Overview
What is the impact of open access on science communication? How can scientists effectively engage and interact with the public? What role can science communication have when scientific controversies arise?Practising science communication in the information age is a collection of newly-commissioned chapters by leading scholars and practitioners of science communication. It considers how scientists communicate with each other as part of their professional practice, critically evaluating how this forms the basis of the documenting of scientific knowledge, and investigating how open access publication and open review are influencing current practices. It also explores how science communication can play a crucial role when science is disputed, investigating the role of expertise in the formation of scientific controversy and consensus.The volume provides a theoretically informed review of contemporary trends and issues that are engaging practitioners of science communication, focusing on issues such as the norms and conventions governing the practices of science communication, and how scientists communicate between disciplines. Other topics that receive critical treatment include: peer review, open access publication, the protection of intellectual property, the formation of scientific controversy and consensus, the popularisation of science, and the practices of public engagement.A companion volume, Investigating science communication in the information age, provides an ideal introduction to anyone wishing to study contemporary science communication.
Full Product Details
Author: Richard Holliman (Senior Lecturer in Science Communication, Open University) ,
Jeff Thomas (Senior Lecturer, Department of Biological Sciences, Open University) ,
Sam Smidt (Senior Lecturer, Department of Physics and Astronomy and Programme Director of MSc in Science, Open University) ,
Eileen Scanlon (Professor of Educational Technology and co-Director of the Centre for Research in Education and Educational Technology, Open University)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Volume: 2
Dimensions:
Width: 17.00cm
, Height: 1.30cm
, Length: 24.60cm
Weight: 0.457kg
ISBN: 9780199552672
ISBN 10: 0199552673
Pages: 262
Publication Date: 02 October 2008
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.
Reviews
Definitely worth reading to learn about the philosophy and models that lie behind science communication. The Higher Education Academy Physical Sciences Centre A valuable and much-needed resource. Professor David Gooding, Science Studies Centre, University of Bath Presents a wide-ranging analysis of the nature and importance of communication for maintaining the community of scientists as a community in its own right, and as a community intinmately connected with society as a whole... For me, the two chapters that deal with the importance of books, alone, make this a must-have volume for those interested in science communication today. Steven Miller, Professor of Science Communication and Planetary Science, University College London Provides a rich set of contributions on how digital technologies are helping to transform our understanding of science communication. It is packed with insightful analyses - all in all, a most stimulating read. Michael Reiss, professor of Science Education and the Institute of Education, University of London
Author Information
Richard Holliman is Senior Lecturer in Science Communication at the Open University (OU), UK and production course team chair of Communicating Science in the Information Age. After completing a PhD investigating the representation of contemporary scientific research in television and newspapers in the Department of Sociology at the OU, in 2000 he moved across the campus to the Faculty of Science. Since that time he has worked on a number of undergraduate and postgraduate course teams, producing mixed media materials that address the interface between science and society. He is a member of the Centre for Research in Education and Educational Technology and is currently leading (with colleagues) the ISOTOPE (Informing Science Outreach and Public Engagement) and (In)visible Witnesses research project teams. Jeff Thomas is a senior lecturer within the Department of Biological Sciences at the Open University. He has worked at the OU all his professional life, contributing to a wide range of teaching initiatives in biology and in health sciences, and more recently to a range of projects concerned with contemporary science issues and on the relationships between science and different publics, at both undergraduate and Masters level. His research interests are concerned with the influence of contemporary science controversies on public attitude, on conceptual problems of learning biological science, and in public involvement in science-based policy-making. He also teaches part-time for Birkbeck College, University of London on its Diploma in Science Communication. Sam Smidt is a senior lecturer based in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the Open University, and Programme Director of the MSc in Science. She has interests in physics education and outreach work in promoting science to the public. Eileen Scanlon is Professor of Educational Technology and co-Director of the Centre for Research in Education and Educational Technology at the Open University. She is also Visiting Professor in the Moray House School of Education at the University of Edinburgh. Elizabeth Whitelegg is Senior Lecturer in Science Education working in the Science Faculty at the Open University (OU), and Award Director for Science Short Courses. She recently produced (with Professor Patricia Murphy) a review of the research literature on the participation of girls in physics, for the Institute of Physics. Her main research interest is in girls' and women's participation in science and in learning science (particularly physics) at all levels; she is currently leading (with colleagues) the (In)visible Witnesses project. In 2003 she was invited to become a Fellow of the Institute of Physics.
