Developing Biotechnology Clusters in Non-high Technology Regions—The Case of Austria

This paper explores the role of distant knowledge links and policy actions for the development of biotechnology clusters. It seeks to challenge the prevailing view that the birth and early development of high technology industries are always spontaneous phenomena which are mainly based on local knowledge. Departing from the theoretical concept of regional innovation systems (RIS), a distinction between “RIS with strong potentials for high technology industries” and “RIS with weak potentials for high technology industries” will be drawn. It will be argued that in the latter case the development of biotechnology clusters is more dependent on distant knowledge sources and proactive policy efforts to create a favourable environment for high technology activities. Furthermore, it will be shown that a far-reaching transformation of the regional innovation system is crucial for catching-up processes of regions which are latecomers in high technology sectors such as biotechnology.     

Site-dependent design input ground motion estimations for the Taipei area: a probabilistic approach

Design seismic forces depend on the peak ground acceleration (PGA) and on the shape of design spectrum curves dictated in building codes. At present there is no doubt that it is necessary to construct so-called “site and region-specific” design input ground motions reflecting influence from different magnitude events at different distances that may occur during a specified time period. A unified approach to ground motion parameters estimation is described. A collection of ground motion recordings of small to moderate (3.0–3.5≤M_L≤6.5) earthquakes obtained during the execution of the Taiwan Strong Motion Instrumentation Program (TSMIP) since 1991 was used to study source scaling model, attenuation relations and site effects in Taiwan region. A stochastic simulation technique was applied to predict PGA and response spectra for the Taipei basin. “Site and region-dependent” uniform hazard response spectra were estimated for various geological conditions in the Taipei basin using a technique of probabilistic seismic hazard analysis.     

Epistemic Communities and Cluster Dynamics: On the Role of Knowledge in Industrial Districts

This paper questions the prevailing notions that firms within industrial clusters have privileged access to “tacit knowledge” that is unavailable—or available only at high cost—to firms located elsewhere, and that such access provides competitive advantages that cause the growth and development of both firms and regions. It outlines a model of cluster dynamics emphasizing two mutually interdependent processes: the concentration of specialized and complementary epistemic communities, on the one hand, and entrepreneurship and a high rate of new firm formation on the other.     

The use of bibliometric and knowledge elicitation techniques to map a knowledge domain: Software Engineering in the 1990s

Summary Parallel mappings of the intellectual and cognitive structure of Software Engineering (SE) were conducted using Author Cocitation Analysis (ACA), PFNet Analysis, and card sorting, a Knowledge Elicitation (KE) method. Cocitation counts for 60 prominent SE authors over the period 1990 - 1997 were gathered from SCISEARCH. Forty-six software engineers provided similar data by sorting authors’ names into labeled piles. At the 8 cluster level, ACA and KE identified similar author clusters representing key areas of SE research and application, though the KE labels suggested some differences between the way that the authors’ works were used and how they were perceived by respondents. In both maps, the clusters were arranged along a horizontal axis moving from “micro” to “macro” level R&D activities (correlation of X axis coordinates = 0.73). The vertical axis of the two maps differed (correlation of Y axis coordinates = -0.08). The Y axis of the ACA map pointed to a continuum of high to low formal content in published work, whereas the Y axis of the KE map was anchored at the bottom by “generalist” authors and at the top by authors identified with a single, highly specific and consistent specialty. The PFNet of the raw ACA counts identified Boehm, Basili, and Booch as central figures in subregions of the network with Boehm being connected directly or through a single intervening author with just over 50% of the author set. The ACA and KE combination provides a richer picture of the knowledge domain and provide useful cross-validation.     

Business community views

Three tasks must be included when considering the broad topic of urban security. The first is to define the term “critical infrastructure.” Second, security must be viewed from a systems perspective when looking at cities and the infrastructure that serves them. Third, careful scrutiny must be given to heretofore not-considered vulnerabilities that exist in every major city.In the hours and days immediately following the attacks on September 11, everything from foot bridges to tall buildings were considered to be critical infrastructure. But, clearly, not everything in such a broad definition can be defended. So then, what is today’s definition of critical infrastructure? One might be a new version of the “3 R’s”—resist, respond, recover. In those terms, “critical infrastructure” could be defined as: (a) systems whose rapid failure would lead to a catastrophic loss of life; (b) systems whose failure or significant degradation would lead to unacceptable economic consequences; (c) systems whose rapid failure would significantly impact rescue and response efforts; and (d) systems whose significant degradation severely impact recovery efforts.Resist? It would be impossible for a city to resist everything, everywhere. The ability to respond to some events would require efforts that are above and beyond the realistic capability of any city. That moves the scenario to recovery and rebuilding.     

Industry's role in improving the United States' economic and competitive performance

The author argues that the United States has paid insufficient attention in recent years to the relationship between its overall economic well-being and technology. He states that a major goal of the Clinton Administration, and the objective of the Technology Administration in the Department of Commerce, is to work with industry to address these issues. The ways in which this is being done are examined, and the issues involved in answering the questions: “Where are we?,” “Where are we going?,” and “How do we get there?” are discussed.     

Patent and literature statistics – The case of optoelectronics

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of different statistical analyses from patent and literature databases that in combination are helpful for a variety of mostly strategic decision settings in firms. For the case of optoelectronics we assess the patenting and publishing activity of firms and individuals and their citation frequency.The analyses identified leading players in the field, revealed technological dependencies, and the existence of patent clusters as patenting strategies. Co-citation analysis highlighted technological similarities between two firms involved in patent litigation trials. In this science-based technology field individuals combining characteristics of key inventors (a high activity and citation level in patenting) as well as core scientists (a high activity and citation frequency level in publishing) – therefore labelled “R&D dualists” – successfully bridge the gap between science and technology, but are exceptionally rare. Citation-weighted patent counts demonstrated the pivotal impact of one “R&D dualist” in an industrial R&D laboratory, severely affecting the laboratories’ outcome when this individual left. An increasing level of R&D cooperation in particular technological subfields after the individual’s departure could be found. However, patent analysis did not find evidence for long-term competence transfer in these subfields.     

PIZnet, the joint Internet site for German patent information centres

The objective of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Patentinformationszentren e.V. (The Association of German Patent Information Centres) is to encourage the ongoing development of the centres and to achieve broader public dissemination of industrial property rights information. Since use of the Internet has steadily increased amongst wide sections of the public in recent years, and since patent offices have taken steps to give the public free access to patent information, the association has set up a Germany-wide network known as PIZnet (“PIZ” standing for “patent information centres” in German) in co-operation with the Federal Printing Office. This network includes a presentation on all German patent information centres and the services they provide, it answers questions on the patent system, publishes offers of licences, and covers much else besides.     

Sustainable competitive participation: A role for the federal government and the national laboratories

A clear and appropriate role is presented for the federal government and the national laboratories with respect to technology development, technology utilization and competitiveness. The selective use of federal policy tools and resources for enhancing economic competitiveness and for providing “sustainable” economic development is proposed. A novel approach to a coherent national R&D strategy is advocated with three major components: tax credits, technology facilitation, and federal investment directed towards sustainable competitive participation Sustainable competitive participation is based on the blending of the concepts of economic competitiveness and sustainable development. Four sectors of technology development and competitiveness are considered for this comprehensive national science and technology strategy. Several examples illustrate the appropriate federal government and national laboratory role in sustainable competitive participation.     

The use of patent information for the identification of development trends

The publications on a specific technical field issued by the patent officers within a certain period of time do not only reflect the inventive activities and the “production” of new technical knowledge in a country, but also signalize forthcoming industrial activities and therefore indicate new technological trends. The focal points of these inventive activities may e.g. be ascertained from the bibliographical data on published patent applications compiled according to the International Patent Classification. These data also provide information on the granting of existing and imminent patents in the different industrial countries.     

Organic nanofibers from thiophene oligomers

We report on the growth and morphology of α-quaterthiophene and α-sexithiophene clusters, needles (or “fibers”), and flat islands on muscovite mica (001). Samples are prepared by organic molecular beam deposition, and characterized ex situ by polarized fluorescence microscopy and by atomic force microscopy. The growth mechanism of such thiophene fibers is compared to that of para-phenylenes. Distinct needle orientations are present on the surface, their formation being explained by a combination of epitaxy and electric field assisted alignment.     

An approach to maintenance optimization where safety issues are important

The starting point for this paper is a traditional approach to maintenance optimization where an object function is used for optimizing maintenance intervals. The object function reflects maintenance cost, cost of loss of production/services, as well as safety costs, and is based on a classical cost–benefit analysis approach where a value of prevented fatality (VPF) is used to weight the importance of safety. However, the rationale for such an approach could be questioned. What is the meaning of such a VPF figure, and is it sufficient to reflect the importance of safety by calculating the expected fatality loss VPF and potential loss of lives (PLL) as being done in the cost–benefit analyses? Should the VPF be the same number for all type of accidents, or should it be increased in case of multiple fatality accidents to reflect gross accident aversion?In this paper, these issues are discussed. We conclude that we have to see beyond the expected values in situations with high safety impacts. A framework is presented which opens up for a broader decision basis, covering considerations on the potential for gross accidents, the type of uncertainties and lack of knowledge of important risk influencing factors. Decisions with a high safety impact are moved from the maintenance department to the “Safety Board” for a broader discussion. In this way, we avoid that the object function is used in a mechanical way to optimize the maintenance and important safety-related decisions are made implicit and outside the normal arena for safety decisions, e.g. outside the traditional “Safety Board”.A case study from the Norwegian railways is used to illustrate the discussions.     

Regional report Europe: “heat pumps — status and trends”

By 1997 about 90 million heat pumps have been installed worldwide, only less than 5% are located in Europe, historically the cradle of this “thermodynamic heating and cooling process”. The majority of the approximately 4 million installed heat pumps are imported reversible air-to-air systems in southern Europe and only 30% represent the typical European-made heating only electric driven compression systems for space and water heating in buildings in central and northern Europe. The first and second oil crises has been the main cause for a first European heat pump “boom” at the end of the seventies. Consequently the following drop in energy prices negatively influenced the market in some countries. The new renaissance in Europe in the middle of the nineties was initiated by the understanding of sustainable development for a more efficient energy use and the related protection of the environment.     

Quantitative control of RTM6 epoxy resin polymerisation by optical index determination

RTM6 epoxy resin curing is usually characterized by the polymerisation degree. We report in this paper on a refractive index measurement technique applied on an experimental mould to control, quantitatively and in situ, the industrial RTM process. For the first time, we determined simultaneously the thermo-optical coefficient, the refractive index evolution, the specific volume and the polymerisation degree of the resin. The calculation of a “polymerisation degree optical coefficient” led to a quantification of the RTM6 epoxy resin polymerisation process. This calibration coefficient is very useful to perform a real time industrial process control. Furthermore, the optoelectronic system is connected to a data processing unit and is easy to use in an industrial environment.     

Reverse electronic auctions: Cases in Taiwan's high-tech industry

Internet auction business models have become greatly diversified, and the amount traded grows annually. The traditional auction is initiated by the seller and buyers send in bids. Recently, however, more auctions have been initiated by buyers with sellers sending in bids. The lowest bid then obtains a purchase order. This has become known as a “reverse electronic auction.” Taiwan is the major manufacturing base for global IT products. Many manufacturers have begun to participate in reverse Internet auctions held by global OEMs such as Nokia, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson. Several Taiwan manufacturers have requested that their suppliers do the same thing. In this study, a literature review and case studies analyze the reasons for implementing reverse electronic auctions. We found that not all procurement items are suitable for reverse electronic auctions; also, the characteristics of procurement items and relationships with suppliers must be considered. Enterprises that want to adopt reverse electronic auctions will need to consider the short- and long-term payoffs.     

Science and the humanities: the case for state humanities councils

Although joined together by their commitment to inquiry, in their pursuit of seemingly divergent goals science and the humanities sometimes appear to be in tension. This article suggests that the public humanities programs sponsored by state humanities councils, the independent nonprofit state affiliates of the National Endowment for the Humanities, serve as vehicles for reconciling the differing concerns of science and the humanities. The article highlights a variety of thoughtful, successful community-focused science and humanities programs offered by state humanities councils, including a series of targeted programs supported through a special initiative jointly-sponsored by NEH and NSF in the mid-1990s, and invites consideration of opportunities for future collaboration.Whether as informed inquiry or organized skepticism, the process of questioning represents a crucial connection between science and the humanities. The importance of this connection was especially significant to the scholars, educators, and politicians who helped establish the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in 1965. They were concerned about perceptions that the humanities and science were at odds, and they were anxious about the apparent advantageous position of science, as reflected in the 15-year existence of the National Science Foundation, and magnified by major increases in federal support for science following the 1957 launch of Sputnik and the ensuing “space race”.These worries no doubt also motivated the group’s focus on the similarities between science and the humanities “as systematic approaches to knowledge and understanding”, further buttressing their argument that the humanistic disciplines were a legitimate national concern [1]. The 1964 Report of the Commission on the Humanities [2], which laid the foundation for the NEH, noted, “if the interdependence of science and the humanities were more generally understood, men would be more likely to become masters of their technology and not its unthinking servants” (p.2).In the years following the 1964 Report, we are still pursuing a broader understanding of the “interdependence of science and the humanities”. Throughout the 20th and into the 21st century, science and technology have emerged as preeminent forces that shape and define nearly every aspect of life. From the microchip revolution to the prospect of human cloning, from smart bombs to smart highways, from the fanciful notion of a universe defined by string theory to the rhetoric of the Unabomber’s infamous Manifesto [3], the challenges posed by science and technology—their impacts on our lives, our institutions, and our basic understanding of the world—have been profound.Despite this intertwining of science and human experience, many Americans, while readily endorsing increased funding for science, believe the culture of science to be inaccessible. They make light of their capacity to derive satisfaction from science literature or learning and, more significantly, retreat from discussions of public policy issues involving science and technology. Their withdrawal from such policy debate threatens the long-term health of our democratic society.It is illuminating to examine ways in which the public humanities, particularly the community-based work of state humanities councils, make it possible to reconcile the two strands of potentially divergent thought defining the relationship between science and the humanities and to facilitate meaningful connections. One approach, self-reflective in its analysis and based on successfully attracting resources for work done in the respective fields, considers the pursuit of knowledge in science and the humanities as having far different ends—and scientific ends being of greater utility (i.e., “two cultures”, one of greater significance).A recent example of this approach can be seen in the Final Report of the Roundtable on Scholarly Communication in the Humanities and Social Sciences [4]. The Roundtable was convened by the Association of Research Libraries, the National Humanities Alliance, and the Knight Collaborative, with support from NEH, for the purpose of considering the future dissemination of scholarly findings in the humanities and social sciences. Reflecting on the publishing challenges confronting the “disciplines that are rooted in a non-profit ethos” at a time of rising costs and changing technologies, the authors of the report observed that in thinking about

...the predilections of the humanists and social scientists thus assembled, we talked about ends more than means—about the purposes of discourse and discovery, and only subsequently about the dissemination of results. In the fields that were the primary focus of “To Publish and Perish”, principally science, medicine, and technology, the issues were really ones of access, cost, and control. While these concerns matter to humanists and social scientists, the more central issues of audience, style and purpose often overshadow them. (p. 2)

The authors continue, “The societal tendency through the latter half of the 20th century, however, has been to distinguish between kinds of knowledge—and to value the practical advances in science, medicine, and technology over scholarship in such areas as literature, languages, history, philosophy, politics, and art.” (p. 3) Finally, in a statement apropos to a discussion of making a public case, the report notes,

No scholar in the humanities and social sciences can fail to perceive the difference between the kind of external support provided to the scientific fields and that which the work in his or her own discipline attracts. ...Through the past two decades, the scientific disciplines have proven remarkably successful in building public support for research in apparently inscrutable domains, deploying the popular media to help communicate both the excitement and value of scientific discovery. (p. 5)

Although this visceral appeal to the public is significant, when it is complemented with humanistic inquiry, there is a far more important additional benefit: deepening public understanding of the moral complexity of science and technology. This is the goal of programs sponsored by several state humanities councils seeking to bridge the gap between the practicality and apparent certainty of science and the often-frustrating ambiguity of the humanities. For example, during the period 2000–2002, the Texas Council on the Humanities issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for projects directed at the theme “Science and Human Values” [5]. The RFP asked:

Is the universe a vast yet ultimately predictable machine? Or is it an infinitely dynamic process rendered unpredictable by countless random events? What does either model have to do with the way we go about the daily business of living? Are there certain assumptions implicit in the worldview of Newtonian physics, quantum mechanics, or chaos theory that impact the human imagination and influence human interaction? How do new technologies affect the way we relate to one another and form communities? These are a few of the questions driving important conversations between the sciences and the humanities. Exploding scientific discoveries and rapidly-developing technologies are affecting the way we interpret our experience and the way we live, taking us always, as Jacob Brownoski says, “to the brink of what is known”. TCH invites proposals for projects that will provide opportunities for Texans to consider and discuss issues such as:

• Web of Human Relationships: New Technologies, New Communities

• From Revolutions in Science to Evolutions in Human Thought

• Technologies of Life: Health Care, Genetics, and Medical Ethics

• The Self and the Laws of Science

• Artificial Intelligence and the Nature of Knowledge

• New Theories in Education and Business

• The History of Science and Society

Much of the discussion in these and other humanities-based programs involves examining assumptions that shape the work of those pursuing science and technology, or in some cases, considering how significant outcomes may be overlooked or disregarded when the question of purpose is ignored. In the case of a successful project initiated by the Maine Humanities Council and now carried out by several New England councils, entitled “Literature & Medicine: Humanities at the Heart of Health Care,” health care providers participate in a series of reading and discussion programs that encourage them to connect the world of medicine with the world of lived experience. A family physician who attended the seminars in Maine for three years stated, “we use literature to help strip away the assumptions we bring to work, and improve our understanding of our patients and each other.”In the mid-1990s, the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities brought together scientists, humanities scholars, and members of the public, especially teachers, in an “Initiative on Science, Technology and Society” [6]. The project, comprising a public discussion series and a teachers’ institute that attracted teachers in a broad range of disciplines from across the state, was designed to help those attending become familiar with the goals of science by considering the implications for the average individual.The council described the impetus for the program as follows:

For many people, science and the benefits that result from technological innovation are inseparable from the idea of human progress. Others believe that science may have gone too far, or at least progressed too quickly, raising issues that society cannot answer and moral dilemmas that individuals can barely comprehend, much less address. Meanwhile, increasingly sophisticated technologies born of new scientific discoveries are continually reshaping the fields of health care, education, transportation, communication, agriculture, and a host of other activities from sexuality and human reproduction to personal banking. But at the same time, very few non-scientists become actively engaged in making judgments about what science should do. Likewise, few opportunities exist at present for so-called ordinary people to question and interpret the work of science and the applications of new research, or to participate in structured discussions about the impact of technology on their lives. [p. 33]

The council noted further:

Our goal is to continue to provide a framework and a stimulus for new programs that erode the customary distinctions between scientists and humanists; programs that foster a renewed public interest in the work that scientists do and a greater understanding of the complex relationship between science, culture, government, and the marketplace; programs that encourage informed debate about the directions of scientific research and the applications of technology in light of their practical and moral consequences. [p. 34-35]

Their public discussion series, “Science and Society: Toward a New Understanding of the Covenant,” involved five lectures on the benefits and challenges presented by science in our democratic society, and all five lectures were broadcast and downlinked to six remote sites.Information about the Virginia program was drawn from material the council submitted in connection with “Nature, Technology and Human Understanding”, a joint initiative of the NSF and NEH [7]. From 1993 to 1995, the NSF/NEH ran a competition for state councils which was designed to promote greater public understanding of the interrelationships between science and the humanities. The guidelines for the first year of the initiative provided that it would support “public programs designed to inform and stimulate discussion about the interrelations of science, technology and the humanities... It is also hoped that the project will have long-term benefits for public understanding of the sciences and humanities...” (p. 1). Suggested topics included:

• —conception and definition of science

• —understanding nature and mind

• —science, engineering, and social change

• —history of science and evolution of engineering

• —science and its cultural context.

It is interesting to note the subtle shift in emphasis from 1993 to 1995, apparent in the guidelines for the 1995 funding cycle:

NEH and NSF expect that the projects will have long-term benefits for public understanding of the sciences, engineering, and humanities, and of the ways in which these systematic approaches to knowledge form part of our daily lives.The agencies also hope that, through these projects, the public will come to have a deeper understanding of the basic character of humanistic inquiry and scientific methods as well as a heightened awareness of the socio-political aspects of scientific institutions, including the interaction of science and technology with democratic processes, and the philosophical issues raised by the practice of science and engineering in particular social contexts. (p. 1)

Here we see the emphasis not on science and the humanities as two cultures with distinctive goals, but rather as complementary, interrelated systems of knowledge. The shift is reflected in the slightly different thrust of the topics suggested in the 1995 guidelines:

• —the social context of science

• —political culture and science

• —understanding nature and mind

• —approaches to knowledge

• —science and its cultural context in the USA.

The Virginia council was one of several state humanities councils that developed a diverse array of projects which were subsequently supported through the NSF/NEH initiative. Several councils drew upon the integrative model of the relationship between science and technology and the humanities. The Georgia council sponsored a series of public lectures and discussion sessions on “Technology and the African American Experience”; the Kentucky council sponsored lectures and discussion sessions on the theme, “Science in Our Lives”, which examined the state’s transition from an agrarian lifestyle and an economy based on tobacco farming and coal mining to more technologically sophisticated alternatives; the Nevada council sponsored a seven-part lecture series, “Nevada in the Nuclear Age”, which explored growing scientific, philosophical, and social concerns associated with the nuclear era.Like its counterpart in Virginia, the New Hampshire Humanities Council pursued a fairly comprehensive model. Indeed, by the time of the launch of the NEH/NSF initiative, the New Hampshire council had already developed its unique “Scientist as Humanist Project”, which for several years (1990–1994) brought together science and humanities teachers from New Hampshire schools for resident summer teacher institutes in which they explored connections between science and the humanities. In describing the success of this project in their application for a grant under the 1993 NEH/NSF special initiative, the council reported “dramatic results in integrating sciences and the humanities in the classroom, in breaking down the perceived barriers between the sciences and the humanities, and in redefining the notions of insight, creativity, and categories of knowledge.” To their earlier initiative they added “Of Apples and Origins: Stories about Life on Earth”, which featured reading discussions exploring the history of great ideas in science and philosophy, a series of public lectures, and a closing conference where audiences were offered new insights into 20th century science and its implications for everyday life.Responding to the tremendous success of these programs, the New Hampshire council sought and received special funding from NEH for a second phase of the project, “Of Apples and Origins II: The Brain, The Mind and Human Meaning”, designed to explore new ideas about human consciousness and the brain. Following the same model as its predecessor, the program culminated in a two-day public conference focused on the new brain/mind science and its impact on our understanding of the self.The appeal of this approach is its relevance to the everyday life of the average individual. State humanities council programs in this area seek to make science and technology accessible by connecting theoretical knowledge with its practical application. Thus, during 1997–1999, the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, building on the NSF/NEH-supported project they had created on new communication technologies and their effect on American society, pursued a project entitled “Technology, Communications and Community”. With support from the Howard Heinz Endowment, this project gave participants opportunities, through community forums, read-and-discuss groups, Internet training, and demonstrations, to discuss the impacts on American communities of 20th-century technologies such as radio, television, and the computer. A subsequent project, “Technology and Community”, brought humanities scholars together with the public in face-to-face and online conversations about the proliferation of the Internet in society. Other similar programs supported by the council included a panel discussion and in-person and online lectures on DNA research and its impact on the work of family historians conducted by the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, and a project sponsored by the Franklin Institute which gathered an audiovisual collection of oral histories that document how scientific and technological innovation in the past century had affected and shaped the lives of local citizens.Today, almost a decade later, there are still areas where science and the humanities clearly share concerns and find opportunities for joint problem-solving. Examples include:

• —The commoditization of knowledge. The rise of market-driven, corporate-financed research at universities has been noted with increasing alarm by scholars and lamented by public commentators. A major source of concern—the compromising of openness and sharing which traditionally characterized and gave distinction to the nonprofit knowledge enterprise represented by the university—is a question for the humanities.

• —The growing divide between pure and applied research. The increasingly pervasive emphasis on connecting funding to immediately demonstrable, utilitarian results and/or economic benefits (reflected in skewed federal support and private funding) mirrors the phenomenon discussed earlier in this essay regarding the “divide” between science and the humanities.

• —The persistence of non-scientific, and widespread growth of anti-scientific, views.

The public humanities provide a means for resisting the push to commoditize knowledge and willful science illiteracy. Public programs, reading and discussion programs, and teacher institutes supported by state humanities councils offer a context for public conversations about issues that require scientific expertise. Such community-based activity is a powerful complement to the efforts of beleaguered communities of humanities academics, which one would expect to be among those leading the charge against trends toward commercialization on the one hand and the questioning of scientific knowledge on the other. Unfortunately, the post-modern tendency to delegitimize knowledge has led many university-based humanities scholars to retreat from public debate about right and wrong and to adopt a relativistic approach to all knowledge. This runs the risk of abandoning an intellectually bereft public to the easy picking of a market without morality or to a backward-looking ideology of denial bent on resisting the onslaught of modernity.State humanities councils have a rich history of helping citizens feel they can participate in conversations about science and technology. Council programs and projects take advantage of the unique capacity of the humanities to explore and explain complexity in human life. These are the vitally important occasions where science and the humanities join together to make their public case.     

Technoscientific expertise and the significance of policy cultures

Traditionally, the relationship between technical expertise and policymaking has been conceptualized as one in which there is linear conformity between expert knowledge and policy decision. Although often critical of this perspective, writings in science and technology studies, as well as in general policy science, follow this tradition in many vital respects. In argument with such “rationalist” traditions in science and technology policy inquiry, the present article argues the importance of viewing the use or enabling enactment of technoscientific expertise in regulative policy as situated in a specific culture of policymaking, i.e. a policy culture. The institutional and managerial implications of such a perspective are elaborated and supported by a comparative example drawn from European nuclear regulation. Finally, the concept of mediative expert enactment is suggested as a management approach in situations where policy cultures diverge.     

Structural evolution of clusters using genetic algorithm and density functional theory method

Structural evolution of clusters have been studied using an extensive, unbiased search based on genetic algorithm and density functional theory (DFT) methods. Cationic, neutral, and anionic silver clusters have planar shapes for their lowest-energy structures up to n = 7, 6, and 6, respectively. Most of the competitive candidates for are found to adopt close-flat configurations. The present results obtained by employing the Perdew–Wang 91 (PW91) exchange-correlation functional are significantly different from those predicted in earlier work using empirical and semi-empirical potentials, and partly in line with the previous first-principles calculations. The dependences of the lowest-energy structures of on second finite differences of total energy, binding energies per atom, highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy gaps, ionization potentials, and electron affinities are studied in detail. The calculated ionization potentials and electron affinities of the optimal clusters display distinct even–odd oscillations. The neutral Ag clusters with 6-, 8-, and 14-atoms are suggested to be “magic” clusters by an analysis of their geometric and electronic properties.     

Thawing and freezing of selected meat products in household refrigerators

Recently, several manufacturers of domestic refrigerators have introduced models with “quick thaw” and “quick freeze” capabilities. In this study, the time required for freezing and thawing different meat products was determined for five different models of household refrigerators. Two refrigerators had “quick thaw” compartments and three refrigerators had “quick freeze” capabilities. It was found that some refrigerator models froze and thawed foods significantly faster than others (P<0.05). The refrigerators with the fastest freezing and thawing times were found to be those with “quick thaw” and “quick freeze” capabilities. Heat transfer coefficients ranged from 8 to 15 Wm⁻²K⁻¹ during freezing, and the overall heat transfer coefficients ranged from 5 to 7 Wm⁻² K⁻¹ during thawing. Mathematical predictions for freezing and thawing time in the refrigerators gave results similar to those obtained in experiments. With the results described, manufacturers can improve their design of refrigerators with quick thawing and freezing functions.     

Creep deformation and failure of E911/E911 and P92/P92 similar weld-joints

This paper deals with characterisation of microstructure and creep behaviour of similar weld-joints of advanced 9% Cr ferritic steels, namely E911 and P92. The microstructures of the investigated weld-joints exhibit significant variability in different weld-joint regions such as weld metal (WM), heat-affected zone (HAZ), and base metal (BM). The cross-weld creep tests were carried out at 625 °C with initial applied stresses of 100 and 120 MPa. Both weld-joints ruptured by the “type IV cracking failure mode” in their fine-grained heat-affected zones (FG-HAZ). The creep fracture location with the smallest precipitation density corresponds well with its smallest measured cross-weld hardness. The welds of P92 steel exhibit better creep resistance than those of E911 steel. Whereas the microstructure of P92 weld after creep still contains laths, the microstructure of E911 weld is clearly recrystallized. The creep stress exponents are 14.5 and 8 for E911 and P92 weld-joints, respectively. These n-values indicate the “power-law creep” with dislocation-controlled deformation mechanism for both investigated weld-joints.