Social Mechanism

Example(s):
- One to appeal against these judgments, and means to identify their mistakes and prevent them happening in future.
See: Social Institution, Social Theory, Social Phenomena.

References

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/23/the-guardian-view-on-machine-learning-people-must-decide
- QUOTE: The cure for the excesses of computerised algorithms is not in principle different from the remedies we have already discovered for algorithms that are embedded in purely human institutions. Expert claims must be scrutinised by outsiders and justified to sceptical, if intelligent and fair minded, observers. There needs to be a social mechanism for appealing against these judgments, and means to identify their mistakes and prevent them happening in future. The interests of the powerful must not be allowed to take precedence over the interests of justice and of society as a whole.

(Hedstrom & Swedberg, 1998) ⇒ Peter Hedstrom, and Richard Swedberg. (1998). “Social Mechanisms: An Analytical Approach to Social Theory.” Cambridge University Press.
- BOOK OVERVIEW: The mechanism approach calls attention to an intermediary level of analysis, in-between pure description and story-telling, on the one hand, and grand theorizing and universal social laws, on the other. These essays, written by prominent social scientists, advance criticisms of current trends in social theory and suggest alternative approaches. For social theory to be of use for the working social scientists, it must attain a high level of precision and provide a toolbox from which middle range theories can be constructed.
(Hedstrom & Swedberg, 1998) ⇒ Peter Hedstrom, and Richard Swedberg. (1998). “Social Mechanisms: An Introductory Essay.” In: Social mechanisms: An analytical approach to social theory