The Flexibility of Scientific Rhetoric: A Case Study of UFO Researchers

The case of ufology demonstrates that cultural packaging—a sort of once-removed indication of scientific authority—can be key in creating knowledge accepted as scientific. This adds a new dimension to the argument that scientific legitimacy is constructed, not just from scientific methodologies and institutional location, but also of language, culture, rhetoric, and symbols. Fringe researchers can make their cases for legitimacy using a variety of strategies—few of which involve actual research. Outside of the scientific community, scientific-sounding explanations and proclamations of expert statuses hold sway. Ambiguities about what constitutes science can be capitalized upon by groups like the UFO research community that assembles shards of legitimacy using science as a cultural template.     

上海某郊区外来青年社会融入度分析

针对大量流入上海的外来青年存在的社会融入问题,选取在上海某郊区工作的368名外来青年进行问卷调查,从经济、社会、心理三个层面考察了他们的社会融入状况.经研究发现,外来青年在城市社会融入上具有滞后性、渐变性和长期性、兼容性、差异性等特点,并存在角色身份错位、关系网络构建边缘化以及社区归属感模糊等困难和问题.据此提出了相应的对策.     

Large scale communication networks—Design and analysis

The paper discusses the problem of design and analysis of large scale communication systems. An iterative process, composed of a minimum cost network design algorithm and a network performance algorithm, is presented for the solution of these problems. Computational considerations, using these algorithms, are discussed.     

‘Bad Therapy’ as a Training Technique: An Empirical Analysis

The purpose of the present study was to gather empirical data to examine the usefulness of an intriguing training technique called “bad therapy”. The technique, developed by Lang (1980, 1982), is utilized in a role-play setting for experienced therapists who are having difficulty with specific clients showing little improvement. The therapist is instructed to disregard his or her usual style of treatment, and instead, within a role-play format with a colleague who plays the part of a client, to try an alternative style of treatment. This new treatment, termed “bad therapy”, instructs the therapist to try to make the client worse rather than better. Interestingly, reports from both the role-play therapist and client indicate that the “bad therapy” session was considered more beneficial than the therapist's usual mode of treatment. As well as empirically investigating Lang's assertion, the present study also attempted to look at different perspectives of bad therapy. Is “bad therapy” a directive to be harmful and destructive, or is it a suggestion to be more daring and to take more risks? Subjects were 56 therapists who formed twenty eight pairs of therapist-client dyads. First, each pair conducted a “session” where the therapist performed his or her typical therapy. Then, therapists in one group (N= 11) were given directives to try to make their clients worse rather than better (“destructive” set), while therapists in another group (N=11) were told to say and do things that they wished to, but never dared (“daring” set). Finally, six therapists were told to simply repeat their usual type of therapy (“control” set). Results indicated that clients perceived the destructive and daring groups differently with the daring group being perceived more favourably, yet more authoritarian. Similarly, therapists perceived the daring and control groups more positively than the destructive group. The results are discussed in terms of training techniques and current trends in psychotherapy.     

Multiobjective investment planning under uncertainty

In this paper we consider the relevance of various planning methods and decision criteria to multiobjective investment planning under uncertainty. Assuming that a natural reaction to uncertainty is to operate so as to leave open as many good options as possible (as opposed to maximizing subjective expected utility) we argue that the planning process should concentrate on analyzing the effects of the initial decision, and that for this exercise the classical methods of mixed integer programming are inappropriate. We demonstrate how the technique of dynamic programming can be extended to take account of multiple objectives and use dynamic programming as a framework in which we analyze the robustness of an initial decision in the face of various types of uncertainty. In so doing we also analyze the risks involved in both the planning and decision making functions.     

直线型再制造供应链决策结构的效率分析

将直线型再制造供应链分为5种不同的决策结构,研究了该供应链在不同决策结构下的收益以及与集成式"超组织"结构相比的效率损失.结果表明:回收物品的潜在期望收益是回收行为的驱动因素;销售商对生产商批发价的决定权越大,该决策结构就越有效,效率损失也越小;收益分享是实现逆供应链成员"双赢"目的的有效策略.     

Three Models of Conflict Resolution: Effects on Intergroup Expectancies and Attitudes

Gordon Allport (1960) once noted that there are many different approaches to conflict resolution, but that few empirical studies have been conducted to examine their effectiveness. This experiment was designed to evaluate the distributive bargaining, integrative bargaining, and interactive problem solving models of conflict resolution, using intergroup expectancies and attitudes as dependent measures. Jewish and Arab students were paired into mixed-ethnicity dyads to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian dispute about Jerusalem according to one of the three models. It was hypothesized that dyad members using the interactive problem solving model would become the least pessimistic about the conflict, and would show the greatest positive change in their attitudes toward members of the other ethnic group. The results support these predictions, and help to make up for the paucity of research on the assessment of conflict resolution strategies.     

More than just nickels and dimes: a cross-national analysis of working poverty in affluent democracies

Despite its centrality to contemporary inequality, working poverty is often popularly discussed but rarely studied by sociologists. Using the Luxembourg Income Study (2009), we analyze whether an individual is working poor across 18 affluent democracies circa 2000. We demonstrate that working poverty does not simply mirror overall poverty and that there is greater cross-national variation in working than overall poverty. We then examine four explanations for working poverty: demographic characteristics, economic performance, unified theory, and welfare generosity. We utilize Heckman probit models to jointly model the likelihood of employment and poverty among the employed. Our analyses provide the least support for the economic performance explanation. There is modest support for unified theory as unionization reduces working poverty in some models. However, most of these effects appear to be mediated by welfare generosity. More substantial evidence exists for the demographic characteristics and welfare generosity explanations. An individual's likelihood of being working poor can be explained by (a) a lack of multiple earners or other adults in one's household, low education, single motherhood, having children and youth; and (b) the generosity of the welfare state in which he or she resides. Also, welfare generosity does not undermine employment and reduces working poverty even among demographically vulnerable groups. Ultimately, we encourage a greater role for the welfare state in debates about working poverty.     

Anti‐Racism in Movement: Afro‐Brazilian Afoxé and Contemporary Black Brazilian Struggles for Equality

This paper examines the Afro‐Brazilian afoxé as a form of cultural struggle that critically contests narratives and practices that reproduce racial inequality in contemporary Brazil. Through their afoxé in the interior of São Paulo, the Orùnmilá Cultural Center mobilizes Afro‐Brazilian knowledge and cultural practices to challenge culturalist treatments of Afro‐Brazilian “difference” in the management and representation of carnaval. I explore how such treatments reflect broader state‐orchestrated attempts to undermine black anti‐racism and the implementation of substantive policies to address racial inequality in various spheres, including education and culture. The afoxé and the Orùnmilá Center's broader work constitute an important, contemporary means through which black organizations in Brazil make visible and vocal public claims for representation and self‐determination. Such work pushes policy‐makers and academics to reinterpret the terms of black inclusion vis‐à‐vis subaltern or “other” cultures, historical experiences, perspectives, and participation in societal transformation.