Abstract
This is a report on how a number of social scientists sought to interpret the nature and consequences of the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania. The accident, which began on March 28, 1979, has emerged as a landmark event both in the history of nuclear power and in the social impact of technology. In a more modest way, it also illustrates some of the capacities of social research to contribute to an understanding of technology.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Brooks, H.: Introduction. The Economic and Social Costs of Coal and Nuclear Electric Generation. Menlo Park 1976.
Coleman, J.S.: Paul F. Lazarsfeld: The Substance and Style of His Work. Sociological Traditions from Generation to Generation. Ed. by R.K.Merton and M.White Riley. Norwood 1980.
Jahoda, M., P.F.Lazarsfeld, and H.Zeisel: Marienthal: The Sociography of an Unemployed Community. Chicago (1933) 1971.
Lazarsfeld, P.F.: An Episode in the History of Social Research: A Memoir. Perspectives in American History 2, 1968, 270–377.
Lazarsfeld, P.F., and P.L.Kendall: Problems of Survey Analysis. Continuities in Social Research: Studies in the Scope and Method of “The American Soldier.“ Ed. by R.K.Merton and P.F.Lazarsfeld. New York 1950, 133–196.
Lazarsfeld, P.F, W.H.Sewell, and H.L.Wilensky (eds.): The Uses of Sociology. New York 1967.
Lifton, R.J.: Nuclear Awareness: In a Dark Time the Eye Begins to See. Humanities 1 (1), 1980, 1–2.
Merton, R.K., J.S.Coleman, and P.H.Rossi (eds.): Qualitative and Quantitative Social Research: Papers in Honor of Paul F. Lazarsfeld. New York 1979.
Morrison, D.E.: Paul F.Lazarsfeld: The Biography of an Institutional Innovator. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Leicester. Leicester 1976.
President’s Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island: The Need for Change: The Legacy of TMI. Washington, D.C., 1979.
Rogovin, M.: Three Mile Island: A Report to the Commission and to the Public 1. Washington, D.C., 1980.
Sills, D.L.Lazarsfeld, Paul F. International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences 18. New York 1979, 411–427.
Sills, D.L., C.P.Wolf and V.B.Shelanski (eds.): Accident at Three Mile Island: The Human Dimensions. Boulder 1982.
Wolf C.P.: The Accident at Three Mile Island: Social Science Perspectives. Items 33 (3/4), 1979, 56–61.
Zeisel, H.: Say It With Figures. New York (1947) 1968.
Zeisel, H.: The Vienna Years. Qualitative and Quantitative Social Research: Papers in Honor of Paul F. Lazarsfeld. Ed. by R.K.Merton, J.S.Coleman, and P.H.Rossi. New York 1979, 10–15.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1983 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Sills, D.L. (1983). The Utilization of Social Science Knowledge in Studying Technology and Society: The Case of the Accident at Three Mile Island. In: Holzner, B., Knorr, K.D., Strasser, H. (eds) Realizing Social Science Knowledge. Institut für Höhere Studien — Institute for Advanced Studies IHS-Studies. Physica, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-41492-7_24
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-41492-7_24
Publisher Name: Physica, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-7051-0003-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-41492-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive