Antisemitism research using methodological triangulation: a case study in Germany

In research on antisemitism related to Germany generally four subdimensions of hatred towards Jews are differentiate: (a) the anti-Judaism related to the Christian religion, (b) the biologically argued racial antisemitism, (c) secondary Antisemitism, and (d) antisemitism presented as antizionism. The central question in relation to the shift in how antisemitic attitudes are articulated in the German population is the dispute over whether this shift consists merely in a change in how a continuing, fundamental antisemitic attitude is articulated, and whether antisemitic attitudes have merely found another avenue of communication. The overall object of the study is to explore the structures, contexts, and dynamics of antisemitism and to focus on aspects of political psychology, hence looking at mainly collective identification, defense, and projection patterns. In terms of methodology the intention is to study the project as part of a qualitative supplementary study, based on the integration concept described by Christian Seipel and Peter Rieker of a sequence of quantitative and qualitative empirical research. The supplementary study will have as its base a sub-sample extracted from the overall results of the GMF Survey 2005. An especially suitable method for this is the Structured Depth Interview since it makes possible revealing non-communicated motives—whether consciously kept quiet or unconsciously suppressed. The main goal here is to penetrate the surface structure of antisemitism, to decipher its political-psychological dynamics, and to elaborate its associative contexts.     

Developing priorities for improving the urban social environment: A use of Delphi

A specially modified Delphi exercise was designed to satisfy two study objectives: (1) to develop components for satisfaction indicators of the modern urban milieu, and (2) to determine the importance and alterability of components of dissatisfaction experienced by the urban dweller. The study of both importance and alterability of components of dissatisfaction leads to priorities for application of resources in both improving existing conditions in modern cities and in developing plans for the design of new cities.     

Factual and modal notions in social research

The article discusses a distinction between factual and modal notions, and corresponding generalizations, in social research. The discussion starts from the suggestion, made by Charles Ragin, that theoretical statements in social research most often can be formulated as statements about sets of cases and relations between such sets. In contrast to this view, it is argued that theoretical statements in social research often require modal notions referring to possibilities and probabilities which cannot be formulated as statements about sets of cases. In order to show this, the article reformulates Ragin’s set-theoretic approach in the conceptual framework of statistical variables. It is shown that this can be done for both crisp and fuzzy set versions of Ragin’s approach. The article then goes on to argue that social research is often interested in modal generalizations (probabilistic and deterministic rules) which require a fundamentally different conceptual framework. The article shows how such a framework can be defined, and finally indicates its usage for causal interpretations.     

Corroborating social media echelon in cancer research

Worldwide medical facilities differ, and for this reason, the causes of death can vary. Cancer is considered the second leading cause of death after heart disease worldwide, and the same causes of death are observed in the United States (US). Therefore, the purposes of this study are to explore worldwide research levels in the field of cancer and the social collaboration of researchers and institutions in this field. This article examines the structural patterns of international co-authors and co-institutions in science citation index papers in cancer research. The study uses measures from the social network analysis method, including degree centrality, betweenness centrality, eigenvector centrality, and effectiveness, to investigate the effects of social networks in the area of cancer research. Empirical analysis results identify the US is the most central country, followed by Germany, Italy, France, and China, in terms of co-authored networks in this research field. Institutional analysis results indicate that the University of Milan is at the top in terms of degree centrality. The Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus in France and German University of Düsseldorf occupy the second and fourth positions, respectively. The University of California in Los Angeles and Harvard University, both in the US, are at third and fifth positions, respectively.     

Measurement in social research: some misunderstandings

The concept of numerical measurement based on the manipulation of objects has impoverished and distorted the meaning of magnitude and scale. This article aims to contribute to a concept of the most fruitful measurement for the development of the social sciences, with reference to specific aspects indicating the differences from the natural one and regarding, in particular, the non-numeric.     

Investigation of causality based on complex use of statistical methods (case study of social research)

The article deals with the problem of revealing cause–effect relations in the social research by a complex of statistical methods. The ways for solving the problem for experimental and non-experimental data are regarded. In the research the role of the statistical methods in formation of causal relation hypotheses is revealed and the methods of hypotheses verification in conditions of experiment or upon latent structure modelling are discussed. The possibilities of the use of the factor analysis and the analysis of variance in revealing cause–effect relations are also considered. Special attention is paid to the interpretation of the analysis results depending on the character of the empirical data and the conditions they were obtained in. The approaches to causal relations revealing based on the development of the schemes of the complex analysis of the empirical data by the statistical methods aimed at investigation of the cause and effect relation in a long-term research are suggested. We take into account the hierarchical structure of the schemes reflecting the structure of the subject of cognition, the specificity of which requires the use of “rigid” and “flexible” models in combination. Its variant could be the method of structural equation modelling. The article gives an example of the research of causal relations in the assessment of the quality of education services in higher institution. Each stage of the assessment is provided with building of certain “rigid” or “flexible” mathematical models. Their combination allows using the obtained quality parameters as an instrument of regulation of interaction between education service providers and clients.     

A modified GMDH approach for social science research: exploring patterns of relationships in the data

Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH) is a way with which a system of models self-organize themselves by forming higher-order polynomials and selecting the ones with best power of prediction by certain criterion. This method is helpful when we explore patterns of relationships in the data under investigation. In this paper the author presents a modified version of the GMDH algorithm emphasizing the parsimony of models and the behavior of individual parameter estimates as well as of the whole model, and utilizing the consistency and accuracy of bootstrap estimates. This approach is suitable for most research social scientists conduct. An example, the 1907 Romanian Peasant Rebellion, is used to illustrate how to employ the GMDH algorithm when the research topic has been theory-laden. The findings show that GMDH is an appropriate method that social scientists can utilize in their pursuit of a model that is most parsimonious and theoretically meaningful at the same time. Possible extensions of the modified approach, which in its present form works on linear regression type of models, to logit and probit models are also considered.     

Use of dimensional analysis in social science research

Dimensional analysis is a branch of applied mathematics which is only now beginning to emerge as an important methodology in social and behavioral science research. Unlike regression analysis, dimensional analysis “discovers” the functional relationship in the data from the denned dimensions; hence its ability to extend regression analysis in developing predictive models makes it particularly useful in social science research. In addition, many of the limitations with the use of regression analysis in social science which limit its usefulness in applications, such as multicollinearity, normality assumptions, homoscedasticity assumptions, etc. are not limitations in dimensional analysis. In this study, the application of dimensional analysis to the study of population migrations, specifically white flight in a large urban school district, is presented. Finally, a review of relevant literature and the use of dimensional analysis in other social science areas are presented.     

中国城市居住分异研究

对城市居住空间的研究是城市社会学的一个重要内容.自建国以来,我国城市居住空间经历了逐渐分异的历史变迁过程.如果不对居住分异加以适当的调控就会出现居住空间极化与隔离问题.城市居住空间极化是社会不公正在居住空间上的表现.城市政治经济转变与城市规划、土地制度改革与房地产开发、住房制度改革与住房商品化是转型过程中城市居住分异形成的三个主要原因.扩大中等收入群体规模、增加社会自组织力量、制定公正的社会政策是优化城市居住空间结构的有效途径.     

Review of Veltri,G. A.: Digital social research

Quality & Quantity -     

城市土地利用及规划存在的问题与对策研究

我国城市化进程的加快使得在城市土地利用过程中,用地规模扩张过快、土地利用效率低下、用地结构失调等各种问题日益突出,而城市土地利用规划功能又相对较弱、管理尚不完善.针对这些问题提出了从系统的角度进行城市土地利用和规划,以城市发展规划为总领,合理控制各类土地的使用,促进土地资源的集约利用与城市生态经济系统的协调发展,以及城市土地利用规划的对策建议.     

The risk factors for the mentally disabled in the use of social media

The aim of this study is to make the teacher candidates aware of the risk factors for the mentally disabled in the use of the social media and specify their views about this issue. The raw data gathered from semi-structured interviews were analysed through a “content analysis technique” and interpreted. The findings showed that the majority of the participants (43.3%) stated that the mentally disabled people faced the risk of becoming social media addicts and were likely to have problems (33.3%). Some of the participants (23.3%) stressed the possible risks of harmful contents. The findings of this research indicated that almost all the mentally disabled people needed to use the social media. It was found out that the mentally disabled people experience more problems. A big majority of the participants emphasized the need for a password to limit the harmful contents and access to them.

     

The use of quasi-experiments in the social sciences: a content analysis

This article examines the use of various research designs in the social sciences as well as the choices that are made when a quasi-experimental design is used. A content analysis was carried out on articles published in 18 social science journals with various impact factors. The presence of quasi-experimental studies was investigated as well as choices in the design and analysis stage. It was found that quasi-experimental designs are not very often used in the inspected journals, and when they are applied they are not very well designed and analyzed. These findings suggest that the literature on how to deal with selection bias has not yet found its way to the practice of the applied researcher.     

公路建设项目社会影响评价指标无量纲化研究

文章分析了公路建设项目社会影响评价指标的类型和特点,针对评价指标间的不同量纲,提出了定量指标的无量纲化方法和定性指标的无量纲化方法,并在此基础上深入研究了公路建设项目社会影响评价指标的无量纲化,为公路建设项目社会影响评价计算提供了一种新方法和新思路.     

公路建设项目社会影响评价指标无量纲化研究

文章分析了公路建设项目社会影响评价指标的类型和特点,针对评价指标间的不同量纲,提出了定量指标的无量纲化方法和定性指标的无量纲化方法,并在此基础上深入研究了公路建设项目社会影响评价指标的无量纲化,为公路建设项目社会影响评价计算提供了一种新方法和新思路。