Professor Heather Douglas
Commercialization of Science
As intellectual property regimes take an increasingly important place in science, this seminar will examine the influence of commerce and the private economic sector on science. We will examine the benefits of and concerns over private sector funding of science
(which can both direct scientific attention to practical outcomes and distort scientific findings) and the role of patents in science (which can both motivate scientific efforts and curtail research in some areas). The influence of private sector funding
will be considered within the political context for science, where there remains a mix of public and private funding for science (private funding of science has outstripped public funding of science and is now the predominant source of funding for most OECD
states), and where science is pursued in such institutional contexts as universities, private labs, and government agencies. We will consider policies that might curtail the more pernicious influences on science and public interest, and whether such policies
(as some have argued) are doomed to failure.
Contact Professor Heather Douglas for more information:
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