The Library
What’s observed in a rating? Rankings as orientation in the face of uncertainty
Tools
Tools
Tools
Esposito, Elena and Stark, David (2019) What’s observed in a rating? Rankings as orientation in the face of uncertainty. Theory, Culture & Society, 36 (4). pp. 3-26. doi:10.1177/0263276419826276 ISSN 0263-2764.
|
PDF
WRAP-whats-observed-rating-rankings-uncertainty-Stark-2018.pdf - Accepted Version - Requires a PDF viewer. Download (531Kb) | Preview |
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276419826276
Abstract
Ratings and rankings are criticized for being simplistic, obscurantist, inaccurate, and subjective, yet they are becoming an increasingly influential social form. We elaborate the criticisms of ratings and rankings in various fields but go on to argue that analysis should shift its target. The problem that ratings deal with is not observation of an independent world. Instead, the challenge they face is the circularity of second - order observation in which observations must take into account the observations of others. To this purpose they function well enough not because they mirror how things are but because they offer a highly visible reference point to which others are attentive and thereby provide an orientation to navigate uncertainty. The concluding section places the problem of ratings and rankings in a broader historical perspective contrasting the ranked society to the society of rankings. Responding to uncertainty, ratings and rankings perpetuate rather than eliminate anxiety.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HM Sociology | ||||||||
| Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies | ||||||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Universities and colleges -- Ratings and rankings, Hospitals -- Ratings and rankings, Restaurants -- Ratings and rankings, Songs -- Ratings and rankings, Motion pictures -- Ratings and rankings, Electronic books -- Ratings and rankings, Pizza -- Ratings and rankings | ||||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Theory, Culture & Society | ||||||||
| Publisher: | Sage Publications Ltd. | ||||||||
| ISSN: | 0263-2764 | ||||||||
| Official Date: | 1 July 2019 | ||||||||
| Dates: |
|
||||||||
| Volume: | 36 | ||||||||
| Number: | 4 | ||||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 3-26 | ||||||||
| DOI: | 10.1177/0263276419826276 | ||||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
| Reuse Statement (publisher, data, author rights): | Esposito, E., & Stark, D. (2019). What’s Observed in a Rating? Rankings as Orientation in the Face of Uncertainty. Theory, Culture & Society, 36(4), 3–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276419826276. Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.http://www.theoryculturesociety.org/ | ||||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||||
| Description: | Our thanks to the participants in the workshop on “Performances of Value” at the University of Bologna, January 2017 |
||||||||
| Date of first compliant deposit: | 10 January 2019 | ||||||||
| Date of first compliant Open Access: | 15 January 2019 | ||||||||
| RIOXX Funder/Project Grant: |
|
||||||||
| Related URLs: |
Request changes or add full text files to a record
Repository staff actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
Downloads
Downloads per month over past year
