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Sciences sociales et l'avenir de l'Afrique de Knowledge Rajohane Matshedisho et al. CODESRIA, Dakar 2005, 161 pp.
Cet ouvrage constitue un recueil de cinq contributions,de jeunes universitaires africains, portant sur la problématique du rôle des sciences sociales, dans la construction d'un futur africain.« Réinterpréter et reconstruire l'Afrique: le défi de la recherche en sciences sociales » est un texte introductif de Knowledge Rajohane Matshedisho, qui s'appuie sur une analyse du discours colonial en Afrique et du concept de société civile. Reprenant Mamdani (1996), dans son analyse publiée dans Citizen and Subject, l'auteur souligne que le concept de société civile en Afrique, ne s'est pas développé de la même façon qu'en Europe, parce que sans doute imprégné du discours racial colonial de « l'Altérité »...

This communication presents a novel diode switchable chiral metamaterial structure that manipulates the polarization in different ways depending on the active bias lines. Three different bias states that provide three totally different behaviors have been considered: polarization rotator, circular polarization converter and linear to circular converter. ; This work has been partially supported by the Spanish Government MINECO through the ERDF co-funded Research Projects TEC2014-55463-C3-1-P, TEC2014-55463-C3-2-P and TEC2014-55463-C3-3-P.

"This book aims to change the way we think about politics, talk about politics, and vote. It does this in two ways. First, it shows it's impossible for a Republican, Democrat, or voter in any political party to possess a significant level of knowledge of facts that would help their party secure or maintain political power. It calls this knowledge "political knowledge" and shows how unfeasible it is for anyone to have it. Second, it explains how we might best be politically engaged, given that we have virtually no political knowledge. To argue that it is impossible for any person to possess a significant amount of political knowledge, the book depends on two empirically verified facts. The first is that we have virtually no means of acquiring political information except by believing what other people say. The second is that, when people start talking about politics, they become highly unreliable. They're very likely to say false things when voicing political opinions because they employ a belief forming process that psychologists call "identity protective cognition." This is a type of reasoning aimed, not at truth, but at preserving one's membership in some identity-defining group. In combination, these two observations cast serious doubt on all of our political beliefs. As the book explains, however, the proper response to this doubt is not to simply avoid politics. Rather the best response is a kind of humble but real engagement with politics that constantly manifests one's awareness that one is, at best, making educated guesses rather than speaking and acting from knowledge"--

Because of public ownership of the means of production under socialism, planned, systematic direction & management of social life have replaced the unsystematic control of economic & intellectual activities. The social sciences, like the other sciences, are nationally organized into a network of institutions whose activities & researches are centrally planned & developed. The scientific research institute is the basic structural unit of this network & includes both theoretical & applied studies. Management of scientific activity is carried out by the scientific workers themselves; at the highest level, this is achieved through the USSR Academy of Sciences. The academy & those of the USSR republics carry out research on fundamental problems through their social science research institutes, but more specialized institutes also exist under the sponsorship of other organizations such as government ministries & trade union councils. Scientific councils serve as scientific advisory bodies, are interdepartmental in nature, & cover a wide range of research activities. Statistical trends indicate substantial growth in the number of social science institutes, output of published materials, dissemination of knowledge among the masses, & research funds. Statistics are also provided in detail on the training of social scientists in the USSR & their number in relation to other scientific personnel. Soviet social sciences are considered in a world context. 20 Tables. J. N. Mayer.

Abstract The adoption of active learning pedagogy and, later, the institution of the employability agenda in Higher Education have resulted in a severe loss of agency for academics and students in the Social Sciences. In this article, we reflect on our experiences of applying active learning methods. We argue that we have been part of a change that has occasioned a loss of key skills development, especially those associated with traditional learning and academic thinking. An overly headlong rush to implement the "new" over the "old" saw the discarding of certain skills central to the active learning agenda. Further, the emphasis on student satisfaction, professionalisation and quality assurance pushed the academic to the sidelines, to the detriment of Higher Education. We, therefore, first critique the skills debate and identify shortcomings in the active learning application that emerged from that debate. We focus on the skills emphasised in practice, how they are portrayed in opposition (instead of complementarity) to academic skills, and how they undermine the agency academics and students really require. Next, we propose a reconsideration of necessary but undervalued skills like reading, listening and note-taking.

The term science sociale was first employed by Mirabeau père in 1767, not Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès in 1789, as historians until now believed. Taking this discovery as its starting point, this article examines the ways in which the idea of a science of society was successively conceptualized in the late eighteenth century by Mirabeau, Sieyès, and Nicolas de Condorcet. Situating their ideas in the context of evolving discussions over the reform of the French state, it argues that they developed three different versions of social science, and that these reflected different attempts to answer the question of how to achieve collective prosperity, justice, and happiness under modern conditions. This article further highlights the changing modes of historical temporality that informed those approaches, which shifted from a focus on the social forms of a mythical past, to a concern with the prevailing norms of the present, to an emphasis, finally, on the likely developments of an ever-perfecting future. In doing so, it shows that the history of early French social science is best understood not as a process of gradual advancement, but rather as one of serial reinvention.

At head of title: Congrès international de l'enseignement des sciences sociales, Paris, 30 juillet-3 août 1900. ; Cover-title. ; Mode of access: Internet.

Political grandstanding has largely replaced deal making on Capitol Hill. Every election bleeds into the next, and this ups the partisan rhetoric -- especially when the margins between parties are so narrow and majority control is at stake every two years. For most House members today, constituent and party concerns overlap. Through the processes of redistricting and 'self-sorting,' most are surrounded by politically like-minded neighbors. Self-sorting and redistricting have helped to create politically homogenous House districts, but Senators represent entire states. Unfortunately, the worst aspects of polarization are magnified in budget politics. Polarization will affect future budgets in a couple of ways. Long-term trends that created budget dysfunction will not ease any time soon. As long as the House and Senate are controlled by different parties, the current dysfunction is likely to continue. And unified party control of Congress will not necessarily lead to a functional process. Adapted from the source document.