Suchergebnisse

Briefly sketches the history of formal education in major institutes and professional associations and international co-operation in the social sciences in Ireland. Concludes that its development has been relatively late, slow and small when compared with the metropolitan countries of Europe. (GAW)

A review essay on books by (1) Kim S. Cameron, Jane E. Dutton, & Robert E. Quinn (Eds), Positive Organizational Scholarship: Foundations of a New Disciple (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2003); (2) Howard Gardner, Milhaly Csikszentmihalyi, & William Damon, Good Work: When Excellence and Ethics Meets (New York: Basic, 2001); & (3) Martin E. P. Seligman, Authentic Happiness (New York: Free Press, 2002). 41 References.

"This volume is a one-of-a-kind contribution to applied social science and the product of a long collaboration between an established, interdisciplinary sociologist and a successful banking executive. Together, Neil Smelser and John Reed use a straightforward approach to presenting substantive social science knowledge and indicate its relevance and applicability to decision-making, problem-solving and policy-making. Among the areas presented are space-and-time coordinates of social life; cognition and bias; group and network effects; the role of sanctions; organizational dynamics; and macro-changes associated with economic development. Finally, the authors look at the big picture of why society at large demands and needs social-science knowledge, and how the academy actually supplies relevant knowledge."--

Preliminary Material -- THE OBJECT AND METHOD OF SOCIAL SCIENCE -- THE OBJECTIVE ELEMENTS OF PROGRESS -- THE PROBLEM OF CONDUCT -- EVOLUTION IN PROGRESS -- SOCIAL SPACE -- SOCIAL FABRICS -- POLITICAL UNITY -- CONCLUSION -- NOTES -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS -- COUNTEREVOLUTION -- A FRAGMENT ON EVOLUTION AND COUNTEREVOLUTION IN THEIR THEOLOGICAL SENSE -- ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND TRANSLATOR -- INDEX -- VIBS.

The debate on the scientific status of the Social Sciences and their bid to achieve objectivity in their inquiries is an unending debate within and outside the Social Science family. The positivists are of the opinion that objectivity in Social Science is achievable and that scientific methods can be used in Social Science inquiry, just the same or similar way(s) the natural scientists do their scientific endeavor. To the positivists 'value-free Social Science' is possible. This position is however criticized even within the Social Sciences, let alone in the scientific world. All these debates centered on whether or not the Social Scientists are truly scientific in their quest for knowledge. No matter the outcome of the debate what is obvious is that there is a philosophical problem with scientific objectivity in general. Based on a historical review of the development of certain scientific theories, in his book, 'the Structure of scientific revolutions', a scientist and a historian Thomas Kuhn raised some philosophical objections to claims of the possibility of scientific understanding being truly objective. Against this backdrop, the paper seeks to unravel the varied theoretical debates on the subject.

The development of new approaches in recent times has brought about major changes in the study of social & political life. They reject almost everything that has been traditionally accepted, for which they have been severely criticized. But focusing on academic issues alone won't help much. We can understand the new approaches, their concerns, their rejection of science as model, their disdain for objectivity, universality, truth, relevance & so on, more adequately by relating them to the social conditions that obtain in the West. There are, however, major differences between these conditions & those that obtain in countries like India. & the kind of problems facing these countries can be addressed meaningfully by the more traditional approach than by the approaches developed recently. This is why, while it does not seem to have much future in the West, where it originated & continued for long, it may survive, even flourish, in countries like India. References. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Ltd., copyright 2006.]

McDonald reviews 'Social Sciences in Australia,' 2nd ed, by Chilla Bulbeck.

Introduction: Making the Case for the Social Sciences of Sport, Exercise, and Health ; The Sport Ethic and the Natural Sciences ; Proposing a Human Development Model -- Part I. Identity: Definitions, Development, and the Individual -- Chapter 1. History of Sport / Wray Vamplew, PhD ; Relationships With Other Disciplines ; Core Concepts ; Main Theoretical Perspectives ; Critical Findings ; Key Debates ; Summary -- Chapter 2. Philosophy of Sport / Sigmund Loland, PhD, and Michael McNamee, PhD ; Historical Overview of the Discipline ; Main Theoretical Perspectives ; Key Debates ; Future Directions ; Summary -- Chapter 3. Psychology of Sport / David Lavallee, PhD, John Kremer, PhD, and Aidan Moran, PhD ; Core Concepts ; Main Theoretical Perspectives ; Critical Findings ; Key Debates ; Summary -- Part II. Community: Place, Space, Image, and the Social -- Chapter 4. Anthropology of Sport / Alan Klein, PhD ; Foundations in Sociocultural Anthropology ; Post-1970: The Athletic El Dorado and the Anthropologists Who Seek Him ; Looking Outward ; Summary -- Chapter 5. Sociology of Sport / Joseph Maguire, PhD ; Historical Development and Core Concepts ; Main Theoretical Perspectives ; A Sociological Account of Sport: Critical Findings ; Future Directions and Key Debates ; Summary -- Chapter 6. Geography of Sport / Christopher Gaffney, PhD ; Historical Trajectory of the Geography of Sport ; Core Concepts ; Main Theoretical Perspectives ; Key Debates and Critical Findings ; Future Directions ; Summary -- Chapter 7. Media Studies and Sport / David Rowe, PhD ; Historical Connections and Questions in Media Studies ; Understanding Media: Core Concepts ; Media Powers and Routines: Main Theoretical Perspectives ; Critical Findings and Key Debates in Sport and Media ; Conclusion: Sport and Media Studies in Transition -- Part III. Capital: Wealth, Power, and Resources -- Chapter 8. Economics and Sport / Stefan Szymanski, PhD ; Professional League Model: Theory and Policy ; Productivity Studies ; Economic Impact: Measurement, Theory, and Policy ; Sport, Physical Activity, and Well-Being ; Illustrations of Economic Issues ; Conclusions -- Chapter 9. Political Science and Sport / Jonathan Grix, PhD ; Core Concepts in Political Science ; Study of Sport and Politics ; Research Paradigms and Theoretical Perspectives in Political Science ; Applying Political Science and Sport: The Governance of Sport and the Politics of Mega-Events ; Summary -- Chapter 10. International Relations and Sport / Roger Levermore, PhD, and Aaron Beacom, PhD ; Core Concepts and Main Theoretical Perspectives ; Critical Findings and Key Debates ; Summary -- Part IV. Governance: Regulation, Organization, and Implementation -- Chapter 11. Sport and the Law / Deborah Healey, LLB, LLM (Hons) ; The Global Organization and Regulation of Sport ; Overview: The Place of Law in Sport ; Are the Courts Always Interested in Sport? ; Governance ; Aspects of Industry Self-Regulation in Sport ; Summary -- Chapter 12. Sport and Social Policy / Ramoń Spaaij, PhD ; Discipline of Social Policy: A Historical Overview ; Main Theoretical Perspectives ; Key Concepts ; Key Debates ; Summary -- Chapter 13. Sport and Management Studies / Lucie Thibault, PhD ; Sport as a Unique Industry ; Historical Overview ; Core Concepts ; Main Theoretical Perspectives ; Critical Findings ; Key Debates ; Summary -- Chapter 14. Sport and Education / Dawn Penney, PhD ; Core Concepts ; Theoretical Perspectives ; Critical Findings ; Key Debates ; Summary.