When Research Criticizes an Industry

Autor/in	Blumenstyk, Goldie
Titel	When Research Criticizes an Industry
Quelle	In: Chronicle of Higher Education, 54 (2007) 4, (1 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0009-5982
Schlagwörter	Academic Freedom; State Universities; Industry; Interests; School Business Relationship; Mining; Research Utilization; Environmental Research; Political Issues; Economic Factors; Teacher Researchers + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Akademische Freiheit; Staatliche Universität; Industrie; Bildungsinteresse; Abbau; Forschungsumsetzung; Environmental study; Umweltforschung; Politischer Faktor; Ökonomischer Faktor; Lehrerforschung
Abstract	When Robert W. Van Kirk released a study in January about selenium contamination in trout streams in southeastern Idaho, he expected some flak from the influential phosphate-mining industry. He did not expect to feel pressured by the administration of his own institution, Idaho State University, where he is an associate professor of mathematics. His research, paid for by a local environmental group, indeed raised the hackles of mining interests. Executives of one major mine operator, the J.R. Simplot Company, called the university's leaders about the study just days after it came out. The provost, Robert A. Wharton, responded by asking a vice president to investigate Mr. Van Kirk and his collaborator. That inquiry found no irregularities, but Mr. Wharton disclosed to the company the name of the journal where the research was to be published before Mr. Van Kirk could object that it might compromise the peer-review process. The university leaders defend their actions, but experts on academic freedom say the situation, while hardly black and white, reflects the growing high-stakes challenges for higher education, and especially for academics and administrators at state universities, when public-interest science comes into conflict with powerful political and economic interests. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Chronicle of Higher Education. 1255 23rd Street NW Suite 700, Washington, DC 20037. Tel: 800-728-2803; e-mail: circulation@chronicle.com; Web site: http://chronicle.com/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10