It has become evident that for a proper understanding of public debates about technology policy, it is necessary to take into account the normative values at issue as well as the technical concerns. This study will contribute to our understanding of the way normative values and technical knowledge, as a tightly linked package, influence and are used in political conflict over technology. In examining the case of solar energy, the project will synthesize a theoretical framework that explains both the dynamics and the complex linkages between normative values and scientific knowledge in the policy process. It should also illuminate an interesting and important recent episode -- the swift rise of solar energy in funding and visibility within the government, in response to the energy crisis, and its swift fall back into obscurity. The analysis of documents will be the principal methodological tool. Energy policy in general and solar energy in particular are richly documented issue areas, replete with books, articles, reports, and congressional hearings. The specific values involved in this controversy will be brought out in association with policy options, and the driving force of these associations will be examined in the course of the research. Results will be widely disseminated in journal articles on both solar energy policy and theoretical issues involved in studying value conflicts in technology policy. In addition, the investigator plans to produce a monograph as a contribution to the scholarly literature and to present reports of results at relevant professional society meetings. This proposal is a modest request for support to enable a talented young scholar to investigate the close links between values and scientific knowledge in a particular debate over technology policy. The principal investigator is well qualified; institutional support is very good; the research design shows originality and is well worked out; dissemination is likely to be broad and to reach appropriate audiences. Support is highly recommended.
