I've been impressed by the gradual move from PUS to PEST over the last few years. But a bit wary at the same time. For me, the name change implies a change in the perspective of SET communication. It nicely fits with what a recent (not yet published - OnlineFirst) paper for the Public Understanding of Science journal refers to as the 'dialogic turn'. For the incorrigible cynic, though, it's just an empty rebranding - an effort to wash off the stink of the deficit model with which the critics lambasted PUS back in the 80s without taking any of the criticism on board.
I don't mean to pick on Mike, but his referring to 'consumers' - even with the scare quotes - sounds a bit off-message in the brave new world of PEST. Or have I been misreading the name change? Is PEST, perhaps, just a bigger tent within which there's room for good old-fashioned PUS, or some of it at least - alongside other new dialogic things? I imagine, for example, that there may be plenty of SET communicators who happily do PUS for school children just as it was being done 20-plus years ago, because school children are, by definition, learning, are _understanding_ and are _not_ voting.
Chris
-----Original Message-----
From: psci-com: on public engagement with science [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Michael Kenward
Sent: 19 February 2010 12:58
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [PSCI-COM] Joined-up working and information sharing
Absolutely, especially this bit:
"The first step is surely to have information sharing and joined-up working
between activities of a common type or purpose, and a number of our actions
and recommendations are aimed at that (e.g. in the training and development
arena)."
One of my beefs has been the duplication that goes on. In the past too many
engineering bodies, for example, have run similar schemes aimed at schools.
Fortunately, I sense that there is progress on that front.
On gaps, one point worth pondering is the needs of the "consumers".
If PESTs here don't know about everything that goes on in their area -
which, as Roland's report points out, is not easy - what hope is there for
the over worked school teacher? Where do they begin?
MK
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