Science, Technology, and the Issues of the Eighties: Policy Outlook. Westview Special Studies in Science, Technology, and Public Policy/Society.

Recognizing that science and technology (S/T) have become increasingly relevant to important public policy issues, Congress has mandated the periodic preparation of a "Five Year Outlook for Science and Technology" to help U.S. policymakers anticipate and deal with these issues more effectively. This book, the result of a study conducted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science for the second such "Outlook," identifies and explores domestic and international policy concerns in which science and technology are critical factors. The interdisciplinary, non-technical approach provides policymakers, students, and others interested in science, technology, and public affairs with a timely overview of areas that are likely to become the world's most pressing concerns during the next several years. Issues/areas addressed include: applying S/T to public purposes; institutional climate for innovation in industry; decision-making with modern information/communications technology; relations of science, government, and industry (focusing on recombinant DNA); risk assessment for the 1980s' S/T and international security; U.S. policy toward scientific/technological development in developing countries; U.S. agriculture in context of the world food situation; trends and prospects in world population; international security implications of materials and energy resource depletion; and science and national defense. (Author/JN)