Theory, Knowledge and Science Commons^™

Evaluation Research: Some Possible Contexts Of Theory Failure, Pranab Chatterjee, Lenore Olsen, Thomas P. Holland

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

What can evaluation research tell us about social science theory? It is the purpose of this paper to examine that question. There has been much written in the current literature about the relationship between theory and practice. Because it is evaluation research (Breedlove, 1972: 71-89; Newbrough, 1966: 39-52; Suchman, 1971: 43-48; Suchman, 1967; Weiss, 1973: 37-45; Fitz- Gibbons and Morris, 1975: 1-4) that attempts to analyze the results of practice, it is the authors' belief that an examination of evaluation research studies for possible contexts of theory failure will contribute to a linkage between theory and practice.

The Good Society And The Complexity Of The Structure Of Morality, Hector-Neri Castaneda

IUSTITIA

In this paper I have two main purposes: (i) to outline the most general structure of morality, which is the fundamental schema of a good society, and (ii) to indict most of the mainstream views in the history of moral philosophy for their unchecked tendency toward reductionism and oversimplification. The tendency to oversimplification appears both in the gathering of the data for philosophical theorizing and in the theorizing itself. I will also point out another major recurring error in moral philosophy. I envision the day when moral philosophers, after examining their ontological and their methodological assumptions, rally to the banner …

Sanctions And Deviance: Another Look, Herbert Kritzer

IUSTITIA

In the past several years, there has been an extended dialogue in the literature concerning the question of the efficacy of sanctions as a means of deterring criminal behavior. There is some convincing evidence that threatened sanctions can and do deter some forms of behavior, such as parking violations and income tax evasion. Do these findings extend to other forms of behavior which our society has defined as criminal? This issue is considered by Gibbs in an article which appeared to find a clear link between the certainty and severity of sanctions and the murder rate. Gibbs' article stimulated additional …

¿Han De Estar La Ciencia Y La Religión Necesariamente Enfrentadas?, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Social Welfare Texts: A Study In The Sociology Of Knowledge, Leslie Leighninger

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Excerpt from the full-text article:

Do existing social work texts contribute to a student's recognition of professional values and issues and of the implicit ideological bases for these? The following study contends that they do not, and that their failures are quite similar to those found by Mills in his examination social pathology texts.

The books examined here are all designed to be used in basic undergraduate and graduate courses on the structure and function of social welfare institutions. The survey includes both widely adopted books and recent texts in the field. The books chosen for this study appear, in …

Ideology, Sociological Theories, And Public Policy, Norman Goroff

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Excerpt from the full-text article:

It is important that my basic assumptions about social theories be made explicit at the very outset.

1. Every social theory has implicit, if not explicit, assumptions about the nature of man/woman.

2. Every social theory has implicit, if not explicit, assumptions about the nature of society or the collectivity.

3. Every social theory has implicit, if not explicit, assumptions about the relationship of man/woman to society or to the collectivity.

These assumptions in the theories are not empirical but normative and hence social theory is ideologically based. The fact that the social theories are …

Ua62/8/1 A Study Guide For The Development Of The History Of Social Thought, J. E. Jones, Wku Government

WKU Administration Documents

Sociology is often called the study of society or of social life. But such a simple definition in terms of subject matter does not distinguish it from the other social sciences. For they all study social life or, to put it more precisely, patterns of conduct that are common to groups of people. It is not their subject matter but their approach to it that differentiates the various social sciences. They ask different questions about social conduct, focus upon different regularities in it, and hence arrive at different explanatory principles for it. The economist, for example, is concerned with those …

Toward A Sociological Approach To Prejudice: An Appraisal Of Theories Which Attribute Prejudice To Personality Variables, Leonard Weller

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Max Weber And Emile Durkheim On Current American Sociology, Medard Mitchell

Sociology ETDs

The problem involved in this study is to determine as precisely as possible, through the use of a systematic method, (1) the nature and the influence of [Max] Weber and [Emile] Durkheim on American sociology; (2) the fields of American sociology that have been influenced by these men; (3) and finally, if there is an existent trend toward the greater use and concepts of these two men by American sociologists in recent years.

This work aims at a quantitative definition of the form and nature the influence of Weber and Durkheim takes in American Sociology rather than a qualitative evaluation …