Progress and cumulation in the human sciences after the fall

What do we mean by progress and cumulation in the social and human sciences? Recent thinking in the philosophy and history of science has led to an abandonment of some versions of logical positivism and of verificationism that had a strong deductive and theory testing orientation. What is to replace them is less clear. This paper argues that progress and cumulation can be seen as a process of evaluation and retention within an epistemic community. Scholarly disciplines differ in their social structure and in their epistemic and normative commitments. Since sociology is a fragmented discipline, progress and cumulation differ within its multiple subdisciplines, which to varying extents represent epistemic communities. Brief sketches of progress (advance) and cumulation in several subdisciplines are offered.     

Conditioning effect of prior reputation on perception of corporate giving

Prior corporate reputation, one responsibility of a public relations department, affects public perceptions toward corporate philanthropic messages and ultimately affects public attitudes toward the company. Using an experiment that emulates the sort of news consumption individuals normally undertake, participants inferred corporate charitable giving as a mutually beneficial activity when a company had a good reputation (H1a). Participants inferred corporate charitable giving as a self-interested activity when the company had a bad reputation (H1b). Also, public inference (suspicion) successfully mediated corporate prior reputation on public attitude toward the company (H2). Participants showed positive attitude toward the company when they inferred the company had an altruistic motive for charitable giving (H3a). However, participants showed negative attitude toward the company when they inferred the company had a self-interested motive for charitable giving (H3b).     

In Memoriam: Emeritus Professor Henry Oliver Lancaster, AO FAA 1 February 1913 – 2 December 2001

The death, in Sydney, of Oliver Lancaster marks the end of an era in the histories of the Statistical Society of Australia, which (in its previous existence as the Statistical Society of New South Wales) he helped found in 1947, and of the Australian Journal of Statistics of which he was founding editor (1959–1971). Oliver Lancaster was Foundation Professor of Mathematical Statistics at the University of Sydney (1959–1978), where he spent his life as student and academic. During his academic career, he achieved scholarly distinction in at least four fields: mathematical statistics, medical and public health statistics, the history of medicine and of statistics, and statistical bibliography. With E.J.G. Pitman (1897–1993), M.H. Belz (1897–1975), E.A. Cornish (1909–1973) and P.A.P. Moran (1917–1988) he was part of a cohort of renowned Australian mathematical statisticians who laid the foundation of the glory days of Australian mathematical statistics. This obituary and tribute focuses on some of these aspects, within a broader historical picture.     

近代女子教育的发展及其蕴含的社会意义

20世纪上半期中国社会正处于急剧变革的时代。在教育向近代化的转型过程中,女子教育开始了缓慢的发展,但是,存在的现实是：女子文盲率居高不下,成为当时迫切解决的社会问题之一。其所带来的社会意义是十分深远的,严重阻碍了个人及其整个社会向近代化的转型．文盲问题的解决任重道远。     

"中国哲学史"的歧义与中国哲学的未来

中国哲学史的未来建设要处理如下一些问题:哲学和哲学史的关系;一般和个别的关系;中国概念中包含的古今中西以及文化、地理和阶级性的关系;哲学与科学、宗教的关系;当代史和本来的历史的关系等问题。     

《汉学师承记》的学术史价值

清代乾嘉时期学术考证名家辈出,成果丰硕,治学方法迥异于前代。江藩《汉学师承记》的著成,客观上正符合对此进行适时总结之需要。本书第一次将乾嘉考证学作为学术史的重要的发展作了总结性的考察,梳理出其演进的脉络,评价其意义,此一总结性研究从整个清代而言未有出其右者。此书又一成功之处,是不停留在论述学者的生平行事和著述的主要内容等项,并且着力摹写他们的治学特色和精神风貌。     

社会史论战的先声——《新生命》杂志对中国社会结构的探讨

20世纪20年代末30年代初,《新生命》杂志作者群体围绕着中国社会结构进行过一场讨论,可以视之为其后中国社会史论战的先导。这次讨论最大的特点,是关注中国社会及其社会史的特殊性,而不是共同性;所用的方法是社会学的方法,包括马克思主义的社会学。在探讨中国社会结构问题时,《新生命》杂志是一份既非反对唯物史观,也不是完全意义上坚持唯物史观的刊物。     

从天命史观向社会进化史观的过渡--论清代学人为中国社会自我演变所做的史观准备

由“公羊学”所宣扬的天命史观,是将社会的变化视为天道运行“副本”的观念。它既宣扬“君权天授”,又承认“天命所授者博,非独一姓”,认定社会在周期性的循环中发展。但在整个中世纪,“君权天授”的观念一直是维护家天下专制制度的精神武器。在从古代社会向近代转型的过程中,“前清”学者在批评天命史观时,将主宰人类命运主体的“天”置换为“社会”;到了清代中期,“常州”学人则注意到“天命”史学中所包含的变易思想;晚清之时,恰遇“千年未遇之变局”,康有为等一方面援引前清学者的社会主体观念,另一方面则直接将公羊学的变易思想与西学相对接,于是,“通三统”、“张三世”、“《春秋》当新王”便被改造成社会进化论学说。     

Is CSR the panacea for SMEs? A study of socially responsible SMEs during economic crisis

There is increasing research attention as to how SMEs might realize corporate social responsibility opportunities. Most studies focus on the pursuance of responsible business strategies that result in favourable business outcomes. This study investigates SMEs who actively participate in CSR activities in a south-eastern European country during the economic crisis of the Eurozone. Data collected reveals that stakeholder salience and proximity moderate the relationship between CSR and financial performance. The context of this study is important as it addresses the paucity of research carried out in countries during economic crisis and sheds light on the positive aspects of CSR practices adopted during crisis.     

Leveraging middle managers’ brokerage for corporate entrepreneurship: The role of multilevel social capital configurations

Building on recent efforts to bring a socio-political perspective to social capital research, we develop and test a multilevel framework that explains why middle managers who occupy brokerage positions differ in their ability and willingness to engage in entrepreneurial behavior. More specifically, we provide a contextualized understanding of the links among middle managers' brokerage, their political-support ties, and their personal initiative. Results derived from data on 383 middle managers and 72 top managers in 34 business units indicate that political-support ties with top managers strengthen the relationship between middle managers’ brokerage and personal initiative. However, this positive effect depends on the social capital resources available in the focal business unit. It is attenuated in business units with a supportive and trusting social context and amplified in business units with high levels of internal connectedness. By uncovering these incompatibilities and complementarities, our study demonstrates the value of accounting for different social capital configurations and the interplay of their inherent social capital resources when examining the effects of brokerage on corporate entrepreneurship.