The emerging structure of the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis: where does Evo-Devo fit in?

The Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (EES) debate is gaining ground in contemporary evolutionary biology. In parallel, a number of philosophical standpoints have emerged in an attempt to clarify what exactly is represented by the EES. For Massimo Pigliucci, we are in the wake of the newest instantiation of a persisting Kuhnian paradigm; in contrast, Telmo Pievani has contended that the transition to an EES could be best represented as a progressive reformation of a prior Lakatosian scientific research program, with the extension of its Neo-Darwinian core and the addition of a brand-new protective belt of assumptions and auxiliary hypotheses. Here, we argue that those philosophical vantage points are not the only ways to interpret what current proposals to ‘extend’ the Modern Synthesis-derived ‘standard evolutionary theory’ (SET) entail in terms of theoretical change in evolutionary biology. We specifically propose the image of the emergent EES as a vast network of models and interweaved representations that, instantiated in diverse practices, are connected and related in multiple ways. Under that assumption, the EES could be articulated around a paraconsistent network of evolutionary theories (including some elements of the SET), as well as models, practices and representation systems of contemporary evolutionary biology, with edges and nodes that change their position and centrality as a consequence of the co-construction and stabilization of facts and historical discussions revolving around the epistemic goals of this area of the life sciences. We then critically examine the purported structure of the EES—published by Laland and collaborators in 2015—in light of our own network-based proposal. Finally, we consider which epistemic units of Evo-Devo are present or still missing from the EES, in preparation for further analyses of the topic of explanatory integration in this conceptual framework

Life, time, and the organism:Temporal registers in the construction of life forms

In this paper, we articulate how time and temporalities are involved in the making of living things. For these purposes, we draw on an instructive episode concerning Norfolk Horn sheep. We attend to historical debates over the nature of the breed, whether it is extinct or not, and whether presently living exemplars are faithful copies of those that came before. We argue that there are features to these debates that are important to understanding contemporary configurations of life, time and the organism, especially as these are articulated within the field of synthetic biology. In particular, we highlight how organisms are configured within different material and semiotic assemblages that are always structured temporally. While we identify three distinct structures, namely the historical, phyletic and molecular registers, we do not regard the list as exhaustive. We also highlight how these structures are related to the care and value invested in the organisms at issue. Finally, because we are interested ultimately in ways of producing time, our subject matter requires us to think about historiographical practice reflexively. This draws us into dialogue with other scholars interested in time, not just historians, but also philosophers and sociologists, and into conversations with them about time as always multiple and never an inert background

Le concept reproducteur

Ce qui relève de l’épigénétique dépend de ce que l’on considère comme génétique. Le weismannisme, qui a dominé la biologie au xxe siecle et qui oppose la continuité génétique à la discontinuité somatique, aboutit à une definition de l’épigénétique qui englobe de façon excessive tous les mécanismes de l’hérédité non expliquée par le gène (beyond the genes). En fait, une autre vision théorique peut être proposée, le « concept reproducteur », qui facilite l’analyse des multiples systèmes de l’hérédité en évitant que toute forme d’hérédité non génétique soit obligatoirement taxée d’épigénétique

A field study of the impact of ISO 9001 on software development in the United States

The ISO 9000 Series of Standards are international quality standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization. They were developed with the intent of creating a set of common standards for quality management and quality assurance to ensure a process is capable of consistently producing products that meet the expectations of customers. Since their publication in 1987, nearly sixty countries have adopted the ISO 9000 series of Standards including the United States, Canada, Japan, and members of the European Community. Since 1992, the ISO 9001 Standard, Quality Systems - Model for Quality Assurance in Design, Development, Production, Installation, and Servicing, has been applied to the development of software. In the United States, ISO 9001 certification was originally viewed as a requirement for selling products in Europe. Today, however, organizations are seeing the need to invest in the improvement of quality to improve profitability. This study explores the impact of ISO 9001 certification on United States software development organizations. By studying the ISO 9001 Standard, and how it is applied to software development, insight can be gained concerning its impact on software quality, customer satisfaction, development productivity and software process improvement. Therefore, this research serves as an exploration of the ISO 9001 Standard as a quality management system for the process of software development. Further, because of the infancy of application of the ISO 9001 Standard to software development, an exploratory investigation into its nature and use is a prerequisite for continued and in-depth research. The research was carried out within the context of a field study of United States software developing organizations, comparing those without ISO 9001 certification to those who obtained ISO 9001 certification between 1992 and 1995, and those who obtained certification in 1996. Data gathering was carried out by a mail survey with telephone follow-up interviews where necessary. The results of this research are presented as descriptive statistics and in discussion form. Implications of the results are presented through discussion of the research issues and the development of a set of contentions concerning the impact of ISO 9001 certification on United States software development organizations

An identification of internal constraints upon police reorganization : two case studies

Includes bibliographical references.This thesis is a study of the dynamics of change in police organizations and the factors which inhibit police reorganization. Recognizing that many segments of American society are demanding reforms in police organizations, this study attempts to identify those factors which constrain change in police departments. These constraints are classified as behavioral, legal, political and structural. To examine the influence of these constraints upon police reorganization ten case studies of actual police reorganizations, drawn from two comparable communities, are evaluated. The case studies are tested against a number of hypotheses presented in the thesis. The hypotheses are as follows: 1. Police organizations exhibit a low receptivity to change and reorganization. 2. Resistance to organizational change by policemen themselves constitutes a significant behavioral constraint on the reorganization of police departments. 3. Legal, political, and structural constraints serve to reinforce membership resistance to change and thus tend to support an inherent reaction against police reorganization. Each case study presented in the thesis is analyzed to determine the existence of one or more constraints, the level of operational utility of existing constraints, the relative influence of constraints, and the frequency of constraint appearance. Data for all constraints is correlated to determine the relationship between the degree of influence and frequency of constraints for all cases. In addition, the data is evaluated to determine the relative influence of constraints in terms of consistency between the two police organizations studied. The data is found to support the hypotheses. The significant findings are as follows: 1. There is a high correlation between the relative influence and frequency of appearance of a constraint. 2. Membership resistance to change is the primary behavioral constraint. This constraint is consistently the most influential barrier to change in both organizations studied. 3. Legal, political, and structural constraints are not consistent in influence between organizations, but do serve to reinforce stronger and more uniform behavioral constraints. 4. Within each organization, certain constraints are consistently more influential than other constraints. The study concludes that internal constraints upon police reorganization do, in fact, exist and function in the manner hypothesized. It is further suggested that identification and control of operative constraints is essential if police organizations are to adequately serve the needs of contemporary society.M.A. (Master of Arts