Limit search to available items
Book Cover
E-book
Author Walsh, Virginia M

Title Global institutions and social knowledge : generating research at the Scripps Institution and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, 1900s-1990s / Virginia M. Walsh ; [foreword by Oran R. Young]
Published Cambridge, Mass. ; London : MIT, ©2004

Copies

Description 1 online resource (xvi, 171 pages)
Series Politics, science, and the environment
Politics, science, and the environment.
Contents Machine generated contents note: Foreword / Oran R. Young -- I. Theory -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Global institutions and social knowledge -- II. Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, 1900s-1990s -- 3. Exploring Pacific ecosystems : Scripps Institution, 1905-1917 -- 4. Scripps Institution, 1917-1940 -- 5. Scripps Institution, World War II, and the Cold War -- 6. Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, 1950s-1990s
Summary This theoretical and empirical study examines the influence of global institutions on the generation of scientific knowledge. Virginia Walsh's approach reverses the traditional focus of international relations literature--which most often deals with how scientific knowledge influences institutions--and offers an original way to look at international environmental governance. After proposing a theory of institutional mechanisms by which global institutions shape the generation of knowledge, the book turns to detailed case studies of two institutions in the under- studied but vital area of marine science, the Scripps Institute of Oceanography and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, to illustrate these mechanisms. In part 1, "Theory," the book identifies three specific mechanisms or "fixes" that provide the means by which institutions shape the generation and use of knowledge. With the positional fix, key individuals use their social roles or positions in an institution to influence the beliefs of members or fix the direction of research. The statutory fix occurs when beliefs gain acceptance as a consequence of being embedded in rules or treaties. The committee fix is illustrated in the regularized practices through which social groups accept statements as group beliefs. Part 2, "Evidence," shows these mechanisms at work in the two case studies. The Scripps Institution, for example, illustrates the positional fix, as successive directors used their position to frame research. The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, on the other hand, exemplifies both the statutory fix and the committee fix in its regulatory actions
Analysis ENVIRONMENT/Environmental Politics & Policy
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY/General
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 151-166) and index
Notes English
Print version record
Subject Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission.
SUBJECT Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission fast
Scripps Institution of Oceanography fast
Subject Marine sciences -- Research -- History -- 20th century
Research institutes -- Social aspects
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Anthropology -- Cultural.
POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Public Policy -- Cultural Policy.
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Popular Culture.
Marine sciences -- Research
Research institutes -- Social aspects
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
Author Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission.
ISBN 9780262285704
0262285703
1417561920
9781417561926
9780262232364
0262232367