The Culture of Science: How the Public Relates to Science Across the Globe / Edition 1

by Martin W. Bauer (Editor), Rajesh Shukla (Editor), Nick Allum (Editor)

Overview

This book offers the first comparative account of the changes and stabilities of public perceptions of science within the US, France, China, Japan, and across Europe over the past few decades. The contributors address the influence of cultural factors; the question of science and religion and its influence on particular developments (e.g. stem cell research); and the demarcation of science from non-science as well as issues including the ‘incommensurability’ versus ‘cognitive polyphasia’ and the cognitive (in)tolerance of different systems of knowledge.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415873697
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/23/2011
Series:	Routledge Studies in Science, Technology and Society , #15
Pages:	508
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Martin W. Bauer is currently Reader in Social Psychology and Research Methodology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Research Fellow at the Science Museum in London.

Rajesh K. Shukla is currently head of Division of Sample Survey and General Economics as Senior Fellow (Chief Statistician) at NCAER in Delhi.

Nick Allum is lecturer in sociology at the University of Essex.

Table of Contents

1. Towards Cultural Indicators of Science with Global Validity Martin W. Bauer, Rajesh Shukla and Nick Allum 2. The Culture of Science and the Politics of Numbers Benoît Godin Section 1: Longitudinal Analysis 3. Attitudes Toward Science in France: 1972-2005 Daniel Boy 4. American Public Understanding of Science: 1979-2006 Susan Carol Losh 5. The Image of Science in Bulgaria and UK, 1992-2005: Does Generation Matter? Kristina Petkova and Valery Todorov 6. The Changing Culture of Science Across Old Europe: 1989 to 2005 Martin W. Bauer 7. Knowledge of Science and Technology in Japan: IRT Scores for 1991 and 2001 Kinya Shimizu and Takuya Matsuura 8. Adult Scientific Literacy and Its Surveys in China Since 1992 Ke Wang, Fujun Ren, Wei He and Chao Zhang Section 2: Cross-National Comparisons 9. Comparing the Public Understanding of Science Across China and Europe Xuan Liu, Shukun Tang and Martin W. Bauer 10. Information and Attitudes towards Science and Technology in Iberoamerica Carmelo Polino and Yurij Castelfranchi 11. The Science Culture Index (SCI): Construction and Validation Rajesh Shukla and Martin W. Bauer 12. A Comparative View on Adolescents’ Attitudes to Science Svein Sjøberg and Camilla Schreiner Section 3: Measurement Issues 13. The Sources and Impact of Civic Scientific Literacy Jon D. Miller 14. Latent Trait Models to Assess Cross-National Scales of the Public’s Knowledge About Science and Technology Sally Stares 15. Statistical Modelling of Public Understanding Science Anil Rai and Rajesh Shukla 16. The Cultures of Public Understanding of Science - Defining Cultural Distance Gauhar Raza and Surjit Singh Section 4: Cultural Aspects of Sensitive Topics 17. Beliefs About Astrology Across Europe Nick Allum and Paul Stoneman 18. The Human-Animal Boundary in Switzerland: A Cross-Cultural Perspective Fabienne Crettaz von Roten 19. Religious Belief and Attitudes About Science in the US Scott Keeter, Gregory Smith and David Masci 20. Worldviews and Perceptions of Stem Cell Research Across Europe Rafael Pardo Section 5: Complementary Datastreams 21. Measuring PEP/IS, A New Model for Communicative Effectiveness of Science Hak-Soo Kim 22. Suggesting Cultural Indicators Derived from Exhibitory Science Bernard Schiele 23. Building a Science News Media Barometer – SAPO Carlos Vogt, Yurij Castelfranchi, Sabine Righetti, Rafael Evangelista, Ana Paula Morales and Flavia Gouveia 24. Validating Survey Measures of Scientific Citizenship Niels Meijgaard and Sally Stares 25. Benchmarking Climate Indicators for Science Communication and Public Engagement Across Europe Steve Miller 26. Monitoring Science in the Public Sphere: The Case of Italy Massimiano Bucchi and Federico Neresini