scholarly journals An Overview of the BALSAC Population Database. Past Developments, Current State and Future Prospects

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélène Vézina ◽  
Jean-Sébastien Bournival
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Continuous Optimization ◽  
Population Data ◽  
Biomedical Sciences ◽  
Population Database ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Social ◽  
Made In

The BALSAC database, developed since 1971, contains data on the Quebec population from the beginnings of European settlement in the 17th century to the contemporary period. Today, BALSAC is a major research infrastructure used by researchers from Quebec and elsewhere, both in the social sciences and in the biomedical sciences. This paper presents the evolution and current state of the database and offers a perspective on forthcoming developments. BALSAC contains marriage certificates until 1965. Coverage is complete for Catholic records (80 to 100% of the population depending on the region and the period) and partial for the other denominations. Birth and death certificates from all Catholic parishes have been integrated for the period 1800–1849 and work in underway for 1850–1916. All the records entered in BALSAC are subject to a linkage process which, ultimately, allows the automatic reconstitution of genealogical links and family relationships. The basic principle has remained the same since the beginning, namely to match individuals based on the nominative information contained in the sources. The changes made in recent years and the resulting gains are mostly related to IT advances which now offer more flexibility and increased performance. Future perspectives rest on the diversification of the sources of population data entered or connected to the database and, as a corollary, by continuous optimization of data processing and linkage procedures. In the era of 'big data', BALSAC is gradually moving from a historical population database to a multifaceted infrastructure for interdisciplinary research on the Quebec population.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Lewens
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Human Nature ◽  
Potential Functions ◽  
Human Psychology ◽  
Human Culture ◽  
The Third ◽  
Current State ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
The Social ◽  
Compare And Contrast

Many evolutionary theorists have enthusiastically embraced human nature, but large numbers of evolutionists have also rejected it. It is also important to recognize the nuanced views on human nature that come from the side of the social sciences. This introduction provides an overview of the current state of the human nature debate, from the anti-essentialist consensus to the possibility of a Gray’s Anatomy of human psychology. Three potential functions for the notion of species nature are identified. The first is diagnostic, assigning an organism to the correct species. The second is species-comparative, allowing us to compare and contrast different species. The third function is contrastive, establishing human nature as a foil for human culture. The Introduction concludes with a brief synopsis of each chapter.

Writing History: Problems of Neutrality

2020 ◽  
pp. 87-126
Author(s):  
Donald Bloxham
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Moral Evaluation ◽  
Important Case ◽  
Fourth Section ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Social ◽  
Value Judgements ◽  
Historical Accounts ◽  
Value Neutrality ◽  
Made In

Part 2 Writing History: Problems of Neutrality This Part of the book challenges widespread assumptions that, where it matters, it is possible or desirable for historians to avoid value judgements and the sorts of evocative descriptions that imply or could reasonably be expected to prompt such judgements. The first section distinguishes between History and particular traditions within the social sciences in order to show why the ‘rules’ about moral evaluation can be different in these differing endeavours. The second section establishes the widespread existence of evocations and evaluations in the very labelling and description of many historical phenomena, suggesting not just how peculiar works of History would look in their absence of evocations and appraisals, but that their absence would often distort what is being reported. These arguments are key to the distinction made in the third section about rejecting value neutrality as a governing ideal while insisting on truthfulness as a historian’s primary duty. The fourth section highlights the nature of most historical accounts as composites of a range of perspectives as it considers questions of context, agency, outcome, and experience. The composition gives rise to the overall impression, evaluative or evocative, provided by the work. The fifth section brings together a number of the chapter’s themes as it examines an important case of the historian’s judgement—judgement about the legitimacy of power in past worlds where legitimacy could be as contested as often today.

Race in Global Perspective

Sociology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurora Vergara-Figueroa
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Global Perspective ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Race And Racism ◽  
Legal Studies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Vast Literature ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Made In

Race and racism are key analytical constructs that express fundamental issues not only of power and inequality, but also of justice, democracy, equity, and emancipation. The study of race in the social sciences is an established, dynamic, multidisciplinary, and international field. Work began at the end of the 19th century. To study race with a global perspective, it is necessary to have a transdisciplinary view to read critically the phenomena that intersect with this variable. This field includes contributions from sociology, history, philosophy, legal studies, anthropology, cultural studies, political science, epidemiology, and journalism, among others. Several declarations have been made in recent years about the alleged end of racism or the end of a race-coded era. However, even though they are not new, every time they resurge these doxas underline new regimes of truth, reconfigure racisms, and strength inequality. The vast literature produced by scholars in this field provides evidence of how race is based on narratives created to enslave, subordinate, exploit, and exclude millions of human beings across the globe.

Epidemiology and the Scientific Method

1982 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 659-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan F. Chalmers
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Scientific Method ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
The Social ◽  
Modern Physics ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Made In

This article refutes the claim that the field of epidemiology and community health would benefit from the application of the scientific method. It is argued that the methods of physics are not appropriate for other disciplines. When applied to the social sciences, positivism is a conservatizing force, causing theory to become based on a mere description of social phenomenon. Since it cannot lead to a deep understanding of social phenomena, positivism is incapable of revealing ways in which society could be radically changed. Moreover, such theory is far from neutral. Rather, it is formed and influenced by the forms of life experienced and practiced in the society. This is illustrated by an analysis of the origin of modern physics at the time when society was changing from a feudal to capitalist form of organization. It is concluded that advances will be made in epidemiology and community health when this field breaks from its focus on the individual and incorporates class into its analysis. However, given the interconnection between social structure and social theory, resistance to such a radical change can be expected.

Comments

1975 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 55-56
Author(s):  
Karl R. Stadler
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Jewish History ◽  
World War ◽  
Anti Semitism ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Holocaust ◽  
Historical Role ◽  
Made In

In recent years there has been a deplorable lack of interest in Austria in the historical role of the Jews in Central Europe. Given the general trends towards internationalization of the social sciences and the interdisciplinary method of analysis, this neglect is most distressing. Presumably this lack of scholarly interest is related to the fact that since World War II the Central European Jews no longer constitute a distinct ethnic and religious group. Apart from studies made in university institutes for Jewish studies and in occasional publications which have mainly treated various aspects of “the holocaust,” most studies have approached Jewish history only collaterally by focusing on anti-Semitism.

scholarly journals Linking numbers to perceptions and experiences: Why we need transdisciplinary mixed-methods combining neurophysiological and qualitative data

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 205979911770311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reginald Deschepper ◽  
Stefaan Six ◽  
Nicole Vandeweghe ◽  
Marijke De Couck ◽  
Yori Gidron ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Biomedical Sciences ◽  
Subjective Experiences ◽  
Subjective Data ◽  
Complex Problems ◽  
Linking Numbers ◽  
The Social ◽  
Neurophysiological Data

Today, more and more problems that scientists need to tackle are complex problems. Many examples of these can be found in the health sciences, medicine and ecology. Typical features of complex problems are that they cannot be studied by one discipline and that they need to take into account subjective data as well as objective data. Two promising responses to deal with complex problems are Transdisciplinary and Mixed Method approaches. However, there is still a lacuna to fill, with transdisciplinary studies bridging the social sciences and biomedical sciences. More specifically, we need more and better studies that combine qualitative data about subjective experiences, perception and so on with objective, quantitative, neurophysiological data. We believe that the combination of qualitative and neurophysiological data is a good example of what we would like to call transdisciplinary mixed methods. In this article, we aim to explore the opportunities of transdisciplinary mixed-methods studies in which qualitative and neurophysiological data are used. We give a brief overview of what is characteristic for this kind of studies and illustrate this with examples; we point out strengths and limitations and propose an agenda for the future. We conclude that transdisciplinary mixed-methods studies in which qualitative and neurophysiological data are used have the potential to improve our knowledge about complex problems. A main obstacle seems to be that most scientists from the biomedical sciences are not familiar with the (qualitative) methods from the social sciences and vice versa. To end this ‘clash of paradigms’™, we urgently need to cultivate transdisciplinary thinking.

scholarly journals Thoughts in the Field: ‘Self-reflexive narrative’ in field recording

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 222-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isobel Anderson ◽  
Tullis Rennie
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Sound Studies ◽  
Collaborative Project ◽  
Field Recordings ◽  
Field Recording ◽  
The Social ◽  
Personal Qualities ◽  
Getting Lost ◽  
Made In

This article considers the presence of ‘self-reflexive narrative’ in field recording. The authors interrogate a common presumption within sonic arts practice and sound studies discourse that field recordings represent authentic, impartial and neutral documents. Historically, field recording practice has not clearly represented narratives of how, when, why and by whom a field recording is made. In contrast, the social sciences have already experienced a narrative ‘turn’ since the 1970s, which highlighted the importance of recognising the presence and role of the researcher in the field, and also in representations of fieldwork. This provides an alternative framework for understanding field recording, in considering the importance of the recordist and their relationship with their recordings. Many sonic arts practitioners have already acknowledged that the subjective, personal qualities of field recording should be embraced, highlighted and even orated in their work. The authors’ own collaborative projectThoughts in the Fieldfurther explores these ideas, by vocalising ‘self-reflexive narratives’ in real time, within field recordings. The authors’ collaborative composition,Getting Lost(2015), demonstrates the compositional potentials this approach offers.

scholarly journals A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON EDUCATIONAL THOUGHTS OF ALLAMA IQBAL AND IMAM GHAZALI IN THE OPINION OF EDUCATIONIST

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-90
Author(s):  
Abdul Wahid
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Educational System ◽  
Role Model ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Ideal Teacher ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ideal Student ◽  
Made In

The study on a comparative study of educational thoughts of Allama Iqbal and Imam Ghazali) is made in order to know the contribution of Allama Iqbal Imam Ghazali in the educational system of Muslim world. Researcher use qualitative approach for this research in which interview was taken from the educationist of the Loralai city. Thoughts of both philosophers were analyzed by the respondents in which these results are found. These prominent philosophers have contributed a lot to the educational system of Muslim Umma. In the research it has been found that both legend philosophers ask that student should have to avoided bad character and they should have to adopt soul purity as well. Respect of teachers learning of Quran and Hadith, morality generosity and civility should have their actual and obligatory habits in their entire life. It has been concluded that an ideal student should adopt the useful and technical knowledge and he must have a clear and manifest objective of his knowledge in future to get desire target. The purpose of gaining Education is beneficial for society and individual as well. Apart from these, education will develop the student socially, morally and spiritually equally well. Education brings changes and efforts in human beings. The most important responsibility of the teacher is to develop spiritual insight and realize the difficulties of the students. it is the prime responsibility of the teacher to recognize the knowledge, ability and aptitude of the learners and motivate students towards lesson which is important to educational process. An ideal teacher disseminates the truth and teaches others without desire of getting reward or in the name of fame in the world. He follows the teaching of Islam truly. He should possess good moral and ethical character and act like role model for his students because the students learn from his character. Revealed knowledge i.e. Quran and Sunnah are the compulsory component of the curriculum. The subjects relating to humanities and social sciences essential for the social, material and spiritual betterment of humanity. In this context, Islamic culture and cultural languages, particularly Arabic should be the part of curriculum. Some recommendations for students’ teachers and curriculum development are that the students and teachers should recognize their responsibilities. Teacher should develop his own and student’s spiritual insight he should motivate students towards the learning process which is important for the educational process. He should simplify the difficult concepts and start learning from simple to complex and he should be sympathetic and Kind to the students. Students should put emphasis on soul purity he should not proud of themselves upon knowledge. He should learn the Quran and Hadiths. He must obey their parents, teacher and elders and should possess modesty, generosity and civility.   

scholarly journals COVID-19 Diagnoses: A Source of Immanent Value and Novelty

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Marsha Rosengarten
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
The Body ◽  
Biomedical Sciences ◽  
Active Participant ◽  
Sensory Awareness ◽  
The Social ◽  
Do So

Although the body is fundamental to observation and feeling, its experience of infection is regarded by the biomedical sciences and, for the most part, the social sciences as relatively obtuse. The body is situated as a mere object of inquiry, as if its intricate and highly complex dynamics indicate that it is no more than an imperfect animated machine and, concomitantly, infection simply a change to its normative mechanisms. In this Position Piece, I ask: what might be afforded to the problematic diagnosis of communicable infection and to global health strategies of containment if the body were appreciated as an active participant in diagnoses? To do so, I take up the ‘pluralist panpsychist’ proposition that bodies think. Counter to the view that thinking is the preserve of the human mind and that value is an ‘after’ ascribed to a given fact or situation, I experiment with the idea that the body’s sensory awareness can be thought as a creative source of immanent values. Drawing on a series of empirical examples primarily focused on the perceived novelty of COVID-19, I offer a preliminary sketch of how revaluing the body as involved in decision-making and novelty might enrich the scope of biomedical and social diagnoses.

scholarly journals Around the Anthropocene in Eighty Names—Considering the Urbanocene Proposition

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 4458
Author(s):  
Franciszek Chwałczyk
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Urban Studies ◽  
Planetary Boundaries ◽  
Negative Theology ◽  
Trading Zones ◽  
The Social ◽  
Made In

There are now at least 80–90 proposed alternatives to the term “the Anthropocene”, following critique mainly from the social sciences. The most popular seem to be Moore’s Capitalocene and Haraway’s Chthulucene, but there are others, such as: Hornborg’s Technocene, Mann’s Homogenocene, Wilson’s Eremocene, Stiegler’s neganthropocene, Parikka’s Anthrobscene… Furthermore, similar recognitions and critiques have been made in urban studies (Urban Age, Planetary Urbanization…). What should we make of this multiplicity? Those propositions are approached here from the philosophical and cultural studies perspectives, in the spirit of Galison’s trading zones and Bal’s travelling concepts. They are treated with engaged pluralism (introduced through geography and urban studies) and, because of their eschatological dimension, with (secular) negative theology. The Urbanocene is also outlined using Nowak’s ontological imagination. None of the propositions are sufficient on their own. Most contribute to a better understanding of the Anthropocene. Those concerning the role of cities and urbanization (Astycene, Urbanocene, Urbicene, Metropocene) are insufficient. This entails that there is a need for an Urbanocene proposition to be formulated. This proposition draft is briefly outlined here by linking an example of exceeded planetary boundaries (levels of phosphorus and nitrogen) with urbanization, drawing on the works of Mumford and Gandy.

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