Issues in Science and Technology

• Sender: owner-newjour@ccat.sas.upenn.edu

Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1999 07:15:44 +0100
From: Michael Uwe Moebius <m.moebius@uni-koeln.de>

Issues in Science and Technology

http://www.nap.edu/issues/

The National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and
the Ida Green Center for the Study of Science and Society at the
University of Texas at Dallas have recently made their journal, _Issues in
Science and Technology_ available online. The journal is published
quarterly and features articles that analyze "current topics in science,
technology, and health policy and recommend actions by government,
industry, academia, and individuals to solve pressing problems." The
electronic version will feature a forum and hyperlinks to related topics.
Users can choose to subscribe or to browse or search current and back
issues (from Fall 1996) online.

Issues in Science & Technology is a forum for discussion of public policy
related to science, engineering, and medicine. This includes policy for
science (how we nurture the health of the research enterprise) and science
for policy (how we use knowledge more effectively to achieve social
goals), with emphasis on the latter.

Although Issues is published by the scientific and technical communities,
it is not just a platform for these communities to present their views to
Congress and the public. Rather, it is a place where researchers,
government officials, business leaders, and others with a stake in public
policy can share ideas and offer specific suggestions.

Unlike a popular magazine, in which journalists report on the work of
experts, or a professional journal, in which experts communicate with
colleagues, Issues offers authorities an opportunity to share their
insights directly with a broad audience. And the expertise of the
boardroom, the statehouse, and the federal agency is as important as that
of the laboratory and the university.

The ultimate purpose of Issues is admittedly idealistic but vital: to
improve the effectiveness of public and private policy in making a better
world and to raise the level of debate and mutual respect among all those
who appreciate the critical contributions of science and technology.

e-mail:  Kevin Finneran, Editor in Chief, kfinnera@nas.edu