scholarly journals The social construction of the social epigenome and the larger biological context

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
ute deichmann
Keyword(s):  
Cell Biology ◽  
Epigenetic Inheritance ◽  
Epistemic Status ◽  
Regulatory Sequences ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Epigenetic Marks ◽  
The Social ◽  
Lamarckian Inheritance ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Scientific Facts

Abstract Epigenetics researchers in developmental, cell, and molecular biology greatly diverge in their understanding and definitions of epigenetics. In contrast, social epigeneticists, e.g. sociologists, scholars of STS, and behavioural scientists, share a focus and definition of epigenetics that is environmentally-caused and trans-generationally inherited. This article demonstrates that this emphasis on the environment and on so-called Lamarckian inheritance, in addition to other factors, reflects an interdisciplinary power struggle with genetics, in which epigenetics appears to grant the social sciences a higher epistemic status. Social scientists' understanding of epigenetics thus appears in part to be socially constructed, i.e. the result of extra-scientific factors, such as social processes and the self-interest of the discipline. This article argues that social epigeneticists make far-reaching claims by selecting elements from research labelled epigenetics in biology while ignoring widely confirmed scientific facts in genetics and cell biology, such as the dependence of epigenetic marks on DNA sequence specific events, or the lack of evidence for the lasting influence of the environment on epigenetic marks or the epigenome. Moreover, they treat as a given crucial questions that are far from resolved, such as what role, if any, DNA methylation plays in the complex biochemical system of regulating gene activity. The article also points out incorrect perceptions and media hypes among biological epigeneticists and calls attention to an apparent bias among scientific journals that prefer papers that promote transgenerational epigenetic inheritance over articles that critique it. The article concludes that while research labelled epigenetics contributes significantly to our knowledge about chromatin and the genome, it does not, as is often claimed, rehabilitate Lamarck or overthrow the fundamental biological principles of gene regulation, which are based on specific regulatory sequences of the genome.

scholarly journals The social construction of the social epigenome and the larger biological context

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ute Deichmann
Keyword(s):  
Cell Biology ◽  
Epigenetic Inheritance ◽  
Epistemic Status ◽  
Regulatory Sequences ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Epigenetic Marks ◽  
The Social ◽  
Lamarckian Inheritance ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Scientific Facts

Abstract Epigenetics researchers in developmental, cell, and molecular biology greatly diverge in their understanding and definitions of epigenetics. In contrast, social epigeneticists, e.g., sociologists, scholars of STS, and behavioural scientists, share a focus and definition of epigenetics that is environmentally caused and trans-generationally inherited. This article demonstrates that this emphasis on the environment and on so-called Lamarckian inheritance, in addition to other factors, reflects an interdisciplinary power struggle with genetics, in which epigenetics appears to grant the social sciences a higher epistemic status. Social scientists’ understanding of epigenetics, thus, appears in part to be socially constructed, i.e., the result of extra-scientific factors, such as social processes and the self-interest of the discipline. This article argues that social epigeneticists make far-reaching claims by selecting elements from research labelled epigenetics in biology while ignoring widely confirmed scientific facts in genetics and cell biology, such as the dependence of epigenetic marks on DNA sequence-specific events, or the lack of evidence for the lasting influence of the environment on epigenetic marks or the epigenome. Moreover, they treat as a given crucial questions that are far from resolved, such as what role, if any, DNA methylation plays in the complex biochemical system of regulating gene activity. The article also points out incorrect perceptions and media hypes among biological epigeneticists and calls attention to an apparent bias among scientific journals that prefer papers that promote transgenerational epigenetic inheritance over articles that critique it. The article concludes that while research labelled epigenetics contributes significantly to our knowledge about chromatin and the genome, it does not, as is often claimed, rehabilitate Lamarck or overthrow the fundamental biological principles of gene regulation, which are based on specific regulatory sequences of the genome.

scholarly journals The Social Construction of the Social Epigenome and the Larger Biological Context

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
ute deichmann
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Epigenetic Inheritance ◽  
Social Study ◽  
Epistemic Status ◽  
Regulatory Sequences ◽  
Epigenetic Marks ◽  
The Social ◽  
Lamarckian Inheritance ◽  
Behavioural Sciences

Abstract Epigenetics researchers in developmental, cell, and molecular biology greatly diverge in their understanding and definitions of epigenetics. In contrast, social epigeneticists, e.g. sociologists, scholars of STS, and behavioural scientists, share a focus on what they allege to be environmentally-caused and trans-generationally inherited epigenetics. Their emphasis on the environment and so-called Lamarckian inheritance may be the result of wishful thinking and a predilection for the environment, not the gene, as defining factor for phenotypes. However, it also reflects an interdisciplinary power struggle with genetics, in which epigenetics appears to grant the social sciences a higher epistemic status. This article argues that social epigeneticists make far-reaching claims while ignoring widely confirmed scientific evidence, such as the dependence of epigenetic marks on DNA sequence specific events, and the lacking evidence for the lasting influence of the environment on epigenetic marks. Moreover, they treat as given crucial questions that are far from resolved, such as what, if any, the role of DNA methylation is in the complex biochemical system of regulating gene activity. Such shortcomings are not confined to epigenetic studies in the social study of science and behavioural sciences. The article points out biases and media hypes in scientific studies of epigenetics and calls attention to an apparent bias among scientific journals that prefer papers that promote transgenerational epigenetic inheritance over articles that critique it. The article concludes that while research labelled epigenetics contributes significantly to our knowledge about chromatin and the genome, it does not, as is often claimed, rehabilitate Lamarck or overthrow the fundamental biological principles of gene regulation, which are based on specific regulatory sequences of the genome.

scholarly journals The Catch 22 syndrome of social scientists in the semiperiphery: Exploratory sociological observations

Sociologija ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 337-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Blagojevic ◽  
Gad Yair
Keyword(s):  
Political Organization ◽  
Academic Excellence ◽  
Free Access ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Scholarly Publications ◽  
The Social ◽  
Catch 22 ◽  
The One ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Problem Setting

This paper describes the parochial predicament of the social sciences by looking at world sociology in its Janus-like face: on the one hand we focus on the intellectual, political, and sometimes even ethical compromises that social scientists in European semiperipheral countries forgo in order to gain acceptance and recognition in world sociology. On the other hand we show how these compromises paradoxically impoverish intellectual potentialities in the major centers of academic excellence too. In the analyses we focus on different interrelated facets of scholarly work where these paradoxes take shape: problem setting and conceptualization, the hierarchy of scholarly publications, the definition of excellence through citation patterns, scientific conferences, and lastly, funding schemes for research. We argue that the social and the political organization of the World System of Science jeopardizes free access to multiple and plural perspectives of the social. A potential source of ideas, theories, and paradigms is hampered by the hierarchical division of labor between scientists in the centers of science and their peers in semiperipheral countries, whose knowledge remains unutilized and sidelined.

scholarly journals The Polish Round Table as a blueprint for “successful” social change? Some thoughts on “liberal hindsight” in the social sciences

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Kende ◽  
Martijn van Zomeren
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Round Table ◽  
Successful Outcome ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The Social ◽  
Political Evaluation ◽  
Definition Of Success ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Types Of Change

The Polish Round Table offers a rare historical example where negotiations between representatives of opposing political sides achieved major political transformation in a peaceful way. Such an outcome should undoubtedly be labeled a success. However, in our commentary, taking the example of the Polish Round Table, we take a critical look at the interpretation of success of social movements by social scientists. In line with the ethos of social sciences, social scientists value (harmoniously achieved) progressive types of change, such as the change that followed the negotiations of the Polish Round Table. Indeed, when it comes to the Round Table, our definition of success may be blurred by the political evaluation of the changes of 1989 from a liberal perspective. The target articles point out the importance of specific structural conditions (both internal and international) and psychological processes (perceptions of power, efficacy and moral commitment) that led to the successful outcome. We therefore argue that it is pivotal to delineate the conditions of success, if we want to apply them to other contexts without bias. Neither hindsight, nor liberal bias are problematic per se, but they can evoke a form of wishful thinking that, as scientists, we may want to treat with some skepticism.

scholarly journals The evolution of ‘culture’: Juggling a concept

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Palecek
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Explanatory Role ◽  
The Social ◽  
Evolutionary Science ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Cultural Evolutionary ◽  
Dual Inheritance

Although the concept of culture was severely criticized in the second half of the twentieth century, its explanatory use has not been abandoned. Evolutionary psychologists and cognitive scientists have more recently used the concept in models and theories of culture. This use renews the hope that the concept of culture can be explanatorily useful within the social sciences, especially since the new definition of culture connects with both the idea of evolution and with the other natural sciences. In this paper, I analyze the models of cultural evolution developed by Cultural Evolutionary Science (CES), more specifically gene-culture coevolution theoretical models and dual-inheritance theories. I argue that even if CES scholars mostly claim that for them, culture is equal to information, some of these models have aspirations to bring back cultures as discrete units that resemble the social anthropological models of culture that have been already abandoned. I discuss evolutionists’ and social anthropologists’ objections to these models. I claim that despite the popularity of cultural evolutionist theories, social scientists (cultural anthropologists and historians, for example) should remain skeptical about the possibility that this approach can assume an explanatory role for a concept of culture.

scholarly journals Resiliensi Sosial Dari Perspektif Sosiologi: Konsep Dan Aplikasinya Pada Komunitas Nelayan Kecil

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Rilus A. Kinseng
Keyword(s):  
Social System ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Social Resilience ◽  
Fishing Community ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Empirical Level ◽  
The Social ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Definition Of

AbstractIn recent years, resilience has received the most attention from various parties. The concept which was initially better known in the ecological field, then also developed in the social field, so that the term social resilience is known. Some social scientists have made a definition of social resilience, but it still needs to be criticized from the standpoint of sociology. This paper aims to discuss the concept of social resilience from the perspective of sociology. Furthermore, the second purpose of this paper is to describe the resilience of small fishing communities in a village in Banyuwangi as an example application of the social resilience concept discussed. The method used to achieve the first objective is by reviewing relevant writings to discuss social resilience from a sociological point of view. Meanwhile, the second objective was discussed using data from the results of the field study, which was conducted using a qualitative approach. According to the author, social resilience can be defined as the ability of a social system to maintain its social integrity or integration, when and / or after being interrupted, both from within and from outside. Furthermore, at the empirical level, this study shows that the small fishing community in Lampon, Banyuwangi has a high social resilience, which is shown by remaining intact this community despite and has been experiencing various pressures and threats, including climate change and tsunami disasters.   Dalam beberapa tahun belakangan ini, resiliensi mendapat perhatian yang besar dari berbagai pihak. Konsep yang awalnya lebih dikenal di bidang ekologi ini, kemudian juga berkembang juga di bidang sosial, sehingga dikenal istilah resiliensi sosial. Beberapa  ilmuwan sosial telah membuat definisi resilensi social, namun terasa masih perlu dikritisi dari sudut pandang sosiologi. Tulisan ini bertujuan untuk membahas konsep resiliensi sosial tersebut dari perspektif sosiologi. Selanjutnya, tujuan yang kedua dari tulisan ini adalah untuk mendeskripsikan resiliensi komunitas nelayan kecil di satu desa di Banyuwangi sebagai contoh aplikasi dari konsep resiliensi sosial yang telah dibahas. Metode yang digunakan untuk mencapai tujuan pertama adalah dengan me-review tulisan yang relevan untuk membahas tentang resiliensi sosial ditinjau dari sudut pandang sosiologi. Sementara itu, tujuan kedua dibahas dengan menggunakan data hasil studi lapang, yang dilakukan dengan pendekatan kualitatif. Menurut penulis, resiliensi sosial dapat didefinisikan sebagai kemampuan suatu sistem sosial untuk mempertahankan keutuhan atau integrasi sosialnya, pada saat dan/atau setelah mendapat gangguan, baik dari dalam maupun dari luar. Selanjutnya, pada tataran empiris, penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa komunitas nelayan kecil di Lampon, Banyuwangi memiliki resiliensi sosial yang tinggi, yang ditunjukkan dengan tetap utuhnya komunitas ini sekalipun telah dan sedang mengalami berbagai tekanan dan ancaman, termasuk perubahan iklim dan bencana tsunami.

Shopkeepers and the Swedish Model: The Petty Bourgeoisie and the State during the Interwar Period

1996 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-369
Author(s):  
Tom Ericsson
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Social Democratic Party ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Swedish Model ◽  
Petty Bourgeoisie ◽  
The Social ◽  
Swedish Society ◽  
Definition Of

When the Swedish Social Democratic Labour Party came to power in 1932, Sweden experienced a turning point in its history. For the first time the role of the Social Democratic Party in the construction of the welfare state became significant. Until the end of the 1910s the Social Democrats had concentrated their primary efforts on the problems of trade union recognition and the struggle for parliamentary democracy. After 1920 the Social Democrats became the largest party, but did not gain political power except for a brief interlude. The concept of the ‘Swedish Model’ has often been used in Sweden and abroad to describe the unique development of Swedish society in the twentieth century. However, historians and social scientists have tended to analyse Swedish society without a clear definition of the very concept, the ‘Swedish Model’.

Problemen van bewijs in etnografie: een methodologische verkenning van de Goffman- en Mead-controversesDe auteur bedankt dr. Jan Kees van Donge, dr. Geert de Vries en dr. Tessel Jonquière voor hun inhoudelijke suggesties en praktische steun bij het schrijven van dit artikel.

KWALON ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joost Beuving
Keyword(s):  
Social Impact ◽  
Methodological Problem ◽  
Coming Of Age ◽  
Thick Description ◽  
Direct Observations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Rules Of Thumb ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Scientific Facts ◽  
The Ideal

Problems of evidence in ethnography: A methodological exploration of the Goffman and Mead controversies Ethnographic authority in the post-truth era is contested and the discussion revolves around the credibility of ethnographic evidence. Doubting ethnographic evidence is usually explained as the consequence of postmodern relativism coupled to political opportunism and the social impact of the Internet. This article argues, however, that evidence in ethnography comprises a much older, unresolved methodological problem. That is because: (1) the ethnographers’ unique observations are difficult to marry to the scientific ideal of replication and what other tests are then available to support direct observation? (2) social proximity to the community one studies is essential for making direct observations and how does that correspond to the ideal of outsider verification? (3) when reporting ethnographic thick description in a credible way, facts are considered central but is it possible to write on ethnography in an interesting way without resorting to the instruments of fiction? These methodological challenges are further explored in a comparative discussion of two ethnographic controversies – Margaret Mead’s Coming of age in Samoa (1973) and Alice Goffman’s On the run: Fugitive life in an American city (2014). I conclude with a proposal for methodological rules of thumb for conducting ethnographic research in the 21st century in a way that is (hopefully) both effective and convincing. In a short reaction Fred Wester defines scientific facts (including ethnographic facts) are produced by scientific procedures. Scientific observations have a conceptual and methodical context. In Beuvings discussions the conceptual ground of ethnographic observations are hardly discussed and his definition of replication is too limited as method for qualitative research.

Ways and Voices in the Psychoanalysis of Links According to Enrique Pichon-Rivière

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Jaitin
Keyword(s):  
Couple Therapy ◽  
Clinical Observation ◽  
Clinical Work ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Social ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Voice ◽  
Different Levels

This article covers several stages of the work of Pichon-Rivière. In the 1950s he introduced the hypothesis of "the link as a four way relationship" (of reciprocal love and hate) between the baby and the mother. Clinical work with psychosis and psychosomatic disorders prompted him to examine how mental illness arises; its areas of expression, the degree of symbolisation, and the different fields of clinical observation. From the 1960s onwards, his experience with groups and families led him to explore a second path leading to "the voices of the link"—the voice of the internal family sub-group, and the place of the social and cultural voice where the link develops. This brought him to the definition of the link as a "bi-corporal and tri-personal structure". The author brings together the different levels of the analysis of the link, using as a clinical example the process of a psychoanalytic couple therapy with second generation descendants of a genocide within the limits of the transferential and countertransferential field. Body language (the core of the transgenerational link) and the couple's absences and presence during sessions create a rhythm that gives rise to an illusion, ultimately transforming the intersubjective link between the partners in the couple and with the analyst.

Pedagang Kaki Lima, Profil Entrepreneurship Sejati, Pelaku Ekonomi Kerakyatan, Ciptakan Jiwa Kewirausahaan Mandiri

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-35
Author(s):  
Agus Prasetya
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Data Display ◽  
Job Seekers ◽  
Street Vendor ◽  
Street Vendors ◽  
The Social ◽  
Collection Data ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Depth Interviews

This article is motivated by the fact that the existence of the Street Vendor (PKL) profession is a manifestation of the difficulty of work and the lack of jobs. The scarcity of employment due to the consideration of the number of jobs with unbalanced workforce, economically this has an impact on the number of street vendors (PKL) exploding ... The purpose of being a street vendor is, as a livelihood, making a living, looking for a bite of rice for family, because of the lack of employment, this caused the number of traders to increase. The scarcity of jobs, causes informal sector migration job seekers to create an independent spirit, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship, with capital, managed by traders who are true populist economic actors. The problems in street vendors are: (1) how to organize, regulate, empower street vendors in the cities (2) how to foster, educate street vendors, and (3) how to help, find capital for street vendors (4) ) how to describe grief as a Five-Foot Trader. This paper aims to find a solution to the problem of street vendors, so that cases of conflict, cases of disputes, clashes of street vendors with Satpol PP can be avoided. For this reason, the following solutions must be sought: (1) understanding the causes of the explosions of street vendors (2) understanding the problems of street vendors. (3) what is the solution to solving street vendors in big cities. (4) describe Street Vendors as actors of the people's economy. This article is qualitative research, the social paradigm is the definition of social, the method of retrieving observational data, in-depth interviews, documentation. Data analysis uses Interactive Miles and Huberman theory, with stages, Collection Data, Display Data, Data Reduction and Vervying or conclusions.

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