I have tried to trace the development of human rights from antiquity to the present day by quoting a succession of great thinkers from Pericles, St Paul and Marcus Aurelius to John Locke, Montesquieu and John Stuart Mill. I also quote the key provisions of covenants and resolutions from Magna Carta to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I list the many shameful countries where torture is still in constant use, and the very few where suspects are not subjected to inhuman treatments. I deplore our exclusive preoccupation with rights which has made us forget about human duties. Finally, I discuss some of the criticisms that have been made of the concept of human rights.

This essay will be divided into four parts. In the first part I shall report on the somewhat problematic prospects facing the new science graduate today when meeting the job market for the first time. In the second part I shall try to relate this situation to what could be called ‘the changing ecology of science’ in the post cold-war period. But impressions must be based on facts, and in the third part I shall review some facts and problems in todays research training. Finally, I shall offer some speculations on the future of career prospects in science. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In the United Kingdom, support from private charities for medical research has become of increased importance as state funding has been subjected to tight control. The article outlines the changes and the current pattern of private medical charities. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The European Community Treaty ascribes a precise role in the promotion of research to the Commission. The contribution of EC-sponsored research to industrial competitiveness, socio-economic development and scientific knowledge is discussed on the basis of recent experience and with reference to new goals. In this framework, problems of scientific and administrative management and the relations of the European Community with other European and national research systems are examined. An increasing role is suggested for EC research as an early warning system about emerging problems, based on the scientific assessment of weak signals. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

At present, industry seems to expect much less from science in general and from its academic home base in particular than during the times of technology push, where industry itself was a major source of science. The volume of science for science sake has, in many fields, grown beyond its perceived utility. The reasons for this change are discussed in their historical context in order to derive ideas for improvements. Yet it is by no means certain, that the good old times of technology push will come back. The demand for existing technology in Asia is much larger than the demand for new technology in the saturated G7 countries. New technology has a comparatively small market, unless it is less expensive and less risky than existing technology. Industry must expect therefore that science listens to non-scientific input already in the planning phase. Funding authorities appreciate this. Creative scientists, who apparently had the freedom to do research for its own sake, were often the most successful innovators of the industrial society. They won their support. This is still the model for funding research and excellence in any field. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Intellectual property rights have long been regarded as a matter for specialists of a branch of law, their impact on competitiveness was referred to in the mass circulation press only in the past ten years, in particular in relation to international negotiations like the GATT agreement. After a brief description of the nature of intellectual property rights as they appear in support of scientific research, the deficiencies of the presently fragmented systems of national patents of the European as well as Community patents are presented with their consequences in terms of cost, reliability, and predictability. The difficulties related to their enforcement and to the differences of interpretation on patentability criteria in a world of global competition are also emphasized. The role of intellectual property rights in the evaluation and reward of researchers, their importance in the process of the creation of new enterprises, and the necessity to develop information and awareness in the population of researchers wherever they are, constitute the main factors which contribute to placing intellectual property rights on the management agenda priority list in the context of the increasing impact of immaterial investment in the creation of wealth. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.