G. Nigel Gilbert

Simulating speech systems

Abstract This paper reviews the “Wizard of Oz” technique for simulating future interactive technology and develops a partial taxonomy of such simulations. The issues of particular relevance to Wizard of Oz simulations of speech input/output computer systems are discussed and some experimental variables and confounding factors are reviewed. A general Wizard of Oz methodology is suggested.

Integrating Women into Class Theory

A theoretical framework is proposed by which women as well as men may be included in class theory, and a methodology is suggested by which one aspect of womens class location, their relationship to the labour market, may be measured. It is argued that social class in a Weberian sense may be seen as comprising two distinct although related dimensions. Firstly, that based upon relationship to the labour market, measured at the level of the individual; and second, that represented by patterns of consumption (in terms of goods and services), measured at the level of the family. All those with a direct relationship to the labour market may be allocated to an occupational class position, irrespective of position within the family. Data from the General Household Survey are used to produce a preliminary occupational class schema for women which does not depend upon assumptions of skill or the manual/non-manual nature of the work.

Simulating Knowledge Dynamics in Innovation Networks

The competitiveness of firms, regions and countries greatly depends on the generation, dissemination and application of new knowledge. Modern innovation research is challenged by the need to incorporate knowledge generation and dissemination processes into the analysis so as to disentangle the complexity of these dynamic processes. With innovation, however, strong uncertainty, nonlinearities and actor heterogeneity become central factors that are at odds with traditional modeling techniques anchored in equilibrium and homogeneity. This text introduces SKIN (Simulation Knowledge Dynamics in Innovation Networks), an agent-based simulation model that primarily focuses on joint knowledge creation and exchange of knowledge in innovation cooperations and networks. In this context, knowledge is explicitly modeled and not approximated by, for instance, the level of accumulated R&D investment. The SKIN approach supports applications in different domains ranging from sector-based research activities in knowledge-intensive industries to the activities of international research consortia engaged in basic and applied research. Following a general description of the SKIN model, several applications and modifications are presented. Each chapter introduces in detail the structure of the model, the relevant methodological considerations and the analysis of simulation results, while options for empirically validating the models structure and outcomes are also discussed. The book considers the scope of further applications and outlines prospects for the development of joint modeling strategies.

Measuring the growth of science - A review of indicators of scientific growth

A number of indicators of the growth of science are critically reviewed to asses their strengths and weaknesses. The focus is on the problems involved in measuring two aspects of scientific growth, growth in manpower and growth in knowledge. It is shown that the design of better indicators depends on careful consideration of the theoretical framework within which the indicators are intended to be used. Recent advances in the sociology of science suggest ways in which the validity of existing indicators may be assessed and improved.

Gender, Household Composition and Receipt of Domiciliary Services by Elderly Disabled People

Using data from the 1980 General Household Survey, differences in the provision of statutory domiciliary services to disabled elderly people are explored. Domiciliary services vary in their degree of ‘substitutability’, that is, in the extent to which the care may be performed either by state services or by other members of the elderly persons household. Domestic support services are substitutable by any available carer; personal health and hygiene services are partially substitutable depending on the relationship between the carer and the cared for; and medical services are not substitutable by informal carers. The paper shows that discrimination by statutory services against women carers is dependent primarily on the household composition of the elderly person rather than on gender per se . Taking into account the level of disability of the elderly person, younger ‘single’ women carers receive no less support than ‘single’ men carers, but carers who are married women under 65 obtain the least domestic and personal health care support. Carers who are elderly receive more support than carers under 65. Among disabled elderly people who live alone, men receive somewhat more domestic and personal health services than women.

Early Retirement in a Period of High Unemployment

Early retirement is a policy for tackling unemployment which is popular among unions, employers and government, but there has been little recent research on its social implications for the individuals concerned. This article examines the reasons given by older men for retiring early and investigates the extent of income poverty in early retirement. Particular attention is paid to how early retirement is defined and to the differences between the early retired, the sick and the unemployed. Using data for men aged 60–64 from the General Household Survey for the years 1980–82 and from the Labour Force Survey of 1983, it is shown that ill-health is a less important reason for retirement than previous studies have suggested and that those who retire early are divided by class, with manual workers being more likely to retire early because of redundancy and more likely to be living on very low incomes than non-manual workers.

Computer simulations in science and technology studies

This chapter outlines the history of a growing research community: the “invisible college” (Mullins 1973) of scientists who work on computer simulations in Science and Technology Studies (STS). Their common interest enables at least two possible research areas which are only just emerging.

Holism, Individualism and Emergent Properties

This paper begins by showing that sociologists have also struggled with one of the basic conceptual and philosophical problems encountered in simulating societies: the problem of understanding ‘emergence’ and, especially, the relationship between the micro and macro properties of complex systems. Secondly, I shall indicate ways in which some computer simulations may have oversimplified important characteristics of specifically human societies, because the actors (agents) in these societies are capable of, and do routinely reason about the emergent properties of their own societies. This adds a degree of reflexivity to action which is not present (for the most part) in societies made up of simpler agents, and in particular is not a feature of most current computer simulations.

Models, Processes and Algorithms: Towards a Simulation Toolkit

This chapter begins the specification of the ideal features of a toolkit for social simulation, starting from a consideration of the standard methodology for simulation research. Several essential components, commonly used in social science simulation research, are identified and it is argued that implementations of these will need to be included in the toolkit. Additional modules, providing graphical output, scheduling, random number generation and parameter editing are also required.

Simulating Innovation: Computer-Based Tools for Rethinking Innovation

This book seeks to innovate in the tools we use for thinking about innovation. Computer simulation models can clarify our thoughts and explore their implications. Over the last two decades there have appeared descriptions of computer simulation models that address some of the issues surrounding innovative ideas, practices and technology, including how innovations can be generated, how they diffuse among people and organizations, and the impact innovations have on people’s and organizations’ other ideas, practices and technologies. This book will provide a critical survey of some of these tools for thinking, while also introducing a few tools of our own. In this chapter we explain why one might want to be thinking about innovation, how it involves complex adaptive systems and how these can be studied, and hence why one might want to add computer simulation models to the tools one uses for innovation studies. The chapter concludes with an outline of the rest of the book.