http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/ Soapbox is a place for an eclectic mix of first-person reflections and perspectives on the world around us - from thoughts on science policy to sci-fi film critiques, from reactions to something in the news to reactions to some simple enlightenment bestowed on us by our kids - that share CSPO's particular way of looking at things. CSPO Soapbox Blogging Engine Mon, 04 Jan 2010 22:26:27 GMT en http://www.cspo.org/images/soapbox-rss-banner.jpg http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/ 100 133 In honor of Super Bowl Sunday, graduate research assistant Rider Foley discusses the threat of severe brain injury brought upon through impact sports. http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1202031604P86888696LH/sports--science-technology-and-society/ http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1202031604P86888696LH/sports--science-technology-and-society/ Fri, 3 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0700 When I ask my students whether it is okay for them or others to overstate the possible outcomes of their research in order to get funding, a large number of them say they are comfortable with it.  They are taught by their mentors that this is a necessary, if sometimes unfortunate, marketing technique. http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/100524P3FA/the-dangers-of-hype-and-hope/ http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/100524P3FA/the-dangers-of-hype-and-hope/ Mon, 21 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700 What should be the role of science fiction (SF) in informing how we develop and govern science and technology? Some SF is just for fun, some SF explores what it means to be human under different circumstances, and other SF imagines strange new worlds, including new kinds of humans, new kinds of machines and new kinds of worlds. SF is also cited by many scientists and engineers as an impetus for their career choice. But are there other ways that SF should do more to try to guide society? http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1110031100P85974051SR/new-apollo-missions-or-scientist-monks-what-should-the-role-of-science-fiction-be-in-the-governance-of-science/ http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1110031100P85974051SR/new-apollo-missions-or-scientist-monks-what-should-the-role-of-science-fiction-be-in-the-governance-of-science/ Mon, 3 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0600 We've all read, and many of us have agreed with, the impassioned pleas for moratoria on, or at least caution towards, emerging technologies such as nanotechnology. But it turns out you can only read so many calls for moratoria before they start sounding alike. This Soapbox, using a Mad-lib format, will allow you to create your own news release calling for an emerging technology moratorium. http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1109161236P62630931NL/the-emerging-technology-cacophony-moratorium-madlib/ http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1109161236P62630931NL/the-emerging-technology-cacophony-moratorium-madlib/ Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0600 My biggest realization on our trip to South Africa was the idealism associated with participating in a cutting edge science like nanoscience. I found that by and large, the scientists, in particular South African nationals and other Africans, seemed inspired by the idea that they were contributing to the emergence of a new South Africa that could become globally relevant. http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1109021656P89753805CC/nano-for-its-technological-promise-or-nano-for-meeting-national-goals-in-south-africa/ http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1109021656P89753805CC/nano-for-its-technological-promise-or-nano-for-meeting-national-goals-in-south-africa/ Sun, 4 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0600 This summer I presented the results of my study about the potential contributions of nanotechnology to the agricultural sector. One of my classmates from Ghana made a very intriguing comment: he said that nanotechnology seems like a promising technology for the ag sector, but was concerned that farmers in Africa have enough problems to worry about without transferring new technologies and that nanotechnology could even aggravate their current problems of food security. I did not have, at that moment, a convincing answer to give him. http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1108281251P58993317ZX/do-developing-countries-need-any-new-agricultural-technology/ http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1108281251P58993317ZX/do-developing-countries-need-any-new-agricultural-technology/ Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0600 Towards the end of our field work, Team H2O (the subset of our delegation focusing on water applications of nanotechnology) got a look at rural poverty in South Africa. I have already blogged on urban poverty in South Africa and the need for redesigning innovation to engage with it. Rural poverty appears to have some similarities and some differences. http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1108051118P45206360ZK/nanotechnology-water-and-rural-poverty-in-south-africa/ http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1108051118P45206360ZK/nanotechnology-water-and-rural-poverty-in-south-africa/ Fri, 5 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0600 It’s all too common in the USA that scientists must pay hundreds of dollars to have their research published.  But imagine getting paid to publish instead of paying to publish.  This would be a dream for American academics. In other countries, getting paid to publish isn’t a dream. Rather it’s a beautiful reality.  http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1107211702P53422514PG/getting-paid-to-publish/ http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1107211702P53422514PG/getting-paid-to-publish/ Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0600 Learning about nanotechnology here in South Africa has meant learning a lot of new acronyms. I was surprised the other day when a scientist mentioned two familiar acronyms that, at first, seemed somewhat out of context in a discussion about nano in South Africa. But it turns out that FIFA and NIH are extremely important abbreviations when it comes to what influences this scientist's research, and how South African research funds can leave the country. http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1107201115P65533751RW/fifa-the-nih-and-nanotechnology-in-south-africa/ http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1107201115P65533751RW/fifa-the-nih-and-nanotechnology-in-south-africa/ Fri, 22 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0600 The CNS Thematic Research Cluster on Equity, Equality, and Responsibility spent the first two weeks of July conducting fieldwork on how nanotechnology research and development in South Africa can benefit the poor, including people like Pastor Julius, his wife, and the 22 orphans for whom they care in township of Barcelona. http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1107181438P40015719RR/redesigning-innovation-to-benefit-the-poor/ http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1107181438P40015719RR/redesigning-innovation-to-benefit-the-poor/ Tue, 19 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0600 The headline reads 'Cracking Open the World Bank.' Above, a graphic shows ethereal streams of 1s and 0s issuing from a vault, its heavy door slightly ajar. The story below tells of a revolution at the World Bank. This global institution, long attacked as arrogant and inept, seems to be getting with the times. The information age heralds its future as open, digital and democratic. A closer reading, however, cautions against such a hasty conclusion. http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1107141149P28490534NJ/opening-the-world-bank-in-the-information-age/ http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1107141149P28490534NJ/opening-the-world-bank-in-the-information-age/ Thu, 14 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0600 We know that nanotechnology can build a golf club that will extend your drive by a few feet, but will it help the poor in South Africa? The CNS Thematic Research Cluster on Equity, Equality, and Responsibility is conducting fieldwork in South Africa, interviewing scientists, researchers, policy officials, NGOs, corporations, funders, government employees, and local people to find out how nanotechnology is being researched, developed, and used and possibilities for the future of nanotechnology as a transformative technology the way cell phones seem to have become. http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1107081517P19834102RI/in-search-of-propoor-nanotechnology-in-south-africa-from-cell-phones-to-nanotech/ http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1107081517P19834102RI/in-search-of-propoor-nanotechnology-in-south-africa-from-cell-phones-to-nanotech/ Fri, 8 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0600 A recent issue of Science magazine features a news article about seven scientists in Italy who are facing manslaughter charges for not predicting the danger of an earthquake that killed 308 people. The scientists were part of a risk committee of earth scientists who testified that incipient tremors were not evidence of an oncoming earthquake in 2009. While it may be presumptuous to actually put scientists on trial for a failure to dialogue with decision-makers, this puts into question the implicit “social contract of science” that has justified basic scientific research since the end of WWII. http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1106201131P21162099HT/science-policy-failure-costs-lives/ http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1106201131P21162099HT/science-policy-failure-costs-lives/ Mon, 20 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0600 To an increasing extent, social movements such as those ongoing in Spain –and elsewhere in Europe and the world- are becoming a conscious opportunity for exploring new paths for democracy. These explorations seem not to be the result of any technological fate, but rather a feat of sociotechnical change, with some concrete antecedents. http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1106151212P87388375IX/is-democracy-catching-up-with-finance-spring-of-protests-in-spain-and-elsewhere/ http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1106151212P87388375IX/is-democracy-catching-up-with-finance-spring-of-protests-in-spain-and-elsewhere/ Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0600 You may have not heard about it yet, but you´ll probably hear about it soon: there are civil protests going on in Spain, and they’re getting bigger and louder each minute, on and offline. http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1105201211P53769641SA/questioning-networks-may-protests-in-spain/ http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1105201211P53769641SA/questioning-networks-may-protests-in-spain/ Thu, 19 May 2011 00:00:00 -0600 Journalists and public administrators need to get better at understanding complex socio-technological systems—and they need to get better fast. http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1105111036P75381933FJ/contradiction-and-complexity/ http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1105111036P75381933FJ/contradiction-and-complexity/ Wed, 11 May 2011 00:00:00 -0600 The U.S. seems to have found a strategy for fighting wars without putting too many American lives at risk. While the substitution of boots on the ground with unique technological capabilities in the air seems to be a solution tailor made for the times, the betting on complex technological capabilities began long time ago--most precisely after the Second World War. http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1105041435P50480299TN/unique-capacities-endless-frontiers-and-the-day-after/ http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1105041435P50480299TN/unique-capacities-endless-frontiers-and-the-day-after/ Wed, 4 May 2011 00:00:00 -0600 The internet looks different in different places. We think of it as this universal resource, but it’s not. Its ethereal contents change depending on where you are physically and politically. I’ve been experiencing this a lot on my last few international trips. http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1104271135P86379451YN/the-internet-is-not-created-equal/ http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1104271135P86379451YN/the-internet-is-not-created-equal/ Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0600 Entergy Corporation’s latest tactics in its fight with the State of Vermont reminded me today why the energy industry in the United States has such a bad reputation with the public. It’s an approach and a reputation that the industry needs to work hard to change if the United States is going to make a successful transition to sustainable energy in the coming years. http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1104181214P14464043VV/partnerships-for-the-future/ http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1104181214P14464043VV/partnerships-for-the-future/ Mon, 18 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0600 The potential implications of human enhancement comprise one of the main reasons why I’m at CSPO, so I was excited and a little worried when the trailer for the movie Limitless appeared.  Would Hollywood do justice to the topic, or would they make yet another trite cautionary tale? http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1104011534P10198467DP/limitless-review/ http://www.cspo.org/soapbox/view/1104011534P10198467DP/limitless-review/ Fri, 1 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0600