November 16, 2010
by peter.taylor
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The description of the building of the KFM [in the previous posts], although brief and partial, is sufficient to introduce six themes or propositions about the processes of making science and interpretation of those processes. These themes are put forward … Continue reading
November 15, 2010
by peter.taylor
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My analysis of the Kerang project begins with the modeling because that was the part that I, as a participant, observed most closely. I refer to myself in the third person as “the modeler” to express some distance between my … Continue reading
November 14, 2010
by peter.taylor
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The concept of heterogeneous construction applied to science highlights the ways that scientists mobilize a diversity of resources and, in so doing, engage with a range of social agents. This idea is illustrated in the next three posts. In this … Continue reading
November 13, 2010
by peter.taylor
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Heterogeneous construction is a variant of the idea of intersecting processes, which, in turn, is an attempt to discipline without suppressing the unruliness of complexity. The concept of heterogeneous construction can be illustrated by reference to the previous post on … Continue reading
November 12, 2010
by peter.taylor
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A line of research from England, initiated by the sociologists Brown and Harris in the late 1960s, has investigated how severe events and difficulties during people’s life course influence the onset of mental and physical illnesses (Harris 2000). This work … Continue reading
November 10, 2010
by peter.taylor
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What if everything is already unruly complexity? 1st Answer (after defining and illustrating the concept): There’s a qualitative difference in analysis of causes & implications This leads to Question 2: … implications for whom? Answer to Q2: Researcher in dialogue … Continue reading
October 23, 2010
by peter.taylor
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What do you do as a philosopher of science if you conclude that researchers have overlooked a significant issue for 100 years? What does philosophy of science prescribe? (I’ll reveal at the end something significant I think has been overlooked, … Continue reading
October 15, 2010
by peter.taylor
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Sesardic (2010) makes the point that the fact that genetic variation within a group is of larger than variation between (the average of) the groups does not mean that the groups cannot be distinguished. This point is not, however, sufficient … Continue reading
October 9, 2010
by peter.taylor
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What concepts and practices help us work in the arena bordered on one side by critical interpretation of the directions taken by scientific and technological research and application and on the other side by organizing social movements so as to … Continue reading
September 7, 2010
by peter.taylor
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‘Gessen’s genetic counselors recommended an oophorectomy. But Gessen balked… Our culture doesn’t yet have the infrastructure to handle the consequences of the recent revolution in genetic testing. But we’ll need it…’ Review of Gessen (2008), Blood Matters, in International Herald … Continue reading