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Dear List members

Public Attitudes to Science 2008 

Yesterday saw the launch of Public Attitudes to Science 2008, a national
survey commissioned by the Research Councils UK and the Department for
Innovation, Universities and Skills. It's the third survey in a series -
the first survey (Science and the Public) was reported in 2000 and the
second (Science in Society) in 2005.

The aims of the survey are to:
*		Provide information about what the public thinks about
science, scientists and science policy in the UK and explore why the
public hold these views; 
*		Find out about public confidence in, and understanding
of, the regulation of science and science policy-making, and how the
public engages with 	science; 
*		Identify the purposes and impacts of some specific
scientific topics; 
*		Identify public concerns and aspirations for science in
the future; 
*		Identify whether public attitudes to science have
changed since 2000/2005 and if so, identify how and why these changes
might have occurred; 
*		Compare attitudes to science in the UK with those in
other scientifically developed countries.

To accompany the main survey report, RCUK have commissioned a survey
Guide. 

The Guide is designed to provide an overview of the key survey findings,
draw out the main implications, and provide those in the worlds of
science communication, the media, science education, science
policymaking and scientific research with a quick reference to relevant
sections in the main survey report. The Guide also describes the five
attitudinal groups identified through the survey research, each with its
own perspective on science.

Both the full survey report and the survey Guide can be found at
http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/sis/pas.htm

Kind regards

Saffron


Dr Saffron Townsend
Principal Science in Society Manager
RCUK Science in Society Unit

Polaris House, North Star Avenue 
Swindon, SN2 1UJ 
Tel: +44(0)1793 442825
Fax: +44(0)1793 413001
www.rcuk.ac.uk

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