ABSTRACT
This introductory chapter presents an overview of the key concepts to be discussed in the subsequent chapters of the book. The book examines how science as an institution operates in the larger regulatory context of the US Before his death in 2002, Stephen Jay Gould, one of the best-selling scientist authors of our time, reflected upon his first two books, which coincidentally appeared in the same year, 1977. In the eight-year tenure of Barack Obama, despite cataclysmic problems in US banking and industry, recognition of the importance of science was borne out in strongly positive language and modest fiscal boosts across scientific enterprises. Despite our deep involvements and investments, our field has produced surprisingly little focused and systematic research in scientific communication the way it has in other flavors of technical and professional communication. In 1991, Feenberg's determinist attitude may prevail as the publics remain wary of uncomfortable and contradictory scientific claims.
