Epistemic modesty,ostentatiousness and the uncertainties of epigenetics: on the knowledge machinery of (social) science

Epigenetic processes are garnering attention in the social sciences, where some scholars assert their importance for theorizing social life. I engage with such ideas here by drawing on interviews with leading bioscientists. To begin with, I underscore the (productive) uncertainties of those working in and around epigenetics; I describe these as a manifestation of ‘epistemic modesty’, and suggest that dissensus helps to propel biomedical innovation. Then, drawing on the concept of ‘alien science’, I detail some researchers’ ambivalences regarding the notion of ‘transgenerational inheritance’; their dissatisfaction with the (public) communication practices of other scientists (situated in what I term a regime of ‘epistemic ostentatiousness’); and the challenges faced when moderating societal discussion of epigenetics in ways that expand excitement whilst deflating (what researchers regard as) unrealistic expectations. The paper concludes with reflections on the knowledge machinery of the (social) sciences, and employs the study data to interrogate sociological engagements with epigenetics.     

Entering into,staying, and being active in a group of football supporters: a procedural analysis of engagement. The case of supporters of a French football club

In football (or soccer) stadiums, one of the ends (virages in French, or curve in Italian) brings together the most organized and ardent fans who support their team manu et voce. This article aims to define the dynamics leading individuals to become a part of a group of supporters, an engagement conceived of according to a sequential process. Through a qualitative inquiry, results show the importance of the relational networks in the process of engagement in this type of organization. Moreover, friendly interaction and the levels of sociability encountered over the course of action as part of supporting make up as much incentive to activism as may be understood in the condition of being set back in the general framework of the supporters' careers. The article ends with a discussion on the use of the sociology of collective action and mobilization in order to study the world of football supporters.     

Engaging stakeholders through Twitter: How nonprofit organizations are getting more out of 140 characters or less

While it may seem difficult to communicate in a meaningful manner with 140 characters or less, Twitter users have found creative ways to get the most out of each Tweet by using different communication tools. This paper looks into how 73 nonprofit organizations use Twitter to engage stakeholders not only through their tweets, but also through other various communication methods. Specifically it looks into the organizations utilization of tweet frequency, following behavior, hyperlinks, hashtags, public messages, retweets, and multimedia files. After analyzing 4655 tweets, the study found that the nation's largest nonprofits are not using Twitter to maximize stakeholder involvement. Instead, they continue to use social media as a one-way communication channel as less than 20% of their total tweets demonstrate conversations and roughly 16% demonstrate indirect connections to specific users.     

Female Perceptions of Organizational Justice

This study examines women's conceptualization of the pervasive construct of organizational justice. A comprehensive four factor model was used to represent organizational justice while outcome variables were the important employee attitudes of job satisfaction, organizational commitment and turnover intentions. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse responses from 301 male and 147 female respondents. Differences were found for procedural, interpersonal and informational justices. It would appear female and male employees have differing responses to perceptions of justice. Justice had a diffuse effect for males, but not for females. For men, interpersonal justice predicted an increase in organizational commitment while procedural justice predicted a decrease in turnover intentions. For female employees, informational justice was found to increase commitment and reduce turnover intentions. The study highlights the need for all justice factors to be considered and for sex differences to be considered in future justice research.     

婚约的性质和效力

婚约作为人类社会中一项法律制度,有着悠久的历史,在我国可追溯到西周。由于立法者对婚约的误读,我国现行婚姻法没有对婚约作出立法规定,而在我们现实生活中婚约仍然大量存在,并呈现出不同于古代婚约的许多新特征。就婚约性质而言,婚约是具有一定效果意思的表示行为,具有伦理性的特点,宜归为亲属法上的契约;就婚约的效力特征来说,基于对自由价值的保护,婚约作为一种亲属法上的契约,其权能受到限制,不得基于婚约提起缔结婚姻的诉讼或者缔结婚姻的判决不予执行,无强制力,因此,是类似自然债务的不完全债权。     

Coparenting and Relationship Quality Effects on Father Engagement: Variations by Residence,Romance

We focused on coparenting support, partner relationship quality, and father engagement in families with young children that did not change structurally over 4 years of participation in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study (N = 1,756). There was a significantly stronger and more robust positive association between fathers' perceived coparenting support at age 1 and father engagement at age 3 among nonresidential nonromantic parents compared with residential (married or cohabiting) and nonresidential romantic parents. There was a significantly stronger and positive association between relationship quality at age 1 and father engagement at age 3 among nonresidential nonromantic parents compared with residential parents. The findings emphasize the importance of considering both family structure and romantic involvement contexts of fathering when tracking father engagement over time.     

Privileged policies versus lack of care and engagement: the lives of retired veteran cadres in a residential community of Jinan Municipal Party Committee,China

Abstract

The Retirement System for Veteran Cadres (Lixiu) is one part of China’s dual-track retirement system. According to some official policies, retired veteran cadres should enjoy a number of privileges in terms of pension, health care, use of government vehicle, housing and peculiar political rights. Based on participant observation and semi-structured interview, the study looks into the life of the population in a residential community of Jinan Municipal Party Committee, Shandong Province. By incorporating Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, the study finds that in China, services for retired cadres still fall short of the expectations of policy. Establishment of ‘big communities’ with the idea of ageing-in-place is suggested.     

In the path of heroes: second-generation Tamil-Canadians after the LTTE

This paper explores how second-generation Tamil-Canadian university students have modified their ‘cultural heritage’ in the period after the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009. Using a generational framework suggested by the work of Karl Mannheim, I show that the events of May 2009 situated second-generation Tamil-Canadian political activism as a response to the ambivalence of their parents to the conflict in Sri Lanka. Second-generation Tamil-Canadians are also shown to have altered the key LTTE symbol of the Maaveerar (great hero) to better fit a transnational social field that is framed by the new realities of post-LTTE Sri Lanka and by intolerance to imported conflict in Canada. I argue that the Tamil second generation is highly engaged with the politics of their cultural identity, and that this engagement may have a lasting influence on transnational Tamil identity and on the political status of the Tamil community within Canada.     

关于事业单位企业化管理的思考

简要介绍了我国事业单位的现状,分析了我国事业单位的复杂性、多样性以及冗员过多、机制僵化、活力不足和内外部条件尚不充分等深化改革面临的诸多问题。由此提出了事业单位企业化管理的对策措施,主要包括:创造良好的内外部环境,制定相应的法律制度,实现政府公共性的多样化,打破身份职称界限,全面实行聘用制,建立岗位、绩效工资制等。