The Social Contexts of Research. Edited by Saad Z. Nagi and Ronald G. Corwin. Pp. xii + 409. (John Wiley: New York and London, August 1972.) £5.65.

Sociology of Science

The central unifying theme in the Manuscripts is the alienation of labour under capitalist conditions of private ownership and its transcendence and abolition under communism. The doctrine of total emancipation which, as I have argued, was crucial in enabling Marx to assimilate ‘class’ and the ‘division of labour’ in his work is much more clearly articulated here and eloquently expressed. Communism, Marx argues, is ‘the positive transcendence of all estrangement’; the abolition of private property, communism: 
is the genuine resolution of the conflict between man and nature — the true resolution of the strife between existence and essence, between objectification and self-confirmation, between freedom and necessity, between the individual and the species. Communism is the riddle of history solved, and knows itself to be this solution.27
The vision of communism Marx unfolds in the Manuscripts derives much of its force from his remarkable analysis of the alienation of labour and is clearly underpinned by a preconception of truly human, free productive activity. Man’s productive interchange with nature is in fact taken as the defining characteristic of the species: ‘the productive life is the life of the species’; and Marx is careful to point out that while an animal can also be said to engage in production it ‘only produces what it immediately needs for itself or its young’.

The Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844

David Baltimore, Premio Nobel de microbiologia e que trabalha no MIT, afirmou num momento de euforia alguns anos atras que, considerando as tecnicas disponiveis e algumas outras promissoras sendo desenvolvidas e testadas, "nos podemos fazer a Evolucao" com melhores resultados do que os ate aqui obtidos pela Natureza. Ele referia-se a nova biotecnologia. A caracteristica fundamental dessa nova e "man-made" evolucao e que ela e passivel de patente, o que certamente encerra inumeras questoes, tanto de âmbito tecnico e economico como, e principalmente, de cunho social.

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First the seed; the political economy of plant biotechnology

This chapter reviews the discussion in science communication circles of models for public communication of science and technology (PCST). It questions the claim that there has been a large-scale shift from a ‘deficit model’ of communication to a ‘dialogue model’, and it demonstrates the survival of the deficit model along with the ambiguities of that model. Similar discussions in related fields of communication, including the critique of dialogue, are briefly sketched. Outlining the complex circumstances governing approaches to PCST, the author argues that communications models often perceived to be opposed can, in fact, coexist when the choices are made explicit. To aid this process, the author proposes an analytical framework of communication models based on deficit, dialogue and participation, including variations on each.

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Towards an Analytical Framework of Science Communication Models

Over the last decade, sustainability science has emerged as an interdisciplinary and innovative field attempting to conduct problem-driven research that links knowledge to action. As the institutional dimensions of sustainability science continue to gain momentum, this article provides an analysis of emerging research agendas in sustainability science and an opportunity for reflection on future pathways for the field. Based on in-depth interviews with leading researchers in the field and a content analysis of the relevant literature, this article examines how sustainability scientists bound the social, political and normative dimensions of sustainability as they construct research agendas and look to link knowledge to social action. Many scientists position sustainability science as serving universal values related to sustainability and providing knowledge that is crucial to societal decision-making. The implications of these findings are discussed with an eye towards creating a space for a more democratic and reflexive research agenda for sustainability.

Constructing sustainability science: emerging perspectives and research trajectories

Designs on Nature: Science and Democracy in Europe and the United States

This paper aims to capture the pattern of collaboration operating in the field of rice crop research in India. The present study employs both bibliometric techniques as well as social network analysis to analyze the publication output indexed by Scopus database in rice crop research during 1995-2014. The study finds that Indian rice scientists prioritize collaborative research practices. Indian rice scientists demonstrate a preference for mega-authored publications. The increasing trend in the mean values of Degree of Collaboration, Collaboration Coefficient and Modified Collaboration Coefficient indicate that the proportion of multior mega-authored papers are accelerating steadily. Moreover, the increase in international collaboration indices manifests that the rice scientists in India have been gradually broadening the ambit of research collaboration to cope with the pace, scope and profoundness of transformations at the global level. The social network analysis of agencies reveals that the State Agricultural Universities, Indian Council of Agricultural Research and International Institutes have emerged as core collaborators in the field of rice crop research. Moreover, weak collaboration profile of industry indicates that although rice crop research has shifted from ‘Mode 1’ to ‘Mode 2’ form of knowledge production but its optimization is yet to be realized.

Mapping Scientific Collaboration: A Bibliometric Study of Rice Crop Research in India

This note, from the sociology of science perspective, argues that during the colonial regime, the colonizers, on the one hand and the cultural elite in India on the other, introduced science education to the people of India. Whereas scientific knowledge was introduced in India in order to keep the vested interests of the colonial government alive, a section of the Indian intelligentsia, in contrast, tried to democratize scientific knowledge through building scientific institutions in nineteenth century India. The present study is a modest attempt to understand the dialectic between science-for-its-own-sake and the application of scientific knowledge in the society.

Democratizing scientific knowledge through building scientific institutions in nineteenth century India: the sociology of science perspective

[From the sociology of science perspective, this paper attempts to trace the shifts in the knowledge and its application in the context of seed production—the central input in agriculture. The paper argues that the seed production, which was once in the hands of farming communities, has become industrialized with the advent of hybrid seeds. The hybrid seed production, based on phenotypic knowledge of the plants, marks the first phase of the industrialization of seed and the genetically modified seed, based on genotypic knowledge of the plants, marks the beginning of another phase in the industrialization of seed production. This paper draws attention to controversies over genetically modified seed based on economic, social, environmental considerations. This paper also discusses the implications of these developments and the changes in the institutional arrangements that govern the production and use of the seed, as these developments have profound implications for Indian agriculture and agrarian relations., Abstract From the sociology of science perspective, this paper attempts to trace the shifts in the knowledge and its application in the context of seed production—the central input in agriculture. The paper argues that the seed production, which was once in the hands of farming communities, has become industrialized with the advent of hybrid seeds. The hybrid seed production, based on phenotypic knowledge of the plants, marks the first phase of the industrialization of seed and the genetically modified seed, based on genotypic knowledge of the plants, marks the beginning of another phase in the industrialization of seed production. This paper draws attention to controversies over genetically modified seed based on economic, social, environmental considerations. This paper also discusses the implications of these developments and the changes in the institutional arrangements that govern the production and use of the seed, as these developments have profound implications for Indian agriculture and agrarian relations.]

Industrialization of Seed Production: Implications for Agriculture in India

Inter-institutional collaborative networking in the area of plant molecular biology has become the hallmark of the intellectual property rights (IPR) regime. As research in plant molecular biology has potential for attaining patents, the practitioners seem to reorient their approach towards their own research vis-a-vis the protocols enshrined in the IPR. The plant molecular biologists located in various institutional settings in India seem to be engaged in collaborative networking with the industry. The present study, through in-depth personal interviews with 68 plant molecular biologists in India, attempts to capture the transition in scientific practices reflected in the attitudes, interests, values and ideologies of the scientific community in India.

Sambit Mallick

Papers

Designs on Nature: Science and Democracy in Europe and the United States

Mapping Scientific Collaboration: A Bibliometric Study of Rice Crop Research in India

Democratizing scientific knowledge through building scientific institutions in nineteenth century India: the sociology of science perspective

Industrialization of Seed Production: Implications for Agriculture in India

Inter-institutional collaborative networking in the intellectual property rights regime: research in plant molecular biology in India