Issues in Science and Technology articles from December 1995

Issues in Science and Technology archives from December 1995

A history lesson for Congress. (oversight of research programs)
December 22, 1995... This summer the United States commemorated the success of the Manhattan Project in its ground-breaking effort to develop the first atomic bomb quickly enough for it to be a factor in Word War II. The Manhattan Project was not only a momentous...

U.S.-Japan cooperation: time for symmetry.
December 22, 1995... Notwithstanding former Ambassador Mike Mansfield's description of America's alliance with Japan as our "most important bilateral relationship - bar none," the world's two techno-industrial superpowers face significant challenges in structuring a...

Tough choices for a tight budget. (federal support for science and technology)
December 22, 1995... In legislation passed at the end of 1994, the Senate Appropriations Committee requested that the National Research Council create a committee to address "the criteria that should be used in judging the appropriate allocation of funds to research...

Spotlighting investment in the federal budget.
December 22, 1995... In recent months, concern over the federal budget deficit has dominated congressional debate. Policymakers have demonstrated an increasing awareness of the impact of today's budget on long-term economic growth. The budget deficit absorbs large...

The science of childhood potential. (social programs to protect children of poor or troubled families)
December 22, 1995... The lives of too many American children and youth are compromised by their experiences from conception until the time they enter the work force. In the early years, many of them suffer physical and emotional trauma and neglect that impair their...

Connecting classrooms, computers, and communities. (information technology in the schools)
December 22, 1995... Some years ago, a business leader reminded me that the adventurers who set out for the New World were able to smell land long before they caught sight of it. Like those mariners, said this businessman, today's leaders have to be able to "smell...

Gender equity in science: still an elusive goal. (discrimination against women in science)
December 22, 1995... Women in science have gained a lot of ground in recent years. Once reserved primarily for men, tenured faculty positions, corporate research jobs, and government posts are being filled by more and more women. But there is still a tough row to...

Graduate education: adapting to current realities. (preparing graduates for the job market)
December 22, 1995... The system that educates doctoral scientists in the United States faces a serious problem: There are many more graduates than there are academic and research jobs, and recent graduates are finding the transition to other types of jobs extremely...

Nonlethal weapons: new tools for peace. (political barriers to use of nonlethal weapons by international peacekeeping forces)
December 22, 1995... When U.S. Marines landed in Somalia in late February 1995 to support the final withdrawal of United Nations forces from that country, they achieved a technological milestone. The Marines' India Company was the first U.S. military unit to train...

Defense Conversion: Transforming the Arsenal of Democracy.
December 22, 1995... Few people know more about or have been more involved in the military-industrial complex than Jacques Gansler. Currently an executive vice president of TASC, an applied information technology company heavily involved in defense work, Gansler has...

But Is It True? A Citizen's Guide to Environmental Health and Safety Issues.
December 22, 1995... It is sometimes difficult to remember that only a few years ago environmentalism commanded broad bipartisan support, with the country's leading Republican politician promising to be "the environmental president." Today the environmental movement...

The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate.
December 22, 1995... Now that nuclear proliferation has displaced the Soviet threat as the number-one menace to U.S. security, one school of academic thought says, Why worry? So what if the world someday has 15 or 18 nuclear-armed states? argues a leading member of...

Regulatory Takings: Law, Economics, and Politics.
December 22, 1995... One of the hot-button issues of the mid-1990s is the balance between private property rights and public land-use regulation. There is no question that federal, state, and local governments have the right to acquire private land for public use...

National Standards in American Education: A Citizen's Guide.
December 22, 1995... In this book, Diane Ravitch presents a concise yet comprehensive review of the recent debate over national standards for education in the United States. The movement to establish national standards reached its apex in 1994 with the passage of the...

School daze. (reforming the science education system)
December 22, 1995... To understand the difficulty of science education reform, I recommend doing what I've done. Spend the day at a meeting of scientists, educators, and policymakers at the National Academy of Sciences, and in the evening go to a PTA discussion of...