht zuletzt aus empirischen Gründen entstanden. Die hiermit verbundenen theoretischen Konzepte bringen nolens volens Aporien oder Paradoxien mit sich. Nicht zuletzt aus diesem Grunde verspricht der Vergleich von Quantenphysik und Soziologie neue Einsichten in die Leistungen wie auch Probleme von Weltbeschreibungen, die Selbstreferenz nicht per se ausschließen möchten. Der Dialog geschieht anhand ausgewählter Problemfelder. Zu nennen sind hier etwa:Der Objekt-Subjekt-Schnitt;die Frage, was (für wen) Information ist, die Beobachterabhängigkeit von Begriffen wie Probabilität, Kausalität und Unbestimmtheit, die Modellierung extrinsischer Eigenschaften, der Umgang mit Komplexität sowie das Verhältnis von Sinn, Gegenstand und Interpretation. Mit Blick auf die Arbeiten aus dem Umfeld von Anton Zeilinger treten in diesem Projekt renommierte Physiker und Soziologen in einen Dialog, der neben erkenntnistheoretischen Problemen nicht zuletzt auch die offenen Fragen des eigenen Fachgebiets behandelt.
The Quantified Self in Precarity: Work, Technology and What Counts (Routledge Advances in Sociology)
by Phoebe V. MooreHumans are accustomed to being tool bearers, but what happens when machines become tool bearers, calculating human labour via the use of big data and people analytics by metrics? The Quantified Self in Precarity highlights how, whether it be in insecure ‘gig’ work or office work, such digitalisation is not an inevitable process – nor is it one that necessarily improves working conditions. Indeed, through unique research and empirical data, Moore demonstrates how workplace quantification leads to high turnover rates, workplace rationalisation and worker stress and anxiety, with these issues linked to increased rates of subjective and objective precarity. Scientific management asked us to be efficient. Now, we are asked to be agile. But what does this mean for the everyday lives we lead? With a fresh perspective on how technology and the use of technology for management and self-management changes the ‘quantified’, precarious workplace today, The Quantified Self in Precarity will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in fields such as Science and Technology, Organisation Management, Sociology and Politics.
Quantified Storytelling: A Narrative Analysis of Metrics on Social Media
by Alex Georgakopoulou Stefan Iversen Carsten StageThis book interrogates the role of quantification in stories on social media: how do visible numbers (e.g. of views, shares, likes) and invisible algorithmic measurements shape the stories we post and engage with? The links of quantification with stories have not been explored sufficiently in storytelling research or in social media studies, despite the fact that platforms have been integrating sophisticated metrics into developing facilities for sharing stories, with a massive appeal to ordinary users, influencers and businesses alike. With case-studies from Instagram, Reddit and Snapchat, the authors show how three types of metrics, namely content metrics, interface metrics and algorithmic metrics, affect the ways in which cancer patients share their experiences, the circulation of specific stories that mobilize counter-publics and the design of stories as facilities on platforms. The analyses document how numbers structure elements in stories, indicate and produce engagement and become resources for the tellers’ self-presentation. This book will be of interest to students and scholars working in the fields of narrative and social media studies, including narratology, biography studies, digital storytelling, life-writing, narrative psychology, sociological approaches to narrative, discourse and sociolinguistic perspectives.