关于社会的研究是一门科学吗?

一、引言关于社会科学,一个主要的方法论问题是,究竟它们是不是科学.不能说这个问题已经完全清楚,也不能说对此可以作出直接、简单的回答.我认为,社会科学的成功与失败、社会科学知识的性质及其作用,这些问题的解决最终取决于对认识自然的模式和认识社会的模式之比较.而那些想把心理学、政治学、经济学、地理学和历史学置于"科学"基础之上的人,却总以为自己在研究社会事件的过程中应用了与研究自然事件相     

中国的社会学研究及老龄问题

对于社会学和人类学在中国的地位,我们应该结合建国以来影响高等教育和研究的一系列国家政策来加以认识.在建立新的教育体系方面,中国人曾十分信赖苏联人.按照苏联的说法,在马克思主义的国家里没有必要设置诸如社会学、人类学,特别是社会文化人类学这样的资产阶级课程.社会学和社会人类学在中国被作为"禁区"达二十七年之久.研究这些经历对社会学家所产生的影响是很有意义的.因为不仅有个人受挫折的一面,还潜在着积极的一面.     

文化、意识形态和媒介社会

文化与政治的关系常常是人们激烈争论的对象.今天,正在进行的资本主义的调整(正如人们所说的危机)明显导致了两方面的重大变化.首先是在人与劳动和人与闲暇时间之间出现了一种新关系;其次是人们将大量资本用于一个新出现的领域:预示着一种多媒介的、全球性的工业正在崛起.今天,对于一个20岁的失业青年来说,什么是"资产阶级文化"??根据一般常识,即指懂得并爱好美术,知识面较广,既掌握书本知识,又掌握从     

Population changes and the cost of health care for the elderly in Poland

"The author...has attempted to measure the effects of population changes upon the costs of health care [in Poland] by applying a simulation model. In this model the total cost of health care is a function of the per capita cost of health care by age, sex, and place of residence (urban, rural) and population structure.... The paper includes...the results concerning population 60 years of age and over." Data are from several official health-related surveys carried out in 1989.     

Strategic planning for the board

Although the planning operation is regarded by some observers as unrealistic in conditions of rapid change and increasing competition, the discipline of strategic thinking and the need for strategic leadership continue to be of vital importance. The author examines the purpose of the Board of Directors and its role in the management of strategy.     

New information from the State Committee on Statistics of the USSR

Selected data concerning the USSR are presented. They concern vital statistics by republic for 1989 for rural and urban areas, birth order, life expectancy by sex, and population change and vital statistics for cities with a population over one million.     

Population and towns in Senegal: demo-geographic growth

Using data from the 1976 and 1988 censuses, the author notes that the population of Senegal has grown by 37.6 percent over the period and that this growth is concentrated in urban areas. One feature of this trend has been the growing primacy of the capital Dakar and a decline in the relative importance of smaller towns. The need to discourage rural-urban migration by promoting socioeconomic development in rural areas is stressed. (SUMMARY IN ENG)     

Housestaff coverage in a nonteaching community hospital

In August 1992, a project team of senior medical and administrative personnel was formed (Housestaff Coverage Project Team) at the Park Ridge Health System, Rochester, N.Y.. The team was given a mandate to address housestaff coverage, primarily from an economic standpoint. Through total quality management (TQM), the project team sought to develop a house coverage plan that was sustainable, efficient, and effective. A plan was developed that includes three layers of service. A minimum "standard hospital coverage" would be available to all physicians and their patients and cover the basic needs of admission, crisis intervention, and issues of length of stay. A complete level of service would be available under the title of "case management" and would consist of total patient management, under the direction of the attending physician, from admission through discharge. The third level of service available to both "standard" and "case managed" patients would be a "consultative service." The latter would function as a traditional in-house medical service and would bill for its services. Park Ridge Hospital believes it has developed a system of housestaff coverage that is sustainable, efficient, and effective. An evaluation mechanism, primarily addressed at length of stay, will tell if we are correct in this assumption.     

Employment-based health benefits: analysis of the April 1993 Current Population Survey

The April 1993 CPS differs from the March 1993 CPS in a number of respects. The April 1993 CPS supplement surveys only workers, whereas the March CPS examines the noncash benefits received by all Americans. The April CPS asks workers about health coverage in the week in which the questions were fielded, whereas the March CPS asks about coverage in the preceding year. In April 1993, there were 112.5 million civilian American workers between the ages of 18 and 64 with jobs. Eighty-two million (73 percent) of them worked for an employer that sponsored a health insurance plan, and 65 million (58 percent of all workers) participated in their employer's health plan. About one-third of workers at firms with fewer than 10 employees had employers who offer health benefits; about one-quarter of all of the workers in these firms participated in their employer's plan. Conversely, 94 percent of workers at firms with more than 1,000 employees had an employer who sponsored health benefits, and over 77 percent of these workers participated in their employer's plan. There are 16.5 million American workers whose employers sponsored health benefits but who did not participate in these benefits. Over one-half of these workers (8.5 million) chose not to be covered. Another 36 percent of these workers (5.9 million) did not participate because they were ineligible or denied coverage. Over 66 percent of the ineligible workers did not participate because they were part-time, contract, or temporary workers. Another 26 percent had not yet completed a probationary period. Among the reasons that those who chose not to participate in their employer's coverage, the vast majority (75 percent) stated they were covered by another health care plan. Twenty-nine percent stated that they chose not to purchase coverage because it was too costly or that they did not need or want the coverage. In 1993, there were 16.7 million workers with no health insurance coverage. The vast majority of these workers (95 percent) were employed by private employers. Sixty-six percent of the workers with no health insurance coverage were self-employed or worked for firms with fewer than 100 employees.