1st Edition

The Culture of Science How the Public Relates to Science Across the Globe

Edited By Martin W. Bauer, Rajesh Shukla, Nick Allum Copyright 2012
    490 Pages 64 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    508 Pages 64 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    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.

    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

    Biography

    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.