This book provides a philosophical framework to understand computer simulations as scientific instruments. This is in sharp contrast to existing philosophical approaches on the subject, which have historically understood computer simulations as either formal abstractions or as broadly construed empirical practices. In order to make its case, the volume contains a thorough examination of conventional philosophical approaches as well as their respective limitations. Yet, also, unlike other accounts of computer simulations from the perspective of the philosophy of science, this book incorporates insights from the philosophy of technology and the history of science. Hence, the book offers philosophers of science, technologists and other researchers interested in the topic, a thorough overview of the philosophical issues regarding the design, development and deployment of computer simulations in science and science-based policy making.

This book takes a new, critical, and multidisciplinary look at experiences and meanings of social intervention in different social contexts, taking the approaches of social constructionism as a theoretical approach. This volume collects the results of theoretical-practical experiences that social science professionals with critical and constructionist visions linked to social work intervention have carried out in different spaces. The volume considers the way social work intervention models are built, their foundation, and their application. It provides the findings on tested intervention models built according to the basis of social constructionism in specific social scenarios, providing interesting findings that show intervention alternatives beyond traditional approaches. This volume includes chapters that are characterized by the results of innovative research and interventions with alternative and appropriate approaches to each problem. The social intervention strategies discussed take place in diverse situations, including health recovery and reconstruction in breast cancer, family abandonment issues of institutionalized adolescents, institutional care of refugee families, women caregivers of children with disabilities, men who exercise violence, and more. Key features Describes in detail the main principles of social constructionism Discusses the "know how" of building social intervention models based on social constructionism Shows the experiences and results of making of these models in real cases Presents a variety of other views and perspectives about social intervention This unique and original work, Models of Social Intervention and Constructionism: Current Narratives, showcases theoretical reflection and practices from the principles of social constructionism to the application of those in specific realities, sharing firsthand experiences and a methodology that help to reproduce the process. The volume will be valuable to professionals and institutions that deal with emerging social situations that need a nontraditional approach to face them accurately as well as to students and faculty who study intervention models and/or social constructionism.