**3. The peripheral condition**

To observe the international system of science and technology is the same as to face limiting conditions of scientific practice. We will refer here to the conditions less cited in literature when mentioning the differences between center and periphery in the scientific system. It is not related to the quantitative differences present in the international rankings from articles and patents, though. It is related to the previous conditions of the scientific producing, not the product itself, although the last is a direct consequence of the former. It is related, to be clearer, to the set of elements available to the scientists by the moment of the subject choice. It would be guided to the periphery because of the mentioned topics:

1. Local problems. Limited interest and even more aggravating is the fact of having few works to relate its consequences to the main interests in science;

Climate Change and Shifting Technoscientific Agendas 309

science until the most generic conceptions concerning nature3 – the last is related to a very

This precedence on the agenda proposition is one of the defining elements in the science hierarchy, promoting - in all levels of scientific investigation, a difference center-periphery. The antecedence conducts to reference, and it is a scientific rule well documented by the specialized literature4. By verifying the construction of sector funds5, politics of focusing the scientific and technological activity in strategic areas in Brazil, and it is possible to find that, first, the politics – as a whole – is laggard and, second, the thematic focus incorporate are related to the "latest agendas". Furthermore, many of the politics for the scientific and technological development had an *ex ante* meaning, that is to say that these politics were merely normative, with a symbolic meaning because it was not possible to develop those

The preceding agenda determination guides, necessarily, to the publication os articles and patent depot. This dynamics, by the way, is a cycle: articles guide to new agendas that are guided to new articles. Based on this, this dynamic which restructure itself along the time, is detached from the global conditions of research necessities, we can mention here the biomedical research. Following Sumathipala *et. al.* (2004) less than 10% from all the worldwide sources aimed to biomedical researches is directed to the 90% of known health problems. The authors affirm that 93% of the avoidable deaths occur in under developing countries and, yet, just a small part of the research financing is directed to these illnesses in these countries. The central agenda satisfies just a part from what is considered as a global problem to the biomedical area, sub-representing a greater part of the raised problems for the local agenda. That is the reason why the expression "neglected illnesses" is used, because it does not take part in the major interests in the central researches. It can be said, thus, that the conditions of entering the SICT do not regard the local interests, sub-representing them, and, therefore, causing damage to a more equal agenda on

The central hegemony, the precedence on the agendas proposition and the hierarchy are processes well known in the specialized literature end it seems to continue producing a differentiation between central and peripheral countries on the ISST, and it is assumed the risk of the distance of this positions to increase, and a factor that can explain this increase is the technology sophistication from the experience, for example, vide the LHC case – which cost 3 billion of Euro. Nevertheless, in the past few years, the data concerning publications

Concerning the most known case among us: "the biotechnologic war" in the 90 and 00 decades, which

The funds were created in 1999 by the studying and Project financing named FINEP and it is related as

 It gives place to many speculations, for example, to what Victoria and Moreira (2006) named "editorial racism", that is to say, the prejudice from the editors from international magazines against authors from

demonstrates a different scenario that may be indicating major shifts.

occur in politics, science and other society dimensions (vide Premebida, 2011)

subventions to biotechnology, spatial research, and energy among others.

extreme situation, though.

agendas propositions.

science6.

 3

4

5

6

**5. Adding numbers to hierarchy** 

Vide, for exemple, Merton (1957).

the south hemisphere.


It happens that such elements from the peripheral condition will guide the efforts to the local agendas, concerning the governmental initiative from the scientific and technological politics, or even the scientists practice.

The adhesion to the central research agendas is one of the system's requirement to the circulation of the science and technology to beyond its contexts of its construction. The local interest must be related to the global research interests (central), if it is wanted to reach the credits from the system of credit concession from the center of the science and technology international system. The closer from the central patterns of the investigation – "knowledge frontier" – quicker and more profitable will be the concession. The past decades, in Brazil, the scientific2 production evaluation system has been awarded the scientists who publish in journal from abroad, supporting the creation of international researches network, and therefore, connecting local and global interests. In order to publish abroad, it is necessary to adhere the calculus centers, global agendas. It, concomitantly, reinforces the centrals and reproduced the differentiation in ISST.

The following discussions are focused at the last point and it seeks to relate it with the newest agenda suggested by the centrals, namely, the climate change. It is in vogue a process that intends to search a techno-scientific paradigm which corresponds to the general expectations of the sustainability of the global society, structured especially after the IV IPPC report (Intergovernmental panel for climate change, from the United Nations Organization). The perception that the society based on the intensive consumption of fossil fuel has come to the limit, associate also the emergency of its technological limit. Thereby, it is needed a new technological paradigm to the production, daily consumption, communication, transport, that satisfies the socio environmental requirements from this new society, that has already been denominated as a post-carbon society (SZERSZYNSKI; URRY, 2010).
