Science and Technology in Society and Policy | Bacon's Promise - Part 2

The New Enclosure (Part II)

The notion that the things we create belong to us is not new; it dates back at least to 560, when Ireland’s King Diarrmait ruled against the monk Colmcille, who had secretly copied his mentor Finnian’s psalter. (Legend records Diarmait’s judgment as “To every cow belongs her calf, therefore to every book belongs its copy.”) […]

July 14, 2014 – 4:42 pm | By Sylvia Kraemer | Posted in Environmental Policy, Intellectual Property, Open Systems, Science and Engineering in the Law, Science and Policy, Technology in US Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged Atomic Energy Commission, Bayh-Dole, Daniel S. Greenberg, Department of Defense, EPA standards, federal procurements, federal R&D, FOIA, Forsham v. Harris, Freedom of Information Act, Human Genome Project, intellectual capital, Justice John McLean, King Diarrmait, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Institutes of Health, Office of Management and Budget, patent licenses, patent royalties, patents, President Bill Clinton, President Kennedy, President Truman, Prime Minister Tony Blair, privatization, proprietary claims, public commons, public sphere, Publicly Funded Research, Ronald Reagan, Shelby Amendment, Wheaton v. Peters | Comments (0)

The New Enclosure (Part III)

Discussions of patent policy in the United States and elsewhere often overlook the fact that the original intent of issuing patents (not to be confused with sovereign-granted commercial privileges) was to encourage the disclosure and spread of novel devices to stimulate manufacturing and trade. The earliest patents (such as those awarded by the Republic […]

July 14, 2014 – 4:41 pm | By Sylvia Kraemer | Posted in Current History, Intellectual Property, Open Systems, Science and Engineering in the Law, Science and Policy, Technology in US Politics | Tagged Atomic Energy Commission, Bayh-Dole, Daniel S. Greenberg, Department of Defense, EPA standards, federal procurements, federal R&D, FOIA, Forsham v. Harris, Freedom of Information Act, Human Genome Project, intellectual capital, Justice John McLean, King Diarrmait, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Institutes of Health, Office of Management and Budget, patent licenses, patents, President Bill Clinton, President Kennedy, President Truman, Prime Minister Tony Blair, privatization, proprietary claims, public commons, public sphere, Publicly Funded Research, Ronald Reagan, Shelby Amendment, Wheaton v. Peters | Comments (0)

Why The Liberal Arts?

It’s difficult to hear a discussion of education in the United States without being reminded of the urgency of increasing students’ proficiency in ‘STEM’ (science, technology, engineering and math) disciplines. This, we learn, is necessary to secure their competitiveness in a technology-driven job market. What is too rarely pointed out is that a primary […]

January 23, 2014 – 10:02 am | By Sylvia Kraemer | Posted in Art and Culture, Colleges and Universities, Education, History of Ideas, Uncategorized | Comments (1)

National Public Wi-Fi: Why it Matters to You

A recent proposal by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman, Julius Genachowski, would recover some of the country’s little used radio and TV broadcast radio spectrum in order to create a national public wireless (WiFi) network. Telecommunications companies, which make money selling data plans to enable smart phone and Wi-Fi computer users to access the […]

February 16, 2013 – 3:45 pm | By Sylvia Kraemer | Posted in History of Ideas, Open Systems, Politics, Science and Engineering in the Law, Technology in US Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged FCC, Federal Communications Commission, Free Wi-Fi, Internet, Internet access, Julius Genachowski, public forum for free speech, Radio Act of 1912, Samuel Morse, smart phones, tablet computers, telemedicine, Titanic, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi enabled computers, wireless Internet | Comments (0)

Lessons From Our Table

One of the blessings of the past holiday for this Maine parent was the return of adult children home for Christmas. Humorists console some of us with tales of dysfunctional families to help dispel the mixed emotions conjured up by the holidays. A largely functional family is also a blessing. Ours has slogged its way […]

January 7, 2013 – 11:53 am | By Sylvia Kraemer | Posted in Art and Culture, Uncategorized | Tagged public libraries, Read, Reading | Comments (0)

Senator Rubio’s Mistake

An astronomer writing in Slate recently takes Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to task for being unable (or unwilling?) to give the astronomers’ answer to a reporter’s question, posed during a press interview, about the age of the Earth. After noting that the question has nothing to do with the proper subject of the interview, Rubio […]

December 4, 2012 – 5:31 pm | By Sylvia Kraemer | Posted in Art and Culture, Current History, History of Ideas, Politics, Science and Policy, Uncategorized | Tagged Biblical literalism, history of science, Karl Popper, Marco Rubio, metaphors, scientific research, technological innovation | Comments (0)

Ten Tips for the 53%

In a recent letter to the editor of the local newspaper a reader supports Mr. Romney’s assertion that 47% of the American public depends on federal benefits, and therefore undeserving of the presidential candidate’s concern. The letter writer then shares with us his pride at being part of the other 53%, Without mentioning national defense […]

October 27, 2012 – 5:23 pm | By Sylvia Kraemer | Posted in Current History, Politics, Science and Policy, Technology in US Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged CAFE standards, Co, corporate welfare, deregulated Wall Street, federal deposit insurance, federal highways, Mitt Romney, National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Institutes of Health, oil depletion allowance, pharmaceutical research, the 47 percent, the 47%, US coast and geodetic surveys | Comments (0)

Maine: The Costs of “Political Speech”

In its article on forced ‘disappearance’ to eliminate political opposition, Wikipedia lists no less than 22 countries where ruling parties have resorted to this practice. Among the better known are Argentina and Chile, under the regimes of Jorge Rafael Videla (1976-1981) and Augusto Pinochet (1976-1981), respectively. As a means of eliminating unwelcome political speech, ‘disappearing’ […]

October 17, 2012 – 10:33 am | By Sylvia Kraemer | Posted in Current History, Open Systems, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged " constituent 'buy-in', "win-win, ' political speech, 'Disappearance, Governor of Maine, John A. Woodcock, Judge Woodcock, Maine, Maine labor Mural, Paul LePage, US District Court | Comments (0)

Maine Votes – 2012 *

If we’re not too dismayed by the nature of our politics when November 6 rolls around, we may be able to summon enough hope to go to the polls to elect candidates equipped to tackle today’s complex policy issues. What to do about the “creative destruction” of work for a huge sector of our job […]

July 21, 2012 – 4:36 pm | By Sylvia Kraemer | Posted in Current History, Politics | Tagged Eli Pariser, federal benefits, George Mitchell, Lincolnville, Maine, Maine federal contractors, Olympia Snowe, privatization, Ronald Reagan, size of government, Susan Collins, The Filter Bubble, US constitution, US taxation, William S. Cohen | Comments (0)

Why Dieting is Hard for Uncle Sam

Whether devout or passionate, “severe” conservatives (as republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney styled himself), assert a belief that the private sector should command all economic activity, while the public sector is reduced to as close to nothing as possible. Here is Mr. Romney on his rival Rick Santorum: “Sen. Santorum is a nice guy, but […]

April 11, 2012 – 2:55 pm | By Sylvia Kraemer | Posted in Current History, History of Ideas, Politics | Tagged California, federal defecit, federal grants and contracts, federal procurements, Florida, Georgia, Iron Triangle, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, private sector, public sector, South Carolina, taxes, Tea Party, Tennessee, Texas, US Congress | Comments (1)