Industrial support of university research in biotechnology

A 1984 study of biotechnology companies reveals that nearly one-half of all such firms fund research in universities. Industry may support as much as one-quarter of all biotechnology research in institutions of higher education. These investments seem to be yielding substantial benefits to involved firms. Per dollar invested, university research is generating more patent applications than is other company research. Research relationships do pose some risks to traditional university values such as openness of communication among scholars. These risks may be greater in relationships involving small firms. The data also reveal that government is now, and seems likely to remain, the principal source of support for university research in biotechnology.     

The Two Cultures of Science： Implications for University-Industry Relationships in the U.S. Agriculture Biotechnology

Partnerships between U.S. universities and industries have existed for several decades and in recent years have become generally more varied, wider in scope, more aggressive and experimental and higher in public visibility. In addition, in the last few decades, public and private interests have advocated for government policies and laws to globally promote the commercialization of university science. This paper examines the persistence or convergence of the two cultures of science and the implications of this commercialization for university-industry relationships in agriculture biotechnology. The perceptions and values of over 200 U.S. university and industry scientists, managers and administrators who participate in or oversee research collaborations in agricultural biotechnology were analyzed. The findings revealed that the participants in these research relationships continue to perceive very distinct cultures of science and identify a wide range of concerns and disadvantages of these partnerships. Several actions were discussed to ensure that the two cultures serve complementary roles and that they maximize the public benefits from these increasing collaborations.     

Pajaro Dunes: the search for consensus

Executives of five major universities and several biotechnology firms which sponsor university research issued a statement of principles at the conclusion of a conference called to consider the ramifications of university-industry collaboration. The conferees agreed that such collaboration must not promote secrecy that will retard scientific progress, interfere with the choice of faculty and student research projects, divert faculty and university resources from their primary obligations to teaching and research, or impair the university's credibility. They considered alternative approaches to contract disclosure, control of patents, and conflict of interest problems, but left resolution of the issues to individual universities.     

Biotechnology in europe

The countries of the European Economic Community have recently mounted considerable efforts to commercialize biotechnology. Together, these efforts approach the same number of companies and level of government spending as those in the United States. In Europe there is more government emphasis on support for industry-university collaborations and industrial projects than in the United States, where basic research is emphasized. European efforts are often not easily delineated from those in the United States; many European companies have extensive U.S. operations and many U.S. companies have involvement in Europe. Strategies and efforts in European biotechnology are examined and compared to those in the United States.     

Guidelines for industry-sponsored research at universities

The authors postulate that, as the number of university-industry cooperative research programs increases, the potential for problems arising from the inherent differences between the two types of organizations will increase as well. They maintain that success in such relationships can be promoted by anticipating problems and developing guidelines for averting or dealing effectively with them. Ten such guidelines are presented, concerning publication rights, patent ownership, copyright, confidentiality agreements, research units, faculty consultants and entrepreneurs, international agreements, sharing of personnel and equipment, and model research agreements.     

Gene-splicing debate heats up in Germany

Public controversy over genetic engineering research has prompted the West German government to propose that new safety guidelines in this area should be legally binding on industry, rather than remain voluntary as are the current regulations. Political reaction against biotechnology has been led by the Social Democrats and by the Greens, West Germany's environmental party, which has made opposition to all industrial uses of genetic engineering official party policy. While dismissing total rejection of genetic technologies as an emotional overreaction, researchers have begun to tell the public about their work and to organize meetings among themselves to discuss the issues. The increasing interest in control of genetic engineering has been attributed to memories of the eugenic experiments of the Nazis, debate over the growing links between industry and universities, and environmental concern over the release of genetically altered organisms.     

Framing and reframing the environmental risks and economic benefits of ethanol production in Iowa

Recent research exposing environmental and social externalities of biofuels has undermined the earlier national consensus that they would provide climate mitigation and rural development benefits, but support for ethanol remains strong in Iowa. The objective of this paper is to understand how stakeholder groups in Iowa have framed the benefits and risks associated with ethanol’s impact on the local economy and environment. Our case study draws on in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted with key informants from agricultural organizations, environmental organizations, and government departments in the state. We find that in Iowa, widespread support for ethanol production exists among government, energy, and farm groups, and that they frame ethanol production as economically beneficial to rural communities and agriculture, while minimizing the possibility of associated environmental risks. Although participants from environmental organizations in Iowa express apprehension about the environmental impacts of expanded corn ethanol production, their unease is muted in relation to economic benefits and in relation to other environmental issues, and few have publicly voiced their concerns. To understand these findings, we draw from the environmental sociology literature that examines the role of powerful natural resource interests in framing the importance of resource extraction and commodity production to community identity and economy and in delegitimizing and naturalizing associated environmental issues and problems. We argue that powerful natural resource interests in Iowa both naturalize environmental problems related to ethanol production and engage in diversionary reframing to emphasize the economic benefits while minimizing or rejecting the potential environmental risks.     

加强产学研合作 全力推进粮食丰产科技工程

农业院校和科研单位是科技创新成果之源。为推进其科技创新成果的转化,产学研结合的呼声越来越高。随着粮食丰产科技工程项目的实施,为加速新成果、新技术的推广应用,充分发挥课题研发成果的示范带动作用,课题积极探索产学研结合模式,取得了显著的实施效果,对进一步促进河北省粮食丰产科技创新体系建设、全面提升粮食综合生产能力起到了重要的科技支撑作用。     

基于中国知网论文收录情况对12所农林高校学术研究能力的分析

高校学术研究能力与发表学术论文具有密切关系,学术水平较高的学校,发表论文较多,论文质量也好.通过对中国知网2007-2011年国内12所农林高校论文发表情况的分析,可以看出农林院校必须重视对学科前沿和重大需求问题的把握,提高科研经费使用效率以及师资队伍中高级职称人员比例、博士学位获得者数量.省属农林高校的学术能力提升,应更加体现区域特色,走特色发展之路.     

University-Industry Interaction Patterns: Past models are analyzed, some recent experiments described, and recommendations for the future given

The nation is entering a period when the R & D output must be increased, probably without major increases in resource allocation. Obviously, in this situation, either efficiency or productivity must be increased. Perhaps one of the most wasteful aspects of the national R & D system (and one that received little attention during the golden era of the 15 percent per year expansion) has been the very weak coupling between the university, on the one hand, and industry (or government), on the other. It is a serious error to allege about such coupling that "it has never worked," that the objectives and reward structures of the institutions are such that it cannot work, and so on. The fact is that coupling has never been tried seriously. History shows that the total dollar effort in research that required coupling or that had coupling as its main objective was on the order of $10 million per year (that is, much less than 0.1 percent of the research money spent on U.S. campuses). At the same time, there is little doubt that the experiments which must and will be tried in the immediate future call for innovations in management and changes in the attitude and structure of many universities. In conversations with administrators who have had experience with such programs, I have found strong suggestions of very mixed responses from the universities. In light of these responses, and if effectiveness is a goal, it would be better for those universities that are more wedded to disciplinary research, to single principal-investigator work, not to participate in these new efforts. We need much greater diversity in the styles of university life, and it would be healthy for the academic enterprise if some universities retained a greater degree of detachment from society, while others consciously decided to interact more with it, through the private sector, and made the changes necessary to do so. If initial funding is restricted to those universities that consider university-industry or university-government research a worthy objective and that have a proven track record and a favorable administrative and reward structure, the new programs may well establish a major new pattern of national R & D.     

基金项目在农业高校科研中的地位与作用

本文结合目前高等院校的科研优势，分析了基金项目在农业高校学科建设、人才培养以及提高科研水平与学术地位等方面发挥的作用。     

水产育种和苗种繁育产业园两种不同营运模式投资收益比较分析

目前,在水产育种和苗种繁育产业园中,主要形成了两种类别的营运模式:自建自营和自建出租,两种模式既有适应发展的优点,也有许多不完善和值得改进之处.文章通过对自建自营和自建出租产生的成本和收入进行深入分析,从经济效益的角度探讨了这一问题,发现在同一生产周期内,自建自营产生了更高的经济效益,但是由于水产养殖技术的复杂性,与自...     

Gene technology,food production,and public opinion: A UK study

In this paper, dimensions of the debate surrounding the application of gene technology to food production are discussed and a study assessing perceptions of the technology among a sample of the UK public (n = 1499) is reported. The general picture that emerges from the study is one of people expressing low familiarity with the technology, with more people associating it with high risks than with low risks, and more people expecting it to provide low benefits than high benefits. Attitudes towards different applications vary significantly, as does trust in different potential sources of information about the technology. It is also shown that attitudes can be predicted not only by estimates of risks and benefits but also by perceptions of the involvement of ethical issues, by the perceived need for the technology, and by the perceived likelihood of improvements it is likely to bring to the quality of life in the UK. The results are discussed in the context of the need for greater public information about the technology and the realization that communication of risks takes place within a complex network of societal relationships.Paul Sparks is a social psychologist at the Institute of Food Research, Reading, UK. He has studied at the Universities of Kent (BA) and Oxford (DPhil). His research interests include attitude theory, social influences on food choice, and social and moral dimensions of attitudes towards food consumption and food production methods.     

中国地方高校教职工科研数据共享影响因素与作用机制研究

[目的/意义]调查研究影响科教职工科研数据共享因素与作用机制,提出促进科研数据共享激励制度,有利于科研数据共享行为的发生。[过程/方法]文章以问卷星、微信公众号、QQ为调研平台,采用问卷调查和访谈相结合的形式对中国地方高校教职工数据共享的影响因素与作用机制进行分析,并在此基础上提出提高中国地方高校教职工数据共享的激励制度及策略。[结果/结论]利益、共享途径、共享经历、共享氛围、代价直接影响中国地方高校教职工进行数据共享,而年龄、学历、职称、学科、岗位间接影响中国地方高校教职工进行数据共享;可以通过加强科研数据共享理论知识学习,提高科研数据共享意识、采取一定的奖励性措施,提高教职工参与数据共享的积极性及采取“传、帮、带”的模式,提高教职工的科研能力等途径促进中国地方高校教职工数据共享行为的发生。     

中国大学开放性建设刍议——世界一流大学的经验与启示

开放性是大学发展的必然要求,是创建世界一流大学的必然选择,社会需求和知识探索分别为大学开放性的外在和内在要求。美、英、德等国的世界一流大学在开放性建设上进行了卓有成效的实践,值得借鉴。当前中国大学的思想保守化、人才家族化、学术封闭化和评价功利化等问题严重,为促使中国大学向世界一流大学迈进,大学的胸怀姿态,招生招聘,教育理念和模式,教学内容和形式,教育科研评价五大方面应更加开放。     

从实验室到田间：中国农业生物技术的发展及其影响

在过去的三十年间，中国从事农业生物技术研究的科技工作者已经培育了数百个适合中国自然生长条件并满足其它不同农业需求的新型农作物新品种。其中，有的可以更有效地抵抗害虫和病害爆发，有的可以节约水分和肥料，有的则具有更高的营养价值。许多这样的作物品种是通过转基因技术培育而成，也就是有目的地将供体的遗传物质转移到受体作物中，而毋需通过传统的杂交育种手段。这样一种转基因技术在一些国家引发了广泛的争议。在中国，尽管转基因技术研究在实验室内正在广泛开展，但到目前为止，只有转基因抗虫棉真正在农业生产上发挥着作用。在名为中国“农业生物技术：兴起和前景”的新书中，笔者首先介绍了目前在中国正蓬勃开展的农业生物技术研究产业，然后详细论述了中国对农业生物技术的投资在中国国内和全球范围内所产生的影响，这种影响如何依赖于实验室之外的一些因素：传统农业研究和生物技术方面的所获基金支持及其成效，中国对于生物安全性所持谨慎态度的影响，种子流通渠道的效率，以及国内外公众对转基因产品的接受程度。     

Ethical and environmental considerations in the release of herbicide resistant crops

Recent advances in molecular genetics, plant physiology, and biochemistry have opened up the new biotechnology of herbicide resistant crops (HRCs). Herbicide resistant crops have been characterized as the solution for many environmental problems associated with modern crop production, being described as powerful tools for farmers that may increase production options. We are concerned that these releases are occurring in the absence of forethought about their impact on agroecosystems, the broader landscape, and the rural and urban economies and cultures. Many of the benefits and risks associated with HRCs are not apparent to either the public, farmers, policy makers, or the scientific community. HRC technology raises moral issues in three areas: our duties toward the natural environment; our political and economic responsibilities to each other; and our communal character as one generation among many. We also need a rational basis on which to make evaluations of this new biotechnology. The technical aspects of their release require a logical guide to the ecological, environmental, and biological effects the release might have in sustainable agroecosystems. The initial step should include an assessment of the intrinsic qualities of the crop, the herbicide, and the resistance mechanisms. The second step should include an assessment of effects associated with population ecology, population genetics, environmental degradation, consumer health, and farm economic viability due to the resistant crop-herbicide pair. Herbicides have been used in crop production for nearly a half a century. There has been a tremendous increase in the use of these chemicals in that time. Society has seen the use of these chemicals not only help to feed many people, but also to bring costs not anticipated before the introduction of the chemicals. We need to draw on that long history of use and learn the lessons it can provide us as we approach the introduction and commercialization of the next generation of weed control technology, herbicide resistant crops. We also need to reflect on the lessons we missed during that half century because we spend more time imagining the possible benefits that would come from the technology than scrutinizing the possible harm.     

Teaching Effectiveness and Government Awards: Study shows that publication and government awards are good indicators of ability in teaching undergraduates

Three bodies of available data at Tufts University were used in determining whether there are meaningful relationships between teaching effectiveness, publication, and the receipt of government support. A search of the literature showed that virtually all comments in the popular literature and most references in professional journals suggest that publication and receipt of support for research somehow detract from teaching performance in the classroom. The empirical data of the Tufts study do not support these previous conclusions. The students rated as their best instructors those faculty members who had published articles and who had received or were receiving government support for research.     

天目山和佛坪国家级自然保护区居民对旅游影响感知和态度的比较

旅游地生命周期理论是旅游学中最重要的基础理论之一。根据旅游地生命周期理论,选择浙江天目山和陕西佛坪2个国家级自然保护区为案例地,运用实地调查、数据分析等方法进行研究,发现不同旅游生命周期阶段居民对旅游影响的感知及态度存在显著差异。与处于发展阶段的天目山国家级自然保护区居民相比,处于参与阶段的佛坪国家级自然保护区居民对旅游的支持度更加强烈。佛坪国家级自然保护区居民对旅游社会效益的感知显著高于天目山国家级自然保护区居民,但是环境冲击和社区人际关系冲击方面的感知则正好相反。这反映了两地居民由于不同的发展阶段,对旅游带来的消极影响有着不同的忍耐度。最后,还探讨了影响保护区居民旅游支持度的机制,发现在佛坪国家级自然保护区,社会效益和经济效益感知显著提高了居民的旅游支持度,环境冲击感知和社区人际关系冲击的感知则是显著负向的;而在天目山国家级自然保护区,居民的社会效益感知和环境冲击感知并没有产生显著的影响。     

Biotech policy draws flood of comments

The federal government's draft plan to regulate the biotechnology industry has elicited dozens of letters from researchers, industry, environmental groups, and others in response to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed role. Many commentators took issue with the EPA's intention to subject the products of genetic engineering to more rigorous scrutiny than conventionally manufactured products, a policy that the agency defends on the premise that genetically manipulated substances may pose more risks. Several respondents also claimed that products produced by genetic techniques not involving recombinant DNA are not "new," and therefore not subject to EPA's authority. Questions were asked as well about the need for the Biotechnology Science Board that the government plans to establish to oversee review committees in federal agencies involved with biotechnology research.