Suchergebnisse

Im Detail werden die Entwicklungen, Veränderungen, Tendenzen und Strukturen der rumänischen Geschichtswissenschaft beschrieben und Prognosen für die Zukunft aufgestellt. Mittels eines wissenschaftssoziologischen Ansatzes wurden quantitative Analysen anhand des Publikationsindikators (Wissensproduktion) und anhand von persönlichen Daten promovierter Historiker (kollektive Biographie) angewandt. Die Ergebnisse zeigten die Tendenz einer zunehmenden Professionalisierung, eines exponentiellen Wachstums der Veröffentlichungen und einer Polarisierung bzw. tendenziellen Monopolisierung des Publikationsmarktes durch hoch- und extremproduktive Autoren; die zunehmende Stabilisierung des Wissenschaftspersonals ließ für die nächsten Jahre eine Beibehaltung der Strukturen und Tendenzen erwarten; Chancen für jüngere Historiker bleiben stark eingeschränkt, wissenschaftliche Innovationen bleiben aus oder sind selten. Die Befunde zeigten weiter, wie die politische Interdependenz zwischen Gesellschaft und Geschichtswissenschaft die Prinzipien wissenschaftlicher Promotion sowie Entwicklung und Struktur von Publikationen beeinflußten. Gleichzeitig konnte ein autonomer Wandlungsprozeß der Geschichtswissenschaft erkannt werden, der durch einen interdisziplinären Charakter und Nonkonformität mit dem gegenwärtigen Promotionssystem gekennzeichnet ist. Die von den Autoren ausgearbeiteten methodischen Ansätze können als allgemeiner Rahmen eines Analysemodells für die Verhältnisse innerhalb der Geschichtswissenschaft anderer Länder betrachtet werden. (HRS)

Draws on postmodernist feminist analysis, especially the questions of knowledge production about women & the patriarchal character of Western scientific thought, to analyze the production of knowledge about Third World women by development experts & the consequences of this knowledge for theory & practice. It is shown that, as development debates have progressed, Western development experts & agencies have launched a search for local knowledge of indigenous peoples that inevitably translates this knowledge into the language of Western science & modernization theory, thus ignoring the local experience & knowledge of indigenous groups. Examples of projects that attempt to move beyond modernization theory to incorporate the different voices & knowledges of the South are presented, & the problems they have encountered are discussed. Although dilemmas in adopting this new perspective are acknowledged, it is argued that development planners & practitioners must abandon their steadfast belief in technical expertise & adopt a more inclusive approach to knowledge production. D. M. Smith

Die aktuellen Umbrüche im globalen Kapitalismus induzieren neue Organisationsformen in Märkten und Unternehmen. Dies führt zu einer neuartigen Rolle von Information, zum andauernden Prozess der Informatisierung in den 1980er und 1990er Jahren. Neu ist die reale Existenz eines weltumspannenden sozio-technischen Systems, in dem die Generierung, Kommunikation und Verarbeitung von Wissen zunehmend zur entscheidenden Produktionsbedingung wird. Information ist eine Formalisierung von Realität. Daher kommt die wachsende Bedeutung, die Wissen, Wissenserschließung und Wissensvermittlung in der heutigen Gesellschaft einnehmen. Die angewachsene Rolle des Wissens in der Gesellschaft geht mit einer wichtiger gewordenen Rolle des Subjekts in Produktions- und Verwaltungsprozessen einher. (ICE2)

Discusses the evolution of criticism in recent decades & the reemergence of formerly subjugated forms of knowledge & meaning. The inhibiting effects of totalitarian, universal theories have been recognized, & autonomous, noncentralized, nontraditional criticism & theoretical production have gained increased legitimacy. These processes have coincided with & been facilitated by the resurrection of subjugated knowledges in two arenas: those discourses & meanings historically dismissed & buried by formalized systems, & sets of knowledge previously deemed inadequate or insufficient under the rhetoric of science. The postmodern genealogy of knowledge is characterized by the union of erudite knowledge & local memories in an attempt to elucidate, understood, & overcome historical struggles. This genealogy also represents on effort to utilize historically subjugated forms of meaning & knowledge to fight against the coercion & bias of theoretical, universal, formal, & scientific discourses. T. Sevier

The argument is presented that the increasing awareness of the tension between international trade/globalization & environmental protection will only improve with the co-evolution of ecological knowledge & reform of national & international institutions. The author supports the argument by analysis of three topics that include epistemological tensions between key trade & environment norms, the relationship between trade, ecology & intellectual property rights in relation to the TRIPS agreement & geographical indications, & the importance of shared national experience & ecological knowledge for institutional innovation & integrative responsibility at the international level. The author advocates continued experiments between institutions in spite of the current lack of intellectual & political leadership needed to guide dialogue between the national & international communities. References. J. Harwell

"Thania Paffenholz outlines concepts and experiences for designing and assessing intervention strategies. The article discusses the problems which result from the question of which actor can intervene with which strategies and instruments, and at what time in any particular situation of conflict. Drawing upon her field experience, the author formulates ten issues that need to be addressed in intervention design: 1. the need for vision, goals and commitment; 2. methods of analysing conflicts and actors; 3. strategies and roles of intervening actors; 4. the ongoing search for adequate partners and entry points; 5. timing and exit options of interventions; 6. thinking in processes and building structures; 7. criteria for the recruitment of field staff; 8. co-ordination and co-operation; 9. the inclusion of the goals of sustainability and 10. building learning into the process of interventions. These aspects are examined from the perspective of NGOs' reality in conflict and finally the author raises the difficulties of creating knowledge management mechanisms within organisations and programmes." (author's abstract)

Explores the differential political effects created by the production of knowledge & culture of lesbian & gay life by community intellectuals vs university intellectuals. It is suggested that a tension has always existed between these groups because of their differential access to resources of authority. The examples of the spread of camp & the idea of safe sex show that community intellectuals can exercise profound influence in shaping a sense of collective identity; however, the forms of vernacular knowledge they use are inherently fluid & unstable. Academic intellectuals are in a much stronger position to exercise cultural authority, because they have access to the material & symbolic power bestowed by academia. It is argued that the continued progress of cultural politics in the gay & lesbian community requires both vernacular & disciplinary knowledges so that the community can strenghten its solidarity while maintaining its legitimacy. D. M. Smith

Grundlegendes Problem technischer Innovationen ist der Umgang mit ihren oft großen Unsicherheiten. Innovationsnetzwerke zielen nun darauf, die prinzipielle Unsicherheit von Prozessen, die in eine nur bedingt prognostizierbare Zukunft gerichtet sind, für alle Beteiligten und Betroffenen zu reduzieren und kalkulierbar zu machen. Der Beitrag analysiert diese grundsätzliche Problematik für die Besonderheiten von Innovationsprozessen in neu entstehenden Technologiefeldern. Dies sind Felder, deren zentrales Merkmal die Überschreitung existierender Branchen- und Disziplinengrenzen ist und die sich durch eine hohe FuE- und Wissensintensität auszeichnen. Die Autoren zeigen, dass sich hier ein neuer Innovationstyp herausbildet, der die Ausweitung der Netzwerkdebatte in Richtung auf neue Ansätze in der Wissenschafts- und Technikforschung erfordert. Bezug genommen wird dabei auf den Ansatz von Michael Gibbons und seine Theorie der "new forms of knowledge production". (ICA)

Discusses the nature of (inter)disciplinarity & the development of a pedagogical approach to teaching scientific literacy that is based on its reconceptualization as "agential literacy." The nature of disciplinary knowledge & the need for joint conceptual shifts in basic understandings of scientific literacy are discussed. Agential realism is defined as an "epistem-onto-logical framework" that expands on the work of physicist Niels Bohr (1963) to focus on such things as the nature of scientific & other social practices; the essence of reality/matter; the role of natural, social, & cultural factors in scientific knowledge production; & links between the material & discursive. An exploration of the implications of agential realism for thinking about scientific literacy stresses that the making of science is not separate from the making of society, & teaching scientific literacy can no longer be seen as the sole responsibility of scientists. A course titled "Situated Knowledges: Cultural Studies of Twentieth Century Physics" was specifically designed to advance the agential literacy of science & nonscience majors. The course's approach & content are described. 24 References. J. Lindroth

Describes the development & evolution of a reading seminar on "Women, Gender, & Diversity in Science & Engineering" that explores the role, contributions, & experience of women in science/engineering, & examines linkages between "feminist theory on science & the lived life of women in science." A primary focus is on the contribution of feminist critiques to understandings of science & the role of science in the production of knowledge. Student reactions, ranging from enthusiasm to hostility, are considered in light of the institutional context of Johns Hopkins U, where most undergraduates are premed, science, or engineering majors who have never had an opportunity to reflect on the construction of knowledge, & where the female faculty rejects gender-related obstacles, seeing themselves as scientists, not feminists. The impact of recent interest in the field of gender & science by science/engineering scholars is discussed, along with the course's emphasis on the relation of equality to the knowledge that science produces, rather than on the "numbers" of women in science. A guide to course readings is included. 26 References. J. Lindroth

Outlines a position in the sociology of science & technology that moves beyond postmodern concerns for relativism to link relativist & nonrelativist conceptions of knowledge to their respective roles. It is shown that there has been a traditional divide between realist & relativist conceptions of science that has recently been bridged by a common focus on the cultural significance of science & technology. Approaches to the sociology of science & technology that adopt this culturalist perspective are favored because they enlist scientific & technological change as vehicles for cultural criticism & as bases for agendas of cultural renewal. However, scientific advances are felt economically as much as culturally, & the Weberian realist tradition of viewing science as an extension of instrumental rationality has its place. This realist perspective is also applied to the sociology of knowledge itself, in the sense that social scientific knowledge has accumulated over time & thus, has economic & instrumental effects that are independent of any particular cultural component of its production. 46 References. D. M. Smith