Numbering the mind

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 32-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacy L. Young
Keyword(s):  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Social Attitudes ◽  
Statistical Techniques ◽  
The Public ◽  
Questionnaire Research ◽  
Psychological Expertise ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Mental Testing

During the interwar years psychologists Louis Leon Thurstone and Rensis Likert produced newly standardized forms of questionnaires. Both built on developments in mental testing, including the use of restricted sets of answers and the emergence of statistical techniques, to create questionnaires that employed numerical scaling. This transformation in shape of questionnaires was intimately tied up with both psychologists’ nominal subject of investigation: attitudes. Efforts to render psychology a socially valuable and influential science spurred psychologists to create sophisticated and increasingly precise means of measuring social attitudes. Reducing mental dispositions to mere numbers on a scale, these developments also initiated new relationships between psychology and the public. Rather than engage a wide spectrum of the public directly in the research process, questionnaire research was limited to those within academic circles. Even so, research with questionnaires aimed to comment on attitudes in the public more broadly. The kind of ‘thin description’ afforded by numerical scales, though used to measure individual psychological subjects, afforded psychologists the opportunity to craft their vision of an increasingly attitudinal public, one positioned as best governed with the aid of psychological expertise.

A Subtle but Intractable Problem? Public Attitudes to Sectarianism in 2014

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 266-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Ormston ◽  
John Curtice ◽  
Stephen Hinchliffe ◽  
Anna Marcinkiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Social Attitudes ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Beliefs ◽  
Intractable Problem ◽  
Robust Evidence

Discussion of sectarianism often focuses on evidence purporting to show discriminatory behaviour directed at Catholics or Protestants in Scotland. But attitudes also matter – in sustaining (or preventing) such discriminatory behaviours, and in understanding the nature of the ‘problem of sectarianism’ from the perspective of the Scottish public. This paper uses data from the Scottish Social Attitudes survey 2014. The survey fills a gap in the evidence base by providing robust evidence on what the public actually thinks about sectarianism in modern Scotland. It assesses public beliefs about the extent and nature of sectarianism and its perceived causes. Tensions in public opinion and differences in the attitudes of different sections of Scottish society are explored.

Public space of the trustworthiness of sociological knowledge: The case of electoral research

2020 ◽  
pp. 13-22
Author(s):  
OLEKSANDR STEGNII
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Sociological Research ◽  
Good Tool ◽  
Sociological Knowledge ◽  
The Public ◽  
Approval Ratings ◽  
The Impact

The paper analyses specific features of sociological data circulation in a public space during an election campaign. The basic components of this kind of space with regard to sociological research are political actors (who put themselves up for the election), voters and agents. The latter refer to professional groups whose corporate interests are directly related to the impact on the election process. Sociologists can also be seen as agents of the electoral process when experts in the field of electoral sociology are becoming intermingled with manipulators without a proper professional background and publications in this field. In a public space where an electoral race is unfolding, empirical sociological research becomes the main form of obtaining sociological knowledge, and it is primarily conducted to measure approval ratings. Electoral research serves as an example of combining the theoretical and empirical components of sociological knowledge, as well as its professional and public dimensions. Provided that sociologists meet all the professional requirements, electoral research can be used as a good tool for evaluating the trustworthiness of results reflecting the people’s expression of will. Being producers of sociological knowledge, sociologists act in two different capacities during an election campaign: as analysts and as pollsters. Therefore, it is essential that the duties and areas of responsibility for professional sociologists should be separated from those of pollsters. Another thing that needs to be noted is the negative influence that political strategists exert on the trustworthiness of survey findings which are going to be released to the public. Using the case of approval ratings as an illustration, the author analyses the most common techniques aimed at misrepresenting and distorting sociological data in the public space. Particular attention is given to the markers that can detect bogus polling companies, systemic violations during the research process and data falsification.

“The New Generation”: Mental Hygiene and the Portrayals of Children by the National Film Board of Canada, 1946–1967

2003 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 540-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian J. Low
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Mental Hygiene ◽  
Social Attitudes ◽  
Child Rearing ◽  
Mass Psychology ◽  
National Film Board ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Schooling Practices ◽  
New Generation ◽  
The Impact

That is the achievement of the psychologists. In our own society they are very kind, and do everything for our own good. The tales of what they do elsewhere are rather terrifying.—Hilda NeatbySo Little for the Mind (1953)Documenting the impact of the mental hygiene movement has been problematical for historians. The hygienists operated in the realm of mass psychology and social relations, within the “mentalities” of children—particularly of the postwar generation—who have left little observable evidence of changing social attitudes and relationships resulting from changes to mass child-rearing and schooling practices. The influence of the movement upon parenting literature and curricular documents may be readily observed in postwar baby books, magazines, newspapers, radio scripts, and films, as well as in the changing language of educational theorists and practitioners. But as to seeing the actual effects of this material upon any society, documentary evidence has remained elusive.

Social Control of Intellect: Four Features of the Academic–Media Nexus

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael McDevitt
Keyword(s):  
Social Control ◽  
Strategic Management ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Academic Discourse ◽  
Ideal Type ◽  
Public Intellectual ◽  
The Public ◽  
Field Dynamic ◽  
The Mind

Abstract Intellect in social theory is often presented as an ideal type—the critical, iconoclastic side of the mind—but it must anticipate an audience in mediated contexts, unlike in the Kantian realm of transcendent reason. The terrain in which academia and media meet, consequently, is ripe for exploration into the fate of intellect when transgressive. This article explicates four features of the academic–media nexus that contribute to social control of intellect: instrumental rationalism of faculty, strategic management of university communication, journalistic appropriation of the “public intellectual” role, and surveillance of academic discourse. The article situates the features in a framework to recognize whether they originate primarily in academia or media, and whether the controlling process occurs through internalized norms or calculated practice. While social control is understood as recursive and reinforcing, reflexivity induced in an inter-field dynamic implies the possibility of reconciling intellect with news work.

Does Your Research Really Matter? Revitalizing Public Engagement in the Study of Emerging Adulthood

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 383-390
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Emerging Adulthood ◽  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Research Process ◽  
The Public ◽  
Societal Relevance ◽  
The World ◽  
Or Practice ◽  
The Public Sphere

The broad goal of researchers of emerging adulthood can be construed as wanting to advance the understanding of development in emerging adulthood with the outcome of bettering the lives of emerging adults throughout the world. However, the information we amass during the research process is rarely extracted into the public sphere to influence policy or practice. My goal in this article is to revitalize motivations to conduct research that matters and provide an overview of practices that enhance the societal relevance and translational nature of our research via public engagement. First, I will discuss what public engagement by researchers is and why it matters. Second, I will identify barriers to engaging in public engagement. Third, I will review practices that can move us toward greater public engagement as researchers of emerging adulthood. Overall, though it presents many challenges, public engagement is critical for using our research to invoke social change.

The Missing Link's Missing Link

1997 ◽  
Vol 179 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Moral Development ◽  
Character Education ◽  
Educational Reform ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Missing Link ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Mind

If educational reform is to succeed, the twin goals of intellectual and moral development must be championed in every classroom in America. This paper calls not only for the restoration of character education in the public schools but also for the preparation of character educators—teachers ready to forge enduring habits of the heart and of the mind. It details the attributes of successful character educators and offers suggestions about ways in which teacher education programs can prepare teachers for their work as character educators.

scholarly journals Does the Hunting Act 2004 adequately prevent the killing of foxes?

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-57
Author(s):  
Paige Austen ◽  
Nusrat Ahmed ◽  
Monika Adaemic ◽  
Shan Ahmed ◽  
Travis Aithawaite
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Social Attitudes ◽  
Wild Mammals ◽  
The Public ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
British Culture

Foxes have been hunted for decades in the United Kingdom due to it being an essential part of British culture. However, nowadays the public are strongly against fox hunting. This is evident from The Hunting Act 2004 (Act 04) being enforced to protect wild mammals. Despite the Act being in effect there have been cases where suspected hunters have gotten away with being convicted of hunting as a result of loopholes within the current legislation. Therefore in order to improve the effectiveness of the Act it must be built upon. Through analysing the Act itself alongside cases, ethical issues of hunting and changing social attitudes, we will consider whether the Act can be altered so that it can adequately prevent the killing of foxes.

scholarly journals An open and reproducible analysis of a controversial criminal law decision: Mission IMM-possible?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Chin
Keyword(s):  
Open Source Software ◽  
Research Process ◽  
High Court ◽  
The Public ◽  
Judicial Decisions ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
Criminological Research ◽  
Reproducible Analysis ◽  
High Court Of Australia

Reproducibility and open access are central to the research process, enabling researchers to verify and build upon each other’s work, and allowing the public to rely on that work. These ideals are perhaps even more important in legal and criminological research, fields that actively seek to inform law and policy. This article has two goals. First, it seeks to advance legal and criminological research methods by serving as an example of a reproducible and open analysis of a controversial criminal evidence decision. Towards that end, this study relies on open source software, and includes an app (https://openlaw.shinyapps.io/imm-app/) allowing readers to access and read through the judicial decisions being analysed. The second goal is to examine the effect of the 2016 High Court of Australia decision, IMM v The Queen, which appeared to limit safeguards against evidence known to contribute to wrongful convictions in Australia and abroad.

scholarly journals The Study of Gesture in Mind Your Language Movie Based on George Yule Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-147
Author(s):  
Maftuhatul Faizah ◽  
Mutmainnah Mustofa ◽  
Abd Ghafur ◽  
Nurhasanah Nurhasanah ◽  
Iqbal Rafiqi
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Language Functions ◽  
The Mind

This research examined the use of gesture on Mind Your Language movie season 1-5 perspective George Yule perspective. Mind Your Language movie is about condition of school or class that students from different country such as Italy, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, China, Japan, India and Pakistan. The objectives are to know the gesture used and how the gesture used on Mind Your Language movie based on George Yule perspective. The researcher used documentation to collect the data. During the process of research process, researchers here should see and hear repeatedly from “The Mind Your Language Movie”, then researchers showing the picture which one is showing the gesture, make every effort to collect and copy data which is related to the research. After that, the researchers finally processed it by using content analysis in a gesture based on George Yule perspective that are three Iconic, Deictic, and Beats. The result of this study is the researcher finds thirty eight gestures based on George Yule perspective that are iconic are twenty, deictic seven, and beats eleven. Each of the three gestures has different language functions ad meaning. Gestures on this movie used by teacher and students both in the classroom or outside the classroom.

scholarly journals Let’s do better: public representations of COVID-19 science

FACETS ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 403-423
Author(s):  
Timothy Caulfield ◽  
Tania Bubela ◽  
Jonathan Kimmelman ◽  
Vardit Ravitsky
Keyword(s):  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Research Community ◽  
Public Communication ◽  
The Public ◽  
Research Communities ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Bad Data

COVID science is being both done and circulated at a furious pace. While it is inspiring to see the research community responding so vigorously to the pandemic crisis, all this activity has also created a churning sea of bad data, conflicting results, and exaggerated headlines. With representations of science becoming increasingly polarized, twisted, and hyped, there is growing concern that the relevant science is being represented to the public in a manner that may cause confusion, inappropriate expectations, and the erosion of public trust. Here we explore some of the key issues associated with the representations of science in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these issues are not new. But the COVID-19 pandemic has placed a spotlight on the biomedical research process and amplified the adverse ramifications of poor public communication. We need to do better. As such, we conclude with 10 recommendations aimed at key actors involved in the communication of COVID-19 science, including government, funders, universities, publishers, media, and the research communities.

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