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This volume represents one outcome of the initiatives, taken from time to time by the NATO Science Committee, to add to the work of supporting civil science within the Alliance by mounting open meetings or other projects dealing with some topical aspect of science and technology policy. Past examples have included the 20th anniversary meeting of the establish ment of the Science Committee in 1978 which made a review of the achieve ments of the various programmes. It proved to be a valuable opportunity to take stock of the impact of science and technology on Western societies and was a particularly useful occasion for a critical analysis of the changing nature and social role of science and technology. In contrast, the Science Committee Conferences in 1973, and 1976, on the 'Technology of Efficient Energy Utilization' and on 'Thermal Energy Storage' were responses of the Committee to specific technological problems, engendered by the then acute energy supply position. A similar technologically oriented study was made in 1975 of the 'Rational Use of Potentially Scarce Metals'. These initiatives were the counterpoint to the bulk of the continuing work of the Committee in funding scientific mobility in the Alliance, as support to civil science. This latter is done competitively in response to unsolicited applications. The Committee hopes to demon strate, by its special activities, its flexibility and responsiveness to the evolving activities, technologists and policy makers.
The NATO Science Programme, under the direction of the Science Com mittee, mounted in September 1986 a successful meeting which examined the structure and outputs of civil science in the Soviet Union. As a topical sectoral examination of the evolutionary state of the Soviet Union under those in separable and elusive twins, 'perestroyka' and 'glasnost', it was successful in providing the basis for assessments of the likely future role of Soviet scientists in the world scene. Such meetings are infrequent events in the Programme calendar; the Science Programme has concentrated for thirty years almost exclusively on supporting scientific mobility in the Alliance countries. This it does, essentially, through the funding under competitive conditions, of fellow ships, exchanges and meetings of researchers. Such activities are a response to unsolicited scientific demand from the Alliance R&D community which sees mobility as an essential part of scientific dissemination (rather lacking it would appear from the following accounts in the Eastern European countries). The Committee, however, does like to act upon its own behalf in supporting wider perceptions of the place of R&D in the world by examining, from time to time, topics of strong current interest. These have taken the form of the consideration of particularly pressing issues, as arose for example in the series of energy and material supply crises of the seventies.
In the past, intensive interest in Soviet research and development has been sporadic both in the West and in the USSR. The end of the 1980s coincided with the demise of the Soviet model of economic development. As a result, a surge of attention has been given to t~e factors driving the motor of Soviet growth and development, as well as R&D. The opening, first, of the Soviet and, subsequently, of the Russian economy, finally exposed it to global stan to scientific dards. The long period of international isolation with respect and technological exchanges made it difficult for scholars and policy makers at home and abroad to measure the status of Soviet advances. Consequently, some overrated the levels, while others underestimated them. Now it comes to light that, although the Soviets put the first satellite in space (Sputnik) and developed their own hydrogen bomb, these were more the exceptions of innovation from research results rather than the rule. Therefore, as the management of the entire economy increasingly malfunctioned, so did the management of R&D in contributing to economic growth and development. There is no denying the incredible investment of the former Soviet state in domestic science and research. The R&D community was one of the largest, if not the largest, in the world during the second half of the twentieth century. Now, Russia has inherited not only this enormous resource, but also the inadequate organization, management, and structure.
Science Policy in the Soviet Union (1990) examines the major institutional and behavioural aspects influencing scientific research in the USSR. The book adopts the widespread view that Soviet science performs well below capacity and then looks at the institutions and management in the light of this assumption. Low morale and a lack of moral responsibility within the scientific community are highlighted as factors in the poor performance of Soviet science, these being compounded by the problems of centralization and the lack of responsiveness to new demands, technologies and ideas. The author sees de-centralisation as a potential solution, concluding with a commentary on Gorbachev, the obstacles he faced and his awareness of the need for change in the scientific sphere.
It is my sincere hope that the reforms currently being introduced in the USSR will render much of this book obsolete. Yet, even if perestroika brings significant change to the Soviet Union, historians will want a record of what existed before. After four years, it has become apparent that perestroika is a painful long-term process. In such a large and diverse country, even the reforms that are successful cannot take place everywhere at once. One major goal in publishing this book is to make data from a major interview project on Soviet science and technology available to a broader audience. Despite the changes taking place, many of the features illuminated by these unique data persist.
THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR constitutes a vital infrastructure for a modern society. It is part of the working mechanism of a decentralized, flexible, and dynamic market economy. It also serves as the foundation for a pluralistic political system with a government accountable to the public. The crucial role of communications is increased by synergistic interaction between globalization of economic processes and the continuing technical revolution in information processing and communication. One of the most revealing indicators of the inability of the old Soviet system to attain its goal of matching the performance of the advanced market economies was its neglect of telecommunications. The sector was always treated as an orphan, devalued because, in line with a peculiar Marxian notion, it was not considered part of "material production" 1 and was starved of attention and resources.
LORD CARRINGTON Secretary General, North Atla/ltic Treaty Orga/lisation In providing a foreword to this volume, I have to declare an interest. I was, and am still, an enthusiastic advocate of the idea of having a resident Sovietologist at NATO headquarters, Indeed, I wondered how the work of the organisation had been done for so long without the benefit of a resident expert on a subject of such crucial interest. I was therefore delighted when an American academic of high reputation, Murray Feshbach, joined us as our first Sovietologist. I was also encouraged that he decided to organise last November a Workshop in which NATO staff could take part and which would attract prestigious participants from all the countries of this alliance, I saw for myself the high level of interest created by the Workshop, and judge it to have a very considerable success, I hope there will be other similar events in the future, There is no doubt that, in the light of the series of developments and changes launched over recent months by Mr.
Unlike autonomous professionals in Western industrialized democracies, professionals in a socialist, bureaucratic setting operate as employees of the state. The change in environment has important Implications not only for the practice of professions but also for the concept of professionalism itself. This collection of nine essays is the first to survey the major professions In the USSR, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. The contributors investigate the implications of professional experience in a socialist economy as well as relating changes in professional organization and power to reform movements in general and perestroika in particular. In the series Labor and Social Change, edited by Paula Rayman and Carmen Sirianni.
The first synoptic history of how the Royal Society faced up to the challenges of continued relevance from 1960 onwards.
All former Soviet Union countries experience their past as a heavy burden. It led to the centralisation of scientific personnel, the separation of research from teaching at universities, and a concentration of certain branches of technology in different parts of the Union. This has given rise to a one-sided technology and science potential which frequently cannot be sufficiently supported due to a lack of adequate finance. Cooperation between the Baltic States themselves is often hampered by an exaggerated sense of national identity, and international cooperation can be made difficult by linguistic problems. A critical issue is finance. The Baltic States themselves are experiencing budgetary constraints, and the West is cutting back on funding. The analytical issues dealt with here include specific questions, such as in the sectors of energy policy, electrical equipment and electronics, and environmental considerations. The transfer of technology is also discussed, as is security: there is the possibility that science and scientific results can be obtained from the former Soviet Union at low cost by the criminal community.