Main trends of research in the social and human ... - unesdoc - Unesco

706 Eric Trist
More recent data, which cover a somewhat broader range of social scientists,
give 7,248 for 1964 and 9,533 for 1966. The Civil Service Commission projects
a 19.2% increase in these categories by 1970 as compared with an 8.4% in-
crease in total Federal employment and 15.9 % in all professional categories. I
16. There is also some information on the weight of various social science
disciplines among those in Federal emp1oyment.I
UNITED STATES. Social scientists in the Federal Government (selected disciplines) t
1964
F.G. N.R.
1966
F.G. N.R.
Economists 1,274 12,143 1,348 13,450
Statisticians 568 2,843 614 3,042
Psychologists 1.378 16,804 1.379 19,027
Sociologists
Anthropologists
I37
-
2,703
-
163
41
3.640
919
Total 3.357 349493 39545 40,078
~~
CODE: F.G. = Federal Government; N.R. = Number listed in the National Register
of Scientific and Technical Manpower, NSF.
t Vide: Behavioral Sciences and the Federal Government', footnote on p. 47.
The report on Behavioral Sciences and the Federal Government comments as
follows:
There are marked differences in the employment pattern of behavioral scientists in the
Federal Government. For example, the first reports of the National Register of Scientific
and Technical Personnel that included selected behavioral science fields (for 1964 and
1966) showed a substantially smaller proportion of sociologists and anthropologists
employed by the Federal Government than economists, statisticians, and psychologists.
These differences undoubtedly reflect the earlier acceptance of expertise in economic
analysis, statistical services, psychological testing, and mental health activities. The
demands for information and knowledge for new social programs at home and for
programs of assistance to developing nations abroad require new kinds of expertise, as
well. They depend heavily on the field studied by sociologists, social psychologists,
anthropologists, and political scientists.
Three types of institution in the university pattern
17. The position of the social sciences in any American university of good
standing is illustrated in the table below, taken from the University of California,
Los Angeles (UCLA). Other universities could show longer lists of organizational
units and larger numbers of faculty members. Each campus would have ideo-
matic features. Nevertheless, the underlying pattern would be the same.
18. The first feature is the existence of large departments with multiple chairs
supported by sizeable groups of associate and assistant professors in all the
basic social science disciplines. There are often more than IOO doctoral candi-
dates in a given discipline. The large number of chairs enables all the main
components of a major discipline to be pursued. If this has led to narrowness of
specialization the growing influence of general systems theory is beginning to
correct it. The advantage of having the social sciences based on such main
components is that they can interact more flexibly with the main components of