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One of the most widely agreed-upon tenets of the current 'postpositivist' consensus in sociological theory is the categorical dismissal of the pursuit of value neutrality in the social and natural sciences, a pursuit that is seen as both futile and undesirable. This dismissal is based on the rejection of the 'positivist' claim that mainstream scientific knowledge is in some sense more objectively valid than other forms of knowledge. But this results in a 'bias paradox:' on what basis can those denying the possibility of any value-neutral knowledge still claim validity for their own knowledge claims? In this paper, we analyze a series of attempts, broadly going under the label of 'standpoint theory,' to resolve the paradox. We show how each of these is seriously flawed and that efforts to repair those flaws have merely led to a covert return to the kind of 'positivism' the authors claim to reject. We conclude that this is the result of the persistent failure of 'critical' theorists of various stripes to recognize the fact that the 'positivist' ideals of value neutrality and objectivity embody the very principles of egalitarianism and democracy they claim to subscribe to., Author(s): Axel van den Berg [sup.1] , Tay Jeong [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.14709.3b, 0000 0004 1936 8649, Department of Sociology, McGill University, , 845 Sherbrooke Street West, H3A 2T7, [...]

MY MAIN CONCERN IS THAT if we reject value-neutrality as an ideal to strive for on the grounds that scientific knowledge is inevitably valueladen, inextricably intertwined with our social positioning, [...]

Background The objective of the current study is to determine to what extent the reduction of Chile’s traffic fatalities and injuries during 2000 - 2012 was related to the police traffic enforcement increment registered after the introduction of its 2005 traffic law reform. Methods A unique dataset with assembled information from public institutions and analyses based on ordinary least square and robust random effects models was carried out. Dependent variables were traffic fatality and severe injury rates per population and vehicle fleet. Independent variables were: (1) presence of new national traffic law; (2) police officers per population; (3) number of traffic tickets per police officer; and (4) interaction effect of number of traffic tickets per police officer with traffic law reform. Oil prices, alcohol consumption, proportion of male population 15 - 24 years old, unemployment, road infrastructure investment, years 'effects and regions' effects represented control variables. Results Empirical estimates from instrumental variables suggest that the enactment of the traffic law reform in interaction with number of traffic tickets per police officer is significantly associated with a decrease of 8% in traffic fatalities and 7% in severe injuries. Piecewise regression model results for the 2007 - 2012 period suggest that police traffic enforcement reduced traffic fatalities by 59% and severe injuries by 37%. Conclusions Findings suggest that traffic law reforms in order to have an effect on both traffic fatality and injury rates reduction require changes in police enforcement practices. Last, this case also illustrates how the diffusion of successful road safety practices globally promoted by WHO and World Bank can be an important influence for enhancing national road safety practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]