EDITORIAL INFORMATION

The Informe Mundial sobre la Ciencia, elaborated by internationally renowned authors in their respective special fields of study, will constitute a reference work as well as a valuable source of information for all those readers who want to understand the organization, the functioning and the evolution of science and technology in our world.

(Extracted from the back cover).

GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

-Prefacio.

-Preámbulo.

-SITUACION DE LA CIENCIA EN EL MUNDO:

-Los sistemas de ciencia y tecnología: panorama mundial.
-América del Norte.
-América Latina.
-Europa Occidental.
-Europa Central.
-Comunidad de Estados Independientes.
-Los estados árabes.
-Africa.
-Asia meridional.
-Irán.
-Asia Oriental y Sudoriental.
-China.

-LOS DEBATES CONTEMPORANEOS:

-La ética de la ciencia: entre humanismo y modernidad.
-La macrociencia.
-Geociencia y medio ambiente.
-La degradación de la tierra.
-Diversidad biológica.
-La biotecnología y el desarrollo.
-Las tecnologías de la información.
-Ciencia e ingeniería de los materiales.

-EL LUGAR DE LAS MUJERES EN LA CIENCIA Y LA TECNOLOGIA:

-Marco conceptual.
-Las ciencias, ¿en manos de quién?
-La ciencia, ¿para quién?
-Un potencial por realizar.
-Perspectivas mundiales.
-Protagonistas e iniciativas internacionales.
-Las mujeres en la investigación científica moderna: reseña histórica.

OUR REVIEW

This Informe Mundial sobre la Ciencia prepared by the UNESCO is a magnificient source of first hand detailed information, imprescindible for every reader wishing to stay updated with respect to how scientific research is being developed all over the world, and which the main ways of technological progress are.

The text is concise and full of useful data, without resulting excessively dense for the general readers. This is why this book will satisfy both the professionals of science and those who merely feel curious to have a look to the entire world panorama of science in the present times.

Mention must be made also, of the depth of its analyses, the sections devoted to the ethics of science, the activity of women in science and technology, and the ecological problems. To understand where scientific progress is taking us, figures are not enough; other factors, perhaps not so obvious at first sight, have equal importance to that of the purely technical aspect or the economic productivity of the new developments.

In conclusion, this work is like a radiography of the current status of science.