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Science and public bibliography: October 2000 A monthly round-up of books, reports and articles collated by the Wellcome Library's Information Service. <http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/infoserv> Where freely available, Web links have been provided to the full text document. All the below references are publicly available, for reference, in the Information Service, http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/infoserv ,or from the British Library's Lending Division via public, academic or workplace libraries. Books & Reports Market & Opinion Research International. Attitudes towards gene cloning and gene therapy : a survey among the general public / MORI social research. London : MORI, 2000 32p. Subject headings: Science - public opinion; genetics; cloning; genetic engineering Payson, S. Economics, science, and technology Cheltenham, UK ; Northampton, MA : Edward Elgar, 2000 262p. ISBN: 1858986729 Subject headings: Economics; science; technology Economic and Social Research Council. The politics of GM food : risk, science and public trust. Brighton: ESRC Global Environmental Change Programme, University of Sussex, 1999 22p. ISBN: 0903622882 Subject headings: Risk assessment; risk communication; genetic engineering; food safety; communication in science; public policy Cragg Ross Dawson [prepared by] Public perceptions of the collection of human biological samples : summary report. London : Wellcome Trust ; Medical Research Council, 2000 8p. Summary and full report: <http://library.wellcome.ac.uk/ftlist/l856^bib14,73,73,100,1,0> Subject headings: Biotechnology - public opinion; genetics Articles - Science & Public Science has changed and so must the Nobel Prize. Independent 11 October 2000 p.5 An article by John Maddox, editor emeritus of 'Nature' and first honorary fellow of the Royal Society discusses the need for an overhaul of the Nobel prize system due to the enlarged pool of outstanding scientists and the increasing tendency for a large number of people to collaborate on papers. Shopping for science. Science and Public Affairs October 2000 pp.12-13 A review of the government's white paper; Excellence and Opportunity: A Science and Innovation Policy for the 21st Century. The white paper recognises the relationship between science and the public must change, it adopts a market-orientated approach, with the public represented as consumers. It recognises the need for public involvement in decision-making but gives little clue as to how this will be achieved. Farrar, S. Has the GM backlash blighted British botany? Times Higher Education Supplement 20 October 2000 pp.22-23 The conclusions of a survey conducted by THES in which plant scientists were asked about the impact of the debate surrounding GM crops. Two thirds of plant scientists thought that meaningful dialogue between scientists and the public was non-existent, whilst 41% of non-GM scientists thought that the debate brought scientific issues into the public arena. Many blamed the media for sensationalising stories and there was wide opinion that scientists did not have the skills to communicate effectively via the media. A large majority felt that the debate had created a climate of hostility towards science. Articles - Public Attitudes & Participation NERC to open Council meeting to the public. Research Fortnight Vol.7 11 October 2000 p.2 The Natural Environment Council (NERC) has decided to open one of its Council meetings up to the public. This experiment may also involve holding an open forum at which issues relevant to the NERC could be raised by the public and discussed with members of the Council. Making dialogue happen. Science and Public Affairs October 2000 pp.20-21 The House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee Report, Science and Society, has outlined the need to create dialogue between scientists and the public as well as to introduce science into the lives of ordinary people. A project called Journey into Science at St Mary Redcliffe church in Bristol is successfully doing this. The project involves the local community organising and participating in a number of activities such as scientific debates, displays of scientific images and scientific study of the local environment. Articles - Science Communication Science promotion penalties must go. THES 29 September 2000 p.4 The minister for science, Lord Sainsbury, has admitted that proposals in the government's latest science white paper "Excellence and Opportunity", calling for scientists to act as ambassadors of science, need more consideration if researchers are not to be penalised for their initiative. A route to better understanding. Science & Public Affairs October 2000 pp.16-17 Ben Johnson and Frank Burnet outline Science on the Buses, a poster campaign to promote the idea that science is a part of everyday life. The project was aimed at young adults, shown to be the most difficult group to reach, and buses were chosen as a venue well used by the target audience. A survey showed that a large proportion reacted positively to the posters, particularly those posters with high visual and low graphical content and over a third recognised the core message that "science is a part of every day life". Adding a little showbiz. Science & Public Affairs October 2000 pp.22-23 The government's recent white paper said that wider communication and engagement with the public is essential for scientists. This is being encouraged by a number of schemes and training events run mainly by the research councils. However, the scientific community must overcome the perception that talking to outsiders involves "dumbing down" their work. Meek, James. Civil servants, scientists and the road to the truth. Guardian 28 October 2000 p.12 The author uses the BSE crisis and the issue over the safety of mobile phones as examples of communicating risk to the public. He criticises scientists during the BSE crisis for bowing to pressures from civil servants to provide safety reassurance and states that scientists should learn how to present complex issues to the public. Examples of scare stories are outlined, together with future issues for science and safety. Articles - Science & Art Ede, Siān. The truth about art-and-science. Science and Public Affairs October 2000 pp.18-19 The author casts a sceptical eye over the "sci-art" phenomenon that has emerged over the past few years. She argues that scientists are able to present the aesthetic quality of science as well as artists, and that books, films and lectures rather than art usually offer the public a better understanding of science. She concludes that in most cases science has little to gain from sci-art projects but she describes some interesting exceptions. Articles - Science & Media Beyond understanding 2. Physics World Vol.13 October 2000 p.15 "Who's misunderstanding whom?" is a new report on the relationship between science and the media, written by Ian Hargreaves, professor of journalism at Cardiff University. Commissioned by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the report argues that social scientists should become more involved in the public dimension of science. It recommends that datasets should be created to track the public's understanding of science, that research should be undertaken into the communication of risk and that a new label for "public understanding of science" should be considered. The report can be found at <http://www.esrc.ac.uk/whom/whofirst.html> Articles - Science Education Thomas, Jeff. Learning about genes and evolution through formal and informal education. Studies in Science Education Vol.35 2000 pp.59-92 The paper explores ways that pupils and adults learn about genetics and evolution and how they can relate what they learn to themselves. The role and influence of both informal and formal learning channels are reviewed and the problems of existing practice are highlighted. Louise Simon Information Officer Wellcome Trust Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine 183 Euston Road London NW1 2BE Tel: 0171-611-7316 e-mail: [log in to unmask] The Wellcome Trust is a registered charity, No.210183 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%