Usable Social Science

By Neil J. Smelser and John S. Reed

This volume is a one-of-a-kind contribution to applied social science and the product of a long collaboration between an established, interdisciplinary sociologist and a successful banking executive. Together, Neil Smelser and John Reed use a straightforward approach to presenting substantive social science knowledge and indicate its relevance and applicability to decision-making, problem-solving and policy-making. Among the areas presented are space-and-time coordinates of social life; cognition and bias; group and network effects; the role of sanctions; organizational dynamics; and macro-changes associated with economic development. Finally, the authors look at the big picture of why society at large demands and needs social-science knowledge, and how the academy actually supplies relevant knowledge.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520273567
• ISBN13: 9780520273566
• Release Date: October 2012
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 9.2"