SOCI 101 InQuisitive Ch.17 - Science, the Environment, and Society

Topics that would be part of the sociology of science

- how scientists engaged in scientific research make their decisions - how the public responds to claims by scientists - the social consequences of scientific research are part of the sociology of science - how scientific fraud is uncovered (group self-policing)

Main trends of the global green revolution

- improvements in agricultural techniques and technologies - introduction of high-yield crops in developing nations - enable developing nations to be more self-sufficient and in some cases to increase their exports of local crops

Benefits of green revolution

- increased agricultural productivity - slowed population growth - led to rising incomes, which typically lead to a reduction in average family size - promoted gender equality - increased the value of formal schooling

Documented present-day effects of global warming

- melting of the ice cap at the North Pole - spread of diseases to places where they had not previously occurred

evolution and intelligent design

- proponents of intelligent design theory offer it as an alternative to strict Darwinism - fundamental idea of intelligent design is that certain phenomena in the biological world with design-like complexity cannot have been produced by natural selection alone and therefore suggest the existence of an intelligent designer

normal science

- science conducted under an existing paradigm - questions, hypotheses, and processes for doing science all based upon that underlying paradigm

Difficulty of lay people in assessing the credibility of scientific claims

- scientists can disagree with one another's conclusions - most lay people don't have the ability to evaluate scientific conclusions

Thomas Kuhn

- scientists usually operate within an agreed upon framework, or paradigm, which can impact both the theories and materials they use to conduct scientific research - usual state of affairs is called normal science

Normative view of science

- scientists work in an objective, value-neutral fashion, setting aside outside pressures - the research questions scientists choose to pursue are not driven by moral considerations

paradigm

- the larger framework under which scientists operate

Social adaptation

- the process by which many individuals change their behavior in response to new scientific information, which in turn changes the meaning or even existence of that information

Reality of science

- the research questions scientists choose to pursue are often a matter of personal preference or interest - scientific research is driven partly by the availability of private or public funding

benefits of GMO food crops

- they stay fresh longer - they can be more nutritious - more resistant to pests and diseases - produce higher yields

group decision-making

- type of social behavior, shaped by factual beliefs, personal and social values, economic considerations, and other factors

Social adaptations to new information about BRCA alleles

(1) individual behavior may change as a result of a new scientific discovery - ex: more women may get tested due to the discovery of these breast cancer genes (2) how the meanings of a scientific fact could change based on how individuals respond to that new information - Ex: if women elect to have mastectomies based on positive test results, this may eliminate the risk of carrying these genes

The Green Revolution

- began in 1950 - exported advanced food production techniques from the U.S. and Japan to developing nations, such as Mexico and India - Africa was a late beneficiary, partly because the first wave of high-yield crops required irrigation-based agriculture, while the second wave could be grown using rain-fed agriculture

Deforestation contributes to global warming

- burning of the trees releases carbon dioxide - the loss of trees means less absorption of free carbon dioxide

Boundary work

- done to maintain the borders between different branches of science and between science and nonscience Examples: - a philosopher argues that intelligent design is not a scientifically testable theory - two biologists argue about whether viruses should be considered living or nonliving entities

concerns about the use of DNA testing in a criminological context

- effects related to socioeconomic status - suspects who are poor have limited access to lawyers who are able to defend against charges backed by DNA evidence - the one-directional impact of DNA evidence - courts frequently deny convicts the opportunity to avail themselves of DNA testing that might exonerate them - involuntary disclosure of family genetics to government authorities

Scientific explanations for male homosexuality

- gay men help sustain evolutionary survival by caring for nieces and nephews and maintaining family solidarity - certain genes passed from the mother to son increase the probability that he will identify as gay - women's bodies produce different hormones after giving birth to multiple male children, increasing the likelihood that younger brothers will identify as gay