Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Science, Technology, And American Diplomacy: Background And Issues For Congress, Deborah D. Stine

Congressional Research Service Reports

Science and engineering activities have always been international. Scientists, engineers, and health professionals frequently communicate and cooperate with one another without regard to national boundaries. This report discusses international science and technology (S&T) diplomacy, instances when American leadership in S&T is used as a diplomatic tool to enhance another country’s development and to improve understanding by other nations of U.S. values and ways of doing business. According to the National Research Council, five developmental challenges where S&T could play a role include child health and child survival, safe water, agricultural research to reduce hunger and poverty, micro-economic reform, and mitigation …

The U.S. Science And Technology Workforce, Deborah D. Stine, Christine M. Matthews

Congressional Research Service Reports

In the 21st century, global competition and rapid advances in science and technology will challenge the scientific and technical proficiency of the U.S. workforce. Policymakers often discuss policy actions that could enhance the nation’s science and technology (S&T) workforce— deemed by some as essential to both meet U.S. workforce demands as well as to generate the new ideas that lead to improved and new industries that create jobs.

The America COMPETES Act (P.L. 110-69) addresses concerns regarding the S&T workforce and STEM education, and the 111th Congress is debating funding for the programs authorized within it. Policymaker discussions tend to …

Federal Research And Development Funding: Fy2009, John F. Sargent Jr.

Congressional Research Service Reports

In February 2008, President Bush proposed total research and development (R&D) funding of $147.0 billion in his FY2009 budget request to Congress, a $3.9 billion (2.7%) increase over the estimated FY2008 level of $143.1 billion. President Bush’s request included $29.3 billion for basic research, up $847 million (3.0%) from FY2008; $27.1 billion for applied research, down $1.0 billion (-3.6%); $84.0 billion for development, up 1.6 billion (1.9%); and $6.5 billion for R&D facilities and equipment, up $2.5 billion (61.7%).

In the absence of final action on the regular FY2009 appropriations bills, Congress passed H.R. 2638 (110th Congress), the Consolidated Security, …

The President's Office Of Science And Technology Policy (Ostp): Issues For Congress, Deborah D. Stine

Congressional Research Service Reports

Congress established the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) through the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 (P.L. 94-282). The act states that “The primary function of the OSTP Director is to provide, within the Executive Office of the President [EOP], advice on the scientific, engineering, and technological aspects of issues that require attention at the highest level of Government.” Further, “The Office shall serve as a source of scientific and technological analysis and judgment for the President with respect to major policies, plans, and programs of the Federal Government.” The OSTP Director also …

The Sport Fish Restoration And Boating Trust Fund, Eugene H. Buck

Congressional Research Service Reports

An Aquatic Resources Trust Fund, with two accounts—a Sport Fish Restoration Account and a Boat Safety Account—was created in 1984 and subsequently amended to support a variety of programs administered by three federal agencies, including wetlands management, recreational vessel docking and sewage disposal infrastructure, and aquatic resource education. In 2005, the Boat Safety Account was terminated and remaining programs were consolidated into a renamed Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund. This report details sources of funding for this trust fund and summarizes the various programs and activities receiving funding.

The five sources of income to the Sport Fish Restoration …

The Personal And The Political: Forgiveness And Reconciliation In Restorative Justice, Ari Kohen

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

At the center of this paper are three questions: in the absence of a religious worldview, can one gain access to the concepts of forgiveness and reconciliation, can reconciliation be achieved in the absence of forgiveness or does the former depend in some way upon the latter, and can we make sense of a restorative approach to justice in the absence of either forgiveness or reconciliation? To answer these questions, I look closely at the concept of forgiveness in the first section of this article with the goals of disentangling it from its religious undertones and emphasizing its importance to …

American Revolution, Ari Kohen, Sara W. Lunsford

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

When thinking about the American Revolution, one is soon confronted by the puzzle of precisely which revolution is up for discussion. As many scholars of American political thought have noted, one can make a strong case for two revolutionary moments in the founding days of the American republic: the declared separation from Britain in 1776 and the 1789 constitutional revolution. While both of these distinctive moments profoundly influenced the way people think about rights, this essay will focus on the initial revolutionary statement, the American Declaration of Independence. Doing so will enable us to examine closely both the immediate and …

Studying Oil, Islam, And Women As If Political Institutions Mattered, Alice Kang

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

By asserting that oil, not Islam, hurts gender equality, Michael Ross (2008) has made an important contribution to the debate on whether Islam bodes ill for women (Fish 2002; Inglehart and Norris 2003; Spierings, Smits, and Verloo 2009). Ross suggests that oil production decreases the number of female workers in countries with occupational segregation. The more women are left out of the formal economy, the fewer opportunities and resources they have for becoming influential political constituencies. According to Ross, "[t]his leaves oil-producing states with atypically strong patriarchal cultures and political institutions" (p. 107). Employing the same set of countries and …

Review Of American Dreamers: What Dreams Tell Us About The Political Psychology Of Conservatives, Liberals, And Everyone Else By Kelly Bulkeley, John R. Hibbing

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

American Dreamers is intended for a popular audience. Therefore it is unfair to criticize it for not being something it was never meant to be. Still, readers should know that it is written in a breezy style. It presents pleasant, rambling, impressionistic accounts of selected individual dreams rather than crisp, systematic analyses of broadly meaningful patterns. Thankfully, we are spared the discredited Freudian interpretations that easily could suffuse such a book. Unfortunately, in their place we find a set of cloying, new-age interpretations that frequently seem forced. For example, one journalist’s dream of being a drop of water is seen …