A Pilot Study for an Issue-Oriented Database for Ethics, Technology and the Environment
Grant
Overview
abstract
9320258 George This is a pilot study to develop an on-line issue oriented bibliographic database on ethics, technology and the environment. The pilot phase will allow the investigators to (1) test the hypothetical database form on at least three software products and test the utility of formal options by discussing them with potential users; (2) interview potential users (news reporters, scholars, scientists, and secondary and university educators) to determine what questions they will want answered and to establish criteria for inclusion of material in database; (3) identify issue areas and broaden database coverage to give capacity for including all or almost all Northwest environmental issues; and (4) identify, for software tests, a small number of summary review publications on particular environmental issues from many different disciplines; begin development of thesaurus and index of ordinary language and technical terms from these. The goal is to develop a user friendly database for people who want to make sound social judgments about environmental issues in the Northwest. The database should be useful to humanities teachers and scholars, students and teachers and the media, by giving them access to not only what other commentators are saying but also to reviews and other summaries about scientific aspects of these issues. It will be useful to scientists as well as others making social comment on science by giving them better access to ethical perspectives and ethical scholarship. As information comes increasingly over computerized networks, the development of user-friendly sources and resources must have high priority. This pilot provides a test of ways to develop these sources, as well as a test of a unique resources for U.S. citizens and scholars interested in important issues of science and environmental policy. ***
