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Society, science and climate change
810
F, General
and has issued guidelines for restrictions on the free international exchange of ideas--inimical to academic research. Rather than merely protesting, the National Academy of Sciences must teach the Administration by example and describe what American universities are for, so that reasonable steps can be taken if any action is necessary. (dlf) 82:6348 Bartholomew, G.A., 1982. Scientific innovation and creativity: a zoologist's point of view. Am. Zool.,
OLR (1982) 29 f12)
82:6351 Hirano, Toshiyuki (ed.), 1981. Oceanographical study in Japan: its progress in the last decade. 40th anniversary volume. J. oceanogr. Soc. Japan, 37(6):299-408; 9 papers. (In Japanese.) This perspective on the activities of the Oceanographical Society of Japan 1971-1981 covers ocean engineering, preservation of the marine environment, instrumentation, fisheries, and physical, chemical, geological and biological oceanography. (isz)
22(2):227-235. If you wish to make significant contributions to a scientific field, develop at an early point 'clear and exploitable ideas' in the sector you wish to enter; develop criteria to help in evaluating the quality of your research; and place yourself in a pioneering field. Most important, let the field and its elements pose your propositions for you, rather than allowing any formalism or protocol to do so. This advice is offered to students by a past president of the American Society of Zoologists. Dept. of Biol., Univ. of California, Los Angeles, Calif. 90024, USA. (fcs) 82:6349 Chalk, Rosemary, 1982. Maintaining scientific independence in a bureaucratic society. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 387:11-21. Discussion here is primarily concerned with an examination of 3 cases (and the issues surrounding them) in which scientific or technical professionals 'clashed with their supervisors regarding appropriate ways of communicating to the public potential risks and hazards' of which the professional had become aware. In these cases supervisors insisted that such communication was a matter of policy and authority and not the business of the scientists, while the scientists insisted that they had 'a right and possibly a professional duty' to openly and directly communicate with the public. Comm. on Sci. Freedom and Respons., AAAS, Washington, D.C. 20005, USA. (fcs) 82:6350 Culliton, B.J., 1982. The academic-industrial complex. Science, 216(4549):960-962. Increasing industrial sponsorship of academic research in recent years has raised ethical and moral questions, resulting in the development of a variety of contractual agreements designed to protect the integrity of basic academic research while providing a return on investment for industry. Examples of such agreements are described, and various points of view are discussed regarding the implications of expanded industrial-academic interactions. (jch)
82:6352 Horrobin, David, 1982. In praise of non-experts. New Scient., 94( 1311 ):842-844. There cannot, by definition, be an expert in an unresearched area, because research must necessarily antedate the expertise. So who are these people posing as experts? Prima donnas of a sort, who have a vested interest in the status quo and plenty of 'respect from their peers,' a like-minded group, who would lose their jobs if the problems on which they labored were solved. The author recommends that research funds be allocated by lay committees if we want to solve problems rather than provide employment. Efamol Res. Inst., Kentvilte, Canada. (fcs)
82:6353 Kellogg, W.W. and Robert Schware, 1982. Society, science and climate change. Foreign Affairs, 60(5): 1076-1109. For some 3.5 to 4 billion years, the Earth's climate has maintained remarkable stability; such changes as it has undergone have been largely very gradual and non-catastrophic responses to the interactions of ice, land, oceans, atmosphere, biosphere and to changes in both planetary orbit and solar radiation. Now it appears likely that human activities (primarily the burning of fossil fuels) will have induced a major climate change within less than 2 centuries, unimaginably fast by Earth age standards. The atmospheric CO 2 level continues to climb (280 ppm prior to 1900, 340 ppm now; rate of increase of release from fossil fuel 2.3% per year since 1973); while exact predictions and implications cannot be made, scientists are generally agreed that a warming trend will be evident by the next decade. A climatologist and a political scientist endeavor to detail the possible future climate and to discuss its implications 'for the habitability of specific regions and nations...in terms of...agricultural productivity, ecology and human health.' Some elements of a rational approach to the problem are suggested. NCAR, Boulder, Colo., USA. (slr)
F, General
and has issued guidelines for restrictions on the free international exchange of ideas--inimical to academic research. Rather than merely protesting, the National Academy of Sciences must teach the Administration by example and describe what American universities are for, so that reasonable steps can be taken if any action is necessary. (dlf) 82:6348 Bartholomew, G.A., 1982. Scientific innovation and creativity: a zoologist's point of view. Am. Zool.,
OLR (1982) 29 f12)
82:6351 Hirano, Toshiyuki (ed.), 1981. Oceanographical study in Japan: its progress in the last decade. 40th anniversary volume. J. oceanogr. Soc. Japan, 37(6):299-408; 9 papers. (In Japanese.) This perspective on the activities of the Oceanographical Society of Japan 1971-1981 covers ocean engineering, preservation of the marine environment, instrumentation, fisheries, and physical, chemical, geological and biological oceanography. (isz)
22(2):227-235. If you wish to make significant contributions to a scientific field, develop at an early point 'clear and exploitable ideas' in the sector you wish to enter; develop criteria to help in evaluating the quality of your research; and place yourself in a pioneering field. Most important, let the field and its elements pose your propositions for you, rather than allowing any formalism or protocol to do so. This advice is offered to students by a past president of the American Society of Zoologists. Dept. of Biol., Univ. of California, Los Angeles, Calif. 90024, USA. (fcs) 82:6349 Chalk, Rosemary, 1982. Maintaining scientific independence in a bureaucratic society. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 387:11-21. Discussion here is primarily concerned with an examination of 3 cases (and the issues surrounding them) in which scientific or technical professionals 'clashed with their supervisors regarding appropriate ways of communicating to the public potential risks and hazards' of which the professional had become aware. In these cases supervisors insisted that such communication was a matter of policy and authority and not the business of the scientists, while the scientists insisted that they had 'a right and possibly a professional duty' to openly and directly communicate with the public. Comm. on Sci. Freedom and Respons., AAAS, Washington, D.C. 20005, USA. (fcs) 82:6350 Culliton, B.J., 1982. The academic-industrial complex. Science, 216(4549):960-962. Increasing industrial sponsorship of academic research in recent years has raised ethical and moral questions, resulting in the development of a variety of contractual agreements designed to protect the integrity of basic academic research while providing a return on investment for industry. Examples of such agreements are described, and various points of view are discussed regarding the implications of expanded industrial-academic interactions. (jch)
82:6352 Horrobin, David, 1982. In praise of non-experts. New Scient., 94( 1311 ):842-844. There cannot, by definition, be an expert in an unresearched area, because research must necessarily antedate the expertise. So who are these people posing as experts? Prima donnas of a sort, who have a vested interest in the status quo and plenty of 'respect from their peers,' a like-minded group, who would lose their jobs if the problems on which they labored were solved. The author recommends that research funds be allocated by lay committees if we want to solve problems rather than provide employment. Efamol Res. Inst., Kentvilte, Canada. (fcs)
82:6353 Kellogg, W.W. and Robert Schware, 1982. Society, science and climate change. Foreign Affairs, 60(5): 1076-1109. For some 3.5 to 4 billion years, the Earth's climate has maintained remarkable stability; such changes as it has undergone have been largely very gradual and non-catastrophic responses to the interactions of ice, land, oceans, atmosphere, biosphere and to changes in both planetary orbit and solar radiation. Now it appears likely that human activities (primarily the burning of fossil fuels) will have induced a major climate change within less than 2 centuries, unimaginably fast by Earth age standards. The atmospheric CO 2 level continues to climb (280 ppm prior to 1900, 340 ppm now; rate of increase of release from fossil fuel 2.3% per year since 1973); while exact predictions and implications cannot be made, scientists are generally agreed that a warming trend will be evident by the next decade. A climatologist and a political scientist endeavor to detail the possible future climate and to discuss its implications 'for the habitability of specific regions and nations...in terms of...agricultural productivity, ecology and human health.' Some elements of a rational approach to the problem are suggested. NCAR, Boulder, Colo., USA. (slr)