Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This roundtable provides a forum for discussion on Mathieu Deflem’s Policing World Society: Historical Foundations of International Police Cooperation (Oxford University Press, 2002). The book’s author is exposed to the learned feedback from students who are at various stages of completion towards their dissertation. As Deflem’s book is also a reworking of his dissertation, the roundtable will serve as the starting point for both scholarly as well as professional themes of discussion.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Universities worldwide stem from a common model. Even in India and China, which have their own powerful indigenous traditions of advanced learning, modern universities are Western in origin. Strikingly similar patterns of organization and activity are seen throughout the world in areas of faculty research, teaching, administration, and the assessment of student learning. These patterns are driven largely by Western conceptions of academic quality and socio-economic concerns, usually over-riding non-western cultural values. Within the context of globalization and the war on terrorism, recognizing the political and social implications of Western dominance in the academic world allows us to better understand (and work to overcome) existing inequities in the global knowledge network that may contribute to the hostile perspectives of non-Westerners toward ideas of democracy, academic freedom, separation of church and state, and religious pluralism, among many others.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Editor of Oxford Review of Education

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Was global detente in the 1960s and 1970s a threat or an opportunity for the emerging world? This paper focuses on changing perceptions in Latin America about the global balance of power by focusing on two intellectual innovators in Brazilian policy circles: Araujo Castro and Azeredo da Silveira. The purpose here is to trace conceptual change, characterize critical debates about the role of emerging states in global order, and follow the development of key strategic concepts to cope with the evolving cold war. Primary sources for this paper include recently declassified materials and interviews in Brazil and the United States.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Educational transitions, including admission to higher education in the UK are related to social background characteristics such as social class, ethnicity and gender. This paper presents a case study of admission to the University of Oxford to understand why, conditional on application, admissions patterns into selective higher show an advantage for already privileged strata of society. Specifically, net of attainment, the professional middle class, white, male and state school applicants fare particularly well in securing offers for undergraduate study at Oxford. With the exception of the state school effect, the admissions privilege advantages already privileged strata of society. The research uses a mixed methods approach based on almost 2,000 applicants for admission to Oxford, 25 interviews with selectors and the observation of eight admissions meetings. The mechanism of homo-social reproduction in decisions involving uncertainty is put forward as a possible explanation for unequal transition patterns. Existing models of educational transition may have paid insufficient attention to the role of gatekeepers and their individual preferences in generating aggregate selection patterns. Incorporating selectors as actors in transition models increases our understanding of unequal access to educational institutions and the challenges faced in striving towards equal opportunities in an education based meritocracy.