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 

A Study on Measurement of Social Stability and Construction of Presentiment  Management System                                                                                                                                Yan Youjun··

Abstract: The measurement of the social stability aims at the non-material social phenomena and it’s success relys onthe theoretical efforts  and the practical operation. Theoreticallythe establishment of theoretical mode of social stability  is the key for the evaluation, due to the theoretical abstraction as the core of the evaluation systems in any social measurement. Operationally the social stability index system is a “soft ruler” rather than a “hard measure” that could be used directly. Here people can find the importance of the operation platform for the presentiment management system of social stability.

Unemployment and Social Discrimination: A Scheme of Analyses                   Zeng Qun & Wen Yanbin ··

Abstract：The last decade witnessed the growth of the rate of unemployment in China. Being a vulnerable group, the employed faced social disadvantages as the consequences of unemployment. This paper argued that the multi-dimensional concept of social exclusion could be used to describe these social disadvantages. And, focusing on the process and social actors or agents, the concept of social exclusion urged us to think of the following questions, for example, who excluded the employed from social, economic, political, cultural and institutional spheres of our society and how they made it happen. Based on the review of social exclusion literature mainly in West Europe and North America, the paper formulated an analytic framework linking unemployment, on the one hand, and other dimensions of social exclusion, on the other hand. However, due to the locality of the framework, this paper called for further empirical researches in Chinese contexts to verify, modify and even refute this framework.

‘Theory of Civilization Clash’ in Sociological Perspective                               Su Guoxun··

Abstract: This essay argues that Huntington’s conception of the “clash of civilizations” is closely related to the neo-conservative trend in the US, the ideological background of current American foreign policy. According to the author, the connection of the Huntington’s thesis to neo-conservatism has made itself a self-fulfilling prophecy in today’s international affairs --- it both predicts and promotes civilization clashes, or their current manifestation in the conflict between the US and the Muslim world. The author further indicates that there are deep roots for the Huntington’s thesis in America’s “civil religion”, or the American tradition of Protestantism.

Review on the Validity of Research Assumption                                                   Sun Jianmin··

Abstract: One of the important characteristics of empirical research is hypothesis testing. This paper discusses the necessity and functions of research hypothesis in empirical research and  proposes five criteria for the evaluation of research hypothesis and the operational steps

A Study on Ethnic Capital and Transformation of Chinese Migrant Communities in the United States

Zhou Min & Lin Mingang··

Abstract：In this article, this paper  attempt to develop the concept of the “ethnic capital”. Based on the theory of social capital and the enclave economy, the authors  argue that ethnic capital is not a thing but involves interactive processes of financial capital, human capital, and social capital within an identifiable ethnic community. The authors use case studies of centenary  Chinatowns and emerging middle-class immigrant Chinese communities in New York and Los Angeles to illustrate how ethnic capital affects community building and transformation, which in turn influence the social mobility of immigrants. The paper speculates on how developments in contemporary ethnic enclaves challenge the conventional notion of assimilation and contribute to  understanding of community dynamics.

Reflexivity and Mannheim Paradox: an Approach to Sociology of Relativism                     Xiao Ying··

Abstract: This paper focuses on the relation between reflexivity and sociology of knowledge. The term “reflexivity” has two essential references: self-reflection and self-refutation. Mannheim’s sociology of knowledge is based on historicism which is relativistic, so the theory of sociology of knowledge is self-refutatory. Mannheim tried to use self-reflection as instrument to destruct Mannheim Paradox,but  he failed. Sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK) attempts to dissolve the paradox by asserting its relativism, but the paradox remains. In the author’s opinion, the paradox can’t be dissolved, so Mannheim and SSK’s ambition of constructing epistemology of relativism for sociology is impossible in the context of rationalism.

Facing a World of “War of Gods”: A Study on the Links between Mannheim and Weber’s Thoughts in Ideology and Utopia                                                                                     Xiong Chunwen··

Abstract: This article discusses the relationship between Mannheim’s thought and Weber’s one in three aspects: (1) diagnosis of their time; (2) the Mannheim’s epistemological predicament and its connection with Weber’s thought; (3) the methodological problem. As Wolff argues that, most of Mannheim’s work (not only that explicitly devoted to the sociology of knowledge) could be characterized as a “diagnosis of our time”. It was just on this topic where Mannheim followed Weber’s proposition—“gods complete in every fields of society”, and extended the tension of Weber’s judgment in many theoretical aspects such as ideology and utopia, the science of politics, the problem of intelligentsia, the types of knowledge and the styles of instruction, etc. In this sense, the attention to the connection of Mannheim and Weber gets its significance not only in the field of thoughts history or academic history, but also on the sociological masters’ inspiration to grasp the problems of our time.

A New Image of Social Space: A Structural Version on Analyses of Social Network             Li Linyan··

Abstract ：Social network analysis is an approach widely used nowadays. However, the approach is often reduced to a substantive field, or even a set of research techniques. This paper treats social network analysis as an insightful perspective to social structure. What is the notable contribution of social network analysis to the investigation of social structure? This is the organizing question in the article. The specific theoretical assumptions, analytical strategies, and conceptual tools of social network analysis are examined in detail. The weakness or limitation of such a perspective is also discussed.   

Reflection on the Problem of the Family in the Villagers Autonomy Institution   

Tang Jun, Chen Wuqing & Hou Hongrui··

Abstract: Law of the Village Council Organization, tried out in 1987 and issued in 1998, marks the beginning of the village autonomy process and symbolizes the withdrawal of the State’s compulsory force from the countryside. In such a setting, the dual effects, which come from the liberal concurrence nature of the village autonomy and the trust construction mechanism in rural societies, strengthento certain extent the individual’s clan orientation during the council members’ selection, and therefore enlarge the institutional space of clans’ action. A series of reforms in the countryside since 1970s have brought up the growth of little group’s interest and individualism. As a result, the appearance of clans in farmers’ life world begins to turn to the side of purely intimacy and keeps in the meantime facing to the side of interest, particularly in the case of important events.

An Approach to Social Practice from Birth Control in Chen Village                          Chen Xinxiang··