The Linguistic Society, along with almost 50 other scientific societies representing a total membership of more than 250,000 behavioral and social scientists, has joined forces with representatives from NIH, NASA, the FBI National Academy, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to support the Decade of Behavior. [See 'Nota Bene', p. 24, for more on the contribution of Vice President/President-Elect Walt Wolfram and his colleagues to the exhibit.] The initiative was conceived as a way to educate the public and scientific colleagues in other disciplines about the present and potential contributions these sciences can make toward solving national problems. Major goals of the Decade of Behavior include but are not limited to: (1) developing a public education campaign to address the compelling need for greater understanding by the general public and state and federal policymakers of behavioral and social science research; (2) promoting the translation of findings from behavioral and social science research into the public policy arena; (3) stimulating the generation of new knowledge to address current challenges and to prepare the nation to face emerging problems in the 21st century, and (4) implementing a national action plan to recruit and retain the next generation of scholars in the behavioral and social sciences.
On 25 September 2000, the Decade of Behavior was launched in Washington, DC, with an exhibit of behavioral and social science research projects recently funded by federal agencies. Held in the Cannon Building Caucus Room, the exhibit was designed to educate members of Congress and their staffs.
Projects to be developed over the decade include a four-part prime-time TV series, a searchable Behavioral and Social Sciences Funding Site, a Smithsonian Lecture Series on Decade of Behavior themes, 'Behavior Week', teacher materials, a science fair at the high school level , and a Decade of Behavior Distinguished Lectures Series (at annual conventions). For current information, check the website: http://www.decadeofbehavior.org.