Bimonthly No.1 January 2004
MONOGRAPHIC STUDY: Network and Cybersociety
Analysis and Discussion on Model Study of Social Network Liu, Jun· ·
Discussion on the Concept of “Network Society” Zheng, Zhongyu & He, Mingsheng· ·
THEORY·METHOD·METHODOLOGY
The Social Function of Philosophy: Philosophers as the public intellectuals Cao,Weidong· ·
The Change of the Normative Object in Sociological Research and the Backgrounds of Knowledge Sun, Jin· ·
Expression of the Media over the Concept of Lattice Chang, Ming & Liang, Jie· ·
ACADEMIC TREATISES
From Humanism to the Civil Rights: The historical evolution of political and moral idea of modern social welfare Qian, Ning · ·
Is Law Important?
--Investigation and Analysis of an informal debt-collection practice in southern China Xu Xin· ·
Village Research: Explanatory model and social fact Lan, Linyou· ·
From Equalitarianism to Justice: The evolution of Chinese Social Policy Wu, Zhongmin· ·
The Study on Establishing Appraising Index System about Construction of the Well-off Society Chen, Youhua· ·
ACADEMIC TREATISES
Subcontract of Land in Guanzhuang Village Guan, Bing· ·
. SCHOLARS’INTERLOCUTION
Body, Daily life & Politics Farquhar, Judith & Wang, Minan· ·
Information and Materials
Editor in-chief: Prof. Jing, Tiankui
Executive editor: Dr. Luo, Hongguang
E-mail address: sbjb@cass.org.cn or sbjb2002@sina.com
Website: http://www.cass.net.cn/chinese/s09_shx/english/sr/index.htm
Analysis and Discussion on Model Study of Social Network Liu, Jun· ·
Abstract: Social network analysis explicitly pays great concern on the relationships among social actors. Focusing on structural variables, it opens up a field of data analysis and model building which is completely different from conventional social statistical methods. Spanning nearly seventy years of research, statistical network analysis has witnessed three stages of models. Beginning from the late 1930s, the first generation of scholars (Moreno, Katz, Heider, etc.) studied the distribution of various network statistics. The second stage began from the 1970s and continued to the mid 1980s. It dealt primarily with exponential family of probability distributions for directed graphs (p1 model) under the vital assumption of ‘dyad independence’.. Relaxing this assumption, Frank and Strauss (1986), Strauss and Ikeda (1990), Wasserman and Pattison (1996) published their pathbreaking papers based on Markov’s random graphs models (p* model and its generalization: logit p*), which brought social network models to a new stage. It is an extremely flexible and complete model dealing with all sorts of structural aspects of social networks. This substantial ‘real’ structural research should be employed to examine the relational essence of Chinese society.
Discussion on the Concept of “Network Society” Zheng, Zhongyu & He, Mingsheng· ·
Abstract: The paper suggests that "wang luo she huei", the same signifier in Chinese, has different "references" which still have not been distinguished. Two references for the term are defined: "the network society", as a kind of social structure, and "cybersociety" in cyberspace. The paper analyses the relation between "network" perspective and networking logic, emphasizing the logical relation of network society and the new information technology, the interaction of physical network, virtual network and network society. The paper also analyzed the chaos of signifiers of cybersociety, for example the cross-cultural misunderstandings regarding "virtual "and "reality", as well as the relation among informational society, network society and cybersociety. Finally, it is proposed that further discussion will be conducted on some concepts, which will be useful for further research and conversations.
The Social Function of Philosophy: Philosophers as the public intellectuals
Cao,Weidong· ·
Abstract: This Article focuses on the study of understanding the Function of Philosophy in relation to Frankfurter School, especially to Max Horkheimer and Juergen Habermas. It will also study the Status of Philosopher as Public Intellectuals in the Modern Society, which is an important theme of Habermas in the last Years.
The Change of the Normative Object in Sociological Research and the Backgrounds of Knowledge Sun, Jin· ·
Abstract: In this article, the author holds that anything that can be the object of sociological research is always in a sense of norm. On such basis, the author points further out that there are three main characters lying in such normative object in varying periods of sociological research. These characters include dual-correspondence between human and society, the contradiction of ration and the nonobjectivity of the object. Such changes not only reflects the backgrounds of knowledge which make sociological research possible, but also indicates that certain knowledge conditions can limit the effectiveness of sociological theory.
Expression of the Media over the Concept of Lattice Chang, Ming & Liang, Jie· ·
Abstract: The concept lattice is a newly developed formal mathematics theory used in modeling social phenomena. We constructed a model on social media with this new tool, and tried to probe into the direction of innovation on media. Since those are proved, all concept lattices are complete lattices, complementarity has an object function which is supermodular, and supermodular functions on lattices are weakly increasing, the conditions of Tarski-Zhou theorem are satisfied. So there must be a nonempty fixed point set with that weakly increasing function on a complete lattice, and the extremums also increase with the parameter. We drew the conclusion from this fixed-point theorem, media pay more for news if she know more.
From Humanism to the Civil Rights: The historical evolution of political and moral idea
of modern social welfare Qian, Ning · ·
Abstract: It is an important change that modern social welfare turns from humanism to the civil rights for political and moral idea, which makes social welfare not only the need of ordinary morality, but also a political and moral claim. It turns welfare into a right for those poor people, the help they receive from the state or other people is regard as a responsibility of the government and the collectives, and the welfare is no longer a charity for sympathy or pity. The idea on civil rights makes social welfare a sovereign goal for social equality and justice. It will help reforming Chinese system of welfare by researching what change happened on the idea of polity and morality of welfare in theories and practice.
Is Law Important?
--Investigation and Analysis of an informal debt-collection practice in southern China Xu Xin· ·
Abstract: Is law important? It depends on one's conception of law and on what one considers important. Based on a field study of an informal debt-collection practice, the article describes a dispute settlement without court. The informal mechanism is consonant with economic theory, and is so effective, in short, the debtors are inclined to choose cooperation when the creditors take self-help remedies, and it results in order without law. As for the informal debt-collection I surveyed, state and society come to a tacit conspiracy, and the state tolerates the existence of self-help to a "proper extent", which is a kind of the art of government that public power attains social control through private individuals' actions. The article concludes that social norms often have a greater impact on behavior than the law does.
Village Research: Explanatory model and social fact Lan, Linyou· ·
Abstract: In his research on the late Qing dynasty and the early Republican period, Prasenjit Duara, an American scholar who emigrated to U.S. from India, put forward the famous concept, “cultural nexus of power” as a kind of explanatory model for state-local society relations. This model has tremendous influence on the academic studies of Chinese social history, sociology, and anthropology. This paper mainly reacts to Prasenjit Duara’s village-level research in North China Plain, critically evaluates his rural studies, and has a dialogue with him focusing on the issues of village nature, kinship space, and state brokerage.
From Equalitarianism to Justice: The evolution of Chinese Social Policy
Wu, Zhongmin· ·
Abstract: Different understanding of justice will inevitably result in different social policies under different social backgrounds. During the 30 years before opening up to the outside world, China made and implemented many social policies of great significance. The time-specific conditions and its corresponding understanding of justice lead to some obvious characteristics and inadequacies in the social policies of that time including over-equalitarianism, over-focus on the basic civil rights in terms of the basic living securities, abnormalities, non-public orientation nature of the policy. Ever since the opening up, the basic ideas underlying China’s social policies underwent drastic changes, which brought about significant progress in China’s corresponding social policies. However, China’s social policies still have some inadequacies in this period, for example, the extremely unbalanced status of social policies in terms of advanced economic policies, the inadequacy of integration and systemization of social policies, the under-normality of social policies and the large gap between ‘what should be’ and ‘what is’.
The Study on Establishing Appraising Index System about Construction of the Well-off Society Chen, Youhua· ·
Abstract : In this study, the author made a clear definition of several concepts as a threshold matter, and focused its study on the principle of establishing assessment indicator system about construction of the well-off society, as well as relevant issues that should be noticed. By indicating the four developmental stages that constitute the well-off society and the measuring standard, the author articulated the assessment indicator system in the light of construction of the well-off society.. Moreover, the author has presented in this paper an in-depth analysis on the status quo and the future task of China’s construction of the well-off society..
Subcontract of Land in Guanzhuang Village Guan, Bing· ·
Abstract: Through an analysis of the effects of out-for-work in a village in Guanzhuang, a natural village in the southeast of Henan province, the author focuses its study of "Nongmingong " on the sending place, and thinks it meaningful in learning of the process of civilization, although it is less concerned in the current study of "Nongmingong ".
The author thinks subcontract of land is key point to study the effects of out-for-work, and analyzes this issue as following: : First, the peasants of Guanzhuang , can be divided into three kinds: earth-bound peasants, amphibian peasants and earth-free peasants, according to their roles in the practice of subcontract of land. Secondly, nowadays, earth-free peasants play as the main role in the effects of subcontract of land in Guanzhuang. Thirdly, can earth-bound peasants who rent others' land prominently increase incomes depending on land, can earth-free peasants work more steadily in cities, and what is the future of the amphibian peasants?
