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Having coined the word 'eugenics' and inspired leading biologists and statisticians of the early twentieth century, Francis Galton is often studied for his contributions to modern statistical biology. However, whilst documenting t...
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Having coined the word 'eugenics' and inspired leading biologists and statisticians of the early twentieth century, Francis Galton is often studied for his contributions to modern statistical biology. However, whilst documenting this part of his work, historians have frequently neglected crucial aspects of what motivated Galton to establish his eugenics research programme. Arguing that his work was shaped more by social than by biological science, this paper addresses these oversights by tracing the development of Galton's programme, from its roots in a debate about political economy to his appeals for it to be taken up by sociologists. In so doing, the paper not only returns Galton's ideas to their original context but also provides a reason to reflect on the place of the social sciences in history-of-science scholarship.
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In this article, I examine free and open source software as a unique terrain of struggle
over the politics of globalization, focusing on the Brazilian government's software
strategy under the Lula administration. First, I locate...
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In this article, I examine free and open source software as a unique terrain of struggle
over the politics of globalization, focusing on the Brazilian government's software
strategy under the Lula administration. First, I locate this strategy in the historical
context of the Brazilian government struggles for technological development and
autonomy. I highlight how the Brazilian government used its power as a hierarchical
organization to take advantage of the distinctive, networked political economy of free
and open source software. I employ a post-structural political economy perspective to
analyze the key role of discourse within the Brazilian software strategy. Second, I explore two ways that the Lula administration pursued its strategy of digital inclusion through an innovative approach to the politics of consumption. It used the power of government purchases to shift to free and open source systems, as well as pursuing a more ambitious project to democratize consumption of computers, free software and the Internet among Brazil's poor. I conclude by examining the implications of this software strategy for understanding and developing a political economy of digital inclusion.
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Abstract Far from activism in formal groups or in visible and vocal demonstrations stands a type of citizen participation observed through everyday practices and daily activities in the public sphere. Targeted citizen actions in u...
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Abstract Far from activism in formal groups or in visible and vocal demonstrations stands a type of citizen participation observed through everyday practices and daily activities in the public sphere. Targeted citizen actions in urban spaces, dumpster diving, responsible consumption movements or small acts of everyday resistance are all examples of what we call informal modes of participation. Such initiatives are not new, nor do they pertain to a particular geographic arena. However, it is only recently that social scientists have started to pay attention to such activities: scholars from urban studies, development studies, political sociology, and critical geography have started to address this phenomenon. After discussing the existing literature on this topic, this introduction proceeds to define and operationalize the concept of informal participation, while also providing a common analytical framework for dialogue among the six contributions to this special issue briefly described in the last section below.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the ongoing “new extraction” on the African continent. Contrary to mainstream scholarship and policies that see in law an external variable to remedy the “resource curse,” this p...
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the ongoing “new extraction” on the African continent. Contrary to mainstream scholarship and policies that see in law an external variable to remedy the “resource curse,” this paper channels attention toward the role of law as an institution of extraction in the longue durée. Unpacking the close association of law with the conversion of economic surpluses and power into enduring social relationships can help trace the mechanisms by which the uneven and unequal connection between Africa and the world is being negotiated, justified and challenged over time. Design/methodology/approach To this end, this paper deploys an approach anchored in political sociology of law and focuses on the roles played specifically by lawyers to trace the “interconnectedness” between European colonialism on the continent and the consolidation of the contemporary international economic and legal political order. It illustrates this approach with the case study of the “Africa” Bar in Paris as a key site in which extractive deals between multinational corporations and Francophone African states are negotiated. Findings This micro focus helps to explain the dual position of the “Africa” Bar in Paris, as offshore yet connected as it is shaped by both imperial legacies and ongoing waves of globalization into the African continent. Originality/value This approach traces a more nuanced explanation of Africa’s unequal and uneven relationship with the global economy as one shaped by the path of imperial legacies and successive and interconnected waves of globalization across Africa.
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The aim of this volume has been to present examples of work on political participation drawn from what we have termed a critical perspective. Here, we shall not summarise these contributions, rather our aim is briefly, given space...
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The aim of this volume has been to present examples of work on political participation drawn from what we have termed a critical perspective. Here, we shall not summarise these contributions, rather our aim is briefly, given space constraints, to highlight some of the issues at stake in this literature and, given that, in our view, the changes in contemporary forms of political participation identified here represent significant challenges for democracy to suggest possible ways forward. We begin with a brief resume of the changing patterns of political participation, perhaps best summed up as decoupling of political authorities and citizens. Subsequently, we turn to the question of how they can be recoupled them.
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Charles Tilly’s social theories shifted over the course of his career from an early focus on quantitative and macro-sociological approaches to a later focus on relations and agency. His studies of state-making also shifted, from ...
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Charles Tilly’s social theories shifted over the course of his career from an early focus on quantitative and macro-sociological approaches to a later focus on relations and agency. His studies of state-making also shifted, from a focus on conflict and capitalism to explorations of democracy. This paper details these shifts and places them in the context of broader trends in comparative-historical and political sociology.
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This paper deals with the role of sociology in climate change research and policies. Climate change can be regarded as one of the greatest challenges facing the world today. It has attracted attention from several disciplines, wit...
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This paper deals with the role of sociology in climate change research and policies. Climate change can be regarded as one of the greatest challenges facing the world today. It has attracted attention from several disciplines, with the physical sciences regarded as dominating climate change research. Apparently, despite that climate change is inherently a social problem, sociologists have been slow in tackling it, at both theoretical and policy levels. Even so, available literature contains assorted and interesting sociological contributions and insights. As such, this paper posits that sociologists are interested in climate change issues, have a lot to offer and they can draw from a number of sub-fields. For instance, using sociology of sustainable consumption sociologists can tackle how societies can re-organise consumption patterns and habits, sociology of education provokes more intriguing research into the construction of climate change science, knowledge and solutions and feminist sociology can extend robust research into how the material and discursive dimensions of climate change are profoundly gendered. Importantly, critical sociology provides a repertoire of concepts and novel methods that can be deployed in climate change research.
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Although there is a growing consensus that Internet communication technology (ICT) affects collective action in the twenty-first century, we know very little about what keeps individuals involved in ICT-based organizations over ti...
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Although there is a growing consensus that Internet communication technology (ICT) affects collective action in the twenty-first century, we know very little about what keeps individuals involved in ICT-based organizations over time. Our paper addresses this lacuna by examining whether individuals stay involved in two organizations that use ICT to structure interaction differently over a two-year period. We draw on interview and participant observation data with 38 supporters of MoveOn.org, which structures interaction hierarchically, and the Florida Tea Party Movement, which structures interaction horizontally, to assess how individuals think about each organization's use of ICT and how this shapes individual efficacy and voice - two factors that we find critical to keeping individuals engaged in organizations over time. We show that how a group uses ICT to structure interaction affects the kinds of efficacy and voice individuals are likely to experience. Organizations that use ICT to hierarchically structure interactions are effective at mobilizing people or money quickly and at achieving short-term goals, but very ineffective at creating a community of activists on the ground. The opposite is true of groups that use ICT horizontally. They are effective at creating a political community, but the conflicts that arise among supporters narrow group membership, hinder mobilization, and undercut organizational political clout over time. We conclude with a discussion of our results for understanding ICT and activism in the digital age.
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The existence of feudal or totalitarian interplanetary empires has been a favourite theme in Science Fiction. Although the vast distances between the stars make the emergence of an interstellar empire impossible without The creati...
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The existence of feudal or totalitarian interplanetary empires has been a favourite theme in Science Fiction. Although the vast distances between the stars make the emergence of an interstellar empire impossible without The creation of a faster than light drive, this is not necessarily true for the other worlds within our solar system. Environmental constraints on the off-world colonies themselves, and repressive, hierarchical and feudalistic Social and commercial institutions and customs inherited from the parent cultures on Earth and a tradition of Military rule descending form the foundation of these colonies may all work to bring about a new feudal or Totalitarian social order on hmanity's extracterrestrial colonies. There are encouraging signs that this may not Be the case, however, Already the debate over the projected colonisation of Mars is a factor influencing present controversies over repressive institutions and customs. Nevertheless, those wishing for a free, democratic, and Politically, socially and technologically innovative and vigorous human society spreading throughout the solar System should not become complacent.
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When a reviewer is informed that a book is in its sixth edition, his or her first reaction will be to find out how far it differs from the fifth. In the case of The China Reader, it turns out to be completely different. The first ...
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When a reviewer is informed that a book is in its sixth edition, his or her first reaction will be to find out how far it differs from the fifth. In the case of The China Reader, it turns out to be completely different. The first 'edition' appeared as long ago as 1967 and aimed to survey Chinese history from the late eighteenth century to 1964; later ones have been, in effect, supplements to it, each concerned with a more recent period. The present volume covers the years from 1997 to 2014. So, in fact, it would be better described as a "sixth series" rather than a "sixth edition".
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