Pascal Ragouet is a graduate of the Institut d'études politiques de Bordeaux, has a doctorate in sociology and an Accreditation to Supervise Research. He is full professor at the Faculty of Sociology of the University of Bordeaux and tenured researcher at the Emile Durkheim Centre (UMR 5116 - University of Bordeaux / CNRS / Sciences Po Bordeaux). His research is in the field of sociology of science and innovation, with a particular focus on scientific controversies and translational processes in the biomedical field, and particularly in cancerology. He is the author, with Terry Shinn (CNRS), of Controversies sur la science. Pour une sociologie transversaliste des activités scientifiques (Editions "Raisons d'agir" (2005)) and L'eau a-t-elle une mémoire. Sociology of a scientific controversy (Editions "Raisons d'agir" (2016)).
In the sociology of science, certain authors claim that the analysis of controversies may take pl... more In the sociology of science, certain authors claim that the analysis of controversies may take place in an analytical framework which states that science is not an activity that is regulated by shared standards and that nature may play only a marginal role in the assessment and validation of scientific knowledge. From the case of the water memory controversy, we will show that one of the conditions determining the possibility of scientific debates relates to the existence of an epistemic ethos constituted of three norms (realism, coherentism and skepticism). These norms frame argumentative exchanges. Moreover, the aporias of the empirical sub-determination of controversies will be highlighted by discussing in particular the argument of the experimenter’s regress
Eponymy is defined as the way to name a discovery from the name of the person who discovered it. ... more Eponymy is defined as the way to name a discovery from the name of the person who discovered it. This practice well established in science. There is evidence that when an author has been eponymized, the author’s original publications will be cited without bibliographic reference. Merton defined this as “obliteration by incorporation”. The author’s original publications will experience “delayed recognition”, not achieving recognition in terms of citations until a few years after their original publication. While this phenomenon has been the subject of a renewal interest in scientometrics, there are few analyses of eponymy in science, and none explored the linked between eponymy and delayed recognition. Through the analysis of “cancer research” field, we identified a case study related to Otto Warburg Nobel Prize pioneering work on the role of metabolism in cancer, today named “Warburg effect”. Our results demonstrate that “Warburg effect” as concept suffered from delayed recognition ...
Charles Dotter is described as the father of interventional radiology, a medical specialty born a... more Charles Dotter is described as the father of interventional radiology, a medical specialty born at the cross-border of radiology and cardiology. Dotter’s landmark paper published in 1964 was poorly cited until 1979 and can be considered from a scientometric point of view as a sleeping beauty. Sleeping-beauties are article that suffer of a delayed recognition. This paper, will explore the bibliometric characteristics of this case study and the accuracy of Van Raan’s criteria to define “sleeping beauty” in science will be discussed. “The prince” is identified through citation network analysis, and the sleeping period has been documented as a restless sleep period with science and social controversy that could be documented in publications databases by differentiating bibliographic references. Therefore, a category of “sleeping beauty” –like paper should be introduced. By the end, theses observations should open new avenues in identifying “sleeping beauties”.
The 1993 French legislative elections were the only ones in which candidates were permitted to re... more The 1993 French legislative elections were the only ones in which candidates were permitted to receive contributions from legal entities; the relevant financial accounts were published in the Journal officiel [rough equivalent of the US Congressional Record]. Those elections constitute an exemplary case for studying the question of relations between money and politics. This article is based on an analysis of the structure and volume of contributions received by 4 880 of the 5 254 candidates for a seat in the French parliament. The analysis brings to light the relevance of the three major candidate profiles that emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century, and allows for qualifying a body of journalistic and academic commentaries that stressed the impact of money on the outcome of those elections.
Numerous scholars have contributed to the question of innovation diffusion and the barriers to th... more Numerous scholars have contributed to the question of innovation diffusion and the barriers to this process; stressing the role of adopters, the sociocultural structures and science interactions, or the inter-relationship between university-enterprise and government. Despite burgeoning medical innovations, there are increasing concerns that these innovations are not used fast enough. An interesting case is the interventional radiology (IR), whilst this mini-invasive medical procedure to treat disease under image guidance was born in the 60s, its recognition in medicine, especially in oncology, only occurred later and remains incomplete according to the physicians. Beyond the hype and hopes, the social and economic barriers could be explored in 3 directions: interactions between science, medicine and industry, strategies of legitimation, and the recognition by the public. To address these 3 dimensions, a multidisciplinary research team has been gathered bringing sociologist with a he...
In the sociology of science, certain authors claim that the analysis of controversies may take pl... more In the sociology of science, certain authors claim that the analysis of controversies may take place in an analytical framework which states that science is not an activity that is regulated by shared standards and that nature may play only a marginal role in the assessment and validation of scientific knowledge. From the case of the water memory controversy, we will show that one of the conditions determining the possibility of scientific debates relates to the existence of an epistemic ethos constituted of three norms (realism, coherentism and skepticism). These norms frame argumentative exchanges. Moreover, the aporias of the empirical sub-determination of controversies will be highlighted by discussing in particular the argument of the experimenter’s regress
Eponymy is defined as the way to name a discovery from the name of the person who discovered it. ... more Eponymy is defined as the way to name a discovery from the name of the person who discovered it. This practice well established in science. There is evidence that when an author has been eponymized, the author’s original publications will be cited without bibliographic reference. Merton defined this as “obliteration by incorporation”. The author’s original publications will experience “delayed recognition”, not achieving recognition in terms of citations until a few years after their original publication. While this phenomenon has been the subject of a renewal interest in scientometrics, there are few analyses of eponymy in science, and none explored the linked between eponymy and delayed recognition. Through the analysis of “cancer research” field, we identified a case study related to Otto Warburg Nobel Prize pioneering work on the role of metabolism in cancer, today named “Warburg effect”. Our results demonstrate that “Warburg effect” as concept suffered from delayed recognition ...
Charles Dotter is described as the father of interventional radiology, a medical specialty born a... more Charles Dotter is described as the father of interventional radiology, a medical specialty born at the cross-border of radiology and cardiology. Dotter’s landmark paper published in 1964 was poorly cited until 1979 and can be considered from a scientometric point of view as a sleeping beauty. Sleeping-beauties are article that suffer of a delayed recognition. This paper, will explore the bibliometric characteristics of this case study and the accuracy of Van Raan’s criteria to define “sleeping beauty” in science will be discussed. “The prince” is identified through citation network analysis, and the sleeping period has been documented as a restless sleep period with science and social controversy that could be documented in publications databases by differentiating bibliographic references. Therefore, a category of “sleeping beauty” –like paper should be introduced. By the end, theses observations should open new avenues in identifying “sleeping beauties”.
The 1993 French legislative elections were the only ones in which candidates were permitted to re... more The 1993 French legislative elections were the only ones in which candidates were permitted to receive contributions from legal entities; the relevant financial accounts were published in the Journal officiel [rough equivalent of the US Congressional Record]. Those elections constitute an exemplary case for studying the question of relations between money and politics. This article is based on an analysis of the structure and volume of contributions received by 4 880 of the 5 254 candidates for a seat in the French parliament. The analysis brings to light the relevance of the three major candidate profiles that emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century, and allows for qualifying a body of journalistic and academic commentaries that stressed the impact of money on the outcome of those elections.
Numerous scholars have contributed to the question of innovation diffusion and the barriers to th... more Numerous scholars have contributed to the question of innovation diffusion and the barriers to this process; stressing the role of adopters, the sociocultural structures and science interactions, or the inter-relationship between university-enterprise and government. Despite burgeoning medical innovations, there are increasing concerns that these innovations are not used fast enough. An interesting case is the interventional radiology (IR), whilst this mini-invasive medical procedure to treat disease under image guidance was born in the 60s, its recognition in medicine, especially in oncology, only occurred later and remains incomplete according to the physicians. Beyond the hype and hopes, the social and economic barriers could be explored in 3 directions: interactions between science, medicine and industry, strategies of legitimation, and the recognition by the public. To address these 3 dimensions, a multidisciplinary research team has been gathered bringing sociologist with a he...
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