Science in Social Affairs

Social science. Computational social science.

The science in social science.

A recent poll showed that most people think of science as technology and engineering--life-saving drugs, computers, space exploration, and so on. This was, in fact, the promise of the founders of modern science in the 17th century. It is less commonly understood that social and behavioral sciences have also produced technologies and engineering that dominate our everyday lives. These include po...

The Place of Ecology in Science and Affairs

Basically, ecology is concerned with the distributions and densities of plants and animals; hence with the external factors of the environment which limit these distributions and densities; and with the internal factors in the organisation of communities and populations which regulate these distributions and densities. To put it shortly, ecology asks "How many organisms live where and why?" Man...

Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs

This series is designed to make available to a wider readership selected labour market, social policy and migration studies prepared for use within the OECD. Authorship is usually collective, but principal writers are named. The papers are generally available only in their original language – English or French – with a summary in the other. The opinions expressed and arguments employed here are...

Health Affairs Social marketing for public health

Marketing techniques and tools, imported from the private sector, are increasingly being advocated for their potential value in crafting and disseminating effective social change strategies. This paper describes the field of social marketing as it is used to improve the health of the public. A disciplined process ofstrategic planning can yield promising new insights into consumer behavior and p...