Download or read book Experts and Consensus in Social Science written by Carlo Martini and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-09-11 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book brings together the research of philosophers, sociologists, and social scientists. It examines those areas of scientific practice where reliance on the subjective judgment of experts and practitioners is the main source of useful knowledge to address and possibly, bring solutions to social problems. A common phenomenon in applications of science is that objective evidence does not point to a single answer or solution, to a problem. Reliance on subjective judgment, then, becomes necessary, despite the known fact that hunches, even those of putative experts, often provide information that is not very accurate, and that experts are prone to fallacies and biases. The book looks at how experts reach consensus in the social sciences, and which experts are relevant to which problems. It aims to answer many questions, the main one being: Can we start building a normative theory of expertise on the basis of the evidence that social scientists, sociologists and philosophers have uncovered?
Download or read book The Emerging Consensus in Social Systems Theory written by Kenneth C. Bausch and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 551 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Emerging Consensus of Social Systems Theory Bausch summarizes the works of over 30 major systemic theorists. He then goes on to show the converging areas of consensus among these out-standing thinkers. Bausch categorizes the social aspects of current systemic thinking as falling into five broadly thematic areas: designing social systems, the structure of the social world, communication, cognition and epistemology. These five areas are foundational for a theoretic and practical systemic synthesis. They were topics of contention in a historic debate between Habermas and Luhmann in the early 1970's. They continue to be contentious topics within the study of social philosophy. Since the 1970's, systemic thinking has taken great strides in the areas of mathematics, physics, biology, psychology, and sociology. This book presents a spectrum of those theoretical advances. It synthesizes what various strains of contemporary systems science have to say about social processes and assesses the quality of the resulting integrated explanations. Bausch gives a detailed study of the works of many present-day systems theorists, both in general terms, and with regard to social processes. He then creates and validates integrated representations of their thoughts with respect to his own thematic classifications. He provides a background of systemic thinking from an historical context, as well as detailed studies of developments in sociological, cognitive and evolutionary theory. This book presents a coherent, dynamic model of a self-organizing world. It proposes a creative and ethical method of decision-making and design. It makes explicit the relations between structure and process in the realms of knowledge and being. The new methodology that evolves in this book allows us to deal with enormous complexity, and to relate ideas so as to draw out previously unsuspected conclusions and syntheses. Therein lies the elegance and utility of this model.
Download or read book The Consensus Conflict Debate Form and Content in Social Theories written by Thomas J. Bernard and published by . This book was released on 1983-03-02 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Rational Consensus in Science and Society written by Keith Lehrer and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: TItis book is the joint project of a philosopher, Lehrer, and a mathematician, Wagner. The book is, therefore, divided into a first part written by Lehrer, which is primarily philosophical, and a second part written by Wagner that is primarily formal. The authors were, however, influenced by each other throughout. Our book articulates a theory of rational consensus in science and society. The theory is applied to politics, ethics, science, and language. We begin our exposition with an elementary mathematical model of consensus developed by Lehrer in a series of articles [1976a, 1976b, 1977, 1978]. Chapter 3 contains material from [1978]. Lehrer formulated the elementary model when he was a Fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Be havioral Sciences, Stanford, in 1973 with the invaluable mathematical assist of Kit Fine, Gerald Kramer and Lionel McKenzie. In the summer of ance 1977, Lehrer and Wagner met at the Center in a Summer Seminar on Freedom and Causality supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Wagner read the manuscript of Lehrer [1978] and subsequently solved some mathematical problems of the elementary model. After discussions of philosophical prob lems associated with that model, Wagner developed the foundations for the extended model. These results were reported in Wagner [1978, 1981a].
Download or read book Conformity Consensus and Conflict Units 20 and 22 Rev Ed written by Open University and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Explaining Scientific Consensus written by Kyung-Man Kim and published by Guilford Publications. This book was released on 1994 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The recognition of science as a social process in which dissent and negotiation take place is not a new concept. The role of consensus and the extent to which personal relationships affect its formation, however, are rarely discussed in the literature. Examining these phenomena, Kyung-Man Kim argues that sociologists and historians present a deficient account of how science produces reliable knowledge because they have primarily focused on the drama of conflict and disagreements rather than on the process of reaching consensus. Through a careful examination of the community of the evolutionary biologists and geneticists at the turn of the 20th century, Kim reveals the interplay among scientists that generated acceptance of Mendelian genetics. His analysis reveals the inherent weakness in contemporary accounts, and lays the groundwork for a more democratic sociological theory of consensus formation. Based on a large survey of published articles as well as unpublished letters, Kim describes in vivid detail the history of the Mendelian debates. This history serves to illustrate his main theme, as he offers a detailed critique of Merton's structural-functional account of science, and discusses the three dominant research programs in the contemporary sociology of science, including Bloor and Barnes's strong programme, Collins's empirical program of relativism, and Latour's actor-network theory. Throughout, the role of mutual persuasion and criticism in reaching consensus among scientists of differing orientations is clearly illustrated. Developing a unique approach to the formation of scientific consensus, Kim focuses on the so called "middle-level" scientists and their essential role in criticizing and controlling the more single-minded and prominent elite scientists. Kim contends that it is through these scientists, who are often more accessible in university settings, that new discoveries and ideas will be generally accepted in the scientific community, displayed in textbooks, and eventually, accepted into the core knowledge. Including a foreword by Donald Campbell and commentaries by eminent historians of genetics, Nils Roll-Hansen and Robert Olby, this important new book will inform sociologists and historians of science, as well as philosophers interested in recent developments of sociology of scientific knowledge. An ideal teaching text, it will be highly useful in courses dealing with genetics, sociology, or philosophy of science
Download or read book Consensus and Conflict written by Seymour Martin Lipset and published by Transaction Publishers. This book was released on 1985-01-01 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first of two volumes of Seymour Martin Lipsit's major papers deals with social and political conflict and, to a lesser extent, the way in which value systems and political institutions maintain order and consensus. Together these papers expound Lipset's thesis that, although all complex societies are characterized by a high degree of internal tension and conflict, consensual institutions and values are necessary conditions for their persistence.
Download or read book Science Advice to NASA written by Joseph K. Alexander and published by National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Communications NASA History Division. This book was released on 2017 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book documents highlights of NASA's interactions with outside scientific advisors over the agency's full lifetime and draws lessons from that history for research managers, decision makers, and scientists.The book is divided into three parts--the first two being focused on history and the third on synthesis and analysis. Part 1 briefly examines early forerunner activities at NACA and in the decade leading up to NASA's formation, and it then considers NASA's use of outside advice during its first three decades. Part 2 picks up the story in 1988 and follows it up to 2016. Part 3 examines a sampling of case studies, discusses recurring characteristics of notably successful advisory activities, and provides a glimpse at what past experience might imply for the future of scientific advice at NASA. The last two chapters provide big-picture summaries of themes that have emerged from earlier discussions.
Download or read book Bioconsensus written by DIMACS (Group) and published by American Mathematical Soc.. This book was released on 2003 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the rapidly developing field of bioconsensus, consensus methods from the social and behavioral sciences are used when choosing among alternative solutions to problems in the biological sciences. This text for mathematical and evolutionary biologists and computer scientists contains 16 contributions on various topics in bioconsensus. Included are papers originally presented at meetings held in 2000 and 2001 at the DIMACS Center as well as some from experts who did not attend the meetings. These papers provide historical background, discuss the axiomatic foundations of the field of bioconsensus, and apply consensus methods to real data. The volume is not indexed. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).
Download or read book Conflict and Consensus written by Harold M. Hodges and published by HarperCollins Publishers. This book was released on 1974 with total page 574 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Social Sciences written by and published by . This book was released on 1982 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Explaining Scientific Consensus written by Kyung-Man Kim and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 484 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Finding Common Ground written by Ron Iphofen and published by Emerald Group Publishing. This book was released on 2017-03-03 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume addresses concerns about the impact of current systems for the management of research ethics in the social sciences. Many procedures in place are seen as inappropriate as they were originally designed for use in biomedical research. The content identifies areas of ‘common ground’, core ethics principles and areas of particular concern.
Download or read book A New Dictionary of the Social Sciences written by G. Mitchell and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-05 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Designed especially to meet the needs of beginners in all the social sciences, "A New Dictionary of the Social Sciences" follows its highly successful distinguished predecessor initially issued as "A Dictionary of Sociology" first published in 1968. Many of the entries have been revised and updated to keep abreast of the proliferation in the vocabulary of the social sciences. The volume remains on excellent single source for definitions in social research. The entries include social psychological terms, terms in social and cultural anthropology, terms common to political science, social administration and social work. In the choice of words, a generous definition of social science was employed, making the dictionary a very useful reference source for all beginners in the social sciences. Some terms are explained quite briefly while others are given lengthy treatment, according to the further assumptions that some sociological terms can imply. Thus, long entries are given on words, such as authority, consensus, phenomenology, role, social stratification, structuralism, whereas short and succinct entries suffice for words such, as agnate, eidos, or mores. A number of short biographical sketches are also included. The contributors are all scholars working in universities, predominantly in the United Kingdom and the United States. More than a glossary, "A New Dictionary of the Social Sciences" helps the student understand some of the theoretical considerations underlying the use of sociological terms, as well as something of their history, and therefore resembles an encyclopaedia in its scope and depth of information.
Download or read book Consensus Conflict and Change written by Margaret Peil and published by East African Publishers. This book was released on 1998 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two very distinguished sociologists here undertake an extensive and comparative examination of African societies from a sociological perspective, addressing the various aspects and agents of transformation. The study is against the background of the transformation of African societies triggered by such factors as dysfunctions within values, beliefs and norms, general economic and political factors, and adjustments due to external forces, particularly new culture and technologies. The issues are examined from the perspective that democratisation, modernisation and globalisation are forces influencing African societies, whilst traditional values and cultures produce a conflict of interest. The chapters cover social organisation, interaction, differentiation, families, education, religion, economic activities, cities, social problems and social change.
Download or read book Creating a Dialectical Social Science written by I.I. Mitroff and published by Springer. This book was released on 1981-11-30 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The depth, intensity, and long-standing nature of the disagreements between differing schools of social thought renders more critical than ever the treatment of dialectical reasoning and its relationship to the social sciences. The nature of these disagreements are deeply rooted in fundamentally differing beliefs regarding, among many things: (1) the nature of man, (2) the role of theory versus data in constructing social theories, (3) the place and function of values versus facts in inquiry, etc. It has become more and more apparent that such fundamental differences cannot be resolved by surface appeals to rationality or to consensus. Such for it is precisely the definitions of appeals are doomed to failure 'rationality' and 'consensus' that are at odds. That is, different schools not only have different definitions of rationality and consensus but different notions regarding their place and function within a total system of inquiry. A dialectical treatment of conflicts is called for because such conflicts demand a method which is capable of recognizing first of all how deep they lie. Secondly, a method is demanded which is capable of appreciating that the various sides of the conflict fundamentally depend on one another for their very existence; they depend, in other words, on one another not 'in spite of' their opposition but precisely 'because of' it.
Download or read book Information Sur Les Sciences Sociales written by International Social Science Council and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 934 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
