A monthly round-up of books, reports and articles in the field of Public
Understanding of Science collated by the Wellcome Trust Information Service.
PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE BIBLIOGRAPHY: OCTOBER 1998
BOOKS AND REPORTS
Committee on the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS)
Out and about: organising public events: a collection of case studies
from the COPUS grants scheme.
Sharing Best Practice Series
London: Royal Society 1998 30pp
ISBN: 0854035184
Atkin, C. and Wallack, L. (eds.)
Mass communication and public health: complexities and conflicts.
London: SAGE 1990 198pp
ISBN: 0809339256
Miller, D and Kitzinger, J
Glasgow Media Group
The circuit of mass communication: media strategies, representation and
audience reception in the AIDS crisis
Subject heading(s): AIDS(Disease) in mass media
London: SAGE 1998 248pp
ISBN: 0803977034
Collins, H. and Pinch, T.
The golem at large: what you should know about technology.
Golem Series
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1998 163pp
ISBN: 0521551412
Hellman, H.
Great feuds in science: ten of the liveliest disputes ever.
New York: John Wiley & Sons 1998 240pp
ISBN: 0471169803
Lorimer, D. (ed.)
The spirit of science from experiment and experience.
Edinburgh: Floris Books 1998 366pp
ISBN: 0863152686
Silver, B. L.
The ascent of science.
Oxford: Soloman 1998 534pp
ISBN: 0195116992
Rifkin, J.
The biotech century: harnessing the gene and remaking the world.
New York: Penguin Putnam 1998 271pp
ISBN: 087477909X
Terry, J. and Urla, J. (eds.)
Deviant bodies: critical perspectives on difference in science and
popular culture.
Race, Gender, and Science Series
Bloomington: Indiana University Press 1995 416pp
ISBN: 0253328985
ARTICLES
Chemistry displayed: the role of science museums and science centres
Looks at the difficulties involved in giving ‘hands-on’ experience of
chemistry, describing some innovative ideas at science centres in the UK,
USA and Europe. Also comments on the Chemistry for Life Project launched in
November 1997 by the European Chemical Industries Council with the aim of
producing 50 exhibit prototypes and participatory experiences.
Chemistry and Industry, 15 June 1998 12 p.486-89
Selling physics to unwilling buyers: physics facts and fiction
Discusses the use of science fiction as a setting for turning lay people on
to real physics, arguing that it has real potential to enthuse. However,
there are pitfalls, especially the influence of science fiction on the lay
person’s belief that anything is possible and that all new science does away
with what went before.
Physics World Vol. 11 No.7 July 1998 p.13-14
The transforming political landscape for science communication: challenges
fro the future
In an overview of a special issue celebrating Science Communication’s
twentieth year, the editor describes themes common to all the essays and
outlines a research agenda flowing from them. The essay suggests how social
science research might assist in understanding the changing political
environment for science communication efforts.
Marcel C. LaFollette, Science communication Vol. 20 No.1 September 1998
p.5-13
Communication lag
The unevenness of knowledge distribution in modern society has profound
social and political implications. Through more careful attention to
contextualization, translation, and self-assessment of specialized knowledge
such as science, audiences might be assisted to acquire the type of
knowledge which is necessary for them to become not just potentially
informed but actually knowledgeable on such subjects.
Caws, P. Science Communication Vol.20 No.1 September 1998 p.14-21
The message in the bottle and the genie in the lamp
Science communicators face two problems: first, how can one maintain the
integrity of science communications in the face of forces which may tend to
degrade them, and second, how can science communications be made more useful
for individuals who are most in need of their messages? the author offers
some practical advice for addressing these questions in context.
Datta, L. Science Communication Vol.20 No.1 September 1998 p22-27
Populism and scientific decision making
The author calls for science communication scholars to play a greater role
in helping to understand the processes, impacts and implications of an
enhanced public role in science policy making. A number of potential
research topics are listed, including the role of celebrities in information
campaigns, how public input changes priority-setting activities, and the
significance of technology-driven public access to scientific information.
Wolley, M. Science Communication Vol.20 No.1 September 1998 p52-55
Civic Science
Civic science is built on the premise that many development issues are so
complex that they require careful interdisciplinary assessment of current
conditions, future trends, and possible solutions, and that the stakeholders
are well placed to advise on actions which incorporate community preferences
and goals. The author outlines how civic science principles work in three
contexts.
Schmandt, J. Science Communication Vol.20 No.1 Spetmber 1998 p62-69
Scientific literacy and the competition for public attention and
understanding
Specialized knowledge with a claim on the public’s attention and
understanding can be characterized as topical literacy. Among such
literacies, scientific literacy has captured significant attention. The
author analyses three popular perspectives on scientific literacy-science
content, how science works, and the impact of science on society.
Paisley, WJ Science Communication Vol.20 No.1 September 1998 70-80
Luck be a lady to me
Lay people should play a greater role in weighing-up the balance of risks
associated with environmental health issues such as BSE or genetically
modified food, according to a report, Setting Environmental Standards,
published by the Royal Commission on Environmental Standards.
Guardian 7 October 1998 p.19 See also: Financial Times 8 October 1998 p.12
The man who knows the meaning of life
A profile of the popular science writer and professor of public
understanding of science at Oxford, Richard Dawkins, which examines the
influence of his ideas on evolution in The Selfish Gene and his battles
against religion, pseudo-science and other evolutionists.
Guardian 3 October 1998 p.19 See also: Daily Telegraph 7 October 1998 p.22
Public campaigns do not always work
According to a recent report published in the October 1998 issue of Health
Which?, campaigns aimed at encouraging the public to use health services
responsibly are not always getting their message across.
BMJ 317 10 October 1998 p.970
British women wise up to science on the web
The UK Association for Women in Science and Engineering (AWiSE) has launched
a website to provide information to women interested in an academic or
industrial career in science and technology (www.awise.org)
Nature 395 8 October 1998 p.537 See also: The Guardian 6 October 1998 p.9
NIH Embraces Citizens’ Council To Cool Debate on Priorities
An article reports that the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has set
up a new advisory council, to be known as the Director’s Council of Public
Representatives (COPR), which will include representatives from biomedical
research pressure groups and is meant to ease tensions between NIH and
dissatisfied patient-advocacy groups.
Science 282 2 October 1998 p.18
A rethink for women in science
Traditional approaches to improving the number of women in science have
focused on career friendly schemes and making science more girl-friendly yet
in France, where such schemes have been in place for some time, the evidence
suggests that the problem is with the structure of science itself, in which
the criteria for success are biased towards men.
Science and Public Affairs Autumn 1998 p.5-7
The NHS’s new information strategy
An editorial discusses the implementation of a new government strategy
entitled ‘Information for Health’, which aims to improve communication
within the health service and to help patients to get the best care. See
also ‘NHS information strategy launched’.
BMJ 317 3 October 1998 p.900, 901
Risk in the classroom
Dr. Eric Alborne of the Clifton Scientific Trust states that public
attitudes towards science-related risk are determined by experience at
school. In order to counter public rejection of risks, and thus scientific
advances, we need to look at the messages being transmitted to children
about risk during formal science education.
Science and Public Affairs Autumn 1998 p.26-29
Integrity, inquiry and inquisition
Sir David Weatherall, University of Oxford regius professor of medicine,
reviews ‘The Baltimore Case: A Trial of Politics, Science and Character by
Daniel J Kevles: ‘It is essential reading for those grappling with this
problem [of the mistrust of science] and a fascinating and beautifully
written tale for anyone who simply wants to know about what makes science
and scientists tick.’.
THES 1352 2 October 1998 p.25
The Biocomplex World of Rita Colwell
An interview with Rita Colwell, the new director of the US National Science
Foundation, outlining her views on topics such as environmental research,
computer science and the public understanding of science.
Science 281 25 September 1998 p.1944
NIH ponders role of ‘public’ advisers
The National Institutes of Health is seeking advice on establishing a
Council of Public Representatives. The move is in response to a report by
the Institute of Medicine, which was requested by Congress, which criticised
the NIH for failing to communicate effectively with the public. However,
defining the role and composition of the body will not be simple. Some want
it to have a clear hand in advising the director of the NIH on research
priorities, while others argue that it would not be scientifically equipped
for such a role.
Nature 395 1 October 1998 p.423
Experiment the Science Museum can’t afford
Susan Greenfield, a trustee of the Science Museum suggests innovative ways
in which the government could lower entrance fees to the museum for the less
well-off. Potential schemes include higher charges for tourists, who make up
over a quarter of the visitors, and for more affluent UK residents.
Independent 15 October 1998 p.12
Nobel prize for medicine awarded for work on nitric oxide
Three American pharmacologists - Robert Furchgott, Ferid Murad and Louis
Ignarro - have won this year’s Nobel prize for medicine for their work on
nitric oxide as a signalling molecule in the cardiovascular system.
BMJ 317 17 October 1998 p.1031
Nobel for economist of famine
The British mathematician John Pople shared the Nobel prize in chemistry.
Professor Pople, who is now based at Northwestern University in Illinois,
developed a computer program that can predict the behaviour and properties
of a single molecule.
THES 1354 16 October 1998 p.60
Cause and affect
Michael Rutter, professor of developmental psychopathology at King’s College
London, looks in depth at the progress in the nature-nurture debate by
reviewing a number of books on the subject.
THES 1354 16 October 1998 p.25-26
Dolly mixtures of the future
At a conference organised by the Human Genetics Advisory committee, science
communicators, geneticists and educationists discussed the role teachers
have in guiding children through the scientific, medical, social and
ethical maze presented by developments in new human genetics. Speakers at
the meeting included Prof. John Durant, professor of public understanding
of science at Imperial college, and Dr. Michael Reiss, reader in bioethics
at Homerton College, Cambridge
Times Educational Supplement 16 October 1998 p.18 See also: Daily Telegraph
17 October 1998 p.6
Public fears over industry ties
The public’s trust in the work of university researchers could be
compromised by their accepting of money from industry, Dick Shephard of the
University of Surrey claimed this week: ‘...with the media discussing how
scientists get money from various different sources, there is potential that
people’s trust in researchers could be damaged’.
THES 1355 23 October 1998 .56
Medical students may switch to journalism
A novel course in medical journalism has been validated by the University of
Westminster and will start next October. The one-year BA is open to the UK’s
20,000 medical students after two years preclinical work in basic medical
sciences.
THES 1355 23 October 1998 p.2
The DNA detective
An interview with Erika Hagelberg who pioneered the use of polymerase chain
reaction (PCR) as the answer to getting enough genetic material from (old)
bones to be able to analyse it. Her latest research involves new ways of
interpreting mitochondrial DNA that may overturn ideas about evolution.
THES 1355 23 October 1998 p.17
French public say ‘non’ to modified organisms
Just over half of the respondents in a survey expressed negative feeling
about genetically modified organisms. Only nine per cent of those surveyed
expressed a positive opinion about them.
Nature 2157 24 October 1998 p.53
PRESS RELEASES
5 October 1998 - Internet Project will Attract More Women to Science and
Technology Says Science Minister, Department of Trade and Industry.
16 October 1998-Human genetics: getting educated: first HGAC conference held,
Human Genetics Advisory Commission
22 October 1998- National Library of Medicine to work with public libraries
to help consumers find answers to medical questions, National Institutes of
Health
All of the items are available from the Wellcome Trust Information Service
for reference,
or from the British Library, Lending Division via your local library
service. If you have any difficulty obtaining items please contact me
directly on the below e-mail.
*************************************************
Karen John-Pierre, Information Officer, The Wellcome Trust,
183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE, UK.
Email [log in to unmask]
Tel: + 44 (0)171 611 8510 Fax: +44 (0)171 611 8726
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