Scientific growth faces fiscal crisis.

Compares funding for scientific research in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, as of March, 1998. Impact of region's economic crisis on research, including long-term development plans; How each country views the value of science; Concern about the existing culture of science and how it is manifest; Need for broader view of how science is done; Lack of public understanding about research's nature; Roles of national academies.