History, Science and Technology, Justice, and Environmental Issues of Sweden
During the seventh and eighth centuries, the Swedes were merchant seamen well known for their trade. In the ninth century, Nordic Vikings raided and ravaged the European Continent as far as the Black and Caspian Seas. During the 11th and 12th centuries, Sweden slowly became a united Christian kingdom that later included Finland. Queen Margaret of Denmark united all the Nordic lands in the "Kalmar Union" in 1397. Frequent tension within the countries and within the union gradually led to open conflict between the Swedes and the Danes in the 15th century. The union's final disintegration in the early 16th century resulted in a long-lived rivalry between Norway and Denmark on one side and Sweden and Finland on the other.
During and after World War I, in which Sweden remained neutral, the nation benefited from the worldwide demand for Swedish steel, ball bearings, wood pulp, and matches. Postwar achievement provided the basis for the social welfare policies characteristic of modern Sweden. Sweden followed a policy of armed impartiality during World War II and currently remains independent. Sweden became a member of the European Union in 1995.
Many of Sweden’s science and technology activities are carried out by the Embassy of Sweden’s Science and Technology office. The main mission of the Science and Technology Office is to help cooperation in research and development and other exchange of knowledge between Sweden and Japan. This is done by telling decision-makers in Sweden about developments in Japan, and by arranging study visits, workshops and other events. The office preserves widespread contact networks in Sweden and Japan, mainly with key persons and organizations involved in research and innovation in government, academia, and industry.
Most of the activities of the Science and Technology Office are carried out within the framework of “programs” operated in close partnership with, and financed by, Swedish government agencies and other organizations with responsibilities in the particular area covered by a program. Current programs cover the following areas: (1) Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), (2) Life Sciences and Bio-industry, (3) Sustainable Development, and (4) Overall Development of Japanese Science and Technology Policy and Innovation System.
Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary form of government. According to the Swedish Constitution, all public power derives from the people. Sweden's head of state, the King, has only ceremonial functions. The top branch of the national government is the Parliament, which has 349 members in one chamber.
Galaxy Science Centre (GSC) is a non-profit organization, every dime it spends should be used according to their goal. The goal of GSC is to educate the general public, to support the science programs of local schools and to provide a science centre for the municipality. Therefore, the most amount of budget should be allocated to the Public relation department. The Public relation department is responsible...
Unlike the other countries in Europe Sweden had a functional economy, no loss in people and a strong government. The unique long reign of the Social Democrat party stabilized the policy but most of the time they could only react to external developments. Sweden could start from a better living point and increase the living standard greatly. A strong state offered its citizen enough protection and developed the known international image of the Swedish Welfare State. Even though it does not exist anymore as it once did, especially Social Democrats from all around the world see Sweden as the role model for a strong Welfare State that offers benefits to every individual. The contemporary Welfare State has it ties in the Rehn-Meidner model but made developments into a neoliberal state like every other country in
doing so to compete with Sweden after losing a war to them in 1700. In
The menu for the scientific and technological communities is large, even if at present political factors dominate the issue. Eventually, however, the work of these communities will provide the necessary underpinnings for policy decisions. But it is important not to assume that current research and analysis will automatically determine policy. They will enrich the debate, to be sure, but that debate will hinge on a different calculus for some time to come. Disillusionment with this situation is not useful; realistic assessment of the role of knowledge is.
Charles XII had been ruling Sweden as a divine right monarch. Absolutism brought him total power and with it responsibility. The responsibility to protect his people and strengthen the glory and greatness of Sweden, but both these responsibilities he failed to comply, and left was a poor, betrayed, miserable people with nothing but despise towards the state, and in particular absolutism as a form of government. The time of absolutism in Sweden was over, while the beginning of parliamentary reforms was taking its course.
Norway is a constitutional monarchy, with the king having limited authority, except as head of the military and as a symbol of continuity and stability. Executive power is vested in the prime minister, who presides over the dominant party in the country's parliament (Storting). The 165 members of parliament are elected every four years. The Storting has an Upper Chamber (Lagting) and a Lower Chamber (Odelsting). The Labor, Center, and Conservative parties are the largest in parliament, but no party has a majority.
“The Social Construction of Facts and Artifacts” is about "integrated social constructivist approach towards the study of science and technology"(pg 399). The author's Pinch and Bijker discuss that even though it has been a practice to separate science and technology, but they are hugely connected because of this they might benefit from each other. The authors discuss about the three main parts of science and technology termed as "Sociology of science", "the science technology relationship" and the "technology studies".
In “The Nature and Necessity of Scientific Research” it says, “they are the source of the methods, problem-field, and standards of solution accepted by any mature scientific community at any given time.” These new discoveries can lead then to advancements and as a result can lead them to build a better society. Human beings will be able to reconstruct a better institutional framework which will bring them a prosperous and happy
However, they had domestic and foreign policies which were directed by the same common monarch. Afterwards there were different interests, like for instance the Swedish nobleness’ dissatisfaction with the very dominant role of Denmark and Holstein, which were reasons for a conflict. This problem could weight the union down. From the 1430s on, there were issues in intervals which turned out as very hard to resolve. In 1523, Gustav Vasa became king of Sweden and the Kalmar Union fell apart.
“The 1990s were a time of globalization which science and technology saw notable growth. The
As a Professor in the Social Studies of Science and Technology in the Program in Science Turkle releases this article talking about a currently
Open innovation opens the doors for a vast array of ideas and suggestions that can help an organization succeed in being innovative. This will allow the organization to hold a competitive advantage when compared to their competition. Organizations who understand the importance of managing technological innovation will have an easier time succeeding than those organizations who feel they are safe and put innovation on the back burner. Managing technological innovation is essential in this day and age, where technology is advancing at a faster than
In modern society, governments in both developed and developing countries contribute financial resources to various forms of research and development (R&D). This type of investment assists society to function more effectively, because of inventions and innovations in many sectors, such as health, education, technology and science. In this way, social growth is encouraged at both a national and international level, which further supports improved business and commercial expansion. Based on this, it can be understood that government funding promotes scientific exploration of new ideas and processes that can advance the standard of living around the world. Therefore, it is argued that government funding for research benefits society. This will be examined with reference to the way government funding for medical research aids society, and scientific production on technology.
As the introduction prepared us for this, we can discern three different phases in the history of institutional development of science. If we put them in an order according to chronological interest that each phase has, we could say that the first one is the pre-science phase, the second is the science for gentlemen and the third is the phase of professional science. (Dr. Nedeva Maria, Lecture “The story of science”, 2006)