John Robert Williams

While academic cronyism is an acknowledged phenomenon it is rarely the subject of research in higher education except by reference to staff recruitment and academic in-breeding. It constitutes a ‘wicked’ problem that is complex to understand and investigate since it is based on networks of individuals that are grounded on reciprocal professional benefits that are often private or at least partly hidden from view. Drawing on social network theory, this paper demonstrates how academic cronyism works by reference to journal special issues developing illustrative case studies of relationships between authors and special issue editors. Publicly available data from journal home pages, journal special issues, individual bibliometrics, citation systems and social media are used to trace prior and current authorship relationships between contributors to journal special issues. The case studies indicate that academic social networks are a significant factor in respect to journal special issues providing a strong prima facie indicator of academic cronyism. While some journals use the standard peer review process for special issues based on open calls for papers others use irregular procedures and operate a closed system that promotes academic cronyism. It is recommended that a set of principles labeled ‘CORE’ –consistency, openness, rigour, and equity – should be adopted by journals to protect the integrity of journal special issues.

Chris Fraser presents a rich and broad-ranging study of the culminating period of classical Chinese philosophy, the third century BC. He offers novel and informative perspectives on Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism, Legalism, and other movements in early Chinese thought while also delving into neglected texts such as the Guanzi, Lu's Annals, and the Zhuangzi 'outer' chapters, restoring them to their prominent place in the history of philosophy. Fraser organizes the history of Chinese thought topically, devoting separate chapters to metaphysics and metaethics, political philosophy, ethics, moral psychology, epistemology, and philosophy of language and logic. Focused specifically on the last century of the Warring States era, arguably the most vibrant, diverse period of philosophical discourse in Chinese history, the discussion covers the shared concerns, rival doctrines, and competing criticisms presented in third-century BC sources. Fraser explicates the distinctive issues, conceptual frameworks, and background assumptions of classical Chinese thought. He aims to introduce the philosophical discourse of early China to a broad audience, including readers with no prior familiarity with the material. At the same time, the thematic treatment and incisive interpretations of individual texts will be of interest to students and specialists in the field.