Government Transparency in Historical Perspective: From the Ancient Regime to Open Data in The Netherlands

This article presents an analysis of the history of government transparency over the past 250 years. While this analysis is to a certain extent specific to The Netherlands, the analysis will also identify more general patterns that are arguably relevant to the development of transparency in other Western countries. The overview highlights how, when, and why transparency was conceived as a cornerstone of representative democracy to allow the people to monitor their representatives and evolved into a fundament of participatory democracy that allows people to participate in the public domain.     

The seductive quality of central human capabilities: sociological insights into Nussbaum and Sen's disagreement

Abstract

In an era when relativism and questions of modernity have unsettled the premises and goals of the development project, there is a seductive quality to the universalism of Nussbaum's capabilities approach. We query Nussbaum's philosophically based contribution and raise epistemological concerns about her commitment to a list of central human capabilities. We argue that attention to state forms and practices, as well as unequal power relations, must be incorporated into analyses of capability and development. This leads us to support Sen's advocacy of deliberative democracy as a productive space for collectivities and individuals to strive for social justice and equity. Such a focus is necessarily attentive to multiple forms of inequality and domination and is best understood by engaging historically specific analyses of state formations.     

Theories of State Formation and Civilisation in Johann P. Arnason and Shmuel Eisenstadt's Comparative Sociologies of Japan

Abstract

Johann Arnason and Shmuel Eisenstadt's social theories have remarkably different origins. Yet each has moved onto common ground with the other over a period of time. They meet in historical sociology in dialogue over theories of state formation and images of civilisation. Each is engaged in a project of revising civilisations sociology that reaches an apex with the comparative study of Japan. Their groundbreaking contributions can be read critically against a wider background of debates about postcolonialism, the reputation of the notion of civilisation and the state of area studies in the humanities and social sciences.     

School Disorder and Student Achievement

Abstract

The study develops a school safety and student achievement model, incorporating the concepts of student background, school structure, school culture, school disorder, and student academic achievement, and fits it to 613 elementary schools in New York City, using Structural Equations Modeling technique. The model fits the data well based on both Chi-square test statistic and goodness of fit indexes. The model accounts for 71% of school variance in student achievement. The study confirms that student background is associated with student behavior and student learning. School disorder affects student achievement negatively directly and indirectly mediated by student attendance. The study suggests that policy initiative could be implemented to improve school climate, therefore reduce school disorder and improve student achievement.     

司法行为及其选择的文化注释——以转型司法中的中国法官为例

转型司法中的中国法官,其司法行为不仅会受当下中国特定的社会--文化情境的影响,而且还更多地要受到一种"清官文化"的因素制约;也即在公共的法律生活中,其任何司法行为的做出,除了回应特定的社会--文化情境系统的要求之外,也更反映出了法官对自身名誉的特别爱惜以及对社会评价的特别注意,同时也是为了尽可能好地完成司法任务并尽可能少的给自己惹麻烦.正是在"清官文化"这一文化容器中,不仅社会--文化的情境性因素作用到了法官的身上,而且,也正是在这一文化的信仰网络里,达致了纠纷中的民众以及其他社会力量对于法官角色期待的均衡.     

治安预警系统基础理论阐释

建立治安预警系统,是公安机关维护社会治安稳定的重要社会实践,它的建立需要学科理论的支持和指导以保证其行之有效.我们研发的城市治安预警系统,其理论依据涉及马克思主义哲学、系统科学、信息科学、社会学等诸多方面的学科.     

社会学语境的农村建设

任何社会发展都是社会结构分化和社会适应能力不断提高的过程。农村、农业、农民作为一个复杂的社会系统，其发展不仅包括农民物质生活水平的提高，而且包括农民道德文化水平的提升。科学发展观是“以人为本”的发展观，是全面、协调、可持续的发展观，运用科学发展观对新农村建设进行系统分析是十分必要的。     

法律的自治与开放——当代美国法社会学方法论变革导论

研究当代美国法社会学的方法论变革有助于揭示其知识增量,并可能为中国法社会学提供理论资源。方法论是指对方法的研究或理论分析,即把方法组织成一个体系并予以理论说明。由于一个学科的所有理论和方法论都围绕该学科的核心问题而组织,并通过继承与批判传统而逐步演进,因此方法论研究应揭示主导变化的核心线索和变化所蕴含的学术意义。法社会学的核心问题是法律与社会的关系。法社会学以社会学视角破除法学的法律自治观念,证明法律领域的开放性。当代美国法社会学通过方法论变革批判了"法律与社会"的模式,使法律与社会的关系以及法律的自治与开放获得新的解释。     

How Well Do We Know Max Weber After All? A New Look at Max Weber and His Anglo-German Family Connections

Guenther Roth's study places Max Weber in an intricate network of ties among members of his lineage. This paper presents core findings of Roth's analysis of Weber's family relations, discusses the validity of Roth's core theses and some of the implications of his analysis for Weber as a person and scholar, and addresses how Roth's book may influence future approaches to Weber's sociology.     

大学生社团社会学角度之考察

高校中大学生社团的存在,对未参加社团的大学生来说,不仅作为一种文化环境而发生作用,而且还构成一种具体的参照,在此参照下,他们能更好地判断自己,促进自己;对参加社团的大学生来说,在发展特长、学习知识技术、满足交友需要、锻炼身体等方面,都起到了相当的作用,其价值是突出的。