Repairing credibility: Repositioning nuclear weapons knowledge after the Cold War.
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| Title: | Repairing credibility: Repositioning nuclear weapons knowledge after the Cold War. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Sims, Benjamin, Henke, Christopher R. |
| Source: | Social Studies of Science (Sage Publications, Ltd.). Jun2012, Vol. 42 Issue 3, p324-347. 24p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Tacit knowledge, *Computer simulation, *Government policy, Nuclear weapon inventory control, Scientists, Truthfulness & falsehood, Post-Cold War Period, Deterrence (Military strategy), Nuclear weapons industry |
| Abstract: | During the Cold War, the credibility of US nuclear weapons scientists was backed up by an integrated system for designing, testing, and manufacturing nuclear weapons. As the Cold War drew to a close in the 1990s, weapons scientists warned that their knowledge was so deeply embedded in the design and testing of nuclear weapons that it might not survive if this system were disrupted. Sociologists Donald MacKenzie and Graham Spinardi used this as evidence for the role of tacit knowledge in weapons design, suggesting that a halt to weapons design and testing could bring on a crisis of credibility, and possibly the ‘uninvention’ of nuclear weapons. In this paper, we examine how the weapons community has avoided such a crisis of credibility. Our analysis turns on the concept of sociotechnical repair – the processes communities and institutions engage in to sustain their existence, identity, and boundaries, particularly when faced with disruptive change. We examine two post-Cold War repair efforts that demonstrate how actors carefully balance discursive, institutional, and material change in the repair of complex sociotechnical systems. The Stockpile Stewardship Program positions weapons expertise as an abstract body of knowledge, and seeks to repair the credibility of weapons scientists by embedding their knowledge in a new sociotechnical context of computer simulation and experimental science. The Reliable Replacement Warhead concept emphasizes the close relationship between weapons knowledge and the design features of stockpile warheads, and seeks to repair credibility by introducing weapons designs optimized for long-term stockpile storage. These repair efforts show that weapons scientists’ views of their own knowledge continued to evolve after the end of the Cold War. In particular, weapons scientists maintained credibility with key constituencies by treating tacit knowledge as a flexible resource that can be successfully integrated into new sociotechnical arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] |
| Copyright of Social Studies of Science (Sage Publications, Ltd.) is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 76403863 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Repairing credibility: Repositioning nuclear weapons knowledge after the Cold War. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sims%2C+Benjamin%22">Sims, Benjamin</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Henke%2C+Christopher+R%2E%22">Henke, Christopher R.</searchLink> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Social+Studies+of+Science+%28Sage+Publications%2C+Ltd%2E%29%22">Social Studies of Science (Sage Publications, Ltd.)</searchLink>. Jun2012, Vol. 42 Issue 3, p324-347. 24p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Tacit+knowledge%22">Tacit knowledge</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Computer+simulation%22">Computer simulation</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Government+policy%22">Government policy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nuclear+weapon+inventory+control%22">Nuclear weapon inventory control</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Scientists%22">Scientists</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Truthfulness+%26+falsehood%22">Truthfulness & falsehood</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Post-Cold+War+Period%22">Post-Cold War Period</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Deterrence+%28Military+strategy%29%22">Deterrence (Military strategy)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nuclear+weapons+industry%22">Nuclear weapons industry</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: During the Cold War, the credibility of US nuclear weapons scientists was backed up by an integrated system for designing, testing, and manufacturing nuclear weapons. As the Cold War drew to a close in the 1990s, weapons scientists warned that their knowledge was so deeply embedded in the design and testing of nuclear weapons that it might not survive if this system were disrupted. Sociologists Donald MacKenzie and Graham Spinardi used this as evidence for the role of tacit knowledge in weapons design, suggesting that a halt to weapons design and testing could bring on a crisis of credibility, and possibly the ‘uninvention’ of nuclear weapons. In this paper, we examine how the weapons community has avoided such a crisis of credibility. Our analysis turns on the concept of sociotechnical repair – the processes communities and institutions engage in to sustain their existence, identity, and boundaries, particularly when faced with disruptive change. We examine two post-Cold War repair efforts that demonstrate how actors carefully balance discursive, institutional, and material change in the repair of complex sociotechnical systems. The Stockpile Stewardship Program positions weapons expertise as an abstract body of knowledge, and seeks to repair the credibility of weapons scientists by embedding their knowledge in a new sociotechnical context of computer simulation and experimental science. The Reliable Replacement Warhead concept emphasizes the close relationship between weapons knowledge and the design features of stockpile warheads, and seeks to repair credibility by introducing weapons designs optimized for long-term stockpile storage. These repair efforts show that weapons scientists’ views of their own knowledge continued to evolve after the end of the Cold War. In particular, weapons scientists maintained credibility with key constituencies by treating tacit knowledge as a flexible resource that can be successfully integrated into new sociotechnical arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Social Studies of Science (Sage Publications, Ltd.) is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1177/0306312712437778 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 24 StartPage: 324 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Tacit knowledge Type: general – SubjectFull: Computer simulation Type: general – SubjectFull: Government policy Type: general – SubjectFull: Nuclear weapon inventory control Type: general – SubjectFull: Scientists Type: general – SubjectFull: Truthfulness & falsehood Type: general – SubjectFull: Post-Cold War Period Type: general – SubjectFull: Deterrence (Military strategy) Type: general – SubjectFull: Nuclear weapons industry Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Repairing credibility: Repositioning nuclear weapons knowledge after the Cold War. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Sims, Benjamin – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Henke, Christopher R. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 06 Text: Jun2012 Type: published Y: 2012 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 03063127 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 42 – Type: issue Value: 3 Titles: – TitleFull: Social Studies of Science (Sage Publications, Ltd.) Type: main |
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