Scientific consensus,the law,and same sex parenting outcomes

While the US Supreme Court was considering two related cases involving the constitutionality of same-sex marriage, one major question informing that decision was whether scientific research had achieved consensus regarding how children of same-sex couples fare. Determining the extent of consensus has become a key aspect of how social science evidence and testimony is accepted by the courts. Here, we show how a method of analyzing temporal patterns in citation networks can be used to assess the state of social scientific literature as a means to inform just such a question. Patterns of clustering within these citation networks reveal whether and when consensus arises within a scientific field. We find that the literature on outcomes for children of same-sex parents is marked by scientific consensus that they experience “no differences” compared to children from other parental configurations.     

Using macro variables in program evaluation

This paper discusses the importance of using macro-level variables for program analysis. It is argued that three types of macro variables--cultural, economic, and demographic--provide a context for evaluation, and offer alternative explanations for the success or failure of a program. The problems of causality and availability of data are discussed. Macro variables are seen to be especially useful in "meta evaluation," and in integrating the results of specific program evaluations into general conclusions.     

An Australian history of the subordination of midwifery

This paper analyses the history of the subordination of midwifery to medicine and nursing. With the important exception of Evan Willis’ work on medical dominance and Annette Summers’ work on the takeover of midwifery by nursing, other histories of Australian midwifery have taken a neutral approach to issue of power and control. The aim of analysing this period is to identify the strategies of power that were used to subordinate midwifery. With increased consciousness of how power has operated in the past, midwives and woman of today can be more empowered when seeking to promote normal birth and midwifery models of care.Concepts of ‘power’, ‘the state’ and midwife are defined and discussed. A summary of the decline of midwifery and the rise of obstetrics in Europe and the United Kingdom (UK) gives a background against which to understand the Australian experience. The historical account given here draws to a climax by focussing on the period 1886–1928. It was during this time that medicine forged an alliance with nursing and achieved both legal and disciplinary control of midwifery. Knowing how this was done is important because it helps us to recognise the power strategies that are currently being used by medicine. This is helpful when planning how these strategies might be matched or countered by contemporary woman and midwives when seeking to promote normal birth and midwifery models of care.     

Dynamic models and attainment in the workplace

The two most marked trends in recent stratification studies are: (1) the shift away from a statical approach to attainment and toward a dynamical representation of achievement, and (2) the shift away from the assumption that achievement is largely a matter of individual characteristics, and toward the view that achievement is the outcome of an employer-employee exchange of productive resources for earnings and status. This paper forges a link between these parallel trends by elaborating on previous formulations of dynamic models of achievement and applying the results to the analysis of earnings attainment in an internal labor market. The modeling section of the paper joins within a single framework the growing interest in ascertaining how a given structure of opportunity shapes achievement and in determining the different points in the career line at which individual background and resource variables impact attainment. Special attention is devoted to the problems facing researchers who wish to bring a dynamic conceptualization of achievement to cross-sectional or otherwise deficient data. Although the empirical application of the various models is largely meant to be illustrative, it is of interest in its own right because it goes substantially beyond previous efforts in this area.     

Theory Trimming

This paper attempts to show that the “Theory Trimming” technique makes little contribution to theory in sociology. A brief history of the technique is given, and several key assertions of its proponents are abstracted. These assertions are shown to be highly questionable. The general alternative to Theory Trimming is shown, and the relationship between Theory Trimming and more general orientations to research is discussed.     

Sex similarities in occupational status attainment: Are the results due to the restriction of the sample to employed women?

Research on sex differences in occupational attainment suggests that working men and working women attain essentially the same mean level of occupational attainment and do so through quite similar processes. A possible explanation for these similarities is that the sample of working women contains an overrepresentation of successful women, since women who can afford not to work will stay out of the labor force unless they find a job commensurate with their education. This we define as a censoring problem. By extending a technique developed by Heckman, we can estimate the structural parameters for all women, regardless of current employment status. This procedure allows us to assess the impact of the censoring problem on women's occupational attainment equations.     

瑞泽尔消费社会学研究的核心主题:一个批评性评述

美国业已完成了从生产型社会向消费者社会的转变,而相关研究很弱。作为社会理论家的瑞泽尔独树一帜,在消费社会学的应用研究中贡献卓著。其核心主题包括社会的麦当劳化、让祛魅的世界再着魅和“虚无之物”的全球化。瑞泽尔的消费社会学研究是基于人文主义视角对美国消费实践的社会批判,延续了韦伯、马克思、齐美尔、法兰克福学派对社会世界的研究。不过,瑞泽尔可能忽略了地方消费实践和消费者的多样性,从而过于概括化。     

日本社会学的历史发展及展望

日本社会学诞生于19世纪明治维新时期,二战以前主要受德国社会学的影响。战后,日本社会学获得了很大发展,其间共经历了三个历史时期,即重建期(1945～1960年)、发展期(1960～1980年)和转型期(1980～1995年)。马克思主义、帕森斯的结构功能主义和福柯、哈贝马斯等后现代主义分别成为这三个不同时期主要的社会学理论范式。民主化和现代化建设贯穿于整个战后的日本社会学。展望21世纪,日本社会学正致力于自身的变革,在继续为民主化建设服务的同时,努力从为现代化和工业化服务的科学,转变成为一门为人类与社会服务的科学。     

The Politics of Lesbian Specificity

ABSTRACT

The notion of lesbian specificity must be understood in the context of heteronormative society. Heterosexual norms affect negotiations of power and sexual desire in lesbian relationships. But this investigation into woman-to-woman sexual practices also views the possibility of lesbian specificity as potentially subversive, in the sense that it poses fundamental questions about conventional discourses on sexuality and eroticism.