5. THE IMPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGICAL BY-PRODUCTS
Footnotes
1. See, for example, House Report of the Committee on Science and Astronautics, Pursuant to H. R. 133 (Serial I), The Practical Values of Space Exploration, 86th Congress, Second Session (July 5, 1960), pp. 17-28.
2. A good example of the dependence of technology on non-technological factors is the very limited use of new fabricating techniques and new construction materials in private housing, See Arthur M. Watkins, "A Good House Nowadays Is Hard to Find," Harper's Magazine, Vol. 220 (February 1960), pp. 37-43.
3. As an example of the methods which might be used for detecting and determining the by-product payoff of space technology see Herbert E. Striner, R. U. Sherman, et al,, "Defense Spending and the U. S. Economy," Vols. I and 2, ORO Staff Paper, ORO-SP-57, Operations Research office, The Johns Hopkins University, June 1958.
4. Organizing and maintaining such a group and implementing -its functions could be one of the special continuing activities of the in-house NASA research organization described in Chapter 2.
5. See Mitchell Gordon, "Telemetry's Rise. Companies Step Up Use of Data Transmitter Employed in Satellites," Wall Street Journal, Oct. 10, 1960,
6. Monitoring selected aspects of human behavior has, until recently, been largely in the form of laboratory studies for determining the adequacy of ,techniques and in the development of physiological and psychological understanding. Specific physiological characteristics have been observed through the electrical impulses discharged by particular systems. Some years ago a research team at the Naval Mediral Research Institute developed the instrumentation and the radio equipment which was able to pick off and transmit to ground receivers a variety of physiological measures taken from an operating aircraft pilot. Data processing was also accomplished by ground-based equipment; however, the processing was limited, and further analyses were done in the laboratory. The purpose of the study was to examine behavioral response to physiological stress in a dynamic situation as it was occurring.
[-35- / -35-]
In May 1958 the National Research Council sponsored a symposium on the utilization of earth-circling satellites for biological research. Several of the discussions indicated that physiological monitoring devices would be necessary to record and transmit immediately to competent observers on the ground information on the state of health of biological subjects, especially humans, so that any undesirable changes manifested could be reacted to immediately in the interest of safety, Recommendations for types of variables to be utilized included measurements from the electrocardiogram, the electroencephalogram, respiration, heart rate, knee jerk, and a number of others, Subsequent satellite experiments which used mice and monkeys were able to incorporate these techniques and provide continuous monitoring through the data received from capsules carrying animals.
7. The New York Times (July 24, 1960), in an article entitled "Coronary Attack Held Predictable" reported that "the polygraph machine, commonly known as a lie-detector, shows possibilities as a detector of candidates for heart attacks." According to Dr. Meyer Friedman and Dr. Ray H. Rosenman, in the Journal of the American Medical Association ("Association of Specific Overt Behavior Pattern with Blood and Cardiovascular Findings") , Vol. 169 (March 21, 1959), pp. 1286-1296, "Results of the test showed. . @ that the heart disease victims responded in a manner clearly differentiating them from the normal patients and from seven other participants who suffered from non-organic disorders of the heart and blood vessels," Dr. Albert F. Ax, Director of the Psychophysiology Laboratory of the Lafayette Clinic in Detroit, has been feeding 29 physiological measures into a new computer system operating on data processing and correlation techniques developed by him and his associates. Although not using telemetering equipment, Professor Ax feels that it would expand and enhance the new understanding being provided by the computer capability and multiple physiological measures now available.
[-37-]
8. See, for example, Albert F. Ax, "Physiological Differentiation of Fear and Anger in Humans," Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine, Vol. 15 (1953), pp. 433ff.
9. A careful examination of the arguments and their sources regarding the use of subliminal stimulation on TV or movie screens should be most revealing about the kind of legal and ethical problems arising when some Americans perceive their privacy to be invaded or their volition interfered- with. See also Raymond A. Bauer, "N i 1 Ways Not to Run a Railroad," American Psychologist, Vol. 15 (October 1960), pp. 650-655.
10 .One indication of this interest is the facilitating support from the U. S. Air Force for travel and equipment for Dr. Marion A. Wenger of the University of Iowa, to conduct in India an exploratory investigation of the physiological control mechanisms of yogis.
11. For an excellent summary of the factors affecting the development of these devices as well as their characteristics, see George A. W. Boehm, "Exotic Power Packages," Fortune, Vol. 62 (June 1960), pp. 124ff.
12. See Leo Stag and George W. Sutton, "The Prospects of MHD Power Generation," Astronautics, Vol. 5 (August 1960), pp. 22-25, 82-86.
13. The precision navigation available to Polaris submarines over a threemonth period testifies to the fact that it is within the state of the art to provide such a guidance capability. However, the equipment used on Polaris is elaborate and not immediately transferable to smaller working environments.
14. According to Richard L. Meier, "wherever innovations need to be adopts tightly knit organizations that are no longer growing, the immediate social costs tend to prevent the realization of long-range gains. It is only recently that R & D has been given sufficient status and leverage in large organizations so that they adapt to change continuously and with a minimum of discomfort." Case studies having to do with institutional adjustment to automation in the transportation field might well be relevant to the development of better means for making transitions from human to machine control. The many studies of the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan on the impact of automation are pertinent, too. See Floyd C. Mann and Lawrence K. Williams, "Dynamics of a Change to Electronic Data Processing Equipment, Administrative Science Quarterly , Vol. 5 (September 1960), pp. 217-256; and George P. Shultz and Arnold R. Weber, "Technological Change and Industrial Relations," in Herbert G. Heneman, Jr., et al., Employment Relations Research., Harper (1960), pp. 190-221.
[-38-]
6. IMPLICATIONS FOR GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS AND
PERSONNEL USE
Footnotes
1. Throughout this chapter the government organization and personnel matters discussed are those involving space activities for peaceful use unless otherwise specified.
2. The possibilities and procedures for such interorganizational circulation of personnel might be explored from the standpoint of the experiences of the Canadian Defense Research Board, which does circulate its professional personnel between agencies,
3. In some senses the Public Health Service operates in this way. Its professional personnel can divide their time between government service and their private professional activities.
4. One of the nation's best qualified judges of these matters has stated in private conversation that, for the military at least, independent, nonprofit organizations such as Aerospace Corporation are mandatory if there are to be personnel and facilities for judging from the standpoint of national interests the value of space projects proposals made by industry. Consider, too, the following excerpted editorial. "Complicating the problem is the fact that many in the military are not really competent to judge the merit of these rosy promises hard-sold by reputable companies. This is no reflection on the abilities of the buyer; he just cannot be as technically up-to-date as the men who have researched pet ideas in laboratories for years. Somewhere along the line the buyer must accept the word of the man who should know." Clarke Newlon, "Let's Be Daring But Not Ridiculous," Missiles and Rockets, Vol. 6 (March 7, 1960), p@ 50. As civilian space programs enlarge, analogous problems may confront NASA.
[-39- / -40-]
5. For some of the most current information on this problem, see Senate Committee on Government operations, Organizing for National Security: Mobilizing Talent for Government Service, Part 3, Hearings for the Subcommittee on National Policy Machinery, 86th Congress, Second Session (May 11, 12, and 13, 1960); also see Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Special Committee on the Federal Conflict of Interest Laws, Conflicts of Interest in the Federal Service, Harvard University Press (1960).
6. "It is possible for new institutions to work out new and ingenious methods for exchanging personnel. An excellent example, that cannot apply directly to NASA's relations with industry, but is nevertheless highly suggestive, comes from Puerto Ricols Operation Bootstrap. In that case a new agency, the Economic Development Administration, established close relations with new industries on the Island founded by outside entrepreneurs, being instrumental in finding sites, personnel, services, and in clearing away red tape. It was aware of the labor-pirating tendencies of these firms and therefore tied their industrial promotion officers to long term contracts. However when the firm offered a substantial enough increase in pay over government, and a suitable level of responsibility, a release was granted. By this means the new industry has been taken over by Puerto Rican management in record time and this management has been thoroughly indoctronated in the over-all program of economic development and what constitutes the ,national' interest. It is, of course, perfectly proper for the government to get a man back, if it wishes, by offering sufficient status and salary, or by short-term borrowing, but it must consider what this will do to the industry it is fostering. Industries, of course, may try to hold on to their people with profit-,sharing and stock options. Shared experiences bring about a high degree of cooperation between agency and industry." (Correspondence with Riciiqrd L. Meier based on his personal observations in Puerto Rico.) [-41-]
7. Congressional Record--House, March 7, 1960, p. 4335. For a comparison with the NASA figures, the U.S. Civil Service Commission cites an average turnover rate of 5 per cent for 1958 for professional scientists and engineers (medical doctors, physical scientists, engineers, and psychologists) in nine agencies (Agriculture, Commerce, Interior, Air Force, Army, Health, Education & Welfare, Atomic Energy, NASA, and Veterans Administration). The percentage covers those leaving because
of retirement, death, or leaving government, but it does not include those going to other agencies. The NASA figure of 7.2 per cent includes only research and development personnel for the year 1.959. (Engineers doing supporting work and also mathematicians come under another figure of 6.3 per cent, which also includes some nonprofessional personnel.) The 7.2 per cent includes people leaving to go to other agencies, but qualified informants indicate that the percentage of personnel doing so is negligible. The bulk leave to accept higher paying jobs in private industry.
8. From June 1959 to May 1960 NASA offered jobs to fifty-five new Ph.D.s; two accepted. From June 1960 to November 1960 offers were made to fourteen new Ph.D.s; none accepted. For a summary of pertinent information on the motives of government science personnel see Earl W. Lindveit, Scientists in Government, Public Affairs Press (1960), pp. 30-62.
9. "Practitioners in the recruitment field have found that amenity and esthetics have a lot to do with the movement of high grade scientists and engineers from one activity to another, What is the utopia for the kinds of persons being attracted /to space activities/? How many are willing to live around Dayton, or in Alabama, or at Cape Caraverai? How many want to play in amateur string quartets, to hobnob with artists and poets, go to the theater, ski, sai.1, skin dive, climb mountains, etc.? Or is it gardening, church work, community politics, boy scout leading, golfing, motorboating, fishing, etc.? There is another group that wants to read, barbecue on the back lawn, gadgeteer, and perhaps develop a few close friendships. Each of these utopias is /probably importantly/ associated with an attitude toward research and development. "The attitudes incorporated within the NASA organization are just now being crystallized, The 'in-house' activities will be determined by them, as will the personnel selection, Whatever is left out can still be handled through contracts with firms that have other characteristics, some of them highly traditional, some avant-garde. If the over-all effect is to emphasize and capture those who harbor utopian predisposition that are still rare and advanced, then change in American society would be accelerated because this pattern is reinforced. These individuals at the working scientist level make up groups of their own kind, promotion is fast, power accumulates. The alternative is striving in obscurity, or compromise. These are matters /for research since/ ... they have practical, applications when deciding upon personnel policy, community design, location of facilities, etc." (Correspondence with Richard L. Meier.) [-42-]
10. Under the National Aeronautics and Space Act, NASA does not have authority for supergrade positions as such, aside from a small number transferred to it from the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. Employees above the GS-15 level, therefore, are placed in excepted positions, as specified in the Space Act, the lowest salary of which, as set by NASA, is $14,000. Although in the Second Session of the 86th Congress government employee salaries were raised by approximately 7 1/2 per cent, the increase did not apply to NASA excepted positions because they are not regulated by the Classification Act. Thus, while the second through fifth within-grade salary steps in the GS-1.5 category prior to the pay raise ranged from $13,070 to $13,970, they subsequently ranged from $14,055 to $15,030. All of these became higher rates of pay than the beginning rate of $14,000 for the excepted positions. The Administrator of NASA has authority to adjust the excepted position salary structure, but he cannot raise the statutory ceilings of $19,000 and $21,000 respectively , and any general pay raise within the structure would compress salaries at the higher level and discriminate against those employees who are at the $19,000 and $20,000 salary level.
11. See Eldon Sweezy, Management of Laboratory Organizations to be published in 1961 by Wylie.
12. See Lee E. Danielson, Characteristics of Engineers and Scientists, University of Michigan Bureau of Industrial Relations, Report No. 11 (1960); also see the following articles by Herbert A. Shepard- "The Value System of a University Research Group," American Sociological Review, Vol. 19 (August 1954), pp. 456-462; "Patterns of Organization for Applied Research and Development, Journal of Business, Vol. 29 (January 1956), pp. 52-58; "Basic Research and the Social System of Pure Science," Philosophy of Science, Vol. 23 (January 1956), pp. 48-57; "Superiors and Subordinates in Research," Journal of Business, Vol. 29 (October 1956), pp. 261-267.
[-43-]
13. See Donald C. Pelz, Human Relations in a Research Organization, and Interpersonal Factors in Research, University of Michigan Press (1954).
14. For a review and interpretation of progress in understanding factors influencing creativity in research, see Eierbert A. Shepard, "Major Researches in Creativity," Research Management (published by the Industrial Research Institute), Vol. 2 (Winter 1959), pp. 203-220@
15. U. S. Department of Labor, Our Manpower Future, 1955-65 (1957).
16. "Equipment and material costs and scientific salaries represent integral factors in the R & D index based on national indices applicable to R & D that was prepared by the Department of Defense in March, 1958....Scientific salaries show the greatest relative increases of any of the DOD selected indices" between 1950 and 1958, See Ellis A. Johnson and H. S. Milton, "A Proposed Cost-of-Research-Index," Operations ResearchOffice, staff paper, ORO-SP-142 (April 1960), P. 12.
See also House Committee on Post Office and Civil. Service, Manpower Utilization Subcommittee, Personnel Procurement Costs of Selected Defense Contracts for Recruitment of Engineers and Scientists, Fiscal, Year 1959, 86th Congress, Second Session (1960). According to an article by Frank C. Porter reporting on the document in the Washington Post and Times Herald, October 5, 1960, "Recruitment Costs Draw Fire. Defense Firms Spend $1022 per 'New Hire."'
17. The methods used in World War II to reduce the construction of aircraft to a series of sub-tasks that could be handled by old and young women might provide some insights into analogous means for introducing inexperienced people into space activities,
18. Ewan Clague, "Occupation Statistics A Tool for Determining Manpower Needs," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 325 (September 1959), P. 21. [-44-]
19. House Committee on Science and Astronautics, Scientific manpower and Education: Deficiencies in the Tabulation and Study of Scientific Manpower, 86th Congress, First Session, House Report No. 1180 (1959), P. 18. The report stated in part "Congress' 1950 directive, which requires theNational Science Foundation to develop informational programs covering all the Nation's scientific and technical personnel, has not been adequately met as of this date. Meanwhile, with the Space-Atomic Age upon us and with the need for scientific manpower growing daily, the need for a superior manpower tabulation is likewise accelerating rapidly. It must also be kept in mind that America's stature in the international community is becoming increasingly dependent upon her scientists, engineers, and technicians. Knowing who they are, where they are, and what they can do is thus becoming crucial."
20. Because of the inability of any central agency in the federal government, such as the Civil Service Commission, to provide a management system to understand and deal effectively with the retention of scientific personnel, individual agency efforts have of necessity been undertaken. One of the most significant of these in terms of relationship to space programs is the CATE (Current ARDC Technical Efforts) program of the Air Research Development Command of the Department of the Air Force. The CATE program is an information system for providing rapid identification and location of scientific personnel working in technical fields of interest to the Air Force; in reference to ARDC research and development contracts, it also promotes the interchange of information between government, industry, and universities. Its effectiveness suggests that the program would serve as a valuable case study, since a similar approach might be undertaken with great benefit by other agencies involved in space activities.
21. Richard Meier has pointed out that various fields of science and technology have had their fashions as glamorous careers and then declined, even though the fields themselves have flourished and expanded.
22. Some indication of the amount and depth of adolescent interest in space is provided by the American Rocket Society's estimate that 10,000 teenagers may be actively engaged in amateur rocketry, of whom possibly 10 to 15 per cent are capable and conscientious, with an intellectual curiosity to learn more about rocketry. A recent newspaper article indicated that NASA receives from 100 to 150 letters a day, approximately 90 per cent of its total, from children who are interested in space. K. Scheibel, "Space Applications Soar--From U.S. Small Fry," Binghampton Press, April 13, 1960. [-45-]
The Department of Defense issued a directive (No. 5410.9) on June 25, 1958, "Cooperation with Amateur Scientific Groups." To implement this directive the Department of the Army issued Army Circular 360-5 (July 29, 1958) and has undertaken an active youth rocket program at various military installations,, Seventy schoolboys gathered recently at Army Camp A. P. Hill in Virginia to take part in-a regularly scheduled weekend rocket shoot. Ten of the seventeen rockets built and launched by the teenaged rocket enthusiasts rose to between 1,000 and 20,000 feet. The largest rocket, a 700-pound three-stage vehicle, rose to 5,000 feet. See "Young Scientists Lauded by Army at Rocket Shoot," Washington Post and Times Herald, June 6, 1960.
Several bills have been introduced in Congress relating to amateur rocketry; a recent one (H.R. 8334, July 22, 1959) purposed "To amend the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1,958 to encourage participation in amateur rocketry, particularly among young people, by establishing facilities for study and experimentation in rocketry and related fields throughout the United States," with the expressed goal of providing "a reservoir of pretrained young people for work in rockets, missiles, and satellites by promoting study and experimentation." In November 1959 the Board of the American Rocket Society passed unanimously a motion directing the ARS Education Committee to "encourage responsible youth organizations to undertake, on their own, educational programs along safe lines" in amateur rocketry. The Education Committee, is now engaged in a pilot program of technical advice, the Explorer Scout Space Science Program.
23. See Donald N. Michael, "The Scientist Through Adolescent Eyes. What We Need to Know; Why We Need to Know It," Scientific Monthly, Vol. 84, (March 1957), pp. 135-140. Also see Eugene Gilbert, "Teen-Agers Think U.S. Should Speed Man-In-Space Program," (Huntsville, Alabama) Times, March 3, 1960.
24. See Margaret Mead, "The Newest Battle of the Sexes," Air Force Magazine/ Space Digest, Vol. 43 (July 1960), pp. 77ff. [-46-] "In connection with the whole question of the selection of science as a career in its relationship to space, there is need to do studies of women and girls. Not that they are going to get involved themselves (few of them want to be involved in any kind of career, irrespective of talent), but because with the present expectation of very young marriage, their ideas are extremely influential in even the early interest-choices boys make as well as their later career choices; and what they are willing to do, what risks they are willing to take, where they are willing to go, how much schooling they are willing to undertake, and so on. For material at the high school level, see article cited ... /in Note 25 below/, in which it was found that in the general high school population, boys as well as girls-for-boys want careers that will keep them close to home, doing something 'safe' with a good income that left plenty of time and energy for togetherness with family and friends unrelated to work." (Correspondence with Dr. Rhoda Metraux.)
25. "At the high school level., when students describe what they like or dislike about scientists, it is revealing that a whole class will give a personalized and vivid picture of a disliked teacher, but where the teacher has been successful in catching the imagination and interest of the students, one gets no picture of the teacher; instead the students write with some enthusiasm about subject matter. Similarly, in discussing well-known scientists, it is the work of scientists who are admired and the more personal characteristics of scientists toward whom a student feels antipathy that are likely to be recalled." See Margaret mead and Rhoda Metraux, "Image of the Scientist among High School Students," Science, Vol. 126 (August 30, 1957),pp. 384-390.
26. See, for example, Max Weber, From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, Oxford University Press (1946), pp. 196-244; Robert K. Merton, Social Theory and Social Structure, Free Press (1949),pp. 151-160; and Herbert A. Simon, Administrative Behavior, Macmillan (1949), pp. 198-219.
27. Consider one scientist in NASA who was also a member of a committee on the Space Science Board. He pointed out that NASA (governmental) was careful to avoid any membership on COSPAR (nonpolitical). However, he also said later that the Space Science Board (as a function of the National Academy of Science) has quite a bit to say in COSPAR, and that there are COSPAR people on many committees of the Space Science Board.
28. In response to questions concerning communication problems among scientists and men in politics one nontechnical respondent said they got along fine with the purely technical people, but they sometimes had communication difficulties with the legislative liaison people who work between technical agencies and groups, (Correspondence with C. Barker, See Note 44.) [-47-]
29. Public Law 85-568, National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958.
30. Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, NASA Authorization for Fiscal Year 196,0: Part II, Program Detail for 1960, 86th Congress, First Session, p. 799.
31. Ibid., p. 798. There have been indications that NASA's favorable salary position is a means of "raiding" other agencies However, it has been suggested by persons familiar with these matters that, given present organizational rigidities, "raiding" may have some over-all functional advantages. It may stimulate specific government research organizations to provide more attractive working opportunities, thereby perhaps attracting better personnel to government research, as well as reducing the opportunities for organizations to become merely self-perpetuating. See J. Cramer, "NASA Raiding Is Subject of Secret Report," Washington Daily News, April 14, 1960.
Concern over whether NASA would use additional excepted authority for other than scientific personnel was included in the floor debate in the House of Representatives over a bill to authorize appropriations to NASA for the fiscal year 1961, which also provided for an increase in the number of excepted positions allowed NASA, See Congressional Record - House, March 7, 1960, pp. 4333-4360.
32. The National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council established a sixteen-member Space Science Board on August 3, 1958, "to survey in concert the scientific problems, opportunities, and implications of man's advance into space." The Board, supported financially by the National Science Foundation and NASA, is advisory to government agencies involved in space programs, but its activities are limited primarily to serving its sponsoring agencies, It also engages in international scientific cooperation through the Committee on Space Research of the International Council of Scientific Unions. Other activities include space research proposals, reviews of space research programs, space symposia and preparation of reports on various aspects of space science, The members of the Board panels are representative of universities, private research institutions, and the federal. government. The Board is generally recognized as a powerful and valued adviser to NASA.
[-48-]
33. A major recommendation in a recent report of the National Academy of Sciences to the Secretary of Commerce was that the U.S. Weather Bureau be recognized by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as a participant in the federal space program. It was suggested that this action be formalized through an agreement by which the heads of both agencies could "establish a framework of relationships that insures the full benefits to be realized to meteorological science and to the Weather Bureau from this large federal space science program.... In particular, the Weather Bureau scientists should now participate in the planning of experiments and in the evaluation of results applicable to meteorology.
With the Bureau's limited funds, its present participation is perhaps limited to this. With the expansion of funds, its participation might well be expanded to development of new instrumentation for meteorological observation." See National Academy of Sciences-National, Research Council, The Role of the Department of Commerce in Science and Technology, (1960), P. 155.
Compare this position with the reported situation as of August 1, 1960t "Weather forecasting by satellite is in danger of being washed out by a budgetary jurisdictional ruling. The Budget Bureau has turned down a Weather Bureau request for $5 million to capitalize on the Tiros program claiming NASA should put up the money. But NASA officials contend they haven't the funds -- either -- since the space agency's job is just R & D@, not the establishment of an operational. system for another government bureau. The Budget Bureau action has inspired top NASA officials to reexamine the agency's mission -- with an eye toward changing FY budget requests due in October." See "Budget Thunderhead," Missiles and Rockets, Vol. 7 (Aug. 1, 1960), p. 7.
34. In this regard, it is interesting to note that, whereas NASA was telling its Industry Program Plans Conference (Washington, D. C., July 28-29, 1960) that manned moon landings were not contemplated before the 1970s, the Army was reported in the August 14, 1960, New York Times as claiming that such a landing could be made within ten years. "U.S. Surveys Moon to Pick Locations for Army's Bases," P. 1. See also Robert Hotz, "Gathering Storm Over Space," Aviation Week, Vol. 73 (Nov. 7, 1960), P. 21. [-49-]
35. On August 31, 1960, NASA and the Atomic Energy Commission announced the establishment of the joint AEC-NASA Nuclear Propulsion Office to consolidate the work previously carried out by each agency to develop nuclear energy for space missions, including the Project Rover nuclear powered rocket developmental programs of the AEC. The new office is under the direction of the Chief of Nuclear Propulsion for NASA, and reportedly he can make decisions that formerly required agreements between NASA and AEC; thus, this section has been interpreted by some as meaning that NASA has gained control of Project Rover.
36. Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, Space Research in the Life Sciences: an Inventory of Related Programs, Resources, and Facilities, Staff Report, 86th Congress, Second Session (1960).
37. It is worth noting that for some NASA personnel it is a matter of annoyance that NASA shoots at Cape Canaveral are essentially under the regulation of the Air Force, since the Air Force controls range safety and no rockets lift off until the Range Safety Officer approves,
38. House Committee on Science and Astronautics, To Amend the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, 86th Congress, Second Session (1960), pp. 90-91, An incident that indicates a past lack of utilization by NASA and the Defense Department of the CMLC may be found in the development of Project Vega. On December 11, 1959, NASA announced that the Vega Space Vehicle Program had been canceled because of program schedule delays; the Air Force Agena-B vehicle, with a similar restart-in-space capability, would be used by NASA during the interim period until development of the next successive major vehicle, the Centaur, was completed. Reportedly, about $16 million was lost on the Vega program, and remaining program funds were to be applied to the Centaur program and to the purchase of Agena-B vehicles from the Air Force. For further information, see House Committee on Science and Astronautics, The Production of Documents by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for the Committee on Science and Astronautics, 86th Congress, Second Session (1960), pp. 132-136. Also see "Mixup on Missile Cost 16 Millions," New York Times, June 12, 1960; and Paul Means, "Vega-Agena-B Mixup Cost Millions," Missiles and Rockets, Vol. 6 (June 20, 1960), p. 19.
[-50-]
39. See, for example, Vannevar Bush, Science, the Endless Frontier, Government Printing Office (1945'); John R. Steelman, Science and Public Policy, Government Printing Office (1947); and National Science Foundation, Basic Research:. A National Resource (1957).
40. A most revealing, if whimsical, discussion of this matter is found in Warren Weaver, "Report of the Special Committee," Science, Vol. 130, (Nov. 20, 1959),pp. 1390-1391.
41. That the Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, George Kistiakowsky, is aware of the fluidity of definition assigned to space activities is evident in the following quotations:
"Obviously, no distinction is made between science and technology. We see this every day, also when the marvelous accomplishments of the racketeers are described as scientific achievements." ("The White House Assignment," address in Wilmington, Delaware, Oct. 21, 1959.) "This consideration of the now very fashionable activities in outer space leads me to a general conclusion: It is essential to be aware of the distinction between science...and technology" ("Science and Technology," address in New York City, Dec. 2, 1959.)
"...unfortunately it is the technological spectaculars which tend to be used... as the sole measure of scientific as well as technological prowess... Achievements in outer-space activities are, of course, the prime example of this." ("Science and Foreign Affairs," address in New York City, Jan. 29, 1960.)
42. A good example of basic research conducted for applied purposes is the work under way on plasmas, spurred by its implications for thermonuclear fusion and for space drives.
43. While the literature in this field is limited, some case study possibilities could be obtained from an examination of the 1958 National Science Foundation Report, Scientific Activities in Six State Governments, initiated by the Foundation to explore the role of the states in the nation's total scientific research effort,
44. Many of the problems to be discussed have been illuminated through an independent study conducted by Curtis Barker, with Lincoln Bloomfield of the Center for International Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. To isolate key issues that he and others have speculated upon, Mr. Barker interviewed a number of people selected in one or more of the following situations: a political agency, but dealing with space matters; a space agency, but dealing with political matters; a scientist in a political agency; and a political expert in a technical agency. [-51-]
Many of those interviewed were participants in the UN ad hoc Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, the technical talks at Geneva, or the International Geophysical Year operation. The interview was of the type where the respondent was encouraged to respond freely to the questions rather than choose pre-selected alternative responses. For each area a checklist of points to be covered was used; if these points were not specifically alluded to in the respondents' comments, they were specifically asked about.
There are insufficient data to verify or repudiate the positions taken in the respondents statements. However, actions are often taken and decisions made on the basis of such opinions and expressions of values, without adequate evidence as to their validity. Thus discovering the opinions is the first step to understanding their implications for space activities; systematic research concerning them is the next step.
45. Neither group, however, viewed the scientific community as just another interest group looking out for itself; both recognized the role of our science policy as more than that. The implications of the difference between these views are illustrated by two other responses-, some said that the office's position outside of the political process (with immunity from congressional investigations, etc.) was proper, while others felt that the office should not be insulated from becoming involved in the political process, since they believed involvement to be a prerequisite for the effective utilization of science in on-going political problems. This same dichotomy was expressed in other ways; some looked upon the office as the only "objective" government-scientific agency; others felt that its unique position in the Executive Branch was a "helpful bias" for putting science to work in the political arena. While some said it was important for the President's scientific advisers to keep to their own field (not because of political incompetence, but because the scientific role demanded it), others felt the advisers needed to , splay the political game" to be effective.
[-52-]
46. One non-scientist cited the UN ad hoc Committee on Outer Space as an example of good organization because the legal specialists and the technical specialists were separated respectively into two subcommittees. He felt it extremely important for the groups to be separate at the working level, to better influence each other at a higher level. Another respondent (with the same professional background) volunteered that the ad hoc Committee was very wrong to separate the two -- since this prohibited the necessary interaction at the working level.
47. While there was general agreement that success in such intercommunication is a highly individual thing depending on specific personalities, backgrounds, and talents, some responses implied that it was easier for a scientist to understand such matters as "political and social factors" than for a non-scientist to understand technological matters. However, other respondents felt that "superficial" knowledge of nontechnical affairs gave the scientist a dangerously false sense of security in a value system that was very foreign to him.
48. See, for example, Harold H. Kelley and John W. Thibaut, "Experimental Studies of Group Problem Solving and Process," Handbook of Social Psychology, Gardner Lindzey, ed., Vol, 2, Addison Wesley (1954), pp. 735785;
Don K. Price, Government and Science, New York University Press (1954), pp. 124159; Chester I. Barnard, The Functions of the Executive, Harvard University Press (1938); Alex Bavelas, "A Mathematical Model for Group Structures," Journal of Applied Anthropology, Vol. 7 (1948), pp. 16-30.
49. Roughly half of the interviewees were sure that any scientist who steps into this dual role loses much of his identification with the scientific community -- thus seriously hampering his effectiveness as a technical adviser. Some felt that such men would be unrespected or even feared by both the scientific and the political community, yet others believed not only that these "dual-types" (alternately called "two-headed monsters") would retain their identification with the scientific community, but also that the field of politics would expand to include these new "experts," who would thereby gain the respect of both communities. Some of the group favoring the dual-types had very strong feelings against the emergence of the so-called "new breed," stating that if the dual-types are to retain their value as scientists, they must emerge from the scientific community only as they acquire new skills. Still others felt it was most important that "dual-types" be recruited also from the political community to develop competence in the technical field. [-53-]
50. Curtis Barker has cited the difficulty a scientist had in getting the State Department "to see the full importance of prestige-type space exploits. His view was that while such exploits are not sufficient in themselves, they are indeed necessary in order to create the national image upon which our over-all political strength depends -- that image which is required to induce the rest of the world to look to the U.S. for the purchase of computers, for the education of their technical specialists, etc. He felt that the mechanisms which turn the eyes of other nations toward such a 'leader' nation are political, social, and economic, as well as scientific; consequently, we must address ourselves to such non-scientific factors, as well.
"It is significant to note that the very office ... with which this scientist had been 'trying' to communicate expressed the feeling that scientists do not appreciate the non-technical implications of space exploits. "A second example of this particular communication problem involved a scientist who said he has been unable to persuade anyone, in the legislative or executive branches of government, to evaluate technical developments in other than operational terms ('How well does Tiros take pictures of cloud cover?' etc.). He could not get them to understand that the full utilization of the relationship between technical advances and national welfare also involves the capacity of our nation to absorb the many technical advances into our society and economy. For example, he said, our space program has produced advances in lubricants which can be utilized in every corner of our civilian life. The strength of our nation lies in the fact that this absorptive capacity of the U.S. is greater than that of any other nation, and, he went on, we must develop this advantage through positive planning.
"The failure to be understood on this point was cited, by the respondent, as the most frustrating thing in dealing with non-technical people." (Correspondence with Curtis Barker.)
51. See, for example, Eugene Hartley and Ruth Hartley, Fundamentals of Social Psychology, Knopf (1955), which discusses the "Image of the Other" in Section 21; stereotypes in communication, p, 119; and context as a frame of reference, P. 124. [-54-]
Credibility as a more conscious factor is discussed by Carl I. Hovland, Irving L. Janis.and Harold H. Kelley, eds., Communication and Persuasion " Yale University Press (1953), Chap. 2. Particularly relevant is a passage on p. 45, concerning a discrepancy or inconsistency between content and source, and the resulting dissociation between content and the credibility which would otherwise attend the perceived role of expertise.
52. A scientist may feel a deep conflict about his role when, for example, as an agent of a federal department he might be asked to call a military space vehicle a "scientific satellite," in the interests of national security. Should he be a free agent with science as his only master, or must he always remain a representative of his country, regardless of his scientific role, behaving in a manner consistent with the interests and policies of his country? Respondents defended both sides of this issue with conviction.
53. "There is a tendency to take the attitude of a few distinguished scientists, usually physicists, as representing the scientific community. There is reason to believe that there is a vast difference between the attitudes of a few men of genius whose lives have generally been in the best sort of academic milieu and the attitudes of the general. run of scientists in different disciplines, We have noted that technology has become so complicated that the scientists must personally be brought into the processes of policy decision since nobody else can effectively advise on the utilization of modern instruments. In this process the prestige of the scientist rises, he becomes absorbed into the political elite, perhaps he brings some of his universalistic values with him and perhaps he abandons some as he identifies more fully with the power structure of which he is a part. These are questions that need examination and exploration. We want to know how far scientists have been assimilated into the decision process itself, in both of the power blocs, and we also wish to know how far under such circumstances they may be counted upon to retain a value orientation characteristic of science itself and how far do they become indistinguishable from other decision makers. Is the introduction of scientists into the decision process a means to humanize and make more intelligible that process or does it simply politicize the scientist, or is it a little of both, and if so, under what circumstances do we find each result?" Itbiel de Sola Pool, Research on Communication and Values in Relation to War and Peace ( a report prepared for the Institute for International Order, to be published in 1961), P. V 4-5 of the draft copy. [-55-]