Policy and Global Affairs - Böcker

The military, political, and economic preeminence of the United States during the post-World War II era is based to a substantial degree on its superior rate of achievement in science and technology, as well as on its capacity to translate these achievements into products and processes that contribute to economic prosperity and the national defense. The success of the U.S. scientific enterprise has been facilitated by many factors, important among them the opportunity for American scientists and engineers to pursue their research-and to communicate with each other-in a free and open environment. During the last two administrations, however, concern has arisen that the characteristically open U.S. scientific community has served as one of the channels through which critical information and know-how are flowing to the Soviet Union and to other potential adversary countries; openness in science is thus perceived to present short-term national security risks in addition to its longer-term national security benefits in improved U.S. military technology.The Panel on Scientific Communication and National Security was asked to examine the various aspects of the application of controls to scientific communication and to suggest how to balance competing national objectives so as to best serve the general welfare. The Panel held three two-day meetings in Washington at which it was briefed by representatives of the departments of Defense, State, and Commerce, and by representatives of the intelligence community, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency. The Panel also heard presentations by members of the research community and by university representatives. In addition to these briefings, the Rand Corporation prepared an independent analysis of the transfer of sensitive technology from the United States to the Soviet Union. To determine the views of scientists and administrators at major research universities, the Panel asked a group of faculty members and administrative officials at Cornell University to prepare a paper incorporating their own views and those of counterparts at other universities.The main thrust of the Panel's findings is completely reflected in this document. However, the Panel has also produced a classified version of the subpanel report based on the secret intelligence information it was given; this statement is available at the Academy to those with the appropriate security clearance.

"...should help mobilize Government support for the nation's slipping technological and international trade position..." Leonard Silk,;ITThe New York Times.;IT A blue-ribbon panel takes a critical look at the state of U.S. leadership in technological innovation and trade.

This nontechnical overview of developments in nuclear arms control describes how the United States and the Soviet Union arrived at their present positions--and where they might go from here. According to Foreign Affairs, "This book is proof that the complexities of arms control can be successfully explained in a nontechnical, and even more importantly, nonpartisan manner...It presents the key issues in a clear, thorough, and remarkably up-to-date way...Strongly recommended as a primary source for classroom and public discussions."

In developing countries, traditional fishermen are important food contributors, yet technological information and development assistance to third-world nations often focuses on agriculture and industrial fishing, without addressing the needs of independent, small-scale fishermen. This book explores technological considerations of small-scale, primitive fishing technologies, and describes innovative, relatively inexpensive methods and tools that have already been successfully applied in developing countries. It offers practical information about all aspects of small-scale fishing, including boat design and construction, fishing methods and gear, artificial reef construction and fish aggregating devices, techniques for coastal mariculture, and simple methods for processing and preserving fish once they are caught. Fisheries Technologies for Developing Countries is illustrated throughout with photographs of the devices and construction methods described in the text.

No more important issue faces us today than the future success of efforts to manage and control nuclear arsenals. Reykjavik and Beyond represents the careful consideration of this subject by a group of experts deeply involved in arms control. The authors consider what changes in force structures, strategic thought, and political relations would be necessary to make possible large reductions in the superpowers' nuclear arsenals. They also examine how very deep cuts would affect other aspects of the military balance and the political and international order more broadly.

By Leo A. Orleans for the Committee on Scholarly Communications with the People's Republic of China, National Academy of Sciences The shift in U.S.-China relations since normalization has resulted in a rapid influx of Chinese students and scholars studying at U.S. institutions. There is an urgent need among institutions and individuals working with the Chinese for firm data about the Chinese student population. Also needed is a better understanding of Chinese policies and practices on foreign study. Chinese Students in America is the only comprehensive resource available today to fill these needs. Author Leo A. Orleans uses original Chinese resource materials to explore several overall issues--such as China's concern about a "brain drain" as more Chinese students decide to stay in the United States. He explains why data on Chinese students in the United States are so elusive and presents an in-depth analysis of the best figures that are available. Chinese Students in America will be of particular interest to policymakers, professors and administrators who work with Chinese students and scholars, specialists in education, international organizations, members of U.S.-China affiliations, and libraries, as well as Chinese students and scholars studying in America.

Featuring essays by prominent experts in international security, this volume surveys the status and prospects for progress in every major area of arms control under active negotiation: strategic and conventional force reductions, a chemical weapons ban, and the vitality of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty regime. Also included is a fascinating account of the implementation of the INF Treaty through on-site inspections to verify missile destruction by the director of the U.S. On-Site Inspection Agency, Brigadier General Roland Lajoie. Roald Sagdeev, a prominent Soviet scientist and expert on security matters, offers his views of the Soviet Union's restructuring of its approach to national and international security. Also featured are essays by Wolfgang Panofsky, R. James Woolsey, Paul Doty, Matthew Meselson, Spurgeon Keeny, and Marvin Goldberger.

A need exists for better models of what contributes to changes in the time that students take to complete doctorate degrees. Utilizing numerous data sources, On Time to the Doctorate presents a new model to explain changes in both total time to the doctorate and in the several components of time to the doctorate. It examines the lengthening time to the doctorate in many fields (chemistry; physics and astronomy; earth, atmospheric, and marine sciences; mathematical sciences; engineering; agricultural sciences; biological sciences; health sciences; psychology; economics; and "all other social sciences") and provides theoretical explanations for this lengthening time. This thorough and current analysis of time to the doctorate provides an up-to-date, extensive review of the literature and an exposition of data not available elsewhere.

This fascinating, readable volume is filled with enticing, detailed information about more than 30 different Incan crops that promise to follow the potato's lead and become important contributors to the world's food supply. Some of these overlooked foods offer special advantages for developing nations, such as high nutritional quality and excellent yields. Many are adaptable to areas of the United States. Lost Crops of the Incas includes vivid color photographs of many of the crops and describes the authors' experiences in growing, tasting, and preparing them in different ways. This book is for the gourmet and gourmand alike, as well as gardeners, botanists, farmers, and agricultural specialists in developing countries.

This book presents the results of a meeting held by the Board on Science and Technology for International Development. At this meeting, six groups of modelers presented their best estimates of the food aid/food commodity trade picture during the period 1991-2000. These estimates are based on each modeler's own database and own assumptions about trends in global policy, climate, population, and economics.

For developing nations, soil erosion is among the most chronic environmental and economic burdens. Vast amounts of topsoil are washed or blown away from arable land only to accumulate in rivers, reservoirs, harbors, and estuaries, thereby creating a double disaster: a vital resource disappears from where it is desperately needed and is deposited where it is equally unwanted. Despite much rhetoric and effort, little has been done to overcome this problem. Vetiver, a little-known tropical grass, offers one practical and inexpensive way to control erosion on a huge scale in both humid and semi-arid regions. Hedges of this deeply rooted species catch and hold back sediments while the stiff foliage acts as a filter that also slows runoff and keeps moisture on site. This book assesses vetiver's promise and limitations and identifies places where this grass can be deployed without undue environmental risk.

The 12 member nations of the European Economic Community (EC) are engaged in a bold effort to create a Single European Market by the end of 1992. The changes brought about by European market integration will have a major impact on U.S. industry. Although proponents of the plan argue that it will benefit businesses by allowing economies of scale, more efficient marketing, and increased demands for goods and services from outside the Community, there is some concern that the Single European Market may serve to exclude or limit participation of non-European competition. The impact is likely to be particularly pronounced in industries with heavy involvement in research and development. This volume is based on a major two-day symposium which brought together officials of United States and other governments, industry representatives, and academic experts to examine EC policies on technical standards, intellectual property rights, access to the results of EC-supported basic research, and other issues affecting R&D intensive firms.

During the past decade, the field of astrophysics has progressed at an impressive rate. This was reflected by the topics discussed at the workshop from which this book eminated. These topics include the inflationary universe; the large-scale structure of the universe; the diffuse X-ray background; gravitational lenses, quasars and active galactic nuclei; infrared galaxies; results from infrared astronomical satellites; supernova 1987A; millisecond radio pulsars; quasi-periodic oscillations in the X-ray flux of low-mass X-ray binaries; and gamma-ray bursts.

Global warming continues to gain importance on the international agenda and calls for action are heightening. Yet, there is still controversy over what must be done and what is needed to proceed. Policy Implications of Greenhouse Warming describes the information necessary to make decisions about global warming resulting from atmospheric releases of radiatively active trace gases. The conclusions and recommendations include some unexpected results. The distinguished authoring committee provides specific advice for U.S. policy and addresses the need for an international response to potential greenhouse warming. It offers a realistic view of gaps in the scientific understanding of greenhouse warming and how much effort and expense might be required to produce definitive answers. The book presents methods for assessing options to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, offset emissions, and assist humans and unmanaged systems of plants and animals to adjust to the consequences of global warming.

Protecting U.S. security by controlling technology export has long been a major issue. But the threat of the Soviet sphere is rapidly being superseded by state-sponsored terrorism; nuclear, chemical, biological, and missile proliferation; and other critical security factors. This volume provides a policy outline and specific steps for an urgently needed revamping of U.S. and multilateral export controls. It presents the latest information on these and many other pressing issues: * The successes and failures of U.S. export controls, including a look at U.S. laws, regulations, and export licensing; U.S. participation in international agencies; and the role of industry. * The effects of export controls on industry. * The growing threat of "proliferation" technologies. World events make this volume indispensable to policymakers, government security agencies, technology exporters, and faculty and students of international affairs.

Readily accessible to any interested reader, this volume offers an analysis of the major issues surrounding greenhouse warming and presents the authoring panel's recommendations for U.S. policy. Recommendations address a wide range of issues, including energy policy; deforestation; human population growth; the appropriate role of the United States in an international strategy; and needed research on scientific, economic, and social questions. Policy Implications of Greenhouse Warming analyzes scientific understanding of greenhouse gas accumulation and its effect on climate; prospects for human, animal, and plant adaptation to rising global temperatures; and options for mitigating the effects of greenhouse gas emissions.

From time to time, it is necessary to alert the research and policy communities to opportunities for action in areas of mutual concern. One such area is the participation and utilization of women in science and engineering in the United States. This book explores the underparticipation of women in these fields and presents a strategic plan to bring qualified women into such careers as researchers, teachers, and practitioners of science and engineering.

This volume describes one of the most extensive grassland ecosystems and the efforts of Chinese scientists to understand it. Leading Chinese scientists attribute the decline in China's grasslands to overgrazing and excessive cultivation of marginal areas and discuss measures to limit the damage. The book gives its view on the Chinese approach to the study of grasslands and the relevance of this activity in China to global scientific concerns.

U.S.-Japan Technology Linkages in Biotechnology provides an assessment of the extent and nature of the rapidly expanding linkages between the United States and Japan in biotechnology. Through analysis of aggregate data and case studies, the book assesses the implications of these linkages for the competitiveness of the U.S. biotechnology industry and provides concrete suggestions on what can be done to ensure that the linkages bring benefits to the United States.

Based primarily on a conference, this book examines the need for interventions to increase the number of U.S. students, both males and females, pursuing careers in the sciences and engineering and describes interventions supported by the private and public sectors at the undergraduate and graduate levels of education. The individually authored chapters also describe actions taken by employers of scientists and engineers to retain their technical work force.

This book reviews the evolution of strategic alliances involving U.S. and Japanese companies in the semiconductor industry and analyzes whether alliances can contribute to the renewal of an industry faced with stiff competition from Japan. It includes case studies, alternative future scenarios, and suggestions for government and industry.

The perspectives of technologists, economists, and policymakers are brought together in this volume. It includes chapters dealing with approaches to assessment of technology leadership in the United States and Japan, an evaluation of future impacts of eroding U.S. technological preeminence, an analysis of the changing nature of technology-based global competition, and a discussion of policy options for the United States.

As technological developments multiply around the globe--even as the patenting of human genes comes under serious discussion--nations, companies, and researchers find themselves in conflict over intellectual property rights (IPRs). Now, an international group of experts presents the first multidisciplinary look at IPRs in an age of explosive growth in science and technology. This thought-provoking volume offers an update on current international IPR negotiations and includes case studies on software, computer chips, optoelectronics, and biotechnology--areas characterized by high development cost and easy reproducibility. The volume covers these and other issues: * Modern economic theory as a basis for approaching international IPRs. * U.S. intellectual property practices versus those in Japan, India, the European Community, and the developing and newly industrializing countries. * Trends in science and technology and how they affect IPRs. * Pros and cons of a uniform international IPRs regime versus a system reflecting national differences.

Given China's current and potential impacts on the global environment and the contributions Chinese science can make to global change research, China's full participation in international research programs dealing with global change is very important. This book provides insights into how research priorities are determined and detailed information about institutional infrastructure, human resources, and other factors that will constrain or facilitate Chinese responses to and research on global change issues. An overview of research relevant to the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program and the World Climate Research Program is presented. Additionally, research in certain areas of atmospheric chemistry and physical and ecological interactions of the atmosphere and land surface are explored in further detail.

This book assesses the capacity of the federal government to recruit and retain highly qualified scientists and engineers for federal service. It recommends more vigorous use of the existing Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 (FEPCA), as well as changes in legislation. It discusses the variety of management structures needed to support the different missions of federal agencies and identifies where organizational responsibility for implementing changes should lie.

Scenes of starvation have drawn the world's attention to Africa's agricultural and environmental crisis. Some observers question whether this continent can ever hope to feed its growing population. Yet there is an overlooked food resource in sub-Saharan Africa that has vast potential: native food plants. When experts were asked to nominate African food plants for inclusion in a new book, a list of 30 species grew quickly to hundreds. All in all, Africa has more than 2,000 native grains and fruits--"lost" species due for rediscovery and exploitation. This volume focuses on native cereals, including * African rice, reserved until recently as a luxury food for religious rituals. * Finger millet, neglected internationally although it is a staple for millions. * Fonio (acha), probably the oldest African cereal and sometimes called "hungry rice." * Pearl millet, a widely used grain that still holds great untapped potential. * Sorghum, with prospects for making the twenty-first century the "century of sorghum." * Tef, in many ways ideal but only now enjoying budding commercial production. * Other cultivated and wild grains.This readable and engaging book dispels myths, often based on Western bias, about the nutritional value, flavor, and yield of these African grains. Designed as a tool for economic development, the volume is organized with increasing levels of detail to meet the needs of both lay and professional readers. The authors present the available information on where and how each grain is grown, harvested, and processed, and they list its benefits and limitations as a food source. The authors describe "next steps" for increasing the use of each grain, outline research needs, and address issues in building commercial production. Sidebars cover such interesting points as the potential use of gene mapping and other "high-tech" agricultural techniques on these grains. This fact-filled volume will be of great interest to agricultural experts, entrepreneurs, researchers, and individuals concerned about restoring food production, environmental health, and economic opportunity in sub-Saharan Africa. Selection, Newbridge Garden Book Club