Section I
Chapter 1:
Scientific and Technical Communication in Context
Part 1;
Part 2;
Part 3
Chapter 2:
Reading Scientific and Technical Texts
Chapter 3:
Writing Scientific and Technical Texts
Part 1;
Part 2;
Part 3
Chapter 4:
Conducting Research
Part 1;
Part 2
Chapter 5:
Understanding Audiences
Part 1;
Part 2
Chapter 6:
Persuasion and Critical Thinking
Part 1;
Part 2
Chapter 7:
Participation and Policy
Part 1;
Part 2
Section II
Chapter 8:
Definitions, Descriptions, and Instructions
Part 1;
Part 2
Chapter 9:
Correspondence
Chapter 10:
Job-Finding Materials
Chapter 11:
Proposals
Part 1;
Part 2
Chapter 12:
Technical Reports
Chapter 13:
Scientific Articles and Abstracts
Chapter 14:
Oral Presentations
Chapter 15:
Formatting, Designing, and Using Graphics
Part 1;
Part 2
Grammar Handbook
Section III
Chapter 16:
Opening
Geoff Cooper:
"Textual Technologies"
Discussion
Chapter 17:
→ Opening
Steve Fuller: "Putting People Back Into the Business of Science"
Part 1; Part 2
Discussion
Chapter 18:
Opening
William Keith: "Science and Communication"
Discussion
Chapter 19:
Opening
Sujatha Raman: "Challenging High-Tech War"
Discussion
Chapter 20:
Opening
Dale L. Sullivan: "Migrating Across Disciplinary Boundaries"
Discussion
Chapter 21:
Opening
Tobias, Chubin, Aylesworth: "Restructuring Demand for Scientific Expertise"
Part 1; Part 2
Discussion
Opening
There are many images of science and technology with which we are familiar. We see science as the relentless and progressive pursuit of truth. We regard science and technology as self-governing, monolithic institutions standing as a tribute to human rationality and pragmatism. We heed science as dealing strictly with facts — supported by a foundation of objectivity, a universal acceptance of logical principles, and the scientific method — and as the arbiter of disputes concerning knowledge and superstition. We assume that science supplies theories, and technology applies those theories. Ultimately, we believe that our faith in these images will be rewarded in the future by the products of research we cannot now imagine. But these images of science and technology, and our faith in them, are misleading.
Much of our national policy has been cast in light of this image of research. Many argue that because scientific and technological research is highly organized, technically sophisticated and yields results, it should be at best left alone, and at worst left in the hands of experts. In effect, the governance of science and technology should be the responsibility of the same scientists and engineers who receive public funding. As taxpayers, we are asked to leave our money at the laboratory door and wait to see what the result will be. And yet as taxpayers, we demand an accounting of the costs we are expected to pay and the benefits we expect to receive.
When we place science and technology in different contexts, we receive new, accessible, and accurate images. We learn from philosophy that science is more than the logical extension and application of axiomatic systems derived from physics. We learn from history that science is not just a timely procession of revolutionary geniuses, and that technology can, in fact, predate the scientific theories explaining it. We learn from sociology that the goals of scientists are not just driven by a quest for truth, but often reflect negotiations and compromises with colleagues, sponsoring departments and grant-giving agencies. As a result, we begin to see a new image of science — an image that would bring fresh approaches to science policy and stress to non-scientists the importance of understanding science and technology. Science and technology are as diverse, intriguing and affected by change as other social institutions. Looking behind the technical prose and jargon, we can investigate the factors influencing research and development. By attending to those factors in our communicative practices, we can, as Steve Fuller suggests, bring people "back into the business of science."
Steve Fuller challenges us to examine our assumptions about the relationship between science and democracy, while presenting us with a new picture of how scientific inquiry takes place. Discussion and debate involving national science and technology policy, Fuller argues, continues to be overshadowed by the unfulfilled promise of large-scale, cutting-edge science projects. The focus on these projects ignores both needs for basic scientific teaching and research, and questions concerning social and educational welfare. We ignore these needs and questions because we defer to, and invest our faith in, the authority of traditional images of science. How then, as citizens in a participatory democracy, can we become participants in managing science? Fuller offers three strategies for developing an accountable science policy process, based on historical and sociological accounts of scientific research.