Book chapter
Causal Analysis, History of
This article examines the history of causal research traditions in the social sciences. We identify two major bases for the methods and logic of causal analysis in the social sciences – experimental designs and statistical methods – and discuss the developments in these two correlated research traditions, especially the implications of these developments for the social sciences. While the focus of our discussion is on the developments in western societies, we also briefly review prominent features of causal analysis in the social sciences in non-western societies.
In the public discourse, cinematic views on the analysis of movies traditionally prevail. The author suggests another approach: in the course of the experiment aimed to reveal the audience's perception of the film „Welcome to Zombieland the author discovers an atypical interpretation of this horror film as an instrument of educating the young generation, those features of the ideological message of the film that can transform any genre into, it would seem, its complete opposite - a collection of contemporary society norms and behavior patterns. The main conclusion of the article is that the perception of a film is a complex social action which always goes beyond any cinematic interpretations.
In the paper integrated information systems for corporate planning and budgeting are considered. Four groups of practical tasks exceeding the bounds of typical functionality of special-purpose planning and budgeting information systems are allocated. Several classes of information systems (simulation, statistical analysis, financial analysis and modeling, group decision making, business intelligence), which may provide the completeness of corporate planning and budgeting are denoted as solutions complementary to special-purpose planning and budgeting systems.