Abstract
Most observers would agree that the American scientific community is performing relatively well. There are more scientific discoveries in the United States than in any other country, and a high proportion of all scientific papers are written by Americans. Even so, we do not have a good understanding of the ideal conditions under which science will best flourish. Over the past one and half centuries, the center of science has moved, first from France then to Germany and ultimately to America. In France and Germany at the peak of their productivity, as in America today, there was a widely shared view that their scientific communities were performing extremely well. But in France and Germany, numerous contradictions slowed the development of sciences. And today American science has its own set of contradictions which pose problems for its future. American science is strong, but this is the time to address some of its contradictions in order to protect its strength (Nagi and Corwin, 1972:63–4; Smith and Karleski, 1977).
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bissett, Marlan (1972) Politics in Science (Boston: Little, Brown).
Brooks, Harvey (1978) ‘The Problem of Research Priorities’, Daedalus (Spring), vol. 107 no. 2:171–90.
de Solla Price, Derek (1963) Little Science, Big Science (New York: Columbia University Press).
Hollingsworth, Rogers and Hanneman, Robert (1982) ‘Working-Class Power and the Political Economy of Western Capitalist Societies,’ Comparative Social Research, vol. 5, part II. 5:61–80.
Hollingsworth, Rogers (1982) ‘The Political-Structured Basis for Economic Performance’, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 459 (January):28–45.
Lehman, Harvey (1968) ‘The Age Decrement of Outstanding Scientific Creativity’, American Psychologist:128–34.
Nagi, Saad and Corwin, Ronald (1972) The Social Contexts of Research (New York: John Wiley and Sons).
Pelz, Donald and Andrews, Frank (1976) Scientists in Organizations (New York: John Wiley).
Pelz, Donald (1967) ‘Creative Tensions in the Research and Development Climate’, Science:160–5.
Hubbert, M. King (1963) ‘Are We Retrogressing in Science?’ Science:884–90.
Smith, Bruce and Karlesky (1977) The State of Academic Science (New York: Change Magazine Press).
Storer, Norman (1973) The Sociology of Science (Chicago: University of Chicago Press).
Thomas, Lewis (1977a) ‘On the Limitations of Modern Medicine’, in John Knowles (ed.), Doing Better and Feeling Worse: Health in the United States (New York: W. W. Norton).
Thomas, Lewis (1977b) ‘On the Science and Technology of Medicine’, in Knowles (ed.), Doing Better and Feeling Worse: Health in the United States (New York: W. W. Norton).
Weinberg, Alvin B. (1967) Reflections on Big Science (Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press).
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1988 Policy Studies Organization
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hollingsworth, J.R. (1988). Specialization and the Problem of Communication within and across Academic Disciplines. In: Lazin, F., Aroni, S., Gradus, Y. (eds) The Policy Impact of Universities in Developing Regions. Policy Studies Organization Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-08879-9_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-08879-9_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-08881-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-08879-9
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social & Cultural Studies CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)