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Abstract
Similarly to other domains of the social sciences, behavioural science has grappled with a crisis concerning the effect sizes of research findings. Different solutions have been provided to answer this challenge. This paper will discuss analytical strategies developed in the context of computational social science, namely causal tree and forest, that will benefit behavioural scientists in harnessing heterogeneity of treatment effects in RCTs. As a mixture of theoretical and data-driven approaches, these techniques are well suited to exploit the rich information provided by large studies conducted using RCTs. We discuss the characteristics of these methods and their methodological rationale and provide simulations to illustrate their use. We simulate two scenarios of RCTs-generated data and explore the heterogeneity of treatment effects using causal tree and causal forest methods. Furthermore, we outlined a potential theoretical use of these techniques to enrich behavioural science ecological validity by introducing the notion of behavioural niche.

This article discusses the relevance of gender issues for social science education and gives an interim report on developments in the field. We explore the significance of gender differences in political attitudes and preferences for certain topics of instruction, consider differences in the learning needs of male and female students, and analyse the curricular challenges involved in incorporating the gender perspective in the classroom. Deficits in the curricular coverage of gender issues reflect the fact that the didactics of social science is still hesitant in its response to the findings of women's and gender studies, and has yet to integrate gender issues as a core element of social science education.

Climate challenges in the 21st century have given rise to re-thinking the role of local governments in confronting larger-than-local challenges. However, anthropogenic climate change has become a weaponized partisan issue, and surveys show a growing partisan tribalization over climate science. Empowering local governments to take broader climate and sustainability actions is one avenue for addressing this. This study tests a localism hypothesis, which holds that citizens will be more supportive of local climate efforts when the benefits are internalized by the community. This deference to locally directed actions springs from the predisposition for decentralization of political authority widely attributed to localism, a directional goal of motivated reasoners which may feed into social identity, cohesion and shared community values. Through three survey experiments, the study finds citizens are more likely to favor continuation of local climate-related programs in the face of high performance and politicization at the federal level.

This article analyzes opinions about abortion, racial, and social welfare policies, comparing their determinants among citizens with different levels of political information over the past several decades. Hypothesizing that growing elite partisan polarization may have exacerbated the political implications of differences in political awareness, the authors examine how increasing clarity of party -- policy linkages among political elites influences party -- policy linkages in the mass public. The results show that only the well informed responded to the growing elite polarization by becoming more partisan in their opinions. Apparently, in the absence of the motivation to develop coherent opinions, even a simplification of the political environment does not close the gaps between those who are more and less aware about politics. Adapted from the source document.

"The concept of 'Place' has become prominent in natural resource management, as professionals increasingly recognize the importance of scale, place-specific meanings, local knowledge, and social-ecological dynamics. Place-Based Conservation: Perspectives from the Social Sciences offers a thorough examination of the topic, dividing its exploration into four broad areas. Part One, Conceptual Issues of Place-Based Conservation, distinguishes and clarifies social science approaches. Part Two, Experiencing Place, probes the sources and effects of deeply individual relationships that people develop with places and landscapes. The third part, Representing Place, explores the ways in which human relationships with places are represented, become more visible and public and are transformed by conservation practices. The final section, Mapping Place, illustrates emerging techniques that connect meanings and sentiments to the material and locational characteristics of places. Place-Based Conservation provides a comprehensive resource for researchers and practitioners to help build the conceptual grounding necessary to understand and to effectively practice place-based conservation."--

A discussion of general empirical reconstitution in the social sciences, with emphasis on problems related to the sociological intervention method. Reference is made to Anthony Giddens's methodological considerations & his theory of structuration. It is observed that criticisms of Alain Touraine's intervention method identify problems of sociological methodology in general. The discussion is illustrated by the example of the economic practices of the French-speaking community in Quebec. 1 Figure. AA Tr & Modified by I. Shagrir.