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Why have the social sciences in general failed to produce results with the ever-increasing explanatory power and predictive strength of the natural sciences? In seeking an answer to this question, Alexander Rosenberg, a philosopher of science, plunges into the controversial discipline of sociobiology. Sociobiology, Rosenberg asserts, deals in those forces governing human behavior that traditional social science has unsuccessfully attempted to slip between: neurophysiology, on the one hand, and selective forces, on the other. Unlike previous works in the two fields it straddles, Rosenberg's book brings thinking about the nature of scientific theorizing to bear on the most traditional issues in the philosophy of social science. The author finds that the subjects of conventional social science do not reflect the operation of laws that social scientists are equipped to discover. The author argues that much of the debate surrounding sociobiology is irrelevant to the issue of its ultimate success. Although largely conceptual, the book is an unequivocal defense of this new theory in the explanation of human behavior.

A recent movement in the social sciences and philosophy of the social sciences focuses on mechanisms as a central analytical unit. Starting from a pluralist perspective on the aims of the social sciences, I argue that there are a number of important aims to which knowledge about mechanisms—whatever their virtues relative to other aims—contributes very little at best and that investigating mechanisms is therefore a methodological strategy with fairly limited applicability.

AbstractSurviving the inevitable process of innovation, critique and response that accompanies conceptual invention, feminist criminology is now a rich and diverse field of scholarship and political activism. This article follows the main threads of feminist criminological thought (empirical, standpoint and post‐modern), outlining the tensions and connections between each. I then consider the political ground gained and lost by feminist criminologists, paying careful attention to the ways in which feminist ideas have been co‐opted by governing authorities and also considering the current climate of backlash against feminist ideas in both criminal justice policy and the academy.

"The Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice offers a state-of-the-art survey informed by the very latest theory and research. It spans 15 substantive areas, including criminal law, courts and adjudication, juvenile justice, history of criminology and criminal justice, law enforcement and policing, victimization, and theories of crime; and draws on developments in fields ranging from homeland security and forensic science, though to transnational crime. Written in an accessible style, it provides its readers with a unique organizational system to allow sophisticated searching and cross-referencing by keyword, topic or alphabetical order. Edited by the leading authority in this field, and peer reviewed by a team of 14 associate editors, the encyclopedia brings together a global team of contributers from 10 countries to offer a uniquely international perspective." -- BACK COVER

"Die Autoren beschreiben in ihrem Beitrag den Mehrwert der Nutzung von Geodaten in den Sozialwissenschaften. Sie liefern vor allem eine Reihe praktischer Hinweise auf die Bezugsquellen von Geodaten. Beispielhaft legen sie dar, wie sich Geodaten mit Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) kombinieren lassen. Der erste Teil ihres Beitrags enthält eine nähere Beschreibung von Geodaten und des Geographischen Informationssystems (GIS). Das zweite Kapitel beschäftigt sich mit den Zielgruppen und Nutzern, es erläutert die der Dokumentation zugrunde liegende Definition der Geodaten und zeigt die Vorzüge und Herausforderungen beim Einsatz von Geodaten in der sozialwissenschaftlichen Forschung auf. Das dritte Kapitel verdeutlicht anhand zahlreicher Beispiele das Potenzial von Geodaten als eine zusätzliche Informationsquelle für die empirische Forschung. Abschließend wird ein Überblick über verfügbare Geodaten in Deutschland und die am meisten nachgefragten Daten in den Sozialwissenschaften gegeben. Der Anhang des Beitrags enthält Internet-Links für Datenquellen, Hinweise zur verfügbaren GIS-Software und weitere Informationen." (ICI)

Introduction : The Renaissance / Orville Vernon Burton -- Technological revolutions I have known / Edward L. Ayers -- Rewiring the history and social studies classroom : needs, frameworks, dangers, and proposals / Randy Bass and Roy Rosenzweig -- Validity of web-based surveys : explorations with data from 2,382 teenagers / William Sims Bainbridge -- Computer environments for content analysis : reconceptualizing the roles of humans and computers / William Evans -- Electronic texts in the historical profession : perspectives from across the scholarly spectrum / Wendy Plotkin -- Social activism through computer networks / Daniel J. Myers -- Creating cybertrust : illustrations and guidelines / H. Jeanie Taylor and Cheris Kramarae -- Electronic networks for international research collaboration : implications for intellectual property protection in the early twenty-first century / Carole Ganz-Brown

The interests of the communications researcher often bring him onto common ground with other social scientists. The long-range, cumulative effects of the mass media are of common concern, as is the study of the communicator himself. Com munications research has some familiar problems of method, and also some techniques such as content analysis that could be redirected to provide a new way for studying social and selective aspects of perception. Multidisciplinary team research may not live up to its billings, but interdisciplinary appreciation is always worth seeking. The author is Director of the Research Division of the University of Minnesota's School of Journalism; this article is based on a talk he gave at the University of Oregon in March 1960.