TWO CULTURES : SOCIAL IDEAS AND SOCIAL PRACTICES IN THE PROJECT “POTENTIALS – NEW FORM OF SOCIAL CAPITAL IN TOWN COMMUNITY PRZASNYSZ”

2021 ◽  
Vol 22T (1 (tematyczny)) ◽  
pp. 30-36
Author(s):  
Kazimierz W. Frieske
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Behavioral Economics ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Two Cultures ◽  
New Form ◽  
Humanities And Social Sciences ◽  
Answering Questions ◽  
Practical Nature

The article consists of two parts. In the first part, the author returns to the classic text by C.P. Snow entitled Two Cultures 1959, and justifies its obsolescence by claiming that in recent decades, the natural sciences have become closer to the traditional humanities and have undergone a kind of 'philosophizing', while knowledge accumulated in the humanities and social sciences is increasingly organized by seeking answers to questions of a practical nature. The author's comment boils down to a statement that this is a very unfortunate course of events because, among other things, before we start answering questions about how to achieve these or other goals, it is good to know that it is worthwhile to achieve them. In short, it is not out of the question that the gradual elimination of classical questions about meanings and values from the humanities and social sciences contributes to highly ambivalent assessments of 'modernity'. In the second part, the author does not ask about the rationale behind the objection to various discriminatory practices, but he does ask how - within the framework of the "Potentials..." project - these mechanisms were tried to be dealt with, using the key elements of the so-called "behavioral economics", and he describes the experiences connected with it.

Why history matters in ecology: an interdisciplinary perspective

2010 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 380-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
PÉTER SZABÓ
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Theoretical Studies ◽  
Natural Phenomena ◽  
Human History ◽  
Primary Interest ◽  
Interdisciplinary Perspective ◽  
Humanities And Social Sciences ◽  
Patterns And Processes

SUMMARYIn recent decades, the interconnectedness of history and ecology has received increasing attention. Although necessarily interdisciplinary, efforts to study this interconnectedness had their roots either in the humanities and social sciences or in the natural sciences: scholars have tried either to understand more about nature with the help of history, or, about human history with the help of natural phenomena. As a result, theoretical studies about the integration of ecology and history try to answer two relatively distinct questions: ‘why ecology matters in history’ and ‘why history matters in ecology’. This paper sets out to systematize current knowledge on the latter question and to highlight those issues that have so far received less attention. The arguments can be grouped into three major themes. First, history matters in ecology because it aids understanding of current patterns and processes in nature. Second, because it fosters better informed management and policy decisions; and third, because it places ecology and conservation in a wider interdisciplinary context. Besides dealing with the perspectives of ecologists and conservationists, this paper also includes material from historians, anthropologists and archaeologists, that is, from scholars whose primary interest does not lie in ecological investigations, but who have, nonetheless, embraced the need for the integration of ecology and history.

Mobility and Internationality of Academics in the Humanities and Social Sciences

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrich Teichler
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Knowledge Economy ◽  
Knowledge Society ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Systematic Information ◽  
The World ◽  
International Activities ◽  
Humanities And Social Sciences ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Available Information

The discourse on ‘knowledge society’ and ‘knowledge economy’ often implicitly or explicitly suggests that the natural sciences are at the forefront of the development towards worldwide mobility, communication and cooperation in the world of knowledge, while the humanities and social sciences look more frequently at the specifics of certain cultures and countries or lag behind in their intention to internationalize. On dits can be persistent in the domain, among other things, because systematic information on mobility and migration of scholars, as well as on their international activities is scarce. This contribution tries to extract what can be found on mobility and migration of scholars in Europe. The available information suggests that differences by disciplinary groups are unexpectedly small.

scholarly journals Positivist Misconceptions of Science and the Search for Viable Solutions

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 108
Author(s):  
Chompalov Ivan ◽  
Lubomir Popov
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Institution ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
State Funding ◽  
Two Cultures ◽  
Social Studies Of Science ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Two Cultures ◽  
Science Wars ◽  
Feasible Path

Prevailing current definitions of science are largely based on a traditional, positivist paradigm that favors the natural sciences and either denies or downplays the scientific status of the social sciences and the humanities. The disciplinary organization and institutionalization of research and systematic inquiry is still the norm. This article argues that the rigid organization of science and indeed the dominant view that there are hard sciences and soft sciences with the latter occupying an inferior position with regard to their knowledge claims and utility is pretty outmoded and does not fit well the current challenges and global needs. This is not just an academic issue but has clear practical implications in terms of funding and staffing, as well as the distribution of other valuable resources, especially in view of the dwindling federal and state funding for both the natural sciences and the humanities and social sciences. We develop our argument using as a methodological platform the ideas of ‘The Two Cultures,’ the ‘Science Wars,’ the new constructivist turn in social studies of science, and science as a social institution. We argue that current definitions of science need to be modified to include the humanities and to emancipate the social sciences and the ‘soft’ paradigms associated with them. This can form the basis of an earnest effort for better integration of different kinds of disciplines and for achieving much needed synergisms to tackle complex problems that tend to be multifaceted and whose solutions do not easily conform to single disciplinary paradigms. The contention here is that such a bridge between the two cultures can use as a model the social sciences, since they successfully combine methods from the natural sciences with approaches and theories common in the humanities. In our opinion, this is a feasible path to both greater interdisciplinarity and more vigorous collaboration between the different branches of science that can benefit both working scientists and society at large when dealing with pressing issues like environmental problems, the depletion of natural resources, pandemics, and natural disasters.

Evaluation of the Engineering Curriculum Elements for Compliance

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 9-21
Author(s):  
A. I. Chuchalin
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Engineering Curriculum ◽  
Undergraduate Program ◽  
Engineering Programs ◽  
Engineering Program ◽  
Postgraduate Studies ◽  
Humanities And Social Sciences ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Program Modules

Rubrics have been developed to evaluate the level of compliance of curriculum elements with the recommendations of the CDIO-FCDI-FFCD Standards in the process of modernizing engineering programs for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate studies. As an example, the author presents the results of the evaluation of engineering undergraduate program courses for compliance with the recommendations of the CDIO Standards in the form of total and differentiated ratings of the modules of the humanities and social sciences, natural sciences and mathematics, basic engineering and specialized professional courses. Based on the ratings, the initial (before modernization) and planned (after modernization) levels of compliance of the program modules with the recommendations of each of the 12 CDIO Standards are determined. Using the rubrics enables to involve all the instructors in the process of engineering program modernization.

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