While a conception of science as value free has been dominant since Max Weber defended it in the nineteenth century, recent years have witnessed an emerging consensus that science is not -- and cannot be -- completely free of values. Which values may legitimately influence science, and in which ways, is currently a topic of heated debate in…

This study describes and tests a model of scientific inquiry as an evolving, organizational phenomenon. Arguments are derived from organizational ecology and evolutionary theory. The empirical subject of study is an "epistemic community" of scientists publishing on a research topic in physics: the string theoretic concept of…

In response to Howe (2009), the author argues that educational research needs multiple thoughtful perspectives. The author's standpoint is that of a mixed methods research methodologist. Mixed methods research provides an antidualistic and syncretic philosophy and set of approaches or possibilities for merging insights from diverse perspectives;…

The dissertation presents a theory of semantics and pragmatics for both language and vision. I focus on sentences including proper names, descriptions, and attitude report verbs, and on the Necker cube. I propose the Open Instruction Theory (OIT), according to which the linguistic meaning of a sentence and the semantic contribution of visual…

Focuses on the analysis of Thomas S. Kuhn's book, "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions." Science history is reviewed as it is viewed through the idea of a paradigm. The sequence in science or life cycle of a paradigm is explained. (SA)

Explains changes in the scientific world view. Describes the classical mechanistic-reductionist paradigm and some modern examples of changes including evolution, self-organizing universe, non-linearity, subjectivity, and software. (YP)

Some central issues in discussions of creative processes in science are: (1) the mechanism(s) by which hypothesis formation takes place; (2) the sources of new knowledge during hypothesis formation; and (3) the "Eureka" versus steady accumulation (accretion) issue concerning the pace of change during hypothesis formation. This paper…