VULNERABILITY AND DISCLOSURE IN SCIENCE - THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN AGENCY AND STRUCTURE

The interplay between agency and structure explains a scientist's read iness to disclose information about research efforts. In a survey of 6 28 Israeli researchers, personal strategies in the pursuit of collegia l appreciation were influenced by conflicting value guidelines at diff erent time-space frameworks for scientific work. When researchers enco untered the value of communality, they were encouraged to communicate freely to obtain community recognition. When a greater stress was plac ed on universalism, restricting communication became a reasonable stra tegy to protect acknowledgment rights. The influence of universalism w as intensified when researchers inferred a structural vulnerability be cause of exposure to contextual conditions that increased the possibil ity of losing acknowledgment. A balanced impact of the two values-comm unality and universalism-may be postulated as contributing to a more r apid development of the scientific enterprise.