Usable social science
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Usable social science
University of California Press, c2012
- : cloth
Available at 3 libraries
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 355-409) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
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.
Table of Contents
Preface Introduction: The Problem and Our Take on It Part I. Arenas of Usability 1. Space and Time: Constraints and Opportunities 2. Some Dynamics of Cognition, Judgment, and Bias 3. Sanctions in Organizational and Social Life 4. Groups, Teams, Networks, Trust, and Social Capital 5. How Decisions Are Made 6. Organizations and Organizational Change 7. Economic Development and Social Change 8. Methods of Research and Their Usability Part II. The Big Picture of Usability 9. Social Change, Social Problems, and Demands for Knowledge 10. The Production of Knowledge in the Social Sciences References Index
by "Nielsen BookData"