Social Dynamics of an On-Line Scholarly Debate

This article focuses on different means of constructing a scholarly on-line debate related to the field of science, technology, and society. The study shows how scientific interactions are reproduced in a new medium while, simultaneously, some users take advantage of new possibilities offered by the medium. The first section analyzes how the debate emerged, was constructed, and subsequently revealed the heterogeneity of goals and ideas among the participants. The second section discusses the practices that the participants explored to make the debate evolve. Two attitudes, identified as strategic and tactical, were observed. The tactical practices were to enable the emergence of a sense of community. From this perspective, the way some participants sustained mobilization and stimulated participation are analyzed. The strategic attitude is illustrated through the behavior of those who tried to be the leaders in the debate.     

Two approaches to etiology: the debate over smoking and lung cancer in the 1950s

Statisticians R.A. Fisher and Joseph Berkson have become infamous for ending up on the "wrong" side of the debate over the evidence linking smoking and lung cancer during the 1950s, and scholars have speculated about their personal motives in the controversy. But there were many senior biostatisticians and epidemiologists voicing similar concerns about the quality of the evidence at the time, albeit with less inflammatory rhetoric. This debate occurred during a time when epidemiological research methods commonly used today were understood by few and were only just beginning to work their way into public health and medicine. All of the participants in the debate over smoking and lung cancer saw the need for explicit and rigorous standards for evaluating etiological hypotheses, but they held conflicting views about what those standards should be. The differing opinions on the evidence reflected two different models of etiological research--controlled experiment as the crucial, objective test of a causal hypothesis versus inferential judgment based on a diverse body of evidence. This debate has relevance for current epidemiological practice, as tension between these two views still remains.     

The creation of prehistoric man. Aimé Rutot and the Eolith controversy, 1900-1920

Although he died in obscurity, the Belgian museum conservator Aimé Rutot (1847-1933) was one of the most famous European archaeologists between 1900 and 1920. The focus of his scientific interest was stone flints, which he claimed to be the oldest known human tools, so-called eoliths. Skeptics maintained that the flints showed no marks of human workmanship, but Rutot nevertheless managed to spread his "Eolithic theory" in an important part of the scientific community. This essay demonstrates how material objects--series of stone flints and sets of statues that purported to reconstruct prehistoric "races"--were given scientific meaning by Rutot. Rutot diffused his ideas by disseminating his stones and statues, thus enlarging his networks of influence. For a time he managed to be at the material center of a trade network as well as at the intellectual center of archaeological debate. The essay shows how Rutot achieved this status and how he eventually fell from favor among serious scientists.     

Inspiration in the harness of daily labor. Darwin, botany, and the triumph of evolution, 1859-1868

Charles Darwin hoped that a large body of working naturalists would embrace evolution after the Origin of Species appeared in late 1859. He was disappointed. His evolutionary ideas at first made painfully little progress in the scientific community. But by 1863 the tide had turned dramatically, and within five years evolution became scientific orthodoxy in Britain. The Origin's reception followed this peculiar trajectory because Darwin had not initially tied its theory to productive original scientific investigation, which left him vulnerable to charges of reckless speculation. The debate changed with his successful application of evolution to original problems, most notably orchid fertilization, the subject of a well-received book in 1862. Most of Darwin's colleagues found the argument of the Origin convincing when they realized that it functioned productively in the day-to-day work of science-and not before. The conceptual force of the Origin, however outwardly persuasive, acquired full scientific legitimacy only when placed "in the harness of daily labour".     

Uncertain science and a failure of trust. The NIH radioepidemiologic tables and compensation for radiation-induced cancer

In the late 1970s, the U.S. Congress was debating a number of different proposals to provide monetary compensation to residents of Utah and Nevada who had been exposed to radioactive fallout from government nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s. Yet scientists and government officials expressed concern that such a program would end up compensating many people for cancers that were not caused by the fallout. Thus, after much debate, Congress directed the National Institutes of Health to produce a set of statistical tables--the radioepidemiologic tables--to target compensation awards to "deserving" individuals. Advocates of the tables, notably Senator Orrin Hatch, argued that reliance on scientific data would provide compensation decisions with predictability and evenhandedness. Yet in the end, the effort to employ the tables failed. The substantial scientific uncertainties in the tables and in their application to individual claims failed to deliver the authority they promised. Additionally, the goal of fairness and objectivity could not be convincingly met because of persistent controversy and mistrust surrounding the government's role in the study of health effects of low-level radiation.     

Linus Pauling and the scientific debate over fallout hazards

From 1954 to 1963, numerous scientists engaged in a public debate over the possible hazards from radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons testing. Nobel laureate Linus Pauling, a California Institute of Technology chemist, was one of the most prominent. His scientific papers relating to the fallout debate reveal many of the scientific, social and political issues involved in the controversy. Although the public controversy ended after the signing of the 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty, many of the scientific questions about the possible hazards of low-level radiation remain under debate within the scientific community. Moreover, the fallout debate was a prototype of current controversies over environmental and public-health hazards.     

Families made by science. Arnold Gesell and the technologies of modern child adoption

This essay considers the effort to transform child adoption into a modern scientific enterprise during the first half of the twentieth century via a case study of Arnold Gesell (1880-1961), a Yale developmentalist well known for his studies of child growth and the applied technologies that emerged from them: normative scales promising to measure and predict development. Scientific adoption was a central aspiration for many human scientists, helping professionals, and state regulators. They aimed to reduce the numerous hazards presumed to be inherent in adopting children, especially infants, who were not one's "own." By importing insights and techniques drawn from the world of science into the practical world of family formation, scientific adoption stood for kinship by design. This case study explores one point of intersection between the history of science and the history of social welfare and social policy, simultaneously illustrating the cultural progress and power of scientific authority and the numerous obstacles to its practical realization.     

Genetic testing and its implications: human genetics researchers grapple with ethical issues

To better understand ethical issues involved in the field of human genetics and promote debate within the scientific community, the author surveyed scientists who engage in human genetics research about the pros, cons, and ethical implications of genetic testing. This study contributes systematic data on attitudes of scientific experts. The survey finds respondents are highly supportive of voluntary testing and the right to know one's genetic heritage. The majority consider in utero testing and consequent pregnancy termination acceptable for cases involving likelihood of serious disease but disapprove for genetic reasons they consider arbitrary, leaving a gray area of distinguishing between treatment of disorders and enhancement still to be resolved. While safeguarding patient confidentiality versus protecting at-risk third parties (kin, reproductive partners) presents a dilemma, preserving privacy from misuse by institutional third parties (employers, insurers) garners strong consensus for legislation against discrimination. Finally, a call is made for greater genetic literacy.     

Genetic testing and its implications: human genetics researchers grapple with ethical issues.

To better understand ethical issues involved in the field of human genetics and promote debate within the scientific community, the author surveyed scientists who engage in human genetics research about the pros, cons, and ethical implications of genetic testing. This study contributes systematic data on attitudes of scientific experts. The survey finds respondents are highly supportive of voluntary testing and the right to know one's genetic heritage. The majority consider in utero testing and consequent pregnancy termination acceptable for cases involving likelihood of serious disease but disapprove for genetic reasons they consider arbitrary, leaving a gray area of distinguishing between treatment of disorders and enhancement still to be resolved. While safeguarding patient confidentiality versus protecting at-risk third parties (kin, reproductive partners) presents a dilemma, preserving privacy from misuse by institutional third parties (employers, insurers) garners strong consensus for legislation against discrimination. Finally, a call is made for greater genetic literacy.     

Institutional complementarity and inventive performance in nano science and technology

Academics and policy makers are investigating the relations between science and technology in the emerging field of nano science and technology (NST) and the effectiveness of different institutional regimes. We use multiple indicators to analyze the performance of inventors working in NST. We clustered patents into three groups according to the scientific curricula of the inventors. The first group consists of patents whose inventors are all authors of at least one scientific publication in NST, while the second is made up of patents invented by individuals who have no scientific publication in the field. Thirdly, we isolated those patents that have at least one inventor who is also author of at least one scientific publication in NST. The underlining presumption of this classification is that of a proxy of different institutional complementarities of inventive collective action in NST.     

科学实在论和结构实在论——它们的内容、意义和问题

结构实在论是近年来科学实在论与反实在论争论的焦点之一。而为了理解结构实在论必须首先了解科学实在论。文章首先对科学实在论的论据、类型及其问题进行概要性讨论,指出它的主要论据是最佳解释推理和无奇迹论证以及因果解释推理和实验实践论证,并将科学实在论划分为科学理论实在论、理论实体实在论、实验实体实在论和结构实在论;然后对新兴起的结构实在论相关的本体论和认识论作一个总体的评论,阐明结构实在论在当前科学实在论与反实在论争论中的地位与作用,比较各种不同类型的结构实在论,特别是认识的结构实在论和本体的结构实在论的异同,阐明它们的内容、历史、意义和存在问题,并认为拒斥实体的结构实在论是片面的、不完备的,主张建构一种实体的结构实在论来修正和发展结构实在论。     

Pedagogy and performativity: Rendering laboratory lives in the documentary "Naturally obsessed: the making of a scientist"

A recently released documentary on life in a protein crystallography laboratory offers an exemplary opportunity to examine how a popular account of scientific training models narrowly defined norms of masculinity and mentorship and simultaneously sets these as the tacit conditions for success in science. Rather than treating this documentary as a good or bad representation of what life in the lab is actually like, this analysis draws attention to how the scientists featured in the film perform for the camera and how the filmmakers splice together the action to animate an engaging story. This essay shows how this popular and widely circulating documentary frames science as a game to be won and stages scientific success on an agonistic playing field. Those who can "make it" are those who are tough enough and those who are willing and able to get entangled in the taunting, jesting, and jostling relationships that appear to be required for mentorship in this lab. The essay argues that this documentary tethers this model of success in science to restrictive norms of masculinity and in so doing promotes a pedagogical culture that fosters competition, rivalry, and ritualized shame. Feminist theories of performativity are engaged to consider the iterative processes through which narrowly circumscribed masculinities and styles of pedagogy are sedimented and naturalized. This essay aims to spur renewed attention to the care historians and anthropologists might take to examine the often hidden tropes that are lurking inside the stories about science that we find so salient.     

埃博拉事件中科技期刊的社会责任

【目的】深入了解埃博拉事件中科技期刊所承担的社会责任。【方法】 对中国知网(CNKI)上发表的所有篇名中含有埃博拉的论文进行统计分析,来源数据库为"中国学术期刊网络出版总库",检索结果使用Microsoft Office 2007 Excel进行整理和统计。检索截止时间为2015年7月15日。【结果】 自1995年至今20年间,共有150种科技期刊发表了579篇有关埃博拉的论文,其中以2014年发表的论文数量最多(259篇),占总发文量的44.7%。发文量与疫情暴发的年份基本吻合。【结论】 从分析结果可见,作为承载着科学传播任务的科技期刊,对此次埃博拉事件高度关注,从多方面、多角度进行了深层次的报道。     

The (co-)production of public uncertainty: UK scientific advice on mobile phone health risks

UK scientific advice on the possible health risks of mobile phones has embraced (or seems to be embracing) broader engagement with interested non-experts. This paper explains the context of lost credibility that made such a development necessary, and the implications of greater engagement for the construction (and expert control) of "public concern." I narrate how scientific advice matured from an approach based on compliance with guidelines to a style of "public science" in which issues such as trust and democracy were intertwined with scientific risk assessment. This paper develops existing conceptions of the "public understanding of science" with an explanation based around the co-production of scientific and social order. Using a narrative drawn from a series of in-depth interviews with scientists and policymakers, I explain how expert reformulation of the state of scientific uncertainty within a public controversy reveals constructions of "The Public," and the desired extent of their engagement. Constructions of the public changed at the same time as a construction of uncertainty as solely an expert concern was molded into a state of politically workable public uncertainty. This paper demonstrates how publics can be constructed as instruments of credible policymaking, and suggests the potential for public alienation if nonexperts feel they have not been fairly represented.     

金融危机触发白色家电企业发展客户关系管理新契机

金融危机使得整个家电行业都受到了严重的冲击,白色家电企业更是面临着原材料涨价、市场饱和、利润缩水等困境。本文首先论述了金融危机对白色家电企业的影响,然后提出了客户关系管理的应对出路。针对白色家电企业的特点,着重论述了企业实施CRM基本目标、基本框架以及实施后的功能效果等问题,为白色家电企业找到新的利润增长点、走出金融危机、成功实现"V"型反转提供了有价值的参考。     

Maintaining continuity through a scientific revolution: a rereading of E. B. Wilson and T. H. Morgan on sex determination and Mendelism

A rereading of the American scientific literature on sex determination from 1902 to 1926 leads to a different understanding of the construction of the Mendelian-chromosome theory after 1910. There was significant intellectual continuity, which has not been properly appreciated, underlying this scientific "revolution." After reexamining the relationship between the ideas of key scientists, in particular Edmund B. Wilson and Thomas Hunt Morgan, I argue that, contrary to the historical literature, Wilson and Morgan did not adopt opposing views on Mendelism and sex determination. Rather, each preferred a non-Mendelian explanation of the determination of sex. Around 1910, both integrated the Mendelian and non-Mendelian theories to create a synthetic theory. One problem was the need to avoid an overly deterministic view of sex while also accepting the validity of Mendelism. Morgan's discovery of mutations on the X chromosome takes on different significance when set in the context of the debate about sex determination, and Calvin Bridges's work on sex determination is better seen as a development of Morgan's ideas, rather than a departure from them. Conclusions point to the role of synthesis within fields as a way to advance scientific theories and reflect on the relationship between synthesis and explanatory "pluralism" in biology.     

论美国科学不端行为定义演变的几个趋向

 从1989年美国公共卫生局发布第一个正式“科学不端行为”定义,到2000年美国科学技术政策办公室的“研究不端行为”定义实现了定义的统一,美国科学不端行为的定义经历了十多年的争论,内涵发生了四个大的变化,一是取消模糊语言“其他行为”;二是加强对术语“捏造、篡改和剽窃”的解释;三是建立不端行为调查结论的判断依据;四是从“科学不端行为”转变为“研究不端行为”。     

Scientific method discourses in the construction of 'EMF' science: interests,resources and rhetoric in submissions to a public inquiry

Since the late 1970s, there has been considerable debate surrounding the question of whether or not exposures to non-ionizing radiation and electric and magnetic fields (EMF), produced by powerlines and electrical and telecommunications technologies, are harmful to health. Whilst there has been some recent evidence of regulatory fatigue, and attempts to enforce closure, the EMF debate nevertheless still continues. This paper will explore the r?le played by competing images of scientific method in the argumentative strategies used by two of the main protagonists in an Australian public inquiry (held in 1990-91) which investigated the EMF issue: 'Inquiry into Community Needs and High Voltage (132kv and above) Transmission Line Development', the so-called Gibbs Inquiry. Apart from documenting some of the epistemologically intricate features of the EMF controversy, the following discussion will also consider the way scientific method discourses can contribute to enhancing the durability of knowledge claims in legal and regulatory settings.