Researchers can be reluctant to work with fellow academics outside their disciplines or to engage the public in their research. Some will even hesitate to work with departmental colleagues or their own students if they perceive a disciplinary gap. Many of today's pressing social concerns, however, demand interdisciplinary solutions and benefit…

Echoing nineteenth-century clerics, hostility to science has become respectable in the university community, evidenced by the emergence of science studies as a discipline. Proponents of science studies support a stance toward scientific research that can lead to intellectual paralysis, and they may in fact understand very little about science.…

A new view of science that goes beyond conventional perceptions of science as either good or bad is proposed. The new perspective sees science as process rather than product, bringing together scientific skills and human insight. It is seen as important for the public to understand that expert disagreement is part of the scientific enterprise.…

While doctoral degree remains standard degree of preference when hiring for industrial laboratories, trends in actual job requirements suggest doctoral degree may provide training that is too narrow, and a master's degree may be a more appropriate qualification. In physical sciences, faculty should work with industry leaders to shape curricula…

Criticism of science reflects an exaggerated view of what science is capable of doing, even an expectation that science can "fix" the human condition, and misplaced fears about its hazards. Widespread scientific illiteracy in turn threatens the pursuit of science. (MSE)

The gap in understanding between scientists and the field of science studies, particularly critics of the current state of the sciences, is examined. It is argued that the tension has little or nothing to do with political correctness, but rather with the cost of science and the social contract on which its financial support rests. (MSE)

It is proposed that a feminist perspective on the scientific enterprise provides the basis for a psychosociology of scientific knowledge, an understanding of the ways in which psychodynamics and social norms interact in the construction and acceptance of claims to scientific knowledge. (MSE)

The legal tests that are applied to the issue of state mandates to provide creation instruction in public schools, and the implications of the mandates, are discussed. This issue is compared with other curriculum mandates and requirements to illustrate the difficulty of the problem. (MSE)

The high price of subscribing to scientific journals threatens scientific communications. A coalition of universities, libraries, and learned societies, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), is using electronic publishing to reverse that trend and provide affordable alternatives to costly print publications.…

The relationship between the diverse problems of funding, administration, and enrollment programs on the one hand and specific curricular and instructional programs on the other are discussed. Enrollment declines in the humanities reflect changes in political economy. (MLW)

This article suggests that the American public is experiencing growing alienation from scientific inquiry and there is no national science policy. The research capacity of the United States is declining, and scientists have been reluctant to speak out. Concern exists that open disagreement among scientists would be more damaging than helpful.…

The question of how the academy can continue and prosper from the beneficent association with government without permitting government to debase science and learning for nationalist purposes is discussed in a speech at the annual meeting of the American Association of University Professors. Science and nationialism are seen as locked in mortal…

Computer applications currently used on campus and feasible in the near future are discussed, ranging from potentials of word processing for teacher and students, to storage and dissemination of scholarly publications, instructional techniques, and highly efficient information storage. Further exploration of the technology's potential and…

The memorandum opinion constituting the district court's findings in the case of Arkansas' state law mandating instruction on creation in public schools is presented. Plaintiffs in the suit include Jewish and Christian individuals and organizations and those concerned with academic freedom issues. Defendants include state education officials and…

Legal and educational aspects of the debate over religious expression entering the college classroom are examined, particularly as they relate to inclusion of creationism into science instruction. It is concluded that the central question is not whether creationism is religious, but whether it is true, and that truth benefits from open debate over…