With oil prices and global temperatures
rising, the nuclear option has once again entered discussions about the
future of the world's energy supply. Piggybacking on the growing
awareness of global climate change, the nuclear industry in the United
States, Russia, and elsewhere has launched a new public relations
campaign, marketing its services in the interest of clean,
environmentally sound energy. In contrast to similar proposals from the
1950s, technical feasibility and economic profitability seem to be
taken for granted, whereas concerns about safety and nonproliferation
have gained significance. The nuclear industry today promotes new,
"inherently safe," and proliferation-resistant reactor designs,
improved methods of personnel training, and cost-effective
standardization, along with strict licensing procedures under
independent regulatory agencies. Thus, in addition to legal provisions,
the industry advocates a series of "technical fixes" to prevent nuclear
proliferation. The unresolved problems of radioactive waste and
lingering public opposition to nuclear power are either left out of the
picture, or countered with unswerving technological optimism.
This
article looks at differences and similarities between current and past
proposals for developing a civilian nuclear industry. It provides some
historical background - particularly on the Soviet experience, which
the author has explored in some depth elsewhere. Although recent
proposals continue to advocate the normalization of nuclear energy on
the basis of its further commercialization, a reflection on past
successes and/or failures is largely missing from current discussions.
A cautious reading of recent enthusiastic endorsements of nuclear
energy would be well-advised.
After a long, exhausting workday you might want to liberate yourself from adult responsibilities and be a child again. Spending the day on a playground sounds like a lot of fun, but have you ever imagined how different your own childhood was from growing up in these days when digital developments and cutting-edge technologies have become part of our daily lives? How can and does technology affect children on the playground? Susanne Seitinger, a 28-year-old Austrian graduate in architecture from Princeton University , now a Ph.D. candidate at the renowned MIT Media Lab , is investigating this question in her research on how science and technology shape cities - and children.
The following article was first published in International Higher Education, Number 42, Winter 2006. It was reprinted with permission from the editor.
Rankings of academic institutions, programs, and departments are all the rage worldwide. National rankings are ubiquitous and at least two worldwide rankings exist. These operations are widely criticized for questionable or flawed methods as well as for the concept itself, but everyone uses them. When done well, they can be valuable to consumers, policymakers, and to academic institutions themselves as they compare themselves with peer institutions at home or abroad.
Rankings range from irresponsible musings by self-appointed experts and money-making schemes by commercial organizations to, at their best, serious efforts by academic or research organizations. Publications - including U.S. News and World Report in the United States, the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) and the Financial Times in Britain, Der Spiegel in Germany, Reforma in Mexico, and Asiaweek (now defunct), and others - have sponsored rankings. A few outlets, such as U.S. News and THES, have achieved a degree of respectability. Rankings have achieved a degree of public legitimacy and an aura of credibility because respected research and policy organizations have sponsored some of them. The research and teaching assessments carried out by the funding councils in the United Kingdom, the rankings of disciplines done by the National Research Council in the United States, and some others are examples. This past year, Shanghai Jiaotong University and the THES have published worldwide university rankings.
Background
Historically, it is correct to say that "university
ranking" is an American invention, as the first such effort was
undertaken in the US at the beginning of the 20th century. There have
been several ranked assessments of certain types of higher education,
but the one which we are most familiar with and practice nowadays is
usually attributed to the ranking of institutions providing
undergraduate education, published by U.S. News & World Report in 1983.
There were some attempts to produce other types of listings around the
same time in other countries but these went almost entirely unnoticed.
Things have changed in recent years, and we can see a rapid increase in
the number of national and international rankings of higher educational
institutions, as well as their increased significance in the
functioning of the higher education enterprise at the system as well as
the institutional level.
“There is a clear answer: I want to become a pilot,” says Michael
Kaiser when asked about his future career plans, “no matter where or
how. The main thing is flying.” His friend and research project
partner, Johannes Kienl, has similar aspirations and also plans to
become a professional pilot. Everything related to aviation seems to be
the passion of those two young Austrians who recently got into the
spotlight with a cutting-edge research project. The two 19-year-old
hobby pilots have attracted a great deal of national and international
attention with their invention of an “Advanced Deicing System” for
aircraft, which has been awarded the first prize at this year’s
European Union Contest for Young Scientists .
"Although safety is undoubtedly the most important aspect of flying,”
Michael Kaiser points out, “scientists and engineers were not able come
up with a satisfying solution for the problem of aircraft icing in the
past.” So when a civil engineering bureau introduced new, remarkably
thin heater blankets to the senior students majoring in aeronautical
engineering at the Secondary College for Mechanical Engineering in
Eisenstadt ( HTBLA Eisenstadt ), the two students
listened intently to the presentation. It was then that Michael Kaiser
and Johannes Kienl conceived the idea – as brilliant as it was
practical – to use these heater blankets for an electrically based
airplane deicing system. And they set their sights high: to invent a
new deicing system that “combines economy and safety at its best.”
Today, after winning national as well as international competitions
with their senior research project and holding patents on their
invention, they have certainly achieved much more than they would ever
have dreamed of at the beginning of their project.
bridges vol. 12, December 2006 / Feature Article
by John C. Crepeau
The Austrian physicist Josef Stefan made important contributions in the fields of acoustics, electromagnetism, optics, and the thermal sciences, and is the eponym of an important scientific constant, a physical law, and a series of dimensionless variables. Despite these tremendous scientific honors, his life history is not well known.
Early Life and Education
Josef Stefan was born March 24, 1835, in the small village of St. Peter, just outside the town of Klagenfurt. He was the son of ethnic Slovenian parents. His father, Aleš, was a miller and a baker and his mother, Marija Startinik, worked as a maidservant. He was a bright student, but as an illegitimate child was unable to attend the local gymnasium, so his parents married when Josef was eleven years old.
proVISION deals with the interrelationships between climate change,
spatial development, and quality of life. It focuses on the ecological
and socioeconomic aspects of sustainable development. The research
projects investigate functions and services of ecosystems with regard
to their impact on societal procedures. proVISION requires the
scientists involved to get in contact with society.
Conference Report: “scope II: Sites & Subjects. Narrating Heritage” in Vienna: A Conference on Future Potentials of Cultural Heritage
bridges vol. 12, December 2006 / Feature Article
by Robert Temel
On
September 28 and 29, 2006, the scope II conference "Sites &
Subjects. Narrating Heritage" took place at the Austrian National
Library in Vienna, Austria. Starting from the debate introduced by
UNESCO with their Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible
Heritage , which was adopted in 2003 and came into force this year, the
conference's objective was not to discuss cultural heritage in the
usual, nostalgic context. Instead it referred to a point of view which
integrates recent outcomes, e.g., of cultural studies, postcolonial
studies, museology, and urbanism.
How the idea evolved
An
impressive list of international speakers from these fields as well as
political science, anthropology, architecture, and urban studies met in
Austria to discuss the implications of recent developments concerning
questions of cultural heritage. One cause for starting this debate, but
far from the only one, is the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the
Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage, which will be joined by
Austria next year, as explained by Gabriele Zuna-Kratky, director of
the Museum of Technology in Vienna and member of the Council for
Research and Technology Development , in her welcome message. Another
cause is a study completed by the uma GmbH in May 2006 and commissioned
by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (BMBWK); this study
dealt with the question of recording and preserving cultural heritage
in Austria in relation to cultural and social sciences. Therefore, it
seemed appropriate to continue discussing this highly important topic
in Austria as well as to include international voices.
Boosting growth and creating jobs are the high priorities on political agendas in the countries of the European Union. Within the Lisbon Agenda , the focus lies on knowledge and innovation for growth, making Europe a more attractive place to invest and work in, and creating more and better jobs. Due to the repartition of different competences between the EU and its Member states, action for the respective areas is needed on the Community level as well as at the national level.
The 2006 strategy paper (in German) of the Federation of Austrian Industry (IV) on leading competence units (LCU) is an important guideline for policy makers at the national level. It is based on a study commissioned in 2005 by the Federation of Austrian Industry that has proven concretely, for the first time, the enormous direct and indirect effects of LCUs on the national economy. Leading Competence Units are headquarters or decision-making units of large multinational companies not bound to one single country. LCUs play a key role when it comes to added value, employment, research and development, as well as Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and supply businesses. In their function as economic hubs, LCUs are often vital to the economic survival of whole regions. The LCU strategy paper outlines their significance for the Austrian economy and identifies potential policies to attract them to Austria.
With oil prices and global temperatures
rising, the nuclear option has once again entered discussions about the
future of the world's energy supply. Piggybacking on the growing
awareness of global climate change, the nuclear industry in the United
States, Russia, and elsewhere has launched a new public relations
campaign, marketing its services in the interest of clean,
environmentally sound energy. In contrast to similar proposals from the
1950s, technical feasibility and economic profitability seem to be
taken for granted, whereas concerns about safety and nonproliferation
have gained significance. The nuclear industry today promotes new,
"inherently safe," and proliferation-resistant reactor designs,
improved methods of personnel training, and cost-effective
standardization, along with strict licensing procedures under
independent regulatory agencies. Thus, in addition to legal provisions,
the industry advocates a series of "technical fixes" to prevent nuclear
proliferation. The unresolved problems of radioactive waste and
lingering public opposition to nuclear power are either left out of the
picture, or countered with unswerving technological optimism. 
After a long, exhausting workday you might want to liberate yourself from adult responsibilities and be a child again. Spending the day on a playground sounds like a lot of fun, but have you ever imagined how different your own childhood was from growing up in these days when digital developments and cutting-edge technologies have become part of our daily lives? How can and does technology affect children on the playground? Susanne Seitinger, a 28-year-old Austrian graduate in architecture from 
"Although safety is undoubtedly the most important aspect of flying,”
Michael Kaiser points out, “scientists and engineers were not able come
up with a satisfying solution for the problem of aircraft icing in the
past.” So when a civil engineering bureau introduced new, remarkably
thin heater blankets to the senior students majoring in aeronautical
engineering at the Secondary College for Mechanical Engineering in
Eisenstadt ( 
The Austrian physicist Josef Stefan made important contributions in the fields of acoustics, electromagnetism, optics, and the thermal sciences, and is the eponym of an important scientific constant, a physical law, and a series of dimensionless variables. Despite these tremendous scientific honors, his life history is not well known.
met in
Austria to discuss the implications of recent developments concerning
questions of cultural heritage. One cause for starting this debate, but
far from the only one, is the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the
Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage, which will be joined by
Austria next year, as explained by Gabriele Zuna-Kratky, director of
the 
The 