Julie Sommerlund

Classifying Microorganisms: The Multiplicity of Classifications and Research Practices in Molecular Microbial Ecology

This paper describes the coexistence of two systems for classifying organisms and species: a dominant genetic system and an older naturalist system. The former classifies species and traces their evolution on the basis of genetic characteristics, while the latter employs physiological characteristics. The coexistence of the classification systems does not lead to a conflict between them. Rather, the systems seem to co-exist in different configurations, through which they are complementary, contradictory and inclusive in different situations-sometimes simultaneously. The systems come into conflict only through the researchers’ verbal articulations; in their application conflict is hardly present at all. This paper treats their relationship as the ’central tension of science’ in reverse. Rather than comprising heterogeneous communities that need boundary objects to make cooperation and integration possible, the field of molecular biology seems to be overwhelmingly homogeneous, and in need of heterogeneity and conflict to add drive and momentum to the work being carried out. The paper is based on observations of daily life in a molecular microbiology laboratory at the Technical University of Denmark. It is thus a ’real time’ and material study of scientific paradigms and discourses.

Borders of “the boundaryless career”

Purpose – The paper aims to examine the notion of the boundaryless career, arguing that the notion is problematic, and that simultaneous co‐existence of different types of careers makes both “new” and “old” types of careers possible.Design/methodology/approach – The approach is twofold: a theoretical argument, and a qualitative ethnographic study, involving observations and interviews.Findings – The theoretical argument questions the underlying premise and promise of the notion of the boundaryless career, namely that modern careers amount to a higher level of personal freedom. This empirical study will serve to illustrate the co‐constitutive nature of different career stories.Research limitations/implications – The research is qualitative and thereby limited in the following way: it serves to give a deep understanding of the phenomena at hand, but is not easily generalizable. However, the methodology can inspire scholars to explore the findings observed in this paper.Practical implications – The idealizat...

Mediations In Fashion

This paper deals with the relations between the sociality of cultural economies and the cultural objects traded in them. It argues that the study of cultural economies must work up new methodologies that can account for both. The paper suggests the concept of the ‘mediator’ as a way of highlighting how cultural objects and sociality are co-constituted. The ‘mediator’ is formulated as a methodological tool for by-passing the academic divide between cultural-aesthetic objects and their social contexts.