Standard: Improving Intelligence: A New Dialogue Between S&TS Scholars and Intelligence Analysts

对科学知识如何用于决策的研究通常会揭示自然科学和物理科学是如何与政策相交的。相比之下，人们对社会科学如何用于政策制定知之甚少。为了填补这一空白，本研究通过研究大规模杀伤性武器专家和政策制定者对科学和技术研究(STS)研究的吸收情况，调查情报分析人员如何获取、处理和利用社会科学制定政策。它解决了美国情报界已经认识到的一个缺口：需要获得关于人机接口的专业知识，以减少未来的情报失误。通过参与者观察、匿名调查和匿名面谈，该研究调查了大规模杀伤性武器评估如何整合社会和技术因素。由STS研究人员和大规模杀伤性武器政策制定者组成的两个小组被研究：一个审查核武器技术，另一个审查生物武器技术。这项研究(1)将科学和技术研究的分析观点融入美国情报界，可以对大规模杀伤性武器(WMD)威胁产生新的理解；(2)研究情报分析师如何吸收这些观点来理解这些威胁；(3)研究情报从业者的反馈如何改进和建议STS学术研究与大规模杀伤性武器威胁相关的新研究途径。通过出版物、在会议上的演讲、研讨会、教学和基于网络的出版，这个项目的发现被广泛地提供给专家、教育工作者、学生和见多识广的非专业受众。该项目的具体研究成果是学术出版物、对美国情报和政策官员的简报，以及改善大规模杀伤性武器评估的劳动力培训。与研究相结合，该项目还为对科学、技术和安全感兴趣的学生创建了新的研究生和本科生课程，并产生了关于在本科生和研究生层面教授科学和安全问题的教学方法的新知识。

Studies of how scientific knowledge is used in policy decisions usually shed light on how natural and physical science intersects with policy. By contrast, less is known about how social science is utilized in policy making. To fill this gap, this study investigates how intelligence analysts acquire, process, and utilize social science to make policy, through a study of the uptake of science and technology studies (STS) research by weapons of mass destruction experts and policymakers. It addresses a gap that the U.S. intelligence community has recognized: the need to access expertise about the human-technology interface in order to mitigate future intelligence failures. Using participant observation, anonymous surveys, and anonymous in-person interviews, the study investigates how weapons of mass destruction assessments can integrate social and technical factors. Two groups composed of STS researchers and WMD policymakers are studied: one that examines nuclear weapons technologies, and one that examines biological weapons technologies. The study (1) interjects into the U.S. intelligence community analytic perspectives from science and technology studies that can generate new understandings on weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threats; (2) studies how intelligence analysts absorb these perspectives to make sense of these threats; and (3) examines how feedback from intelligence practitioners can refine and suggest new research avenues for STS scholarship related to WMD threats. Through publications, presentations at conferences, workshops, teaching, and web-based publishing, the findings of this project are made available to a broad range of expert, educator, student, and informed lay audiences. The specific research outputs of this project are scholarly publications, briefings to U.S. intelligence and policy officials, and workforce training to improve WMD assessments. Integrated with the research, the project also creates new graduate and undergraduate courses for students interested in science, technology, and security, and produces new knowledge about pedagogical methods to teach science and security issues at the undergraduate and graduate level.