NEW RESEARCH PATTERNS? OPEN-AND-CLOSED DYNAMICS IN THE SOCIO-TECHNICAL INTEGRATION PROCESS

The formulation of research and development policies is being transformed in a novel way in the most recent documents coming out of Europe. One notable peculiarity is that research patterns are moving toward scientific-technological practices that are more interactive among the various actors of society. Thus, the first measures in response to the complex nature of research are being revealed in strategies for the promotion of entrepreneurial and collaborative attitudes among academic-business actors in research and development. Other approaches are superimposed on these initiatives, approaches that transcend the primarily economistic goal of collaboration and that integrate social and ethical factors in research and development. Nevertheless, these transformations are also subject to underlying tensions and concurrent objectives. The article elucidates these opening-and-closing dynamics and demonstrates that some relationships and demands are more resistant to change.