Suchergebnisse

Canadian universities have not been as enterprising as their American neighbours in seeking out new ways of serving the community; but they have deviated far enough from the straight and narrow path of academic scholarship to develop a sense of guilt for which atonement may be offered by devoting a part of their resources to the promotion of graduate studies.In the United States we find a desperate effort being made to save the M.A. degree from the fate which has befallen the B.A. degree, by applying truly heroic remedies, such as insistence on serious qualifications for admission to candidacy, on "graduate standards of attainment," on "proper use of spoken and written English," on "a reading knowledge of at least one foreign language … as indispensable background and not merely as a tool for research." A candidate should have obtained "an average grade which places him in at least the first third of his class" and "due attention should be paid to those qualities known as personality and, in particular, to moral character."A sense of guilt may be a very potent force, but it requires rationalization. Various reasons have been assigned for promoting graduate studies in Canada. Professor Brebner contends that an increased output of scholars, retained in Canada, could be employed in "the creation of Canadian culture." In so doing they would solve what Professor Brebner considers ought to be "the most urgent problem for Canadian post-war planners," namely "how to make Canada so cordial and attractive a place" that Canadians "who excel in any field" will be content to live and work there. It is nearly fifty years since American universities set about the task of meeting "needs for the satisfaction of which approximately 300 out of a total of some 500 advanced students at the time considered it necessary to go abroad." Canadians have continued to pursue graduate studies in other countries, but it is possible to argue that young Canadians cannot rely as much as in the past on the opportunities offered for advanced work at British and American universities.

Policy studies or policy analysis can be broadly defined as the study of the nature, causes, & effects of alternative public policies. All fields of scientific knowledge, but especially the social sciences, are relevant to such a study. Sociology, for example, has developed a substantial amount of factual knowledge & theory in broad fields, eg, social control, socialization, & social change, that can be helpful in understanding the effects of alternative policies & the behavior of policymakers & appliers. Economics has developed sophisticated mathematical models for synthesizing normative & empirical premises in order to deduce means-ends policy recommendations. Psychology has developed techniques of statistical inference, cross-tabulation, survey research, & multivariate analysis. Anthropology, geography, & history provide a broader perspective over space & time than the other social sciences do. Philosophy provides direction to policy studies. Mathematics offer quantitative & computer science tools, while the physical & biological sciences provide models to emulate in the development of mathematically scientific laws. Political science is turning more toward the analysis of specific policy problem areas. More interdisciplinary research teams & more interaction among policy-oriented people from different disciplines may be needed. Modified AA

The involvement of the social sciences in non- Western studies has been growing in spite of the institutional and intellectual conflicts between area studies and disciplinary studies. The process of institutional adaptation is illustrated by reference to the postwar development of non-Western stud ies. The intellectual conflict springs from the fact that the definitions and classifications of major world areas, including the division between "Western" and "non-Western," do not correspond to the definitions and classifications in any social science discipline. The several disciplines have a differential proneness to area studies, and the problem of integrating them for study of a particular area has no simple, uniform solution. Evidence is presented to show how the study of non-Western societies and civilizations is generating new and fertile hybrid disciplines in anthropology and is giving a comparative and international dimension to the other social sciences.

Examines insights provided by feminist science studies into the complex & controversial issue of sexual difference. Varied definitions of "woman" are described, noting that women's studies has emphasized the "subjective & collective meanings of women & men as categories that have been constructed." However, it is maintained that discussions of what characterizes woman invariably include the matter of bodies, & of differences related to biological attributes. Feminist studies of science, medicine, & technology have tackled questions of how & by whom standards of differences are determined, & there is a serious need for the fruits of these discussions to be included in women's studies. Three scientific modules suggested for inclusion in women's studies curricula are: (1) sexual dimorphism; (2) human conception; & (3) HIV/AIDS. It is emphasized that critical considerations of science, technology, & medicine in their social contexts gives students the opportunity to shift abstract notions of "woman" to practical, specific productions of "femaleness.". 27 References. J. Lindroth

A general cycle of relations between the Department of Defense (DoD) and the university is described with particular reference to the social sciences and international studies: a general decline in amity since World War II, decreased support for DoD objectives, a concern for the effect of DoD priorities on the general research profile, the growth of in-house and nonacademic vendors in research and training, and the enclaving of the military-connected research community within the university. The pattern of DoD support for strategic studies, linguistics, and language and area studies is examined.

ObjectivesThis article provides an overview of how the interdisciplinary field of disaster studies contributes to the social sciences.MethodsThe following themes are explored in relation to the articles contained in the special issue: disasters are social and political phenomena that generate policy change, disasters reflect and affect democratic governance, and disasters reveal shared experience and collective identity.ResultsDisaster studies bridge the social sciences theoretically and methodologically. Given the scope of disaster impacts—across social, political, economic, ecological, and infrastructure spheres—and the policy response they garner involving public, private, and civic actors, they offer a lens by which to see society and politics in a way that no other critical events can.ConclusionDisaster studies offer important applications of social science theories and concepts that expand the field, broaden our reach as social scientists, and deepen our understanding of fundamental social processes and behaviors in meaningful ways.