Between Science And Society

Invaluable guidance on how scientists can communicate the societal benefits of their work to the public and funding agencies. This will help scientists submit proposals to the US National Science Foundation and other funding agencies with a 'Broader Impacts' section, as well as helping to develop successful wider outreach activities.

"In this concices and luminous book ... [Russell] examines the changes in modern life brought about by science. he suggests that its work in transforming society is only just beginning"--from inside upper cover.

The Europaische Akademie zur Erforschung von Folgen wissenschaftlich-techni scher Entwicklungen Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler GmbH (european academy) is con cerned with the scientific study of the consequences of scientific and technological advance for the individual and social life and for the natural environment. The main focus is to examine foreseeable mid-and long-term processes that are especially influenced by natural-and engineering sciences and the medical disciplines. The academy fulfills this task by organizing interdisciplinary expert discussions. Another important issue of the work of the Europaische Akademie concerns the methodology of Technology Assessment as a general issue. This is the main reason that the european academy organized during the past two years a project funded by the European Commission on Technology Assessment. Methods and Impact (TAMI). Together with partners from all over Europe a common understanding of what Tech nology Assessment (TA) is supposed to do was developed. Most importantly it was acknowledged that the core of any TA activity has to be a sound scientific under standing of the relevant phenomena. Communication then is of cordial importance to reach the relevant decision makers as well as the general public. It is true that this phase of the TA process has been treated with too little attention for many years. The communication processes between scientific advisers and policy makers have hence to be further scrutinized.

A History of Science in Society is a concise overview that introduces complex ideas in a non-technical fashion. Andrew Ede and Lesley B. Cormack trace the history of science through its continually changing place in society and explore the link between the pursuit of knowledge and the desire to make that knowledge useful. In this edition, the authors examine the robust intellectual exchange between East and West and provide new discussions of two women in science: Maria Merian and Maria Winkelmann. A chapter on the relationship between science and war has been added as well as a section on climate change. The further readings section has been updated to reflect recent contributions to the field. Other new features include timelines at the end of each chapter, 70 upgraded illustrations, and new maps of Renaissance Europe, Captain James Cook's voyages, the 2nd voyage of the Beagle, and the main war front during World War I.

Science occupies an ambiguous space in contemporary society. Scientific research is championed in relation to tackling environmental issues and diseases such as cancer and dementia, and science has made important contributions to today’s knowledge economies and knowledge societies. And yet science is considered by many to be remote, and even dangerous. It seems that as we have more science, we have less understanding of what science actually is. The new edition of this popular text redresses this knowledge gap and provides a novel framework for making sense of science, particularly in relation to contemporary social issues such as climate change. Using real-world examples, Mark Erickson explores what science is and how it is carried out, what the relationship between science and society is, how science is represented in contemporary culture, and how scientific institutions are structured. Throughout, the book brings together sociology, science and technology studies, cultural studies and philosophy to provide a far-reaching understanding of science and technology in the twenty-first century. Fully updated and expanded in its second edition, Science, Culture and Society will continue to be key reading on courses across the social sciences and humanities that engage with science in its social and cultural context.

Written for the undergraduate, majors and non-majors alike taking a foundational course in science, Science & Society: Thought and Education for the 21st Century helps students become better consumers of science by showing them how to think like a scientist. Scientific principles are infused with case studies, stories, paradoxes, poetry, medical dilemmas, and misconceptions, all through a lens of skepticism. Throughout the book, provocative science examples are provided that guide students to consider facts more critically. The author exposes readers to research methods, science philosophy, critical thinking strategies, mathematics, and history, and urges them to question data and think scientifically. End-of-chapter questions link to interesting content stimulates debate and discussion in the classroom and this engaging, interdisciplinary approach to learning science leads student to real truths behind many natural phenomena. -End-of-chapter review questions creatively stimulate discussion and span all levels of Bloom's taxonomy. -The text makes science accessible to a broad range of readers and covers all of the key areas needed for a full understanding of science. -Questions stimulate debate and discussion and cover science philosophy, history, mathematics, education, research methods, and critical thinking strategies. -Provides models of reasoning and guidelines and practice activities for thinking critically. -Presents major themes common to all scientific disciplines in a clear and readable manner for undergraduates

The latest advances and discoveries in science have made, and continue to make, a huge impact on our lives. This book is a history of the social impact of science and technology from the beginnings of civilization up to the present. The book explains how the key inventions: agriculture, writing and printing with movable type, initiated an explosive growth of knowledge and human power over the environment. It also shows how the Industrial Revolution changed the relationship between humans and nature, and initiated a massive use of fossil fuels. Problems related to nuclear power, nuclear weapons, genetic engineering, information technology, exhaustion of non-renewable resources, use of fossil fuels and climate change are examined in the later chapters of the book. Finally, the need for ethical maturity to match our scientific progress is discussed.

In its concern with science as an essentially human enterprise, Science, Faith and Society makes an original and challenging contribution to the philosophy of science. On its appearance in 1946 the book quickly became the focus of controversy. Polanyi aims to show that science must be understood as a community of inquirers held together by a common faith; science, he argues, is not the use of "scientific method" but rather consists in a discipline imposed by scientists on themselves in the interests of discovering an objective, impersonal truth. That such truth exists and can be found is part of the scientists' faith. Polanyi maintains that both authoritarianism and scepticism, attacking this faith, are attacking science itself.

Successful scientists must be effective communicators within their professions. Without those skills, they could not write papers and funding proposals, give talks and field questions, or teach classes and mentor students. However, communicating with audiences outside their profession - people who may not share scientists' interests, technical background, cultural assumptions, and modes of expression - presents different challenges and requires additional skills. Communication about science in political or social settings differs from discourse within a scientific discipline. Not only are scientists just one of many stakeholders vying for access to the public agenda, but the political debates surrounding science and its applications may sometimes confront scientists with unfamiliar and uncomfortable discussions involving religious values, partisan interests, and even the trustworthiness of science. The Science of Science Communication III: Inspiring Novel Collaborations and Building Capacity summarizes the presentations and discussions from a Sackler Colloquium convened in November 2017. This event used Communicating Science Effectively as a framework for examining how one might apply its lessons to research and practice. It considered opportunities for creating and applying the science along with the barriers to doing so, such as the incentive systems in academic institutions and the perils of communicating science in polarized environments. Special attention was given to the organization and infrastructure necessary for building capacity in science communication.

In this successor to his pioneering Science, Truth, and Democracy, the author revisits the topic explored in his previous work—namely, the challenges of integrating science, the most successful knowledge-generating system of all time, with the problems of democracy. But in this new work, the author goes far beyond that earlier book in studying places at which the practice of science fails to answer social needs. He considers a variety of examples of pressing concern, ranging from climate change to religiously inspired constraints on biomedical research to the neglect of diseases that kill millions of children annually, analyzing the sources of trouble. He shows the fallacies of thinking that democracy always requires public debate of issues most people cannot comprehend, and argues that properly constituted expertise is essential to genuine democracy. No previous book has treated the place of science in democratic society so comprehensively and systematically, with attention to different aspects of science and to pressing problems of our times.