Suchergebnisse

We are going through such a state now in our national finances where many of the so-called principles of economics on which our Government has operated are proven fallacious, and the result is that the United States is in danger of losing one of her most cherished and valuable elements of national power.

This article deals with trends in postsecondary science in the United States. Analysis of the literature indicates that science is undergoing a subtle but steady metamorphosis in higher education as follows: a shift in the research paradigm, the rising tide of commercialism, more stringent human subject research regulations, teaching for a scientific workforce, the instructional technology invasion, pressure to participate in teacher education, ethnic and gender inequalities, a proliferation of research disciplines, and fading public influence. It is time that the university science community comes to the realization that science in higher education, like any other human enterprise, is as good as the people who learn, teach, research, and work in it and, most important, that the future of science depends on how it is used for the welfare of all mankind.

This article deals with trends in postsecondary science in the US. Analysis of the literature indicates that science is undergoing a subtle but steady metamorphosis in higher education as follows: a shift in the research paradigm, the rising tide of commercialism, more stringent human subject research regulations, teaching for a scientific workforce, the instructional technology invasion, pressure to participate in teacher education, ethnic & gender inequalities, a proliferation of research disciplines, & fading public influence. It is time that the university science community comes to the realization that science in higher education, like any other human enterprise, is as good as the people who learn, teach, research, & work in it; &, most important, that the future of science depends on how it is used for the welfare of all mankind. 32 References. [Copyright 2003 Sage Publications, Inc.]

The field known as "political science" is in many ways a peculiarly American discipline. Although it plays a minor rôle in some European universities, and none in the rest, this particular field of the social sciences is of great importance in the United States. Besides a mounting interest in the study of government on the undergraduate level in this country, there has been a steady growth of professional training for the public service in special schools of public administration and in international affairs and diplomacy, both closely related to and usually staffed in part at least by political scientists.To the non-American inquiring as to the reason for this special development, no exhaustive answer can be given at the present time. But mention may be made of a number of factors which have contributed to this phenomenal and persistent growth. In the first place, political science, backed by the ancient tradition of Aristotle's Politics, has a central appeal to young men and women seeking an integrated and over-all approach to the "great society" of a free and intensely democratic people. The pride Americans used to take in their political "institutions," which was noted by many a foreign traveller, has in this age of democratic disillusionment found an uneasy refuge in academic study of the history of political thought and institutions. The well-known practical, or rather activist, tendency of American scholars has turned many an economist, such as John R. Commons, to legislative halls and thus has pushed the problems of government into the center of attention. Historians with similar propensities, like Charles A. Beard, came to enrich the work of political science.

For a sizeable minority of social scientists, communication with 3 audiences other than their own colleagues is important; these audiences are: (1) the public at large, (2) policy-makers, & (3) potential sponsors of research. There are 5 different, but interrelated kinds of information which social scientists may transmit to these 3 groups: (A) general statements about research that needs to be done or proposals for specific studies from individual researchers; (B) research currently underway, but not yet complete; (C) findings of a particular study; (D) what is known about a given area of the social sciences; & (E) what a particular study means in policy terms. Although social sciences are clearly relevant to a large proportion of what is discussed in the media, it is rare for social scientists to be asked by the media for an opinion of interest. However, interest in the social sciences by the media has grown significantly. Between policy-makers & the social scientists, education is needed at both ends of the "chain of communication." Organizations such as the Social Science Research Council & the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences have helped in bridging the gap between academia & the federal government. Communication is central to the problem of matching social scientists with sponsors of their research, public or private. Not enough money is available to support all the potential projects of social science. The printed media is still the most common means of communication within the social science community & in its relations to society. 1 Table. R. Lent.

Address before the Southern political science association, Knoxville, Tenn., Nov. 11, 1949.

The International Political Science Review had originally planned to include an article in each issue on some aspects of the state of political science generally and also in specific countries. Severe space constraints and the sloth of the general editor have conspired to leave this intention unfulfilled, although an excellent review by Pierre Favre on the discipline in France did appear in 1981. The idea still strikes me as a good one and we shall try to include discipline reviews from time to time at least.