There is a broad impetus across policy and institutional domains to expand public engagement and involvement with emerging technology research and innovation. Yet innovative theory, methods, and practices to critically explore algorithmic system controversies and democratic possibilities are still in nascent form. In this paper, we bring together…

Traditionally, the management of technology has focused on the stages before or after development of technology. In this approach the technology itself is conceived as the result of a deterministic enterprise; a result that is to be either rejected or embraced. However, recent insights from Science and Technology Studies (STS) have shown that…

Over the last two decades, science educators and science education researchers have grown increasingly interested in utilising insights from the sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK) to inform their work and research. To date, researchers in science education have focused on two applications: results of sociological studies of science have been…

Recent work in science and technological studies has provided a clearer understanding of the way in which science functions in society and the interconnectedness among different strands of science, policy, economy and environment. It is well acknowledged that a different way of thinking is required in order to address problems facing the global…

Over the last decade the daily experience of adolescents has been transformed by developments in electronic media, including the computer, the Internet, and cell phones. Relative rarities only a generation ago, they are the daily tools of communication, information, and amusement for a majority of adolescents. Beyond access, content and…

Discussed is the history and elements of the personal computer. Its uses as a laboratory assistant and generic toolkit for mathematical analysis and modeling are included. The future of the personal computer in research is addressed. (KR)

Reports on aspects of technological change essential to economic progress in the United States. States that workers need to be more adaptable, research needs to be more focused, and managers need to be more open-minded. (RT)

Summarizes the way in which the nation is preparing scientists and engineers to meet the needs of industry and society. States that by offering special science and mathematics enrichment programs and providing good enthusiastic teaching, young people can be recruited to the sciences. (RT)

Discusses the development of new computer systems that will overcome the "slowness" of modern computers. Describes ways to increase the speed of single processors by keeping more of a processor's components active. Outlines the theory behind the linking together of many processors to form a parallel computer. (TW)

This exploration of the negative aspects of educational technology and their implications for education and society is based on the assumptions that educational technology and technologists are of a philosophic nature, and that many of our beliefs arise from beyond the empirical or rational--that is, from intuition or tacit knowledge. In the first…

Discusses some of the federal and state engineering research initiatives that have been launched in recent years, including the National Science Foundation's Engineering Research Centers. Proposes that the status of the United States' competitiveness may depend on how well we manage this process as much as on the resulting technologies themselves.…

Examined is the role of middle school science textbooks in dealing with sensitive social and scientific issues. Ten widely used textbooks are compared to determine the amount and depth of content presented on five major global issues, including nuclear weapons. Implications are discussed within the context of a television culture. (KR)

The conference described in this document featured keynote addresses, two workshops, symposia, and contributed presentations. This document contains the extended abstracts of the conference presentations, and symposia. Topics of the papers and symposia of this conference cover the areas of: (1) the relationship between environmental education and…

This document contains 59 papers presented at a recent national conference dealing with the relationships among science, technology, and society (STS), with a particular emphasis on technological literacy. The papers deal with such topics as: (1) the concepts and frameworks of technological literacy; (2) STS and technological literacy at the…

Describes research conducted on the organization of information from many disciplines to teach social issues raised by nuclear technology. States that the social sciences provided the organizational base for most courses examined, courses emphasized moral responsibility and political choice, and syllabi emphasized technological, strategic, and…