Role Of Science In Society Research Articles

The Role of Science in Society: The Researcher as Public Intellectual

The Role of Science in Society: The Researcher as Public Intellectual

The health and environmental risks and rewards of modernity that shape scientific optimism.

Individuals in high-income countries increasingly express less scientific optimism than in lower-income societies. In this article, we utilize risk society theory to understand the complicated relationship between individual- and country-level factors, and optimism toward the role of science in society in "reflexively modern" societies. We use multilevel modeling with 16 high-income countries to determine the individual-level and country-level factors that shape scientific optimism. Next, we look at the individual characteristics that affect scientific optimism in each country individually. At the individual level, we find that older people, the more highly educated and higher earning, those farther to the Right on the political spectrum, and those with more materialist (rather than postmaterialist) attitudes have higher scientific optimism, while more religious people have lower optimism regarding science. At the country level, we make a corollary argument about materialism: societies that have higher measles immunization rates, generate more electricity from fossil fuels, and have a greater percentage of mobile phone subscriptions, have populaces that are more optimistic toward science.

Integrated, Coordinated, Open, and Networked (ICON) Scientific and Societal Relevance

AbstractThis article is composed of three independent commentaries about the state and future of Integrated, Coordinated, Open, and Networked (ICON) principles in the Science and Society section of the American Geophysical Union (Goldman et al., 2022, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EA002099). The ICON approach pioneers a new way of doing science that Integrates physical, chemical, biological, or social attributes across scales, Coordinates with consistent protocols and methods to enable transferability, is Open through the research lifecycle with findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable principles, and ensures mutual benefit to Network across a broad range of stakeholders. Scientific discoveries, rapid scientific and technological advancements, and solutions improve our ability to face challenges and benefit society. Without innovative approaches and integrity, we cannot solve the challenges of the 21st century, such as educational, agricultural, and health equity as well as climate change and environmental sustainability. Many societal challenges require evolved frameworks and measures to address complex problems. Here, we present three independent commentaries that discuss the connection of science to three broad areas of society and present challenges and untapped opportunities in these areas. The broad areas are Citizen Science, Collaboration across Natural Sciences and Social Sciences, and Education Policy which embody the ICON processes that can create a better understanding of the role of science in society and sustainable development. The ICON processes described in these broad areas offer universal lessons and can be adapted to other areas of impact in society.

대학의 계열별 글쓰기 수업에서의 과학 글쓰기 및 토론 활성화 방안

As the role of science in society becomes increasingly prominent, there is a rising recognition of the importance of scientific writing. However, in-class tools to teach scientific writing and effective communication to undergraduate science and engineering majors are still in need. It is not easy to clearly and effectively convey one’s argument on scientific issues based on technical knowledge through writing. It is even more difficult when you are teaching in an undergraduate scientific writing class setting where students of different science and engineering majors come together. To teach effective communication, we need to devise more specific methods to address various difficulties that students may encounter. In this study, we developed the “essay introduction letter” to facilitate scientific wrting and in-class discussions. Modelled on cover letters for academic journals, the essay introduction letter incorporates essential elements for effective science communication. In our study, students were required to write an essay introduction letter to present their argumentative essay assignment and read others’ essays before inclass discussions on each writing. We then analyzed the effects of using the letter by observation of in-class discussions and student surveys. Our findings suggest that students can more readily prepare their presentations and participate in meaningful discussions through writing and reading essay introduction letters. We hope that this study will contribute to devising specific methods to teach scientific writing and effective communication to undergraduate science and engineering majors.

Dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic: an opportunity to reflect on sustainability research

The COVID-19 pandemic has jolted societies out of normality, possibly creating new conditions for sustainability transformations. What does this mean for sustainability research? Because of the scope of the crisis, researchers have been heavily involved: not only have they had to speed up the pace of scientific production to provide urgently needed COVID-19 knowledge, but they have also been affected citizens. For sustainability science, this calls for an experience-based reflection on the positionality and orientation of research aiming to support sustainability transformations. Twenty sustainability researchers discussed their sustainability research on COVID-19 in three workshops based on the following questions: How does the pandemic—and the measures taken to deal with it—affect sustainable development? What can we learn from the pandemic from the perspective of societal transformation? The present discussion paper emerged from this multidisciplinary exchange among sustainability researchers, considering five topics: impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on sustainability transformations; learning for sustainability transformations; the role of solidarity; governance and political steering; and the role of science in society. Our discussions led to a meta-level reflection on what sustainability research can learn from research on COVID-19 regarding topics and disciplinary angles, time dimensions, the role of researchers, and how adequate preparation for both crises and long-term transformations requires interdisciplinary interaction.

Naomi Oreskes: understanding the denial of science

Social responses to anthropogenic climate change and the role of science in society are key concerns for Naomi Oreskes, Henry Charles Lea Professor of the History of Science and Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. In her academic work and writing, Oreskes has explored how, and why, established scientific knowledge has become subject to vehement denial. In her 2010 book Merchants of Doubt, Oreskes and coauthor Erik M Conway showed that, for example, “climate change denial had nothing to do with flaws in the science, and had everything to do with market fundamentalism, political commitments to free market politics, and hostility to government action in the marketplace”, she explains.

A Practical Approach to Physics for Non-Scientists

Many high schools, two-year colleges, and universities offer a conceptual physics course for non-science students who have to take a basic science course. The students often enter the course unmotivated and may eventually withdraw. So, how do we make the course interesting enough for these students to gain the knowledge we desire and, more importantly, develop an appreciation for the role of science in society? A possible answer may lie in the approach to the material. Students who can relate to the topics in the course tend to be more motivated and acquire a greater understanding of the material. This is part of the approach to active learning programs such as SENCER and SCALE- UP. Courses in Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences (IPLS) using focused topics have also been offered. This paper suggests ways to structure a course around “real-life” topics in teaching a full set of mechanics concepts. The “practical approach” consists of building the course material around topics with which the students are familiar. Courses designed around practical applications can provide an effective strategy for engagement and learning. These elements are appropriate for both high school and college non-major courses.

Soil in the air

The post-war era of the 1940s is known for the birth of global governance, a time when Western nations united in efforts to reconstruct the war-torn world and reflected on the role of science in society. History and philosophy of science (HPS) was one of the early projects that emerged out of the war years. Diana (Ding) Dyason who headed the first HPS department in the southern hemisphere is honoured by this annual lecture, the text of which constitutes this article. Thomas Kuhn’s influential lecture in Oxford in 1961 inspired her work on the history of scientific entanglement with social concerns, and the directions of HPS at the University of Melbourne. Post-war reconstruction was both a local and a national project for every nation, very much in the air in the 1940s, and influential until the 1970s. The Australasian Association of Scientific Workers (AASW) brought together scientists too old to serve, or, in reserved occupations, to undertake their own ‘war effort’ on the question of: ‘What comes next?’ AASW held a planning conference in Sydney in 1944 to ‘formulate a policy on the organisation of science necessary to meet the demands of post-war Australia’. They set out to consider the role of the ‘the scientific method’ in the welfare of society. In particular, they recognised their existing international scientific networks and connections could become valuable for post-war collaborations between different sciences and different nations of benefit to Australia and the world. The idea of ‘the environment’ was one of many that emerged internationally in these ‘world-minded’ times, an idea that focused on the management of nature for the benefit of people using the scientific method. National Parks were a crucial discussion point, bringing together amateur naturalists and professional environmental managers of all sorts in discussions about landscape planning along with international comparative work on reserving places for wild animals and plants. This Dyason Lecture explores the emergence of ‘integrated science’, of science in the service of society, that later included natural resource management, big science, environmental science, earth systems science and climate science. It begins with the tragedy of the ‘dirty thirties’, when soil was in the air, and the scientific response to concerns about feeding the world.

SCIENTIFIC SPHERE OF THE SOUTHERN REGION AS A REFLECTION OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATE OF UKRAINE

Topicality. Science is an extremely powerful socio-economic institution, without which industrial production is impossible. Science is closely intertwined with financial flows and due to their volume. But its current state and the state of financial support of scientific research in Ukraine, and including its Southern region, is very problematic. The study proved that this is the main obstacle to the development of science and raising its prestige Economic growth and meeting the needs of society depend on the state and pace of development of science. Only by achieving a high level of science and scientific and technological development will Ukraine be able to take a worthy place in the international arena. Only a deep comprehensive analysis of the state of scientific and technical activities in the country and its regions allows to identify problems that have arisen in the field of science, and to justify ways to overcome them. Aim and tasks. The aim of the article is to determine the place of science in the public life of the country and study its state in the Southern region of Ukraine, as well as to substantiate ways to increase the prestige of science in Ukraine and bring Ukrainian science to the European level. Research results. To determine the ways to bring the science of the Southern region from the existing complex state, the diagnosis of scientific research in terms of their types and regions of the region in the dynamics of five years. The process of introduction and replication of innovative developments is investigated. Statistical analysis of the development of science is supplemented by sociological research. A study of the authority of Ukrainian science in the world. Indicators of countries where science takes good care of the state and feels comfortable are considered. Substantiated conclusions are made and ways to overcome the critical state of the scientific sphere in the Southern region and Ukraine as a whole are identified. Conclusions. Science, as the engine of the socio-economic movement in Ukraine, must become a national value. This requires reforms and intensification of the work of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, which may bring the time closer when the decline of scientific research will stop; a break in understanding the role of science in society, when it will not be treated in a way that can be left unsupported for years; changing the status of the renewed National Academy of Sciences, giving it the right of legislative initiative and the official return of the leading role in the scientific and technological revolution while preserving academic freedoms, self-government and democracy in work. Without a state that will lend a shoulder to scientists to successfully deal with all the internal problems of our science, especially its unclaimed, there is no chance to change the existing situation.

Advancing Relevance, Credibility, Legitimacy, and Effectiveness as a Heuristic for Local-Parallel Scenarios

The parallel scenario process provides a framework for developing plausible scenarios of future conditions. Combining greenhouse gas emissions, social and economic trends, and policy responses, it enables researchers and policy makers to consider global-scale interactions, impacts and implications of climate change. Increasingly, researchers are developing extended scenarios, based on this framework, and incorporating them into adaptation planning and decision-making processes at the local level. To enable the identification of possible impacts and assess vulnerability, these local-parallel scenarios must successfully accommodate diverse knowledge systems, multiple values, and competing priorities including both “top down” modeling and “bottom-up” participatory processes. They must link across scales, to account for the ways in which global changes affect and influence decision-making in local places. Due to the growing use of scenarios, there is value in assessing these developments using criteria or, more specifically, heuristics that may be implicitly acknowledged rather than formally monitored and evaluated. In this Perspective, we reflect on various contributions regarding the value of heuristics and propose the adoption of current definitions for Relevance, Credibility, and Legitimacy for guiding local scenario development as the most useful as well as using Effectiveness for evaluation purposes. We summarize the internal trade-offs (personal time, clarity-complexity, speed-quality, push-pull) and the external stressors (equity and the role of science in society) that influence the extent to which heuristics are used as “rules of thumb,” rather than formal assessment. These heuristics may help refine the process of extending the parallel scenario framework to the local and enable cross-case comparisons.

Sociological Perspectives on Scientific Knowledge A Theoretical Study in the Field of Sociology of Knowledge

 Since the second half of the twentieth century, science as a kind of knowledge, as well as a social institution, became the subject of research from a sociological point of view, and especially through the sociology of knowledge. One of the main theses this field from the beginning is that knowledge is socially produced and inherited. Science in itself refers to a systematic and organized structure of knowledge in any field of inquiry by the use of the scientific method. The position and role of science in societies is constantly changing. These changes are valuable in two ways: first, in terms of how science defines knowledge; Second, how knowledge and scientific knowledge are linked to the totality of other systems and strutures of society. Delivering knowledge to the public and making it part of social awareness will be through a process called popularization of science and this will require a special method of mixing with social and cultural elements. The main purpose of this study is to provide a theoretical review of the literature produced in the field of sociology of knowledge on scientific knowledge. The research method is a descriptive-analytical method. The main result of this study is: no kind of knowledge will be created and disseminated without regarding of its social aspects. Moreover, the social realities themselves are the product of different knowledge, meaning that there is no social reality that does not have a specific knowledge.

В ТРАЕКТОРИИ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИХ РЕФОРМ: НАУКА И НАУЧНАЯ ПОЛИТИКА В ГОДЫ «ХРУЩЕВСКОГО ДЕСЯТИЛЕТИЯ»

The paper is devoted to the problems of the USSR scientific and technology (S&T) policy during the “Khrushchev’s decade”, presented as part of the macroeconomic policy. The analysis is carried out in the context of economic reforms and experiments implemented in the country. The main components of S&T policy are revealed, the evolution of its structure and content in comparison with the first post-war decade is shown. In the analysis of S&T policy, the main attention is paid to the reflection of the status of science as a driver of economic development in the context of global challenges and the formation of new techno-economic paradigms. The emphasis on the applied function of research and development (R&D) proclaimed in the framework of S&T policy is presented as a reflection of the traditional for the USSR interpretations of the place and role of science in society under new conditions of scientific and technological revolution as a Soviet counter-thesis to the concepts of post-industrial society. The connection of decision-making mechanisms in the field of S&T policy with general line of Khrushchev’s populism, and the emerging practice of “bureaucratic bargaining” is outlined. The basic trends of approaches to planning in science and coordination in the field of R&D are identified, the directions of organisational restructuring in the governing of the scientific and technical complex are shown. It is concluded that S&T policy in the mid-1950s — 1960s remained a function of economic policy, that a unified S&T policy in the country under N. S. Khrushchev had not been formed. At the same time, the return on innovation remained at a low level.

Percepciones del alumnado de Educación Secundaria (15-17 años) hacia la función social de la ciencia

En esta investigación se estudian las percepciones del alumnado de Educación Secundaria (15-17 años), en función de su género y nivel educativos (educación obligatoria y postobligatoria), hacia tres aspectos relacionados con la función social de la ciencia. Los 158 participantes cumplimentaron un cuestionario validado internacionalmente, que nos ha permitido alcanzar datos diagnósticos respecto a estos factores que indica un mayor reconocimiento sobre la importancia del papel de la Ciencia en la sociedad, frente a los restantes, que decrecen en el siguiente orden: adopción de actitudes científicas e interés respecto a ella en el tiempo de ocio, respectivamente. Finalmente se aportan implicaciones didácticas desde el campo de la Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales, en relación con la proyección de este estudio hacia propuestas de enseñanza futuras, que permitan poner en acción un conocimiento conectado con la identidad del estudiante, en aras al fomento de sus vocaciones científico-técnicas.

Sealing the gateways for post-truthism: Reestablishing the epistemic authority of science

Science’s role in society is being threatened, as misinterpretation and denial of scientific evidence and the rejection or ignorance of scientific expertise are gaining prominence. This endangered role of science in society is characteristic of post-truthism. To deconstruct this process, we analyze how three potential gateways allow people to discount the epistemic authority of science. These gateways are (A) the intricacies between values and evidence in science, (B) the intricacies that follow from the social nature and distribution of scientific knowledge, and (C) those that follow from the limits of science. We also outline how this gateway analysis can inform education on scientific literacy in order to protect against post-truthism. Educational measures should highlight the social and conversational nature of scientific knowledge production, because these concepts lay the foundation for learners’ and citizens’ abilities to build an informed trust in science and, in turn, actively engage in a science-based society.

Jim McCarthy's achievements at the intersection of science with public policy

Along with his distinguished research career as a biological oceanographer and marine biologist and his inspiring service as a teacher, advisor, and mentor to students and junior colleagues at Harvard University, Jim McCarthy has been a scientific statesman of the first order, bringing insights from his research and his deep understanding of the role of science in society into the arenas of management of scientific enterprises and public and policy-maker education about the science relating to some of the greatest challenges of our time. His roles at the intersection of science with public issues have included stints as director of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, cochair of the Working Group II (Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability) for the Third Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, chair of the Board of the Union of Concerned Scientists, chair of the Scientific Committee of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program, vice chair of the New England Climate Impact Assessment, and member of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, among others. In all of these roles, he has been a model of insightful leadership, selfless service, integrity, and commitment to science and the public interest.

De vicisitudes, itinerarios y otros designios. Trayectorias científicas en México

This article analyzes the trajectories of members from three research centers in Mexico. For this, the trajectory is used as an analytical category in the knowledge production. Through it, the meaning attributed to the role of science in society, as one of the folds of scientific subjectivities, is analyzed. The hypothesis is that trajectories define ways of to do science; this configures a meaning of research work and a provision of the role of science in society. The research was based on the biographical method where in-depth interviews are central. The methodolo- gical interest is complemented by documentary review and analysis of curriculum vitae of the scientists interviewed.

Attitudes of young scholars in Qingdao and Hamburg about climate change and climate policy – The role of culture for the explanation of differences

This article analyses differences in the attitudes related to climate change of young scholars in environmental science in Qingdao (China) and Hamburg (Germany). The main aim of the article is to evaluate the role of cultural differences for their explanation. We expect no significant differences in the attitudes related to the findings of climate research, since scientific principles are the joint basis of the scientific discourse wordwide. However, we expect that there are differences in the attitudes of the young scholars about the role of science, of the state and of the civil society for dealing with the challenge of climate change. We suggest that these can be explained with substantial cultural differences between both societies, with regard to the role of the state and the civil society for the solution of environmental problems.In order to evaluate these hypotheses, we have conducted a comparative survey among environmental science students in Qingdao (China) and Hamburg (Germany) about their attitudes towards climate change. The findings support our main hypotheses. The young scholars in Qingdao and Hamburg differ substantially in their views of the role of science in society and policymaking. Plausibly, these differences may mainly be explained with differences in the cultural ideas about the role of the state and of the civil society for the solution of environmental problems. Gradual differences in the share of young scholars who think that climate change has anthropogenic causes, may be explained with differences in the curriculum but also by cultural habits. This article makes a new contribution to the scientific debate by exploring the role of cultural differences for differences in the attitudes of young scholars in environmental science in connection with climate change and climate policy in different cultural contexts.

Post-Truth: Hegemony on Social Media and Implications for Sustainability Communication

Contrary to what practice suggests, social media platforms may not be an appropriate forum for communicating with civil society about sustainability issues such as climate change. Misinformation campaigns are distorting the line between fact and falsity on social media platforms, and there has been a profound shift in the way that social media users consume and interact with information. These conditions have been popularly labeled as the post-truth era. Drawing from Neo-Marxian theory, we argue that post-truth can be explained as a new iteration of ideological struggle under capitalist hegemony. We substantiate this claim through a mixed methods investigation synthesizing corpus-assisted lexical analysis and critical discourse analysis to evaluate 900 user-generated comments taken from three articles on socioenvironmental topics published on Facebook by news organizations in the United States. The results showed that the nature of this struggle is tied explicitly to the role of science in society, where the legitimacy of science is caught in a tug-of-war of values between elitism on the one hand and a rejection of the establishment on the other. It follows that presenting truthful information in place of false information is an insufficient means of coping with post-truth. We conclude by problematizing the notion that Facebook is an adequate forum for public dialogue and advocate for a change in strategy from those wishing to communicate scientific information in the public sphere.

Educating about radiation risks in high schools: towards improved public understanding of the complexity of low-dose radiation health effects

The levels of stochastic health effects following exposure to low doses of ionising radiation are not well known. A consequence of the uncertainty is that any radiation exposure is met with deep concern—both by the public and by scientists who disagree about how the partly conflicting results from low-dose studies should be interpreted. The concern is not limited to ionising radiation but is inherent to other areas of modern technologies such as biotechnology or electromagnetic fields. The everyday presence of advanced technologies confronts people with the necessity to take decisions and there is an ongoing debate regarding both the nature and magnitude of potential risks and how education efforts may empower peoples´ decision-making. In the field of radiation research there are different opinions regarding the optimal education methods, spanning from the idea that peoples’ fears will be eliminated by introducing dose thresholds below which the risk is assumed to be zero, to suggestions of concentrating research efforts in an attempt to eliminate all uncertainties regarding the effects of low doses. The aim of this paper was to present our approach which is based on developing an education program at the secondary school level where students learn to understand the role of science in society. Teaching about radiation risk as a socio-scientific issue is not based on presenting facts but on showing risks in a broader perspective aiming at developing students’ competency in making decisions based on informed assessment. We hope to stimulate and encourage other researchers to pursue similar approaches.

How museums, teacher educators, and schools, innovate and collaborate to learn and teach geosciences to everyone

Natural History museums are well known and even famous for the multiple educational opportunities they offer to the public, which includes international visitors, and students and schools. This paper introduces a new role for museums, as sites for the education and certification of new science teachers. In 2017, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) completed evaluation of its initial six years as the first museum-based Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Earth science program in the USA. The program was conceptualized in response to multiple levels of local and national education policies, and the still cur-rent need to improve Earth science education for all students, especially those designated ‘at-risk.’ Race to the Top (RTTT) in New York State and the National Commission on Teaching for America’s Future had been call-ing for the reconceptualization of teacher education for several years. MAT began as a pilot program authorized by NYS, the result of a competition for inno-vation in the design of programs outside the traditional university structures that corre-sponded to areas of need (at the inter-section of the sciences and quality education for New English Learners and students with learning disabilities). In developing the museum-specific part of the program, theoretical perspectives from research on Strands of Learning Science in Informal In-stitutions, Spatial thinking, and Place-based Learning. Also the selection of candidates required background in one of the Earth Science fields. In addition, scientists and curators became part of the faculty and directed the field and laboratory residencies at the end of the school year and before beginning to teach in schools. After three years, the pilot was fully authorized to grant its own degrees. The institution operates on multiple levels: it is a teaching residency program that awards degrees, maintains strong partnerships with schools, is a member of the network of Independent Colleges and Universities in New York State, and provides on-site graduate courses for other col-leges and universities on the educational role of, and research on, informal learning in science institutions. The museum is at the heart of the program’s design. Courses include research on learning in museums, pedagogical content knowledge re-garding science, and experiential residencies geared toward preparing candidates to teach in both museums and public schools, as well as conduct independent and team science research. Courses are co-taught by scientists and educators, and are designed to use museum exhibitions and resources, including current and past scientific research, technology, and online teaching tools in order to facilitate instruction, demonstrate the nature of science, and com-plement science with cultural histories that highlight the role of science in society. Evaluation evidence indicates the program has been successful in pre-paring teachers to teach in high-needs urban schools in New York State. An external-impact quanti-tative study by NYU, focused on student performance on the standardized New York State Earth Science Regents Examination, indicated that (1) students of MAT graduates are doing as well as students taught by other Earth science teachers with similar years of experience in New York City; and (2) demographically, MAT teachers instruct a higher percentage of students with lower economic and academic profiles. This paper focuses on how the program design utilizes all aspects of a natural history museum to offer the science museum community, teacher educators, and policy-makers new approaches for the preparation of teachers and the education of their students.