Governance of science in mediatized society : media rankings and the translation of global governance models for universities

This chapter discusses the concept of mediatization as influencing governing conditions for science and scientific activities in contemporary society. By way of illustrating the increasing prominence and importance of media rankings in promoting global ideas about assessment and evaluation of academic institutions, we suggest that rankings package global governance models and ideals into a mediatized form, entailing, in turn, three forms of translation processes: simplification, standardization, and popularization. These forms of translation have implications not only for the stakeholders’ perceptions of universities and for what ideals and aspirations are incorporated into university governance, but also for the way we understand the processes in which glocalization takes place.