NDLI: Technical authority in the media: public debate on the Strategic Defense Initiative

Content Provider	IEEE Xplore Digital Library
Author	Slayton, R.
Copyright Year	2001
Description	Author affiliation: Dept. of Chem., Harvard Univ., MA, USA (Slayton, R.)
Abstract	In this paper, I will examine the role of technical authorities in the US news media debate about the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) in the mid-1980's. I argue that individuals either appropriated or attacked technical authority as suited the individual's political views. In the first section, I show that although scientists opposed to SDI attacked both its technical and strategic wisdom, proponents of SDI limited their authority to questions of feasibility. In the second section, I show how the political activism of scientific opponents throughout 1985 and 1986 led proponents of SDI to heighten their emphasis on the distinction between strategic and technical authority. In the third section, I argue that the use of technical authorities by opponents of SDI reflects an underlying ideology about the arms race that actually drove the debate. In inclusion, I will point to some limitations inherent in using technical authority in a debate driven by ideology.
Sponsorship	IEEE Soc. Social Implications of Technol. (SSIT)
Starting Page	137
Ending Page	144
File Size	853915
Page Count	8
File Format	PDF
ISBN	0769512097
DOI	10.1109/ISTAS.2001.937731
Language	English
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Publisher Date	2001-07-06
Publisher Place	USA
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Rights Holder	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Subject Keyword	Nuclear weapons Missiles Space technology Proposals Chemistry Arm Laser theory Particle beams Lenses Public policy
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
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