Technical, organizational and political dynamics of the International Space Station program
Abstract This paper analyzes the dynamics of cooperation of the International Space Station (ISS) program from its inception in 1981 to the final Framework Agreements for cooperation concluded in 1998. These dynamics include technical and organizational arrangements, and policy preferences. Dynamics related to technical arrangements deal with technological and scientific resources, the former governed through mechanisms for control of technology transfer, the latter regulated through intellectual property rights provisions. The dynamics linked to organizational arrangements concern authority patterns—characterized by national and international responses—and bilateral and multilaterial decision-making patterns. The dynamics of policy preferences encompass functional and symbolic dimensions. Functional issues are structured through legal and political regimes that govern the ISS program. The symbolic dimension, which includes prestige, legitimacy, influence and international accountability, frames the nature of the cooperation realized for the ISS program. ISS cooperation has evolved through three stages: (1) coordination, where collaboration is engendered through institutional (International Coordinating Working Group) and ad hoc cooperative relationships (groups of scientists and engineers sharing information); (2) augmentation, which equates with technological enhancements of a national project that involve primarily bilateral arrangements; (3) interdependence, which deals with cooperation in enabling and critical path technologies that are arranged both bilaterally and multilaterally.
The Political Dimension of Europe’s New Human Spaceflight Capabilities
According to NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, the successful first flight of an Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) and the full operational status of the Columbus research laboratory mark “the arrival of Europe as a full-fledged space power”.412 This may be a bit exaggerated since the European Space Agency (ESA) still lacks a vehicle to carry astronauts into space. Nevertheless, by putting these systems into service, Europe has significantly improved its human spaceflight capabilities.
Facilitating Spiritual Care in the Rehabilitation Setting
&NA; Nurses, who traditionally have espoused a holistic approach to patient care, are in a unique position to attend to clients’ spiritual needs. The assessment, planning, and provision of spiritual care is particularly important in the rehabilitation setting. Research attention needs to be directed at gaps in the current state of knowledge and practice of spiritual care to meet the needs of rehabilitation clients.