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The term 'development' involves an extensive domain of factors, concepts, perceptions and ideas. While not restricted to questions of economy, it engages social, cultural, political and even religious issues. Many have defined development as the sole principle and cause of growth, progress, and prosperity. Nevertheless after more than sixty years of intensive development efforts in the global south, it has certainly not kept up to its promises and as problems of modernization intensify, it is now more than ever crucial to pursue alternative perspectives. Ayatollah Javadi Amoli, who has been a leading voice in an effort to establish alternative Islamic perspectives of development, has proposed the theory of 'takathari' versus 'kawthari' development. The distinguishing criterion lies in the interpretation of Aql as reason and reducing it to modern rationality. This paper presents results of qualitative research and analyzes the perceptions of leading Iranian science and technology policy makers towards development in science and technology. Furthermore the study examines how these perceptions have been shaped under the country's unique circumstances of experiencing more than thirty years of severe economic sanctions. The findings show the existence of a strong dichotomy concerning the understanding of the subject 'development' among leading science and technology policy makers that influences how they make decisions about regional and world policies. Keywords: Science and Technology in Iran; Development; Scientism; 'kawthari'; 'takathari'; Rationality; 'aql; Iran., In the ninth Iranian Presidential pre-election TV debate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Iranian presidential candidate, held up graphs of GDP, inflation and other economic indicators, and incessantly criticized the previous president [...]

Nobody likes geoengineering. But whether your basic response is revulsion or resignation, the idea is getting increasing attention, and we need to develop a better way of talking about it. [...]

Smart electric meters and the smart grid are innovations in the delivery of electrical services to homes and businesses that can, in principle, permit both consumers and suppliers to save [...]

Caroline S. Wagner's 'The Shifting Landscape of Science' (Issues, Fall 2011) is to be commended for its recognition of an important and undeniable trend: the globalization of S&T affairs. We [...]

Improving S&T policy In 'Science Policy Tools: Time for an Update' (Issues, Fall 2011), Neil P. Lane is correct in pointing out that our policies for managing science are in [...]

Author(s): Hannah Safford, Austin Brown Author Affiliations: Communicating science to policymakers: six strategies for success Greta Thunberg, an environmental activist from Sweden, speaks to politicians, the media and guests at [...], Scientists can improve how they inform politicians and other policymakers on how to make decisions, say Hannah Safford and Austin Brown. Scientists can improve how they inform politicians and other policymakers on how to make decisions, say Hannah Safford and Austin Brown.

The assessment of species believed to be al heightened risk of extinction must be underpinned by scientific evaluations of past and predicted changes in abundance and distribution. When these assessments are communicated to society and (or) government, they provide an informed scientific basis for public policy decisions pertaining to the protection of biodiversity. The provision of advice for high-profile species can be particularly challenging as different interest groups may seek to over- or tinder-play a species' degree of endangerment. Those challenges are highlighted here by a comparative analysis of assessments of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) undertaken recently in Canada, the United States, and by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Perceived differences in these assessments can be partly attributable to differences in the species status categories used by different organizations, the nature and application of assessment criteria, and the legislative responsibilities of those undertaking the assessments. Our analysis also highlights differences in how status assessments have informed the scientific basis for discordant projections of the future magnitude of polar bear habitat and population change. We conclude that evaluations of the scientific merits associated with any species status are hindered by imperfect understanding of differences in assessment protocols. Scientific advice potentially informed, but ultimately undermined, by personal and institutional biases serves neither decision-makers nor society well. L'evaluation de la situation des especes soupconnees d'etre a risque d'extinction doit etre soutenue par des analyses scientifiques des changements, passes ou predits, en abondance et en distribution. Quand ces evaluations sont communique es a la societe ou au gouvernement, elles fournissent une base scientifique pour l'adoption des politiques en matiere de protection de la biodiversite. La formulation d'avis scientifique sur le statut des especes avec une forte visibilite mediatique peut etre particulierement complexe etant donne les interets divergents de differents groupes d'interet cherchant a sous- ou surestimer leur degre de risque. Ce defi est souligne ici en utilisant une analyse comparative des differentes stat uts de conservation etablis recemment pour l'ours polaire (Ursus maritimus) au Canada, aux Etats-Unis et par l'Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature (UICN). Les diverses perceptions des assignations peuvent etre en partie attribuees aux differences dans la categorisation des statuts utilisees par plusieurs organisations, la nature et l'application des criteres d'assignation et les responsabilitesl egislatives des organisations. Notre analyse souligne egalement comment les assignations peuvent influencer differemment les bases scientifiques qui menent a l'elaboration de projections divergentes sur la magnitude future du changement populationnel et de l'habitat de l'ours blanc. Nous concluons en suggerant que la valeur scientifique des evaluations du statut de conservation des especes, et ce peu importe le statut, est limitee par un manque de comprehension des divers protocoles utilises pour l'assignation des especes. Les avis scientifiques se voulant a la base soutenus par des donnees, deviennent peu utiles pour les decideurs en matiere de conservation ou pour la socie te lorsque des biais personnels et institutionnels interviennent., Introduction I recently came across an article written by a Norwegian scientist during the 1970s, when 1 was Norway's Minister of the Environment. In the article he argued that there [...]

Scientists and their professional societies are seeking to increase their influence in shaping policy decisions. A recent call for natural resource professional societies to endorse position statements on economic growth [...]

Space | Publishing | Funding | http://poly-admin1.nature.com/polopoly/CM#conservation | http://poly-admin1.nature.com/polopoly/CM#politics | Policy | People | Trend watch | Coming up SPACE Cassini catches new views of Saturn NASA's Cassini spacecraft plunged [...]

Public-private partnerships involving state and federal government are increasingly used to catalyze private investments in research and innovation. The two levels of government must consult more broadly informing national science [...]

Increased state government participation in the formulation and implementation of national science and technology policies has been proposed in a series of recent reports, most notably the State-Federal Technology Partnership [...]

Industrial research in the United States has been transformed in the 1990s. Research managers have had to redirect their resources away from fundamental science and pioneering technology toward activities that […]

I argue that markedly better understanding of the processes of nature than is currently attained is possible; that this understanding would improve the management of natural resources and the environment; that competent scientists are the means to this goal; that to produce these scientists, college education should focus on developing the abilities to conjecture and test theories; and that educators should devise programs to attract into the natural resources and environmental sciences students who are naturally gifted in these abilities.

China plans to improve its science and technology fields in the 21st century through the development of guidelines improving both systems. The plans are improvement of scientific invention capability via establishment of a state invention system that will gather intellectual property rights and convert ideas into practical goods, second, reforms in the scientific system which will encompass research institutions, local research agencies and non-governmental institutions, third, strategic goals of becoming a premier scientific power in the world and lastly, establishment of a state science knowledge database involved in consultancy system.

Author(s): Lauren Morello US Senate Republicans have lots of questions for Gina McCarthy, President Barack Obama's nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - 1,038 of them, to be [...]

Author(s): Daniel Sarewitz (corresponding author) [1] What do you get when you cross science hype with conservative politics? The answer is the High Quality Research Act, a draft bill that [...]

The Coburn and Brown (1997 [this issue]) response, 'A State-Federal Partnership in Support of Science and Technology,' agrees in many ways with my article--perhaps more so than the authors intended. [...]

As an April Fools' Day joke, Jack Gibbons told some of his staff that he intended to resign as President Bill Clinton's science adviser and retire from government service. The [...]

Don't look for Neal Lane this week at the headquarters of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Arlington, Virginia. The NSF director is on 'The Ice,' accompanying Representative James Sensenbrenner [...]

The ouster of Harold Liebowitz as president of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) last week marks the end of the most tumultuous year in the institute's 32-year history. But [...]

Beneath his laid-back appearance lies a hard-driving biochemist with a strong sense of what he wants to do as president of the National Academy of Sciences. Meet Bruce Alberts This [...]

Over the past year, Japan's scientific activities have been notable for many reasons, from widely publicized misconduct in stem-cell research to breakthroughs in efficient blue light-emitting diodes that won the [...]

The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has had a tough couple of years. Republicans in the US Congress have put the agency under the microscope, questioning its decisions on individual [...]

Author Affiliations: Europe has ambitious plans for continent-wide digital access to research data. Erik Isakson/Getty The European Commission has its critics, but no one can doubt it has ambitious plans. [...], Now that the major players have agreed to the giant European Open Science Cloud, it's time to get the project moving.

Science benefits society in myriad ways--but how to identify and encourage work with high impact is an obsession of funding agencies the world over. Last month, the United Kingdom brought [...]

Scientists who contribute to policy are most effective when they have clear goals and a strategy for achieving them. Developing those goals and strategies starts, in my view, with thinking [...]

This paper discusses the civilian and military dual uses of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). Its focus is on the primary GNSS provider: the United States dual use Global Positioning System (GPS). The Russian Glonass is also dual use but this is used much less than GPS. It is difficult for the US Department of Defense to accommodate the requirements of all the civilian users. Resolution of some dual use problems is accomplished through pressure and negotiation. International civilian users exacerbate the dual use problem by demanding service guaranties and a share of control over GPS. Additionally, Europeans seek to obtain a share of the promising GNSS industry and employment by building their own GNSS provider Galileo. [C] 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

There are repeated calls for scientists worldwide to become involved in guiding government decisions concerning science. In the United States, science policy-making positions span the gamut from political appointees (through [...]

The State Department now has a 12-step self-help plan for producing science-savvy diplomats. A National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel last week sent Secretary of State Madeleine Albright a dozen [...]

A government watchdog that monitors the treatment of patients and animals in federally funded research may be about to develop a more powerful bite. A panel recommended last week that [...]

Public Policy Report for 7 December 2009 * AIBS Webinar to help students, young professionals explore careers in science policy. A growing number of people seek employment that allows them [...]

A rift in Israel's science establishment is threatening the country's long-term planning of civilian science. All 15 members of its National Council for Research and Development, now subordinate to the [...]

As advances in genetics continue to flow from the laboratory into the clinic--and, increasingly, into courts--it's crucial to parse the influence of gene-based technologies. The Genetics & Public Policy Center [...]

European scientists don't have too much to complain about these days. More than 50 billion € (US$70 billion) is budgeted for research in the European Union's (EU) Seventh Framework Programme [...]

As high-energy physicists and astronomers learned long ago, when making the case for investments in science it is helpful or even essential to present a coherent front to outsiders, not [...]

CAMBRIDGE, U.K. -- On a visit to Iraq's science ministry one morning last March, Abdalla Alnajjar, president of the Arab Science and Technology Foundation (ASTF), recalls how impressed he was [...]