Showing papers in "Social Studies of Science in 1989"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a model of how one group of actors managed the tension between divergent viewpoints and the need for generalizable findings in scientific work, and distinguish four types of boundary objects: repositories, ideal types, coincident boundaries and standardized forms.
Abstract: Scientific work is heterogeneous, requiring many different actors and viewpoints. It also requires cooperation. The two create tension between divergent viewpoints and the need for generalizable findings. We present a model of how one group of actors managed this tension. It draws on the work of amateurs, professionals, administrators and others connected to the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California, Berkeley, during its early years. Extending the Latour-Callon model of interessement, two major activities are central for translating between viewpoints: standardization of methods, and the development of `boundary objects'. Boundary objects are both adaptable to different viewpoints and robust enough to maintain identity across them. We distinguish four types of boundary objects: repositories, ideal types, coincident boundaries and standardized forms.
7,634 citations
TL;DR: The web of human relations which originates, nurtures, and transforms technologies has long deserved attention Computers, bicycles, natural gas pipelines, and condoms live and have their being in the midst of enormously complicated human networks of production, distribution, and evaluation as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The web of human relations which originates, nurtures, and transforms technologies has long deserved attention Computers, bicycles, natural gas pipelines, and condoms live and have their being in the midst of enormously complicated human networks of production, distribution, and evaluation We need to know about the kinds of social institutions that do this work This book, a report on a conference, goes far in opening this vast area for public inspection
2,453 citations
TL;DR: Co-word analysis of both the keywords and the titles of a set of papers in `acidification research' is undertaken and the results are found to be comparable, though the keyword-derived results provide greater detail, suggesting that keyword indexing doest not, as has sometimes been claimed, distort coword findings.
Abstract: In this paper the adequacy of the co-word method for mapping the structure of scientific inquiry is explored. Co-word analysis of both the keywords and the titles of a set of papers in `acidification research' is undertaken and the results are found to be comparable, though the keyword-derived results provide greater detail. This strongly suggests that keyword indexing doest not, as has sometimes been claimed, distort coword findings. It also points to differences between titles (which often emphasize the supposed originality of an article) and keywords (which tend to show the relationship between the paper and other publications). The paper also explores important differences between the methodological assumptions that underlie the Paris/Keele co-word clustering algorithms and the factor analysis method for creating clusters.
212 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined patterns of coauthorship in two sample specialties and showed that the specialties exhibit a differentiated internal social structure, and confirmed this ''outsider'' picture by reference to ''insider' viewpoints.
Abstract: Citation and co-citation of research articles can be used to produce bibliometric maps of the intellectual, but not necessarily the social, influences within scientific specialties. In the common situation where papers have multiple authors, author order is not a reliable guide to influence. By examining patterns of coauthorship, however, we are able to identify the significant figures within two sample specialties, and to show that the specialties exhibit a differentiated internal social structure. We confirm this `outsider' picture of the specialties by reference to `insider' viewpoints.
107 citations
TL;DR: In his manifesto for the strong programme in the sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK), David Bloor expressed its diametric opposition to the mentalist or teleological model of rationalist as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In his manifesto for the `strong programme' in the sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK), David Bloor expressed its diametric opposition to the `mentalist' or `teleological' model of `rationalist
74 citations
TL;DR: The co-word analysis of a sample of AI literature, published in 1984 and 1985, suggests that AI is a field characterized by relative intellectual coherence in a specifiable `core'.
Abstract: This Note briefly describes the method of `co-word analysis', and presents some results of its application to the scientific literature in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). A sample of AI literature, published in 1984 and 1985, was drawn from the CNRS/INIST database in Paris. The co-word analysis of this sample suggests that AI is a field characterized by relative intellectual coherence in a specifiable `core'. In this, AI seems to differ from scientific studies of the acidification of the environment: a co-word analysis of the latter field reveals no evidence of the likely emergence of a unifying general theory. The policy implications of such co-word studies are discussed.
63 citations
51 citations
TL;DR: This article reported the results of a new survey of the American public to explore cosmological beliefs and the reasons for those beliefs and found that cosmology knowledge is associated with age, gender, education, and membership in a church or religious organization.
Abstract: We report the results of a new survey of the American public to explore cosmological beliefs and the reasons for those beliefs. We find that cosmological knowledge is associated with age, gender, education, and membership in a church or religious organization. The majority of people believe that the universe is static. In reaction to the idea of an expanding universe, some respondents expressed fear of unknown change and danger to earth. The identification of such factors may provide insight into the psychological and social environment in which science is done.
39 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors make a comparative analysis of the distinct engineering cultures of France and the United States in the nineteenth century and explain why French engineers characteristically excelled in theoretical analysis while tending to neglect empirical research whereas just the opposite was true of American engineers.
Abstract: This paper makes a comparative analysis of the distinct engineering cultures of France and the United States in the nineteenth century. The object is to explain why French engineers characteristically excelled in theoretical analysis while tending to neglect empirical research, whereas just the opposite was true of American engineers. Toward this end, the paper considers differences in the structure and organization of the engineering community in each country. It also looks at differences in the French and American systems of technical education, in their reward systems, and in their ideologies of engineering (especially the way they conceptualized the relation between theory, experiment and practice in engineering research). Finally, the paper attempts to show, in a specific case, how these social, institutional and ideological differences led to distinct paths of technological development — that is, to the elaboration of distinct bodies of knowledge and design traditions. The paper closes with some mor...
35 citations
TL;DR: A more fine-grained analysis of inquiry behaviour in a standard rule discovery task indicates that the best predictor of a reasoner's success is the use of a rational strategy called `conterfactual inference', and shows that over half of the unsuccessful adults employ the same counterfactual reasoning.
Abstract: Claims that college students as well as scientists follow a strategy of confirmation bias in rule-discovery tasks are challenged in this study. A more fine-grained analysis of inquiry behaviour in a standard rule discovery task indicates that the best predictor of a reasoner's success is the use of a rational strategy called `conterfactual inference'. Contrary to earlier results, a disconfirmation strategy fails to distinguish between solvers and non-solvers. More strikingly, evidence shows that over half of the unsuccessful adults employ the same counterfactual reasoning which bears a superficial resemblance to confirmation bias. This normal inquiry behaviour is described in terms of a process model, and supports views in the philosophy of science that advocate the use of multiple hypotheses in testing theories. The data present a challenge to educators, cognitive scientists and psychologists regarding their selection of an `expert' discovery strategy for the purpose of guiding students. Training in coun...
32 citations
TL;DR: At a time when US industrial competitiveness was at its lowest point in the modern era, the Reagan Administration requested unprecedented sums for research and development of the Strategic Defense Program (SDP).
Abstract: At a time when US industrial competitiveness was at its lowest point in the modern era, the Reagan Administration requested unprecedented sums for research and development of the Strategic Defense ...
TL;DR: In this paper, a public inquiry into the proposed draining and exploitation of a peat bog, held to be of great significance by conservationists, examines the argumentational strategy of the scientists supporting the conservationists' case, and of the Queen's Counsel representing the developer.
Abstract: This paper examines a public inquiry into the proposed draining and exploitation of a peat bog, held to be of great significance by conservationists. Inquiries seem to offer a `naturally-occurring' instance of the public understanding of science. Of course, the conventions and procedures of legal examination dictate that scientific arguments may be treated differently in court from the way they are normally handled by the public. Still, the purpose of the inquiry is to allow lay persons to pass judgements. The paper examines the argumentational strategy of the scientists supporting the conservationists' case, and of the Queen's Counsel representing the developer. In particular, the QC is seen to use a rigid model of scientific rigour to criticize the ad hoc and sometimes tacit procedures of the scientists; although it is by no means clear that such ad hocery could be eliminated, he is able to suggest that their reasoning may actually be tendentious. The paper concludes by contrasting the debate in an inqu...
TL;DR: The authors argue that although methodological discourses are incapable of grasping the content and dynamics of the sciences, individually or severally, such discourses can serve as flexible rhetorical resources in the social processes of knowledge construction and negotiation of scientific knowledge claims.
Abstract: Some recent feminist analyses of science have focused on the method of science, claiming that it displays stereotypically masculine gender traits, and counterposing it to a putatively alternative method, embodying so-called feminine gender traits. The latter is advocated either as a replacement for the masculine method, or as a step towards the ultimate achievement of a gender-free method and science. This paper argues that recent work in the history of science and sociology of scientific knowledge casts considerable doubt upon any attempt to grasp some supposed methodological essence — masculine, feminine, de-gendered or whatever. It is shown that although methodological discourses are incapable of grasping the content and dynamics of the sciences, individually or severally, such discourses can serve as flexible rhetorical resources in the social processes of knowledge construction and negotiation of scientific knowledge claims. We illustrate this context-dependence and flexibility of method discourses b...
TL;DR: This study of the Glasgow School is intended as a contribution to the history of physiology, biochemistry and nutrition, to the understanding of the interactions between the laboratory and the clinic, and to the literature on styles of thought.
Abstract: In the early decades of the twentieth century, the `Glasgow School' of D. N. Paton, L. Findlay and E. P. Cathcart developed a distinctive approach to the scientific study of nutrition and to the social application of scientific knowledge. They adhered to the practice of chemical physiology, which they defended against the encroachment of a reductionist, modernizing biochemistry. In the face of rival claims from the emergent professional biomedical scientists, Paton, Findlay and Cathcart upheld a more traditional view of medical education and the relationship between the doctor and the laboratory scientist. They also lent their medical and scientific authority to the then Government's policy of minimal intervention in the condition of the poor, employing arguments hostile to rational, scientistic reform. Using Karl Mannheim's concept of `styles of thought', the paper characterizes the rhetoric of the Glasgow School as being `conservative' in style. It is suggested that Paton, Findlay and Cathcart used cons...
TL;DR: The role of imagery portraying science and scientists in Science et Vie and La Recherche, two French magazines, was analyzed in terms of efficiency in this paper, where the authors used more complex photographs, requiring more scientific knowledge from the reader, while Science et ve uses more high-tech pictures.
Abstract: Previous works on popularization of science in magazines were strongly influenced by traditional methods used with scientific discourse, and pictures were only analyzed in terms of efficiency. This paper will focus on the role of imagery portraying science and scientists in Science et Vie and La Recherche, two French magazines. La Recherche uses more complex photographs, requiring more scientific knowledge from the reader, while Science et Vie uses more high-tech pictures. Both styles of picture originate from genuine scientific endeavours and have didactic aims. Science is then integrated into a system of familiar representations shown through stereotyped pictures (test tubes, etc.) revealing the process of science: the labs and their techniques rather than the results. However, La Recherche focuses more on portraying scientists as a group, especially recipients of honorary distinctions. The frequent use of `chalk and blackboard' is one way of dogmatizing scientific knowledge while pictures of scientists...
TL;DR: In this article, the members of the French Academy of Sciences gradually transformed the traditional system of prizes with great honour into a less prestigious but more widely shared system of monetary awards, which finally led to a system of grants for younger researchers of promise.
Abstract: The French Academy of Sciences established many important precedents in the development of modern science. One of these was the prize system, which originally involved the conferral of a few highly prestigious prizes. Yet the advance of experimental science in the nineteenth century demanded the availability of funds to carry out future research, rather than the reward of a few successful examples of past research. This paper shows how the members of the Academy gradually transformed the traditional system of prizes awarded with great honour into a less prestigious but more widely shared system of monetary awards, which finally led to a system of grants for younger researchers of promise.
TL;DR: A consideration of the Australian-Papua New Guinea collaboration in developing a malaria vaccine shows the seeming inevitability of the development of a successful vaccine to be the consequence of a complex of technical, social, economic and political factors.
Abstract: Why is there a push to develop a vaccine for malaria? A consideration of the Australian-Papua New Guinea collaboration in developing a malaria vaccine shows the seeming inevitability of the development of a successful vaccine to be the consequence of a complex of technical, social, economic and political factors. They include: the importance of a laboratory-based approach to dealing with malaria; the economic circumstance of vaccine production; the problems concerning the specificity and variability of malaria; and the significance of the socio-political situation in Papua New Guinea for medical research. The combination of these factors makes the development of a vaccine extremely problematic, and more likely to benefit tourists and the military than the inhabitants of Papua New Guinea.
TL;DR: This article explored some of the models which have helped to structure the manner in which the growth of Japanese science has been depicted and argued that despite some exceptions, much of the stimulating work on Japanese science have come from outside the country.
Abstract: In recent years there has been a vast amount of commentary on the state of Japanese science, little of which has added to our understanding of its social role. This paper explores some of the models which have helped to structure the manner in which the growth of Japanese science has been depicted. While some of the models which are employed may be European by origin, their subsequent use has often been by the Japanese themselves. Models have served to constrain science studies in Japan, and the lack of institutional support has acted to further inhibit activity in the area. It is argued that, despite some exceptions, much of the stimulating work on Japanese science has come from outside the country.
TL;DR: Mulkay's most noteworthy contribution to this debate is an att... as mentioned in this paper, which was characterized by a lively debate between the'reflexive' and'strong' programmes.
Abstract: Recent work in the sociology of science has been characterized by a lively debate between the `reflexive' and the `strong' programmes. Mulkay's most noteworthy contribution to this debate is an att...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that, far from being the one-dimensional ''nerds' of stereotype, engineers are multi-dimensional social entities and that, in constructing their roles in social action, who they are very likely matters every bit as much as what they know.
Abstract: Despite the great attention lavished on science and technology by a diversity of academic disciplines and specialties, surprisingly little is known about the pre-eminent vectors for scientific knowledge and the foremost practitioners of technology — ordinary engineers. Elite (and therefore, by definition, unrepresentative) cases aside, what is known about engineers normally concerns either their aggregate numbers and gross levels of education, or their professional societies. The inquiry described here seeks to depict in somewhat richer detail one engineering discipline — petroleum engineering — and to examine in a general way how that discipline fits into the particular society of which it was a part. The point is simply that, far from being the one-dimensional `nerds' of stereotype, engineers are multi-dimensional social entities — and that, in constructing their roles in social action, who they are very likely matters every bit as much as what they know.
TL;DR: The authors outlined a cognitive/historical/sociological approach to understand the development of scientific knowledge, and clarified Peter Slezak's challenge to the strong programme in the sociology of science.
Abstract: After attempting to clarify Peter Slezak's challenge to the `strong programme' in the sociology of science, this Response outlines a cognitive/historical/sociological approach to understanding the development of scientific knowledge.
TL;DR: Students of Artificial Intelligence (Al) will not be surprised by the extravagance of Slezak's claims that computer programs are capable of 'autonomously deriving classical scientific laws from the raw observational data'.
Abstract: Students of Artificial Intelligence (Al) will not be surprised by the extravagance of Slezak's claims that computer programs are capable of 'autonomously deriving classical scientific laws from the raw observational data'. ' One might infer that programs like Hal 9000 are humming away at solutions for the pressing social and medical problems of our times AIDS, cancer, nuclear disarmament, apartheid, foreign debt and the like. These are common enough speculations in science fiction but are untrue in our present world. However, AI spokesmen are constantly speculating that this sort of thing will occur. Woolgar refers to this as 'the extraordinary rhetoric of progress'.2 Here one is reminded of Herbert Simon's predictions: machines will be capable within twenty years of any work that a man can do.3 Or Simon and Newell's expectations:
TL;DR: In this article, the first American practitioner of intensive area study, Henry Bryant Bigelow, describes the relationship between the US Bureau of Fisheries (USBF) and the early development of oceanography.
Abstract: Oceanographers have long viewed `intensive area study' as a step in the internal development of oceanography. But for its first American practitioner, Henry Bryant Bigelow, intensive area study was a new and innovative approach that allowed him to pursue fundamental questions of hydrology and zoology within the restrictions imposed by his patron, the US Bureau of Fisheries. Intellectually, such methods promised a long-term solution to the problem of predicting fluctuations in fish populations; practically, they required little money and allowed Bigelow to stay physically near the New England fisheries. Reconstructing Bigelow's relationship to the USBF provides the political and social context necessary for understanding the origins and acceptance of a scientific practice. It also shows how scientists must often negotiate between the demands of their patrons for practical information and the demands of their disciplines for `pure' science.
TL;DR: The content, approach and rationale of the courses in social studies of science currently being taught at Deakin University in Geelong, Victoria, Australia are described in this article, where the publications which have been devised to support them are described.
Abstract: This paper describes the content, approach and rationale of the courses in social studies of science currently being taught at Deakin University in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It sets these courses in their national and intellectual contexts, and describes the publications which have been devised to support them.
TL;DR: The authors argue that AI, as described by Slezak, is too diffuse an entity to score any direct hits on SSK, arguing that AI research needs to be taken more seriously by SSK on both intellectual and political grounds.
Abstract: I argue that AI, as described by Slezak, is too diffuse an entity to score any direct hits on SSK. I begin by highlighting Slezak's affinities with positivism and internalist history of science, but then observe a dilemma in his attempt to seek refuge under the mantles of both Herbert Simon and Noam Chomsky: Chomsky's cognitive creationism is incompatible with Simon's programmed discoveries. Throughout, I attack the empirical testability of the AI research on which Slezak most heavily relies, as well as defend the wisdom of SSK's reliance on behaviourism. Nevertheless, I claim that, for all its faults, AI research needs to be taken more seriously by SSK, on both intellectual and political grounds, but that rapprochement between AI and SSK is a long way off.