From: Adam J. Christopherson <[log in to unmask]>
To:
[log in to unmask]
Sent: Thu, 12 August, 2010 11:26:33
Subject: Re: [PSCI-COM] EPSRC ends public engagement scheme
On 12 Aug 2010, at 11:00, Mary wrote:
> Aren’t they related? Keeping your RAs and technicians in a job, especially if it’s a publicly-funded one, is surely linked to public acceptance/understanding of what they are working on. Lose that and you lose even more of your funding……..
Is there any correlation between the public's understanding of science, and the actual science that gets funded by public money? Doesn't the majority of the funding just come from the research councils, which are not really controlled by the public?
> From: psci-com: on public engagement with science [mailto:
[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Francis Sedgemore
> Sent: jeudi 12 août 2010 11:53
> To:
[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: [PSCI-COM] EPSRC ends public engagement scheme
>
>
> "Or"?
>
> Oh dear! In presenting science communication as a chore to be set aside when there are more pressing needs, you've just proved my and MK's point. A brickbat it most certainly is, and a most offensive one at that.
Demanding that academics take science communication seriously is not really going to work, since many academics are very much stuck in their ways. Wouldn't a better approach be to put some effort into training students/postdocs (the future academics) to understand the importance of communication, and help them better communicate their research
to the public? Or does this sort of thing already happen?
Adam
--
Adam J. Christopherson
School of Mathematical Sciences
Queen Mary, University of London
Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS
[log in to unmask]www.maths.qmul.ac.uk/~adamc**********************************************************************
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