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Date of publication Mar 21, 2004 Category: Article

Popularised science communication modes in Italian popular science magazines (1788-2002)

by Enrica Battifoglia

Analysis of popular science magazines can offer a significant contribution to the study of the history of science popularisation and the relation between the language of science and everyday language in Italy. This paper reconstructs the history of science popularisation through analysis of popular science magazines published in Italy from 1788 to date. The material examined consists of 80 popular science magazines covering various scientific disciplines, reporting current issues and targeted at a non-specialist public. Such material had never been gathered and organised in a systematic way before. The analysis did not take into account academic scientific journals which generally cover a single discipline and use technical language or high-quality science popularisation journals which also use specialist language. The element that all 80 magazines have in common is the use of non-technical, easily understandable language for a public that does not possess any specialist scientific knowledge. The analysis of the material offers an overview of the scientific disciplines that have been covered more extensively in popular science magazines from the end of the 18th century to date. In addition, it shows how priorities in coverage changed in different historical periods and how a variety of science communication modes have been established over time.

Volume 3Issue 012004
Date of publication Mar 21, 2004 Category: Commentary

Against the metaphor

by Marco Fabbrichesi

Volume 3Issue 012004
Date of publication Mar 21, 2004 Category: Commentary

Metaphors and science communication

by Alessandro Pascolini

Against the metaphor
by Marco Fabbrichesi

Elements for a geography of the metaphor in science
by Elena Joli

Metaphor and approximation of the world
by Daniele Gouthier

The metaphors, Golden Gates that move the categories of our world
by Stefania Coluccia

Volume 3Issue 012004
Date of publication Mar 21, 2004 Category: Focus

The public way to peer-review

by Nico Pitrelli

There is a substantial divergence between the standards of integrity associated with "good science" and the problems imposed by the conflict of interest on research, specially in the biomedical field. There are at least as many ways in which information may be altered and the production of new scientific knowledge may be affected as there are links that can be established between researchers, private companies, and editors and staff of the specialized press. The pressures resulting from this high number of connections can affect all stages of research, from trial design to data analysis, from result publishing and dissemination to who will be the author of the articles.

Volume 3Issue 012004
Date of publication Mar 21, 2004 Category: Article

A short psychoanalisis of science

by Roland Benedikter

At the beginning of the new millennium, science is not only a neutral system or an objective methodology of knowledge, but also the implicit basis of the totality of our culture. Though science and its derivates are omnipresent in daily life, its basic ideologies and functional mechanisms are in most cases not fully visible to the subject. In using the most evolved systematical-critical model of psychoanalysis provided by the French thinker Jacques Lacan (1901-1981), an enlightening analysis of western science can be made, which contributes not only to a better understanding of its own psychology, but also of the hidden ties between science and its current socio-cultural background.

Volume 3Issue 012004
Date of publication Mar 21, 2004 Category: Letter

The Audioteca RAI's archives between memory and information technology

by Annalina Ferrante

Volume 3Issue 012004
Date of publication Dec 21, 2003 Category: Focus

Hinari and Agora: free access to scientific information for poor countries

by Elisabetta Tola

In the midst of a debate on access to information, the World Health Organization and the FAO have decided to develop a strategy to guarantee the right of poor countries to have free access to scientific publications. This right is often denied, mainly because of high subscription costs. For this reason, universities and research centres in southern countries must forego buying magazines, which are a valuable instrument for updating, and exchanging information on research and scientific issues. This choice has been made in an historical period when the industrialized world is marked by a knowledge-based economy.

Volume 2Issue 042003
Date of publication Dec 21, 2003 Category: Focus

In the free web of science

by Mauro Scanu

A ghost is wandering around the web: it is called open access, a proposal to modify the circulation system of scientific information which has landed on the sacred soil of scientific literature. The circulation system of scientific magazines has recently started faltering, not because this instrument is no longer a guarantee of quality, but rather for economic reasons. In countries such as Great Britain, as shown in the following chart, the past twenty years have seen a dramatic increase in subscription fees, exceeding by far the prices of other publishing products and the average inflation rate. The same trend applies to the United States.

Volume 2Issue 042003
Date of publication Dec 21, 2003 Category: Editorial

The Scanzano lesson

by Pietro Greco

The incident of Scanzano Jonico, in Italy's Basilicata region, has been something more than a lesson for those who handle the relationships between science and society. During November and December 2003 in this small southern Italian town a theory has been proven false. According to this theory, in the modern world, the best way to solve the problems put before society by science and technology would be for the experts to discuss them behind closed doors.

Volume 2Issue 042003
Date of publication Dec 21, 2003 Category: Commentary

Mathland - the space between mathematics and architecture

by Michele Emmer

Volume 2Issue 042003

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