Sophus Tromholt (1851–1896) – A Neglected Danish Games Inventor

The authors discuss the findings of the study “Popular science books in Russian libraries”. The purpose of the study was to get data on the existence, quantity and relevancy of these publications in the libraries. The authors cite the results of the survey and provide their conclusions on the libraries’ managing their popular science collections and related user services. The digital survey was based on Yandex Forms service and comprised quantitative data acquisition and analysis. The authors conclude that with the government’s focusing on science popularization among the population, the libraries act proactively, promote popular science literature and hold various events. However, further system organizational and methodological support is needed to build the unified system of straight interdepartmental control of popular science literature publishing and relevancy, and to improve libraries performance in this area. The authors specify several problems, in particular, lacking the common approach to publishing and using of popular science literature. The solutions lie in new approaches toward typological classification of this targeted publications and target user audience.

‘Popular science books’ can contribute to enhancing public engagement with chemistry, yet there has been no systematic study of the availability, use, and educational significance of these books. This paper identifies titles in the catalogues of some major publishers, the content of these books, the criteria that readers might use in judging their educational worth, and the value of these categories of books for promoting public engagement with chemistry. One hundred and ninety-three popular chemistry books, written in English and/or Portuguese, were identified in the catalogues of 80 major publishers. This identification and classification into themes were carried out by an analysis of synopses and introductions. In addition, an opportunity sample of 17 Portuguese undergraduate students, with no extensive backgrounds in science, was invited to produce a written evaluation of a book of their own choice. The producers of unusual or incisive evaluations (nine readers) were also interviewed. It was found that popular books can contribute to public engagement with chemistry when they have specific textual characteristics. There is a need for more books in Portuguese, and for more titles in specific fields, in order to broaden readers' perceptions of the cultural value of chemistry.

In recent years, the dissemination of science and popular science books has received a lot of attention. However, people now face significant shortcomings, such as the development of social media overshadowing popular science books, oversimplification, and the prevalence of misleading information. Based on this, this paper analyzes the purpose, challenges, and strategies for improving popular science books. It identifies possible limitations in the current system, including repetitive content, and inaccuracies in information, which undermine the effectiveness of these books in science education. This paper proposes the following strategies. First of all, the update of popular science books should focus on integrating real-world applications and bridging the gap between science and daily life. In addition, the content of the book should focus on the implementation of cutting-edge themes to modernize the content. At the same time, based on the background characteristics of the current era of artificial intelligence, the update and development of books can use engaging tools such as animation and interactive online books to improve information dissemination and apply feedback tools to cultivate engagement and interest, to enhance the popularity and educational role of popular science books.

Today, popular science discourse is becoming an integral and essential element of scientific activity, as it acts as a mediator, providing communication between the scientific community and a wide audience. In order for this interaction to be productive, it is necessary that the texts (popular science books and articles) offered to the uninitiated public contain high-quality argumentation. In this regard, the study of the argumentation presented in the popular science literature is an important and urgent problem. This paper presents an approach to modeling the arguments used in popular science literature. Such modeling is performed using the means of the ontology of argumentation, based on the AIF format (Argument Interchange Format). This format is accepted de facto by the international community as a standard notation for describing arguments and argumentative structures. We extended this ontology by the means necessary to model the argumentation used in popular science discourse. In particular, new means allow you to model the target audience and present the content of the statements included in the arguments. In terms of the extended ontology we can describe generally accepted and original argumentation schemes, their significance for various audiences, the structure and components of arguments. Concrete arguments extracted from the texts under study and their components can also be presented in the terms of this ontology. The ontology of argumentation with such properties is described for the first time. This ontology is used as an information model of a software system designed for modeling and analysis of argumentation used in popular science literature.

For over a half century, popular science books have been embraced enthusiastically by the welcoming public, from Richard Dawkins on evolution to Brian Greene on string theory. But while shelf upon shelf of books of popular science exist, only one book exists on these books, Elizabeth Leane’s Reading Popular Physics. Perhaps that’s because no other book is needed; perhaps there is no more mystery to solve, no conundrum to unravel. Take A Brief History of Time: it is selling far better than Gone with the Wind, apparently with good reason: it is a better read. A reviewer on Amazon opines: “Stephen Hawking is an established scientific genius, but this book establishes him as a brilliant writer—an extremely rare, yet valuable combination.” A blog critic pronounces his verdict: “A Brief History of Time is far more than a science book. It’s one of the renaissance books that is so seminal to the notion of who we are, and where we might be in the next 50 years, that it should be required reading for every person from high school on. If that seems like a big ask you’ve got the wrong idea about this book. It’s light and easy and fun, full of subtle humor and provocative notions.” These are views about a book chock-full of abstruse ideas strenuously avoided in their school years by all but future physicists. The universal attraction of such books is the mystery I would like to solve, the conundrum I would like to unravel. Jon Turney, a scholar of popular science and former editor of Penguin Books, questions whether such a book can be written: “At some point,” he says, “one must ask if it is possible . . . to consider the whole ensemble of books. I have my doubts. Even books on the same topic, quantum physics say, are tremendously diverse, in style, level, approach, and in which genres they draw on.” Turney is not totally despairing of success; he suggests that potential authors see popular science books as symptoms of larger forces in our culture. I intend to act on Turney’s suggestion. I acknowledge the diversity of style, level, and approach that Turney sees as an obstacle to a comprehensive account. But I attribute this diversity not to a difference in goals but to differing literary talents and to different takes on what science is and what it can accomplish. However different their skills and their subject matter, these writers are in the business of generating in their readers a sense of wonder at a nature whose workings science, and only science, can comprehend.

The protection and popularization of culture becomes actual because there are danger of wars, armed interventions, natural disasters, large tourist flows, active reconstruction of cities. The pre­servation of the world heritage is one of the main directions of UNESCO’s activity. Organization adopted Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1972. According this Convention the World Heritage Committee was founded which compiles updates and publishes World Heritage List. China has joined the cooperation work to protect the world heritage of humanity. The state adopted Convention in 1985. The country was a member of the World Heritage Committee (1991–1997, 1999–2005, 2007–2011, 2017–2021). Special attention was given Chinese cultural and natural sites in the UNESCO World Heritage List in article. Today there are 56. They are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List according to criteria. Chinese cultural and natural sites are unique, special, beautiful cultural, natural and mixed sites. Heritage represents the history, philosophy, religion, identity of country. Chine introduces the world to its own culture, draws attention to the problems of heritage protection. The author studies the cooperation between China and UNESCO in the direction of world heritage preservation, which includes different projects, activities, exchange of experience with other countries. Protection, conservation, authenticity, integrity, principles and process of preservation, cultural diversity, reconstruction, management, presentation, tourism management, and training are important problems in relationship between China and UNESCO. Author outlines China’s contribution to the preservation of cultural and natural heritage, measures to improve the protection of sites, activities with other countries to protect world heritage. The perspectives of cooperation between the China and UNESCO of the nomination of new objects to the World Heritage List have been determined.

The World Heritage List of UNESCO : an Approach Through the Information System. The list, the preferred tool for the classification and management of cultural heritage, now seems threatened by the emergence of new complex, dispersed and interconnected heritage objects. This article aims to explore the transformation of the list facing these new objects through the analysis of the exemplary case of the World Heritage List of UNESCO. To study this case, we use the methodology of the “reverse knowledge engineering”. Through the observation of the information system of the World Heritage Centre, we identify the mechanisms that underlie the selection of World Heritage and the solutions that the World Heritage List sets up to deal with the enlargement process of cultural heritage.

Internet big data provides increasingly rich technical means for science popularization, which has brought about a great change in the consumption mode of popular science books. The consumption scene, payment mode, factors affecting the selection, consumption time period, emotional characteristics of public popular science books have changed greatly. This paper uses big data to get the consumption data of popular science books on e-commerce websites. Based on a comprehensive analysis of each dimension of public popular science books in various dimensions, this paper summarizes the changes of the public's consumption of popular science books, and puts forward research programs in the field of popular science book consumption, as well as related safety issues.

Despite the proliferation of digital mediums such as documentary series, video essays, and science podcasts, popular science books are still the primary medium for promoting science to the public as an epistemic way to understanding and being aware of our natural world. That said, in the domain of systemic functional linguistics, there exists a dearth of studies investigating popular science books. Hence, this study aims to investigate the organization of popular science discourse from the perspective of Theme Progression. A 93,078-word corpus was collected and divided into two main science categories: hard and soft—three disciplines under each main category and six texts under each discipline. The analysis of the corpus followed a mixed-method design where a Theme-counting excel sheet, created by the researcher, was used to calculate the most occurring Theme patterns. The results of the analysis indicate that the hard science disciplines give a logical presentation of the scientific text that intends to unpack and explain the intricacy behind the scientific notion whereas the soft science disciplines focus on expository narrative to connect and relate the scientific text to the target reader. Given these writing behaviors between the two science categories, it is recommended that future SFL studies explore the potentially arising differences within the broader aspect of the popular science genre, for instance, to juxtapose books from articles in the way discoursal features (e.g., coherence and cohesion) are structured in the text.

Popular scientific books are included in the learning resources. Popular scientific books are types of knowledge books whose discussion is based on research results. This book has a simple, short, and clear language arrangement to make it easier for all people to understand. This study aims to describe the validity and practicality of popular scientific books of old coconut water waste as a natural growth regulator for mustard green (Brassica juncea L.) growth. This research uses the type of EDR (Educational Design Research) research with Tessmer's formative evaluation design which is limited in several stages, namely self-evaluation, expert review, and one-to-one evaluation. This study used validity and practicality instruments. The results showed that the validity of popular scientific books was declared very valid with a value of 85.80%. Meanwhile, for the practicality of popular scientific books, it obtained a score of 88.33% with an excellent category.

This article provides significant addition related to the history of book publishing in the Saratov province in 1918–1928. According to the study, the number of books and brochures published in Saratov province from 1918 to 1928 was at least 2294. Among them, there were popular science books. However, their role and significance in the regional book publishing of the first Soviet decade have not received adequate coverage to date. Therefore, it seems important not only to establish quantitative indicators of output, but also to identify the factors that determined the appearance of this type of books, their subject matter, dynamics, features, analyze the book repertoire, the composition of authors and publishers. The study identified 173 titles of popular science literature published in the region in 1918–1928 by three dozen publishing houses and publishing organizations. Among the above-mentioned publishing organizations were scientific institutes and organizations, as well as cooperative, state and even private enterprises. The authors included many well-known scientists and practitioners in the province, university professors. Reacting to the problems of the region, they tried to provide information on modernization of agriculture in the arid Volga region; countering epidemics and diseases that threatened the province in the 1920s; strengthening women’s health; civil defense, on the development of a new metric system of measures, etc. A number of authors and publishing organizations stimulated the interest of the local community in technical creativity and promoted general science, local history and other education-related spheres. The highest rise in the output of popular science literature, recorded in 1924–1926, was largely associated with the activities of the Moscow publishing house Novaya Derevnya. It was placed in the province for printing books and brochures created by both Saratov and metropolitan authors under the conditions of the NEP (New Economic Policy).

Popular scientific book is one of the teaching materials which is used in the learning process. adn connect information with community. Popular scientific book is very useful for students. It helps to enhance students’ insight and knowledge about the material which is being studied by the students. Especially, the material which are based on local potential. The existence of popular scientific books with local potential support students. Therefore, by knowing the objects in their environment, students will understand more deeply about the study of material because the objects of study presented and can be seen on a daily basis. The purpose of this study to analyze the practicality of BIP on the diversity of fish species as an enrichment material for the Vertebrate Zoology Course in Fish Concept. The research method is descriptive quantitative, to find information on the practicality of teaching materials which is scrutinized based on the research results, using the Research and Development. The subjects of practicality data are 7 students and 10 students for student responses. The results of this research shows that the teaching materials compiled based on the results of the study were obtained for readability in the very good category and student responses stated that popular scientific books were practical to use.

Good teaching materials can improve critical thinking skills. Based on observations, the phanerogamae teaching materials used seem stiff, the designs are less attractive and have not been equipped with the latest information. The development research carried out aims to obtain results in the form of teaching materials in the form of popular scientific books that are valid as supporting material for the Phanerogamae course in Biology Education Faculty of Teacher Training and Education ULM Banjarmasin. The popular scientific book developed is entitled “Types of Family Plants Arecaceae Based on Local Potential in Kebun Raya Banua”. The popular scientific book development research method uses formative evaluation based on the design of Tessmer (1998). The research subjects on expert validation consisted of 3 lecturers in the ULM Biology Masters education. The results of research on the validity of popular scientific books obtained an average value of 91.67% with a very valid category. The Popular Scientific Book (BIP) developed has very valid criteria because of its contextual nature, attractive appearance, easy-to-understand language, and in accordance with the rules for preparing BIP.

Scientists often claim that science is necessarily non-metaphorical and that scientific knowledge is poles apart from imagination. However, there is a long-standing debate on metaphors and analogies in science. This essay will raise the issue of the dual or unstable position of metaphorical language in scientific theory, focussing on the giant beasts that fascinated the Victorians and were spectacularised and sensationalised throughout the nineteenth century in shows, public lectures, popular science books and novels. Throughout the nineteenth century, works of popular science and scientific essays were full of structural metaphors and analogies that attempted to give shape to creatures that were extinct. Analogies were thus essential to scientific reasoning and Palaeontological discourse. Yet this type of metaphorical language was used in different ways: on the one hand, it served the authors’ and publishers’ commercial ambitions; on the other, it aimed to promote the scientific validity of an emerging discipline. This essay will analyse the visual rhetoric that appeared in scientific reports, popular science books and literary narratives in order to examine the interrelations between science and literature and explain why artists seized on scientific models to respond to fears, anxieties and societal issues.

A statistical analysis of the UNESCO World Heritage List is presented. The World Heritage Convention intends to protect global heritage of outstanding value to mankind, but there has been great concern about the missing representativity of the member countries. There is a strongly biased distribution of Sites according to a country’s population, area or per capita income. The paper reveals the facts but refrains from judging whether the existing distribution is appropriate or not. This task must be left to the discussion in the World Heritage Convention.