Suchergebnisse

Probability theory is concerned with measurements of regularities which emerge when uncertain individual events are observed in the aggregate. 2 hypothetical examples of the use of probability theory in studying patterns of variation are presented: (1) variations of some quantity over time--is there a discernable pattern & if so, what can be deduced from it, & (2) mobility processes, where individuals move (or do not move) from one state to another. Both the interplay between data & theory & practical applications are demonstrated. 2 objections to the statistical approach to social phenomena are discussed: (A) that it is indifferent to human values, & (B) that it is concerned with small scale phenomena rather than major problems. 5 Figures. J. N. Mayer.

Der Beitrag befasst sich mit der Bereitstellung und Nutzung von Daten in der öffentlichen Politik und der Rolle der Sozialwissenschaftler im Rahmen einer verbesserten Datennutzung. Dabei geht es insbesondere um die Frage, wie Fakten zu Daten werden und welche Entscheidungen den kontinuierlichen Datensammlungen von sozialen Fakten in der Gesellschaft zugrunde liegen. Es wird untersucht, welche Rollen Regierungen, Märkte und Sozialwissenschaftler bei dieser Datenproduktion besitzen. Während den Sozialwissenschaftlern spezielle Verantwortung für die Qualität von Daten zur Politikberatung zukommt, scheitern jedoch Forschungsprojekte immer wieder an unklaren wissenschaftlichen Fragestellungen an die Forscher, die Daten sammeln und analysieren. So bleibt eine der wesentlichsten ungelösten Fragen zur Zeit, wie Sozialwissenschaft und Politik besser zugunsten einer verbesserten Auswertung sozialer Daten zusammenarbeiten könnten. (ICH)

At the time when the journal Sustainability [1] was launched, as a chemist and a scientist, I started to believe that social sciences may be more important to make humans sustainable. The broad journal title Social Sciences presents the opportunity for all social science scholars to have integrated consideration regarding the sustainability of humanity, because I am sure that science and technology alone cannot help. Science and technology may have in fact been contributing to accelerate the depletion of nonrenewable natural resources and putting human sustainability at risk since the industrial revolution about 150 years ago. I hope all intellectuals studying anthropology, archaeology, administration, communication, criminology, economics, education, government, linguistics, international relations, politics, sociology and, in some contexts, geography, history, law, and psychology publish with us to seek a solution to sustain humanity. Sustainability itself will also be a main topic of the journal Social Sciences. In addition to this integrated forum for social sciences, more topic specific journals, such as the already publishing Societies [2], will be launched. [.]

Part of a written symposium on Soc Sci & Soc Policy. Some cautionary thoughts are expressed re soc sci's contribution to the future. It may be taken for granted that the need for soc sci will be great & growing. It is utopian, however, to expect that soc sci will be able to solve all problems of society. The soc sci's are unevenly adapted to assuming interventionist roles. There are diff's in the universe of rewards & penalties with which each is suited to deal. Soc sci'ts as a group operate under greater handicaps than do physical sci'ts. Professional discipline is weak, with the result that soc sci'ts are not under a strong compulsion to confirm or refute their own findings as well as those of others. Hence fallacies may stay alive & ideological considerations may help give shape to the views of soc sci'ts in respect even of their own specialties. While quantification is improving soc sci, it is often not adequately integrated with the underlying theoretical structure. It is possible, however, that growth in affluence will increase the importance of the goals espoused by the humanities. It may be recognized that the humanities can be mobilized in defense of the worth of the individual & in support of the importance of the life of the mind, both of which are endangered in an interventionist world. Reports on past interventionism of soc sci'ts are discussed, esp the Moynihan Report. Soc sci has so far not been up to the demands made upon it. Reduction of the immediate impact of the state & the large foundation upon the shape & purpose of the soc sci would conduce to its improvement & make soc sci ready to meet the analytical & policy-oriented challenges that lie ahead. M. Maxfield.

Max Weber wrote these methodological essays in the closest intimacy with actual research and against a background of constant and intensive meditation on substantive problems in the theory and strategy of the social sciences. They were written between 1903 and 1917, the most productive of Max Weber's life, when he was working on his studies in the sociology of religion and Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft. Weber had done important work in economic and legal history and had taught economic theory. On the basis of original investigations, he had acquired a specialist's knowledge of the details of German economic and social structure. His always vital concern for the political prosperity of Germany among the nations thrust him deeply into discussion of political ideals and programs. Weber's methodology still holds interest for us. Some of its shortcomings, from the contemporary viewpoint, may be attributed to the fact that some of the methodological problems that he treated could not be satisfactorily resolved prior to certain actual developments in research technique. These few qualifications aside, the work remains a pioneering work in large scale social research, from one of the field's masters.

This article explores the symbolic dimensions of emigration by enquiring into the relationship between emigration as a social phenomenon in Morocco, and Moroccan popular culture. The article critiques the discourses of unity and reconciliation inherent in analyses of Moroccan popular culture and contends that the popular in Moroccan popular culture is a pseudo-popular that speaks for the voices of the centre. This article concentrates on three taken-for-granted, non-institutionalized, popular cultural spaces in Moroccan popular culture: popular jokes, the Derb and the queue outside western embassies, and argues that emigration in Morocco is not an isolated social phenomenon, but a pervasive part of the make-up of its popular culture.