Beach Haven

Bibliography
​Weintraub, S. (2014). A Christmas Far from Home: An Epic Tale of Courage and Survival During the Korean War. Boston: Da Capo Press.
 
Review by Michael Beach

The Korean War was my father’s war. To be honest, it's a war I personally know little about. To be technical, the political powers of the west didn’t want to call it a war to avoid what inevitably happened, involvement by China. Instead, they called it a ‘police action’ that involved countries that signed on as United Nations forces. In this book, Stanley Weintraub looks at the beginning engagements, the rout of American forces from the Chosin reservoir, and the military leadership decisions that seemed to bungle the whole thing.

It was late fall in Korea and the weather was turning cold. General Douglas MacArthur (yes, the one from WWII) was in charge of all the forces in Asia. He conducted Korean operations from a comfortable hotel suite and offices in Tokyo. At first, spirits were high in his offices, and initially with troops on the ground as well. Everyone heard that the whole thing will be over by Christmas. The armies of North Korea seemed to be a pushover. There was no reason to think the Chinese would involve themselves. Unfortunately, there was plenty of intelligence to the opposite. The intelligence was ignored. The result was that American troops pushed north toward the Yalu River with little resistance, then found themselves nearly encircled by Chinese regulars and plummeting temperatures.

Weintraub’s work is a combination of historical facts about what happened, and editorial perspective on why things went the way they did. His descriptions of the war that wasn’t a war, the first war America didn’t win, are well written. The reader can see the whole thing play out both from the perspective of generals who rarely joined the ground troops, to the forces themselves dodging death as they made their way back from the Yalu to the relative safety south. The reader gets both the grit of up-close warfare, and the confusion and assumptions at upper levels that reflected an 'alternate reality’ as events unfolded.

Bibliography
Sclove, R. E. (1995). Democracy and Technology. New York and London: The Guilford Press.

​Reviewed by Michael Beach
 
In this work, Richard Sclove examines both various forms of democratic societies and how they approach incorporating technology, and he also looks at where these approaches tend to fail. At the end of the book, Sclove proposes his own suggestion of democratic methods that he feels would work best in a ever more international environment.

Two of the examples Richard Sclove regularly refers to are water provision in rural Spain and Amish farming communities. In the case of the Spanish towns, old systems were quickly upgraded to ‘modern’ water systems. Among the results were increase used of home laundry systems. Community spirit decreased over time as people did not gather at local streams for cleaning clothing. Likewise, gathering at well sites went away as manual retrieval in buckets we no longer necessary. The Amish farmer example, on the other hand, included community discussion on adding any technology. The goal of continued community interaction and cooperation is at the heart of each decision to add or not to add a particular technology. That is different than what many assume. Amish communities are often thought to technology-averse. Sclove argues this is untrue. He points to technologies adopted over many years by Amish communities. The key is whether the implementation would cause separation or isolation among community members.

Among other areas, Sclove reviews topics like the role of experts, international and local impacts of technical decisions, and how power dynamics influence and are influenced by technology. User influence on technical design choices within differing forms of democracy wraps up this examination followed by the author’s own recommendations. What Sclove calls “A New and Better Vision” (Sclove, 1995, p. 239) is laid out in an earlier chapter in the book. There are nine criteria (Sclove, 1995, p. 98) divided into five categories. Each category is elaborated on in separate chapters. The categories include: toward democratic community, toward democratic work, toward democratic politics, to help secure democratic self-governance, and finally to help perpetuate democratic social structures.

From the perspective of Richard Sclove, it is possible to have a democratic approach in selecting technology, even within societies that are less democratic. At the same time a democratic government does not imply the same principles are used to select which technologies any particular society will adopt. 
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Bibliography
Graham, R. (1984). Spain: A Nation Comes of Age. New York: St. Martin's Press.

​Review by Michael Beach
 
For me as a reader, this book is close to my own experience. In 1982 and 1983 I lived in southern Spain serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I just a 19-year-old, pretty much oblivious to the world of politics and economics. In particular, before being called to Spain I really had even less knowledge as events outside the United States and my own experience were limited to what I saw on the news. Spain was not in the US media at the time, at least not to my memory.

Robert Graham published this book in 1984, so just after I left the country. I really was not all that aware of what was going on with in the country or its history, even when I was there. My focus was on sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, many years later I pay much more attention to the happenings in the world. I read some on the Spanish civil war and the history of Franco. I experienced the shift in government towards a more socialist philosophy after decades of fascist dictatorship. I wish now that then I had known more about it.

Graham discusses the transition of power through several tumultuous administrations. There was at least one coup attempt. The author looks at major influences in Spain in the post-Franco transitive period. He looks at the changes in wealth distribution, the influence of banks, the church, and the various factions within the military. Graham also looks at the Spanish media and its affect on public opinion. Finally, he discusses democracy as it evolved within Spain.

Many of the influences discussed by Robert Graham are echoed in other emerging democracies. Throughout the Franco period, Spain was in some ways considered a backward society within a more enlightened Europe. At the time of Graham’s writing its economy had gone through several booms and busts, but was strongly on the mend. It was among the fastest growing economies within Europe. History has shown Spain to have suffered from some of the pangs of a growing set of social benefits. During COVID most of Europe has had similar issues, but Spain, Italy and Greece were particularly in the news as countries with a growing dependency on EU funds.
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I appreciate the insights Robert Graham shares in this book. Anyone interested in the country and how international affairs affect and are affected by Spain should consider the read.

Bibliography
Bijker, W. E. (1995). Of Bicycles, Bakelites, and Bulbs: Toward a Theory of Sociotechnical Change. Cambridge & London: The MIT Press.

Review by Michael Beach
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Wiebe Bijker uses three specific technology examples to explore how social factors affect technical outcomes. “The stories we tell about technology reflect and can also affect our understanding of the place of technology in our lives and our society” (Bijker, 1995, p. 1). Although this quote may sound as if Bijker is arguing along a co-constructive line, yet throughout the book it’s clear that he asserts that social influence on technology is the primary force.

The bicycle chapter looks at the evolution of how they were designed and constructed. The perceptions evolved from the large bikes that were for daring young men who at times suffered the odd broken bone or two. Such perception led to the eventual production of the ‘safety bike’ that looks ever more like the bikes we typically ride today. By changing front and rear tire size, adding breaks, making seats wider, and other modifications, the community of bicycle riders expanded to include older people and women.

Bakelite is a substance that I became very familiar with while serving in the US Navy. Pretty much every placard on the ship I served on were made of it. Bakelite is an early form of plastic created and modified over time by the company formed by Leo Henricus Arthur Baekeland. Through all sorts of chemical combinations and varying heating temperature and bake timing, he was able to form a number of plastics of different flexibility and strength. The hard relatively thin version seemed to gain the biggest use of Bakelite. Eventually this form of plastic was supplanted by more modern forms that require less toxic waste to create. Newer plastic is also less expensive to make. Nonetheless, for the better part of a century many needs formerly provided by less durable materials, or those more metallic-based and subject to oxidation, were replaced by this early form of plastic.

Turning to bulbs, Bijker looks at the creation of the electric florescent light. What eventually became the long tubes we have all come to know, the approach was thought to fill the need of longer lasting bulbs that could light larger areas than the small incandescent. Industrial facilities in particular had difficulty fully lighting large factory spaces with small incandescent bulbs, and larger spotlights required more frequent replacement. This example specifically addresses not only social influence on invention, but even organized social effort to standardize the eventual technology. Bijker shares several examples of groups of users and bulb manufacturers who even held conferences in an effort to agree on gases used, electrical voltage standards, and the like.

Wiebe Bijker makes the argument for a ‘constructionist analysis’ (p. 280). “Such an analysis stresses the malleability of technology, the possibility for choice, the basic insight that things could have been otherwise” (author’s emphasis) (Ibid.). Bijker immediately notes that not all technological change is so malleable. Later sociologists of technology would take this assumption of social preeminence in the relationship between technology and society to a more level two-way influence. That conception of a level playing field is known as co-construction.
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Bibliography
Covey, S. R. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic. New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, Tokyo, Singapore: Simon & Schuster.

Review by Michael Beach
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First, I find it interesting that I read this book at what is likely the winding down of my professional career. I had always assumed it was targeted at professionals seeking ways to improve their work performance. It is true that much of what is discussed incorporates ways to be better at our jobs. What I had not known is that many examples used to explain the habits are also depicted in non-work environments such as within the family or other groups (communities) we interact with every day. In later editions the subtitle changes from ‘Restoring the Character Ethic’ to ‘Powerful Lessons in Personal Change’. The later subtitled version includes a 3rd-person forward and some updated appendices from the author’s son.

In describing the seven habits, Stephen Covey often shares personal experiences within his immediate family. He shares early feedback as the ideas in this book formed over time through published academic papers or professional coaching presentations were critiqued by his consumers. In this way, Covey takes the reader along with his own learning journey.

Each of the habits has its own chapter. The habits make up the chapter titles (there are additional contextual chapters before and after), and are described in a command format. They are: Be Proactive; Begin With the End in Mind; Put First Things First; Think Win/Win; Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood; Synergize; Sharpen the Saw. If the reader recognizes some of these, Covey acknowledges these ideas are not unique to him. He sees himself as a consolidator of ideas. It’s also true that the popularity of this particular Covey work has caused some of these titles to work their way into common speech, even if those who quote them have never read this, or any other Covey book. 
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Bibliography
​O'Brian, P. (1972). Post Captain. New York & London: W.W. Norton & Company.

Review by Michael Beach
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This is the second in a series of stories that depict the military career of a fictitious sailing captain in the British navy during the Napoleonic Wars. Captain Jack Aubrey, his friend and ship surgeon Stephen Maturin were made famous in the movie adaptation of a later volume. That movie Master and Commander starred Russell Crowe as Aubrey and Paul Bettany as Maturin.

As a following work to the first in the series, I was somewhat disappointed. The fist was called Master and Commander, but was not the book the movie was set on. The first focused mostly on the military action with battles and courts martial in the aftermath. There was some romance, but it was tangential. Post Captain is pretty much the opposite. The beginning of the book tells of the romantic exploits that continue well through the first half of the book. Aubrey is also plagued by creditors. He is forced to use all sorts of intrigue to avoid capture by them.

Eventually, he is given an usual ship to lead. It was captured by the British navy, but based on its construction its handling is difficult. The ship is not really suited to military action. At the same time, the crew are nothing like those of his first ship, the Sophie. At issue are the senior enlisted men and junior officers who are not the best at leading. In particular, the main mate of the ship has a harsh style and morale and performance run low. Eventually, Aubrey takes matters into his own hands by purposefully engaging his ship separate from his main orders. The result is the capture of several enemy vessels, but the loss of his own. In the aftermath, Aubrey is found to not be responsible for the loss.

The next section of the book puts the main characters back in the realm of romance and financial intrigue. Thankfully, this part of the story doesn’t take up so much space because Aubrey is tagged to become the temporary captain of HMS Lively. The actual captain is called to be a member of Parliament so Aubrey gets custodianship. Most of the assignments he has on Lively are as an escort for merchant shipping. He has a few engagements with enemy vessels, but things finally go well when they encounter some Spanish ships taking gold to Cadiz. In the engagement one Spanish ship is lost to an explosion. The other two are captured along with their cargo.

During this last engagement, Aubrey’s love interest is aboard as Maturin previously convinced his friend to transport her and some of her friends to a city in the south. Aubrey and his girlfriend, Sophie, agree they cannot marry while he is still poor, and that they will not marry anyone else.

Bibliography
​Scott, J. (1990). A Matter of Record: Documentary Sources in Social Research. Cambridge: Polity Press.
 
In this work, John Scott explores all sorts of public and private records with the intent of helping researchers understand how best to extract usable information from them. This is a how-to book, but also examines social and ethical issues connected with documents.

One ethical examination comes in a series of chapters examining private documents, the intent of their creation, and in what ways a researcher should approach private documents. Some examples include wills, private journals, or letters written for consumption only by the addressee. Does the passage of time make these documents less privileged? What if any of these are pulled into the public sphere in a court dispute or if the author becomes a public figure by running for political office?

Much of the book is a sort of nuts-and-bolts approach to finding data that matter to the particular focus of the research. For example, health records might be pertinent when looking for concentrations of a particular illness. Health records are private, in particular recent information that is subject to modern HIPAA rules. Access may be limited and the specific way such data can be used through anonymizing is also controlled through various research rules.

For those who seek information that relate to sociological trends or influences, digging through public and private records is inevitable. One example of such research is in the field of family history. Many people are engaged in that research for personal reasons, but once it is published in an academic work or on publicly accessible websites, there are laws and ethical concerns that take effect. John Scott has examined the ins-and-outs in this work about academic use of records.
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Bibliography
​Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (2011). Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes (2nd ed.). Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press.

Review by Michael Beach
 
This book is a how-to with background information of how the authors have decided to approach fieldnotes. For those who are unfamiliar, ethnographies are documents that a researcher might create while they observe some human activity. For example, a researcher might attend a public meeting. Fieldnotes are not about the content discussed so much as describing actions and interactions of people participating in the event. The researcher might note a few specific things said, but may be more interested in how a person’s body language or appearance could say something about their messages.

Often, collecting ethnographies might include a more public event such as a meeting or overheard conversation, then supplemented by side conversations the ethnographer might have with one or more of the participants. One of the more difficult parts of making sense of the information collected is referred to as ‘coding’. Depending on what the research is focused on (for example the ethnographer may be interested in financial information, or people relationships, or the impact of policy change) the potential is limitless. Two things happen with coding. At the end of each day, a researcher would go through their fieldnotes and highlight sections based on some ‘code’ or subject area of focus. In this way they can analyze any trends or related topics. The other effect can be that the researcher begins to see unexpected patterns that could redirect the focus of the research project.

One can experience how different this effort is by simply going to a restaurant with a notebook. Then just watch the comings and goings of people (employees, patrons, passers-by, supply vendors, etc.). Literally write what you see describing the people, the environment or ambiance, any conversations you hear, how people treat each other, and what sort of body language you notice. Don’t take anything for granted. Write it as if you had never gone into a restaurant before. Sort of like if a space alien just landed and went into the place. How would they describe what they see? You might also consider yourself as a book author attempting to describe the setting of a story.

The book is full of tips of alternate ways to take notes, code the notes, and then interpret what the researcher writes from a quantitative and qualitative approach. Finally, the authors speak to the balancing act between observing and participating. One can argue that just by being there a researcher causes some difference in the public setting. For example, if an outsider joins a local leadership group the members may be less likely to say things they would if all participants were insiders. For those researchers that spend a long time with a specific community they will inevitably become part of the community if only in a superficial way. The less one joins the community under study the less one might hear that insiders learn over a lifetime. The more one joins the community the more difficult it may be to stay neutral. 
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Bibliography
​Golinski, J. (2005). Making Natural Knowledge: Constructivism and the History of Science. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press.
 
Jan Golinski looks to shed some light on historical views of constructivism in science. Constructivists argue that scientific facts are not discovered but are created based on social factors affecting individual scientists and the greater scientific community. After essays on issues raised by constructionism and some of the general related ideas, he clarifies typical arguments concerning social identity for scientists. For example, how they view themselves, how their self-view is disciplined among members of larger scientific community, and who is even a part of that community.

Golinski continues along the line of examining the workplaces of scientists, how they are organized and funded. He refers to scientific laboratories as ‘places of production’ of knowledge. Clearly that is different than how many scientists view labs as places of discovery. He spends a whole chapter viewing ideas of Ian Hacking, a scientific philosopher whose works I’ve read a few of. Hacking devoted a great deal of study on the ideas of intervening with nature and representing the outcomes of those interventions. For example, is the atomic model of electrons spinning around a neutron a representation of what an atom actually looks like, or just a way to explain the measured phenomena? Do chemical substances in nature actually interact with each other the way they do in a lab where specific components are isolated from each other before being mixed in unnatural rations? Constructivists argue that without human intervention such behavior is not natural. They also argue that human representation (such as using mathematics) only partially describes the intervening version and not natural processes.

“The issue of narrative, with its connection to the moral meaning of historical discourse, is an important one to consider in the light of constructivist approaches to the history of science” (Golinski, 2005, p. 187). Golinski is looking at the history of constructivism in science as well as the history of the history of constructivism in science. 
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Bibliography
​Frickel, S., & Moore, K. (Eds.). (2006). The New Political Sociology of Science: Institutions, Networks, and Power. London: The University of Wisconsin Press.

Review by Michael Beach
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Like many academic books, this work is a compilation of chapters written by various authors who share focus points of the title topic. Each chapter is grouped with others under three main topics: the commercialization of science; science and social movements; and science and the regulatory state. The editors note how many such books come from a compilation of papers presented at a given conference, and that this book does not follow that pattern. “We invited contributors to tender individual or comparative case study analyses that explain why events and processes in science happen the way they do” (Frickel & Moore, 2006, p. vii).

Referenced case studies include an examination of how social and political ideas shape how science is approached, and which scientific questions are examined. Likewise, there are examples showing how scientific work can influence political and social thought. Case studies include agricultural, biomedical research, alternative approaches to science, scientific consensus, ethics and training, political movements on specific diseases, and the list continues.

The ’creation’ or ‘discovery’ of scientific ‘facts’ is fraught with myriad decisions made by individuals and groups of people. Despite the assumed objectivity of the scientific approach, in reality the larger human world in which all scientists live plays an important role in what gets examined and how reliable the findings might be. Facts tend to be established through consensus, but consensus does not guarantee information is completely factual. The tensions among funding, policy, process, and priority are real as evidenced in the ideas and case studies offered in this book. What makes the ideas presented is simply that this is a later version of an earlier work by sociologist Stuart Blume. The earlier version from 1974 is titled Toward a Political Sociology of Science. As quoted by Frickel and Moore, the intent of that book was to offer an analysis “founded upon the assumption that the social institution of modern science is essentially political” (Frickel & Moore, 2006, p. 3). The motivation to update the ideas of the Blume book is that “the interconnections among the institutions he examined in deriving that claim have since undergone extensive transformation” (Frickel & Moore, 2006, p. 4).