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The nineteenth-century founders of sociology were in no doubt that sociology is a predictive discipline. This was a key component of its constitution as a science, in contrast to religious mythology and metaphysics. Comte's formula 'Savoir pour prévoir et prévoir pour pouvoir' neatly captures the mood and mission of the sociological enterprise at its foundation. As the twentieth century closes, prediction has become almost a taboo word, connoting an embarrassing affiliation to vulgar positivism, scientism and technocracy. This article argues that many of our current fears about prediction are exaggerated or misplaced. If sociology is to regain its standing in the public domain we need to reclaim prediction as a core element in the sociological project.

The role of status in the study of religious elite is examined through analysis of the Anglican clergy. Such study has been dominated by a one-dimensional model of occupational prestige that emphasizes status inconsistency & places researchers in a deferential relationship with their Ss, often impeding gaining access & establishing rapport. Reconceptualization of prestige in a more fluid way -- one that emphasizes the commonalities of values, objectives, occupational culture, & professional competence among social scientists & the clergy -- facilitates the establishment of equal status between research & S & results in more open communication & collection of more accurate ethnographic information. 22 References. D. Generoli

Published by the Consumers' Association and launched in 1957, Which? magazine aims to offer impartial, independent and scientifically-grounded factual information in order to promote rational choice in consumption. In this article, Which? is analysed as a lifestyle guide in which rational consumption and the rational consumer are socially constructed. Which? repudiates the irrationalist anti-Enlightenment thrust of postmodernism: it concentrates on use-value; brackets ethical and aesthetic considerations; treats consumption as a serious matter to be approached with self-discipline; searches for the reality underlying appearances; and promotes confidence in independent, rationally organised expert systems.

In 1986, the Church of England permitted women to enter the lowest rank of the clerical profession, the diaconate, while reserving to men the offices of priest and bishop. For male clergy, the period served as a deacon is normally a one-year probation before ordination to the priesthood, whereas for women it is a terminus. This limited incorporation of women into the clerical profession has been accompanied by a prolific discourse on the need for an enriched diaconate. Although the focus of debate is ostensibly the diaconate, the discourse is a power struggle over the ordination of women to the priesthood. For those who oppose women's entry into the priesthood, the discourse of enriched distinctive diaconate legitimizes women's subordinate and marginal position in the clerical profession. For women deacons, on the other hand, in so far as the metaphor of diakonia has salience it is typically mobilized in a critique of authoritarianism amongst the male clergy. Evidence gathered from women serving as deacons shows that the great majority find the diaconate frustrating, support the ordination of women priests and have themselves felt a calling to priesthood. Drawing on Wittgenstein's concept of language-games embedded in forms of life, an analysis is presented of the grounding of this gendered discourse in the occupational culture of the clerical profession.