Science,Politics and Networks: Shibukawa Harumi and the Birth of the New Almanac in Seventeenth-century Japan

In 1684, during the Edo period (1603–1868), the imperial court of Japan passed a reform act that resulted in a new almanac called the Jôkyô almanac. This was the first reform in more than eight hundred years, and marked a departure from the past practice of adopting almanacs from China. Yet, the reform was complicated, and it was achieved after decades through the efforts of Shibukawa Harumi (1639–1715). How was the reform accomplished, and why was it significant? In this study, I will focus on Harumi's role in the reform. I propose to examine the reform as the culmination of a process deeply linked to Harumi's political connections and his intellectual growth especially in the field of calendrical sciences. I will show that this approach of looking at the reform by analyzing different aspects of Harumi's life has implications for understanding trends in society in seventeenth-century Japan. First, despite the ban on Christianity, intellectuals like Harumi assimilated European sciences in unique ways. Second, Harumi's activities exemplified how intellectual ties were increasingly embedded within political networks. Overall, I will argue that the reform of the almanac, viewed as a process surrounding the core figure of Harumi, was driven by scientific goals and personal ambitions.     

日本的科技计划与战略

本文主要介绍了日本科技计划与战略的制定过程、近几年实施的主要科技计划与战略以及计划与战略的管理和评估,并对日本的两期科技基本计划做了重点分析和对比。     

Science policy and politics in post-war Japan: the establishment of the KEK high energy physics laboratory

This paper provides a detailed account of the prehistory of the KEK National Laboratory for High Energy Physics at Tsukuba in Japan. Attempts to establish Japan's first truly national laboratory marked the beginning of ‘big science’ in Japan. An examination of the debate and decision-making processes, which spanned over a decade, provide insight into the political aspects of policy making in the post-war period. History shows that even in Japan, self-interest has taken precedence over group interests in lobbying for research funds for science.     

激光与新材料

激光技术的发展在很大程度上得益于相关新材料的问世和应用。本文就激光研究中几个最主要参数指标的进展。综述介绍了材料科学所起的关键作用。从一个方面说明了学科交叉与合作对于科学技术进步所起的重要作用。     

美国高科技出口新战略

本文论述了９０年代中期,美国政府在国内经济萧条,世界高科技市场竞争日趋势激烈佃内就业压力沉重的情况下,实施高科技出口新战略,放松对某些高科技产品和技术的出口限制,并分析了原来出口管制体系上存在的弊端和实施新的管制体系的必要性,同时,详尽地阐述了这一战略所科生的重大影响。     

日本学术振兴会(JSPS)人才培养机制及其学科发展的平衡性

简要介绍了日本学术振兴会（JSPS）在国家科技政策中的重要作用.介绍了JSPS特别研究人员、海外研究人员和JSPS奖三种人才培养机制的人才的选拔方法及其学科分布特点.并基于经费投入比与论文产出比分析了基础研究中的学科发展平衡问题.日本已经认识到了学科发展的不平衡性,并采取措施促进学科的平衡发展.     

新西兰政府科技投资现状概述

近年来新西兰政府大力调整其科技政策，在建设知识社会的蓝图下，建构了科技投资的基本框架，凸显了知识、经济、环境、社会四大目标，另外通过对投资决策、运行和监督的改革，使政府科技投资的机制更为科学有效，本文还给出了新西兰政府近年来科技投资的分配比例状况，阐明了其投资的重点领域。     

日本学术振兴会(JSPS)科学基金资助机制与战略分析

简要概述了日本的科学基金情况,重点分析了日本学术振兴会（JSPS）及其管理的科学基金。日本学术振兴会（JSPS）相当于日本的国家科学基金会,其负责管理的科学研究费补助金是日本政府出资的科学研究基金中资助金额最大、资助范围最广、资助项目数量最多的竞争性科学基金。其对基础研究的资助政策、方向遴选、评审程序、经费分配、管理机制等对其它国家的基础研究政府资助机构具有借鉴和示范意义。介绍了科学研究费补助金资助的研究类型和申请程序,分析了近10年科学研究费补助金的预算及年增长率、近12年科学研究费补助金的项目资助率情况、近5年科学研究费补助金的领域分配与资助情况、2005年科学研究费补助金资助情况等。对科学研究费补助金的基金项目资助战略予以全面分析,对我国相关部门的管理工作有重要参考价值和借鉴意义。     

我国科技数据管理和共享服务的新进展

科技数据管理和共享长期困扰科技界的难以解决的重大问题，最近几年科技部组织了“调研组”展开全面调研，采取了有力措施推进此项工作的进展，本文就我国在科技数据管理与共享服务领域所取得的最新进展，向各科技工作者和各级管理部门通报，以引起更为广泛的关注和支持。     

国外政府科技评估的新趋势及与我国的对比分析

首先对目前国外政府在组织实施科技评估的过程中呈现出的一些新特点和趋势进行了分析与总结。在此基础上,对国内外政府在组织实施科技评估过程中存在的一些不同之外进行了对比分析。最后就如何借鉴国外经验更好地组织开展我国政府科技评估工作进行了的讨论。     

新世纪的基石新世纪的缤纷--新型材料与工程研究开发在中国科技大学之一斑

新材料、新技术是当今人类历史发展阶段的鲜明特征,也是２１世纪持续发展的基石。材料科学与工程学科领域的人才培养和先进材料的研究开发一直是我国重点高等学校的重要任务之一,本文简要回顾中国科技大学自建校以来在新型材料与工程研究开发的历程和现况,旨在反映我国在该领域发展现状和趋向之一斑。     

Science and the romantic movement

Several authors have used the expression ‘formal asymmetry’ to characterize Einstein's method of introducing conceptual innovations. Prior to his use of formal asymmetries, however, Einstein relied upon analogy to introduce his major concepts, but without satisfactory results. He gradually refined another technique, reflection upon empirical problems, into the method of formal asymmetries, with impressive results. This historical study, based upon a textual analysis of Einstein's publications, raises a series of questions regarding the place of formal asymmetries in his work.     

The Experimental Self: Humphry Davy and the Making of a Man of Science

This paper describes how the physics department of the University of Bristol grew from relative provincial obscurity to international stature. Emphasis is placed on the role of Arthur Tyndall, who as head of the department played a crucial role by attracting external funding to provide for and maintain modern laboratory facilities, through his skill in recruiting staff and his general management of resources. Such essentially entrepreneurial qualities, it is argued, were fundamental to the rapid expansion of Bristol physics and for its emergence as a new centre of excellence.     

Science denial as a form of pseudoscience

Science denialism poses a serious threat to human health and the long-term sustainability of human civilization. Although it has recently been rather extensively discussed, this discussion has rarely been connected to the extensive literature on pseudoscience and the science-pseudoscience demarcation. This contribution argues that science denialism should be seen as one of the two major forms of pseudoscience, alongside of pseudotheory promotion. A detailed comparison is made between three prominent forms of science denialism, namely relativity theory denialism, evolution denialism, and climate science denialism. Several characteristics are identified that distinguish science denialism from other forms of pseudoscience, in particular its persistent fabrication of fake controversies, the extraordinary male dominance among its activists, and its strong connection with various forms of right-wing politics. It is argued that the scientific response to science denialism has to be conceived with these characteristics in mind. In particular, it is important to expose the fabricated fake controversies for what they are and to reveal how science denialists consistently use deviant criteria of assent to distort the scientific process.     

The Transformation of Aristotle's Mechanical Questions: A Bridge Between the Italian Renaissance Architects and Galileo's First New Science

The reception process of Aristotle's Mechanical Questions during the early modern period began with the publication of the corpus aristotelicum between 1495 and 1498. Between 1581 and 1627, two of the thirty-five arguments discussed in the text, namely Question XIV concerning the resistance to fracture and Question XVI concerning the deformation of objects such as timbers, became central to the work of the commentators. The commentaries of Bernardino Baldi (1581–1582), Giovanni de Benedetti (1585), Giuseppe Biancani (1615) and Giovanni di Guevara (1627) gradually approached the doctrine of proportions of the Renaissance architects, some aspects of which deal with the strength of materials according to the Vitruvian conception of scalar building. These aspects of the doctrine of proportions were integrated into the Aristotelian arguments so that a theory of linear proportionality concerned with the strength of materials could be formulated. This very first theory of strength of materials is the theory to which Galileo critically referred in his Discorsi where he published his own theory of strength of materials. Economic and military constraints are determined as the fundamental reasons for the commentators’ commitment to developing a theory of strength of materials that later linked Galileo's work to the practical knowledge of the architects and machine-builders of his time.