A Paradigm of “Weak Science”? Latours Challenge for a Relational History of Weak Forms of Knowledge

International audienc

Weak knowledge and the epic theatre of science: Introduction to the collected papers of the pre-conference workshop

International audienc

Weak knowledge and the epic theatre of science: Introduction to the collected papers of the pre-conference workshop

International audienc

Epistemical and Political Things. An Analytical Framework for a Historico-Political Epistemology

International audienc

L’Enquête, entre science de l’État et thérapie sociale

Cet article tente de reconstituer l’histoire de la réception et de l’appropriation de la catégorie Enquête dans le champ des recherches empiriques en sciences sociales en Allemagne entre les années 1880 et 1930. Nous allons voir comment l’Enquête passe d’un instrument de savoir au service de l’État à un dispositif de recherche « privé » dans le cadre des mouvements réformateurs et féministes. Ce faisant, nous déplaçons le regard vers des cercles extra-universitaires qui ont développé un programme indépendant de recherche pour lequel les réflexions méthodologiques sur l’Enquête sont centrales. Pouvant aussi bien recourir à l’étude de cas individuels, l’observation directe, l’entretien, l’analyse de documents officiels et de statistiques, l’Enquête se présente comme une forme hybride de production de connaissance sur la société, entre proximité et prise de distance avec les milieux étudiés.This article reconstructs the history of the reception and appropriation of the category ‘Inquiry’ in empirical social science research in Germany between the 1880s and 1930. We shall show how ‘Inquiry’ moved from a State-operated science to a form of ‘private’ research in certain reformist and feminist movements. In so doing, the focus shifted to a research project outside, and independent of the university, in which methodological reflection on this particular type of investigation was central. Covering individual case studies, direct observation, interviews, and analysis of official documents and statistics, ‘Inquiry’ designated a hybrid mode of production of knowledge of society, between a close and a distanced perspective on the milieus studied

Epistemical and Political Things. An Analytical Framework for a Historico-Political Epistemology

International audienc

Epistemic and Political Things

A couple of years ago, the historian of medicine Volker Roelcke noted in a programmatic paper that the political dimension of knowledge production is indispensable to the framework of historical epistemology. He put forward the thesis that processes of knowledge production are always at the same time inherently political, and that “an obligatory and systematic consideration of the political dimension” is a necessary dimension of any analysis of historical processes of knowledge production. Fo..

A Paradigm of “Weak Science”? Latours Challenge for a Relational History of Weak Forms of Knowledge

International audienc

Controlling a motorized orthosis to follow elbow volitional movement: tests with individuals with pathological tremor

Background: There is a need for alternative treatment options for tremor patients who do not respond well to medications or surgery, either due to side effects or poor efficacy, or that are excluded from surgery. The study aims to evaluate feasibility of a voluntary-driven, speed-controlled tremor rejection approach with individuals with pathological tremor. The suppression approach was investigated using a robotic orthosis for suppression of elbow tremor. Importantly, the study emphasizes the performance in relation to the voluntary motion. Methods: Nine participants with either Essential Tremor (ET) or Parkinson’s disease (PD) were recruited and tested off medication. The participants performed computerized pursuit tracking tasks following a sinusoid and a random target, both with and without the suppressive orthosis. The impact of the Tremor Suppression Orthosis (TSO) at the tremor and voluntary frequencies was determined by the relative power change calculated from the Power Spectral Density (PSD). Voluntary motion was, in addition, assessed by position and velocity tracking errors. Results: The suppressive orthosis resulted in a 94.4% mean power reduction of the tremor (p < 0.001) – a substantial improvement over reports in the literature. As for the impact to the voluntary motion, paired difference tests revealed no statistical effect of the TSO on the relative power change (p = 0.346) and velocity tracking error (p = 0.283). A marginal effect was observed for the position tracking error (p = 0.05). The interaction torque with the robotic orthosis was small (0.62 Nm) when compared to the maximum voluntary torque that can be exerted by adult individuals at the elbow joint. Conclusions: Two key contributions of this work are first, a recently proposed approach is evaluated with individuals with tremor demonstrating high levels of tremor suppression; second, the impact of the approach to the voluntary motion is analyzed comprehensively, showing limited inhibition. This study also seeks to address a gap in studies with individuals with tremor where the impact of engineering solutions on voluntary motion is unreported. This study demonstrates feasibility of the wearable technology as an effective treatment that removes tremor with limited impediment to intentional motion. The goal for such wearable technology is to help individuals with pathological tremor regain independence in activities affected by the tremor condition. Further investigations are needed to validate the technology.Medicine, Faculty ofOther UBCNon UBCMedicine, Department ofNeurology, Division ofReviewedFacult