STAR METRICS and the Science of Science Policy

STAR METRICS is a data platform that is being voluntarily and collaboratively developed by U.S. federal science agencies and research institutions to describe investments in science and their results. It initially emerged as a result of reporting requirements associated with the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; it has developed in response to a recognized need to begin to systematically document federal investments in science and their immediate and long‐term results. The eventual goal is to draw information from existing data on scientific and economic activities as well as from research institutions' and federal science agencies' systems to provide data that can be used for a more scientific analysis of science investments and their outcomes.     

Political Science Research Internships and Political Science Education

This article reports on the evaluation of political science research internships and considers their costs and benefits for a political science education. Students indicated high levels of appreciation of the inaugural Political Science Research Internship Unit at the University of Western Australia in terms of its contribution to their personal development and work experience. A substantial number of interns gained insights into the policy process through this form of experiential learning. Many came to appreciate the contingency and the normative dimensions of knowledge in the policy process. Whereas about half of the students found the transition from the seminar room to the policy world difficult, the other half were more successful in applying their theoretical knowledge to practical experiences. The article also indicates how this evaluation informs future course design.     

Concepts in Political Science

A concept is the name of any general element in one's experience, and, consequently, in social science all conclusions are based on concepts. The main object of this article is to indicate the existence of a logical gulf between the concept as an object of analysis made by social science and the concept as a means to accomplish the analysis     

Agenda-Building and Big Science

This paper extends concepts about agenda-building politics within the policy literature by considering the implications of `big science' agenda-building politics for policyrnaking. It argues that agenda-building in the `big science' policy arena is distinct from agenda-building in the general social problem-solving policy arena. The general policy development process and the `big science' policy development process are contrasted conceptually. Two different cases of agenda-building in big science are then highlighted to offer empirical evidence of the differences between the two processes. A distinction is drawn between the contemporary conceptualization of agenda-building in the general policy arena and the big science policy arena and comments are made about the value of the paper for policy learning. Accordingly, the paper has important implications for the science policy arena and perhaps the larger policy arena.     

科学与人文的再思考——从科玄论战谈起

五四期间思想争鸣,西方科学与民主的思想在中国广泛传播。此时,出现了一场"科学与玄学"的大辩论,各方思想观点激烈碰撞,促进了人们认识的升华。本文旨在通过述评这场论战,倡导运用唯物史观融合西方科学思想与东方人文文化。     

Science and social responsibility

Science in the aggregate has not lived up to its promise to work for the benefit of society as a whole. This problem stems from the narrow perspectives that basic and applied researchers typically take to their work. Among the barriers to broadening those perspectives, the most tractable is the myth that the overriding purpose of science in human affairs is prediction; that such predictions are prerequisites for major policy decisions; and that scientific inputs to these decisions are objective and value-free. This article challenges the myth from three standpoints - epistemology, the historical context, and contemporary case studies - as a step toward improving the responsibility and accountability of science to society.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Symposium on New Paradigms for Managing Post-Industrial Societies at the meetings of the International Society for the Systems Sciences, Denver, Colorado, July 14, 1992.     

Science is not value-free

The scientific attitude involves a willingness to be objective. But many falsely assume additionally that such willingness implies being completely value-free. Actually, scientific research is value-saturated. At every step one faces the question, “Which is the best way?” Not only is it better to be than not to be scientific, scientists believe, but one ought to seek what is best relative to all aspects of science. Exploration is limited to (1) problems, (2) attitude and (3) methods. Even prejudice, which is evil when bias prevents or produces false results, may also be good when it helps produce true conclusions. Do policy scientists have special obligations regarding this issue?     

浅论人文社会科学与高等医学教育

针对目前我国医学院校中人文精神的缺失,文章探讨了人文社会科学与高等医学教育的关系,回顾了国内外医学教育中人文社会科学教育的近况,最后提出了人文社会科学在医学院校中的定位。     

以科学性保证公信度——改革和完善干部选拔任用制度的几点思考

要提高干部选拔任用的公信度,就必须增强干部工作的科学性,以科学性保证公信度。一要增强提名的科学性,力争做到规范合理;二要增强民主推荐的科学性,力争做到真实可信;三要增强考察的科学性,力争做到全面客观;四要增强党委讨论决定的科学性,力争做到权威有效。     

The History of Political Science

The history of political science serves as a context within which we make sense of the nature and role of our discipline. Narratives about the past development of British and American political science help to frame debates, choices, and identities within the contemporary discipline in Britain. What do recent studies on the history of political science tell us about the character of political science in Britain and America? What do they suggest about the relation of the British study of politics to British identities more generally? Our review of recent work concentrates on three issues: (1) how historical studies of political science relate to approaches and identities within the contemporary discipline; (2) how they relate to the past, i.e. whether their historical vision is marred by presentism; (3) whether they look beyond the boundaries of the discipline.