DALLAS, May 8, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Can policymaking keep pace with the social, technological, and environmental upheavals we are currently experiencing? That question is central to several of the feature essays in the Spring 2018 Issues in Science and Technology. The authors offer compelling policy proposals that can help society better manage these momentous changes.
Brad Allenby and Mikhail Chester argue that the growing impact of human activities on all the Earth's systems requires a concomitant change in the way we design and manage physical infrastructure. One way we manage the built environment is by insuring against losses, and Howard Kunreuther describes ways that Congress can make the imperiled National Flood Insurance Program more transparent, more cost-effective, more equitable, and more appealing to property owners. Data infrastructure can also be improved; Sallie Keller, Sarah Nusser, Stephanie Shipp, and Catherine E Woteki outline a plan for helping communities—especially small and rural ones—take advantage of new techniques for collecting and analyzing data to better serve their residents.
Improved education is important for helping citizens deal with change. Public universities are a vital component of the US innovation system and the nation's most powerful engine of social mobility. But according to Shiri M. Breznitz and Martin Kenney, dwindling financial support and ever-increasing federal and state unfunded mandates are forcing public universities to take actions that undermine their effectiveness. Skills training is another key part of helping workers navigate technological and economic disruption. John Alic argues that a more integrated and systemic approach to training is needed to ensure a resilient workforce. If the necessary steps for addressing the plight of displaced and struggling workers aren't taken, the nation risks the continued rise of reactionary populism. Michael Piore explores economic policies that differ from both the Silicon Valley and the Washington economic paradigms in addressing these concerns.
One of the most significant technological changes on the horizon may well be the deployment of autonomous vehicles. Jack Stilgoe explains that we need new rules for self-driving cars that are flexible while ensuring that the vehicles are safe, broadly accessible, and avoid the worst unintended consequences.
ISSUES IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY is the award-winning journal of the National Academies, the University of Texas at Dallas and Arizona State University. www.issues.org
Contact: Kevin Finneran 202-641-1415
SOURCE Issues in Science and Technology