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Diversity and inclusion have proven vital for increasing innovation, success, and performance in a myriad of fields; however, as with many other scientific disciplines, forensic anthropology’s history and lack of critical self-assessment have resulted in impediments to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment. Therefore, the field should reflect on its current membership and culture and devise strategies to address deficiencies. To begin evaluating the current state of diversity and inclusion in forensic anthropology, a survey was distributed to Anthropology Section members of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) in 2018. A total of 211 students and professionals responded, and 32.4% self-identified as a member of an underrepresented group. The results indicate that 63.4% believe that forensic anthropology exhibits little diversity; that 73.4% consider this lack of diversity problematic; and that 84.3% believe the Anthropology Section should do more to recruit and retain diverse forensic anthropologists. Heterogeneity is perceived to be the greatest at the undergraduate level, with diversity decreasing in vertical movement through graduate, postdoctoral, and/or professional statuses. Moreover, the results suggest that discrimination and exclusion have a negative effect on our community, as they may lead to attrition of those with diverse backgrounds and perspectives. We propose actions that may help to mitigate the negative effects of meritocracy, discrimination/harassment, and exclusion to evolve toward a culture of diversity. These include regularly tracking demographic information on AAFS membership, reassessing graduate admissions requirements and indicators of success, creating mechanisms for reporting discrimination/harassment, implementing targeted outreach, and developing mentorship opportunities.

A realidade da pandemia de COVID-19 impactou de maneiras diversas vários países. No Brasil, a suposta dicotomia saúde-economia pautou decisões dos governos, que não obtiveram sucesso em conter casos do novo coronavírus, tampouco em garantir os menores impactos econômicos possíveis. A desigualdade que assola historicamente o país é acompanhada de discursos que se propõem a interpretar a realidade. No âmbito do discurso neoliberal, a partir de conceitos como os de meritocracia e de responsabilidade individual, os indivíduos se identificam como os únicos responsáveis por seu sucesso ou fracasso. A pobreza, neste sentido, consistiria em um aglomerado de fracassos individuais que coincidem numa mesma condição socioeconômica. O objetivo deste trabalho de pesquisa concentra-se no questionamento desta concepção à luz da realidade da COVID-19. Busca-se demonstrar de que modo é construído o discurso neoliberal acerca da pobreza e indagar se este discurso pode ser questionado. O trabalho aponta para o fato de a resposta do governo brasileiro à crise epidêmica ter sido marcada por uma racionalidade neoliberal que aplicou o discurso da individualização e privatização às políticas de saúde pública. Palavras-Chave: Pobreza. Neoliberalismo. Covid-19. Abstract: The COVID-19 reality impacted on many countries in different ways. In Brazil, the supposed dichotomy health vs. economy guided the present govern in its decisions, which did not manage to contain the COVID-19 cases, not to minimize their economic impacts. The inequality that historically haunts the country is reinforced by discourses that aim to justify social reality. Following the neoliberal discourse, which use concepts like meritocracy and individual responsibility, individuals should see themself as the only responsible for their success or failure. In this perspective, poverty result by an set of individuals failures that lead to the same socioeconomic condition. The objective of this paper is to question of this conception in light of the COVID-19 reality. It aims to show how the neoliberal discourse on poverty is constituted and to question it. It points to the fact that the Brazilian government’s answer to the epidemic crise has been marked by a neoliberal rationality that applies individualization and privatization discourses to public health policies. Keywords: Poverty. Neoliberalism. Covid-19.

Olave and Bravo’s paper motivated us to reflect upon aspects that characterize the neoliberal turn in Brazilian education. Such reflections are grounded on a brief attempt to discuss central ideas of neoliberal ideology as presented by the cited authors, namely competitiveness, meritocracy, and individualism. The discussion is briefly contextualized in the light of Brazilian history, and a few examples of how such ideas have materialized in curriculum policy as well as practice are offered. We argue that the neoliberal ideas that have been assimilated in contemporary educational discourse hinder the deconstruction of, and the positioning against, policies that reinforce social inequality and prevent dialog.

School dropout is a complex phenomenon historically present in Brazilian education, which involves multiple factors, dialectically interconnecting social, economic, political and cultural issues, which, in times of crisis such as the current pandemic, has affected even more students with greater social vulnerability. Reflection on the conceptions and ideologies that permeate and represent dropout in education, particularly in professional and technological education, as well as the analysis of its effects on the possibilities of an emancipating education, which overcomes its reproduction, thus assumes an imperative character. In order to deepen the reflection on the theme, we have tried to establish a dialogue between authors who study the subject, such as Dubet, Fornari, Fritsch, Canario, among others, and those who support the debates on professional education, such as Ciavatta, Frigotto, Ramos, as well as other scholars who discuss educational issues from a critical perspective. As a result, it became evident a project in dispute within the institutions of professional and technological education, in which the school dropout serves and reinforces a project of capitalist society, intensified in times of crisis, such as the current pandemic, and based on principles such as meritocracy, individualization, and blaming its subjects. Studies and research have pointed out the need to understand the complex totality that surrounds the dropout phenomenon, in order to propose and develop actions in defense of an education with a critical perspective centered on human emancipation, as an expectation for its overcoming.

Em “Capitalismo Sem Rivais, o futuro do sistema que domina o mundo”, Branko Milanovic reflete sobre o sistema econômico em que vivemos e o confronto atual entre seus dois modelos: o capitalismo meritocrático liberal e o capitalismo político. A partir de uma leitura original da história econômica contemporânea e da reflexão sobre o futuro do capitalismo, o autor discute com rigor os principais problemas que afligem as sociedades contemporâneas como as desigualdades, as políticas sociais, as migrações, a corrupção e a globalização, e propõe medidas para enfrentá-los, o que torna a sua obra especialmente relevante para países de níveis de desenvolvimento mais baixos, a exemplo dos latino-americanos.

Most critics of our contemporary meritocratic practices and institutions believe their arguments speak to the defects of the ideal of meritocracy itself. I argue that this is a misguided generaliza...

The children of immigrants obtain high levels of post-secondary attainment in Canada, but their ability to translate these educational credentials into good jobs varies among ethno-racial groups. To understand the social processes behind these unequal outcomes, we conducted in-depth interviews with 27 second-generation immigrant youth living in the province of Ontario. Motivated by the desire for intergenerational upward mobility and trusting in the widespread misrecognition of Canada as an education-based meritocracy, these young people pursued higher education as a means to gain entry into white-collar occupations. Despite their ambitions, the second-generation youth in this study did not have access to the 'career relevant' capital needed to mobilize their educational credentials in the white-collar labour market. And although they engaged in various forms of meta-work to help them acquire 'career-relevant' capital, the challenges they faced were not only the result of differential access to capital, but they also had to do with the way their capital was recognized in the labour market. The findings presented here emphasize the importance of considering how the intersection of multiple overlapping processes of social differentiation (i.e., immigrant status, class position, and ethno-racial background) shape second-generation youth's access to and recognition of 'career-relevant' capital in their school-to-work transitions.Les enfants d'immigrants atteignent des niveaux élevés d'études postsecondaires au Canada, mais leur capacité à transformer ces titres de compétences en bons emplois varie selon les groupes ethno-raciaux. Pour comprendre les processus sociaux à l'origine de ces résultats inégaux, nous avons mené des entretiens approfondis avec 27 jeunes immigrants de deuxième génération vivant dans la province de l'Ontario. Motivés par le désir de mobilité ascendante intergénérationnelle et confiants dans la méconnaissance répandue du Canada en tant que méritocratie fondée sur l'éducation, ces jeunes ont poursuivi des études supérieures comme moyen d'accéder à des professions de cols blancs. Malgré leurs ambitions, les jeunes de la deuxième génération étudiée n'ont pas eu accès au capital “ carrière ” nécessaire pour mobiliser leurs diplômes sur le marché du travail des cols blancs. Et bien qu'ils se soient engagés dans diverses formes de méta-travail pour les aider à acquérir du capital, les défis auxquels ils ont été confrontés n'étaient pas seulement le résultat d'un accès différentiel au capital, mais ils étaient également liés à la manière dont leur capital était reconnu sur le marché du travail. Les résultats présentés ici soulignent l'importance de considérer comment l'intersection de multiples processus de différenciation sociale qui se chevauchent (c.-à-d. le statut d'immigrant, la position de classe et l'origine ethno-raciale) façonne l'accès des jeunes de la deuxième génération au capital “ pertinent pour la carrière ” et la reconnaissance de ce capital lors de leur transition de l'école au travail.

Russia have something in common—in particular, the uniqueness of their geographical parameters. It further provides a closer look at the model of the Singapore miracle, aspresented in the book by Lee Kuan Yew “From the Third World to the First. History of Singapore (1965–2000)”. This article discusses the opposite developmental trends of thetwo countries in the recent decades in order to make the case that the Singapore model implemented by Lee Kuan Yew is an important factor. While Singapore moved from theThird World to the First, Russia descended from the First World to the Third. To illustrate this “great castling”, the article provides data on where the two countries are located inthe expanded innovation and technology matrix. In this matrix, Russia lies between the periphery and the semi-periphery, while Singapore has for many years remained amongthe leaders, confidently ahead of such core countries as the US and some leading European states. The author further considers some fundamental differences in the political modelsof Singapore and Russia. Singapore’s distinct features include relying on common sense, intuition and tradition in their policy-making processes; a constant dialogue betweenthe government and the people in explaining important state decisions; the quick and concern for their reputation. A completely different political model is typical for Russia:blind and formal adoption of Western managerial patterns and practices; the maximum isolation of the government from the people; systematic disregard for public accusationsagainst officials regarding their income and corruption. Considering the Singaporean model allows us to deduce the original formula for success: it must equal brilliant management+ total perfectionism. Great emphasis on management effectiveness and meritocracy in the recruitment of state officials responsible for important decisions were importantfactors of advancing Singapore along the path of economic development. One of the main achievements of Lee Kuan Yew was to ensure continuity in state policy for more than60 years. This is what fundamentally distinguishes him from the Russian rulers, whose replacement is usually accompanied by radical changes in the political course.

Some aspects of the radical change of value orientations in modern western science are considered. Influenced by leftist ideology and under the slogans of abstract justice, the leadership of European and North American institutions is trying to expand the presence of new members in the scientific and educational spheres on the quota basis, taking into account racial and gender rather than meritocratic characteristics (high-quality basic and university education level, persistence to obtain new knowledge, developed mental abilities in this area). It has been shown that the rapid legislative or illegal introduction of quotas for minorities instead of increasing their scientific level and well-being can only limit the recruiting of talented people of any gender or race into science and will result in the decline of the world science as a whole.

Purpose: meritocracy and incentives for innovation are instruments in the search for efficiency and increased productivity. The objective of this work is to demonstrate the correlation between meritocracy and productivity gains that a franchise network presented in a year of economic crisis in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach: the method of qualitative and quantitative approach of this research used experimentation, based on interviews, observation and data analysis. Two groups of companies, which totalized 92 companies and 746 professionals participated of the research. Findings: management based on recognition and reward for employees of a group of companies has shown an increase in productivity of up to 25% in a year of economic recession. In the same period, another group of companies in the same business, but without a meritocracy-based compensation system, achieved a 9% drop. Research limitations/implications: this work suffered from limitations as to the influence of the local economy of each franchise on the results, impacting the comparisons of the groups that participated in the experimental research. Practical implications: logistics companies can use this work to define a meritocratic model that encourages employees to seek innovation in processes and contribute to better operational performance. Social implications: logistics has a strong impact on the competitiveness of companies, from industry to commerce. This work offers visibility of the influence of productivity in logistics companies in the supply chain. Originality/value: this work contributes to the analysis of the influence of meritocracy in people management, especially in times of economic crisis.

El artículo aborda el tema de los mecanismos de ingreso a la educación superior; se centra en un análisis de la manera en que las 35 universidades públicas estatales regulan el ingreso de aspirantes. Para ello, se analiza el problema de los mecanismos de ingreso a las universidades bajo el concepto de equidad, retomando los conceptos libertarios de Rawls y el igualitarismo de Dworking. Se concluye que, en lo general, el uso de mecanismos meritocráticos no abona a la equidad, sino que se orienta únicamente hacia el cumplimiento de la justicia formal; además, se resalta la necesidad de que las universidades públicas estatales establezcan mecanismos orientados a reducir la desigualdad.

Which different conceptions of the so-called “American Dream” are still alive or gaining ground in the increasingly polarized social climate of the United States during the Trump era? I intend to shed light on this question by analyzing the different types of success ethics presented in the highly popular Netflix series Cobra Kai (2018 - present). This will include an investigation into notions of merit and masculinity and how they are intertwined in the principal conflict between the two main characters: the blue-collar Johnny Lawrence and the affluent Daniel LaRusso – both of whom operate their own respective karate schools. I will embed this conflict within a theoretical framework undergirded by Michael Sandel’s observations on contemporary definitions of “meritocracy” and the associated “rhetoric of rising.” In addition, I will lean on George Lakoff’s linguistic concepts of the “strict vs nurturant parent,” and Lauren Berlant’s notion of “cruel optimism.” In doing so, I hope to illuminate the deep-seated workings of competing philosophies on what “it takes to get ahead” in today’s United States. One of my main findings is that Lawrence’s brand of hard-bodied, Reagan-era masculinity is mutually reinforced with LaRusso’s incremental and cosmopolitan approach, thereby perpetuating polarization and antagonism. The fact that both karate teachers are keen to impart their vision on a younger generation is also indicative of how this enmity represents a battle for the “soul of America.” Given ongoing trends toward increasing social, economic, and cultural divides within the U.S., it is of great importance to examine how these developments are negotiated in popular culture. Cobra Kai offers fertile ground for addressing this question.

Problem setting. In the context of the theoretical and methodological analysis of the elite in modern postmodern society, the implementation of a separate consideration of the concept of “state-management elite” deserves special attention. It represents a ruling minority, which concentrates the personification of political power, ensures management of political processes and political development of the state. Balanced practice of parity interaction between the political and state-management elite ensures a strategic balance of the political system of the state. In this way, the issue arises of identifying the essence and trends of the development of the state-management elite and the parameters of its interaction with the political elite in the context of implementation of the corresponding institutional projects for ensuring systemic reforms. In this regard, it refers to trace meritocratic practice, which points to the possession of special social traits by people who enable people to occupy respective positions in the system of public administration. Recent research and publications analysis. Most researchers derive from the understanding of the state-management elite as an objective factor and an objective condition for the functioning of government institutions. In the context of that, W. Stephenson, who uses the term “administrative-political elite” and implies the use of the subjective factor of influence on the formation of leadership qualities in the individual. At the same time, S. Webster identifies the main features of the state-management elite. Highlighting previously unsettled parts of the general problem. However, attention remains to be paid to the discovery of the notion of state-management elite in the post-modern state, which determines the relevance of this research. Paper main body. The current context of the functioning of the state-management elite in the post-modern state allows identifying a number of functional obligations imposed on it, which make it possible to identify the state-management elite as a separate institution ensuring strategic stability of the society and strategic development of the state. On this occasion, the well-known theoretician of the state-management elite F. Goodnay substantiated the necessity of the existence of the state-management elite as an instrument of ensuring the socio-political balance in society, which serves to democratize the corresponding processes. The most pathetic methodologically context is proposed by N. Timechef, where “bureaucracy” refers to uncontrolled power not to public politicians, but to officials in the person of the administrative elite who assigned to itself, apart from the administrative (administrative and administrative), functions incapable for it to dispose of political power and state. M. Weber proposed the term “bureaucratic elite”, understanding those representing the expert environment, endowed with functions of optimal decision making, which actions are based on formal rules and procedures, backed by rigorous discipline and rational activity. Particular attention deserves the construction of S. Kelly within it the definition of “administrative and functional elite” as the highest layer of civil servants who hold high positions in ministries, departments and other public administration bodies is proposed. Conclusions of the research and prospects for further studies. Consequently, our analysis of the essence and trends of the development of the state-management elite on the postmodern age allowed to specify its content by the managers who are endowed with the corresponding functional duties to ensure the life of the society and the form of interaction with the political elite in the context of the implementation of the corresponding institutional projects, taking into account the specifics of the various national the traditions of public administration. On the basis of this, the institutional-functional and technological difference and the identity between the political and the administrative elite are found; it is proved that during the postmodern days there is a tendency to increase the role of middle level of the state-management elite in the formation and implementation of state policy; certain regularities of functioning of the state-management elite in the postmodern age were identified.

O artigo investiga as razões para a mudança de ênfase nas propostas pedagógicas brasileiras em dois momentos históricos: entre os anos 1920 e 1930 e entre os anos 1990 e 2010. Com esse objetivo em vista, procede-se à análise de fontes como a I Conferência Nacional de Educação (1927), o Manifesto dos Pioneiros (1932) e, para o período contemporâneo, leis e decretos nacionais (1996-2018). No primeiro contexto, foi possível verificar que o debate entre os saberes biológicos e os sociológicos em busca de legitimação encontra na área de educação seu principal palco de disputa. No passado, intelectuais influenciados pela eugenia recorreram à biologia como forma de modernizar o país por meio da educação eugênica e da exclusão dos indivíduos “indesejados”. Nas últimas décadas, observa-se um retorno desse tipo de discurso de fundo biológico, mas agora a exclusão biossocial de sujeitos apela não mais à ideologia da nação, mas à sacralização neoliberal da “meritocracia”. Da comparação entre os dois contextos, conclui-se que a mudança de ênfase nas propostas pedagógicas que antes primavam pelo social, agora visa a formação individualizante do “neossujeito” flexível e responsável por si mesmo. O sucesso e insucesso escolar passam a ser vistos unicamente como dependentes da capacidade do indivíduo de gerenciar sua própria vida e não como resultado de problemas estruturais da sociedade, o que tem conduzido a um processo de crescente desfiliação social.

First coined by British sociologist Michael Young (1958) in The Rise of the Meritocracy, the concept of meritocracy has transformed from its initial satirical meaning and is today a focal discourse...

The article starts from the proposal to modify the entrance to a traditional pre-university secondary school in Bahia Blanca, which, since its creation, has held the entrance exam. In 2014, the draw was partially incorporated and in 2021, in the context of the quarantine by Covid-19, the total access by draw was imposed for external applicants due to the inequalities of the meritocratic admission system. Which, according to the promoters of change, would promote the creation of an elite of "well-to-do classes" within the school, being for them the only reason for questioned educational segregation. So the present work inquires if the school dependent on the UNS has mechanisms of social inclusion that attract the enrollment that would be being excluded by the meritocratic system, or if, on the contrary, it reinforces segregation with different mechanisms of social exclusion. A qualitative methodology is used based on semi-structured interviews with teachers and principals of the analyzed institution and other schools from its city, complemented with an analysis of the regulations that rule the operation of the school and quantitative data about the access of its students. It is stated that these mechanisms exceed the admission system proposed by the school, and they correspond to an inclusive educational policy that is absent in the school studied.

How do people reconcile belief in meritocracy with the receipt of unearned economic gifts? Drawing on interviews with first time homeowners who had bought property with familial gifts or inheritances, we find that many downplay the intergenerational privilege associated with gifting by reporting extended family histories of working-class struggle, upward social mobility and meritocratic striving. Interviewees also draw boundaries between their own wealth and the less legitimate wealth of others, or dispute the significance of gifting compared to other inequalities. We further argue that gifting is a site where two competing logics, the ‘domestic’ and family-orientated and the ‘civic’ and meritocratic, collide. While these competing principles appear to be in conflict, we detail how many labour discursively to bring them into alignment. Here interviewees deploy a humble ‘intergenerational self’ to recast familial gifts as evidence of multigenerational meritocratic success. Yet, while some successfully reconcile these conflicting ‘orders of worth’, for others the tension remains unresolved.

Com o objetivo central de avaliar o processo de mobilidade social no Brasil contemporâneo, foram construídos dois indicadores socioeconômicos que mensuram a origem e o destino das pessoas, tendo por diferença básica em relação aos estudos clássicos a construção de índices com base no acesso ao bem-estar social elementar. Esses indicadores foram avaliados simultaneamente com o fator educação escolar. Observou-se que a transmissão da vantagem socioeconômica no Brasil possui um duplo caminho, (i) investimento em educação formal e (ii) transferência direta de bem-estar socioeconômico entre parentes, o segundo fator com a maior significância. Interpreto o Brasil como uma sociedade que não é meritocrática, em virtude de o poder da educação escolar em modificar os resultados dos indivíduos em fase adulta ser estatisticamente inferior ao efeito da herança socioeconômica, ao assumir que existe uma corrida entre os indivíduos por recursos e que tudo começa antes mesmo do nascimento.

This paper explores how schools with students from power-marginalised positions—refugee, immigrant and working class—channel policy pressures in ways that aggravate students’ social-structural vulnerabilities. Drawing on interview data, we foreground voices of students who were selected into ‘accelerated’ academic programs in three Australian secondary schools. We relate their experiences and analyses to conceptual diagnoses of how historic conditions of current times are ‘cruel for optimism’ (Berlant), inciting social institutions to multiply ‘little miseries’ (Bourdieu), as meritocratic promises of upwardly mobile ‘opportunity bargains’ through schooling prove to be ‘opportunity traps’ (Brown). We highlight students’ pessimistic readings of likely futures in relation to school promises of ‘good futures’, as well as astute readings of how school competition strategies—caring for market ratings and reputations more than students—sort some to ‘achieve highly’ while chasing others, seen as ‘lesser-’ and ‘non-achieving’, onto devalued vocational paths and/or to other schools. We surface pressuring tactics that bear unequally, sometimes punitively, on differently sorted students. We conclude with suggestions for ethically re-purposed curriculum to engage all students—across diversities and working with teachers and community members—in practices of voice, participation and agency to address problems that matter for future life-with-others. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

O artigo tem como objetivo uma análise do contexto político e econômico verificado no Brasil a partir de 2016, tendo como foco a ascensão de Jair Bolsonaro. Mais especificamente, pretendemos analisar a relação entre as políticas de austeridade e a ideologia da extrema-direita, para tanto, utilizamos a noção de ideologia como categoria teórica. Como hipótese, o discurso patriótico e antipetista teria um duplo aspecto: o de mistificar os aspectos antipopulares das medidas de austeridade, por um lado, e o de politizar as propostas de austeridade, potencializando certas polarizações ideológicas que envolvem temas como meritocracia, corrupção, Estado, nação e “vermelhos”, por outro. A conceitualização sobre a ideologia, assim, tem papel importante no sentido de fundamentar seu duplo aspecto de mistificação e proposição de sentido.

This study utilizes interviews from 22 young female engineers from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds as they first entered the White and male-dominated engineering labor force with the goal of examining: (1) how these women endorsed a gender-blind frame that characterizes their workplaces as fundamentally meritocratic, and alternatively, (2) how they named gender as relevant or salient to experiences and interactions at work. Drawing on the insights of intersectional scholars to answer the previous questions, the study calls attention to how the invocation of these frames differed for women of color compared to their majority White female peers. Results revealed that most respondents strongly endorsed the idea that engineering workplaces are meritocratic and that their gender is not relevant. However, there is also evidence of racial divergence in the themes expressed. For example, some White women expressed a narrative contradictory to meritocracy, discussing their workplaces as like family, while in contrast, women of color often expressed uncomfortable experiences of standing out. Overall, the results suggest that female engineers’ tendency to disavow, either explicitly or implicitly, that discrimination and bias occurs in their workplaces, likely contributes to continued gender and racial inequality; subsequently, programs and interventions to facilitate awareness of inequality are critically needed.

A critical lever in the fight against poverty is to improve attitudes toward those living in poverty. Attempting to understand the factors that impact these attitudes, we ask: Does believing that meritocracy exists (descriptive meritocracy) sustain negative attitudes? Using cross-sectional (N = 301) and experimental (N = 439) methods, we found that belief in the United States as a meritocracy is associated with blaming people living in poverty and predicts negative attitudes toward them. Replicating and extending these findings, we experimentally manipulated beliefs in meritocracy and blame. Weakening American Dream beliefs predicted improved attitudes toward those in poverty. Understanding the nuanced role of belief systems in attitudes toward those in poverty provides strategies for promoting more positive thoughts and feelings.

For many public institutions, ‘doing diversity’ exists as a performative act; a dance choreographed through acts of policy espousing a laudable song based on equality. The reality is somewhat different when it comes to implementation, as lofty ambitions give way to impermanent initiatives that are both strategically and tonally off-key. Today, many universities across the UK express their egalitarian aims based on progressive and sometimes decolonising theories of change, but all fail to deliver the pragmatic praxis demanded by their staff, students and collaborative research partners. This should not be so, especially for British anthropology departments which have sufficient authority to implement the structural changes required to make themselves representative of the worlds they study. Looking at this matter from the perspective of ‘race’, this paper calls for a pedagogical rebalancing of our discipline. It suggests a revaluation of the utility of meritocratic systems of evaluation and the employment of permanent ‘native’ staff in strategic roles to displace structural enclaves of hegemonic ‘whiteness’ could be enough to transform anthropology departments from doing diversity - into being it.

The COVID‐19 pandemic is fundamentally affecting the world by challenging governments. Although most countries are still combating the virus, China, as the first plagued country, has basically contained the pandemic. This review article aims to analyze and explain how the Chinese government has achieved this task. By tracing the detailed timeline of the pandemic, it dissects the political meritocracy and policy integration of the Chinese government, which are the main reasons for its policy efficiency and effectiveness. Meritocracy requires the government and politicians to respect science, knowledge, evidence, rationality, and professionalism, particularly within the background of populism and anti‐intellectualism. In a pandemic, the Chinese experience of political meritocracy and policy integration may balance conflicting public values better than liberal democratic nations. Global solidarity and cooperation during this pandemic can be better achieved if Chinese politics and policies are deeply understood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Asian Politics & Policy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Are contemporary higher-status tastes inclusive, exclusive, or both? Recent work suggests that the answer likely is both. And yet, little is known concerning how configurations of such tastes are learned, upheld, and expressed without contradiction. We resolve this puzzle by showing the affordances of different levels of culture (i.e., genres and objects) in the expression of tastes. We rely on original survey data to show that people of higher status taste differently at different levels of culture: more inclusively for genres and more exclusively for objects. Inclusivity at the level of genres is fostered through familial socialization, and exclusivity at the level of objects is fostered through formal schooling. Individuals’ taste configurations are mirrored in and presumably reinforce their adult social-structural positions. The results have important implications for understanding the subtle maintenance of status in an increasingly diverse and putatively meritocratic society.

This study sought an insightful understanding of the effects of social meritocratic capital—an inevitable phenomenon/mechanism whereby individuals receive social recognition, respect, and other benefits due to their monetary achievement—on Southeast Asian migrant workers’ behaviours and their ingrained perceptions through investigating their life stories and inner voices reflecting the factors inducing them to participate in the prostitution world. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was employed to scrutinise the qualitative data collected from a series of in-depth interviews with four Southeast Asian migrant women in Taiwan. This study led to the following conclusions: (1) These migrant workers moved overseas due to their pure and simple intention of pursuing better lives for themselves and their family; (2) The internal factors (family reputation and wellbeing) and external ones (unexpected events and a meritocratic society) simultaneously pulled and pushed them, eventually turning them out of their normal careers; (3) They were stuck in the very depths of an extravagant but vicious world by the shock, even attraction, of “big money” characterising a meritocratic capitalist order; and (4) Innocence and ‘purity’ get lost easily, even unconsciously, in the social context of meritocratic capitalism and wishful rationalisation of questionable behaviours, flouting convention and morality, with self-sacrifice and compensation, and self-rationalisation.

The article deals with the issue of improving the principles of meritocracy in the state authorities of the Republic of Kazakhstan. At present, in an era of increasing inequality at the global level, it is very important to create a level playing field by improving public administration. The reform of the civil service will be aimed at its professionalization through improving the system of training of civil servants, increasing the attractiveness of the civil service and improving the management of human resources in the civil service. The basis for the formation of a professional civil service will be a new system of positions of civil servants, effective procedures for the selection of personnel for the civil service and a high-quality training program for civil servants focused on the best international practices of public administration.

Purpose – Meritocracy is a fundamental theory of equality, regardless of the innate or acquired attainment of any person, such as origin, religion, language. This is a system where there is equal opportunity, no discrimination and everyone is evaluated according to their abilities and skills. Organizational justice, on the other hand, focuses on the equity and justice in attitudes and behaviors towards oneself or others within the organization. In this study, the relationship between meritocracy and organizational justice is examined. In this context, it is aimed to determine the perceptions of meritocracy and organizational justice of public employees. Design/methodology/approach – A 3-stage questionnaire and scale were applied with random selection sampling method to 447 employees working in public institutions and organizations. The sample constitutes 40% of the population depicted. The questionnaire was applied to the participants in order to determine the demographic situation, the preference for the merit principle and the organizational justice scale to measure perceptions of meritocracy and organizational justice. Descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA test, correlation analysis and regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Findings – According to the results of the study, the meritocracy perception of the employees was below the average. It can be stated that the perception of public employees regarding equality of opportunity and merit is low. On the other hand, the perception of organizational justice has been calculated above the average. It is understood that the higher the perception of meritocracy, the higher the organizational justice. It has also been observed that the income obtained creates a difference in the perception of meritocracy. Discussion – The rightful criticism of female employees regarding the equality of opportunity within the organization and decision-makers not being fair compared to men should not be ignored. The importance given to concepts such as equality of opportunity in the workplace, fairness in rewarding, promotion opportunity and merit will contribute positively to the sense of justice of the employees.

Penelitian ini menginvestigasi pengalaman dari kelompok laki-laki dan perempuan dari Desa Sodong RW 15 dan RW 16 Desa Kertajaya Kabupaten Bandung Barat dalam pengambilan keputusan dan akses bantuan sosial tunai COVID-19 serta menganalisis berbagai faktor yang mempengaruhi partisipasi relative dengan menggunakan kerangka kerja analitik intereksionalitas. Metode penelitian yang digunakan berupa metode kualitatif dengan menggunakan data primer melalui wawancara semi terstruktur, FGD dan observasi informan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa laki-laki dan perempuan memiliki gap yang cukup signifikan dalam mengakses informasi sistem kesehatan dan perlindungan sosial. Peran perempuan diidentifikasi sebagai kelompok pasif dalam partisipasinya. Hal ini mengindikasikan bahwa kelompok perempuan hanya mengetahui tentang keputusan yang telah diambil, atau hanya menghadiri rapat dan mendengarkan dalam pengambilan keputusan. Narasi marjinalisasi dan dominasi muncul dalam penelitian ini, hal ini didorong oleh beragam faktor yang saling bersilangan seperti jenis kelamin, pendidikan, usia, kekayaan, meritokrasi dan kepribadian. Karakteristik marjinalisasi dalam temuan kajian ini bervariasi yang bergantung pada kombinasi sumber marginalisasi itu sendiri, seperti seseorang yang sudah berusia lanjut, tidak berpendidikan, perempuan, dan miskin lebih termarjinalkan dibandingkan dengan seseorang yang tidak berpendidikan dan miskin tetapi laki-laki. Semakin banyak faktor karakter marjinalisasi yang dimilki seseorang, semakin besar pengecualian dalam mengakses informasi sistem kesehatan dan perlindungan sosial COVID-19 secara keseluruhan. Studi ini juga mengungkapkan bahwa perempuan mengalami tingkat diskriminasi berbasis gender yang lebih tinggi, terutama karena wanita menjadi bagian dalam sistem patriarki yang dominan.

Prior empirical research on the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and meritocratic attitudes has yielded inconsistent findings. This study contributes to the existing literature by examining the heterogeneous relationship between SES and meritocratic beliefs and perceptions across community socioeconomic contexts in China. Using nationally representative data from the China Family Panel Studies, the results show that individual SES is positively related to support for meritocratic beliefs, but negatively associated with perceptions of meritocracy. Moreover, SES disparities in meritocratic beliefs are more salient in socioeconomically disadvantaged and unequal communities, where residents with relatively higher SES are more likely to hold meritocratic beliefs. In contrast, SES gaps in meritocratic perceptions are more significant in socioeconomically advantaged and homogeneous communities, where individuals with relatively lower SES are more likely to perceive the allocation of resources as meritocratic. These findings provide theoretical insights for understanding how self-interest and system justification theories may jointly explain social origin disparities in public attitudes about meritocracy.

Introducción. La universidad se presenta como un espacio caracterizado por la meritocracia y objetividad, tanto en el acceso como en la promoción laboral. Sin embargo, las mujeres continúan estando infrarrepresentadas en los espacios de poder y decisión. La literatura señala la existencia de múltiples factores que impiden la igualdad de oportunidades. Objetivo. En el presente trabajo, se pretende profundizar en la influencia de los condicionantes de índole organizacional en las trayectorias profesionales del profesorado. Se analiza la influencia de las redes informales en las carreras académicas en dos universidades, una italiana y otra española. Metodología. Para ello, se realizaron 48 entrevistas al cuerpo docente (24 de cada contexto, con igual distribución por sexos). Resultados. Los resultados muestran que elementos informales tienen influencia en los procesos de acceso y promoción de ambos sexos. Se constata también una tendencia hacia la homosociabilidad, de modo que la tradicional masculinización de las redes de poder favorece las trayectorias de los varones, afectando de un modo negativo a las carreras de las mujeres. Conclusiones y discusión. La imagen de la academia como un sistema neutral al género sigue vigente en el imaginario colectivo. La escasa concienciación acerca de la realidad se sitúa como una de las causas por las que continúa habiendo tan pocas mujeres en las principales posiciones. Este estudio contribuye a visibilizar las prácticas que dificultan o evitan que el mérito prevalezca y que la universidad se acerque a la ansiada excelencia académica.

This paper reframes the concept of competition, arguing that recent tendencies to frame it in the context of neoliberalism are too narrow to grasp its full significance. We need to see how it operates well beyond the capitalist economy, as a social and not just theoretical concept. I contextualise it in a deeper history, going back to the eighteenth century, beginning with an empirical examination of the development of the concept in English language dictionaries and encyclopaedias, using a method of ‘conceptual history’. I show how the concept, its grammatical forms, and characteristic associations have evolved substantially since the eighteenth century. This finding is placed in a broader explanatory context, arguing that it is the combined rise of a set of core institutions of modernity, not just capitalism but also democracy, adversarial law, science, and civil society, that deeply embeds competition in the modern world. The decline of aristocratic and religious authority, and the national subordination of martial power, opened the way for more ‘liberal’ forms of society in which authority is routinely contested through competition, across economy, politics, culture and beliefs. Appreciating this is a necessary step towards truly grappling with the effects of competition on modern life.

This article offers an original empirical and theoretically grounded examination of the English Football League’s (EFL) Voluntary Recruitment Code (VRC): a positive action intervention designed to establish inclusive practices of coach recruitment and increase the representation of minoritised coaches in first team coaching operations at men’s professional football clubs in England. In doing so, it draws on semi-structured interviews with Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) at clubs (n = 5), football stakeholder representatives (n = 14) and minoritised coaches (n = 26) to ascertain their perceptions, experiences, and reflections in relation to three inter-connected areas of focus. Firstly, the operational and attitudinal implementation of the VRC at clubs. Secondly, the effectiveness of the VRC in engendering its intended operational and representational impacts at clubs. Thirdly, critical reflections as to the ways in which the VRC might be reformulated and reimplemented to stimulate the conditions through which equality of opportunities, experiences, and outcomes for minoritised coaches might be realised. Finally, the article will conclude from a Critical Race Theory (CRT) perspective that racial equality measures of this kind should be strongly interventionist and transformational in their policy intentions and ideological scope, and seek to challenge and disrupt dominant liberal discourses of meritocracy, race-neutrality, colour-blindness, and the normativity of Whiteness in professional football coaching contexts. In doing so, the article calls on the EFL to work consultatively with member clubs, football stakeholders, and minoritised coaches to develop a holistic legislative and pedagogical approach to tackling racialised inequities in football coaching, which incorporate strongly regulated and reformatory positive actions.

This is the final draft, after peer-review, of a manuscript published in Cambridge Journal of Education. The published version is available online at http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/0305764X.2021.1910204

If British academic memoirs disclosed the personal origins of professional careers, they also became themselves intellectual performances subject to critical disciplinary judgment. Ambiguity, irony...

Meritocracy, in which success depends on ability and effort, is a desirable goal for sport, even if sport does not achieve this goal perfectly. However, even in a meritocracy whether athletes deser...

A growing number of businesses are focusing on diversity and inclusion efforts. Amidst this recent interest, scholars have sought to understand the ideologies that perpetuate inequality, concentrating primarily on the hierarchy-enhancing ideologies that antiegalitarians leverage to maintain inequality. However, we suggest that the hierarchy-enhancing beliefs typically associated with antiegalitarians (e.g., stereotypes, meritocracy) sometimes appeal to people at the opposite end of the ideological pole: egalitarians. Across four preregistered studies, we demonstrate that when hierarchy-enhancing myths may support practices aimed at promoting organizational diversity, egalitarians increasingly endorse these myths that they typically reject. When essentialism (Study 1), the Protestant work ethic (Study 2), and gender stereotypes (Study 4) supported organizational diversity, egalitarians increasingly endorsed these beliefs. They also exhibited scientific skepticism when findings jeopardized affirmative action efforts (Study 3). These findings illustrate that, ironically, pro-diversity goals can encourage egalitarians to mobilize and endorse beliefs that are typically associated with antiegalitarians and the justification of inequality.

Este artigo busca relacionar a sociedade anômica descrita pelo sociólogo Robert King Merton com o paradigma jurídico da modernidade, adotado nos países latino-americanos desde a colonização. O objetivo deste estudo é repensar o direito para além da tecnicidade jurídica, a fim de reaproximar esse campo do saber com outras fontes de conhecimento, como a filosofia e a antropologia. Trabalha-se com o conceito de anomia de Merton, visto que na sociedade anômica os membros das classes menos favorecidas serão sempre concebidos como perigosos e dignos de repressão estatal. Quanto à Constituição de 1988, faz-se uma crítica, posto que institucionalizou a meritocracia, sem garantir aos mais necessitados a igualdade de oportunidades iniciais. Conclui-se que há a necessidade de se tipificar novos direitos e sujeitos de direito por meio da reformulação do paradigma jurídico da modernidade, como aconteceu com as Constituições do Equador de 2008 e da Bolívia de 2009, de forma a garantir as metas culturais para toda a população.

Among the sources that reflect the transformations occurred in the imperial ideology during the 3rd-4th centuries, we find the speeches uttered between 289 and 389 in official and solemn circumstances by orators from Gallia (some of them anonymous), reunited since the Antiquity in the corpus entitled Panegyrici Latini. A special place in this respect is occupied by the divine nature of the emperor. The biography on the matter is rather consistent, but we may still add to the discussion an aspect that has not been approached thus far, and that I will approach in this paper, namely the relation between the princeps and the elements of nature. The analysis of the paragraphs concerning the control over the physical universe by the sovereigns allows the emphasis on aesthetical formulas through which the orators have accentuated certain defining elements of the ideology conveyed using their discourses – the cosmocratic rulership, exceptional civilian and military powers, legitimate election, the consensus between the Court and the provincial political circles. The sections of the paper are based on these aspects: 1. Maximianus – fortitudo; fortuna; felicitas; 2. Constantius and the providentia; 3. Constantine – utilitas publica; virtus; princeps salutaris; 4. Theodosius and the meritocratic principality.

This article reports on the findings from a qualitative, longitudinal study on lay perceptions of opportunity structures among young adults in Denmark. Previous research suggests that people often underestimate the extent of inequality and that rising inequality aggravates misperceptions. Our study deepens the understanding of the multi-layered processes that form meritocratic beliefs, and it identifies key factors at the macro-, meso- and micro-level. A macro-level factor that proved influential was a cultural script revolving around the Danish lay concept, social arv [social inheritance]. At the meso level, the factor of reference groups in socio-economic heterogeneous schools was instrumental for formations of inequality perceptions, but in dissimilar ways depending on micro-level subjective factors. Overall, the participants viewed the free educational system in Denmark as part of a welfare system that equalises opportunity structures in principle, while the majority simultaneously exhibited a nuanced awareness of social forces negating meritocracy in practice.

Bong Joon-Ho’s film Parasite was remarkable for being a foreign film that took home multiple Academy Awards in February of 2020, making waves for its potent message about class divide and wealth inequality in South Korea. Bong Joon-Ho makes a very clear point throughout the film of emphasizing this class inequality, especially through the production and consumption of food by either party. In this essay, I analyze the ways in which food throughout the film symbolizes the divide between rich and poor, then take these scenes and use contemporary research to further build on how food is a signifier of class and wealth universally. From the Kim family sitting around a small kitchen table eating what looks like food from a vending machine, to using a fruit someone is allergic to as a weapon against them, there is a clear indication consistently throughout the film of food as a signifier of status and class. From this point, I will take this divide and analyze its significance to the modern culture and society of South Korea, then further apply this to its relevancy in a modern United States wherein this current wealth gap is also increasingly apparent. Parasite was a foreign film that flourished in American society—both are countries wherein a capitalist ‘meritocracy’ rules for the most part, and an analysis of the culture around the film will show the ways in which the cultures that consumed this media are similar in their class divides.

In this study we ask the question to what extent 19th-century university professors were a closed occupational group in the sense that they had little intergenerational and marriage mobility. We do so in honor of Kees Mandemakers, who is about to retire as a professor, but whose younger family members may follow in his footsteps. We derive competing hypotheses from cultural capital theory and the meritocracy thesis and test them using civil marriage records for the period 1813–1922 in six Dutch provinces (N = 1,180,976 marriages). Although only 4.4% of all university professors had a father in the same occupation, the odds ratio of 331 shows that this is much more likely than to be expected under independence. Similarly, professors were much more likely to marry the daughter of a professor. Compared to other elite occupations the intergenerational immobility of professors was not especially high, but their marriage immobility was exceptional. Cultural capital theory receives more support than the meritocracy thesis. We hope that Mandemakers, Mandemakers and Mandemakers will accept the challenge and investigate whether these findings can be generalized to contemporary society.

O neoliberalismo se pauta principalmente na questão das liberdades individuais e de oportunidades iguais. No entanto, estudos das manifestações reais da doutrina neoliberal evidenciam uma lacuna entre os benefícios esperados do livre mercado e seu funcionamento de fato. Esse ensaio busca entender essas contradições do neoliberalismo, explorando a maneira pela qual o discurso neoliberal forjou um afastamento entre o Estado e o indivíduo sobre a premissa das liberdades individuais. Com isso, o objetivo é entender como o discurso individualista neoliberal leva ao boicote do papel do Estado e fomenta a desigualdade estrutural. Essa investigação é feita de maneira teórica e qualitativa, com base em um procedimento de revisão bibliográfica. Explora-se a origem do neoliberalismo enquanto ideologia econômica, as suas incompatibilidades na teoria e na prática, a promoção neoliberal do individualismo e o consequente afastamento entre indivíduo e Estado. Conclui-se que o individualismo e a meritocracia pregados pela doutrina neoliberal resultam em uma responsabilização do indivíduo para atuar como empreendedor de si em detrimento da ação e política governamental, em última análise servindo ao interesse privado e acentuando a desigualdade socioeconômica.

In Japan, neoliberal discourses rationalize English language proficiency as a pathway to meritocratic reward and success in the global knowledge economy. With this ideology in mind, this review engages the market orientation of English domestically and the causative implications of class-distinguished capital. Specifically, Bourdieu’s theory of social reproduction is employed to foster comprehension of Japanese foreign language policies in which English substantiates itself as a valuable source of cultural investment. Notwithstanding the supposedly meritocratic intention of the Japanese state, this study concludes that credentialism, hierarchization, and marketization function in concert with a survival of the fittest corollary that, per globalized ideological-discursive assumptions, constrains agency through the justification of ELL as a vocational and civic moral worth. This conflation of internationalization and Englishization is better understood as an instrument of dominance, with the agency to participate in ELL interlocking with an incontrovertible doxa that rationalizes the economic, social, and political hierarchy.

Some scholars view guanxi as having an important role in social transactions in Chinese societies, while others view guanxi as a problematic practice associated with unfairness and inequality. We p...

Purpose: Adolescents with higher socioeconomic status (SES) report better mental health. The strength of the association-the "social gradient in adolescent mental health"-varies across countries, with stronger associations in countries with greater income inequality. Country-level meritocratic beliefs (beliefs that people get what they deserve) may also strengthen the social gradient in adolescent mental health; higher SES may be more strongly linked to adolescent's perceptions of capability and respectful treatment. Methods: Using data from 11-15 year olds across 30 European countries participating in the 2013/ 2014 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (n = 131,101), multilevel regression models with cross-level interactions examined whether country-level meritocratic beliefs moderated the association between two individual-level indicators of SES, family affluence and perceived family wealth, and three indicators of adolescent mental health (life satisfaction, psychosomatic complaints, and aggressive behavior). Results: For family affluence, in some countries, there was a social gradient in adolescent mental health, but in others the social gradient was absent or reversed. For perceived family wealth, there was a social gradient in adolescent life satisfaction and psychosomatic complaints in all countries. Country-level meritocratic beliefs moderated associations between SES and both life satisfaction and psychosomatic complaints: in countries with stronger meritocratic beliefs associations with family affluence strengthened, while associations with perceived family wealth weakened. Conclusions: Country-level meritocratic beliefs moderate the associations between SES and adolescent mental health, with contrasting results for two different SES measures. Further understanding of the mechanisms connecting meritocratic beliefs, SES, and adolescent mental health is warranted. (C) 2020 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Resumo Neste trabalho se realiza uma revisão de literatura sobre o valor meritocracia nas sociedades contemporâneas e nas organizações. Relacionamos o valor meritocracia a um modelo de gestão de pessoas baseado em competências (modelo estratégico de gestão de pessoas), onde são definidos objetivos e metas claras de forma transparente com equipes de trabalho e indivíduos e realizada uma avaliação de desempenho segundo critérios claros previamente estabelecidos e, quando apurado o mérito, o mesmo é reconhecido com base em remuneração diferenciada para indivíduos e equipes, além de ser reconhecido o mérito de forma simbólica. Ressalta-se que um sistema meritocrático e uma gestão por competências reforçam o sentimento de justiça social nas organizações e equidade e as relações de confiança no sistema. Depois de realizada uma pesquisa, onde foram entrevistados 17 executivos alunos do Mestrado Profissional em Administração, em uma organização de ensino de excelência, constatou-se que 53% dos mesmos trabalham em empresas consideradas meritocráticas por eles e 36% em empresas parcialmente meritocráticas e 11% em empresas onde não existe nenhum reconhecimento de mérito. Analisaram-se as causas destes resultados, propondo-se soluções para o aprimoramento destes sistemas.

Race is fraught with meaning, but unequal status is central. Race–status associations (RSAs) link White Americans with high status and Black Americans with low status. RSAs could occur via observation of racially distributed jobs, perceived status-related stereotypic attributes, or simple ranking. Nine samples (N = 3,933) validate 3 novel measures of White = high status/Black = low status RSAs—based on jobs, rank, and attributes. First, RSA measures showed clear factor structure, internal validity, and test–retest reliability. Second, these measures differentially corresponded to White Americans’ hierarchy-maintaining attitudes, beliefs, and preferences. Potentially based on observation, the more spontaneous Job-based RSAs predicted interracial bias, social dominance orientation, meritocracy beliefs, and hierarchy-maintaining hiring or policy preferences. Preference effects held after controlling for bias and support for the status quo. In contrast, the more deliberate Rank- and Attribute-based RSAs negatively predicted hierarchy-maintaining beliefs and policy preferences; direct inferences of racial inequality linked to preferences for undoing it. Third, Black = low status, rather than White = high status, associations largely drove these effects. Finally, Black Americans also held RSAs; Rank- or Attribute-based RSAs predicted increased perceived discrimination, reduced social dominance, and reduced meritocracy beliefs. Although individuals’ RSAs vary, only White Americans’ Job-based stratifying associations help maintain racial status hierarchies. Theory-guided evidence of race–status associations introduces powerful new assessment tools. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)