The evolutionary character and complexity of technological development is discussed, focusing on the steam engine and computer as examples. Additional topics include characteristics of science/technology, cultural factors in technological development, technology transfer, and problems in technological organization. (JN)

A National Academy panel evaluates trade-offs between dangers to national security that arise from technology transfers and threats to the openness of scientific communication that are caused by too much secrecy. Major conclusions/suggestions are discussed. A list of acquisitions from the West affecting Soviet military technology is included.…

Describes Japan's industrial development and science/technology policy. Topics include policies for promoting industries, rationalization policy for industry, catching up with advanced technology, progression from imitation to creative technology, Japan's advantages in technological development, and problems faced by developing countries today.…

A 45-year-old research project (culminating in the multivolume "Science and Civilization in China") is examining major scientific innovations in ancient China and attempting to explain why, although the Chinese gained a technological edge in the past, they did not make the forward leap into modern science. (JN)

Describes the basic features of three different models of "innovation policy": (1) a model of explicit and institutionalized policy in Europe; (2) one of apparently limited policy affecting mainly the climate of innovation in the United States; and (3) one of implicit action imbedded in other policies in Japan. (Author/JN)

Describes high-tech methods of materials testing and organizations that perform it. Suggests that materials testing is an ideal example of the integration of mathematics, science, and technology. (SK)

Discusses plans to develop and naturalize its scientific and technological capabilities. Areas in which Mexico's National Council of Science and Technology selected to focus a national development program include: scholarships for middle-/high-level researchers/technicians; programs to support research and basic/new industries; government-industry…

Discusses three points of view on the place of science and technology in African society. Examines the relationship that exists between cultural values and science and technology development. Provides implications at three levels of technology. (Author/YP)

Amid controversy, a former Paris slaughterhouse is being converted into one of the world's largest science museums. The museum will be organized into four major sectors corresponding to different levels at which science and technology touch human lives: exploring, using/producing, living/inhabitating, and communications. The controversy related to…

This article is based on the general introduction and the opening sections of chapters 1 and 2 from the author's book, "Living in the Labyrinth of Technology." It revisits the process of industrialization as having a dual component: people changing technology and technology changing people. The latter is almost universally overlooked and provides…

This report examines the impact of the Soviet Academy of Sciences on the development of technology in the Soviet Union, finding that the future of Soviet technology depends significantly on the Academy and that severe problems stemming from its nature and its relationship with Soviet industry encumber the Academy's ability to serve Soviet…

Describes (in separate articles) 25 developments in science, technology, and medicine that have potential impact on the near future. They include discoveries related to space butterflies, drugs, twenty-first century software, experimental mathematics, brain drugs, egg development, ultrasmall microchips, the biology of birth, cancer-causing genes,…

Assesses the current status of science and technology in India, focusing on developments in agriculture, energy, medicine, space, basic sciences, and engineering. Indicates that although India has benefited in many fields from international collaboration during the last 30 years, the country's leaders have also placed particularly strong emphasis…

Discusses: (1) the synergistic nature of science, technology, and engineering; (2) the benefits and burdens of technology; (3) the resolution of societal issues; and (4) the roles and responsibilities of scientists and engineers in the resolution of societal issues. (JN)

The House Science and Technology Committee is launching a probe of where the U.S. ought to go in making science policy. The general drift of the inquiry involves whether the government's design of research support is out of date. Comments from witnesses indicate that it is. (Author/JN)