"Knowledge and information are essential for people to respond successfully to the opportunities and challenges of social, economic and technological changes (...). But to be useful, knowledge and information must be effectively communicated to people", says the Food and Agricultural Organization. India is home to a number of ICT-enabled development initiatives, and we will look at one of them to learn how an effective communication strategy is used.
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Date of publication Sep 21, 2005 Category: Commentary
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Date of publication Sep 21, 2005 Category: Commentary
Scaling up communication of scientific information to rural communities
A wide gap exists between what scientists and rural farmers know. The rapid advancements in digital technology are likely to widen this gap even further. At the farmers' level, this knowledge gap often translates into poor and inefficient management of resources resulting in reduced profits and environmental pollution. Most modern rice cultivars can easily yield more than 5 tons per hectare when well managed, but millions of farmers often get less than 5 tons using the same production inputs.
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Date of publication Sep 21, 2005 Category: Commentary
Science communication between scientists and publics in developing countries. A knowledge-sharing experience
How does knowledge sharing affect scientists' everyday work in developing countries? And how important is it for the development not only of new scientific research, but also for improving the living conditions of local inhabitants? These are the questions that a group of scientists met to discuss during an international workshop on Knowledge Sharing for Local Development in the South held in Trieste, Italy (4-6 July 2005). Based on their personal experiences, their thoughts and opinions create an interesting insight into new practices for the public communication of science, medicine and technology from a point of view that is often under-estimated: the one of the scientists themselves. The workshop, organized by the Third World Network of Scientific Organizations (TWNSO) and the United Nations Development Programme's Special Unit for South-South Cooperation (UNDP-SSC), showcased 15 case studies that utilized a variety of knowledge sharing methods, and, in doing so, highlighted the critical role that knowledge sharing plays in sustainable development. For more information: http://www.twnso.org
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Date of publication Sep 21, 2005 Category: Commentary
Networking at global and community levels for control of diseases
The world is facing an unprecedented situation in health management as fast transport and travel lead to spread of diseases at a rate that has not been seen before and into countries that had once conquered them. This is even more evident with infectious diseases which do not respect geopolitical barriers or economic progress. It is becoming increasingly clear that control of such diseases and good practices for public health need global sharing of knowledge and international cooperation. In addition networking of institutions involved in health care with the communities that they serve is fundamental to containing diseases and promoting good health. For reasons as yet unclear even non infectious diseases such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes are also increasing at an alarming rate globally. The advantages of international networking and timely communication which contained three diseases will be discussed in this article.
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Date of publication Sep 21, 2005 Category: Editorial
Amphibious Environments in Science Communication
The historian Marshall Berman wrote that living in modern times means "to find ourselves in an environment that promises us adventure, power, joy, growth, transformation [...] and, at the same time, that threatens to destroy everything we have, everything we know".
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Date of publication Jun 21, 2005 Category: Commentary
Educating scientists to responsability and participation
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Date of publication Jun 21, 2005 Category: Focus
The new "Chinese dream" regards science communication
Science and technology: these are the mainstays China wants to concentrate on in order to stabilise its future as an emerging world power. Beijing plans to have the whole, enormous Chinese population literate in the scientific field within a few years. Scientific popularization is the key to what now, due to political influences and deep social disparities, seems remote.
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Date of publication Jun 21, 2005 Category: Article
Youth and Science in Italy: between enthusiasm and indifference
The image and perception of science and of scientists is a crucial topic, above all with regards to younger generations, the human capital of the future. For this reason, the National Research Council (CNR), in 2004, asked the IRPPS institute (Istituto di ricerche sulla popolazione e le politiche sociali) to carry out a sample survey of 800 people between the ages of 18 and 29 on the topic. Science and new technology emerged as the topics of most interest, in addition to medicine, history and economics. Scientific content in the mass media is considered to be satisfactory, whereas education in the field of science is considered to be less than satisfactory, above all in relation to the work environment. However, if research in Italy seems weak in the eyes of young people, scientists are not seen the same way but are considered society's second most important profession after that of the entrepreneur. The problem of trust in science is due, above all, to the politics of research, which do not encourage adequate investment in public and private sectors. A factor analysis technique was applied in order to identify models of attitude towards science of various subgroups within the population.
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Date of publication Jun 21, 2005 Category: Article
The sociological nature of science communication
The article proposes a reflection on science communication and on the communicative processes characteristic to the production of new-found knowledge. It aims to outline the role that sociology can play within this frame for greater understanding. The article first defines the main evolutionary trends in scientific research in recent decades, with particular reference to the emergence of new social actors. Following on from this, it will look at some of the epistemological conditions that may strengthen the sociologist's role in the cognition of scientific production. Using this as a premise, we will look at a typology for science communication and its components, as well as some of its governing principles. The conclusion of the article indicates the added value that can be gained from the use of such a model, with the particular aim of identifying indicators that allow the evaluation of scientific research in sociological terms as well as those already in existence.
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Date of publication Jun 21, 2005 Category: Commentary
Communication in the scientists' education in the XXI Century
While knowledge-society is developing all around the world, science seems to be loosing its historical prestige in public perception, scientific vocations are declining among young people, "limit" on science is common subject of daily politics, research freedom is questioned in front of public good, scientists are dragged in front of public opinion. As a consequence, scientists are to be skilled in science communication. But communicating science is no more matter of "translating" scholar knowledge into lay language (popularization); it is mainly matter of crossing barriers of fundamental attitudes, understanding daily-life ends, sharing future scenarios and cultural values, becoming responsible for the societal dimension of science. Moreover, while confronting the coming Big Convergence (among nanosciences, bio-medical sciences, information and communication-sciences, neuro-cognitive sciences), science itself is called to cross barriers among disciplines, distinctions between pure and applied science, academic and industrial research, science and technology, etc. However, such crossovers are challenging for present education of scientists. The governance of the democratic knowledge-society not only demands more scientific education among citizens, but also a general revision of highest scientific curricula. What are the goals for educating scientists to public responsibility and participation? What are conceivable ways for joining the "two cultures" and integrating curricula? What cross-fertilizations are conceivable between natural and social sciences, scientific and humanistic education, specialised and more general formation?