Abstract
The author describes his efforts to become a participant observer while he was a Program Director at the NSF. He describes his plans for keeping track of his reflections and his goals before he arrived at NSF, then includes sections from his reflective diary and comments after he had completed his two-year rotation. The influx of rotators means the NSF has to be an adaptive, learning organization but there are bureaucratic obstacles in the way.
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Notes
Individual scientists are not always open to learning, but this kind of resistance to change can actually serve the growth of science as long as other scientists are trying to disconfirm dominant hypotheses (Gorman 1992).
X and Y are arbitrary entries that mask the identities of actual individuals.
I found trading zones in many places at NSF, and I encouraged their formation wherever I could (Gorman, 2010).
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Gorman, M.E. Doing Science, Technology and Society in the National Science Foundation. Sci Eng Ethics 17, 839–849 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-011-9308-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-011-9308-9