Ida R. Hoos

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Ida Simone Russakoff Hoos (October 9, 1912–April 24, 2007) was an American sociologist best known as a critic of systems analysis using mathematical formulae and disregarding social factors, especially when analyzing technology and public policy.

She reminisced about her work's impact: "Technological advance was evident on every front. The 'dominant paradigm' embraced only the quantitative. What you could not count, did not count. The social and human aspects were systematically avoided in the rush to be 'scientific.'" [1]

Born in Skowhegan, Maine she graduated from Radcliffe College in 1933 and earned a master's degree from Harvard University in 1942. While in graduate school, she foundewd Jewish Vocational Services in Boston to help garment workers. After earning her master's, she moved to Berkeley, California, where her husband took a job teaching economics at University of California, Berkeley. She earned her Ph.D. there in 1959.

She retired in 1982. Hoos died at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston of pneumonia.[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Sullivan, Patricia (May 4, 2007). Ida R. Hoos; Researcher Criticized Use Of Technology to Analyze Social Issues. Washington Post
  2. ^ Hafner, Katie (May 5, 2007). Ida R. Hoos Is Dead at 94; A Critic of Systems Analysis. New York Times

[edit] External links

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