Discussion on Timmer, Stern, Tims and Sankar
In some few areas of study--particle physics, for example--it has proved fruitful for scientists to adopt the stance that the mapping from concepts to reality should be exact and complete. A "theory" is seen as a detailed blueprint of phenomena. Any lack of correspondence between concept and data is an anomaly, warranting serious research. At the other end of the spectrum, in engineering, meteorology, and most social sciences, the conceptual system of a science is but a simplified model or even just a crude sketch. Such formulations capture some of the features of the world and not others; they function primarily as heuristic and didactic devices to aid specific investigations of a statistical or case-study sort. Of course much variety is possible in the adequacy even of crude models. When concepts are stylized and inaccurate, the ability to explain/predict/control real events requires a large component of nonconceptualized "tacit" knowledge, as Polanyi has argued. While we cannot fully formulate and write down what we know by means of such "skills" or "insights," such knowledge can be reliable and perfectable; in fact, it comprises much of what we know about the world. The distinction between science and craft is thus a matter
Politics, Economics, and World Oil
This article points out that petroleum production costs outside North America have been declining, not rising, and that scarcity is the pressure of demand on supply. The article indicates our government has surrendered to the Arab oil threats, and that the threats can be broken. It recommends the sound policy outside the U.S. is do nothing and say nothing, while inside the U.S. reducing dependence on Arab oil will weaken the Arab hand.
Gender Differences in Predicting Productivity of Faculty
Since the 1960s, the overall proportion of female faculty in higher education has increased significantly, from 20 percent in 1969 to 27 percent in 1984, although this improvement is not reflected in all disciplines (Ransom, 1990). In journalism, the percentage of women faculty rose from 10 percent in 1969 to 30 percent in 1984.' Despite these gains, the recent literature demonstrates that female faculty must still face a number of inequity issues (Hensel, 1990; Maitland, 1990; Moore & Sagaria, 1991). In the journalism and mass communication field, several studies have pointed out that female faculty members are less likely to be tenured (Fedler, Counts, & Smith, 1984; Grunig, 1987) and earn less than their male counterparts, controlling for such intervening variables as rank, years of teaching experience, and educational level (Stuart & Dickey, 1986; Weaver & Wilhoit, 1988; see also Fedler et al., 1984; Kelly, 1989; Stuart & Dickey, 1991). One should add, though, that this salary differential tends to be small after controls. Provided that some job inequalities persist between male and female faculty in schools and departments of journalism and mass communications, the next question we need to address is why? Research on academic women in U.S. universities has suggested that such a differential treatment occurs because female faculty tend to publish less than their male colleagues ( e g , Centra, 1974; Chamberlain, 1988; Fulton, 1975; Seeborg, 1990; Simeone, 1987). Some discipline-specific studies have also reported that male faculty members are significantly more productive than their female counterparts in education (e.g., Lipman-Blumen, Stivers, Tickamyer, & Brainard, 1975) and psychology (e.g., Bronstein, Black, Pfennig, & White, 1986; Guyer & Fidell, 1973). But again these differences are often small or tend to disappear when such controls as rank and academic experience are introduced. In journalism and mass communications, however, there is some evidence that female faculty are closing the publication gap. A growing number of content analyses have revealed a continuous increase in female authorship since the 1960s (Cooper, Stewart, & Friedley, 1985, 1990; Dupagne, Potter, Cooper, & Dashiell, 1991; Sharp, Turk, Einsiedel, Schamber, & Hollenback, 1985) . More recently, Dupagne, Potter, and Cooper (in press) have investigated authorship patterns by gender in eight leading communication journals from 1965 to 1989. They found