1. Research as a Social Process: Social Status, Specialism, and Technological Advance in Great Britain.
- Author
-
Meier, R. L.
- Subjects
RESEARCH ,SOCIAL structure ,ECONOMIC development ,SOCIAL services ,EMPLOYEE training ,RESEARCH & development - Abstract
This article discusses research as a social process in Great Britain. One of the central problems of British society is that of organizing its scientific and technically trained manpower in such a manner that the welfare and security needs are met. The present organization of British science does not contribute much to economic improvement. In the nineteenth century new developments were started because inventors with imagination and energy set about solving practical problems. The aims of contemporary research organization are generally stated in a qualitative fashion. The origins of each new product or process can usually be traced to a few key sources in widely separated areas of fundamental science. The foregoing description of the process by which science is put to use emphasizes the interrelationships which exist at the present stage in the evolution of social organization in research. A complete and balanced managerial set-up for translating fundamental research into new technology and social services can be conveniently sub-divided into a series of essential functions. Each of the functions of research organization requires a special combination of skills and differentiated emphasis in the training of technical workers. The exact relationship and emphasis applied to various functions of research and development varies from industry to industry but.
- Published
- 1951
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