Misunderstood misunderstanding: social identities and public uptake of science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wynne, B.

1992-01-01

This paper draws general insights into the public reception of scientific knowledge from a case study of Cumbrian sheep farmers' responses to scientific advice about the restrictions introduced after the Chernobyl radioactive fallout. The analysis identifies several substantive factors which influence the credibility of scientific communication. Starting from the now-accepted point that public uptake of science depends primarily upon the trust and credibility public groups are prepared to invest in scientific institutions and representatives, the paper observes that these are contingent upon the social relationships and identities which people feel to be affected by scientific knowledge, which never comes free of social interests or implications. The case study shows laypeople capable of extensive informal reflection upon their social relationships towards scientific experts, and on the epistemological status of their own 'local' knowledge in relation to 'outside' knowledge. Public uptake of science might be improved if scientific institutions expressed an equivalent reflexive discourse in the public domain. (author)

Mainstreaming the social sciences in conservation.

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Nathan J; Roth, Robin; Klain, Sarah C; Chan, Kai M A; Clark, Douglas A; Cullman, Georgina; Epstein, Graham; Nelson, Michael Paul; Stedman, Richard; Teel, Tara L; Thomas, Rebecca E W; Wyborn, Carina; Curran, Deborah; Greenberg, Alison; Sandlos, John; Veríssimo, Diogo

2017-02-01

Despite broad recognition of the value of social sciences and increasingly vocal calls for better engagement with the human element of conservation, the conservation social sciences remain misunderstood and underutilized in practice. The conservation social sciences can provide unique and important contributions to society's understanding of the relationships between humans and nature and to improving conservation practice and outcomes. There are 4 barriers-ideological, institutional, knowledge, and capacity-to meaningful integration of the social sciences into conservation. We provide practical guidance on overcoming these barriers to mainstream the social sciences in conservation science, practice, and policy. Broadly, we recommend fostering knowledge on the scope and contributions of the social sciences to conservation, including social scientists from the inception of interdisciplinary research projects, incorporating social science research and insights during all stages of conservation planning and implementation, building social science capacity at all scales in conservation organizations and agencies, and promoting engagement with the social sciences in and through global conservation policy-influencing organizations. Conservation social scientists, too, need to be willing to engage with natural science knowledge and to communicate insights and recommendations clearly. We urge the conservation community to move beyond superficial engagement with the conservation social sciences. A more inclusive and integrative conservation science-one that includes the natural and social sciences-will enable more ecologically effective and socially just conservation. Better collaboration among social scientists, natural scientists, practitioners, and policy makers will facilitate a renewed and more robust conservation. Mainstreaming the conservation social sciences will facilitate the uptake of the full range of insights and contributions from these fields into

Web Syndication Approaches for Sharing Primary Data in "Small Science" Domains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric C Kansa

2010-06-01

Full Text Available In some areas of science, sophisticated web services and semantics underlie "cyberinfrastructure". However, in "small science" domains, especially in field sciences such as archaeology, conservation, and public health, datasets often resist standardization. Publishing data in the small sciences should embrace this diversity rather than attempt to corral research into "universal" (domain standards. A growing ecosystem of increasingly powerful Web syndication based approaches for sharing data on the public Web can offer a viable approach. Atom Feed based services can be used with scientific collections to identify and create linkages across different datasets, even across disciplinary boundaries without shared domain standards.

Social Information-Processing Patterns of Maltreated Children in Two Social Domains

Science.gov (United States)

Keil, Vivien; Price, Joseph M.

2009-01-01

This study examined relations among social information-processing (SIP) variables in the domains of peer provocation and peer group entry. Using Crick and Dodge's [Crick, N. R., & Dodge, K. A. (1994). "A review and reformulation of social information-processing mechanisms in children's social adjustment." "Psychological Bulletin," 115, 74-101]…

Social Science Collaboration with Environmental Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoover, Elizabeth; Renauld, Mia; Edelstein, Michael R; Brown, Phil

2015-11-01

Social science research has been central in documenting and analyzing community discovery of environmental exposure and consequential processes. Collaboration with environmental health science through team projects has advanced and improved our understanding of environmental health and justice. We sought to identify diverse methods and topics in which social scientists have expanded environmental health understandings at multiple levels, to examine how transdisciplinary environmental health research fosters better science, and to learn how these partnerships have been able to flourish because of the support from National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). We analyzed various types of social science research to investigate how social science contributes to environmental health. We also examined NIEHS programs that foster social science. In addition, we developed a case study of a community-based participation research project in Akwesasne in order to demonstrate how social science has enhanced environmental health science. Social science has informed environmental health science through ethnographic studies of contaminated communities, analysis of spatial distribution of environmental injustice, psychological experience of contamination, social construction of risk and risk perception, and social impacts of disasters. Social science-environmental health team science has altered the way scientists traditionally explore exposure by pressing for cumulative exposure approaches and providing research data for policy applications. A transdisciplinary approach for environmental health practice has emerged that engages the social sciences to paint a full picture of the consequences of contamination so that policy makers, regulators, public health officials, and other stakeholders can better ameliorate impacts and prevent future exposure. Hoover E, Renauld M, Edelstein MR, Brown P. 2015. Social science collaboration with environmental health. Environ Health

Communicating science in social settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheufele, Dietram A

2013-08-20

This essay examines the societal dynamics surrounding modern science. It first discusses a number of challenges facing any effort to communicate science in social environments: lay publics with varying levels of preparedness for fully understanding new scientific breakthroughs; the deterioration of traditional media infrastructures; and an increasingly complex set of emerging technologies that are surrounded by a host of ethical, legal, and social considerations. Based on this overview, I discuss four areas in which empirical social science helps clarify intuitive but sometimes faulty assumptions about the social-level mechanisms of science communication and outline an agenda for bench and social scientists--driven by current social-scientific research in the field of science communication--to guide more effective communication efforts at the societal level in the future.

The effectivenes of science domain-based science learning integrated with local potency

Science.gov (United States)

Kurniawati, Arifah Putri; Prasetyo, Zuhdan Kun; Wilujeng, Insih; Suryadarma, I. Gusti Putu

2017-08-01

This research aimed to determine the significant effect of science domain-based science learning integrated with local potency toward science process skills. The research method used was a quasi-experimental design with nonequivalent control group design. The population of this research was all students of class VII SMP Negeri 1 Muntilan. The sample of this research was selected through cluster random sampling, namely class VII B as an experiment class (24 students) and class VII C as a control class (24 students). This research used a test instrument that was adapted from Agus Dwianto's research. The aspect of science process skills in this research was observation, classification, interpretation and communication. The analysis of data used the one factor anova at 0,05 significance level and normalized gain score. The significance level result of science process skills with one factor anova is 0,000. It shows that the significance level < alpha (0,05). It means that there was significant effect of science domain-based science learning integrated with local potency toward science learning process skills. The results of analysis show that the normalized gain score are 0,29 (low category) in control class and 0,67 (medium category) in experiment class.

Communicating science in social settings

Science.gov (United States)

Scheufele, Dietram A.

2013-01-01

This essay examines the societal dynamics surrounding modern science. It first discusses a number of challenges facing any effort to communicate science in social environments: lay publics with varying levels of preparedness for fully understanding new scientific breakthroughs; the deterioration of traditional media infrastructures; and an increasingly complex set of emerging technologies that are surrounded by a host of ethical, legal, and social considerations. Based on this overview, I discuss four areas in which empirical social science helps clarify intuitive but sometimes faulty assumptions about the social-level mechanisms of science communication and outline an agenda for bench and social scientists—driven by current social-scientific research in the field of science communication—to guide more effective communication efforts at the societal level in the future. PMID:23940341

Senator Fred Harris's National Social Science Foundation proposal: Reconsidering federal science policy, natural science-social science relations, and American liberalism during the 1960s.

Science.gov (United States)

Solovey, Mark

2012-03-01

During the 1960s, a growing contingent of left-leaning voices claimed that the social sciences suffered mistreatment and undue constraints within the natural science-dominated federal science establishment. According to these critics, the entrenched scientific pecking order in Washington had an unreasonable commitment to the unity of the sciences, which reinforced unacceptable inequalities between the social and the natural sciences. The most important political figure who advanced this critique, together with a substantial legislative proposal for reform, was the Oklahoma Democratic Senator Fred Harris. Yet histories of science and social science have told us surprisingly little about Harris. Moreover, existing accounts of his effort to create a National Social Science Foundation have misunderstood crucial features of this story. This essay argues that Harris's NSSF proposal developed into a robust, historically unique, and increasingly critical liberal challenge to the post-World War II federal science establishment's treatment of the social sciences as "second-class citizens."

Social Dynamics of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Xiaoling; Kaur, Jasleen; Milojević, Staša; Flammini, Alessandro; Menczer, Filippo

2013-01-01

The birth and decline of disciplines are critical to science and society. How do scientific disciplines emerge? No quantitative model to date allows us to validate competing theories on the different roles of endogenous processes, such as social collaborations, and exogenous events, such as scientific discoveries. Here we propose an agent-based model in which the evolution of disciplines is guided mainly by social interactions among agents representing scientists. Disciplines emerge from splitting and merging of social communities in a collaboration network. We find that this social model can account for a number of stylized facts about the relationships between disciplines, scholars, and publications. These results provide strong quantitative support for the key role of social interactions in shaping the dynamics of science. While several ``science of science'' theories exist, this is the first account for the emergence of disciplines that is validated on the basis of empirical data.

Digital Social Science Lab

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svendsen, Michael; Lauersen, Christian Ulrich

2015-01-01

At the Faculty Library of Social Sciences (part of Copenhagen University Library) we are currently working intensely towards the establishment of a Digital Social Science Lab (DSSL). The purpose of the lab is to connect research, education and learning processes with the use of digital tools...... at the Faculty of Social Sciences. DSSL will host and facilitate an 80 m2 large mobile and intelligent study- and learning environment with a focus on academic events, teaching and collaboration. Besides the physical settings DSSL has two primary functions: 1. To implement relevant social scientific software...... and hardware at the disposal for students and staff at The Faculty of Social Sciences along with instruction and teaching in the different types of software, e.g. Stata, Nvivo, Atlas.ti, R Studio, Zotero and GIS-software. 2. To facilitate academic events focusing on use of digital tools and analytic software...

A decision science approach for integrating social science in climate and energy solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Wong-Parodi, Gabrielle; Krishnamurti, Tamar; Davis, Alex; Schwartz, Daniel; Fischhoff, Baruch

2016-06-01

The social and behavioural sciences are critical for informing climate- and energy-related policies. We describe a decision science approach to applying those sciences. It has three stages: formal analysis of decisions, characterizing how well-informed actors should view them; descriptive research, examining how people actually behave in such circumstances; and interventions, informed by formal analysis and descriptive research, designed to create attractive options and help decision-makers choose among them. Each stage requires collaboration with technical experts (for example, climate scientists, geologists, power systems engineers and regulatory analysts), as well as continuing engagement with decision-makers. We illustrate the approach with examples from our own research in three domains related to mitigating climate change or adapting to its effects: preparing for sea-level rise, adopting smart grid technologies in homes, and investing in energy efficiency for office buildings. The decision science approach can facilitate creating climate- and energy-related policies that are behaviourally informed, realistic and respectful of the people whom they seek to aid.

Enacting the social relations of science

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Kristian Hvidtfelt

2008-01-01

This article investigates the writings of Danish science journalist Børge Michelsen from 1939 to 1956. As part of the international social relations of science movement in the period, Michelsen transformed science journalism from mere reporting on issues pertaining to science into performing...... the social function of science journalism: advancing and enacting the social relations of science. Based on analyses of Michelsen's articles and other initiatives, this study suggests that the social function of science journalism practiced by Michelsen showed many new and conflicting aspects. From...... new links to reinforce mutual relations between scientists and policy-makers, between scientists and journalists, and between science and the public. Finally, in the concluding remarks, the contemporary significance of Michelsen's social function of science journalism is discussed....

Social Work and Science

Science.gov (United States)

Gehlert, Sarah

2016-01-01

Interest has grown in the past few years about the place of social work in science. Questions remain, such as whether social work should be considered a science, and if so, where it fits into the constellation of sciences. This article attempts to shed light on these questions. After briefly considering past and present constructions of science…

A Forgotten Social Science?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Martin-Nielsen, Janet

2011-01-01

The post–World War II era was one of great triumph for American linguists—and yet linguistics is all but absent from the historical literature on postwar social science. This paper aims to illuminate this curious situation: to understand its provenance, evaluate its merits, and contextualize...... of linguistics has led to a parallel isolation in the historical literature. Ultimately, this paper poses a pivotal and timely question: How is the postwar social science space construed within the existing historiographic framework, and how should it be construed in order to maximize understanding? I propose...... it broadly. I argue that the historiographic lacuna results from two factors: (1) the opt-out of linguists from the wider American social science community, and (2) historical-developmental and -orientational factors that stand linguistics apart from the social science mainstream. The resultant isolation...

Imaginative methodologies in the social sciences

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Imaginative Methodologies develops, expands and challenges conventional social scientific methodology and language by way of literary, poetic and other alternative sources of inspiration. Sociologists, social workers, anthropologists, criminologists and psychologists all try to rethink, provoke...... and reignite social scientific methodology. Imaginative Methodologies challenges the mainstream social science methodological orthodoxy closely guarding the boundaries between the social sciences and the arts and humanities, pointing out that authors and artists are often engaged in projects parallel to those...... of the social sciences and vice versa, and that artistic and cultural productions today do not constitute a specialist field, but are integral to our social reality. The book will be of interest to scholars and students in the social sciences and across the arts and humanities working with questions...

“Space” and its Role in Recreating Architectural Theory and Social Science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Zarghami

2015-05-01

Full Text Available “Space” was architecture’s main keyword between the 1890s and 1960s, but it lost its significance in architecture gradually; this was mainly due to the prevalence of postmodern semiotics and theories of “place” in architecture. Social science however went through an inverse path. In the nineteenth century, in modern consciousness and through historicism, space became subordinate to time, time became linear, space became marginalized, and the temporal “stages” of development gained importance. Space in this period was a Cartesian/Newtonian abstract notion which was neutral in relation to society, history and context; and thus it was not in the domain of social sciences studies. In twentieth century, however, the social analyses adopted spatiality gradually, to the extent that the late twentieth century transformations in this field were called “the spatial turn”. Through investigating these two lines of evolution, it will be discussed in this article that with the adoption of a relational ontology concerning space and its enrichment through inter- and trans-disciplinary studies, “space”, as a keyword, can continue to be of importance in architectural theory and play a mediating role in its relation with social science.

Social science in a stem cell laboratory: what happened when social and life sciences met.

Science.gov (United States)

Stacey, Glyn; Stephens, Neil

2012-01-01

We describe the experience of conducting intensive social science research at the UK Stem Cell Bank from the viewpoint of both the person conducting the social science research and the Director of the Bank. We detail the initial misunderstandings and concerns held by both and the problems these caused. Then we describe how the relationship developed as the project progressed and shared benefits became apparent. Finally, while acknowledging potential areas of tension between the life and social sciences, we suggest further interaction between the disciplines would prove beneficial for both and speculate as to how this may be achieved. In the discussion we identify a set of learning points from our experience and definitions of social science terminology that may help to inform future engagements between life and social scientists.

Performative Social Science and Psychology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mary Gergen

2010-11-01

Full Text Available This article presents an overview of "Performative Social Science," which is defined as the deployment of different forms of artistic performance in the execution of a scientific project. Such forms may include art, theater, poetry, music, dance, photography, fiction writing, and multi-media applications. Performative research practices are in their developmental stage, with most of the major work appearing in the last two decades. Frequently based on a social constructionist metatheory, supporters reject a realist, or mapping view of representation, and explore varieties of expressive forms for constructing worlds relevant to the social sciences. The performative orientation often relies on a dramaturgical approach that encompasses value-laden, emotionally charged topics and presentations. Social scientists invested in social justice issues and political perspectives have been especially drawn to this approach. Performative social science invites productive collaborations among various disciplinary fields and between the sciences and arts. URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1101119

Social acceleration and the network effect: a defence of social 'science fiction' and network determinism.

Science.gov (United States)

Hassan, Robert

2010-06-01

This essay is a response to Judy Wajcman's essay 'Life in the fast lane? Towards a sociology of technology and time' (2008: 59-77). In that article Wajcman argued that recent developments in the sociology of temporal change had been marked by a tendency in social theory towards a form of 'science fiction'--a sociological theorizing, she maintains, that bears no real relation to actual, empirically provable developments in the field and should therefore be viewed as not contributing to 'a richer analysis of the relationship between technology and time' (2008: 61). This reply argues that as Wajcman suggests in her essay, there is indeed an 'urgent need for increased dialogue to connect social theory with detailed empirical studies' (2008: 59) but that the most fruitful way to proceed would not be through a constraining of 'science fiction' social theorizing but, rather, through its expansion--and more, that 'science fiction' should take the lead in the process. This essay suggests that the connection between social theory and empirical studies would be strengthened by a wider understanding of the function of knowledge and research in the context of what is termed 'true originality' and 'routine originality'. The former is the domain of social theory and the latter resides within traditional sociological disciplines. It is argued that both need each other to advance our understanding of society, especially in the context of the fast-changing processes of technological development. The example of 'technological determinism' is discussed as illustrative of how 'routine originality' can harden into dogma without the application of 'true originality' to continually question (sometimes through ideas that may appear to border on 'science fiction') comfortable assumptions that may have become 'routine' and shorn of their initial 'originality'.

The Epistemic Dimension of Competence in the Social Sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liliana Maggioni

2010-12-01

Full Text Available To investigate competence in the social sciences, we propose to define competence as a particular configuration of the learner’s cognition, strategic repertoire, motivation, and orientation toward knowing. Specifically, we focus on epistemic beliefs and on the changes that a view of knowing as a complex, effortful, generative, evidence-seeking, and reflective enterprise entails. In this context, we discuss how familiarity with the processes used to justify knowledge claims within specific disciplinary communities can provide useful tools to develop the kind of adaptive and consistent thinking that characterize competence in different domains and how this focus may aid the identification of characteristics common across domains. We use our empirical exploration of adolescents’ development of competence in the domain of history to illustrate the implications of this theoretical framework, to highlight the relations between domain-specific epistemic beliefs and kind of understanding that students built as a result of reading multiple texts, and to suggest what pedagogical practices may have influenced students’ orientations toward knowing in these three history classes.

Research methods from social science can contribute much to the health sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Wensing, Michel

2008-06-01

Research methods from social science, such as social network analysis, random coefficient modeling, and advanced measurement techniques, can contribute much to the health sciences. There is, however, a slow rate of transmission of social science methodology into the health sciences. This paper identifies some of the barriers for adoption and proposes ideas for the future. Commentary. Contributions of social science to the health sciences are not always recognized as such. It may help if the professional profile of social science in the health sciences would be higher and if its focus would be more on making useful predictions. Clinical epidemiologists may assume that their discipline includes all relevant methods and that social science is largely based on qualitative research. These perceptions need to be challenged in order to widen the scope of clinical epidemiology and include relevant methods from other sciences. New methods help to ask new research questions and to provide better to old questions. This paper has sketched challenges for both social science researchers and clinical epidemiologists.

Integrating Moral and Social Development within Middle School Social Studies: A Social Cognitive Domain Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Nucci, Larry; Creane, Michael W.; Powers, Deborah W.

2015-01-01

Eleven teachers and 254 urban middle-school students comprised the sample of this study examining the social and moral development outcomes of the integration of social cognitive domain theory within regular classroom instruction. Participating teachers were trained to construct and implement history lessons that stimulated students' moral…

Response: Social Work, Science, Social Impact--Crafting an Integrative Conversation

Science.gov (United States)

Nurius, Paula S.; Kemp, Susan P.

2012-01-01

Shifts in the ways that science is being undertaken and marshaled toward social change argue for a new kind of professional competence. Taking the view that the science of social work is centrally about the relationship of research to social impact, the authors extend Fong's focus on transdisciplinary and translational approaches to science,…

The Practice of Psychological Science: Searching for Cronbach's Two Streams in Social-Personality Psychology

OpenAIRE

Tracy, JL; Robins, RW; Sherman, JW

2009-01-01

The present research surveyed a group of editors and editorial board members of personality and social psychology journals to examine the practice of psychological science in their field. Findings demonstrate that (a) although personality and social researchers tend to use many of the same approaches, methods, and procedures, they nonetheless show average differences in each of these domains, as well as in their overarching theoretical aims and perspectives; (b) these average differences larg...

Analysis and modeling of complex data in behavioral and social sciences

CERN Document Server

Okada, Akinori; Ragozini, Giancarlo; Weihs, Claus

2014-01-01

This volume presents theoretical developments, applications and computational methods for the analysis and modeling in behavioral and social sciences where data are usually complex to explore and investigate. The challenging proposals provide a connection between statistical methodology and the social domain with particular attention to computational issues in order to effectively address complicated data analysis problems. The papers in this volume stem from contributions initially presented at the joint international meeting JCS-CLADAG held in Anacapri (Italy) where the Japanese Classification Society and the Classification and Data Analysis Group of the Italian Statistical Society had a stimulating scientific discussion and exchange.

Community centrality and social science research.

Science.gov (United States)

Allman, Dan

2015-12-01

Community centrality is a growing requirement of social science. The field's research practices are increasingly expected to conform to prescribed relationships with the people studied. Expectations about community centrality influence scholarly activities. These expectations can pressure social scientists to adhere to models of community involvement that are immediate and that include community-based co-investigators, advisory boards, and liaisons. In this context, disregarding community centrality can be interpreted as failure. This paper considers evolving norms about the centrality of community in social science. It problematises community inclusion and discusses concerns about the impact of community centrality on incremental theory development, academic integrity, freedom of speech, and the value of liberal versus communitarian knowledge. Through the application of a constructivist approach, this paper argues that social science in which community is omitted or on the periphery is not failed science, because not all social science requires a community base to make a genuine and valuable contribution. The utility of community centrality is not necessarily universal across all social science pursuits. The practices of knowing within social science disciplines may be difficult to transfer to a community. These practices of knowing require degrees of specialisation and interest that not all communities may want or have.

[Information flow between medical and social sciences].

Science.gov (United States)

Schubert, András; Somogyi, Anikó

2014-12-28

In order to reveal impacts of natural and social sciences on each other, the authors examined connections between fields of medical and social sciences using a search for references and citations of scientific publication. 1. The largest affinity between the medical and social sciences was found between neurosciences and psychology, but there was a significant affinity between clinical sciences and general social sciences, as well. 2. The example of General & Internal Medicine papers in the topics of "diabetes" suggests that in the period 2001-2010 the share of references to social sciences was significantly increased. In the meantime, social science papers in the same topics contained references to Clinical Medicine papers in a constantly high percentage. 3. In the sample under study, the age distribution of social science papers in the references did not differ significantly from that of the other sources. 4. Share of references to social science papers was found to be extremely high among Hungarian General & Internal Medicine papers in the topics of "diabetes". This finding still requires clarification, nevertheless, since e.g. it was not supported by an institutional comparison including the largest Hungarian medical research university. 5. The intensity of the reference/citation mediated information flows between the Hungarian Medical Journal, Orvosi Hetilap and social sciences appears to be in accordance with the current international trends.

SOCIAL SCIENCE CONTRIBUTIONS TO DISCUSSIONS AFFECT THE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

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Renato Santiago Quintal

2015-04-01

Full Text Available In its origins, the social sciences have focused on technological issues. Social scientists have devoted much attention to the subject affects the action of technological progress on the conformation of human life in General, as well as keeping an eye on more concreteness about the aspects related to the way the technique is acquired, the ways employed to protect her and the tools used to Exchange and protection. In this context, the article aims to identify the contributions of social sciences-notably of the applied social sciences-to discussions involving science, technology and innovation. The survey used the inductive method, applied to the literature review. The findings point to multidisciplinarity of significant thematic affects to science, technology and innovation. Keywords: Scientific knowledge; Social Sciences; Technology and society.

Social exclusion domains of the elderly: A systematic review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maliheh Khalvati

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Background: The elderly are considered as one of the vulnerable groups as they are subjected to the risk of decrease of participation in different domains of their life due to losing their jobs, a drop in salary and the increase of health-related problems. The current research was aimed to seek the elderly social exclusion domains in various countries around the world. Methods: This systematic review analyzed the published studies from 1999 to 2013. The articles were searched using the keywords of social exclusion along with old people, aging, elderly both in Persian and English in Google search engine and the Iranian and international databases. From among 77 studies obtained, 16 studies met the inclusion criteria for this research. Results: the findings indicated that the majority of studies (9 were conducted in Britain and the most common logical model was distributional and relational approach. Indicators were categorized in 5 domains: economic, social, health, environmental and neighborhood, and discrimination and elderly-oriented. In 50 percent of studies, access or lack of access to services, civil participations and social relations, in 12.5 percent of studies, access to proper health and in 18.7 percent of studies, living in secure environment and neighborhood were the indicators which attracted the most attention in evaluating the elderly social exclusion. Conclusion: Generally, choosing a logical and proper model to design and evaluate social exclusion contributed to decreasing the problems of social exclusion evaluation. Using the data gathered in family panels can also facilitate access to the data related to periodical evaluation of social exclusion.

Application of social domain of human mind in water management

Science.gov (United States)

Piirimäe, Kristjan

2010-05-01

Currently, researches dispute whether a human reasons domain-generally or domain-specifically (Fiddick, 2004). The theory of several intuitive reasoning programmes in human mind suggests that the main driver to increase problem-solving abilities is social domain (Byrne & Bates, 2009). This theory leads to an idea to apply the social domain also in environmental management. More specifically, environmental problems might be presented through social aspects. Cosmides (1989) proposed that the most powerful programme in our social domain might be ‘cheater detection module' - a genetically determined mental tool whose dedicated function is to unmask cheaters. She even suggested that only cheater detection can enable logical reasoning. Recently, this idea has found experimental proof and specifications (Buchner et al., 2009). From this perspective, a participatory environmental decision support system requires involvement of the representatives of social control such as environmental agencies and NGOs. These evaluators might effectively discover legal and moral inconsistencies, logical errors and other weaknesses in proposals if they are encouraged to detect cheating. Thus, instead of just environmental concerns, the query of an artificial intelligence should emphasize cheating. Following the idea of Cosmides (1989), employment of cheater detectors to EDSS might appear the only way to achieve environmental management which applies correct logical reasoning as well as both, legislative requirements and conservationist moral. According to our hypothesis, representatives of social control can well discover legal and moral inconsistencies, logical errors and and other weaknesses in envirionmental management proposals if encouraged for cheater detection. In our social experiment, a draft plan of measures for sustainable management of Lake Peipsi environment was proposed to representatives of social control, including Ministry of Environment, other environmental authorities

Social Sciences in Nuclear Research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eggermont, G.

2001-01-01

In 1998, an initiative was taken by SCK-CEN to include social sciences and humanities into its research programme. As a result, two working groups were created to discuss two broad items: (1) ethical choices in radiation protection; and (2) the role and culture of nuclear experts. The general objectives of SCK-CEN's social sciences programme are: (1) to improve the nuclear research approach by integrating social sciences - where needed- to solve complex problems in interaction with society; (2) to stimulate university collaboration with social disciplines in learning process towards transdisciplinary and improved social responsibility; (3) to improve the training of nuclear experts of SCK-CEN by gaining insight in their expert culture and implicit ethical choices; (4) to develop projects and an original transdisciplinary programme and project management by involving young and senior scientists, a variety of university opinions and relevant actors from industry and society. Along these lines, projects were developed on sustainability and nuclear development, transgenerational ethics related to disposal of long-lived radioactive waste and cognitive dissonance effects, legal aspects and liability, non-radiological aspects of nuclear emergencies and safety. Progress and major achievements in SCK-CEN's social science programme in 2000 are summarised

Contextualizing Social Science in Nepal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dev Raj Dahal

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Social science informs about the ideals and trains experts to deal with the complex social realities. It has a public purpose rooted in what we call dharma (professional and institutional responsibility as opposed to the arrogance of reason, self-will and self-rationalization intrinsic to contemporary rational choice and modernity. Learning has a synergy - establishing connection between the world of social science theories and the drama of social life. A lack of mutual learning between Nepal's traditional faith intellectuals and modern reason-based social scientists has created a big hiatus and contradiction. The academic life of social scientists in Nepal is completely outside of spiritual, moral and ethical influence experienced by ordinary public. The spiritual blindness of modern social scientists has thus opened multiple gaps between their worldview and those of the citizens on various frontiers--theoretical knowledge and practical experience, technical understanding and composite knowledge and secularity of social science and the vitality of the Hindu-Buddhist scriptures in the popular mind, culture, behavior and practices. This has reinforced a division between the system of knowledge of social scientists and the life-world of people. The proponents of new social movements in Nepal, such as women, Dalits, Janajatis, Madhesis, youths and marginalized population are seeking a structural shift in reason-based knowledge to both reason and feeling in social science knowledge discovery. This movement can open the "captive mind" to social learning of contextual knowledge, conduct research with the citizens, provide inputs to the policy makers and reverse their linear, structure-bound, rationalist and disciplinary thinking into the one that represents what the Nepal mandala, the Nepali space, is really like and how to improve it for the better. The renewal and indigenization of qualitative social science research is important to overcome the

128 THE SOCIAL SCIENCES AND THE SOCIALLY OPPRESSED IN ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ike Odimegwu

subject to a series of rigorous testing, self-scrutiny and the verification of facts as ... the social sciences cannot be subject to such tests and verification. The social sciences ... until such a time when that hypothesis or theory is scrutinized and.

Social science in the Cold War.

Science.gov (United States)

Engerman, David C

2010-06-01

This essay examines ways in which American social science in the late twentieth century was--and was not--a creature of the Cold War. It identifies important work by historians that calls into question the assumption that all social science during the Cold War amounts to "Cold War social science." These historians attribute significant agency to social scientists, showing how they were enmeshed in both long-running disciplinary discussions and new institutional environments. Key trends in this scholarship include a broadening historical perspective to see social scientists in the Cold War as responding to the ideas of their scholarly predecessors; identifying the institutional legacies of World War II; and examining in close detail the products of extramural--especially governmental--funding. The result is a view of social science in the Cold War in which national security concerns are relevant, but with varied and often unexpected impacts on intellectual life.

Global Social Challenges: insights from the physical sciences and their relevance to the evolution of social science

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2014-01-01

The complex challenges confronting humanity today point to the need for new thinking and new theory in the social sciences which overcomes the limitations of compartmentalized, sectoral concepts, strategies and policies and mechanistic approaches to living social systems. The World Academy of Art & Science is convening a consortium of leading institutions and thinkers from different sectors to contribute ideas for formulation of a cohesive framework capable of addressing global social challenges in their totality and complex interrelationships. The objective of my presentation will be to explore the potential for collaboration between the physical and social sciences to arrive at a more cohesive and effective framework by exploring a series of questions, including - - Is an integrated science of society possible that transcends disciplinary boundaries based on common underlying principles as we find in the natural sciences? - To what extent can principles of natural science serve as valid models and a...

The Science of Social Work and Its Relationship to Social Work Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Anastas, Jeane W.

2014-01-01

As John Brekke has observed, social work does not use the word "science" to define itself, suggesting a need to articulate a science of social work. This article discusses the science of social work and its relationship to social work practice in the United States, arguing that a "rapprochement" between practice and science…

Social Sciences in Nuclear Research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eggermont, G

2001-04-01

In 1998, an initiative was taken by SCK-CEN to include social sciences and humanities into its research programme. As a result, two working groups were created to discuss two broad items: (1) ethical choices in radiation protection; and (2) the role and culture of nuclear experts. The general objectives of SCK-CEN's social sciences programme are: (1) to improve the nuclear research approach by integrating social sciences - where needed- to solve complex problems in interaction with society; (2) to stimulate university collaboration with social disciplines in learning process towards transdisciplinary and improved social responsibility; (3) to improve the training of nuclear experts of SCK-CEN by gaining insight in their expert culture and implicit ethical choices; (4) to develop projects and an original transdisciplinary programme and project management by involving young and senior scientists, a variety of university opinions and relevant actors from industry and society. Along these lines, projects were developed on sustainability and nuclear development, transgenerational ethics related to disposal of long-lived radioactive waste and cognitive dissonance effects, legal aspects and liability, non-radiological aspects of nuclear emergencies and safety. Progress and major achievements in SCK-CEN's social science programme in 2000 are summarised.

Social Science Boot Camp: Development and Assessment of a Foundational Course on Academic Literacy in the Social Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Eaton, Judy; Long, Jennifer; Morris, David

2018-01-01

We developed a course, as part of our institution's core program, which provides students with a foundation in academic literacy in the social sciences: how to find, read, critically assess, and communicate about social science research. It is not a research methods course; rather, it is intended to introduce students to the social sciences and be…

Social movements and science

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jamison, Andrew

2006-01-01

The article examines the role of social movements in the development of scientific knowledge. Interactions between social movements and science in broad, historical terms are discussed. The relations between the new social movements of the 1960s and 1970s and changes in the contemporary scientific...

Physics Laws of Social Science

OpenAIRE

Wayne, James J.

2013-01-01

Economics, and other fields of social science are often criticized as unscientific for their apparent failures to formulate universal laws governing human societies. Whether economics is truly a science is one of the oldest questions. This paper attempts to create such universal laws, and asserts that economics is a branch of quantum physics just like chemistry. Choice is a central concept in economics and other fields of social science, yet there is no corresponding concept of choice in mode...

Social science. Publication bias in the social sciences: unlocking the file drawer.

Science.gov (United States)

Franco, Annie; Malhotra, Neil; Simonovits, Gabor

2014-09-19

We studied publication bias in the social sciences by analyzing a known population of conducted studies--221 in total--in which there is a full accounting of what is published and unpublished. We leveraged Time-sharing Experiments in the Social Sciences (TESS), a National Science Foundation-sponsored program in which researchers propose survey-based experiments to be run on representative samples of American adults. Because TESS proposals undergo rigorous peer review, the studies in the sample all exceed a substantial quality threshold. Strong results are 40 percentage points more likely to be published than are null results and 60 percentage points more likely to be written up. We provide direct evidence of publication bias and identify the stage of research production at which publication bias occurs: Authors do not write up and submit null findings. Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

International Conference on Data Science & Social Research

CERN Document Server

Amaturo, Enrica; Grassia, Maria; Aragona, Biagio; Marino, Marina

2017-01-01

This edited volume lays the groundwork for Social Data Science, addressing epistemological issues, methods, technologies, software and applications of data science in the social sciences. It presents data science techniques for the collection, analysis and use of both online and offline new (big) data in social research and related applications. Among others, the individual contributions cover topics like social media, learning analytics, clustering, statistical literacy, recurrence analysis and network analysis. Data science is a multidisciplinary approach based mainly on the methods of statistics and computer science, and its aim is to develop appropriate methodologies for forecasting and decision-making in response to an increasingly complex reality often characterized by large amounts of data (big data) of various types (numeric, ordinal and nominal variables, symbolic data, texts, images, data streams, multi-way data, social networks etc.) and from diverse sources. This book presents selected papers from...

Visualizing the nuclear science and technology knowledge domain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Melo, Bruno Mattos Souza de Souza; Honaiser, Eduardo H.R. [Centro Tecnologico da Marinha em Sao Paulo (CTMSP), SP (Brazil)]. E-mails: brunomelo@ieee.org; ehonaiser@yahoo.com.br

2007-07-01

In this paper, a knowledge domain visualization approach is applied to the nuclear science and technology fields. A so-called concept density map based on the abstracts of the papers presented at the ICONE 14 is constructed. The concept map provides an overview of the nuclear science and technology fields by visualizing the associations between their main concepts. To analyze recent developments the concept map is compared with a concept map based on abstracts of earlier ICONE meetings. The analysis presented in the paper provides insight into the structure of the nuclear science and technology fields and into the most significant developments carried out during the last few years. (author)

The Distance between Perception and Reality in the Social Domains of Life

OpenAIRE

Lora, Eduardo

2013-01-01

The distance between perception and reality with respect to the social domains of life is often striking. Using survey data collected on Latin American countries, this paper provides an overview of the main empirical findings on the gaps between perception and reality in four social domains--health, employment, the perception of security, and social ranking. The overview emphasizes the psychological biases that may explain the gaps. Biases associated with cultural values are very relevant wit...

The Effects of Item Format and Cognitive Domain on Students' Science Performance in TIMSS 2011

Science.gov (United States)

Liou, Pey-Yan; Bulut, Okan

2017-12-01

The purpose of this study was to examine eighth-grade students' science performance in terms of two test design components, item format, and cognitive domain. The portion of Taiwanese data came from the 2011 administration of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), one of the major international large-scale assessments in science. The item difficulty analysis was initially applied to show the proportion of correct items. A regression-based cumulative link mixed modeling (CLMM) approach was further utilized to estimate the impact of item format, cognitive domain, and their interaction on the students' science scores. The results of the proportion-correct statistics showed that constructed-response items were more difficult than multiple-choice items, and that the reasoning cognitive domain items were more difficult compared to the items in the applying and knowing domains. In terms of the CLMM results, students tended to obtain higher scores when answering constructed-response items as well as items in the applying cognitive domain. When the two predictors and the interaction term were included together, the directions and magnitudes of the predictors on student science performance changed substantially. Plausible explanations for the complex nature of the effects of the two test-design predictors on student science performance are discussed. The results provide practical, empirical-based evidence for test developers, teachers, and stakeholders to be aware of the differential function of item format, cognitive domain, and their interaction in students' science performance.

Time representations in social science.

Science.gov (United States)

Schulz, Yvan

2012-12-01

Time has long been a major topic of study in social science, as in other sciences or in philosophy. Social scientists have tended to focus on collective representations of time, and on the ways in which these representations shape our everyday experiences. This contribution addresses work from such disciplines as anthropology, sociology and history. It focuses on several of the main theories that have preoccupied specialists in social science, such as the alleged "acceleration" of life and overgrowth of the present in contemporary Western societies, or the distinction between so-called linear and circular conceptions of time. The presentation of these theories is accompanied by some of the critiques they have provoked, in order to enable the reader to form her or his own opinion of them.

Mapping "Social Responsibility" in Science

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Horst, Maja; Glerup, Cecilie

The paper investigates the discourse on social responsibility in science as it appears in academic journals. Through database searches a collection of more than 300 papers have been analysed in order to map their answers to the following three questions: - What is the central problem that threatens...... responsibility in science? - What are the central aspects of science or its relation to society that need to be regulated or changed? - What kinds of solutions are imagined and how are these solutions supposed to be put into place? On this basis the paper explores how different interpretations of the notion...... of social responsibility of science imply different forms of governance of and within science. The paper employs a Foucaldian discourse analysis to understand how a particular conceptualisation of responsibility implies a political rationality, i.e. a particular form of governance of science. The analysis...

Social Media, Open Science, and Data Science Are Inextricably Linked.

Science.gov (United States)

Voytek, Bradley

2017-12-20

Should scientists use social media? Why practice open science? What is data science? Ten years ago, these phrases hardly existed. Now they are ubiquitous. Here I argue that these phenomena are inextricably linked and reflect similar underlying social and technological transformations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Social and Economic Analysis Branch: integrating policy, social, economic, and natural science

Science.gov (United States)

Schuster, Rudy; Walters, Katie D.

2015-01-01

The Fort Collins Science Center's Social and Economic Analysis Branch provides unique capabilities in the U.S. Geological Survey by leading projects that integrate social, behavioral, economic, and natural science in the context of human–natural resource interactions. Our research provides scientific understanding and support for the management and conservation of our natural resources in support of multiple agency missions. We focus on meeting the scientific needs of the Department of the Interior natural resource management bureaus in addition to fostering partnerships with other Federal and State managers to protect, restore, and enhance our environment. The Social and Economic Analysis Branch has an interdisciplinary group of scientists whose primary functions are to conduct both theoretical and applied social science research, provide technical assistance, and offer training to support the development of skills in natural resource management activities. Management and research issues associated with human-resource interactions typically occur in a unique context and require knowledge of both natural and social sciences, along with the skill to integrate multiple science disciplines. In response to these challenging contexts, Social and Economic Analysis Branch researchers apply a wide variety of social science concepts and methods which complement our rangeland/agricultural, wildlife, ecology, and biology capabilities. The goal of the Social and Economic Analysis Branch's research is to enhance natural-resource management, agency functions, policies, and decisionmaking.

Influence of social relationship domains and their combinations on incident dementia: a prospective cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Saito, Tami; Murata, Chiyoe; Saito, Masashige; Takeda, Tokunori; Kondo, Katsunori

2018-01-01

Social relationships consist of mutually related but distinct dimensions. It remains unclear how these domains independently contribute to incident dementia. This large-scale, prospective cohort study examines associations between the social relationship domains as well as their combinations and incident dementia among community-dwelling older adults. We analysed data from 13 984 community-dwelling adults aged 65+ without long-term care needs living in Aichi prefecture in Japan. Incident dementia was assessed based on the Long-term Care Insurance records, followed for 3436 days from the baseline survey conducted in 2003. Three social relationships domains (social support, social networks and social activities) were further divided into a total of eight subdomains. A social relationship diversity score was calculated using the social relationship domains which were significantly related to incident dementia. A Cox proportional hazards model showed that being married, exchanging support with family members, having contact with friends, participating in community groups and engaging in paid work were related to a lower likelihood of developing incident dementia, controlling for covariates and other social relationship domains. The diversity scores, ranging from 0 to 5, were linearly associated with incident dementia (psocial relationship subdomains which were negatively related to incident dementia, suggesting that dementia may potentially be prevented by enhancing these social relationships. Future studies should examine independent pathways between each social relationship domain and incident dementia. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Operationalizing Social Work Science through Research-Practice Partnerships: Lessons from Implementation Science

Science.gov (United States)

Palinkas, Lawrence A.; He, Amy S.; Choy-Brown, Mimi; Hertel, Amy Locklear

2017-01-01

Recent efforts to identify and promote a distinct science for the discipline of social work have led to an ongoing debate regarding the nature and function of such a science. Central to this debate is a lack of consensus as to how to operationalize a social work science. Drawing from the field of implementation science and its application in…

Traditions in spider monkeys are biased towards the social domain.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claire J Santorelli

Full Text Available Cross-site comparison studies of behavioral variation can provide evidence for traditions in wild species once ecological and genetic factors are excluded as causes for cross-site differences. These studies ensure behavior variants are considered within the context of a species' ecology and evolutionary adaptations. We examined wide-scale geographic variation in the behavior of spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi across five long-term field sites in Central America using a well established ethnographic cross-site survey method. Spider monkeys possess a relatively rare social system with a high degree of fission-fusion dynamics, also typical of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes and humans (Homo sapiens. From the initial 62 behaviors surveyed 65% failed to meet the necessary criteria for traditions. The remaining 22 behaviors showed cross-site variation in occurrence ranging from absent through to customary, representing to our knowledge, the first documented cases of traditions in this taxon and only the second case of multiple traditions in a New World monkey species. Of the 22 behavioral variants recorded across all sites, on average 57% occurred in the social domain, 19% in food-related domains and 24% in other domains. This social bias contrasts with the food-related bias reported in great ape cross-site comparison studies and has implications for the evolution of human culture. No pattern of geographical radiation was found in relation to distance across sites. Our findings promote A. geoffroyi as a model species to investigate traditions with field and captive based experiments and emphasize the importance of the social domain for the study of animal traditions.

Applied Computational Mathematics in Social Sciences

CERN Document Server

Damaceanu, Romulus-Catalin

2010-01-01

Applied Computational Mathematics in Social Sciences adopts a modern scientific approach that combines knowledge from mathematical modeling with various aspects of social science. Special algorithms can be created to simulate an artificial society and a detailed analysis can subsequently be used to project social realities. This Ebook specifically deals with computations using the NetLogo platform, and is intended for researchers interested in advanced human geography and mathematical modeling studies.

Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review (EASSRR) is a bi-annual journal published by the Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern Africa (OSSREA). Since the publication of its maiden ... Emerging regions in Ethiopia: are they catching up with the rest of Ethiopia? EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL ...

Quantum social science

CERN Document Server

Haven, Emmanuel

2013-01-01

Written by world experts in the foundations of quantum mechanics and its applications to social science, this book shows how elementary quantum mechanical principles can be applied to decision-making paradoxes in psychology and used in modelling information in finance and economics. The book starts with a thorough overview of some of the salient differences between classical, statistical and quantum mechanics. It presents arguments on why quantum mechanics can be applied outside of physics and defines quantum social science. The issue of the existence of quantum probabilistic effects in psychology, economics and finance is addressed and basic questions and answers are provided. Aimed at researchers in economics and psychology, as well as physics, basic mathematical preliminaries and elementary concepts from quantum mechanics are defined in a self-contained way.

Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review: Contact

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review: Contact. Journal Home > About the Journal > Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review: Contact. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

Patterns of rationality recurring inferences in science, social cognition and religious thinking

CERN Document Server

Bertolotti, Tommaso

2015-01-01

This book proposes an applied epistemological framework for investigating science, social cognition and religious thinking based on inferential patterns that recur in the different domains. It presents human rationality as a tool that allows us to make sense of our (physical or social) surroundings. It shows that the resulting cognitive activity produces a broad spectrum of outputs, such as scientific models and experimentation, gossip and social networks, but also ancient and contemporary deities. The book consists of three parts, the first of which addresses scientific modeling and experimentation, and their application to the analysis of scientific rationality. Thus, this part continues the tradition of eco-cognitive epistemology and abduction studies. The second part deals with the relationship between social cognition and cognitive niche construction, i.e. the evolutionarily relevant externalization of knowledge onto the environment, while the third part focuses on what is commonly defined as "irrational...

Researching Undergraduate Social Science Research

Science.gov (United States)

Rand, Jane

2016-01-01

The experience(s) of undergraduate research students in the social sciences is under-represented in the literature in comparison to the natural sciences or science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). The strength of STEM undergraduate research learning environments is understood to be related to an apprenticeship-mode of learning supported…

Directory of Research in Social Studies/Social Sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Barret, Anna R.; Carnett, George S.

Described are current trends in the social and behavioral sciences intended to meet the needs of the educational community. The projects listed include studies in anthropology, sociology, political science, history, geography, foreign area studies, economics, international relations, and environmental education. Part I of the directory lists…

Fort Collins Science Center- Policy Analysis and Science Assistance Branch : Integrating social, behavioral, economic and biological sciences

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

The Fort Collins Science Center's Policy Analysis and Science Assistance (PASA) Branch is a team of approximately 22 scientists, technicians, and graduate student researchers. PASA provides unique capabilities in the U.S. Geological Survey by leading projects that integrate social, behavioral, economic, and biological analyses in the context of human-natural resource interactions. Resource planners, managers, and policymakers in the U.S. Departments of the Interior (DOI) and Agriculture (USDA), State and local agencies, as well as international agencies use information from PASA studies to make informed natural resource management and policy decisions. PASA scientists' primary functions are to conduct both theoretical and applied social science research, provide technical assistance, and offer training to advance performance in policy relevant research areas. Management and research issues associated with human-resource interactions typically occur in a unique context, involve difficult to access populations, require knowledge of both natural/biological science in addition to social science, and require the skill to integrate multiple science disciplines. In response to these difficult contexts, PASA researchers apply traditional and state-of-the-art social science methods drawing from the fields of sociology, demography, economics, political science, communications, social-psychology, and applied industrial organization psychology. Social science methods work in concert with our rangeland/agricultural management, wildlife, ecology, and biology capabilities. The goal of PASA's research is to enhance natural resource management, agency functions, policies, and decision-making. Our research is organized into four broad areas of study.

The practice of psychological science: searching for Cronbach's two streams in social-personality psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Tracy, Jessica L; Robins, Richard W; Sherman, Jeffrey W

2009-06-01

The present research surveyed a group of editors and editorial board members of personality and social psychology journals to examine the practice of psychological science in their field. Findings demonstrate that (a) although personality and social researchers tend to use many of the same approaches, methods, and procedures, they nonetheless show average differences in each of these domains, as well as in their overarching theoretical aims and perspectives; (b) these average differences largely conform to social and personality researchers' stereotypes about each subgroup; (c) despite their methodological and philosophical differences, the 2 subgroups study many of the same research topics; and (d) the structure of social-personality research practices can be characterized as having 2 independent factors, which closely correspond to L. J. Cronbach's (1957) correlational and experimental "streams of research."

Multiple domains of social support are associated with diabetes self-management among Veterans.

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, Kristen E; Hoerster, Katherine D; Reiber, Gayle E; Bastian, Lori A; Nelson, Karin M

2018-01-01

Objectives To examine, among Veterans, relationships of general social support and diabetes-specific social support for physical activity and healthy eating with diabetes self-management behaviors. Methods Patients from VA Puget Sound, Seattle completed a cross-sectional survey in 2012-2013 ( N = 717). We measured (a) general social support and (b) diabetes-specific social support for healthy eating and physical activity with domains reflecting support person participation, encouragement, and sharing ideas. Among 189 self-reporting diabetes patients, we fit linear and modified Poisson regression models estimating associations of social support with diabetes self-management behaviors: adherence to general and diabetes-specific diets and blood glucose monitoring (days/week); physical activity (social support was not associated with diabetes self-management. For diabetes-specific social support, higher healthy eating support scores across all domains were associated with better adherence to general and diabetes-specific diets. Higher physical activity support scores were positively associated with ≥150 min/week of physical activity only for the participation domain. Discussion Diabetes-specific social support was a stronger and more consistent correlate of improved self-management than general social support, particularly for lifestyle behaviors. Incorporating family/friends into Veterans' diabetes self-management routines may lead to better self-management and improvements in disease control and outcomes.

Using Social Media to Communicate Science

Science.gov (United States)

Bohon, W.

2017-12-01

Social media (SM) is a popular and ubiquitous communication method and as such offers scientists an opportunity to directly interface with the public, improve public perception of science and scientists, and combat the growing tide of scientific misunderstanding and misinformation. It's become increasingly critical for scientists to use their voice and influence to communicate science and address misinformation. More than 60% of US adults get news from SM (1) but studies find that scientists infrequently post about science (2), missing a rich opportunity to combat scientific disinformation. While it may seem like a futile exercise to educate over SM, even passive exposure to new information can change public perceptions and behavior (3). Additionally, scientists, especially early career scientists, have social networks populated largely by non-scientists (2), allowing them an opportunity to speak to an audience that already trusts and values their scientific judgment. Importantly, these networks are often ideologically and politically diverse (4). However, science communication isn't as simple as a presentation of facts, and effective science communication via SM requires both SM competence and science communication proficiency. Thus, a discussion of best practices for both topics would benefit the scientific community. The range of potential topics for discussion is broad and could include scientific storytelling, empathetic communication, crafting a message, using SM to "humanize science", tips and tricks for broad SM information dissemination and how to run an effective SM campaign. (1) Gottfried J, Shearer E. New use across social media platforms: Pew Research Center; 2016. Available from: http://www.journalism.org/2016/05/26/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-2016/. (2) McClain, Craig R., Practices and promises of Facebook for science outreach:Becoming a "Nerd of Trust". PLOS Biology 15(6). 2017; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2002020(3) Messing S

The Social Science Curriculum of the Two-Year College.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedlander, Jack

1980-01-01

Describes a nationwide study to identify: (1) the representation of different areas within the social sciences (i.e. anthropology, economics, history, political science, psychology, social/ethnic studies, sociology, and interdisciplinary social sciences) in the two-year college curriculum, and (2) which courses were offered for transfer,…

Big Data and historical social science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Bearman

2015-11-01

Full Text Available “Big Data” can revolutionize historical social science if it arises from substantively important contexts and is oriented towards answering substantively important questions. Such data may be especially important for answering previously largely intractable questions about the timing and sequencing of events, and of event boundaries. That said, “Big Data” makes no difference for social scientists and historians whose accounts rest on narrative sentences. Since such accounts are the norm, the effects of Big Data on the practice of historical social science may be more limited than one might wish.

The Behavioral and Social Sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Simon, Herbert A.

1980-01-01

This article reviews some recent technical progress in the social sciences and three frontier areas including evolutionary theory as related to sociobiology, the theory of human rational choice, and cognitive science. These areas offer explanations for broad areas of human behavior. (Author/SA)

Applied Statistics for the Social and Health Sciences

CERN Document Server

Gordon, Rachel A A

2012-01-01

Applied Statistics for the Social and Health Sciences provides graduate students in the social and health sciences with the basic skills that they need to estimate, interpret, present, and publish statistical models using contemporary standards. The book targets the social and health science branches such as human development, public health, sociology, psychology, education, and social work in which students bring a wide range of mathematical skills and have a wide range of methodological affinities. For these students, a successful course in statistics will not only offer statistical content

An emerging action science of social settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Seidman, Edward

2012-09-01

Seymour B. Sarason's innovative ideas have influenced much of my work. These same ideas-in particular, his concepts of social settings, behavioral and programmatic regularities, and the universe of alternatives-also serve as the foundation for an action science of social settings. Questions regarding theory, measurement, intervention, and research design and data analysis are central to the development of this action science, and there have been recent innovations in each of these areas. However, future challenges remain for the field. We must continue to move forward to advance an action science of social settings and make a real difference in people's lives.

Science during crisis: the application of social science during major environmental crises

Science.gov (United States)

Machlis, Gary; Ludwig, Kris; Manfredo, Michael J.; Vaske, Jerry J.; Rechkemmer, Andreas; Duke, Esther

2014-01-01

Historical and contemporary experience suggests that science plays an increasingly critical role in governmental and institutional responses to major environmental crises. Recent examples include major western wildfires (2009), the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (2010), the Fukushima nuclear accident (2011), and Hurricane Sandy (2012). The application of science during such crises has several distinctive characteristics, as well as essential requirements if it is to be useful to decision makers. these include scope conditions that include coupled natural/human systems, clear statement of uncertainties and limitations, description of cascading consequences, accurate sense of place, estimates of magnitude of impacts, identification of beneficiaries and those adversely affected, clarity and conciseness, compelling visualization and presentation, capacity to speak "truth to power", and direct access to decision makers. In this chapter, we explore the role and significance of science – including all relevant disciplines and focusing attention on the social sciences – in responding to major environmental crises. We explore several important questions: How is science during crisis distinctive? What social science is most useful during crises? What distinctive characteristics are necessary for social science to make meaningful contributions to emergency response and recovery? How might the social sciences be integrated into the strategic science needed to respond to future crises? The authors, both members of the Department of the Interior's innovative Strategic Sciences Group, describe broad principles of engagement as well as specific examples drawn from history, contemporary efforts (such as during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill), and predictions of environmental crises still to be confronted.

Applied modelling and computing in social science

CERN Document Server

Povh, Janez

2015-01-01

In social science outstanding results are yielded by advanced simulation methods, based on state of the art software technologies and an appropriate combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. This book presents examples of successful applications of modelling and computing in social science: business and logistic process simulation and optimization, deeper knowledge extractions from big data, better understanding and predicting of social behaviour and modelling health and environment changes.

Towards an ontological model defining the social engineering domain

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Mouton, F

2014-08-01

Full Text Available -1 ICT and Society IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology Volume 431, 2014, pp 266- 279 Towards an Ontological Model Defining the Social Engineering Domain Francois Mouton 1 , Louise Leenen 1 , Mercia M. Malan 2 , and H...

Green Turning Brown - Domain Engineering for Social and Health Services in Finland.

Science.gov (United States)

Suomi, Reima; Nykänen, Pirkko; Vepsäläinen, Tapio; Hiltunen, Riina

2017-01-01

Being able to design information systems to an untouched domain, without the burden of existing information systems, especially legacy systems, is often seen as a dream of most information system professionals. Uncharted domains are anyway scarce, and often such greenfield projects turn into brownfield projects, also to projects where existing structures severely constrain the development of new systems. In this article we discuss the concepts of greenfield and brownfield domain engineering and software development, and reflect their possible messages to the re-engineering of the Finnish health- and social care ecosystem currently under way. In our fieldwork we could identify a lot of need and wish for greenfield domain engineering in the Finnish health and social services delivery. As well we found a lot of brownfield elements inhibiting change. Our proposal for the future is a ecosystem approach, where new and established elements could live together in a self-governed balance.

Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review: Site Map

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review: Site Map. Journal Home > About the Journal > Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review: Site Map. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

Assessing Prinary School; Second Cycle Social Science Textbooks ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Assessing Prinary School; Second Cycle Social Science Textbooks in ... second cycle primary level social science textbooks vis-à-vis the principles of multiculturalism. ... Biases were disclosed in gender, economic and occupational roles.

Finding Commonalities: Social Information Processing and Domain Theory in the Study of Aggression

Science.gov (United States)

Nucci, Larry

2004-01-01

The Arsenio and Lemerise (this issue) proposal integrating social information processing (SIP) and domain theory to study children's aggression is evaluated from a domain theory perspective. Basic tenets of domain theory rendering it compatible with SIP are discussed as well as points of divergence. Focus is directed to the proposition that…

Poster "Maladies rares & sciences sociales"

OpenAIRE

Duysens, Fanny

2018-01-01

Le poster "Maladies rares & sciences sociales" visait à présenter la recherche doctorale de l'auteure au grand public dans le cadre de la Journée des Maladies Rares du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège dont le thème était "la recherche sur les maladies rares". Réalisé spécialement pour l'occasion, le poster explicitait de manière synthétique le sujet de recherche, la méthodologie, certains résultats, ainsi que les apports possibles des échanges entre chercheurs en sciences et sociales...

Introduction to the Social Sciences: Teacher's Manual.

Science.gov (United States)

Blum, Mark E.; Spangehl, Stephen D.

A competency-based, introductory social science course for college students is described. Objectives of the manual are twofold--first, to present the complete set of materials which have served as the basis of a one semester social sciences course at the University of Louisville over three years, and, second, to offer suggestions regarding…

A data discovery index for the social sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Krämer, Thomas; Klas, Claus-Peter; Hausstein, Brigitte

2018-04-10

This paper describes a novel search index for social and economic research data, one that enables users to search up-to-date references for data holdings in these disciplines. The index can be used for comparative analysis of publication of datasets in different areas of social science. The core of the index is the da|ra registration agency's database for social and economic data, which contains high-quality searchable metadata from registered data publishers. Research data's metadata records are harvested from data providers around the world and included in the index. In this paper, we describe the currently available indices on social science datasets and their shortcomings. Next, we describe the motivation behind and the purpose for the data discovery index as a dedicated and curated platform for finding social science research data and gesisDataSearch, its user interface. Further, we explain the harvesting, filtering and indexing procedure and give usage instructions for the dataset index. Lastly, we show that the index is currently the most comprehensive and most accessible collection of social science data descriptions available.

Social sciences research in neglected tropical diseases 3: Investment in social science research in neglected diseases of poverty: a case study of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

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Reidpath Daniel

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The level of funding provides a good proxy for the level of commitment or prioritisation given to a particular issue. While the need for research relevant to social, economic, cultural and behavioural aspects of neglected tropical diseases (NTD control has been acknowledged, there is limited data on the level of funding that supports NTD social science research. Method A case study was carried out in which the spending of a major independent funder, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF - was analysed. A total of 67 projects funded between October 1998 and November 2008 were identified from the BMGF database. With the help of keywords within the titles of 67 grantees, they were categorised as social science or non-social science research based on available definition of social science. A descriptive analysis was conducted. Results Of 67 projects analysed, 26 projects (39% were social science related while 41 projects (61% were basic science or other translational research including drug development. A total of US$ 697 million was spent to fund the projects, of which 35% ((US$ 241 million went to social science research. Although the level of funding for social science research has generally been lower than that for non-social science research over 10 year period, social science research attracted more funding in 2004 and 2008. Conclusion The evidence presented in this case study indicates that funding on NTD social science research compared to basic and translational research is not as low as it is perceived to be. However, as there is the acute need for improved delivery and utilisation of current NTD drugs/technologies, informed by research from social science approaches, funding priorities need to reflect the need to invest significantly more in NTD social science research.

Social sciences research in neglected tropical diseases 3: Investment in social science research in neglected diseases of poverty: a case study of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Science.gov (United States)

Pokhrel, Subhash; Reidpath, Daniel; Allotey, Pascale

2011-01-06

The level of funding provides a good proxy for the level of commitment or prioritisation given to a particular issue. While the need for research relevant to social, economic, cultural and behavioural aspects of neglected tropical diseases (NTD) control has been acknowledged, there is limited data on the level of funding that supports NTD social science research. A case study was carried out in which the spending of a major independent funder, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) - was analysed. A total of 67 projects funded between October 1998 and November 2008 were identified from the BMGF database. With the help of keywords within the titles of 67 grantees, they were categorised as social science or non-social science research based on available definition of social science. A descriptive analysis was conducted. Of 67 projects analysed, 26 projects (39%) were social science related while 41 projects (61%) were basic science or other translational research including drug development. A total of US$ 697 million was spent to fund the projects, of which 35% ((US$ 241 million) went to social science research. Although the level of funding for social science research has generally been lower than that for non-social science research over 10 year period, social science research attracted more funding in 2004 and 2008. The evidence presented in this case study indicates that funding on NTD social science research compared to basic and translational research is not as low as it is perceived to be. However, as there is the acute need for improved delivery and utilisation of current NTD drugs/technologies, informed by research from social science approaches, funding priorities need to reflect the need to invest significantly more in NTD social science research.

Citing Journal Articles in Social Sciences Blogs

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Hamid Reza Jamali

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This article aims to analyze motivations behind social sciences blog posts citing journal articles in order to find out whether blog citations of scholarly journal articles are good indicators for the societal impact of research. A random sample of 300 social sciences blog posts (out of 1,233 blog posts from ResearchBlogging published between 01/01/2012 to 18/06/2014 were subjected to content analysis. An existing categorization scheme was used and modified inductively. The 300 blog posts had 472 references including 424 journal articles from 269 different journals. Sixty-one (22.68% of all journals cited were from the category of social sciences and most of the journals with high frequency were highly cited general science journals such as PNAS and Science. Seventy-five percent of all journals were referenced only once. The average age of articles cited was 5.8 years. The most frequent (38, 12.67% motivation was to ‘neutrally presenting details of a study’. Overall, social science blogs were rather subject-oriented than article oriented. This means a considerable number of blog posts were not driven simply by writing about an article, instead bloggers tend to write about their subject of interest and use references to support their argument. The study shows the potential of blog citations as an altmetric measure and as a proxy for assessing the research impact.

Prospects and challenges for social media data in conservation science

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Enrico eDi Minin

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Social media data have been extensively used in numerous fields of science, but examples of their use in conservation science are still very limited. In this paper, we propose a framework on how social media data could be useful for conservation science and practice. We present the commonly used social media platforms and discuss how their content could be providing new data and information for conservation science. Based on this, we discuss how future work in conservation science and practice would benefit from social media data.

The Courts, Social Science, and School Desegregation.

Science.gov (United States)

Levin, Betsy, Ed.; Hawley, Willis D., Ed.

A conference on the courts, social science, and school desegregation attempted to clarify how social science research has been used and possibly misused in school desegregation litigation. The symposium issue addressed in this book is a product of that conference. First, the judicial evolution of the law of school desegregation from Brown V. the…

Human mate-choice copying is domain-general social learning.

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Street, Sally E; Morgan, Thomas J H; Thornton, Alex; Brown, Gillian R; Laland, Kevin N; Cross, Catharine P

2018-01-29

Women appear to copy other women's preferences for men's faces. This 'mate-choice copying' is often taken as evidence of psychological adaptations for processing social information related to mate choice, for which facial information is assumed to be particularly salient. No experiment, however, has directly investigated whether women preferentially copy each other's face preferences more than other preferences. Further, because prior experimental studies used artificial social information, the effect of real social information on attractiveness preferences is unknown. We collected attractiveness ratings of pictures of men's faces, men's hands, and abstract art given by heterosexual women, before and after they saw genuine social information gathered in real time from their peers. Ratings of faces were influenced by social information, but no more or less than were images of hands and abstract art. Our results suggest that evidence for domain-specific social learning mechanisms in humans is weaker than previously suggested.

Le Proche-Orient ancien à la lumière des sciences sociales

OpenAIRE

Angelini, Anna; Bert, Jean-François; Bodi, Daniel; Boyarin, Daniel; Glassner, Jean-Jacques; Kalinowski, Isabelle; Koch Piettre, Renée; Malkin, Irad; Polak, Frank; Vârtejanu-Joubert, Madalina; Vârtejanu‑Joubert, Madalina

2013-01-01

Les articles réunis dans ce volume explorent les multiples relations entre le Proche-Orient ancien comme objet d'étude et les méthodes des sciences sociales -- l'anthropologie, la sociologie, la socio-linguistique, l'histoire des mentalités. Le corpus est organisé en deux parties : la première porte sur la manière dont les spécialistes de l'Antiquité se sont approprié ces dispositifs heuristiques et la deuxième, sur les modalités selon lesquelles les socioanthropologues ont abordé le domaine ...

Structure Mapping for Social Learning.

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Christie, Stella

2017-07-01

Analogical reasoning is a foundational tool for human learning, allowing learners to recognize relational structures in new events and domains. Here I sketch some grounds for understanding and applying analogical reasoning in social learning. The social world is fundamentally characterized by relations between people, with common relational structures-such as kinships and social hierarchies-forming social units that dictate social behaviors. Just as young learners use analogical reasoning for learning relational structures in other domains-spatial relations, verbs, relational categories-analogical reasoning ought to be a useful cognitive tool for acquiring social relations and structures. Copyright © 2017 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Social Water Science Data: Dimensions, Data Management, and Visualization

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Jones, A. S.; Horsburgh, J. S.; Flint, C.; Jackson-Smith, D.

2016-12-01

Water systems are increasingly conceptualized as coupled human-natural systems, with growing emphasis on representing the human element in hydrology. However, social science data and associated considerations may be unfamiliar and intimidating to many hydrologic researchers. Monitoring social aspects of water systems involves expanding the range of data types typically used in hydrology and appreciating nuances in datasets that are well known to social scientists, but less understood by hydrologists. We define social water science data as any information representing the human aspects of a water system. We present a scheme for classifying these data, highlight an array of data types, and illustrate data management considerations and challenges unique to social science data. This classification scheme was applied to datasets generated as part of iUTAH (innovative Urban Transitions and Arid region Hydro-sustainability), an interdisciplinary water research project based in Utah, USA that seeks to integrate and share social and biophysical water science data. As the project deployed cyberinfrastructure for baseline biophysical data, cyberinfrastructure for analogous social science data was necessary. As a particular case of social water science data, we focus in this presentation on social science survey data. These data are often interpreted through the lens of the original researcher and are typically presented to interested parties in static figures or reports. To provide more exploratory and dynamic communication of these data beyond the individual or team who collected the data, we developed a web-based, interactive viewer to visualize social science survey responses. This interface is applicable for examining survey results that show human motivations and actions related to environmental systems and as a useful tool for participatory decision-making. It also serves as an example of how new data sharing and visualization tools can be developed once the

How the “Queen Science” Lost Her Crown: A Brief Social History of Science Fairs and the Marginalization of Social Science

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Jonathan Marx

2004-10-01

Full Text Available Science fairs at one time started out with an interest of increasing participation in the sciences. But as time has passed, the definition of science has been narrowed to the point where any possible social science project has been eliminated in favor of the bench sciences only. Even here, natural curiosity of students has been deemphasized. It is not surprising that science majors in the USA are becoming fewer and fewer given the narrowing of the disciplines. Young people are discouraged from majoring in science by the science establishment.

Trimodernism and Social Sciences: A Note

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Snell, Joel C.

2012-01-01

The issues of premodern, modern, and postmodern can often confuse the social scientists because so much is drawn from modernism as the foundation of the social methodologies. Briefly, the author would like to differentiate the three modernism philosophies and indicate how a coalition of the three may apply to social sciences.

Winch, Wittgenstein and the Idea of a Critical Social Science

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hermansen, Jens Christian

such phenomena. In the light of new uses ofWittgenstein within social theory and recent philosophical research on Wittgenstein (that challenge the orthodoxWinchian reception of Wittgenstein), the paper discusses the prospects of a critical social science after Wittgenstein.......In "The Idea of a Social Science" and in the article "Understanding a Primitive Society" Peter Winch develops what he believes to be the implications ofWittgenstein's late philosophy for the social sciences. Inspired byWittgenstein,Winch argues for a linguistic turn. Winch's basic ontological claim...... is that social life is conceptually organised: it is organised by the ways in which language is used by members of social life. This claim has methodological implications: the social sciences are, according to Winch, conceptual studies, that is, they are studies of the concepts possessed by members of social...

Evolution and the American social sciences: An evolutionary social scientist's view.

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Thayer, Bradley A

2004-03-01

American social scientists rarely ever use evolutionary concepts to explain behavior, despite the potential of such concepts to elucidate major social problems. I argue that this observation can be understood as the product of three influences: an ideologically narrowed political liberalism; a fear of ''Social Darwinism'' as a scientific idea, rather than a scientific apostasy; and a widely believed criticism of evolutionary thinking as deterministic, reductionistic, and Panglossian. I ask what is to be done to encourage social scientists to learn and to apply evolutionary lessons. I answer with four solutions. First, evolutionary social scientists should more effectively educate their non-evolutionary students and colleagues. Second, they should publicize, even popularize, accessible refutations of perennially misleading criticisms. Third, they should more credibly assure skeptics that evolutionary theory not only keeps the ''social'' in social science but better explains social behavior than can any individual-level theory, such as rational-choice theory. Fourth, they should recall that biology took generations to become Darwinian, and they must understand that the social sciences may take as long to become evolutionary.

Evaluation of Life Sciences and Social Sciences Course Books in Term of Societal Sexuality

Science.gov (United States)

Aykac, Necdet

2012-01-01

This study aims to evaluate primary school Life Sciences (1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades) and Social Sciences (4th, 5th, and 6th grades) course books in terms of gender discrimination. This study is a descriptive study aiming to evaluate the primary school Life Sciences (1st, 2nd, 3rd grades) and Social Sciences (4th, 5th, and 6th grades) course books…

Integrating social science knowledge into natural resource management public involvement practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stummann, Cathy Brown

This PhD study explores the long-recognized challenge of integrating social science knowledge into NRM public involvement practice theoretically and empirically. Theoretically, the study draws on research from adult learning, continuing rofessional education and professional knowledge development...... to better understand how social science knowledge can benefit NRM public involvement practice. Empirically, the study explores the potential of NRM continuing professional education as a means for introducing social science knowledge to public NRM professionals. The study finds social science knowledge can...... be of value to NRM public involvement prospectively and retrospectively; and that continuing professional education can be an effective means to introducing social science knowledge to public NRM professionals. In the design of NRM continuing professional education focused on social science knowledge...

Getting to the Root of Disparities: Social Cognition and the Affective Domain.

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Jones-Schenk, Jan

2016-10-01

Bias, prejudice, cultural insensitivity, and eroding levels of empathy all affect the health and well being of patients and families and manifest or accelerate social disparities of health. For caregivers, educational offerings and activities targeting the affective domain can positively influence the development of greater empathy and improved social cognition. As difficult as it is to develop effective teaching methods for this domain, new strides in virtual reality technology and new research on implicit bias can provide the professional development educator with options in designing educational offerings that can help. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2016;47(10):443-445. Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.

Social Science in the Making: An Economist's View

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Winden, F.A.A.M.; van Lange, P.A.M.

2006-01-01

Recent developments in economics and psychology suggest that productivity in the social sciences will benefit from crossing existing academic barriers, and that such crossing is more and more likely. Social science is in the making, but its success seems particularly conditioned on the willingness

Popper, Rationality and the Possibility of Social Science

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Danny Frederick

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Social science employs teleological explanations which depend upon the rationality principle, according to which people exhibit instrumental rationality. Popper points out that people also exhibit critical rationality, the tendency to stand back from, and to question or criticise, their views. I explain how our critical rationality impugns the explanatory value of the rationality principle and thereby threatens the very possibility of social science. I discuss the relationship between instrumental and critical rationality and show how we can reconcile our critical rationality with the possibility of social science if we invoke Popper’s conception of limited rationality and his indeterminism.

"Hypothetical machines": the science fiction dreams of Cold War social science.

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Lemov, Rebecca

2010-06-01

The introspectometer was a "hypothetical machine" Robert K. Merton introduced in the course of a 1956 how-to manual describing an actual research technique, the focused interview. This technique, in turn, formed the basis of wartime morale research and consumer behavior studies as well as perhaps the most ubiquitous social science tool, the focus group. This essay explores a new perspective on Cold War social science made possible by comparing two kinds of apparatuses: one real, the other imaginary. Even as Merton explored the nightmare potential of such machines, he suggested that the clear aim of social science was to build them or their functional equivalent: recording machines to access a person's experiential stream of reality, with the ability to turn this stream into real-time data. In this way, the introspectometer marks and symbolizes a broader entry during the Cold War of science-fiction-style aspirations into methodological prescriptions and procedural manuals. This essay considers the growth of the genre of methodological visions and revisions, painstakingly argued and absorbed, but punctuated by sci-fi aims to transform "the human" and build newly penetrating machines. It also considers the place of the nearly real-, and the artificial "near-substitute" as part of an experimental urge that animated these sciences.

Early career researchers and PhD students from the social sciences use of Social Networking Sites (SNS) for science communication: an affordances approach

OpenAIRE

Manco Vega, Alejandra

2017-01-01

This research aims to understand the different practices and strategies early career researchers and PhD students from the social sciences have in Social Networking Sites (SNSs) for science communication in one particular country: Brazil. Following this purpose, the central research question is which are the motives and rationale of the researchers for using social networking sites for science communication. Two sub-questions arise from this general research question: How do practices and str...

Aggression and Moral Development: Integrating Social Information Processing and Moral Domain Models

Science.gov (United States)

Arsenio, William F.; Lemerise, Elizabeth A.

2004-01-01

Social information processing and moral domain theories have developed in relative isolation from each other despite their common focus on intentional harm and victimization, and mutual emphasis on social cognitive processes in explaining aggressive, morally relevant behaviors. This article presents a selective summary of these literatures with…

Social Science Energy Review: a quarterly publication. Vol. 1, No. 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gould, L C [ed.

1978-01-01

The Yale University Institution for Social and Policy Studies Mapping Project on Energy and the Social Sciences brings together an interdisciplinary group of Yale and visiting faculty, ISPS staff, and Yale graduate students meeting weekly to discuss topics in energy and the social sciences and to study and evaluate the importance for social policy of existing and potential social science energy research projects. The primary purposes of the project are: (1) to encourage timely social science investigations into important energy-related social issues, (2) to explore the present and potential roles for academic social science research in energy decision-making, and (3) to advise DOE and other government personnel in the planning of social science energy research. In addition to an overview of the Mapping Project, this report contains the following: (1) Social Science Research on ''The Energy Boomtown,'' by Leroy C. Gould--contains literature survey (66 references) and conveys Mapping Project's suggestions as to priorities on future social science research on ''energy boomtowns.'' (2) Men and Coal in Appalachia: a Survey of the Academic Literature, by Peter B. Allison (bibliography cites 7 journals, 3 government documents, and 70 books and articles). (3) Energy Research in Psychology, by John Sweeney (reprint of review of current status of energy research in psychology that appeared in December, 1977 issue of APA Monitor under the title, ''Boosting Energy Research'').

Cardiovascular functioning, personality, and the social world: the domain of hierarchical power.

Science.gov (United States)

Newton, Tamara L

2009-02-01

The present paper considers connections between cardiovascular functioning (i.e., disease status and acute stress responses) and social dominance, and its counterpart, social submissiveness, both of which are part of the broader domain of "hierarchical power" [Bugental, D.B., 2000. Acquisition of the algorithms of social life: a domain-based approach. Psychological Bulletin 126, 187-219]. Empirical research on connections between dominance/submissiveness and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in humans is reviewed, as is research on dominance/submissiveness and cardiovascular reactivity to, and recovery from, acute stressors. Three general conclusions are established. First, in both cross-sectional and longitudinal investigations, trait and behavioral indicators of dominance have been positively associated with cardiovascular disease severity, incidence, and progression, whereas preliminary evidence from two studies suggests that trait submissiveness may protect against poorer disease outcomes. Second, among men and women, trait dominance is associated with reactivity to and recovery from acute stressors, particularly social challenges. Third, linkages between dominance/submissiveness and cardiovascular functioning, especially cardiovascular reactivity, are characterized by gender-specific patterning, and this patterning emerges as a function of social context. Implications for the next generation of research concerning social dominance, gender, and cardiovascular functioning are discussed.

Mode-2 social science knowledge production?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kropp, Kristoffer; Blok, Anders

2011-01-01

The notion of mode-2 knowledge production points to far-reaching transformations in science-society relations, but few attempts have been made to investigate what growing economic and political demands on research may entail for the social sciences. This case study of new patterns of social science...... knowledge production outlines some major institutional and cognitive changes in Danish academic sociology during 'mode-2' times, from the 1980s onwards. Empirically, we rely on documentary sources and qualitative interviews with Danish sociologists, aiming to reconstruct institutional trajectories...... show how a particular cognitive modality of sociology — 'welfare reflexivity' — has become a dominant form of Danish sociological knowledge production. Welfare reflexivity has proven a viable response to volatile mode-2 policy conditions....

Citizen Data Science for Social Good in Complex Systems

OpenAIRE

Soumya Banerjee

2018-01-01

The confluence of massive amounts of openly available data, sophisticated machine learning algorithms and an enlightened citizenry willing to engage in data science presents novel opportunities for crowd sourced data science for social good. In this submission, I present vignettes of data science projects that I have been involved in and which have impact in various spheres of life and on social good. Complex systems are all around us: from social networks to transportation systems, cities, e...

Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review: About this journal

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review: About this journal. Journal Home > Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review: About this journal. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

Student Empowerment in an Environmental Science Classroom: Toward a Framework for Social Justice Science Education

Science.gov (United States)

Dimick, Alexandra Schindel

2012-01-01

Social justice education is undertheorized in science education. Given the wide range of goals and purposes proposed within both social justice education and social justice science education scholarship, these fields require reconciliation. In this paper, I suggest a student empowerment framework for conceptualizing teaching and learning social…

GIS and the Social Sciences : Theory and Applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ballas, Dimitris; Clarke, Graham; Franklin, Rachel S.; Newing, Andy

2017-01-01

GIS and the Social Sciences offers a uniquely social science approach on the theory and application of GIS with a range of modern examples. It explores how human geography can engage with a variety of important policy issues through linking together GIS and spatial analysis, and demonstrates the

Non-equilibrium social science and policy introduction and essays on new and changing paradigms in socio-economic thinking

CERN Document Server

Nowak, Andrzej; Ormerod, Paul; Rosewell, Bridget; Zhang, Yi-Cheng

2017-01-01

The overall aim of this book, an outcome of the European FP7 FET Open NESS project, is to contribute to the ongoing effort to put the quantitative social sciences on a proper footing for the 21st century. A key focus is economics, and its implications on policy making, where the still dominant traditional approach increasingly struggles to capture the economic realities we observe in the world today - with vested interests getting too often in the way of real advances. Insights into behavioral economics and modern computing techniques have made possible both the integration of larger information sets and the exploration of disequilibrium behavior. The domain-based chapters of this work illustrate how economic theory is the only branch of social sciences which still holds to its old paradigm of an equilibrium science - an assumption that has already been relaxed in all related fields of research in the light of recent advances in complex and dynamical systems theory and related data mining. The other chapters ...

The Ethical Challenges of Socially Responsible Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Resnik, David B; Elliott, Kevin C

2016-01-01

Social responsibility is an essential part of the responsible conduct of research that presents difficult ethical questions for scientists. Recognizing one's social responsibilities as a scientist is an important first step toward exercising social responsibility, but it is only the beginning, since scientists may confront difficult value questions when deciding how to act responsibly. Ethical dilemmas related to socially responsible science fall into at least three basic categories: 1) dilemmas related to problem selection, 2) dilemmas related to publication and data sharing, and 3) dilemmas related to engaging society. In responding to these dilemmas, scientists must decide how to balance their social responsibilities against other professional commitments and how to avoid compromising their objectivity. In this article, we will examine the philosophical and ethical basis of social responsibility in science, discuss some of the ethical dilemmas related to exercising social responsibility, and make five recommendations to help scientists deal with these issues.

Response: From Fish and Bicycles to a Science of Social Work

Science.gov (United States)

Marsh, Jeanne Cay

2012-01-01

John Brekke challenges the field and profession of social work to define and develop the "science of social work". This response to Brekke's paper identifies the premises undergirding a discussion of the science of social work related to (1) a definition of "science";; (2 ) an organizing principle for social work; (3) a…

Social Science in Forestry Curricula: A Case Study of Colombia Forestry Programs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liz Farleidy Villarraga-Flórez

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Tropical forest management depends greatly on complex social interactions. To understand the underlying human causes of deforestation and to plan forest management, it is of great importance to incorporate social science in the study of forestry. There is insufficient information about the incorporation of social sciences in undergraduate forestry programs. Foresters are well prepared in ecology, silviculture, forest measurements, and operational topics such as logging, but their knowledge of basic elements of social sciences is limited. This study explored the extent to which tertiary forestry education programs in Colombia include social science. It also examined students’ perceptions of social sciences courses in the curriculum. About 10% of course credits are in economics, administration, and foreign language, courses on social science are listed as optional. A high percentage of current sophomore (fifth semester, junior, and senior students do not have clear knowledge of basic social research methods, although a majority have used social science techniques at some point in their academic careers.

Constructal theory of social dynamics

CERN Document Server

Bejan, Adrian

2007-01-01

Combines for the first time theories of general physics and applies them to social sciencesOffers a new way to look at social phenomena as part of natural phenomenaA new domain of application of engineering such as thermodynamic optimization, thermoeconomics and "design as science"Discusses how the "flow architectures" of natural sciences are also found in social situationsBoth classes are covered by the same principle (the constructal law)First work to show that the concept of "efficiency" of engineering has a home in physics and social sciencesThe constructal law theory puts a scientific principle behind the major challenges of today and the future: sustainable development, energy sufficiency, equilibria between human settlements and environmental ecosystems, optimal allocation, optimal distribution of finite resources, etc.

On the almost inconceivable misunderstandings concerning the subject of value-free social science.

Science.gov (United States)

Black, Donald

2013-12-01

A value judgment says what is good or bad, and value-free social science simply means social science free of value judgments. Yet many sociologists regard value-free social science as undesirable or impossible and readily make value judgments in the name of sociology. Often they display confusion about such matters as the meaning of value-free social science, value judgments internal and external to social science, value judgments as a subject of social science, the relevance of objectivity for value-free social science, and the difference between the human significance of social science and value-free social science. But why so many sociologists are so value-involved - and generally so unscientific - is sociologically understandable: The closest and most distant subjects attract the least scientific ideas. And during the past century sociologists have become increasingly close to their human subject. The debate about value-free social science is also part of an epistemological counterrevolution of humanists (including many sociologists) against the more scientific social scientists who invaded and threatened to expropriate the human subject during the past century. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2013.

Social Science, Equity and the Sustainable Development Goals

Science.gov (United States)

Liverman, D.

2015-12-01

The Sustainable Development Goals are underpinned by a committment to a world that is just, equitable, inclusive and environmentally sustainable and include goals of ending poverty and hunger; universal access to health, education, water, sanitation, energy and decent work; and reducing the risks and impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss, and marine, forest and land degradation. They seek to reduce inequality between and within countries and achieve gender equality. The SDGs build on the apparent success in meeting many of the Millenium Development Goals, including those of reducing poverty, hunger and debt and providing access to water. The science needed to achieve and monitor most of these goals is social science - an area of scholarship that is traditionally undervalued, underfunded, underepresented misunderstood and lacking in detailed data. This paper will provide an overview of the social science that is needed to support the Sustainable Development Goals, with a particular focus on the challenges of monitoring social data over time and within countries, the importance of research design, and of building capacity and credibility in the social sciences. As an example, the paper will discuss the social science that will be needed to achieve Goal 13: Take urgent actions to combat climate change and its impacts, and measuring targets such as strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity, and raising capacities of women, youth, and marginalized communities to manage and respond climate change.

Context-dependent social evaluation in 4.5-month-old human infants: the role of domain-general versus domain-specific processes in the development of social evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamlin, J K

2014-01-01

The ability to distinguish friends from foes allows humans to engage in mutually beneficial cooperative acts while avoiding the costs associated with cooperating with the wrong individuals. One way to do so effectively is to observe how unknown individuals behave toward third parties, and to selectively cooperate with those who help others while avoiding those who harm others. Recent research suggests that a preference for prosocial over antisocial individuals emerges by the time that infants are 3 months of age, and by 8 months, but not before, infants evaluate others' actions in context: they prefer those who harm, rather than help, individuals who have previously harmed others. Currently there are at least two reasons for younger infants' failure to show context-dependent social evaluations. First, this failure may reflect fundamental change in infants' social evaluation system over the first year of life, in which infants first prefer helpers in any situation and only later evaluate prosocial and antisocial actors in context. On the other hand, it is possible that this developmental change actually reflects domain-general limitations of younger infants, such as limited memory and processing capacities. To distinguish between these possibilities, 4.5-month-olds in the current studies were habituated, rather than familiarized as in previous work, to one individual helping and another harming a third party, greatly increasing infants' exposure to the characters' actions. Following habituation, 4.5-month-olds displayed context-dependent social preferences, selectively reaching for helpers of prosocial and hinderers of antisocial others. Such results suggest that younger infants' failure to display global social evaluation in previous work reflected domain-general rather than domain-specific limitations.

Context-dependent social evaluation in 4.5-month-old human infants: The role of domain-general versus domain-specific processes in the development of social evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J Kiley eHamlin

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The ability to distinguish friends from foes allows humans to engage in mutually beneficial cooperative acts while avoiding the costs associated with cooperating with the wrong individuals. One way to do so effectively is to observe how unknown individuals behave toward third parties, and to selectively cooperate with those who help others while avoiding those who harm others. Recent research suggests that a preference for prosocial over antisocial individuals emerges by the time that infants are 3 months of age, and by 8 months, but not before, infants evaluate others’ actions in context: they prefer those who harm, rather than help, individuals who have previously harmed others. Currently there are at least two reasons for younger infants’ failure to show context-dependent social evaluations. First, this failure may reflect fundamental change in infants’ social evaluation system over the first year of life, in which infants first prefer helpers in any situation and only later evaluate prosocial and antisocial actors in context. On the other hand, it is possible that this developmental change actually reflects domain-general limitations of younger infants, such as limited memory and processing capacities. To distinguish between these possibilities, 4.5-month-olds in the current studies were habituated, rather than familiarized as in previous work, to one individual helping and another harming a third party, greatly increasing infants’ exposure to the characters’ actions. Following habituation, 4.5-month-olds displayed context-dependent social preferences, selectively reaching for helpers of prosocial and hinderers of antisocial others. Such results suggest that younger infants’ failure to display global social evaluation in previous work reflected domain-general rather than domain-specific limitations.

Strengthening Social Science Research in Iraq | IDRC - International ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

This grant will allow the Iraqi Institute of Strategic Studies to map the country's social science research capacity by means of field research and a survey in three ... Outputs. Journal articles. Problems of the national and the ethnic/sectarian in Iraq [Arabic language]. Download PDF. Reports. State of social sciences in Iraq ...

Social Media in Health Science Education: An International Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Sullivan, Elizabeth; Cutts, Emily; Kavikondala, Sushma; Salcedo, Alejandra; D'Souza, Karan; Hernandez-Torre, Martin; Anderson, Claire; Tiwari, Agnes; Ho, Kendall; Last, Jason

2017-01-04

Social media is an asset that higher education students can use for an array of purposes. Studies have shown the merits of social media use in educational settings; however, its adoption in health science education has been slow, and the contributing reasons remain unclear. This multidisciplinary study aimed to examine health science students' opinions on the use of social media in health science education and identify factors that may discourage its use. Data were collected from the Universitas 21 "Use of social media in health education" survey, distributed electronically among the health science staff and students from 8 universities in 7 countries. The 1640 student respondents were grouped as users or nonusers based on their reported frequency of social media use in their education. Of the 1640 respondents, 1343 (81.89%) use social media in their education. Only 462 of the 1320 (35.00%) respondents have received specific social media training, and of those who have not, the majority (64.9%, 608/936) would like the opportunity. Users and nonusers reported the same 3 factors as the top barriers to their use of social media: uncertainty on policies, concerns about professionalism, and lack of support from the department. Nonusers reported all the barriers more frequently and almost half of nonusers reported not knowing how to incorporate social media into their learning. Among users, more than one fifth (20.5%, 50/243) of students who use social media "almost always" reported sharing clinical images without explicit permission. Our global, interdisciplinary study demonstrates that a significant number of students across all health science disciplines self-reported sharing clinical images inappropriately, and thus request the need for policies and training specific to social media use in health science education. ©Elizabeth O'Sullivan, Emily Cutts, Sushma Kavikondala, Alejandra Salcedo, Karan D'Souza, Martin Hernandez-Torre, Claire Anderson, Agnes Tiwari, Kendall

Social Sciences and Space Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

1988-01-01

The relationship between technology and society is a subject of continuing interest, because technological change and its effects confront and challenge society. College students are especially interested in technological change, knowing that they must cope with the pervasive and escalating effect of wide-ranging technological change. The space shuttle represents a technological change. The book's role is to serve as a resource for college faculty and students who are or will be interested in the social science implications of space technology. The book is designed to provide introductory material on a variety of space social topics to help faculty and students pursue teaching, learning, and research. Space technologies, perspectives on individual disciplines (economics, history, international law, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology) and interdiscipline approaches are presented.

Science, Innovation, and Social Work: Purpose: Clash or Convergence?

Science.gov (United States)

Flynn, Marilyn L.

2017-01-01

Social work as a human services profession has been distinctive for its inclusion of research as a required element of practice and instrument in instigating reform. At the present time, the relationship of social work to science and a redefinition of social work as a science have reentered our national dialogue with new force. This expansion of…

Climate change adaptation and social sciences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charles, L.

2013-01-01

Climate change subjects societies to a large range of uncertainties concerning the future and their development orientation. It came up as a scientific global problem, extended to political concerns first at a global and then national scales. Though it has long been the object of economic approaches which have notably contributed to its recognition, particularly the Stern Report, social sciences have hardly been mobilized as part of policies to counteract it. Social sciences strongly question the notion of climate change being built as a global scale transcendent phenomenon, analyzed by several authors. With the rise of adaptation policies, the question becomes even more important. Adaptation first comes up as a spontaneous behaviour, independent of policy, in close relationship to social dimensions as a basic way through which climate change is grasped collectively. Thus adaptation policies' social aspects need to be carefully worked in relation with more general goals for adaptation policies to be implemented efficiently, on the basis of wide interactions between local and global scales. (author)

Rural science education as social justice

Science.gov (United States)

Eppley, Karen

2017-03-01

What part can science education play in the dismantling of obstacles to social justice in rural places? In this Forum contribution, I use "Learning in and about Rural Places: Connections and Tensions Between Students' Everyday Experiences and Environmental Quality Issues in their Community"(Zimmerman and Weible 2016) to explicitly position rural education as a project of social justice that seeks full participatory parity for rural citizens. Fraser's (2009) conceptualization of social justice in rural education requires attention to the just distribution of resources, the recognition of the inherent capacities of rural people, and the right to equal participation in democratic processes that lead to opportunities to make decisions affecting local, regional, and global lives. This Forum piece considers the potential of place-based science education to contribute to this project.

Higher Social-Science Education in the U.S.S.R.

Science.gov (United States)

Volkov, F. M.

1979-01-01

Examines social science teaching in the Soviet Union and explains how it is related to technological advancement. Topics discussed include social progress, developments within the social sciences, political influences, teaching methods, and teacher characteristics. Journal availability: see SO 507 303. (DB)

The Social Science Teacher. 1972. Collected Conference Papers: Social Science Concepts Classroom Methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Noble, Pat, Ed.; And Others

Papers in this publication are collected from a conference on social science concepts and classroom methods which focused on the theories of Jerome Bruner. The first article, entitled "Jerome Bruner," outlines four of Bruner's themes--structure, readiness, intuition, and interest--which relate to cognitive learning. Three…

Scientific Competencies in the Social Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Dietrich, Heike; Zhang, Ying; Klopp, Eric; Brünken, Roland; Krause, Ulrike-Marie; Spinath, Frank M.; Stark, Robin; Spinath, Birgit

2015-01-01

The aim of the present study was to introduce a general theoretical model of scientific competencies in higher education and to adapt it to three social sciences, namely psychology, sociology, and political science, by providing evidence from expert interviews and program regulations. Within our general model, we distinguished and specified four…

Social identity threat and performance motivation : the interplay between ingroup and outgroup domains

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Derks, Belle

2007-01-01

Being a member of a socially devalued group (e.g., women, ethnic minorities) threatens social identity, leading people to lower their investment in performance domains that determine societal status (e.g., education, career success). The experiments discussed in this dissertation show that offering

Social Science Research Findings and Educational Policy Dilemmas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven I. Miller

2000-01-01

Full Text Available The article attempts to raise several distinctions regarding the presumed relationship of social science research findings to social policy making. The distinctions are made using Glymour's critique of the Bell Curve. An argument is made that (1 social science models and research findings are largely irrelevant to the actual concerns of policy makers and (2 what is relevant, but overlooked by Glymour, is how ideological factors mediate the process. The forms that ideological mediation may take are indicated.

The Employment Outlook for Social Science Majors in the South.

Science.gov (United States)

Galambos, Eva C.

This assessment of the future job market for social science graduates is made both generically and separately for certain disciplines. The definition of the social sciences follows the USOE definition and includes: anthropology, archeology, economics, history, geography, political science, sociology, criminology, international relations, urban…

Risk in social science

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Zinn, Jens; Taylor-Gooby, Peter

2006-01-01

... for control. Advances in social science improve understanding of how people perceive and prioritise risks, broaden awareness of the bearing of a range of other issues (trust, experience during the life course, democratic expectations) on people's capacity to manage risks, and facilitate exploration of the ways in which people communicate abo...

Integrating Intelligent Systems Domain Knowledge Into the Earth Science Curricula

Science.gov (United States)

Güereque, M.; Pennington, D. D.; Pierce, S. A.

2017-12-01

High-volume heterogeneous datasets are becoming ubiquitous, migrating to center stage over the last ten years and transcending the boundaries of computationally intensive disciplines into the mainstream, becoming a fundamental part of every science discipline. Despite the fact that large datasets are now pervasive across industries and academic disciplines, the array of skills is generally absent from earth science programs. This has left the bulk of the student population without access to curricula that systematically teach appropriate intelligent-systems skills, creating a void for skill sets that should be universal given their need and marketability. While some guidance regarding appropriate computational thinking and pedagogy is appearing, there exist few examples where these have been specifically designed and tested within the earth science domain. Furthermore, best practices from learning science have not yet been widely tested for developing intelligent systems-thinking skills. This research developed and tested evidence based computational skill modules that target this deficit with the intention of informing the earth science community as it continues to incorporate intelligent systems techniques and reasoning into its research and classrooms.

Social representations of science and gender in Science teaching

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bettina Heerdt

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes the Social Representations (SR of teachers regarding the Nature of Science (NoS, gender issues in society, Science and in the teaching context. The theoretical approach is Moscovici’s SR associated to NoS discussions, Science feminist theories and Teaching of Science. A number of twenty-two teachers were part of this research. Data were collected through the filmic record. The lexical analysis was performed using the Alceste software. Four classes were formed: NoS, Gender and women in Science, Gender and teaching context, and Gender and society. In the areas of the teachers’ education, it was not possible to find significant differences in SR. Through empirical data, the distinct argumentation of men and women is noticed. The SR of men, naturalized, discriminatory and of gender issue denial in society and Science, is more forceful than of women. It is necessary, in the initial and continued education, the problematization of gender issues in Science.

Towards Shibboleth-based security in the e-infrastructure for social sciences

OpenAIRE

Jie, Wei; Daw, Michael; Procter, Rob; Voss, Alex

2007-01-01

The e-Infrastructure for e-Social Sciences project leverages Grid computing technology to provide an integrated platform which enables social science researchers to securely access a variety of e-Science resources. Security underpins the e-Infrastructure and a security framework with authentication and authorization functionality is a core component of the e-Infrastructure for social sciences. To build the security framework, we adopt Shibboleth as the basic authentication and authorization i...

Commonly Shared Foundation of Mathematics, Information Science, Natural Science, Social Science, and Theology

OpenAIRE

Wayne, James J.

2014-01-01

Through a simple thought experiment, this paper shows that there must be a shared foundation of mathematics, information science, natural science, social science, and theology. The thought experiment is to ask a volunteer to write down an arbitrary real number between 0 and 1 with many digits. For example, 0.19823765010367129462…. would be one of such numbers. Then we analyze this experiment result by asking five simple questions: Is the real number a random real? Can the observed real numbe...

Socializing the coast: Engaging the social science of tropical coastal research

Science.gov (United States)

Spalding, Ana K.; Biedenweg, Kelly

2017-03-01

The broad scale and rapid rate of change in the global environment is causing some of the world's most challenging problems, such as habitat degradation, loss of biodiversity, and food insecurity. These problems are especially pressing in coastal environments in the tropics, resulting in significant impacts on human wellbeing and ecological systems across the globe. The underlying causes of marine and coastal environmental change are both anthropogenic and natural; and, while it is difficult to parse out causal linkages as either exclusively human or naturally occurring, feedbacks between drivers only exacerbate the issues. Increasingly, scholars are turning to integrated research efforts, whereby multiple disciplines are used to answer pressing questions about and find solutions for the sustainability of human life and natural ecosystems across the coastal tropics. This article leverages the recent wave of interdisciplinary research to explore the various ways in which the social sciences have successfully contributed to a more complete understanding of coastal systems across the tropics. It also identifies opportunities for research that move beyond single disciplinary approaches to coastal science. The concluding discussion suggests social science knowledge areas that are underutilized in coastal research and provides suggestions for increasing the incorporation of social science in coastal research programs.

Critical bioethics: beyond the social science critique of applied ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Hedgecoe, Adam M

2004-04-01

This article attempts to show a way in which social science research can contribute in a meaningful and equitable way to philosophical bioethics. It builds on the social science critique of bioethics present in the work of authors such as Renee Fox, Barry Hoffmaster and Charles Bosk, proposing the characteristics of a critical bioethics that would take social science seriously. The social science critique claims that traditional philosophical bioethics gives a dominant role to idealised, rational thought, and tends to exclude social and cultural factors, relegating them to the status of irrelevancies. Another problem is they way in which bioethics assumes social reality divides down the same lines/categories as philosophical theories. Critical bioethics requires bioethicists to root their enquiries in empirical research, to challenge theories using evidence, to be reflexive and to be sceptical about the claims of other bioethicists, scientists and clinicians. The aim is to produce a rigorous normative analysis of lived moral experience.

Regression analysis for the social sciences

CERN Document Server

Gordon, Rachel A

2010-01-01

The book provides graduate students in the social sciences with the basic skills that they need to estimate, interpret, present, and publish basic regression models using contemporary standards. Key features of the book include: interweaving the teaching of statistical concepts with examples developed for the course from publicly-available social science data or drawn from the literature. thorough integration of teaching statistical theory with teaching data processing and analysis. teaching of both SAS and Stata "side-by-side" and use of chapter exercises in which students practice programming and interpretation on the same data set and course exercises in which students can choose their own research questions and data set.

Beyond knowledge transfer: The social construction of autonomous academic science in university-industry agricultural biotechnology research collaborations

Science.gov (United States)

Biscotti, Dina Louise

Autonomy is a social product. Although some might view autonomy as the absence of social interference in individual action, it is in fact produced through social institutions. It enables social actors to act; it is the justification for the allocation of enormous public resources into institutions classified as "public" or "nonprofit;" it can lead to innovation; and, significantly, it is key to the public acceptance of new technologies. In this dissertation, I analyze the social construction of autonomy for academic science in U.S. university-industry agricultural biotechnology research collaborations. University-industry relationships (UIRs) are a site of concern about the influence of commercial interests on academic science. Agricultural biotechnology is a contentious technology that has prompted questions about the ecological and public health implications of genetically-modified plants and animals. It has also spurred awareness of the industrialization of agriculture and accelerating corporate control of the global food system. Through analysis of in-depth interviews with over 200 scientists and administrators from nine U.S. research universities and thirty agricultural biotechnology companies, I find that both the academy and industry have a vested interest in the social construction of the academy as an autonomous space from which claims to objective, disinterested scientific knowledge can be made. These claims influence government regulation, as well as grower and public acceptance of agricultural biotechnology products. I argue that the social production of autonomy for academic science can be observed in narratives and practices related to: (1) the framing of when, how and why academic scientists collaborate with industry, (2) the meanings ascribed to and the uses deemed appropriate for industry monies in academic research, and (3) the dissemination of research results into the public domain through publications and patents. These narratives and practices

Collaboration in the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences in Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Haddow, Gaby; Xia, Jianhong; Willson, Michele

2017-01-01

This paper reports on the first large-scale quantitative investigation into collaboration, demonstrated in co-authorship, by Australian humanities, arts and social sciences (HASS) researchers. Web of Science data were extracted for Australian HASS publications, with a focus on the softer social sciences, over the period 2004-2013. The findings…

A guide to understanding social science research for natural scientists.

Science.gov (United States)

Moon, Katie; Blackman, Deborah

2014-10-01

Natural scientists are increasingly interested in social research because they recognize that conservation problems are commonly social problems. Interpreting social research, however, requires at least a basic understanding of the philosophical principles and theoretical assumptions of the discipline, which are embedded in the design of social research. Natural scientists who engage in social science but are unfamiliar with these principles and assumptions can misinterpret their results. We developed a guide to assist natural scientists in understanding the philosophical basis of social science to support the meaningful interpretation of social research outcomes. The 3 fundamental elements of research are ontology, what exists in the human world that researchers can acquire knowledge about; epistemology, how knowledge is created; and philosophical perspective, the philosophical orientation of the researcher that guides her or his action. Many elements of the guide also apply to the natural sciences. Natural scientists can use the guide to assist them in interpreting social science research to determine how the ontological position of the researcher can influence the nature of the research; how the epistemological position can be used to support the legitimacy of different types of knowledge; and how philosophical perspective can shape the researcher's choice of methods and affect interpretation, communication, and application of results. The use of this guide can also support and promote the effective integration of the natural and social sciences to generate more insightful and relevant conservation research outcomes. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

The research trends of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A bibliometric method was used to analyse the trends and challenges of Humanities and Social Sciences research by using research data reflecting on ongoing and completed Arts, Humanities and Social Science research publications submitted by staff and students from 1994 – 2008 to the university's Research Office.

Social sciences via network analysis and computation

CERN Document Server

Kanduc, Tadej

2015-01-01

In recent years information and communication technologies have gained significant importance in the social sciences. Because there is such rapid growth of knowledge, methods and computer infrastructure, research can now seamlessly connect interdisciplinary fields such as business process management, data processing and mathematics. This study presents some of the latest results, practices and state-of-the-art approaches in network analysis, machine learning, data mining, data clustering and classifications in the contents of social sciences. It also covers various real-life examples such as t

Domain-specific rationality in human choices: violations of utility axioms and social contexts.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, X T

1996-07-01

This study presents a domain-specific view of human decision rationality. It explores social and ecological domain-specific psychological mechanisms underlying choice biases and violations of utility axioms. Results from both the USA and China revealed a social group domain-specific choice pattern. The irrational preference reversal in a hypothetical life-death decision problem (a classical example of framing effects) was eliminated by providing a small group or family context in which most subjects favored a risky choice option regardless of the positive/negative framing of choice outcomes. The risk preference data also indicate that the subjective scope of small group domain is larger for Chinese subjects, suggesting that human choice mechanisms are sensitive to culturally specific features of group living. A further experiment provided evidence that perceived fairness might be one major factor regulating the choice preferences found in small group (kith-and-kin) contexts. Finally, the violation of the stochastic dominance axiom of the rational theory of choice was predicted and tested. The violations were found only when the "life-death" problem was presented in small group contexts; the strongest violation was found in a family context. These results suggest that human decisions and choices are regulated by domain-specific choice mechanisms designed to solve evolutionary recurrent and adaptively important problems.

Fire social science research–selected highlights.

Science.gov (United States)

Armando González-Cabán; Richard W. Haynes; Sarah McCaffrey; Evan Mercer; Alan Watson

2007-01-01

Forest Service Research and Development has a long-standing component of social fire science that since 2000 has expanded significantly. Much of this new work focuses on research that will increase understanding of the social and economic issues connected with wildland fire and fuels management. This information can enhance the ability of agencies and communities to...

Theoretical reflections on the paradigmatic construction of Information Science: considerations about the (s paradigm (s cognitive (s and social

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathas Luiz Carvalho Silva

2013-07-01

Full Text Available It presents a research about the theoretical and epistemological processes that influence the formation of the cognitive paradigm of Information Science (IS, noting the emergence of social paradigm within the domain analysis and hermeneutics of information. For this, we adopted the reflections of classical and contemporary authors, like Thomas Kuhn, Boaventura Santos, Capurro, Hjørland and Albrechtsen. We conclude that the perception paradigm in IS is a consolidated issue, however the social paradigm is still under construction, which will allow the creation of perceptions, interpretations and contributions in order to fill gaps left by other paradigms.

Mapping Social Interactions: The Science of Proxemics.

Science.gov (United States)

McCall, Cade

Interpersonal distance and gaze provide a wealth of information during face-to-face social interactions. These "proxemic" behaviors offer a window into everyday social cognition by revealing interactants' affective states (e.g., interpersonal attitudes) and cognitive responses (e.g., social attention). Here we provide a brief overview of the social psychological literature in this domain. We focus on new techniques for experimentally manipulating and measuring proxemics, including the use of immersive virtual environments and digital motion capture. We also discuss ways in which these approaches can be integrated with psychophysiological and neuroimaging techniques. Throughout, we argue that contemporary proxemics research provides psychology and neuroscience with a means to study social cognition and behavior as they naturally emerge and unfold in vivo.

Social cognition and neurocognition as independent domains in psychosis.

Science.gov (United States)

van Hooren, S; Versmissen, D; Janssen, I; Myin-Germeys, I; à Campo, J; Mengelers, R; van Os, J; Krabbendam, L

2008-08-01

Patients with psychosis display alterations in social cognition as well as in the realm of neurocognition. It is unclear, however, to what degree these cognitive domains represent two separate dimensions of liability or the pleiotropic expression of a single deficit. The purpose of the present study was to investigate (i) to what extent alterations in social cognition represent an independent area of vulnerability to psychosis, separate from neurocognitive deficits and (ii) whether social cognition is one construct or can be divided into several subcomponents. Five social cognition and three neurocognitive tasks were completed by 186 participants with different levels of vulnerability for psychosis: 44 patients with psychotic disorder; 47 subjects at familial risk; 41 subjects at psychometric risk and 54 control subjects. The social cognition tasks covered important basic subcomponents of social cognition, i.e. mentalisation (or theory of mind), data gathering bias (jumping to conclusions), source monitoring and attribution style. Neurocognitive tasks assessed speed of information processing, inhibition, cognitive shifting and strategy-driven retrieval from semantic memory. The results of factor analysis suggested that neurocognition and social cognition are two separate areas of vulnerability in psychosis. Furthermore, the social cognition measures lacked significant overlap, suggesting a multidimensional construct. Cognitive liabilities to psychosis are manifold, and include key processes underlying basic person-environment interactions in daily life, independent of cognition quantified by neuropsychological tests.

The present state of social science research in Asia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lieten, G.K.

2014-01-01

The first pan-Asia conference ‘Status and Role of Social Science Research in Asia, Emerging Challenges and Policy Issues’ (New Delhi, 13-15 March 2014), with representatives from 24 countries in Asia and some non-Asian countries, was intended to assess the present state of social science research in

Validation of the Domains of Creativity Scale for Nigerian Preservice Science, Technology, and Mathematics Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Awofala, Adeneye O. A.; Fatade, Alfred O.

2015-01-01

Introduction: Investigation into the factor structure of Domains of Creativity Scale has been on for sometimes now. The purpose of this study was to test the validity of the Kaufman Domains of Creativity Scale on Nigerian preservice science, technology, and mathematics teachers. Method: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed…

Mapping 'Social Responsibility' in Science

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Glerup, Cecilie; Horst, Maja

2014-01-01

This article employs the Foucauldian notion of ‘political rationality’ to map discussions and ideals about the responsibility of science toward society. By constructing and analyzing an archive of 263 journal papers, four political rationalities were identified: the Demarcation rationality, which......, which insists that responsible science should live up to public demands for innovation and democracy; and the Integration rationality, which advocates that science should be co-constructed with societal actors in order to be socially responsible. While each rationality is distinct, the article argues...... that all of them address the issue of a boundary (or integration) between science and society. Hence, it is not possible for scientists to avoid ‘a relationship’ with society. The political question is how this relationship is to be defined and regulated....

Regression analysis for the social sciences

CERN Document Server

Gordon, Rachel A

2015-01-01

Provides graduate students in the social sciences with the basic skills they need to estimate, interpret, present, and publish basic regression models using contemporary standards. Key features of the book include: interweaving the teaching of statistical concepts with examples developed for the course from publicly-available social science data or drawn from the literature. thorough integration of teaching statistical theory with teaching data processing and analysis. teaching of Stata and use of chapter exercises in which students practice programming and interpretation on the same data set. A separate set of exercises allows students to select a data set to apply the concepts learned in each chapter to a research question of interest to them, all updated for this edition.

Dualism of Social Conditions: Religion, Morality and Science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rasa Levickaitė

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The paper analyses the topic of social dualism through religion, morality and science. The paper refers to one of the most original works uncovering the social roots of religion – The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life by Emile Durkheim (1858–1917 who is considered to be the founder of modern sociology. The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life develops the coherent theory of religion as well as ventilates different aspects of the religious life. The message of the paper is: is religion the generative essence of social aspect, does a state of constant dependence stimulate a sense of religious piety, is a moral social order able to stabilize dualism of human energy. The paper proposes an assertion that science as a social phenomenon reflects knowledge and the values of its perception which are impacted by imagination and classified codes of cultural forms. As a result a thesis is proposed – a cultural (influenced by environment and a personal (influenced by internal factors desire for differentiation and its provoked conflict is of a social character. The second part of the paper deals with relation between science and social phenomena with inherent dualism. A short discussion is presented on L’ Année Sociologique (a group of scientists initiated by Durkheim representing a new sociological paradigm, the beginning of scientific social culture giving sense to cooperation of sociological theory and practice. 

Reconsidering social science theories in natural resource management continuing professional education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stumann, Cathy Brown; Gamborg, Christian

2014-01-01

on the impact of these changes for NRM professionals resulted in many studies calling for NRM professionals to learn a host of new social science-related skills and knowledge. Twenty years later, research continues to show that NRM professionals are struggling to develop these ‘new’ skills and calls...... for integrating the social sciences in NRM education and practice endure. This paper discusses the challenge of integrating social science skills and knowledge into NRM public involvement practice and continuing professional education. The paper argues for a reconsideration of how social science theories relate...... to professionals’ practical theories and concludes with some implications and proposals for NRM continuing professional education....

Science, the public, and social elites: how the general public, scientists, top politicians and managers perceive science.

Science.gov (United States)

Prpić, Katarina

2011-11-01

This paper finds that the Croatian public's and the social elites' perceptions of science are a mixture of scientific and technological optimism, of the tendency to absolve science of social responsibility, of skepticism about the social effects of science, and of cognitive optimism and skepticism. However, perceptions differ significantly according to the different social roles and the wider value system of the observed groups. The survey data show some key similarities, as well as certain specificities in the configuration of the types of views of the four groups--the public, scientists, politicians and managers. The results suggest that the well-known typology of the four cultures reveals some of the ideologies of the key actors of scientific and technological policy. The greatest social, primarily educational and socio-spatial, differentiation of the perceptions of science was found in the general public.

Social behavior in the "Age of Empathy"?-A social scientist's perspective on current trends in the behavioral sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Matusall, Svenja

2013-01-01

Recently, several behavioral sciences became increasingly interested in investigating biological and evolutionary foundations of (human) social behavior. In this light, prosocial behavior is seen as a core element of human nature. A central role within this perspective plays the "social brain" that is not only able to communicate with the environment but rather to interact directly with other brains via neuronal mind reading capacities such as empathy. From the perspective of a sociologist, this paper investigates what "social" means in contemporary behavioral and particularly brain sciences. It will be discussed what "social" means in the light of social neuroscience and a glance into the history of social psychology and the brain sciences will show that two thought traditions come together in social neuroscience, combining an individualistic and an evolutionary notion of the "social." The paper concludes by situating current research on prosocial behavior in broader social discourses about sociality and society, suggesting that to naturalize prosocial aspects in human life is a current trend in today's behavioral sciences and beyond.

75 FR 65363 - Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network (OppNet)

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-22

... public meeting to promote and publicize the Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network (Opp... . Background: The Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network (OppNet) is a trans-NIH initiative to expand the agency's funding of basic behavioral and social sciences research (b-BSSR). OppNet prioritizes...

Effective Pedagogy in Social Sciences. Educational Practices Series-23

Science.gov (United States)

Sinnema, Claire; Aitken, Graeme

2012-01-01

This booklet is a synthesis of research on social sciences teaching that has been shown to have a positive effect on a range of desirable student outcomes: cognitive, skills, participatory and affective outcomes. Education in the social sciences plays an important role in developing students' sense of identity and influencing the ways in which…

Social Thinking®: Science, Pseudoscience, or Antiscience?

Science.gov (United States)

Leaf, Justin B; Kassardjian, Alyne; Oppenheim-Leaf, Misty L; Cihon, Joseph H; Taubman, Mitchell; Leaf, Ronald; McEachin, John

2016-06-01

Today, there are several interventions that can be implemented with individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Most of these interventions have limited to no empirical evidence demonstrating their effectiveness, yet they are widely implemented in home, school, university, and community settings. In 1996, Green wrote a chapter in which she outlined three levels of science: evidence science, pseudoscience, and antiscience; professionals were encouraged to implement and recommend only those procedures that would be considered evidence science. Today, an intervention that is commonly implemented with individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder is Social Thinking®. This intervention has been utilized by behaviorists and non-behaviorists. This commentary will outline Social Thinking® and provide evidence that the procedure, at the current time, qualifies as a pseudoscience and, therefore, should not be implemented with individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, especially given the availability of alternatives which clearly meet the standard of evidence science.

Evolution and the Human Population. Science In a Social CONtext.

Science.gov (United States)

Solomon, Joan

Science In a Social CONtext is a series of eight books based on the project SISCON-in-Schools. The books provide a new course in science and society for general studies at sixth-form level. The course has been specially designed to make scientific problems accessible to the non-scientist, as well as to explain the social aspects of science to the…

How social science should complement scientific discovery: lessons from nanoscience

Science.gov (United States)

Berube, David M.

2018-05-01

This article examines the state of social science of science, particularly nanoscience. It reviews what has been done and offers a series of constructive criticisms. It examines some of the problems associated with experts and expertise and itemizes challenges we confront dealing with them. It presages some of the social science research work that we may consider to embrace in the future.

Social and behavioral science priorities for genomic translation.

Science.gov (United States)

Koehly, Laura M; Persky, Susan; Spotts, Erica; Acca, Gillian

2018-01-29

This commentary highlights the essential role of the social and behavioral sciences for genomic translation, and discusses some priority research areas in this regard. The first area encompasses genetics of behavioral, social, and neurocognitive factors, and how integration of these relationships might impact the development of treatments and interventions. The second area includes the contributions that social and behavioral sciences make toward the informed translation of genomic developments. Further, there is a need for behavioral and social sciences to inform biomedical research for effective implementation. The third area speaks to the need for increased outreach and education efforts to improve the public's genomic literacy such that individuals and communities can make informed health-related and societal (e.g., in legal or consumer settings) decisions. Finally, there is a need to prioritize representation of diverse communities in genomics research and equity of access to genomic technologies. Examples from National Institutes of Health-based intramural and extramural research programs and initiatives are used to discuss these points. © Society of Behavioral Medicine 2018.

University Rankings and Social Science

Science.gov (United States)

Marginson, Simon

2014-01-01

University rankings widely affect the behaviours of prospective students and their families, university executive leaders, academic faculty, governments and investors in higher education. Yet the social science foundations of global rankings receive little scrutiny. Rankings that simply recycle reputation without any necessary connection to real…

Who's Who in the Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Norman, Colin

1983-01-01

Faculty members in social/behavioral science programs at the Universities of Chicago and California at Berkeley have been given the highest overall "grades" for quality by their academic peers in a survey published by the National Academy of Sciences. Includes scores for anthropology, geography, history, political science, psychology and sociology…

Enhance Your Science With Social Media: No ... Really

Science.gov (United States)

Goss, H.; Aiken, A. C.; Sams, A.

2016-12-01

The ability to communicate the societal value of basic research to nonacademic audiences is morphing from an optional soft skill to a crucial tool for scientists who are competing over finite or shrinking resources for research. Former National Academy of Sciences President Ralph Cicerone argued as early as 2006 that "scientists themselves must do a better job of communicating directly to the public," taking advantage of "new, non-traditional outlets" on the Internet. Findings suggest that scientists have begun to embrace social media as a viable tool for communicating research and keeping abreast of advancements in their fields. Social media is changing the way that scientists are interacting with each other and with the global community. Scientists are taking to popular social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) to challenge weak research, share replication attempts in real time, and counteract hype. Incorporating social media into the different stages of a scientific publication: Accelerates the pace of scientific communication and collaboration Facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration Makes it possible to communicate results to a large and diverse audience Encourages post-publication conversations about findings Accelerates research evaluation Makes science more transparent Amplifies the positive effects of scientists' interactions with more traditional media Our presentation will demonstrate how scientists can use social media as a tool to support their work, collaborate with peers around the world, and advance the cause of science. Information will be presented by communications experts and research librarians in collaboration with scientists who are already active on social media. Content will focus on pragmatic best practices for engaging peers, other stakeholders, promoting science and scientific research, and measuring success.

On the Governance of Social Science Research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Linneberg, Mai Skjøtt; Nørreklit, Hanne; Schröder, Philipp J.H.

2009-01-01

The majority of social science research is conducted within public or semi-public institutions, such as universities. Over the past decades, these institutions have experienced substantial changes in governance structures and an increased focus on performance contracts. Obviously, the new...... structures do not enter into a governance vacuum but replace existing profession-based governance structures. The present paper has a two-fold purpose. First, we map the key features and problems of a profession-based governance system focussing on principal-agent issues and motivational drivers. Second, we...... study the implications of the current changes in the social science research landscape along with central aspects of mechanism design, validity, employee motivation as well as the ability to establish socially optimal resource allocations. We identify a number of potential problems that may come along...

Organizing to Understand: How to Operate Effectively in the Human Domain

Science.gov (United States)

2015-05-21

was both entering and creating when it overthrew Saddam Hussein and dismantled the Iraqi government and security forces. The research examines the...sponsored initiative to help tactical and operational level commanders understand the human terrain, the “social, ethnographic , cultural, economic, and...as an intelligence function within TRADOC “as the primary and enduring social science-based human domain research , analysis, and training capability

Cultural, Social and Political Perspectives in Science Education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

education research to question whether conventional research approaches, foci and theoretical approaches are sufficient in a world of science education that is neither politically neutral, nor free of cultural values. Attention is not only on the individual learner but on the cultural, social and political......This book presents a collection of critical thinking that concern cultural, social and political issues for science education in the Nordic countries. The chapter authors describe specific scenarios to challenge persisting views, interrogate frameworks and trouble contemporary approaches...... to researching teaching and learning in science. Taking a point of departure in empirical examples from the Nordic countries the collection of work is taking a critical sideways glance at the Nordic education principles. Critical examinations target specifically those who are researching in the fields of science...

Employment & the Unity of Social Sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivo Šlaus

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Employment and the unity of social sciences are discussed. The paper argues that employment is the simplest and the best indicator of human-centered sustainable and secure development.

Handbook of Coherent-Domain Optical Methods Biomedical Diagnostics, Environmental Monitoring, and Materials Science

CERN Document Server

2013-01-01

This Handbook provides comprehensive coverage of laser and coherent-domain methods as applied to biomedicine, environmental monitoring, and materials science. Worldwide leaders in these fields describe the fundamentals of light interaction with random media and present an overview of basic research. The latest results on coherent and polarization properties of light scattered by random media, including tissues and blood, speckles formation in multiple scattering media, and other non-destructive interactions of coherent light with rough surfaces and tissues, allow the reader to understand the principles and applications of coherent diagnostic techniques. The expanded second edition has been thoroughly updated with particular emphasis on novel coherent-domain techniques and their applications in medicine and environmental science. Volume 1 describes state-of-the-art methods of coherent and polarization optical imaging, tomography and spectroscopy; diffusion wave spectroscopy; elastic, quasi-elastic and inelasti...

Social Science Disciplines. Fundamental for Curriculum Development.

Science.gov (United States)

McLendon, Johathan C., Ed.

This guide is written for the social studies curriculum developer interested in developing a structured multidisciplinary program based on the concepts, methodology, and structure of social science disciplines and history. Seven 15-29 page chapters are included on each discipline: Anthropology and Psychology, by Charles R. Berryman; Economics, by…

The Methodological Socialization of Social Science Doctoral Students in China and the USA

Science.gov (United States)

Rhoads, Robert A.; Zheng, Mi; Sun, Xiaoyang

2017-01-01

This qualitative study reports findings from a comparative analysis of the methodological socialization of doctoral students in the social sciences at two universities: one in China and one in the USA. Relying primarily on theories of organizational socialization, the study focuses on formal and informal processes students report as part of…

Efficient learning mechanisms hold in the social domain and are implemented in the medial prefrontal cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Seid-Fatemi, Azade; Tobler, Philippe N

2015-05-01

When we are learning to associate novel cues with outcomes, learning is more efficient if we take advantage of previously learned associations and thereby avoid redundant learning. The blocking effect represents this sort of efficiency mechanism and refers to the phenomenon in which a novel stimulus is blocked from learning when it is associated with a fully predicted outcome. Although there is sufficient evidence that this effect manifests itself when individuals learn about their own rewards, it remains unclear whether it also does when they learn about others' rewards. We employed behavioral and neuroimaging methods to address this question. We demonstrate that blocking does indeed occur in the social domain and it does so to a similar degree as observed in the individual domain. On the neural level, activations in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) show a specific contribution to blocking and learning-related prediction errors in the social domain. These findings suggest that the efficiency principle that applies to reward learning in the individual domain also applies to that in the social domain, with the mPFC playing a central role in implementing it. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

When Do Adolescents Accept or Defy to Maternal Prohibitions? The Role of Social Domain and Communication Style.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Petegem, Stijn; Vansteenkiste, Maarten; Soenens, Bart; Zimmermann, Grégoire; Antonietti, Jean-Philippe; Baudat, Sophie; Audenaert, Elien

2017-05-01

Drawing upon both Social-Cognitive Domain Theory and Self-Determination Theory, the goal of the present multi-informant study was to test whether the correlates of maternal prohibitions depend on what is prohibited (i.e., the content of the social domain involved), thereby contrasting moral with friendship prohibitions, as well on how the prohibition is communicated, thereby contrasting an autonomy-supportive with a controlling communication style. In a sample of adolescents (N = 196; mean age = 13.9 years; 63 % female) and their mothers (N = 185; mean age = 44 years), we first examined mean-level differences between the two domains in terms of mothers' degree and style of prohibition, as well as on a number of developmental outcomes (i.e., adolescents' legitimacy perceptions, internalization, and oppositional defiance). Both adolescents and mothers reported more maternal involvement in the moral domain (e.g., higher scores for degree of prohibition and controlling communication style). In addition, adolescents reported greater perceived legitimacy and less oppositional defiance in the moral domain (as compared to the friendships domain). Second, we tested whether associations between degree and style of prohibition and the developmental outcomes were moderated by social domain. Whereas associations between degree of prohibition and developmental outcomes either were non-significant or moderated by domain, the associations with communication style were more domain-invariant, with an autonomy-supportive style generally yielding an adaptive pattern of correlates and with a controlling style relating to maladaptive outcomes. The discussion focuses on similarities and differences in the characteristics and correlates of both types of prohibitions.

Cultural, Social and Political Perspectives in Science Education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

This book presents a collection of critical thinking that concern cultural, social and political issues for science education in the Nordic countries. The chapter authors describe specific scenarios to challenge persisting views, interrogate frameworks and trouble contemporary approaches to resea......This book presents a collection of critical thinking that concern cultural, social and political issues for science education in the Nordic countries. The chapter authors describe specific scenarios to challenge persisting views, interrogate frameworks and trouble contemporary approaches...... to researching teaching and learning in science. Taking a point of departure in empirical examples from the Nordic countries the collection of work is taking a critical sideways glance at the Nordic education principles. Critical examinations target specifically those who are researching in the fields of science...... conditions and contexts in science education. The different chapters review debates and research in teacher education, school teaching and learning including when external stakeholders are involved. Even though the chapters are contextualized in Nordic settings there will be similarities and parallels...

A new foundation for the social sciences?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjerre, Jørn

2015-01-01

The aim of John Searle’s philosophy of society is to provide a foundation for the social sciences. Arguing that the study of social reality needs to be based on a philosophy of language, Searle claims that sociology has little to offer, since no sociologist ever took language seriously. Attacking...

Cultural-Historical Activity Theory and Domain Analysis: Metatheoretical Implications for Information Science

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lin

2013-01-01

Background: Cultural-historical activity theory is an important theory in modern psychology. In recent years, it has drawn more attention from related disciplines including information science. Argument: This paper argues that activity theory and domain analysis which uses the theory as one of its bases could bring about some important…

Basic mathematics for the biological and social sciences

CERN Document Server

Marriott, F H C

2013-01-01

Basic Mathematics for the Biological and Social Sciences deals with the applications of basic mathematics in the biological and social sciences. Mathematical concepts that are discussed in this book include graphical methods, differentiation, trigonometrical or circular functions, limits and convergence, integration, vectors, and differential equations. The exponential function and related functions are also considered. This monograph is comprised of 11 chapters and begins with an overview of basic algebra, followed by an introduction to infinitesimal calculus, scalar and vector quantities, co

Broadening Participation in the Life Sciences with Social-Psychological Interventions

Science.gov (United States)

Tibbetts, Yoi; Harackiewicz, Judith M.; Priniski, Stacy J.; Canning, Elizabeth A.

2016-01-01

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have recently documented the positive effects of social-psychological interventions on the performance and retention of underrepresented students in the life sciences. We review two types of social-psychological interventions that address either students' well-being in college science courses or students'…

Quantum Mechanics and the Social Sciences: After Hermeneutics.

Science.gov (United States)

Heelan, Patrick A.

1995-01-01

An analysis of the hermeneutical aspect of quantum mechanical measurement reveals close analogs with the hermeneutical social/historical sciences. Suggests that the hermeneutical analysis of science requires the move from the epistemological attitude to an ontological view. (LZ)

Modeling human behavior in economics and social science.

Science.gov (United States)

Dolfin, M; Leonida, L; Outada, N

2017-12-01

The complex interactions between human behaviors and social economic sciences is critically analyzed in this paper in view of possible applications of mathematical modeling as an attainable interdisciplinary approach to understand and simulate the aforementioned dynamics. The quest is developed along three steps: Firstly an overall analysis of social and economic sciences indicates the main requirements that a contribution of mathematical modeling should bring to these sciences; subsequently the focus moves to an overview of mathematical tools and to the selection of those which appear, according to the authors bias, appropriate to the modeling; finally, a survey of applications is presented looking ahead to research perspectives. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Science anxiety and social cognitive factors predicting STEM career aspirations of high school freshmen in general science class

Science.gov (United States)

Skells, Kristin Marie

Extant data was used to consider the association between science anxiety, social cognitive factors and STEM career aspirations of high school freshmen in general science classes. An adapted model based on social cognitive career theory (SCCT) was used to consider these relationships, with science anxiety functioning as a barrier in the model. The study assessed the following research questions: (1) Do social cognitive variables relate in the expected way to STEM career aspirations based on SCCT for ninth graders taking general science classes? (2) Is there an association between science anxiety and outcomes and processes identified in the SCCT model for ninth graders taking general science classes? (3) Does gender moderate these relationships? Results indicated that support was found for many of the central tenants of the SCCT model. Science anxiety was associated with prior achievement, self-efficacy, and science interest, although it did not relate directly to STEM career goals. Gender was found to moderate only the relationship between prior achievement and science self-efficacy.

77 FR 24227 - Proposal Review Panel for Social and Economic Sciences; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-23

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Proposal Review Panel for Social and Economic Sciences; Notice of... Engineering Center (NSEC) at Arizona State University by the Division Social and Economic Sciences ( 10748... Kronz, Program Director; Science, Technology and Society Program; Division of Social and Economic...

75 FR 50783 - Committee for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-17

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ADVISORY Committee for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences..., Behavioral, and Economic Sciences ( 1171). Date/Time: September 7, 2010; 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. September 8... Assistant Director, Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, National Science Foundation...

Political diversity will improve social psychological science.

Science.gov (United States)

Duarte, José L; Crawford, Jarret T; Stern, Charlotta; Haidt, Jonathan; Jussim, Lee; Tetlock, Philip E

2015-01-01

Psychologists have demonstrated the value of diversity--particularly diversity of viewpoints--for enhancing creativity, discovery, and problem solving. But one key type of viewpoint diversity is lacking in academic psychology in general and social psychology in particular: political diversity. This article reviews the available evidence and finds support for four claims: (1) Academic psychology once had considerable political diversity, but has lost nearly all of it in the last 50 years. (2) This lack of political diversity can undermine the validity of social psychological science via mechanisms such as the embedding of liberal values into research questions and methods, steering researchers away from important but politically unpalatable research topics, and producing conclusions that mischaracterize liberals and conservatives alike. (3) Increased political diversity would improve social psychological science by reducing the impact of bias mechanisms such as confirmation bias, and by empowering dissenting minorities to improve the quality of the majority's thinking. (4) The underrepresentation of non-liberals in social psychology is most likely due to a combination of self-selection, hostile climate, and discrimination. We close with recommendations for increasing political diversity in social psychology.

Science, Society, and Social Networking

Science.gov (United States)

White, K. S.; Lohwater, T.

2009-12-01

The increased use of social networking is changing the way that scientific societies interact with their members and others. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) uses a variety of online networks to engage its members and the broader scientific community. AAAS members and non-members can interact with AAAS staff and each other on AAAS sites on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, as well as blogs and forums on the AAAS website (www.aaas.org). These tools allow scientists to more readily become engaged in policy by providing information on current science policy topics as well as methods of involvement. For example, members and the public can comment on policy-relevant stories from Science magazine’s ScienceInsider blog, download a weekly policy podcast, receive a weekly email update of policy issues affecting the scientific community, or watch a congressional hearing from their computer. AAAS resource websites and outreach programs, including Communicating Science (www.aaas.org/communicatingscience), Working with Congress (www.aaas.org/spp/cstc/) and Science Careers (http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org) also provide tools for scientists to become more personally engaged in communicating their findings and involved in the policy process.

Coordinated Multi-layer Multi-domain Optical Network (COMMON) for Large-Scale Science Applications (COMMON)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vokkarane, Vinod [University of Massachusetts

2013-09-01

We intend to implement a Coordinated Multi-layer Multi-domain Optical Network (COMMON) Framework for Large-scale Science Applications. In the COMMON project, specific problems to be addressed include 1) anycast/multicast/manycast request provisioning, 2) deployable OSCARS enhancements, 3) multi-layer, multi-domain quality of service (QoS), and 4) multi-layer, multidomain path survivability. In what follows, we outline the progress in the above categories (Year 1, 2, and 3 deliverables).

Integration of Social Sciences in Nuclear Research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bovy, M.; Eggermont, G

2002-04-01

In 1998, SCK-CEN initiated a programme to integrate social sciences into its scientific and technological projects. Activities were started on the following issues: (1) sustainable development; (2) ethics and decision making in nuclear waste management (transgenerational ethics/retrievability; socio-psychological aspect and local involvement); (3) law and liability (medical applications and the basic safety standards implementation); (4) decision making (emergency management); safety culture; ALARA and ethical choices in protection). Two working groups were created to discuss two broad items: (1) ethical choices in radiation protection; and (2) the role and culture of the expert. Progress and major achievements in SCK-CEN's social science programme in 2001 are summarised.

Integration of Social Sciences in Nuclear Research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bovy, M.; Eggermont, G.

2002-01-01

In 1998, SCK-CEN initiated a programme to integrate social sciences into its scientific and technological projects. Activities were started on the following issues: (1) sustainable development; (2) ethics and decision making in nuclear waste management (transgenerational ethics/retrievability; socio-psychological aspect and local involvement); (3) law and liability (medical applications and the basic safety standards implementation); (4) decision making (emergency management); safety culture; ALARA and ethical choices in protection). Two working groups were created to discuss two broad items: (1) ethical choices in radiation protection; and (2) the role and culture of the expert. Progress and major achievements in SCK-CEN's social science programme in 2001 are summarised

On art and science: an epistemic framework for integrating social science and clinical medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Wasserman, Jason Adam

2014-06-01

Calls for incorporating social science into patient care typically have accounted for neither the logistic constraints of medical training nor the methodological fallacies of utilizing aggregate "social facts" in clinical practice. By elucidating the different epistemic approaches of artistic and scientific practices, this paper illustrates an integrative artistic pedagogy that allows clinical practitioners to generate social scientific insights from actual patient encounters. Although there is no shortage of calls to bring social science into medicine, the more fundamental processes of thinking by which art and science proceed have not been addressed to this end. As such, the art of medical practice is conceptualized as an innate gift, and thus little is done to cultivate it. Yet doing so is more important than ever because uncertainty in diagnosing and treating chronic illnesses, the most significant contemporary mortality risks, suggests a re-expanding role for clinical judgment. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy Inc. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Social sciences, scientific research, higher education and social developments - An Albanian inside of dialectics and structured scientific research, in social sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nada Kallçiu

2013-01-01

At first this will involve the policy makers at the central level, like the Ministry of Education and Sciences and the main research actors in the public and in the private sector. The criteria of the geographical and the subjects coverage has been also used in order to be able to present a public institutions of the higher education and research but even the enterprises that act in the research area are mainly focusing to the integration of these two systems which have been working separately for a long period of time and that must become efficient in order to adapt to the conditions of a country that has limited financial resources. This article is intended to provide a comprehensive overview of the scientific research in Albania, focusing in defining the priority areas for the research in social sciences. The information about the higher education and the potential problems that it faces, is based on a big number of research institutions, selected based on their involvement in scientific research in social sciences. This article brings into evidence the fact that in order to establish a stable and effective infrastructure in scientific research in Albania, is important to work in different directions. A successful way to increase the efficasity through the elements of the “innovative system” is by working with organizations that work in specific sectors of the economy, aiming for a possible cooperation in scientific search, for an important social contribution.

Development of Computer Science Disciplines - A Social Network Analysis Approach

OpenAIRE

Pham, Manh Cuong; Klamma, Ralf; Jarke, Matthias

2011-01-01

In contrast to many other scientific disciplines, computer science considers conference publications. Conferences have the advantage of providing fast publication of papers and of bringing researchers together to present and discuss the paper with peers. Previous work on knowledge mapping focused on the map of all sciences or a particular domain based on ISI published JCR (Journal Citation Report). Although this data covers most of important journals, it lacks computer science conference and ...

Health domains and race in generic preference-based health-related quality of life instruments in the United States literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia Cristina de Aguiar Pereira

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Race differences in health have been extensively analyzed and documented in the literature, especially between African Americans or blacks and whites in the United States. Despite the vast literature in the area, the majority of studies that explore the relationship between race and health use outcomes such as self-rated health, mortality or morbidity, and disability, but very few use Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL measures and their domains or dimensions. This narrative review aims to provide a better understanding of the relationship between race and health domains that are commonly used in preference-based HRQoL measures. We investigated the literature on race, physical health, mental health, pain and discomfort, cognition, neurologic spectrum domains, dexterity, ambulation, vitality and social functioning domains. We conducted a literature search and review using the key words race and the health domain of interest, using medical and social sciences databases, such as MEDLINE/Pubmed, Web of Science, and the Google Scholar portal.The majority of the studies identified in the literature show that African Americans or blacks in the United States tend to have lower scores than whites throughout a variety of health domains found in preference-based HRQoL measures. This review also emphasizes the scarcity of studies that investigate some health domains, such as social functioning, dexterity, vitality and neurologic spectrum domains, and therefore we identify the need for more studies focusing on race and measures that address such domains.

The Behavioral and Social Sciences: Contributions and Opportunities in Academic Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Patrick O; Grigsby, R Kevin

2017-06-01

The Association of American Medical Colleges plays a leading role in supporting the expansion and evolution of academic medicine and medical science in North America, which are undergoing high-velocity change. Behavioral and social science concepts have great practical value when applied to the leadership practices and administrative structures that guide and support the rapid evolution of academic medicine and medical sciences. The authors are two behavioral and social science professionals who serve as academic administrators in academic medical centers. They outline their career development and describe the many ways activities have been shaped by their work with the Association of American Medical Colleges. Behavioral and social science professionals are encouraged to become change agents in the ongoing transformation of academic medicine.

International Conference "Social Sciences: Achievements and Prospects"

OpenAIRE

Open European Academy of Public Sciences

2018-01-01

The Organizing Committee of the International Scientific and Practical Conference of the Open European Academy of Social Sciences(Spain, Barcelona), in partnership with the Barcelona University (Spain, Barcelona), the Berlin University (Germany, Berlin) Conference sections: Anthropology, Demography and Ethnography, Journalism, Art History and Culturology History and archeology, Political science, Psychology, Pedagogy Regional studies and socio-economic geography, Relig...

Social Science Curriculum Guide and Selected Multi-Media, K-6.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaydosh, Ronald; And Others

GRADES OR AGES: K-6. SUBJECT MATTER: Social science. ORGANIZATION AND PHYSICAL APPEARANCE: The introductory material includes an explanation of the rationale, definitions of the social science core disciplines, glossary of terms, guidelines for teaching, and descriptions of concepts. The main body of the guide is designed in a five-column…

Emphaty as the foundation of the social sciences and of social life: a reading of Husserl's phenomenology of transcendental intersubjectivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frédéric Vandenberghe

2002-12-01

Full Text Available Starting with an overview of possible solutions to the problem of social order, the author presents a non-acritical reconstruction of Edmund Husserl's transcendental phenomenology of intersubjectivity as a sympathetic alternative to Habermas's theory of communicative action. By means of a detailed analysis of the concept of empathy (Einfühlung, he shows that Husserl's phenomenology of intersubjectivity offers a triple foundation of the sciences. As a warrant of the objectivity of the world, it grounds the natural sciences; as a presupposition of sociality, it founds the social sciences; as mediated by culture, it grounds the social sciences as human sciences.

Social dimensions of science-humanitarian collaboration: lessons from Padang, Sumatra, Indonesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Shannon, Rachel; Hope, Max; McCloskey, John; Crowley, Dominic; Crichton, Peter

2014-07-01

This paper contains a critical exploration of the social dimensions of the science-humanitarian relationship. Drawing on literature on the social role of science and on the social dimensions of humanitarian practice, it analyses a science-humanitarian partnership for disaster risk reduction (DRR) in Padang, Sumatra, Indonesia, an area threatened by tsunamigenic earthquakes. The paper draws on findings from case study research that was conducted between 2010 and 2011. The case study illustrates the social processes that enabled and hindered collaboration between the two spheres, including the informal partnership of local people and scientists that led to the co-production of earthquake and tsunami DRR and limited organisational capacity and support in relation to knowledge exchange. The paper reflects on the implications of these findings for science-humanitarian partnering in general, and it assesses the value of using a social dimensions approach to understand scientific and humanitarian dialogue. © 2014 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2014.

Journal of Agriculture, Forestry and the Social Sciences

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Journal of Agriculture, Forestry and the Social Sciences generally aims to foster progressive partnerships between different stake holders towards sustainable Agriculture. Papers in Animal husbandry, Fisheries, wild life, crop and Soil Science, agricultural economics, Extension, Forestry, environment and papers with a ...

A systematic review of US rangeland social science

Science.gov (United States)

Rangeland science aims to create knowledge to sustain rangeland social-ecological systems over the long term. Range science has made substantial progress on understanding ecological dynamics of rangeland systems and the management practices that sustain them, and these findings have been systematica...

Math and science illiteracy: Social and economic impacts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Williams, J.L.

1994-05-01

Today`s highly competitive global economy is being driven by increasingly rapid technological development. This paper explores the problems of math and science illiteracy in the United States and the potential impact on our economic survival in this environment during the next century. Established educational methods that reward task performance, emphasize passive lecture, and fail to demonstrate relevance to real life are partly to blame. Social norms, stereotypes, and race and gender bias also have an impact. To address this crisis, we need to question the philosophy of an educational system that values task over concept. Many schools have already initiated programs at all grade levels to make math and science learning more relevant, stimulating, and fun. Teaching methods that integrate math and science learning with teamwork, social context, and other academic subjects promote the development of higher-order thinking skills and help students see math and science as necessary skills.

The Impact of Regulating Social Science Research with Biomedical Regulations

Science.gov (United States)

Durosinmi, Brenda Braxton

2011-01-01

The Impact of Regulating Social Science Research with Biomedical Regulations Since 1974 Federal regulations have governed the use of human subjects in biomedical and social science research. The regulations are known as the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, and often referred to as the "Common Rule" because 18 Federal…

Social Media and Science: where do we go from here?

Science.gov (United States)

Bohon, W.; Robinson, S.; Arrowsmith, R.; Semken, S. C.

2013-12-01

What is black and white and 'read' all over? Facebook, that's what. As of December 2012 Facebook had over 618 million daily users, and over a billion monthly users from around the world (http://newsroom.fb.com/Key-Facts). Twitter has more than 130 million active users and generates as many as 340 million Tweets a day (http://blog.twitter.com/2012/03/twitter-turns-six.html). Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are not the future of communication, they are the reality, and scientists (and science organizations) need to become part of the conversation. More than half of the teenage and adult population of the US belongs to a social network or are using another form of social media on a regular basis. This creates an opportunity for organizations to use the well-established functionality and pervasiveness of social media platforms to communicate important scientific information and discoveries. In addition, the informal environment of social media allows scientists to interact with non-scientists in a friendly and non-threatening way that can be used to create engagement scenarios that continue the cycle of discussions, experiments, analysis and conclusions that typify science. Social media also provides scientists with the means and opportunity to improve the way science is viewed by the public while improving general science literacy and integrating scientific discoveries into the fabric of the lives of non-scientists. Many questions remain regarding the best way to utilize the opportunities that social media present. For instance, how can we reach a broader, more diverse audience? What are realistic expectations about the effects of social media? How do we improve the quality of content? How can we use social media to communicate scientific information in innovative ways? And perhaps most importantly, how do we know if we are communicating successfully? The EarthScope National Office will share our experiences creating a social media program from the

Teaching Climate Social Science and Its Practices: A Two-Pronged Approach to Climate Literacy

Science.gov (United States)

Shwom, R.; Isenhour, C.; McCright, A.; Robinson, J.; Jordan, R.

2014-12-01

The Essential Principles of Climate Science Literacy states that a climate-literate individual can: "understand the essential principles of Earth's climate system, assess scientifically credible information about climate change, communicate about climate and climate change in a meaningful way, and make informed and responsible decisions with regard to actions that may affect climate." We argue that further integration of the social science dimensions of climate change will advance the climate literacy goals of communication and responsible actions. The underlying rationale for this argues: 1) teaching the habits of mind and scientific practices that have synergies across the social and natural sciences can strengthen students ability to understand and assess science in general and that 2) understanding the empirical research on the social, political, and economic processes (including climate science itself) that are part of the climate system is an important step for enabling effective action and communication. For example, while climate literacy has often identified the public's faulty mental models of climate processes as a partial explanation of complacency, emerging research suggests that the public's mental models of the social world are equally or more important in leading to informed and responsible climate decisions. Building student's ability to think across the social and natural sciences by understanding "how we know what we know" through the sciences and a scientific understanding of the social world allows us to achieve climate literacy goals more systematically and completely. To enable this integration we first identify the robust social science insights for the climate science literacy principles that involve social systems. We then briefly identify significant social science contributions to climate science literacy that do not clearly fit within the seven climate literacy principles but arguably could advance climate literacy goals. We conclude

Michael Polanyi and his generation origins of the social construction of science

CERN Document Server

Nye, Mary Jo

2011-01-01

In Michael Polanyi and His Generation, Mary Jo Nye investigates the role that Michael Polanyi and several of his contemporaries played in the emergence of the social turn in the philosophy of science. This turn involved seeing science as a socially based enterprise that does not rely on empiricism and reason alone but on social communities, behavioral norms, and personal commitments. Nye argues that the roots of the social turn are to be found in the scientific culture and political events of Europe in the 1930s, when scientific intellectuals struggled to defend the universal status of scientific knowledge and to justify public support for science in an era of economic catastrophe, Stalinism and Fascism, and increased demands for applications of science to industry and social welfare. At the center of this struggle was Polanyi, who Nye contends was one of the first advocates of this new conception of science. Nye reconstructs Polanyi’s scientific and political milieus in Budapest, Berlin, and Manchester f...

Excel 2016 for social science statistics a guide to solving practical problems

CERN Document Server

Quirk, Thomas J

2016-01-01

This book shows the capabilities of Microsoft Excel in teaching social science statistics effectively. Similar to the previously published Excel 2013 for Social Sciences Statistics, this book is a step-by-step exercise-driven guide for students and practitioners who need to master Excel to solve practical social science problems. If understanding statistics isn’t your strongest suit, you are not especially mathematically-inclined, or if you are wary of computers, this is the right book for you. Excel, a widely available computer program for students and managers, is also an effective teaching and learning tool for quantitative analyses in social science courses. Its powerful computational ability and graphical functions make learning statistics much easier than in years past. However, Excel 2016 for Social Science Statistics: A Guide to Solving Practical Problems is the first book to capitalize on these improvements by teaching students and managers how to apply Excel to statistical techniques necessary in ...

The Royal Academy of moral and political sciences and the emergence of social sciences in Spain (1857-1923

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elodie Richard

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This article deals with the emergence of social sciences in Spain at the end of the nineteenth century. It focuses on the Royal Academy of moral and political sciences, whose creation in 1857, on the French model, was part of the reorganisation of public education, but also an ideological reaction of the conservative party (partido moderado, which returned to power after the 1854-1956 Revolution. The Academy was officially in charge of propagating the political doctrines of the regime (namely “doctrinaire” liberalism and of countering socialism at the scientific level. This paper shows the methodological relevance of studying such a multidisciplinary institution in order to grasp simultaneously the pluralistic scientific matrix of the social sciences as well as the political issues that surround them. It analyses the content and the evolution of moral and political sciences between 1857 and 1923 and highlights the multiple factors that played an active role in the emergence of the social sciences: the legacy of former scholarly disciplines, the impact of the propagation of naturalistic theories during the liberal revolution of 1868, and the critique of liberalism and liberal sciences following the social and political crisis from the 1880s onwards.

[Boundaries and integrity in the "Social Contract for Spanish Science", 1907-1939].

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez, Amparo

2014-01-01

This article analyzes the relationship between science and politics in Spain in the early 20th century from the perspective of the Social Contract for Science. The article shows that a genuine social contract for science was instituted in Spain during this period, although some boundary and integrity problems emerged. These problems are analyzed, showing that the boundary problems were a product of the conservative viewpoint on the relationship between science and politics, while the integrity problems involved the activation of networks of influence in the awarding of scholarships to study abroad. Finally, the analysis reveals that these problems did not invalidate the Spanish social contract for science.

Critical Debates in Teaching Research Methods in the Social Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Gunn, Andrew

2017-01-01

This paper explores some of the critical debates in social science research methods education and is set out in three parts. The first section introduces the importance and relevance of research methods to the social sciences. It then outlines the problems and challenges experienced in the teaching and learning of research methods, which are…

77 FR 24228 - Proposal Review Panel for Social and Economic Sciences; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-23

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Proposal Review Panel for Social and Economic Sciences; Notice of...; Division of Social and Economic Sciences, Room 990, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard... Science Foundation announces the following meeting: Name: Site visit review of the Nanoscale Science and...

Social behaviour in the Age of Empathy? – A social scientist’s perspective on current trends in the behavioural sciences.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Svenja eMatusall

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Recently, several behavioral sciences became increasingly interested in investigating biological and evolutionary foundations of (human social behavior. In this light, prosocial behavior is seen as a core element of human nature. A central role within this perspective plays the ‘social brain’ that is not only able to communicate with the environment but rather to interact directly with other brains via neuronal mind reading capacities such as empathy. From the perspective of a sociologist, this paper investigates what social means in contemporary behavioral and particularly brain sciences. It will be discussed what social means in the light of social neuroscience and a glance into the history of social psychology and the brain sciences will show that two thought traditions come together in social neuroscience, combining an individualistic and an evolutionary notion of the social. The paper concludes by situating current research on prosocial behavior in broader social discourses about sociality and society, suggesting that to naturalise prosocial aspects in human life is a current trend in today's behavioral sciences and beyond.

Kant or Marx? Philosophy and the Origins of Social Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Scaff, Lawrence A.

The origins of social science as a discipline are analyzed in terms of the German scientific community before 1920, which tended to define itself according to the theories of Karl Marx or Immanuel Kant. Following a brief introduction about the nature of social science debates in intellectual Germany, section 2 of the paper considers whether the…

Is it about "pink" or about "girls"? The inherence heuristic across social and nonsocial domains.

Science.gov (United States)

Kinzler, Katherine D; Sullivan, Kathleen R

2014-10-01

The inherence heuristic provides an intriguing and novel explanation for early thought in a variety of domains. Exploring similarities and differences in inherent reasoning across social and nonsocial domains can help us understand the role that inherent thinking plays in the development of human reasoning and the process by which more elaborate essentialist reasoning develops.

Like a bridge over troubled water – Opening pathways for integrating social sciences and humanities into nuclear research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turcanu, Catrinel; Schröder, Jantine; Meskens, Gaston; Perko, Tanja; Rossignol, Nicolas; Carlé, Benny; Hardeman, Frank

2016-01-01

Research on nuclear technologies has been largely driven by a detachment of the 'technical content' from the 'social context'. However, social studies of science and technology - also for the nuclear domain – emphasize that 'the social' and 'the technical' dimensions of technology development are inter-related and co-produced. In an effort to create links between nuclear research and innovation and society in mutually beneficial ways, the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre started fifteen years ago a ‘Programme of Integration of Social Aspects into nuclear research’ (PISA). In line with broader science-policy agendas (responsible research and innovation and technology assessment), this paper argues that the importance of such programmes is threefold. First, their multi-disciplinary basis and participatory character contribute to a better understanding of the interactions between science, technology and society, in general, and the complexity of nuclear technology assessment in particular. Second, their functioning as (self -)critical policy supportive research with outreach to society is an essential prerequisite for policies aiming at generating societal trust in the context of controversial issues related to nuclear technologies and exposure to ionising radiation. Third, such programmes create an enriching dynamic in the organisation itself, stimulating collective learning and transdisciplinarity. The paper illustrates with concrete examples these claims and concludes by discussing some key challenges that researchers face while engaging in work of this kind. - Highlights: • Needs and possibilities for multi-disciplinary research in the nuclear field are discussed. • The added value of multi-disciplinary approaches is illustrated with exemplary cases. • Key challenges are summarised.

Shallow waters: social science research in South Africa's marine ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Shallow waters: social science research in South Africa's marine ... certain issues and social interactions in the marine environment but this work is limited ... Keywords: coastal development, economics, governance, human dimensions, society

Domain analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjørland, Birger

2017-01-01

The domain-analytic approach to knowledge organization (KO) (and to the broader field of library and information science, LIS) is outlined. The article reviews the discussions and proposals on the definition of domains, and provides an example of a domain-analytic study in the field of art studies....... Varieties of domain analysis as well as criticism and controversies are presented and discussed....

The Social Science of Carl von Clausewitz

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Klinger, Janeen

2006-01-01

.... At the risk of adding to the veritable cottage industry of distortion, this article attempts to add conceptual clarity by demonstrating that Clausewitz was formulating a social science approach...

Exploring Social Learning through Upstream Engagement in Science and Technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mortensen, Jonas Egmose

This discussion paper deliberates on how the concept of social learning can be used for evaluating upstream engagement initiatives in science and technology.  The paper briefly introduces to the concept of upstream engagement and a concrete case, the UK Citizen Science for Sustainability project...... (SuScit), as an outset for discussing how the concept of social learning can be used for analysing and understanding relations between citizen participation, Science and research, and sustainability. A number of relevant research questions and methodological considerations are distilled...

Perceived social support among students of medical sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Zamani-Alavijeh, Freshteh; Dehkordi, Fatemeh Raeesi; Shahry, Parvin

2017-06-01

Social support is emotional and instrumental assistance from family, friends or neighbors, and has an important but different impact on individuals, mainly depending on contextual factors. To determine the status of perceived social support and related personal and family characteristics of medical sciences students in Ahvaz, Iran. In this cross-sectional study, the target population included the students of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences in the second semester of 2013-2014, of whom 763 were selected by cluster random sampling method. The study tool was a two-part questionnaire containing 48 self-administered questions including 25 questions of measurements of personal and family characteristics and a Persian modified version of Vaux's social support scale (Cronbach's α=0.745). Data were analyzed with T test, ANOVA and chi-square and using SPSS version 16 and 0.05 was considered as the level of significance. The mean score of the perceived social support was 17.06±3.6 and 60.3% of them reported low social support. There was a significant relationship among the perceived social support and sex (p=0.02), faculty (psocial support and importance of social support in reducing stress and academic failure, the planners need to provide efficient supportive interventions for students.

The “Second” Vienna School as Social Science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ian Verstegen

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses Kunstwollen, not as a historicized concept, but as a social scientific construct open to reinterpretation and input from the evolving sciences. Emphasizing especially the contributions of Hans Sedlmayr in his Introduction to Riegl’s Collected Works (1929 and Otto Pächt’s article on Riegl (1962, attention departs from Riegl to set the stage regarding the meaning of Kunstwollen. Emphasizing its roots in materialistic social history, inspired by evolution, the article undertakes vignettes of paired art historians and social theorists: Dvorak and Karl Mannheim, Sedlmayr and Alfred Vierkandt, and Otto Pächt and Wolfgang Metzger. It can be seen that Kunstwollen is interpreted with the tools of social science as the sociology of knowledge (Mannheim, Vierkandt with refinements from Gestalt psychology (Metzger. As the career of Pächt progresses, the Austrian art historian looks for ways to stress continuous evolution, historical determinism and compulsion, and the super-individuality of artistic tradition.

The Roles of Behavioral and Social Science Research in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS: A Functional Framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaist, Paul; Stirratt, Michael J

2017-08-01

Landmark advances have been made in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. These include proof-of-concept and public health implementation of preexposure prophylaxis and "treatment as prevention" to reduce HIV transmission as well as definitive evidence of the clinical gain from early antiretroviral treatment initiation. Significant progress has been made in understanding and addressing the social contexts and behavioral factors that impact HIV prevention, care, and treatment interventions. These include facilitating uptake of testing and counseling, developing technology-based interventions that increase viral suppression, reducing HIV/AIDS-related stigma, and addressing other sociobehavioral and structural barriers to care and treatment. This evolving landscape provides an important juncture to assess current and future directions for HIV/AIDS behavioral and social science research (BSSR). We propose a functional framework for HIV/AIDS-related BSSR, highlighting 4 primary BSSR domains: (1) understanding vulnerable populations and contexts of risk ("Basic BSSR"); (2) improving behavioral and social factor approaches to risk reduction, prevention, and care ("Elemental BSSR"); (3) strengthening the design and outcomes of biomedically focused research in HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention ("Supportive BSSR"); and (4) contributing building blocks to integrated HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment approaches ("Integrative BSSR"). These domains and their resulting confluence at the highest level underscore how fundamental and essential BSSR is to current and future efforts to prevent, treat, and cure HIV/AIDS.

Educacion y Ciencias Sociales en el Mundo Moderno. [Education and the Social Sciences in the Modern World].

Science.gov (United States)

Rimoldi, Horacio J. A.

The document, written in Spanish, discusses the relationship between research in the social sciences and the role of the university in social science education. The author considers the education of researchers, the application of research, the need for interdisciplinary research methods, and problems involved in cross-cultural studies. He states…

MARGINALIZATION OF DEPARTMENTS OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND LANGUAGES IN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN DENPASAR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I Wayan Winaja

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Learning should be focused on the social and cultural development of intellectual ability, and encourage the learner’s comprehension and knowledge in order to produce intelligent and educated society. From the data collected from Public Senior High School 1 Denpasar and Dwijendra Senior High School Denpasar, it was found that the departments of social sciences and languages were seriously marginalized, indicated by the time allocated for social sciences and languages. The time allocated for Natural Sciences such as chemistry, physics, and biology averaged three hours a week. The additional ‘extra’ time allocated for Natural Sciences made the overall time allocated for them double the overall time allocated for Social Sciences such as economics, history sociology, and geography. Furthermore, the time allocated for one of them was one hour a week. The knowledge presented by the books of Natural Sciences was highly “instrumentalist-positivistic”; unlike the books of social sciences which only provided academic normative information. The modernity contained in “instrumentative positivism” was the philosophy which gave more priority to practical things and hard work with financial success as the main criterion. It was concluded that the marginalization of the departments of social sciences and languages in Public Senior High School 1 Denpasar and Dwijendra Senior High School Denpasar resulted from modernism, the culture of image, and the image that natural sciences were more advantageous than social sciences and languages.

The Educational Governance of German School Social Science: The Example of Globalization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Szukala

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Purpose: This article challenges the outsiders' views on European school social science adopting genuine cosmopolitan views, when globalisation is treated in social science classrooms. Method: The article is based on the theoretical framework of educational governance analysis and on qualitative corpus analysis of representative German Laenders' social science curricula from 1994-2014 (n=13. Findings: The article highlights tendencies of renationalisation of the global learning agenda and the problematisation of democracy in contexts of globalisation studies at German schools.

Eight statements on environmental research in the social sciences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prittwitz, V.

1985-01-01

Social science research on environmental problems has two main tasks: (1) to provide critical practice-oriented contributions to present and threatening environmental problems, and (2) to draw the humans-and-nature problematique into social science concepts and theoretical frameworks. In this paper, the prerequisites for achieving both tasks as well as the theoretical, political, and institutional aspects that affect them are discussed. The focus of the discussion is the interdependence between practical problem solving and development of theory. (orig.) [de

76 FR 65219 - Advisory Committee for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-20

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Advisory Committee for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences..., Behavioral and Economic Sciences ( 1171) Date/Time: November 3, 2011; 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. November 4, 2011; 8..., Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard...

Implementation Science: Why It Matters for the Future of Social Work

Science.gov (United States)

Cabassa, Leopoldo J.

2016-01-01

Bridging the gap between research and practice is a critical frontier for the future of social work. Integrating implementation science into social work can advance our profession's effort to bring research and practice closer together. Implementation science examines the factors, processes, and strategies that influence the uptake, use, and…

Leyla and Mahmood--Emotions in Social Science Education

Science.gov (United States)

Blennow, Katarina

2018-01-01

Purpose: The paper explores what emotions do in social science education through two specific cases and discusses the relation between emotion and politicization in the subject education. Method/approach: The cases are selected from an on-going dissertation project that uses interviews, video and observations in examining how social science…

Ethiopian Journal of the Social Sciences and Humanities

African Journals Online (AJOL)

EJOSSAH is a peer-reviewed journal of the social sciences and humanities specializing on social, political, economic and cultural development in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. It is a biannual journal open to all interested contributors. Vol 13, No 1 (2017). DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT Open Access DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT ...

Social Networking among Library and Information Science Undergraduate Students

Science.gov (United States)

Alakpodia, Onome Norah

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine social networking use among Library and Information Science students of the Delta State University, Abraka. In this study, students completed a questionnaire which assessed their familiarity with social networking sites, the purpose for which they use social networking site and their most preferred sites to…

A Guanxi Shibboleth based security infrastructure for e-social science

OpenAIRE

Jie, Wei; Young, Alistair; Arshad, Junaid; Finch, June; Procter, Rob; Turner, Andy

2008-01-01

An e-Social Science infrastructure generally has security requirements to protect their restricted resources or services. As a widely accepted authentication and authorization technology, Shibboleth supports the sharing of resources on interinstitutional federation. Guanxi is an open source implementation of the Shibboleth protocol and architecture. In this paper, we propose a security infrastructure for e-social science based on the Guanxi Shibboleth. This security infrastructure presents tw...

77 FR 25207 - Advisory Committee for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-27

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Advisory Committee for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences..., Behavioral and Economic Sciences ( 1171). Date/Time: May 17, 2012; 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; May 18, 2012; 8:30..., Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard...

75 FR 25886 - Advisory Committee for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-10

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Advisory Committee for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences..., Behavioral, and Economic Sciences ( 1171). Date/Time: May 20, 2010; 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. May 21, 2010; 8:30..., Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard...

76 FR 24062 - Advisory Committee for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-29

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Advisory Committee for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences..., Behavioral and Economic Sciences ( 1171) Date/Time: May 19, 2011; 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. May 20, 2011; 9 a.m. to..., Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard...

Integrating Social Science into the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network: Social Dimensions of Ecological Change and Ecological Dimensions of Social Change

Science.gov (United States)

Charles L. Redman; J. Morgan Grove; Lauren H. Kuby; Lauren H. Kuby

2004-01-01

The integration of the social sciences into long-term ecological research is an urgent priority. To address this need, a group of social, earth, and life scientists associated with the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network have articulated a conceptual framework for understanding the human dimensions of ecological change...

Social defeat models in animal science: What we have learned from rodent models.

Science.gov (United States)

Toyoda, Atsushi

2017-07-01

Studies on stress and its impacts on animals are very important in many fields of science, including animal science, because various stresses influence animal production and animal welfare. In particular, the social stresses within animal groups have profound impact on animals, with the potential to induce abnormal behaviors and health problems. In humans, social stress induces several health problems, including psychiatric disorders. In animal stress models, social defeat models are well characterized and used in various research fields, particularly in studies concerning mental disorders. Recently, we have focused on behavior, nutrition and metabolism in rodent models of social defeat to elucidate how social stresses affect animals. In this review, recent significant progress in studies related to animal social defeat models are described. In the field of animal science, these stress models may contribute to advances in the development of functional foods and in the management of animal welfare. © 2017 The Authors. Animal Science Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japanese Society of Animal Science.

Persistent Confusions about Hypothesis Testing in the Social Sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher Thron

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes common confusions involving basic concepts in statistical hypothesis testing. One-third of the social science statistics textbooks examined in the study contained false statements about significance level and/or p-value. We infer that a large proportion of social scientists are being miseducated about these concepts. We analyze the causes of these persistent misunderstandings, and conclude that the conventional terminology is prone to abuse because it does not clearly represent the conditional nature of probabilities and events involved. We argue that modifications in terminology, as well as the explicit introduction of conditional probability concepts and notation into the statistics curriculum in the social sciences, are necessary to prevent the persistence of these errors.

Heart rate variability is associated with psychosocial stress in distinct social domains.

Science.gov (United States)

Lischke, Alexander; Jacksteit, Robert; Mau-Moeller, Anett; Pahnke, Rike; Hamm, Alfons O; Weippert, Matthias

2018-03-01

Psychosocial stress is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Accordingly, there is a growing interest in biomarkers that indicate whether individuals show adaptive (i.e., stress-buffering and health-promoting) or maladaptive (i.e., stress-escalating and health-impairing) stress reactions in social contexts. As heart rate variability (HRV) has been suggested to be a biomarker of adaptive behavior during social encounters, it may be possible that inter-individual differences in HRV are associated with inter-individual differences regarding stress in distinct social domains. To test this hypothesis, resting state HRV and psychosocial stress was assessed in 83 healthy community-dwelling individuals (age: 18-35years). HRV was derived from heart rate recordings during spontaneous and instructed breathing to assess the robustness of possible associations between inter-individual differences in HRV and inter-individual differences in psychosocial stress. Psychosocial stress was determined with a self-report questionnaire assessing stress in distinct social domains. A series of categorical and dimensional analyses revealed an association between inter-individual differences in HRV and inter-individual differences in psychosocial stress: Individuals with high HRV reported less stress in social life, but not in family life, work life or everyday life, than individuals with low HRV. On basis of these findings, it may be assumed that individuals with high HRV experience less psychosocial stress than individuals with low HRV. Although such an assumption needs to be corroborated by further findings, it seems to be consistent with previous findings showing that individuals with high HRV suffer less from stress and stress-related disorders than individuals with low HRV. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

"The only disinterested source of funds": Embedded science, lobbying, and the NSF’s patronage of social science in the 1980s

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scheiding, T.; Mata, T.

2010-01-01

Research in the social sciences received generous patronage in the late 1960s and early 1970s when social problems were particularly severe and when social sciences were seen as creating social and economic benefits. That generosity ended in the late 1970s. This essay explores the various ways by

Basic concepts in social sciences I

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoede, C.

2000-01-01

In this paper the results are given of an investigation into concepts from Economics, Organization Theory, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology. The goal of this investigation was to find out whether there is a set of concepts that may be considered to be basic to all these five social

KNIME for reproducible cross-domain analysis of life science data.

Science.gov (United States)

Fillbrunn, Alexander; Dietz, Christian; Pfeuffer, Julianus; Rahn, René; Landrum, Gregory A; Berthold, Michael R

2017-11-10

Experiments in the life sciences often involve tools from a variety of domains such as mass spectrometry, next generation sequencing, or image processing. Passing the data between those tools often involves complex scripts for controlling data flow, data transformation, and statistical analysis. Such scripts are not only prone to be platform dependent, they also tend to grow as the experiment progresses and are seldomly well documented, a fact that hinders the reproducibility of the experiment. Workflow systems such as KNIME Analytics Platform aim to solve these problems by providing a platform for connecting tools graphically and guaranteeing the same results on different operating systems. As an open source software, KNIME allows scientists and programmers to provide their own extensions to the scientific community. In this review paper we present selected extensions from the life sciences that simplify data exploration, analysis, and visualization and are interoperable due to KNIME's unified data model. Additionally, we name other workflow systems that are commonly used in the life sciences and highlight their similarities and differences to KNIME. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

What's in a Domain: Understanding How Students Approach Questioning in History and Science

Science.gov (United States)

Portnoy, Lindsay Blau; Rabinowitz, Mitchell

2014-01-01

How students ask questions as they learn has implications for understanding, retention, and problem solving. The current research investigates the influence of domain, age, and previous experience with content on the ways students approach questioning across history and science texts. In 3 experiments, 3rd-, 8th-, and 10th-grade students in large…

Clickstream data yields high-resolution maps of science.

Science.gov (United States)

Bollen, Johan; Van de Sompel, Herbert; Hagberg, Aric; Bettencourt, Luis; Chute, Ryan; Rodriguez, Marko A; Balakireva, Lyudmila

2009-01-01

Intricate maps of science have been created from citation data to visualize the structure of scientific activity. However, most scientific publications are now accessed online. Scholarly web portals record detailed log data at a scale that exceeds the number of all existing citations combined. Such log data is recorded immediately upon publication and keeps track of the sequences of user requests (clickstreams) that are issued by a variety of users across many different domains. Given these advantages of log datasets over citation data, we investigate whether they can produce high-resolution, more current maps of science. Over the course of 2007 and 2008, we collected nearly 1 billion user interactions recorded by the scholarly web portals of some of the most significant publishers, aggregators and institutional consortia. The resulting reference data set covers a significant part of world-wide use of scholarly web portals in 2006, and provides a balanced coverage of the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. A journal clickstream model, i.e. a first-order Markov chain, was extracted from the sequences of user interactions in the logs. The clickstream model was validated by comparing it to the Getty Research Institute's Architecture and Art Thesaurus. The resulting model was visualized as a journal network that outlines the relationships between various scientific domains and clarifies the connection of the social sciences and humanities to the natural sciences. Maps of science resulting from large-scale clickstream data provide a detailed, contemporary view of scientific activity and correct the underrepresentation of the social sciences and humanities that is commonly found in citation data.

An integrated conceptual framework for long-term social-ecological research

Science.gov (United States)

S.L. Collins; S.R. Carpenter; S.M. Swinton; D.E. Orenstein; D.L. Childers; T.L. Gragson; N.B. Grimm; J.M. Grove; S.L. Harlan; J.P. Kaye; A.K. Knapp; G.P. Kofinas; J.J. Magnuson; W.H. McDowell; J.M. Melack; L.A. Ogden; G.P. Robertson; M.D. Smith; A.C. Whitmer

2010-01-01

The global reach of human activities affects all natural ecosystems, so that the environment is best viewed as a social-ecological system. Consequently, a more integrative approach to environmental science, one that bridges the biophysical and social domains, is sorely needed. Although models and frameworks for social-ecological systems exist, few are explicitly...

A Comparison of Student Teachers' Beliefs from Four Different Science Teaching Domains Using a Mixed Methods Design

Science.gov (United States)

Markic, Silvija; Eilks, Ingo

2012-01-01

The study presented in this paper integrates data from four combined research studies, which are both qualitative and quantitative in nature. The studies describe freshman science student teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning. These freshmen intend to become teachers in Germany in one of four science teaching domains (secondary biology,…

Social media for informal science learning in China: A case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ke Zhang

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This article reports a case study on a popular informal science learning community via social media in China, named GuoKr (meaning “nutshell” in English. Data were collected through a variety of Chinese social media and social networking sites, web-based community portals, and discussion boards. Content analyses and data mining were conducted to investigate how GuoKr successfully attracted and engaged public in informal learning on scientific topics in particular. The study found three key characteristics that contributed to the success of such learning communities: (a utilizing a variety of social media to empower participants with just-in-time, accidental learning opportunities; (b daily tweets related to emerging or ongoing social events or hot topics to provide brief but intriguing knowledge “bites”, which often leads to extended readings and related resources; and (c the integration of social media and traditional face-to-face local events to engage the public in science-related learning and knowledge sharing. Practical and research implications are discussed with suggestions for future research as related to ubiquitous learning communities for informal science learning.

Linking scientific disciplines: Hydrology and social sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Seidl, R.; Barthel, R.

2017-07-01

The integration of interdisciplinary scientific and societal knowledge plays an increasing role in sustainability science and more generally, in global change research. In the field of water resources, interdisciplinarity has long been recognized as crucial. Recently, new concepts and ideas about how to approach water resources management more holistically have been discussed. The emergence of concepts such as socio-hydrology indicates the growing relevance of connections between social and hydrological disciplines. In this paper, we determine how well social sciences are integrated with hydrological research by using two approaches. First, we conducted a questionnaire survey with a sample of hydrology researchers and professionals (N = 353) to explore current opinions and developments related to interdisciplinary collaboration between hydrologists and social scientists. Second, we analyzed the disciplinary composition of author teams and the reference lists of articles pertaining to the socio-hydrology concept. We conclude that interdisciplinarity in water resources research is on a promising track but may need to mature further in terms of its aims and methods of integration. We find that current literature pays little attention to the following questions: What kind of interdisciplinarity do different scholars want? What are social scientists' preferred roles and knowledge from a hydrology perspective?

The intellectual and social organization of the sciences

CERN Document Server

Whitley, Richard

2000-01-01

In a rapidly changing and inter-disciplinary world it is important to understand the nature and generation of knowledge, and its social organization. Increasing attention is paid in the social sciences and management studies to the constitution and claims of different theories, perspectives, and 'paradigms'. This book is one of the most respected and robust analyses of these issues. For this new paperback edition Richard Whitley - a leading figure in European business education - has written a new introduction which addresses the particular epistemological issues presented by management and business studies. He approaches the sciences as differently organized systems for the production and validation of knowledge - systems which become established in particular contexts and which generate different sorts of knowledge. He identifies seven major types of scientific field and discusses the establishment and growth of these sciences, including the major consequences of the nineteenth-century expansion of employme...

Hard to Teach: Inclusive Pedagogy in Social Science Research Methods Education

Science.gov (United States)

Nind, Melanie; Lewthwaite, Sarah

2018-01-01

Amidst major new initiatives in research that are beginning to address the pedagogic dimension of building capacity in social science research methods, this paper makes the first move to apply the lens of inclusive pedagogy to research methods pedagogy. The paper explores the ways in which learning social science research methods is hard and may…

Agriculture vs. social sciences: subject classification and sociological conceptualization of rural tourism in Scopus and Web of Science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marjan HOČEVAR

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Agriculture and consumptive function of countryside (rural areas are connected which should be reflected in scientific research. In order to test relationships, we selected the topic of rural tourism (also agritourism, agrotourism, agricultural tourism considering sociological conceptualization (social sciences, sociology and methodological approaches of information sciences (bibliometrics, scientometrics in describing fields of science or scientific disciplines. We ascertained scatter of information in citation databases (Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar. Functionalities were evaluated, affecting search precision and recall in information retrieval. We mapped documents to Scopus subject areas as well as Web of Science (WOS research areas and subject categories, and related publications (journals. Databases do not differ substantially in mapping this topic. Social sciences (including economics or business occupy by far the most important place. The strongest concentration was found in tourism-related journals (consistent with power laws. Agriculture-related publications are rare, accounting for some 10 % of documents. Interdisciplinarity seems to be weak. Results point to poor inclusion of emerging social topics in agricultural research whereby agriculture may lose out in possible venues of future research.

Challenges and Opportunities for Integrating Social Science Perspectives into Climate and Global Change Assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Larson, E. K.; Li, J.; Zycherman, A.

2017-12-01

Integration of social science into climate and global change assessments is fundamental for improving understanding of the drivers, impacts and vulnerability of climate change, and the social, cultural and behavioral challenges related to climate change responses. This requires disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge as well as integrational and translational tools for linking this knowledge with the natural and physical sciences. The USGCRP's Social Science Coordinating Committee (SSCC) is tasked with this challenge and is working to integrate relevant social, economic and behavioral knowledge into processes like sustained assessments. This presentation will discuss outcomes from a recent SSCC workshop, "Social Science Perspectives on Climate Change" and their applications to sustained assessments. The workshop brought academic social scientists from four disciplines - anthropology, sociology, geography and archaeology - together with federal scientists and program managers to discuss three major research areas relevant to the USGCRP and climate assessments: (1) innovative tools, methods, and analyses to clarify the interactions of human and natural systems under climate change, (2) understanding of factors contributing to differences in social vulnerability between and within communities under climate change, and (3) social science perspectives on drivers of global climate change. These disciplines, collectively, emphasize the need to consider socio-cultural, political, economic, geographic, and historic factors, and their dynamic interactions, to understand climate change drivers, social vulnerability, and mitigation and adaptation responses. They also highlight the importance of mixed quantitative and qualitative methods to explain impacts, vulnerability, and responses at different time and spatial scales. This presentation will focus on major contributions of the social sciences to climate and global change research. We will discuss future directions for

A Science of Social Work, and Social Work as an Integrative Scientific Discipline: Have We Gone Too Far, or Not Far Enough?

Science.gov (United States)

Brekke, John S.

2014-01-01

There are two purposes to this article. The first is to update the science of social work framework. The second is to use recent discussions on the nature of realist science and on social work science to propose a definition of social work as an integrative scientific discipline that complements its definition as a profession.

Finding Relevance, Competence, and Enjoyment: The Development of Domain Identification and Interest in First-Year Science Majors

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Ruff, Chloe

2016-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how first-year college students perceive their development of domain identification with, and interest in, their prospective science major during their initial year of college. Four themes emerged from the coding and analysis of interviews with eight first-year science students: Self-Definition…

Review Essay: Mirror Neurons in the Discourse of Social Sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henning Pätzold

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Since their discovery in the mid-1990s, mirror neurons have been the subject of continuous discussions in neurosciences as well as in the social sciences. The interest of scientists outside the life sciences in mirror neurons is primarily based on the fact that mirror neurons not only have epistemological meaning, but also seem to play an important role in processes of social insights and emotions, like empathy. With her book, Nadia ZABOURA provides a new contribution from a social and cultural sciences point of view, which critically reflects the discussion on mirror neurons and its consequences on the social sciences and humanities. Starting off from philosophical approaches to the mind-matter-dualism and the question of intersubjectivity, she explores the meaning of mirror neurons for the debate on empathy and communication. By discussing concepts of philosophy and communication sciences as well as current knowledge on mirror neurons, she concludes that they do not provide a stable basis for any material reductionism, which would explain phenomena like intersubjectivity only by recordable neuronal processes. The book refers to a variety of related theories (ranging from DESCARTES through to MEAD and TOMASELLO; these references are inspiring, yet they stay cursory for the most part. All in all the book offers avenues for further inquiry on the issues in focus, and can rather be taken as "tour of suggestions" through the topical field of mirror neurons and the related research. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1003245

Social studies of science and us. Pt. 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyon, W.S.

1984-01-01

The author discusses some social impacts related with nuclear wastes, nuclear energy, nuclear weapons and radioanalytical chemistry. They are based on the talks delivered at the meeting of the Society for the Social Studies of Science (4S) in November 1983. (The first part of the publication does not contain references to nuclear problems). (A.L.)

Conceptual framework for behavioral and social science in HIV vaccine clinical research.

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, Chuen-Yen; Swann, Edith M; Singh, Sagri; Kafaar, Zuhayr; Meissner, Helen I; Stansbury, James P

2011-10-13

HIV vaccine clinical research occurs within a context where biomedical science and social issues are interlinked. Previous HIV vaccine research has considered behavioral and social issues, but often treated them as independent of clinical research processes. Systematic attention to the intersection of behavioral and social issues within a defined clinical research framework is needed to address gaps, such as those related to participation in trials, completion of trials, and the overall research experience. Rigorous attention to these issues at project inception can inform trial design and conduct by matching research approaches to the context in which trials are to be conducted. Conducting behavioral and social sciences research concurrent with vaccine clinical research is important because it can help identify potential barriers to trial implementation, as well as ultimate acceptance and dissemination of trial results. We therefore propose a conceptual framework for behavioral and social science in HIV vaccine clinical research and use examples from the behavioral and social science literature to demonstrate how the model can facilitate identification of significant areas meriting additional exploration. Standardized use of the conceptual framework could improve HIV vaccine clinical research efficiency and relevance. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Against integration - Why evolution cannot unify the social sciences

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Derksen, M

A lack of integration is often identified as a fundamental problem in psychology and the social sciences. It is thought that only through increased cooperation among the various disciplines and subdisciplines, and integration of their different theoretical approaches, can psychology and the social

University Rankings and Social Science

OpenAIRE

Marginson, S.

2014-01-01

University rankings widely affect the behaviours of prospective students and their families, university executive leaders, academic faculty, governments and investors in higher education. Yet the social science foundations of global rankings receive little scrutiny. Rankings that simply recycle reputation without any necessary connection to real outputs are of no common value. It is necessary that rankings be soundly based in scientific terms if a virtuous relationship between performance and...

The socializing workshop and the scientific appraisal in pedagogical sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matos, Eneida Catalina

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The systematization of the authors' experiences as agents of the process of Ph. D. formative process in Pedagogical Sciences leads them to propose The Socialization Workshop, as a valid alternative for scientific valuation of pedagogical investigations, supported in the epistemic nature of this science, as well as the author’s previous contributions about epistemic communication. The definition of The Socialization Workshop, its rationale and corresponding methodological stages are presented.

78 FR 25309 - Advisory Committee for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-30

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ADVISORY Advisory Committee for Social, Behavioral and Economic..., Behavioral and Economic Sciences ( 1171) Date/Time: May 20, 2013; 9:00 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. May 21, 2013; 9:00 a..., Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard...

Virtual Games in Social Science Education

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez, Jose M. Cuenca; Caceres, Myriam J. Martin

2010-01-01

The new technologies make the appearance of highly motivating and dynamic games with different levels of interaction possible, in which large amounts of data, information, procedures and values are included which are intimately bound with the social sciences. We set out from the hypothesis that videogames may become interesting resources for their…

A Comparison of Student Teachers' Beliefs from Four Different Science Teaching Domains Using a Mixed Methods Design

Science.gov (United States)

Markic, Silvija; Eilks, Ingo

2012-03-01

The study presented in this paper integrates data from four combined research studies, which are both qualitative and quantitative in nature. The studies describe freshman science student teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning. These freshmen intend to become teachers in Germany in one of four science teaching domains (secondary biology, chemistry, and physics, respectively, as well as primary school science). The qualitative data from the first study are based on student teachers' drawings of themselves in teaching situations. It was formulated using Grounded Theory to test three scales: Beliefs about Classroom Organisation, Beliefs about Teaching Objectives, and Epistemological Beliefs. Three further quantitative studies give insight into student teachers' curricular beliefs, their beliefs about the nature of science itself, and about the student- and/or teacher-centredness of science teaching. This paper describes a design to integrate all these data within a mixed methods framework. The aim of the current study is to describe a broad, triangulated picture of freshman science student teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning within their respective science teaching domain. The study reveals clear tendencies between the sub-groups. The results suggest that freshman chemistry and-even more pronouncedly-freshman physics student teachers profess quite traditional beliefs about science teaching and learning. Biology and primary school student teachers express beliefs about their subjects which are more in line with modern educational theory. The mixed methods approach towards the student teachers' beliefs is reflected upon and implications for science education and science teacher education are discussed.

Social Justice and Out-of-School Science Learning: Exploring Equity in Science Television, Science Clubs and Maker Spaces

Science.gov (United States)

Dawson, Emily

2017-01-01

This article outlines how social justice theories, in combination with the concepts of infrastructure access, literacies and community acceptance, can be used to think about equity in out-of-school science learning. The author applies these ideas to out-of-school learning via television, science clubs, and maker spaces, looking at research as well…

Cross Domain Deterrence: Livermore Technical Report, 2014-2016

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barnes, Peter D. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Bahney, Ben [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Matarazzo, Celeste [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Markey, Michael [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Pearl, Jonathan [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2016-08-03

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is an original collaborator on the project titled “Deterring Complex Threats: The Effects of Asymmetry, Interdependence, and Multi-polarity on International Strategy,” (CDD Project) led by the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation at UCSD under PIs Jon Lindsay and Erik Gartzke , and funded through the DoD Minerva Research Initiative. In addition to participating in workshops and facilitating interaction among UC social scientists, LLNL is leading the computational modeling effort and assisting with empirical case studies to probe the viability of analytic, modeling and data analysis concepts. This report summarizes LLNL work on the CDD Project to date, primarily in Project Years 1-2, corresponding to Federal fiscal year 2015. LLNL brings two unique domains of expertise to bear on this Project: (1) access to scientific expertise on the technical dimensions of emerging threat technology, and (2) high performance computing (HPC) expertise, required for analyzing the complexity of bargaining interactions in the envisioned threat models. In addition, we have a small group of researchers trained as social scientists who are intimately familiar with the International Relations research. We find that pairing simulation scientists, who are typically trained in computer science, with domain experts, social scientists in this case, is the most effective route to developing powerful new simulation tools capable of representing domain concepts accurately and answering challenging questions in the field.

Examining the social and scientific roles of invention in science education

Science.gov (United States)

Calabrese-Barton, Angela

1998-03-01

I have been drawn to the construct of “invention” and “inventive acts” because in my research involving how homeless children construct science and the self-in-science, an overwhelming theme has been the multiple ways in which self-identity in science has been described by the children through a language of invention. Using post-modern feminism and science and technologies studies, I examine the multiple uses and definitions of “invention” in science in order to develop a theory of invention and inventive acts around the themes: invention as a social act, invention as a recursive and socially linked process, and embodied agency. I use this framework to examine the construct of “invention” in two different case studies involving the science education of urban homeless children. Finally, I link this discussion of invention and inventive acts with current international reform initiatives revolving around constructivist science teaching and learning.

Social sciences and humanities contribution to tackle the obesity epidemic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, Lotte; Sandøe, Peter; Nielsen, Morten Ebbe Juul

for identifying, describing, and discussing future potential in obesity research, to establish new and to nurture existing networks and collaborations between researchers across the social sciences and humanities and the natural sciences with an interest in obesity research, and thereby to mobilise significant......To address the obesity epidemic, European researchers need to come together to find the best solutions and use their combined knowledge to provide the most innovative research ideas. By gathering more than 50 researchers and stakeholders from around Europe, we took an important step towards...... establishing strong networks and building bridges between the natural sciences and social sciences and humanities that can address obesity as a complex societal challenge and help minimise the gap between research, markets, and citizens. The objectives of the workshop were to create a cross‐European forum...

Editors’ Overview Perspectives on Teaching Social Responsibility to Students in Science and Engineering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zandvoort, Henk; Bird, Stephanie J.; Børsen, Tom

2013-01-01

. If the social responsibility of scientists and engineers implies a duty to safeguard or promote a peaceful, just and sustainable world society, then science and engineering education should empower students to fulfil this responsibility. The contributions to this special issue present European examples...... of teaching social responsibility to students in science and engineering, and provide examples and discussion of how this teaching can be promoted, and of obstacles that are encountered. Speaking generally, education aimed at preparing future scientists and engineers for social responsibility is presently...... very limited and seemingly insufficient in view of the enormous ethical and social problems that are associated with current science and technology. Although many social, political and professional organisations have expressed the need for the provision of teaching for social responsibility, important...

The Educational Governance of German School Social Science: The Example of Globalization

Science.gov (United States)

Szukala, Andrea

2016-01-01

Purpose: This article challenges the outsiders' views on European school social science adopting genuine cosmopolitan views, when globalisation is treated in social science classrooms. Method: The article is based on the theoretical framework of educational governance analysis and on qualitative corpus analysis of representative German Laenders'…

76 FR 57762 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed New Collection-Social Science Assessment and...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-16

... Information Collection Activities: Proposed New Collection--Social Science Assessment and Geographic Analysis...: OMB Control Number: 1024-NEW. Title: Social Science Assessment and Geographic Analysis of Marine... for Coastal Science and Policy, Mail Stop 250, Flanagan, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC...

Excel 2013 for social sciences statistics a guide to solving practical problems

CERN Document Server

Quirk, Thomas J

2015-01-01

This is the first book to show the capabilities of Microsoft Excel to teach social science statistics effectively.  It is a step-by-step exercise-driven guide for students and practitioners who need to master Excel to solve practical social science problems.  If understanding statistics isn’t your strongest suit, you are not especially mathematically-inclined, or if you are wary of computers, this is the right book for you.  Excel, a widely available computer program for students and managers, is also an effective teaching and learning tool for quantitative analyses in social science courses.  Its powerful computational ability and graphical functions make learning statistics much easier than in years past.  However, Excel 2013 for Social Science Statistics: A Guide to Solving Practical Problems is the first book to capitalize on these improvements by teaching students and managers how to apply Excel to statistical techniques necessary in their courses and work. Each chapter explains statistical formul...

Analyzing the Scientific Evolution of Social Work Using Science Mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez, Ma Angeles; Cobo, Manuel Jesús; Herrera, Manuel; Herrera-Viedma, Enrique

2015-01-01

Objectives: This article reports the first science mapping analysis of the social work field, which shows its conceptual structure and scientific evolution. Methods: Science Mapping Analysis Software Tool, a bibliometric science mapping tool based on co-word analysis and h-index, is applied using a sample of 18,794 research articles published from…

Science Fiction in Social Education: Exploring Consequences of Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Mason, Lance E.

2013-01-01

An NCSS Technology Position Statement and Guidelines, published in 2006 (an updated version is published in this issue of "Social Education"), affirms that social studies students should critically examine relations between technology and society. This article describes how teachers can use science fiction to introduce critical questions…

Information-seeking behavior of social sciences scholars: A Nigerian ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This article examines the information-seeking behavior of scholars in the social sciences, based on the premise that information-seeking behavior follows universally applicable stages and patterns worldwide. The study was conducted at the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER). Fifty eight active ...

Interdisciplinarity and systems science to improve population health: a view from the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Mabry, Patricia L; Olster, Deborah H; Morgan, Glen D; Abrams, David B

2008-08-01

Fueled by the rapid pace of discovery, humankind's ability to understand the ultimate causes of preventable common disease burdens and to identify solutions is now reaching a revolutionary tipping point. Achieving optimal health and well-being for all members of society lies as much in the understanding of the factors identified by the behavioral, social, and public health sciences as by the biological ones. Accumulating advances in mathematical modeling, informatics, imaging, sensor technology, and communication tools have stimulated several converging trends in science: an emerging understanding of epigenomic regulation; dramatic successes in achieving population health-behavior changes; and improved scientific rigor in behavioral, social, and economic sciences. Fostering stronger interdisciplinary partnerships to bring together the behavioral-social-ecologic models of multilevel "causes of the causes" and the molecular, cellular, and, ultimately, physiological bases of health and disease will facilitate breakthroughs to improve the public's health. The strategic vision of the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is rooted in a collaborative approach to addressing the complex and multidimensional issues that challenge the public's health. This paper describes OBSSR's four key programmatic directions (next-generation basic science, interdisciplinary research, systems science, and a problem-based focus for population impact) to illustrate how interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary perspectives can foster the vertical integration of research among biological, behavioral, social, and population levels of analysis over the lifespan and across generations. Interdisciplinary and multilevel approaches are critical both to the OBSSR's mission of integrating behavioral and social sciences more fully into the NIH scientific enterprise and to the overall NIH mission of utilizing science in the pursuit of

78 FR 15745 - Proposal Review Panel for Social and Economic Sciences; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-12

... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Proposal Review Panel for Social and Economic Sciences; Notice of... Science Foundation (NSF) announces the following Site Visit. Name: Proposal Review Panel for Social and Economic Sciences, 10748. Date and Time: March 21, 2013 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., March 22, 2013 8:00 a.m. to...

Sharing experiences about developing a regional social science virtual library

OpenAIRE

Babini, Dominique

2004-01-01

Why and how a Latin American and the Caribbean social sciences network (Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales, CLACSO) started a cooperative open access digital library to disseminate research results (journal articles, books, working documents)

Behavioral and social sciences theories and models: are they used in unintentional injury prevention research?

Science.gov (United States)

Trifiletti, L B; Gielen, A C; Sleet, D A; Hopkins, K

2005-06-01

Behavioral and social sciences theories and models have the potential to enhance efforts to reduce unintentional injuries. The authors reviewed the published literature on behavioral and social science theory applications to unintentional injury problems to enumerate and categorize the ways different theories and models are used in injury prevention research. The authors conducted a systematic review to evaluate the published literature from 1980 to 2001 on behavioral and social science theory applications to unintentional injury prevention and control. Electronic database searches in PubMed and PsycINFO identified articles that combined behavioral and social sciences theories and models and injury causes. The authors identified some articles that examined behavioral and social science theories and models and unintentional injury topics, but found that several important theories have never been applied to unintentional injury prevention. Among the articles identified, the PRECEDE PROCEED Model was cited most frequently, followed by the Theory of Reasoned Action/Theory of Planned Behavior and Health Belief Model. When behavioral and social sciences theories and models were applied to unintentional injury topics, they were most frequently used to guide program design, implementation or develop evaluation measures; few examples of theory testing were found. Results suggest that the use of behavioral and social sciences theories and models in unintentional injury prevention research is only marginally represented in the mainstream, peer-reviewed literature. Both the fields of injury prevention and behavioral and social sciences could benefit from greater collaborative research to enhance behavioral approaches to injury control.

The use of quasi-experiments in the social sciences : A content analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aussems, M.E.; Boomsma, A.; Snijders, T.A.B.

This article examines the use of various research designs in the social sciences as well as the choices that are made when a quasi-experimental design is used. A content analysis was carried out on articles published in 18 social science journals with various impact factors. The presence of

Michael Polanyi and the Social Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Poirier, Maben Walter

2011-01-01

In this article, the author attempts three things: (a) to describe the main beliefs of the "continental empiricist" epistemology that dominated the study of the social sciences in North America since the mid 1930s; (b) to speak of the influence of this epistemology on the dominant or mainstream school in the study of politics; and (c) to…

Cultural, Social and Political Perspectives in Science Education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

conditions and contexts in science education. The different chapters review debates and research in teacher education, school teaching and learning including when external stakeholders are involved. Even though the chapters are contextualized in Nordic settings there will be similarities and parallels...... that will be informative to the international science education research community.......This book presents a collection of critical thinking that concern cultural, social and political issues for science education in the Nordic countries. The chapter authors describe specific scenarios to challenge persisting views, interrogate frameworks and trouble contemporary approaches...

On the Methodology of Islamizing the Social Sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ibrahim A. Ragab

1999-06-01

Full Text Available Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 It is argued in this paper that the Islamization of the social sciences should be seen-for conceptual and for pragmatic reasons-as the heart of the Islamization of Knowledge (IOK movement. If that position is accepted, the importance of efforts to clarify the specific methodology for the Islamization of the social sciences becomes self-evident. An attempt is made here to suggest an outline for such a methodology, building on the pioneer work of Ismā‘īl al-Fārūqī and on mainstream writings on IOK. The issue of the "starting point" for actual efforts at the Islamization of the social sciences is discussed in detail, particularly along with two major phases of this work, i.e., (a generating an "integral theoretical framework" that combines insights gleaned from Islamic revealed knowledge and from the human sciences; and (b validating that theoretical framework in well-designed research projects and professional practice field demonstrations. The implications of the suggested methodology for research and for theory building are discussed. /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}

A Comparative Study of the Quality of Teaching Learning Process at Post Graduate Level in the Faculty of Science and Social Science

Science.gov (United States)

Shahzadi, Uzma; Shaheen, Gulnaz; Shah, Ashfaque Ahmed

2012-01-01

The study was intended to compare the quality of teaching learning process in the faculty of social science and science at University of Sargodha. This study was descriptive and quantitative in nature. The objectives of the study were to compare the quality of teaching learning process in the faculty of social science and science at University of…

The role of social support in students' perceived abilities and attitudes toward math and science.

Science.gov (United States)

Rice, Lindsay; Barth, Joan M; Guadagno, Rosanna E; Smith, Gabrielle P A; McCallum, Debra M

2013-07-01

Social cognitive models examining academic and career outcomes emphasize constructs such as attitude, interest, and self-efficacy as key factors affecting students' pursuit of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) courses and careers. The current research examines another under-researched component of social cognitive models: social support, and the relationship between this component and attitude and self-efficacy in math and science. A large cross-sectional design was used gathering data from 1,552 participants in four adolescent school settings from 5th grade to early college (41 % female, 80 % white). Students completed measures of perceived social support from parents, teachers and friends as well as their perceived ability and attitudes toward math and science. Fifth grade and college students reported higher levels of support from teachers and friends when compared to students at other grade levels. In addition, students who perceived greater social support for math and science from parents, teachers, and friends reported better attitudes and had higher perceptions of their abilities in math and science. Lastly, structural equation modeling revealed that social support had both a direct effect on math and science perceived abilities and an indirect effect mediated through math and science attitudes. Findings suggest that students who perceive greater social support for math and science from parents, teachers, and friends have more positive attitudes toward math and science and a higher sense of their own competence in these subjects.

Phenomenology and Symbolic Interactionism: Recommendations for Social Science Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Karen S.

Commonalities between the philosophical perspectives of Alfred Schatz, a European phenomenologist, and George Herbert Mead, the father of symbolic interactionism, are discussed, and the two men's potential significance in social science research is examined. Both men were concerned with the question of the nature of social action, believing that…

Clickstream Data Yields High-Resolution Maps of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Bollen, Johan; Van de Sompel, Herbert; Rodriguez, Marko A.; Balakireva, Lyudmila

2009-01-01

Background Intricate maps of science have been created from citation data to visualize the structure of scientific activity. However, most scientific publications are now accessed online. Scholarly web portals record detailed log data at a scale that exceeds the number of all existing citations combined. Such log data is recorded immediately upon publication and keeps track of the sequences of user requests (clickstreams) that are issued by a variety of users across many different domains. Given these advantages of log datasets over citation data, we investigate whether they can produce high-resolution, more current maps of science. Methodology Over the course of 2007 and 2008, we collected nearly 1 billion user interactions recorded by the scholarly web portals of some of the most significant publishers, aggregators and institutional consortia. The resulting reference data set covers a significant part of world-wide use of scholarly web portals in 2006, and provides a balanced coverage of the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. A journal clickstream model, i.e. a first-order Markov chain, was extracted from the sequences of user interactions in the logs. The clickstream model was validated by comparing it to the Getty Research Institute's Architecture and Art Thesaurus. The resulting model was visualized as a journal network that outlines the relationships between various scientific domains and clarifies the connection of the social sciences and humanities to the natural sciences. Conclusions Maps of science resulting from large-scale clickstream data provide a detailed, contemporary view of scientific activity and correct the underrepresentation of the social sciences and humanities that is commonly found in citation data. PMID:19277205

Clickstream data yields high-resolution maps of science.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johan Bollen

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Intricate maps of science have been created from citation data to visualize the structure of scientific activity. However, most scientific publications are now accessed online. Scholarly web portals record detailed log data at a scale that exceeds the number of all existing citations combined. Such log data is recorded immediately upon publication and keeps track of the sequences of user requests (clickstreams that are issued by a variety of users across many different domains. Given these advantages of log datasets over citation data, we investigate whether they can produce high-resolution, more current maps of science. METHODOLOGY: Over the course of 2007 and 2008, we collected nearly 1 billion user interactions recorded by the scholarly web portals of some of the most significant publishers, aggregators and institutional consortia. The resulting reference data set covers a significant part of world-wide use of scholarly web portals in 2006, and provides a balanced coverage of the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. A journal clickstream model, i.e. a first-order Markov chain, was extracted from the sequences of user interactions in the logs. The clickstream model was validated by comparing it to the Getty Research Institute's Architecture and Art Thesaurus. The resulting model was visualized as a journal network that outlines the relationships between various scientific domains and clarifies the connection of the social sciences and humanities to the natural sciences. CONCLUSIONS: Maps of science resulting from large-scale clickstream data provide a detailed, contemporary view of scientific activity and correct the underrepresentation of the social sciences and humanities that is commonly found in citation data.

Open science, e-science and the new technologies: Challenges and old problems in qualitative research in the social sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ercilia García-Álvarez

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: As well as introducing the articles in the special issue titled "Qualitative Research in the Social Sciences", this article reviews the challenges, problems and main advances made by the qualitative paradigm in the context of the new European science policy based on open science and e-Science and analysis alternative technologies freely available in the 2.0 environment and their application to fieldwork and data analysis. Design/methodology: Theoretical review. Practical implications: The article identifies open access technologies with applications in qualitative research such as applications for smartphones and tablets, web platforms and specific qualitative data analysis software, all developed in both the e-Science context and the 2.0 environment. Social implications: The article discusses the possible role to be played by qualitative research in the open science and e-Science context and considers the impact of this new context on the size and structure of research groups, the development of truly collaborative research, the emergence of new ethical problems and quality assessment in review processes in an open environment. Originality/value: The article describes the characteristics that define the new scientific environment and the challenges posed for qualitative research, reviews the latest open access technologies available to researchers in terms of their main features and proposes specific applications suitable for fieldwork and data analysis.

Recommendations for the role of social science research in One Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Lapinski, Maria Knight; Funk, Julie A; Moccia, Lauren T

2015-03-01

The social environment has changed rapidly as technology has facilitated communication among individuals and groups in ways not imagined 20 years ago. Communication technology increasingly plays a role in decision-making about health and environmental behaviors and is being leveraged to influence that process. But at its root is the fundamental need to understand human cognition, communication, and behavior. The concept of 'One Health' has emerged as a framework for interdisciplinary work that cuts across human, animal, and ecosystem health in recognition of their interdependence and the value of an integrated perspective. Yet, the science of communication, information studies, social psychology, and other social sciences have remained marginalized in this emergence. Based on an interdisciplinary collaboration, this paper reports on a nascent conceptual framework for the role of social science in 'One Health' issues and identifies a series of recommendations for research directions that bear additional scrutiny and development. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social science literature on the environment: review and prospects for energy studies. A preliminary literature survey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sommers, P.

1975-01-01

Much of the social science literature on environment is of recent origin and represents the response of the social science research community to a complex societal problem in which technology is a major factor. Energy represents another such problem to which the social science research community is now turning its attention. Because energy problems and environment problems have some similarities and because energy-conversion processes have large effects on the environment, a review of the social science literature on environment was undertaken. The purposes of this review are as follows: (1) to study the possible utility in energy research of some of the concepts developed in social science research on the environment; (2) to study the possible utility in energy research of some of the methodologies utilized in social science research on the environment; and (3) to study the extent to which the results of social science research on the environment have contributed to the development of policy. The first two items above receive major attention in this preliminary literature survey. 50 references.

Reflections of Science Teachers in a Professional Development Intervention to Improve Their Ability to Teach for the Affective Domain

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Buma, Anastasia Malong

2018-01-01

This paper reports on key aspects of a short in-service programme improving science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge to teach for the affective domain. The affective domain refers to outcomes that involve changes in feelings, values, appreciation, interests, motivations or attitudes that might result from a learning experience. The…

Longitudinal effects of college type and selectivity on degrees conferred upon undergraduate females in physical science, life science, math and computer science, and social science

Science.gov (United States)

Stevens, Stacy Mckimm

There has been much research to suggest that a single-sex college experience for female undergraduate students can increase self-confidence and leadership ability during the college years and beyond. The results of previous studies also suggest that these students achieve in the workforce and enter graduate school at higher rates than their female peers graduating from coeducational institutions. However, some researchers have questioned these findings, suggesting that it is the selectivity level of the colleges rather than the comprised gender of the students that causes these differences. The purpose of this study was to justify the continuation of single-sex educational opportunities for females at the post-secondary level by examining the effects that college selectivity, college type, and time have on the rate of undergraduate females pursuing majors in non-traditional fields. The study examined the percentage of physical science, life science, math and computer science, and social science degrees conferred upon females graduating from women's colleges from 1985-2001, as compared to those at comparable coeducational colleges. Sampling for this study consisted of 42 liberal arts women's (n = 21) and coeducational (n = 21) colleges. Variables included the type of college, the selectivity level of the college, and the effect of time on the percentage of female graduates. Doubly multivariate repeated measures analysis of variance testing revealed significant main effects for college selectivity on social science graduates, and time on both life science and math and computer science graduates. Significant interaction was also found between the college type and time on social science graduates, as well as the college type, selectivity level, and time on math and computer science graduates. Implications of the results and suggestions for further research are discussed.

Asian Studies/Global Studies: Transcending Area Studies and Social Sciences

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John Lie

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The post–World War II growth of area studies, and Asian studies in particular, posed a serious challenge to the mainstream social sciences. Yet the epistemic and institutional foundations of area studies were never well articulated or justified, and the post–Cold War years brought a pervasive sense of crisis to its intellectual mission and justification. In particular, the author focuses on the tensions, if not contradictions, between social science disciplines and area studies. In advocating a more integrated human science, which depends more on mobile networks of scholars than on fixed fields of discipline-bound professors, the author suggests global studies as a fitting field of inquiry in the age of globalization.

Applied data-centric social sciences concepts, data, computation, and theory

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Sato, Aki-Hiro

2014-01-01

Applied data-centric social sciences aim to develop both methodology and practical applications of various fields of social sciences and businesses with rich data. Specifically, in the social sciences, a vast amount of data on human activities may be useful for understanding collective human nature. In this book, the author introduces several mathematical techniques for handling a huge volume of data and analysing collective human behaviour. The book is constructed from data-oriented investigation, with mathematical methods and expressions used for dealing with data for several specific problems. The fundamental philosophy underlying the book is that both mathematical and physical concepts are determined by the purposes of data analysis. This philosophy is shown throughout exemplar studies of several fields in socio-economic systems. From a data-centric point of view, the author proposes a concept that may change people’s minds and cause them to start thinking from the basis of data. Several goals underlie ...

Teaching Science for Social Justice: An Examination of Elementary Preservice Teachers' Beliefs

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Eslinger, James C.

This qualitative study examines the beliefs and belief changes of eleven elementary preservice teachers about teaching science for social justice. Using constructivist grounded theory, it forwards a new theory of belief change about teaching science for social justice. The theory posits that three teaching and learning conditions may facilitate belief change: preservice teachers need to recognize (1) the relationship between science and society; (2) the relationship between individuals and society; and (3) the importance of taking action on socioscientific issues. This research responds to calls by critical scholars of teacher education who contend that beliefs in relation to equity, diversity, and multiculturalism need to be explored. They have found that many preservice teachers hold beliefs that are antithetical to social justice tenets. Since beliefs are generally considered to be precursors to actions, identifying and promoting change in beliefs are important to teaching science for social justice. Such a move may lead to the advancement of curricular and pedagogical efforts to promote the academic participation and success in elementary science of Aboriginal and racialized minority students. The study was undertaken in a year-long science methods course taught by the researcher. It was centered on the preservice teachers -- their beliefs, their belief changes, and the course pedagogies that they identified as crucial to their changes. However, the course was based on the researcher-instructor's review of the scholarly literature on science education, teacher education, and social justice. It utilized a critical -- cultural theoretical framework, and was aligned to the three dimensions of critical nature of science, critical knowledge and pedagogy, and sociopolitical action. Findings indicate that, at the beginning of the year, preservice teachers held two types of beliefs (liberal and critical) and, by the end of the course, they experienced three kinds of

Pedagogical Relationship in Secondary Social Science Classrooms

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Girard, Brian James

2010-01-01

This study investigates two high school social science classrooms in order to better understand the pedagogical relationships among teachers, students, and disciplinary content, and how teachers can influence students' opportunities to learn disciplinary literacy. Drawing on conceptual resources from sociocultural theories of learning and…

A quantitative evaluation system of Chinese journals in the humanities and social sciences

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

SU; Xinning; ZHOU; Ping

2009-01-01

Based on analyses on existing indicators for evaluating journals in the humanities and social sciences and our experience in constructing the Chinese Social Science Citation Index(CSSCI),we proposed a comprehensive system for evaluating Chinese academic journals in the humanities and social sciences.This system constitutes 8 primary indicators and 17 sub-indicators for multidisciplinary journals and 19 sub-indicators for discipline-specific journals.Each indicator or sub-indicator is assigned a suitable weight according to its importance in terms of measuring a journal’s academic quality and/or impact.

Humanities and Social Sciences Books of Ten National Disciplinary Associations, 2000-2009

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Wiberley, Stephen E., Jr.

2016-01-01

Books are the most important medium of communication in the humanities, a major medium in the social sciences, and a central component of academic library collections. This study examined humanities and social sciences books that won prizes from ten leading United States disciplinary associations between 2000 and 2009. The study extends earlier…

Engaging Elementary School Pre-service Teachers in Modeling a Socioscientific Issue as a Way to Help Them Appreciate the Social Aspects of Science

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Evagorou, Maria; Puig Mauriz, Blanca

2017-01-01

Socioscientific issues are ill-structured problems that involve moral, ethical, and financial aspects, and lack clear-cut solutions. Teaching socioscientific issues necessarily puts a demand on teachers to draw on knowledge stemming from other domains, and to also appreciate, and present to the students the societal aspects of science. For new teachers, and those who have not tried integrating complex social issues into their instruction, SSI-based teaching may seem too great a hurdle to over...

Connecting art and science: An interdisciplinary strategy and its impact on the affective domain of community college human anatomy students

Science.gov (United States)

Petti, Kevin

Educational objectives are often described within the framework of a three-domain taxonomy: cognitive, affective and psychomotor. While most of the research on educational objectives has focused on the cognitive domain, the research that has been conducted on the affective domain, which speaks to emotions, attitudes, and values, has identified a number of positive outcomes. One approach to enhancing the affective domain is that of interdisciplinary education. Science education research in the realm of interdisciplinary education and affective outcomes is limited; especially research conducted on community college students of human anatomy. This project investigated the relationship between an interdisciplinary teaching strategy and the affective domain in science education by utilizing an interdisciplinary lecture in a human anatomy class. Subjects were anatomy students in a California community college who listened to a one-hour lecture describing the cultural, historical and scientific significance of selected pieces of art depicting human dissection in European medieval and Renaissance universities. The focus was on how these renderings represent the state of anatomy education during their respective eras. After listening to the lecture, subjects were administered a 35-question survey that was composed of 14 demographic questions and 21 Likert-style statements that asked respondents to rate the extent to which the intervention influenced their affective domain. Descriptive statistics were then used to determine which component of the affective domain was most influenced, and multiple regression analysis was used to examine the extent to which individual differences along the affective continuum were explained by select demographic measures such as gender, race/ethnicity, education level, and previous exposure to science courses. Results indicate that the interdisciplinary intervention had a positive impact on every component of the affective domain hierarchy

Sociology, Basis for the Secondary-School Subject of Social Sciences

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Lieke Meijs

2009-12-01

Full Text Available This paper reformulates the question of ‘sociology, who needs it’ in two ways, The first question we address is that of the reason why the educational system itself did not come to sociology for help in their long quest for a clear-cut content of the subject. The second question is why sociology did not adopt the orphaned subject of social studies back in 1960. The answer to the first question lies in the vulnerability of a subject that is dependent for its continued existence on the political leanings of the day. This led to a new goal for the subject almost every decade: from social education in the sixties and social and political education in the seventies, to a focus on citizenship education in the nineties. Although the objective was renamed on several occasions, the prescriptive viewpoint is recognizable in each. This perspective is difficult to reconcile with a social science content. The answer to the second questions points towards Dutch social scientists with a strong focus on academic sociology and not for critical, policy or public sociology. This choice was also made in order to win the competition with psychologists and for the discipline to get rid of the poor image it had acquired in the 1960s. The new subject social sciences, with a strong focus on science made it possible for sociology to become the pillar of this new subject.

Fifty years of sociological leadership at Social Science and Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Timmermans, Stefan; Tietbohl, Caroline

2018-01-01

In this review article, we examine some of the conceptual contributions of sociology of health and illness over the past fifty years. Specifically, we focus on research dealing with medicalization, the management of stigma, research on adherence and compliance, and patient-doctor interaction. We show how these themes that originated within sociology, diffused in other disciplines. Sociology in Social Science and Medicine started as an applied research tradition but morphed into a robust, stand-alone social science tradition. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Shaping Social Work Science: What Should Quantitative Researchers Do?

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Guo, Shenyang

2015-01-01

Based on a review of economists' debates on mathematical economics, this article discusses a key issue for shaping the science of social work--research methodology. The article describes three important tasks quantitative researchers need to fulfill in order to enhance the scientific rigor of social work research. First, to test theories using…

Developing an agenda to guide forest social science, economics, and utilization research.

Science.gov (United States)

Richard W. Haynes

2005-01-01

The USDA Forest Service has had a longstanding presence in utilization, economics, and social sciences research and development activities. The magnitude and diversity of these activities have changed as the questions and the people asking them have changed over the past century. These changes challenge the social science and utilization research community to develop...

The Missing Memory of Canadian Sociology: Reflexive Government and "the Social Science".

Science.gov (United States)

Curtis, Bruce

2016-05-01

The modest literature on the history of Canadian Sociology takes the appearance of a named academic discipline as its object. Canadian Sociology is held to have had some precursors in the 1880s, but really to appear only in the 1920s. It is described as a foreign import and as an activity first of intellectual speculation and moral reform. Observational and analytic practice are absent before 1880. The activities of state agents and government departments in the social field are not discussed. This article offers a richer account through an examination of the larger field from which Sociology was extracted, "the social science," which was practiced actively in colonial Canada from the early nineteenth century. The social science shaped and was itself shaped by colonial conditions. The article outlines three interrelated moments in social science to carry its claims: inventory-making, the emergence of "population-thinking," and "reflexive government." Attending to the social science underlines the complex and convoluted relations of sociology with state power. Les rares oeuvrages académiques portant sur l'histoire de la sociologie canadienne prend pour objet l'apparition du terme sociologie> dans le contexte universitaire. Dans cet optique, ils signalent certains précurseurs de la sociologie canadienne dès les années 1880, mais en fait ils affirment que cette discipline n'apparaît que dans les années 1920. Cette discipline est présentée comme une importation académique et, d'abord et avant tout, comme de la spéculation intellectuelle et comme un projet de réforme morale. D'après cette vision, les pratiques d'observation et d'analyse sociales ne semblent pas exister avant 1880, et les acteurs politiques et administratifs sont absents du terrain. Notre article propose un examen plus riche du vaste champ duquel la sociologie académique fut arrachée: activement pratiquée au Canada à l'époque coloniale dès le début du XIXe siècle. La science sociale

Interpretive Media Study and Interpretive Social Science.

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Carragee, Kevin M.

1990-01-01

Defines the major theoretical influences on interpretive approaches in mass communication, examines the central concepts of these perspectives, and provides a critique of these approaches. States that the adoption of interpretive approaches in mass communication has ignored varied critiques of interpretive social science. Suggests that critical…

Globalising Service-Learning in the Social Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Limoncelli, Stephanie A.

2017-01-01

The increasing internationalisation of social science curricula in undergraduate education along with the growth of service-learning has provided new opportunities to join the two. This article offers a refection and discussion of service-learning with placements in international nongovernmental organisations (INGOs), drawing from its application…

Science under pressure: problematic behaviours and social harms

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Rita Faria

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This paper will suggest the use of the Social Harm Approach (Hillyard, Pantazis, Tobs & Gordon, 2004 to problematic behaviours occurring in scientific research and higher education teaching. By analyzing data collected through interviews to scholars, it is possible to state that fabrication, falsification and plagiarism are the most criticized deviant behaviours in science. It is less common for actors to consider other problematic behaviours arising from the pressure (to publish, to get grants felt by them and originated at the heart of the organizations devoted to science. Or problematic behaviours created on the intersection of universities, corporations and/or the state (ex. commissioned research. Also, those interviewed did not have a coherent view on the rules governing science and higher education. Thus, considering the scattering of (individual and organizational problematic behaviours and rules governing them, a new approach will be put forward, one by which processes of scientific production and dissemination must be considered according to the social harms (financial, economic, physical they may cause.

A Sample Application for Use of Biography in Social Studies; Science, Technology and Social Change Course

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Er, Harun

2017-01-01

The aim of this study is to evaluate the opinions of social studies teacher candidates on use of biography in science, technology and social change course given in the undergraduate program of social studies education. In this regard, convergent parallel design as a mixed research pattern was used to make use of both qualitative and quantitative…

Relevance of Piagetian cross-cultural psychology to the humanities and social sciences.

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Oesterdiekhoff, Georg W

2013-01-01

Jean Piaget held views according to which there are parallels between ontogeny and the historical development of culture, sciences, and reason. His books are full of remarks and considerations about these parallels, with reference to many logical, physical, social, and moral phenomena.This article explains that Piagetian cross-cultural psychology has delivered the decisive data needed to extend the research interests of Piaget. These data provide a basis for reconstructing not only the history of sciences but also the history of religion, politics, morals, culture, philosophy, and social change and the emergence of industrial society. Thus, it is possible to develop Piagetian theory as a historical anthropology in order to provide a basis for the humanities and social sciences.

The social value of Science Shops: a Cost-Benefit Analysis

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Boere, E.J.M.; Heijman, W.J.M.

2012-01-01

We describe and apply a method to determine the net social benefits of science shops. University departments operating as science shops coordinate research projects for individuals or civil society organizations (CSO) lacking the financial means to turn to professional consultancy bureaus. Three

System of Interactions of Social Actors in Public Communication of Science and Technology

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Miriam Graciela Miquilena

2010-11-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the results of a research aimed at explaining the system of interactions of social actors in Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST, in the context of a social web defined by the novel systems of communication sustained on informational and communication technologies. The study’s theoretical framework highlights the strategic importance of a Public Communication  which focuses on promoting public appropriation of Science and Technology, going beyond the role of Journalism and Science Communication that informs a qualified public, to one that stablishes a bond with policies and decision making in the area, made with participation of international agencies, governments, producers of science and technology, journalists’ associations, educational institutions, and citizens. The research relies on Explicative Methodology. A revision of pertinent bibliography leads to the conclusion that the system of social interactions mediated by personal, interpersonal and grupal global communications, define the relationships in the communicational exchange of the social actor with regard to public communication of science and technology and policies aimed at its appropriation.

E-Book Use and Attitudes in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education

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Corlett-Rivera, Kelsey; Hackman, Timothy

2014-01-01

A survey of more than 1,300 faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students in the humanities and social sciences at the University of Maryland generated a wealth of data on use and opinions of e-books among those users. While the initial purpose of the survey was to gather data that would aid humanities and social sciences librarians in…

Social science in the national park service: an evolving mission and program

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Richard H. Briceland

1992-01-01

In 1988 the director of the National Park Service requested that a social science program be established. Since that time a number of new research initiatives have been developed to address this need. This paper describes seven major steps taken thus far to meet social science needs of park superintendents, program managers, and park planners. Specific examples are...

Becoming allies: Combining social science and technological perspectives to improve energy research and policy making

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Diamond, Rick; Moezzi, Mithra

2002-07-01

Within the energy research community, social sciences tends to be viewed fairly narrowly, often as simply a marketing tool to change the behavior of consumers and decision makers, and to ''attack market barriers''. As we see it, social sciences, which draws on sociology, psychology, political science, business administration, and other academic disciplines, is capable of far more. A social science perspective can re-align questions in ways that can lead to the development of technologies and technology policy that are much stronger and potentially more successful than they would be otherwise. In most energy policies governing commercial buildings, the prevailing R and D directives are firmly rooted in a technology framework, one that is generally more quantitative and evaluative than that fostered by the social sciences. To illustrate how social science thinking would approach the goal of achieving high energy performance in the commercial building sector, they focus on the US Department of Energy's Roadmap for commercial buildings (DOE 2000) as a starting point. By ''deconstructing'' the four strategies provided by the Roadmap, they set the stage for proposing a closer partnership between advocates of technology-based and social science-based approaches.

Analysis of the Ethical, Legal and Economic Domains of Corporate Social Responsibility: A Business Case

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Diana Carolina Peláez Villada

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The tendency of organizations is to achieve positioning and legitimacy through strategies of corporate social responsibility (CSR. This article focuses on the analysis of CSR practices and it seeks, through a business case, to define a method to examine the benefits of its application in society and in organizations. From the proposal of Schwartz (2011 on the domains of corporate social responsibility, where the ethical, economic, and legal dimensions of philanthropic organizations converge, financial reports and social balances of a company, were studied, where we identified, financial, ethical, and tax variables which allowed us to establish the orientation and balance between social responsibility practices and corporate image.

Social inclusion and its approach at Information Science: scientific production analysis in the area of information science periodicals between 2001 and 2010

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Alex Serrano Almeida

2013-08-01

Full Text Available This study has the purpose to check how the social inclusion has been approached at Information Science area, from the scientific production area published at the area national periodicals. Over there, to verify which inclusion forms are recurrently approached at Information Science area; to show the use tendencies of social inclusion concept at the Science Information area scientific articles; to find how it presents the social inclusion concept connected to the information professional and analyze if it there is any association to other themes. It was realized searches in six periodicals at the period between 2001 and 2010. We used how analysis method the Bardin content analysis reference. The analysis corpus was constituted of 30 articles which approached the social inclusion theme. As the results, it was showed that the social inclusion on Information Science area publications, in general, is turned to digital inclusion and to the Information Science area publications uses. Besides, it was still identified connections with the information professionals, which one must serve as mediator between the information and the environment where information and users are inserted.

GLOBAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES VOL 8, NO

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Ada

GLOBAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES VOL 8, NO. ... media. From the over fifty tertiary institutions in the country graduates are churned .... few were collected at the contact addresses, ... acquisition is paramount for successful job hunting.

Middle School Science Teachers' Perceptions of Social Justice: A Study of Two Female Teachers

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Upadhyay, Bhaskar

2010-01-01

The focus of this qualitative study is to document two middle school science teachers' perceptions of social justice and how these teachers implement various aspects of social justice in their science instruction. The two teachers teach science in an urban school that serves students from low-income, immigrant, and ethnic minority families. The…

Abandoning evolution. The forgotten history of antievolution activism and the transformation of American social science.

Science.gov (United States)

Lienesch, Michael

2012-12-01

From its inception, antievolution activism has been aimed not only at the natural sciences but also, and almost as often, at the social sciences. Although almost entirely overlooked by scholars, this activism played a significant part in the development of American social science in the early twentieth century. Analyzing public writings and private papers of antievolution activists, academic social scientists, and university officials from the 1920s, this essay recalls this forgotten history, showing how antievolution activism contributed to the abandonment of evolutionary theory and the adoption of a set of secular, scientific, and professional characteristics that have come to define much of modern social science.

Arctic System Science: Meeting Earth System and Social Impact Challenges through Integrative Approaches and Synthesis

Science.gov (United States)

Vorosmarty, C. J.; Hinzman, L. D.; Rawlins, M. A.; Serreze, M. C.; Francis, J. A.; Liljedahl, A. K.; McDonald, K. C.; Piasecki, M.; Rich, R. H.; Holland, M. M.

2017-12-01

The Arctic is an integral part of the Earth system where multiple interactions unite its natural and human elements. Recent observations show the Arctic to be experiencing rapid and amplified signatures of global climate change. At the same time, the Arctic system's response to this broader forcing has itself become a central research topic, given its potential role as a critical throttle on future planetary dynamics. Changes are already impacting life systems and economic prosperity and continued change is expected to bear major implications far outside the region. We also have entered an era when environmental management, traditionally local in scope, must confront regional, whole biome, and pan-Arctic biogeophysical challenges. While challenges may appear to operate in isolation, they emerge within the context of an evolving, integrated Arctic system defined by interactions among natural and social sub-systems. Clearly, new efforts aimed at community planning, industrial development, and infrastructure construction must consider this multiplicity of interacting processes. We recently organized an "Arctic System Synthesis Workshop Series" supported by the Arctic Systems Science Program of NSF and devoted to exploring approaches capable of uncovering the systems-level behavior in both the natural and social sciences domains. The series featured two topical meetings. The first identified the sources responsible for extreme climate events in the Arctic. The second focused on multiple "currencies" within the system (i.e., water, energy, carbon, nutrients) and how they interact to produce systems-level behaviors. More than 40 experts participated, drawn from the ranks of Arctic natural and social sciences. We report here on the workshop series consensus report, which identifies a broad array of topics. Principal among these are a consideration of why study the Arctic as a system, as well as an articulation of the major systems-level approaches to support basic as well

GLOBAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES VOL 8, NO

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ada

Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. O. O. Umoh, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom. State, Nigeria .... research may be lost through misunderstanding ..... advertisement, the media also should be used to ...

Trends in Social Science: The Impact of Computational and Simulative Models

Science.gov (United States)

Conte, Rosaria; Paolucci, Mario; Cecconi, Federico

This paper discusses current progress in the computational social sciences. Specifically, it examines the following questions: Are the computational social sciences exhibiting positive or negative developments? What are the roles of agent-based models and simulation (ABM), network analysis, and other "computational" methods within this dynamic? (Conte, The necessity of intelligent agents in social simulation, Advances in Complex Systems, 3(01n04), 19-38, 2000; Conte 2010; Macy, Annual Review of Sociology, 143-166, 2002). Are there objective indicators of scientific growth that can be applied to different scientific areas, allowing for comparison among them? In this paper, some answers to these questions are presented and discussed. In particular, comparisons among different disciplines in the social and computational sciences are shown, taking into account their respective growth trends in the number of publication citations over the last few decades (culled from Google Scholar). After a short discussion of the methodology adopted, results of keyword-based queries are presented, unveiling some unexpected local impacts of simulation on the takeoff of traditionally poorly productive disciplines.

Effects of multi-domain interventions in (prefrail elderly on frailty, functional, and cognitive status: a systematic review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dedeyne L

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Lenore Dedeyne,1 Mieke Deschodt,2–4 Sabine Verschueren,5 Jos Tournoy,1,3 Evelien Gielen1,3 1Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, 2Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven – University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; 3Department of Geriatric Medicine, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; 4Department of Public Health, Institute of Nursing Science, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; 5Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven – University of Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium Background: Frailty is an aging syndrome caused by exceeding a threshold of decline across multiple organ systems leading to a decreased resistance to stressors. Treatment for frailty focuses on multi-domain interventions to target multiple affected functions in order to decrease the adverse outcomes of frailty. No systematic reviews on the effectiveness of multi-domain interventions exist in a well-defined frail population. Objectives: This systematic review aimed to determine the effect of multi-domain compared to mono-domain interventions on frailty status and score, cognition, muscle mass, strength and power, functional and social outcomes in (prefrail elderly (≥65 years. It included interventions targeting two or more domains (physical exercise, nutritional, pharmacological, psychological, or social interventions in participants defined as (prefrail by an operationalized frailty definition. Methods: The databases PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, PEDro, CENTRAL, and the Cochrane Central register of Controlled Trials were searched from inception until September 14, 2016. Additional articles were searched by citation search, author search, and reference lists of relevant articles. The protocol for this review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42016032905. Results: Twelve studies were included, reporting a large diversity of interventions in terms of content, duration, and follow-up period. Overall, multi-domain interventions tended to be more

Nature of Science or Nature of the Sciences?

Science.gov (United States)

Schizas, Dimitrios; Psillos, Dimitris; Stamou, George

2016-01-01

The present essay examines the emerging issue of domain-general versus domain-specific nature of science (NOS) understandings from a perspective that illuminates the value of domain-specific philosophies of science for the growth and development of the NOS educational field. Under the assumption that individual sciences do have their own…

Science teacher development and the lens of social media: An investigation into the identity and influences upon the development of elementary pre-service science teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Wall, Steven D.

Pre-service teacher education is committed to the cultivation of different forms of competency that include, but are not limited to, content knowledge and pedagogical skill (Levin, Hammer, & Coffey, 2009; Yerrick, 2005). While advances in practice have been made, pre-service elementary teachers (PS-ESTs) continue to exhibit anxiety and doubt about self-efficacy in science teaching. Teacher education is designed to encourage PS-ESTs to formulate useful practices, but PS-ESTs must first overcome limitations and anxiety generated by past, personal experiences and an acknowledged discomfort with science. While this goal is accomplished through contexts designed with that intent (e.g. methods courses, field experiences), challenges remain. Twenty-first century elementary teacher education research needs to examine influences associated with individual identities within specific roles (Gee, 2000), teaching and learning contexts and their inherent influences, and interactions that are enhanced by the increasing presence and influence of social networks. To examine and better understand identity, contexts, and interactional influences, blogs from two cohorts of PS-ESTs were examined to better understand how teacher education practices influenced PS-ESTs and to determine PS-ESTs beliefs about the teacher's role. The study was designed to answer the following research questions: "What is learned about the identity of PS-ESTs authored through social media, what contextual influences are acknowledged by PS-ESTs, and what interactions are occurring and what roles are they playing in the development of PS-ESTs?" This study used grounded theory and perceptual control theory (PCT) to analyze and reduce data to make assertions about PS-ESTs' development as teachers and influences upon their practices. Findings illuminated components of PS-EST teaching identities and suggested multiple implications within different domains, including the role of PST understandings of science

Engaging Undergraduates in Social Science Research: The Taking the Pulse of Saskatchewan Project

Science.gov (United States)

Berdahl, Loleen

2014-01-01

Although student involvement in research and inquiry can advance undergraduate learning, there are limited opportunities for undergraduate students to be directly involved in social science research. Social science faculty members typically work outside of laboratory settings, with the limited research assistance work being completed by graduate…

Global climate change: Social and economic research issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rice, M.; Snow, J.; Jacobson, H.

1992-05-01

This workshop was designed to bring together a group of scholars, primarily from the social sciences, to explore research that might help in dealing with global climate change. To illustrate the state of present understanding, it seemed useful to focus this workshop on three broad questions that are involved in coping with climate change. These are: (1) How can the anticipated economic costs and benefits of climate change be identified; (2) How can the impacts of climate change be adjusted to or avoided; (3) What previously studied models are available for institutional management of the global environment? The resulting discussions may (1) identify worthwhile avenues for further social science research, (2) help develop feedback for natural scientists about research information from this domain needed by social scientists, and (3) provide policymakers with the sort of relevant research information from the social science community that is currently available

A forgotten social science? Creating a place for linguistics in the historical dialogue.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin-Nielsen, Janet

2011-01-01

The post-World War II era was one of great triumph for American linguists-and yet linguistics is all but absent from the historical literature on postwar social science. This paper aims to illuminate this curious situation: to understand its provenance, evaluate its merits, and contextualize it broadly. I argue that the historiographic lacuna results from two factors: (1) the opt-out of linguists from the wider American social science community, and (2) historical-developmental and -orientational factors that stand linguistics apart from the social science mainstream. The resultant isolation of linguistics has led to a parallel isolation in the historical literature. Ultimately, this paper poses a pivotal and timely question: How is the postwar social science space construed within the existing historiographic framework, and how should it be construed in order to maximize understanding? I propose a rethink of the received historiography centered on intellectual transformations and cross-disciplinary integration. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Science Student Role: Evidence of Social Structural Norms Specific to School Science

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Shanahan, Marie-Claire; Nieswandt, Martina

2011-01-01

Sociocultural studies of science education have consistently recognized the dialectic nature of students' agency to create and author positions for themselves and the structural constraints that may influence them. This mixed-methods study explores one particular aspect of these potential constraints: the possibility of a social structure specific…

Complementary social science? Quali-quantitative experiments in a Big Data world

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anders Blok

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The rise of Big Data in the social realm poses significant questions at the intersection of science, technology, and society, including in terms of how new large-scale social databases are currently changing the methods, epistemologies, and politics of social science. In this commentary, we address such epochal (“large-scale” questions by way of a (situated experiment: at the Danish Technical University in Copenhagen, an interdisciplinary group of computer scientists, physicists, economists, sociologists, and anthropologists (including the authors is setting up a large-scale data infrastructure, meant to continually record the digital traces of social relations among an entire freshman class of students ( N  > 1000. At the same time, fieldwork is carried out on friendship (and other relations amongst the same group of students. On this basis, the question we pose is the following: what kind of knowledge is obtained on this social micro-cosmos via the Big (computational, quantitative and Small (embodied, qualitative Data, respectively? How do the two relate? Invoking Bohr’s principle of complementarity as analogy, we hypothesize that social relations, as objects of knowledge, depend crucially on the type of measurement device deployed. At the same time, however, we also expect new interferences and polyphonies to arise at the intersection of Big and Small Data, provided that these are, so to speak, mixed with care. These questions, we stress, are important not only for the future of social science methods but also for the type of societal (self-knowledge that may be expected from new large-scale social databases.

How to compare the social foundations of science culture: A trial with five cities in Korea.

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Song, Jinwoong; Chung, Minkyung; Choi, Eunjeong; Kim, Leekyoung; Cho, Sook-Kyoung

2013-01-01

Though there have been several indicator systems to monitor the status quo of science and technology and of scientific literacy, few are especially designed for science culture, especially for its social dimension. Furthermore there is little agreement on how to measure it. In a previous study, an indicator system, SCI (Science Culture Indicators), had been developed to monitor the status quo of the science culture of a nation at both individual and social dimensions. The purpose of this study was to explore a practical way to measure and compare local cities' social foundation of science culture by revising and standardizing the social dimension of SCI and by applying it to five metropolitan cities in Korea. Despite some limits, the results of this study appear not only to reflect the cities' current situations but also to show the strength and weakness of their social foundation of science culture.

Producing and Consuming the Controversial--A Social Media Perspective on Political Conversations in the Social Science Classroom

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Andersson, Erik

2016-01-01

Teachers find it difficult to conduct political controversial conversations in the social science classroom and due to an increased use of social media in educational settings new challenges and possibilities are raised. The use of social media causes fundamental changes to the role of the learner who becomes a producer and consumer--a…

Science, Technology and Social Change Course's Effects on Technological Literacy Levels of Social Studies Pre-Service Teachers

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Yigit, E. Ozlem

2013-01-01

Social studies curricula are required in order to prepare to educate children who continue to learn after their formal training, and it is vital that teachers receive an education properly. In Social Studies Education Departments of Education Faculties Science, Technology and Social Change course is convenient to this aim and it contributes to…

Mapping Project on Energy and the Social Sciences. Progress report, October 1, 1978-June 30, 1979

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walker, C.A.; Doob, L.W.; Gould, L.C.

1979-01-01

This is a progress report of activities in the fourth year of the Yale Institution for Social and Policy Studies Mapping Project on Energy and the Social Sciences. The Mapping Project evaluates past and present social and behavioral science energy studies, assesses the potential for social and behavioral science contributions to a resolution of the energy problems in the future, and diffuses social and behavioral science information and perspectives to policymakers and others concerned with US or world energy developments. Activities in FY 1979 included meetings, workshops, collecting bibliographic material, publications, evaluating DOE programs in buildings and transportation, performing a special study of potential social impacts of 4 coal technologies, and developing plans for 10 specific research studies on energy.

Temporalité, temporalités : philosophie et sciences sociales Temporality, temporalities: Philosophy and the Social sciences

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Claude Dubar

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Le passage de la philosophie du temps aux approches scientifiques des temporalités a résulté de l’épuisement des apories du temps qui, d’Aristote et Saint Augustin à Kant et Husserl, ont jalonné les efforts de philosophes pour produire in abstracto une théorie unifiée du temps. Le constat par Heidegger d’une irréductible pluralité des modes de temporalisation a mis fin à cette aporétique de la temporalité et permis le déploiement d’approches plurielles des temporalités par les sciences socio-historiques. Depuis la thèse de la pluralité des régimes d’historicité par les historiens jusqu’à l’analyse des temporalités sociales par les sociologues, toutes les sciences sociales ont multiplié les distinctions internes au temps et les typologies de temporalités pertinentes. Cela n’exclut pas les réflexions citoyennes sur l’émergence d’un temps démocratique et universel réconciliant le temps paramètre englobant et le temps compagnon vécu.The passage from the philosophy of time to the scientific approach to temporality is the result of the double bind in which, from Aristotle to Saint Augustine, Kant and Husserl, has marked the efforts of philosophers trying to produce in abstracto a unified theory of time. Heidegger’s conclusion concerning the irreducible plurality of the modes of temporality put an end to that uncertainty and allowed many various approaches to temporality to blossom in the socio-historical sciences. From the historians’ theory of the plurality of historical regimes to the sociologists’ analysis of social temporalities, several pertinent distinctions internal to time and typologies of temporalities have been forthcoming. That does not preclude citizens from rethinking the emergence of a democratic and universal time that would reconcile Time as the all-encompassing parameter with Time as the lifetime companion.

The social practice of psychology and the social sciences in a liberal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper explores the relevance of psychology and the social and human sciences in a changing South Africa. The new South Africa embraces a liberal democratic approach to government. The Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) is a policy document that articulates the goals of this liberal democratic ...

Globalisation and Social Sciences in Africa | Nieftagodien ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Globalisation and Social Sciences in Africa. Noor Nieftagodien. AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors. OTHER RESOURCES... for Researchers · for Journals · for Authors · for Policy Makers · about Open Access · FAQ's · News · AJOL jobs · More about AJOL ...

Prospects for direct social perception: a multi-theoretical integration to further the science of social cognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiltshire, Travis J; Lobato, Emilio J C; McConnell, Daniel S; Fiore, Stephen M

2014-01-01

In this paper we suggest that differing approaches to the science of social cognition mirror the arguments between radical embodied and traditional approaches to cognition. We contrast the use in social cognition of theoretical inference and mental simulation mechanisms with approaches emphasizing a direct perception of others' mental states. We build from a recent integrative framework unifying these divergent perspectives through the use of dual-process theory and supporting social neuroscience research. Our elaboration considers two complementary notions of direct perception: one primarily stemming from ecological psychology and the other from enactive cognition theory. We use this as the foundation from which to offer an account of the informational basis for social information and assert a set of research propositions to further the science of social cognition. In doing so, we point out how perception of the minds of others can be supported in some cases by lawful information, supporting direct perception of social affordances and perhaps, mental states, and in other cases by cues that support indirect perceptual inference. Our goal is to extend accounts of social cognition by integrating advances across disciplines to provide a multi-level and multi-theoretic description that can advance this field and offer a means through which to reconcile radical embodied and traditional approaches to cognitive neuroscience.

Comprehensive bibliographic coverage of the social sciences and humanities in a citation index

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sivertsen, Gunnar; Larsen, Birger

2012-01-01

A well-designed and comprehensive citation index for the social sciences and humanities has many potential uses, but has yet to be realised. Significant parts of the scholarly production in these areas are not published in international journals, but in national scholarly journals, in book chapters...... or in monographs. The potential for covering these literatures more comprehensively can now be investigated empirically using a complete publication output data set from the higher education sector of an entire country (Norway). We find that while the international journals in the social sciences and humanities...... are promising for a more comprehensive coverage of the social sciences and humanities....

Almost Drowning: Data as a Troubling Anchor in an Arts/Social Science Collaboration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Genevieve Durham-DeCesaro MFA

2014-02-01

Full Text Available This article highlights fissures between the disciplines of dance and social sciences in approaching and valuing data and offers creative solutions for dancers and choreographers working collaboratively with scholars and artists in other disciplines. We locate our challenges in our divergent relationships with social science data, using the divergence as a framework for exploring discipline-specific practices as unintended roadblocks in collaborative, transdisciplinary research. We propose that the structure of our collaboration, particularly our unique pairing of dance and social science, and our emergent discoveries have implications beyond our home disciplines and promise to advance the growing enterprise of transdisciplinary collaboration.

Social science research of HIV in Vietnam: A critical review and future directions

OpenAIRE

Dao, Amy; Hirsch, Jennifer; Giang, Le Minh; Parker, Richard G.

2013-01-01

Social science research, with theoretical and methodological tools that are well suited to capture the complexities of Vietnam’s rapidly changing social and political context, could contribute important insights that would enhance the response to Vietnam’s growing HIV epidemic. The present paper reviews the published, peer-reviewed English-language social science literature on HIV in Vietnam in order to identify critical theoretical and substantive gaps and lay the groundwork for future resea...

Teaching Writing in the Social Sciences: A Comparison and Critique of Three Models

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Hansen, Kristine; Adams, Joyce

2010-01-01

This article describes and evaluates three approaches to teaching writing in the social sciences, particularly psychology: an English department-based course for all social science majors; a team-teaching model that embeds writing in core courses in psychology; and a stand-alone course dedicated to teaching writing in psychology, often taken…

Competencies and Responsibilities of Social Science Data Librarians: An Analysis of Job Descriptions

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Jingfeng; Wang, Minglu

2014-01-01

This study examines job announcements for social science data librarians and professionals to identify trends in the profession. A collection of 167 job postings in 2005-2012 from the International Association for Social Science Information Services & Technology website was analyzed on the frequencies of term occurrence and co-occurrence in…

Does Social Background Influence Political Science Grades?

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Tiruneh, Gizachew

2013-01-01

This paper tests a hypothesized linear relationship between social background and final grades in several political science courses that I taught at the University of Central Arkansas. I employ a cross-sectional research design and ordinary least square (OLS) estimators to test the foregoing hypothesis. Relying on a sample of up to 204…

Validity and Reliability in Social Science Research

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Drost, Ellen A.

2011-01-01

In this paper, the author aims to provide novice researchers with an understanding of the general problem of validity in social science research and to acquaint them with approaches to developing strong support for the validity of their research. She provides insight into these two important concepts, namely (1) validity; and (2) reliability, and…

The Essential Connection between Modern Science and Utopian Socialism

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Peter A. Redpath

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The chief aim of this paper is to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt how, through an essential misunderstanding of the nature of philosophy, and science, over the past several centuries, the prevailing Western tendency to reduce the whole of science to mathematical physics unwittingly generated utopian socialism as a political substitute for metaphysics. In short, being unable speculatively, philosophically, and metaphysically to justify this reduction, some Western intellectuals re-conceived the natures of philosophy, science, and metaphysics as increasingly enlightened, historical and political forms of the evolution of human consciousness toward creation of systematic science, a science of clear and distinct ideas. In the process they unwittingly wound up reducing contemporary philosophy and Western higher education largely into tools of utopian socialist political propaganda.

Solomon M. Hsiang Receives 2013 Science for Solutions Award: Citation

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Oppenheimer, Michael

2014-01-01

Solomon Hsiang is representative of a new generation in the geosciences community, whose work spans several disciplines, drawing on methods and concepts from far outside the traditional physical science domain in order to make progress on difficult questions at the intersection of natural science, social science, and public policy. Broadly speaking, by examining how humanity has responded to climate variability and change in the distant and recent past, Sol's research elucidates the question of how humanity may respond to a changing climate in the future. Combining large, independent sets of social science, meteorological, and climatological data and analyzing them with tools more common in microeconomics than natural science, Sol, still at an early stage of his career, has made critical contributions to an incipient revolution in our understanding of the sensitivity and adaptability of humans and their social arrangements to climate variability and change. Such insights will greatly improve the information base from which effective public policy is developed.

The Rise in Co-authorship in the Social Sciences (1980-2013)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henriksen, Dorte

2015-01-01

This paper examines the rise in co-authorship in the Social Sciences over a 33-year period. We investigate the development in co-authorship in different research areas and discuss how the methodological differences in these research areas and changes in academia affect the tendency to co-author a......This paper examines the rise in co-authorship in the Social Sciences over a 33-year period. We investigate the development in co-authorship in different research areas and discuss how the methodological differences in these research areas and changes in academia affect the tendency to co......-author articles. The study is based on bibliographic data about 4.5 million peer review articles published in the period 1980- 2013 and indexed in the 56 subject categories of the Web of Science’s (WoS) Social Science Citation Index (SSCI). Results show that in the majority of the subject categories we can...... data set, statistical methods and/or team-production models....

Mathematics education giving meaning to Social Science students

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersson, Annica; Valero, Paola

Compulsory mathematics for social science students is problematic. We discuss the case of a group of students in Sweden who met a mathematics course inspired on the ideas of critical mathematics education and ethnomathematics. The evidence collected about students' experiences on this course...

Developing Library GIS Services for Humanities and Social Science: An Action Research Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Ningning; Fosmire, Michael; Branch, Benjamin Dewayne

2017-01-01

In the academic libraries' efforts to support digital humanities and social science, GIS service plays an important role. However, there is no general service model existing about how libraries can develop GIS services to best engage with digital humanities and social science. In this study, we adopted the action research method to develop and…

Understanding health systems, health economies and globalization: the need for social science perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Susan F; Bisht, Ramila; Baru, Rama; Pitchforth, Emma

2012-08-31

The complex relationship between globalization and health calls for research from many disciplinary and methodological perspectives. This editorial gives an overview of the content trajectory of the interdisciplinary journal 'Globalization and Health' over the first six years of production, 2005 to 2010. The findings show that bio-medical and population health perspectives have been dominant but that social science perspectives have become more evident in recent years. The types of paper published have also changed, with a growing proportion of empirical studies. A special issue on 'Health systems, health economies and globalization: social science perspectives' is introduced, a collection of contributions written from the vantage points of economics, political science, psychology, sociology, business studies, social policy and research policy. The papers concern a range of issues pertaining to the globalization of healthcare markets and governance and regulation issues. They highlight the important contribution that can be made by the social sciences to this field, and also the practical and methodological challenges implicit in the study of globalization and health.

Understanding health systems, health economies and globalization: the need for social science perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Murray Susan F

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract The complex relationship between globalization and health calls for research from many disciplinary and methodological perspectives. This editorial gives an overview of the content trajectory of the interdisciplinary journal ‘Globalization and Health’ over the first six years of production, 2005 to 2010. The findings show that bio-medical and population health perspectives have been dominant but that social science perspectives have become more evident in recent years. The types of paper published have also changed, with a growing proportion of empirical studies. A special issue on ‘Health systems, health economies and globalization: social science perspectives’ is introduced, a collection of contributions written from the vantage points of economics, political science, psychology, sociology, business studies, social policy and research policy. The papers concern a range of issues pertaining to the globalization of healthcare markets and governance and regulation issues. They highlight the important contribution that can be made by the social sciences to this field, and also the practical and methodological challenges implicit in the study of globalization and health.

Performative Social Science: A Consideration of Skills, Purpose and Context

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Brian Roberts

2008-05-01

Full Text Available This article reviews recent work applying a notion of "performance" in the study and representation of lives. It tries to clarify some of the issues involved—including the meaning of "performance"—and "performative"—the range of possible approaches (e.g., in addition to drama—other arts and the relationship between "subjects", "researcher" and "audience". An immediate concern is the nature of the researcher—as having the necessary skills and abilities or knowledge involved in "performance" (in researching, writing, recording and representing, as engaged (to some extent in "artistic" endeavour, and moving between a number of "roles" and social relations in "performing" with/to others (the "researched" group, audience and society. An important issue for social science in crossing or bridging the social science-arts, in taking up "performative approaches", is "What remains distinctive about the social science if it becomes involved with performance approaches?" As a source for comparison (and inspiration, some brief reference will be made to the work of KANDINSKY—who moved across disciplinary boundaries and artistic practices—as ethnographer, painter, teacher, designer, theorist and poet. Finally, perhaps, there is a deeper "turn" indicated by the "turn to performance" in the study of lives, a more "complete" portrait of the individual as an active, communicative and sensual being. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0802588

Global climate change: Social and economic research issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rice, M.; Snow, J.; Jacobson, H. [eds.

1992-05-01

This workshop was designed to bring together a group of scholars, primarily from the social sciences, to explore research that might help in dealing with global climate change. To illustrate the state of present understanding, it seemed useful to focus this workshop on three broad questions that are involved in coping with climate change. These are: (1) How can the anticipated economic costs and benefits of climate change be identified; (2) How can the impacts of climate change be adjusted to or avoided; (3) What previously studied models are available for institutional management of the global environment? The resulting discussions may (1) identify worthwhile avenues for further social science research, (2) help develop feedback for natural scientists about research information from this domain needed by social scientists, and (3) provide policymakers with the sort of relevant research information from the social science community that is currently available. Individual papers are processed separately for the database.

Do Perceptions of Gifted Intelligence and Normal Intelligence Participants Differ about Social Science and Social Scientists?

Science.gov (United States)

Selvi, Sezgin; Demir, Selçuk Besir

2017-01-01

This qualitative study was conducted to compare the perceptions of students with gifted intelligence and students with those of normal intelligence about social science and social scientists. The data obtained from 23 gifted intelligent and 23 normal participants within the same age group was analysed using content analysis and results were…

In defense of forensic social science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amir Goldberg

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Like the navigation tools that freed ancient sailors from the need to stay close to the shoreline—eventually affording the discovery of new worlds—Big Data might open us up to new sociological possibilities by freeing us from the shackles of hypothesis testing. But for that to happen we need forensic social science: the careful compilation of evidence from unstructured digital traces as a means to generate new theories.

Reversals of national fortune, and social science methodologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Diamond, Jared

2014-12-16

Among non-European regions colonized by Europeans, regions that were relatively richer five centuries ago (like Mexico, Peru, and India) tend to be poorer today, while regions that originally were relatively poorer (like the United States, Chile, and Australia) tend now to be richer. Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson (abbreviated AJR) established the generality of this reversal of fortune. Chanda, Cook, and Putterman (abbreviated CCP) have now reanalyzed it, taking as a unit of analysis populations rather than geographic regions. That is, India's population was Indian 500 y ago and is still overwhelmingly Indian today, whereas the United States' population was Native American 500 years ago but is overwhelmingly Old World (especially European) today. Reversals of fortune disappeared when CCP analyzed populations rather than geographic regions: for instance, the geographic region of the modern United States has become relatively richer since AD 1500, but the predominantly European population now occupying the United States was already relatively rich in AD 1500. Evidently, European colonists carried ingredients of wealth with them. I discuss the biological and cultural baggage transported by European immigrants and associated with wealth. Among that baggage, AJR emphasize institutions, CCP emphasize social capital, and I identify many different elements only loosely coupled to each other. This paper discusses the problem, especially acute in the social sciences, of "operationalizing" intuitive concepts (such as mass, temperature, wealth, and innovation) so that they can be measured. Basic concepts tend to be harder to define, operationalize, and measure in the social sciences than in the laboratory sciences.

Perspective: The social science of sustainable bioenergy production in Southeast Asia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bush, S.R.

2008-01-01

The social sciences have made considerable inroads into exploring the politics of environment, land and resources throughout Southeast Asia, yet the social and political character of bioenergy development remains little understood. Current assumptions that bioenergy provides benefits to rural

Developing a Collaborative Agenda for Humanities and Social Scientific Research on Laboratory Animal Science and Welfare.

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, Gail F; Greenhough, Beth J; Hobson-West, Pru; Kirk, Robert G W; Applebee, Ken; Bellingan, Laura C; Berdoy, Manuel; Buller, Henry; Cassaday, Helen J; Davies, Keith; Diefenbacher, Daniela; Druglitrø, Tone; Escobar, Maria Paula; Friese, Carrie; Herrmann, Kathrin; Hinterberger, Amy; Jarrett, Wendy J; Jayne, Kimberley; Johnson, Adam M; Johnson, Elizabeth R; Konold, Timm; Leach, Matthew C; Leonelli, Sabina; Lewis, David I; Lilley, Elliot J; Longridge, Emma R; McLeod, Carmen M; Miele, Mara; Nelson, Nicole C; Ormandy, Elisabeth H; Pallett, Helen; Poort, Lonneke; Pound, Pandora; Ramsden, Edmund; Roe, Emma; Scalway, Helen; Schrader, Astrid; Scotton, Chris J; Scudamore, Cheryl L; Smith, Jane A; Whitfield, Lucy; Wolfensohn, Sarah

2016-01-01

Improving laboratory animal science and welfare requires both new scientific research and insights from research in the humanities and social sciences. Whilst scientific research provides evidence to replace, reduce and refine procedures involving laboratory animals (the '3Rs'), work in the humanities and social sciences can help understand the social, economic and cultural processes that enhance or impede humane ways of knowing and working with laboratory animals. However, communication across these disciplinary perspectives is currently limited, and they design research programmes, generate results, engage users, and seek to influence policy in different ways. To facilitate dialogue and future research at this interface, we convened an interdisciplinary group of 45 life scientists, social scientists, humanities scholars, non-governmental organisations and policy-makers to generate a collaborative research agenda. This drew on methods employed by other agenda-setting exercises in science policy, using a collaborative and deliberative approach for the identification of research priorities. Participants were recruited from across the community, invited to submit research questions and vote on their priorities. They then met at an interactive workshop in the UK, discussed all 136 questions submitted, and collectively defined the 30 most important issues for the group. The output is a collaborative future agenda for research in the humanities and social sciences on laboratory animal science and welfare. The questions indicate a demand for new research in the humanities and social sciences to inform emerging discussions and priorities on the governance and practice of laboratory animal research, including on issues around: international harmonisation, openness and public engagement, 'cultures of care', harm-benefit analysis and the future of the 3Rs. The process outlined below underlines the value of interdisciplinary exchange for improving communication across

Developing a Collaborative Agenda for Humanities and Social Scientific Research on Laboratory Animal Science and Welfare

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, Gail F.; Greenhough, Beth J; Hobson-West, Pru; Kirk, Robert G. W.; Applebee, Ken; Bellingan, Laura C.; Berdoy, Manuel; Buller, Henry; Cassaday, Helen J.; Davies, Keith; Diefenbacher, Daniela; Druglitrø, Tone; Escobar, Maria Paula; Friese, Carrie; Herrmann, Kathrin; Hinterberger, Amy; Jarrett, Wendy J.; Jayne, Kimberley; Johnson, Adam M.; Johnson, Elizabeth R.; Konold, Timm; Leach, Matthew C.; Leonelli, Sabina; Lewis, David I.; Lilley, Elliot J.; Longridge, Emma R.; McLeod, Carmen M.; Miele, Mara; Nelson, Nicole C.; Ormandy, Elisabeth H.; Pallett, Helen; Poort, Lonneke; Pound, Pandora; Ramsden, Edmund; Roe, Emma; Scalway, Helen; Schrader, Astrid; Scotton, Chris J.; Scudamore, Cheryl L.; Smith, Jane A.; Whitfield, Lucy; Wolfensohn, Sarah

2016-01-01

Improving laboratory animal science and welfare requires both new scientific research and insights from research in the humanities and social sciences. Whilst scientific research provides evidence to replace, reduce and refine procedures involving laboratory animals (the ‘3Rs’), work in the humanities and social sciences can help understand the social, economic and cultural processes that enhance or impede humane ways of knowing and working with laboratory animals. However, communication across these disciplinary perspectives is currently limited, and they design research programmes, generate results, engage users, and seek to influence policy in different ways. To facilitate dialogue and future research at this interface, we convened an interdisciplinary group of 45 life scientists, social scientists, humanities scholars, non-governmental organisations and policy-makers to generate a collaborative research agenda. This drew on methods employed by other agenda-setting exercises in science policy, using a collaborative and deliberative approach for the identification of research priorities. Participants were recruited from across the community, invited to submit research questions and vote on their priorities. They then met at an interactive workshop in the UK, discussed all 136 questions submitted, and collectively defined the 30 most important issues for the group. The output is a collaborative future agenda for research in the humanities and social sciences on laboratory animal science and welfare. The questions indicate a demand for new research in the humanities and social sciences to inform emerging discussions and priorities on the governance and practice of laboratory animal research, including on issues around: international harmonisation, openness and public engagement, ‘cultures of care’, harm-benefit analysis and the future of the 3Rs. The process outlined below underlines the value of interdisciplinary exchange for improving communication across

Developing a Collaborative Agenda for Humanities and Social Scientific Research on Laboratory Animal Science and Welfare.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gail F Davies

Full Text Available Improving laboratory animal science and welfare requires both new scientific research and insights from research in the humanities and social sciences. Whilst scientific research provides evidence to replace, reduce and refine procedures involving laboratory animals (the '3Rs', work in the humanities and social sciences can help understand the social, economic and cultural processes that enhance or impede humane ways of knowing and working with laboratory animals. However, communication across these disciplinary perspectives is currently limited, and they design research programmes, generate results, engage users, and seek to influence policy in different ways. To facilitate dialogue and future research at this interface, we convened an interdisciplinary group of 45 life scientists, social scientists, humanities scholars, non-governmental organisations and policy-makers to generate a collaborative research agenda. This drew on methods employed by other agenda-setting exercises in science policy, using a collaborative and deliberative approach for the identification of research priorities. Participants were recruited from across the community, invited to submit research questions and vote on their priorities. They then met at an interactive workshop in the UK, discussed all 136 questions submitted, and collectively defined the 30 most important issues for the group. The output is a collaborative future agenda for research in the humanities and social sciences on laboratory animal science and welfare. The questions indicate a demand for new research in the humanities and social sciences to inform emerging discussions and priorities on the governance and practice of laboratory animal research, including on issues around: international harmonisation, openness and public engagement, 'cultures of care', harm-benefit analysis and the future of the 3Rs. The process outlined below underlines the value of interdisciplinary exchange for improving

Colil: a database and search service for citation contexts in the life sciences domain.

Science.gov (United States)

Fujiwara, Toyofumi; Yamamoto, Yasunori

2015-01-01

To promote research activities in a particular research area, it is important to efficiently identify current research trends, advances, and issues in that area. Although review papers in the research area can suffice for this purpose in general, researchers are not necessarily able to obtain these papers from research aspects of their interests at the time they are required. Therefore, the utilization of the citation contexts of papers in a research area has been considered as another approach. However, there are few search services to retrieve citation contexts in the life sciences domain; furthermore, efficiently obtaining citation contexts is becoming difficult due to the large volume and rapid growth of life sciences papers. Here, we introduce the Colil (Comments on Literature in Literature) database to store citation contexts in the life sciences domain. By using the Resource Description Framework (RDF) and a newly compiled vocabulary, we built the Colil database and made it available through the SPARQL endpoint. In addition, we developed a web-based search service called Colil that searches for a cited paper in the Colil database and then returns a list of citation contexts for it along with papers relevant to it based on co-citations. The citation contexts in the Colil database were extracted from full-text papers of the PubMed Central Open Access Subset (PMC-OAS), which includes 545,147 papers indexed in PubMed. These papers are distributed across 3,171 journals and cite 5,136,741 unique papers that correspond to approximately 25 % of total PubMed entries. By utilizing Colil, researchers can easily refer to a set of citation contexts and relevant papers based on co-citations for a target paper. Colil helps researchers to comprehend life sciences papers in a research area more efficiently and makes their biological research more efficient.

Does "science" make you moral? The effects of priming science on moral judgments and behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma-Kellams, Christine; Blascovich, Jim

2013-01-01

Previous work has noted that science stands as an ideological force insofar as the answers it offers to a variety of fundamental questions and concerns; as such, those who pursue scientific inquiry have been shown to be concerned with the moral and social ramifications of their scientific endeavors. No studies to date have directly investigated the links between exposure to science and moral or prosocial behaviors. Across four studies, both naturalistic measures of science exposure and experimental primes of science led to increased adherence to moral norms and more morally normative behaviors across domains. Study 1 (n = 36) tested the natural correlation between exposure to science and likelihood of enforcing moral norms. Studies 2 (n = 49), 3 (n = 52), and 4 (n = 43) manipulated thoughts about science and examined the causal impact of such thoughts on imagined and actual moral behavior. Across studies, thinking about science had a moralizing effect on a broad array of domains, including interpersonal violations (Studies 1, 2), prosocial intentions (Study 3), and economic exploitation (Study 4). These studies demonstrated the morally normative effects of lay notions of science. Thinking about science leads individuals to endorse more stringent moral norms and exhibit more morally normative behavior. These studies are the first of their kind to systematically and empirically test the relationship between science and morality. The present findings speak to this question and elucidate the value-laden outcomes of the notion of science.

The Social Science Teacher; Vol. 4, No. 1, Summer 1974.

Science.gov (United States)

Townley, Charles, Ed.

This new British journal is a medium of communication for those involved in teaching social science and social studies at the secondary and elementary levels. The first article in this issue, Ian Shelton's "The Sociology of Everyday Life," describes an experimental short course in secondary sociology. The course is designed to produce an…

Social networks and online environments: when science and practice co-evolve

OpenAIRE

Rosen, Devan; Barnett, George A.; Kim, Jang Hyun

2011-01-01

The science of social network analysis has co-evolved with the development of online environments and computer-mediated communication. Unique and precise data available from computer and information systems have allowed network scientists to explore novel social phenomena and develop new methods. Additionally, advances in the structural analysis and visualization of computer-mediated social networks have informed developers and shaped the design of social media tools. This article reviews som...

Teaching and Learning Psychology through an Analysis of Social Science Fiction

Science.gov (United States)

Herman, William E.

2009-01-01

This paper is designed to accompany an appearance by the author as a panelist during a session on science fiction and teaching methods at the I-CON 28 Science Fiction Convention held April 3-5, 2009, on Long Island (near New York City). The author describes how he employs social science fiction in an honors course at the university level to…

Social Science Libraries Section. Special Libraries Division. Papers.

Science.gov (United States)

International Federation of Library Associations, The Hague (Netherlands).

Three papers on the nonconventional literature and social science libraries were presented at the 1983 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference. In "Grey Material: A Scandinavian View," Birgitta Bergdahl (Sweden) outlines the etymology and meaning of the concept of "grey literature" (which can include…

Social and ethical dimensions of nanoscale science and engineering research.

Science.gov (United States)

Sweeney, Aldrin E

2006-07-01

Continuing advances in human ability to manipulate matter at the atomic and molecular levels (i.e. nanoscale science and engineering) offer many previously unimagined possibilities for scientific discovery and technological development. Paralleling these advances in the various science and engineering sub-disciplines is the increasing realization that a number of associated social, ethical, environmental, economic and legal dimensions also need to be explored. An important component of such exploration entails the identification and analysis of the ways in which current and prospective researchers in these fields conceptualize these dimensions of their work. Within the context of a National Science Foundation funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program in nanomaterials processing and characterization at the University of Central Florida (2002-2004), here I present for discussion (i) details of a "nanotechnology ethics" seminar series developed specifically for students participating in the program, and (ii) an analysis of students' and participating research faculty's perspectives concerning social and ethical issues associated with nanotechnology research. I conclude with a brief discussion of implications presented by these issues for general scientific literacy and public science education policy.

Prospects for direct social perception: A multi-theoretical integration to further the science of social cognition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Travis J. Wiltshire

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper we suggest that differing approaches to the science of social cognition mirror the arguments between radical embodied and traditional approaches to cognition. We contrast the use in social cognition of theoretical inference and mental simulation mechanisms with approaches emphasizing a direct perception of others’ mental states. We build from a recent integrative framework unifying these divergent perspectives through the use of dual-process theory and supporting social neuroscience research. Our elaboration considers two complementary notions of direct perception: one primarily stemming from ecological psychology and the other from enactive cognition theory. We use this as the foundation from which to offer an account of the informational basis for social information and assert a set of research propositions to further the science of social cognition. In doing so, we point out how perception of the minds of others can be supported in some cases by lawful information, supporting direct perception of social affordances and perhaps, mental states, and in other cases by cues that support indirect perceptual inference. Our goal is to extend accounts of social cognition by integrating advances across disciplines to provide a multi-level and multi-theoretic description that can advance this field and offer a means through which to reconcile radical embodied and traditional approaches to cognitive neuroscience.

Prospects for direct social perception: a multi-theoretical integration to further the science of social cognition

Science.gov (United States)

Wiltshire, Travis J.; Lobato, Emilio J. C.; McConnell, Daniel S.; Fiore, Stephen M.

2015-01-01

In this paper we suggest that differing approaches to the science of social cognition mirror the arguments between radical embodied and traditional approaches to cognition. We contrast the use in social cognition of theoretical inference and mental simulation mechanisms with approaches emphasizing a direct perception of others’ mental states. We build from a recent integrative framework unifying these divergent perspectives through the use of dual-process theory and supporting social neuroscience research. Our elaboration considers two complementary notions of direct perception: one primarily stemming from ecological psychology and the other from enactive cognition theory. We use this as the foundation from which to offer an account of the informational basis for social information and assert a set of research propositions to further the science of social cognition. In doing so, we point out how perception of the minds of others can be supported in some cases by lawful information, supporting direct perception of social affordances and perhaps, mental states, and in other cases by cues that support indirect perceptual inference. Our goal is to extend accounts of social cognition by integrating advances across disciplines to provide a multi-level and multi-theoretic description that can advance this field and offer a means through which to reconcile radical embodied and traditional approaches to cognitive neuroscience. PMID:25709572

The use of social science knowledge in implementing the Nuclear Waste Policy Act

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bradbury, J.A.

1989-01-01

This study investigates the use of social science knowledge by the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM), a division of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in implementing the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. The use of social science is examined both generally and in relation to a body of knowledge most relevant to the program, the social science risk literature. The study is restricted to the use by headquarters staff in relation to the largest repository and Monitored Retrievable Storage (MRS) projects. The literature on knowledge utilization and the Sabatier framework on knowledge use and policy learning provide the theoretical framework for the study. The research adopts a multistrategy approach, collecting data from two sources: (1) program documents, policy guidance, and meeting records; and (2) interviews with OCRWM officials. The constructs knowledge and use are conceptualized in different ways, each of which forms the basis for a different analytic approach. The research findings showed a very limited use of social science, more especially by the first repository program. Two reasons are advanced. First, the agency has viewed social science knowledge through technical lens and has applied an approach suited to technical problems to its structuring of waste management policy problems. Second, the degree of societal conflict over nuclear power and nuclear waste has prevented a constructive dialogue among the parties and thus reduced the possibility of policy learning

'The Great Fiasco' of the 1948 presidential election polls: status recognition and norms conflict in social science.

Science.gov (United States)

Lusinchi, Dominic

2018-05-14

All three 'scientific' pollsters (Crossley, Gallup and Roper) wrongly predicted incumbent President Harry Truman's defeat in the 1948 presidential election, and thus faced a potentially serious legitimacy crisis. This 'fiasco' occurred at a most inopportune time. Social science was embroiled in a policy debate taking place in the halls of Congress. It was fighting a losing battle to be included, along with the natural sciences, in the National Science Foundation, for which legislation was being drafted. Faced with the failure of the polls, the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) intervened quickly to prevent social science's adversaries from using this event to degrade further its status. After all, many social scientists considered the sample survey as the paramount tool of social research, and sampling as one of social science's greatest innovation. Concurrently, there was an ongoing conflict among polling practitioners themselves-between advocates of probability sampling and users of quotas, like the pollsters. The SSRC committee appointed to evaluate the polling debacle managed to keep this contentious issue of sampling from becoming the centre of attention. Given the inauspicious environment in which this event happened, the SSRC did not wish to advertise the fact that the house of social science was in turmoil.

New Frontiers in Analyzing Dynamic Group Interactions: Bridging Social and Computer Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Lehmann-Willenbrock, Nale; Hung, Hayley; Keyton, Joann

2017-10-01

This special issue on advancing interdisciplinary collaboration between computer scientists and social scientists documents the joint results of the international Lorentz workshop, "Interdisciplinary Insights into Group and Team Dynamics," which took place in Leiden, The Netherlands, July 2016. An equal number of scholars from social and computer science participated in the workshop and contributed to the papers included in this special issue. In this introduction, we first identify interaction dynamics as the core of group and team models and review how scholars in social and computer science have typically approached behavioral interactions in groups and teams. Next, we identify key challenges for interdisciplinary collaboration between social and computer scientists, and we provide an overview of the different articles in this special issue aimed at addressing these challenges.

Integrating social science into forestry in the wildland/urban interface

Science.gov (United States)

Jeffrey J. Brooks; Hannah Brenkert; Judy E. Serby; Joseph G. Champ; Tony Simons; Daniel R. Williams

2006-01-01

A different kind of storm--neither fire nor wind--brought 60 forestry practitioners who work in wildfire risk prevention and several social science researchers together near Lyons, CO. Brainstorm. This unique retreat--a meeting of the minds--commingled these two groups to share and tackle ideas concerning social issues that shape decisions and behaviors regarding...

77 FR 26292 - Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy Assessments: Social Science Methodologies to Assess Goals...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-03

...] Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy Assessments: Social Science Methodologies to Assess Goals... announcing a public workshop entitled ``Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy Assessments: Social Science... constructive dialogue and information-sharing among regulators, researchers, the pharmaceutical industry...

Symposium | Science, technology, innovation & social responsibility | 11 November

CERN Multimedia

2015-01-01

It is widely recognised that science, technology and innovation are among the most powerful forces driving social change and development today. Their impact on the progress of humanity will be discussed at this symposium.   Wednesday, 11 November, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Council Chamber This symposium, organised by CERN and the World Academy of Art & Science (WAAS) under the auspices of United Nations Office at Geneva, will survey the potential impact of scientific and technological innovation in different fields on the progress of humanity in the 21st century and the alternative mechanisms available to ensure socially responsible management of these activities by the research community, business and governments. The introduction will be given by Rolf Heuer, CERN Director-General, Michael Møller, UNOG Director-General, and Heitor Gurgulino de Souza, WAAS President. Registration is mandatory for people who do not hold a CERN access card. The talks will be i...

Energy and the social sciences. A preliminary literature survey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sommers, P.

1975-01-01

The social science literature pertaining to energy problems is reviewed, and preliminary suggestions for research projects and research strategy are presented. Much of the social science literature on energy is in the field of economics, where such themes as econometric models, pricing policy, taxation, and government-industry interactions are discussed. Among the suggested research efforts is a study of proper economic criteria for determining rates of development of alternative sources of energy. The political science literature on energy is not well developed, but a review of it indicates interesting possibilities for research. The kinds of social and political institutions that would be most effective in an energy-constrained economy should be studied, and a comparative study of institutions now in existence in the United States and other countries is suggested. The social effects of centralized, comprehensive decision-making, which might be necessary in the event of significant shortages of energy, should be studied. The roles of community groups, interest groups, the media, government, etc., in decision-making should receive continuing attention. In the fields of sociology and psychology there is a need for more understanding of the attitudes, beliefs, and behavior of individuals about energy matters. The ways in which people adapt to energy shortages and changes in energy prices should be a subject for continuing studies. It is suggested that plans be made for surveys of coping strategies under emergency conditions as well as under conditions of gradual change. A possible long-range reaction to energy shortages and high prices might be a decrease in living-space available to individuals and families, and the work of psychologists in this area should be analyzed. 41 references.

To Trust or Not to Trust? What Drives Public Trust in Science in Social Media Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Hwong, Y. L.; Oliver, C.; Van Kranendonk, M. J.

2017-12-01

The erosion of public trust in science is a serious concern today. This climate of distrust has real consequences, from the anti-vaccination movement to climate change denials. The age of social media promises opportunities for improved interactivity between scientists and the public, which experts hope will help improve public confidence in science. However, evidence linking social media engagement and public attitude towards science is scarce. Our study aimed to help fill this gap. We examined Twitter engagement and its impact on public trust in science, focusing on two related science issues: space science and climate change. Our datasets comprised of 10,000 randomly sampled tweets over a month's period in 2016. We used human annotation and machine learning to analyse the tweets. Results revealed the level of distrust was significantly higher in the climate change tweets. However, in the climate change network, people who engaged with science personalities trust science more than those who did not. This difference in trust levels was not present in the space science network. There the two clusters of people displayed similar levels of trust in science. Additionally, we used machine learning to predict the trust labels of tweets and conducted feature analysis to find the properties of trust-inspiring tweets. Our supervised learning algorithm was able to predict trust in science in our sample tweets with 84% accuracy. The strongest predictors of trust in science (as conveyed by tweets) were similarity, presence of URL and authenticity. Contrast this with the findings of our previous study investigating the features of highly engaging space science related social media messages, authenticity is the only feature that also inspires trust. This indicates that what works to promote engagement (e.g. `retweets', `Likes') does not necessarily build trust in science. Social media science communication is not as simple as `we engage, therefore they trust'. We suggest that