Exploring and Testing Theories: On the Role of Parameter Optimization in Social Science Computer Simulation

1996 ◽  
pp. 66-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg Müller
Keyword(s):  
Computer Simulation ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Parameter Optimization

scholarly journals Bringing the User Back in the Building: An Analysis of ESG in Real Estate and a Behavioral Framework to Guide Future Research

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3239
Author(s):  
Shirley Kempeneer ◽  
Michaël Peeters ◽  
Tine Compernolle
Keyword(s):  
Real Estate ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Environmental Psychology ◽  
Fiduciary Duty ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Real Estate ◽  
Investment Value ◽  
Real Estate Sector ◽  
Sustainable Investments

Investors are currently obliged to take environment, social, and governance (ESG) issues into consideration as part of their fiduciary duty. As such, it becomes increasingly important to identify sustainable investments that also hold financial value. A sector where this is especially underdeveloped is real estate. This has a lot to do with the obfuscated conceptualization of ESG. The article identifies key gaps in the literature and practice and provides a framework to further the understanding of how ESG factors can add societal and financial value in the real estate sector. A key premise of the article is that the user in the building is grossly overlooked. Drawing on insights from behavioral social science and environmental psychology, the paper explains the role of the user in improving buildings’ ESG, also taking into account the investment value. To conclude, the article makes the case that the transition to user-centered smart real estate is the solution to improving both the environmental (E) and social (S) sustainability of buildings, as well as their investment value. Therefore, practitioners and academics are encouraged to critically evaluate and contextualize the ESG framework they are using as well as the extent to which users are considered and smart technology is employed.

Social Ontology and Model-Building: A Response to Epstein

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-192
Author(s):  
Nadia Ruiz
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Model Building ◽  
Social Ontology ◽  
Model Construction ◽  
Ontological Commitments ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Social

Brian Epstein has recently argued that a thoroughly microfoundationalist approach towards economics is unconvincing for metaphysical reasons. Generally, Epstein argues that for an improvement in the methodology of social science we must adopt social ontology as the foundation of social sciences; that is, the standing microfoundationalist debate could be solved by fixing economics’ ontology. However, as I show in this paper, fixing the social ontology prior to the process of model construction is optional instead of necessary and that metaphysical-ontological commitments are often the outcome of model construction, not its starting point. By focusing on the practice of modeling in economics the paper provides a useful inroad into the debate about the role of metaphysics in the natural and social sciences more generally.

How much would you like to pay? Trust, reciprocity and prosocial motivations in El trato

2012 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco J León ◽  
José A Noguera ◽  
Jordi Tena-Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
External Validity ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Trust Game ◽  
Sales Strategy ◽  
Pay What You Want ◽  
Natural Settings

Prosocial motivations and reciprocity are becoming increasingly important in social-science research. While laboratory experiments have challenged the assumption of universal selfishness, the external validity of these results has not been sufficiently tested in natural settings. In this article we examine the role of prosocial motivations and reciprocity in a Pay What You Want (PWYW) sales strategy, in which consumers voluntarily decide how much to pay for a product or service. This article empirically analyses the only PWYW example in Spain to date: the El trato (‘The deal’) campaign launched by the travel company Atrápalo, which offered different holiday packages under PWYW conditions in July 2009. Our analysis shows that, although the majority of the customers did not behave in a purely self-interested manner, they nonetheless did so in a much higher proportion than observed in similar studies. We present different hypotheses about the mechanisms that may explain these findings. Specifically, we highlight the role of two plausible explanations: the framing of the campaign and the attribution of ‘hidden’ preferences to Atrápalo by its customers, which undermined the interpretation of El trato as a trust game.

scholarly journals The role of administrative data in the big data revolution in social science research

2016 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roxanne Connelly ◽  
Christopher J. Playford ◽  
Vernon Gayle ◽  
Chris Dibben
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Administrative Data ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research

The Role of Critical Social Science in Asia

China Report ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-205
Author(s):  
Lawrence Surendra
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Critical Social Science ◽  
Critical Social

Book review: Spriggs, J., Chambers, B. and Kayrooz. C. 2019: Towards Collaborative Research in International Development: The Central Role of Social Science

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 326-327
Author(s):  
Christine Okali
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
International Development ◽  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Edward Elgar

Spriggs, J., Chambers, B. and Kayrooz. C. 2019: Towards Collaborative Research in International Development: The Central Role of Social Science. Edward Elgar Publishing. 244 pp. £75. ISBN: 978 1 78990 368 3 (hardcover).

scholarly journals Institutional-Political Scenarios for Anthropocene Society

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Hoffman ◽  
P. Devereaux Jennings
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Institutional Theory ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Social Sustainability ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Change Mechanisms ◽  
Main Change

Natural scientists have proposed that humankind has entered a new geologic epoch. Termed the “Anthropocene,” this new reality revolves around the central role of human activity in multiple Earth ecosystems. That challenge requires a rethinking of social science explanations of organization and environment relationships. In this article, we discuss the need to politicize institutional theory as a means understanding “Anthropocene Society,” and in turn what that resultant society means for the Anthropocene in the natural environment. We modify the constitutive elements of institutional orders and a set of main change mechanisms to explore three scenarios around which future Anthropocene Societies might be built—Collapsing Systems, Market Rules, and Cultural Re-Enlightenment. Simultaneously, we use observations from the Anthropocene to expose limitations in present institutional theory and propose extensions to remedy them. Overall, this article challenges organizational scholars to consider a new paradigm under which research in environmental sustainability and social sustainability takes place.

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