Between Understanding and Trust

Meinolf Dierkes, Claudia von Grote, both Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin ftir Sozialforschung Germany.

This publication is timelyThis is a welcome book. The issues of public understanding of science opens many questions. What does understanding" mean? How does understanding translate into attitudes toward science and trust in scientists? What is the role of the mass media? The essays in this book shed light on such questions bringing insights from several disciplines. They help to define a meaningful research agenda for the future."For both new researchers and those already working in the fieldbBetween Understanding and Trust/b is an informed and highly informative guide into a rapidly growing field of research-the outcome of which will certainly shape the twenty-first century view of science and technology.bBetween Understanding and Trust/b gives an excellent overview of the wide range of unresolved questions arising in the context of public understanding of and attitudes toward science. It should prevent scientists and-of even greater importance-politicians from espousing the usual simplifications about globalisation and international competition.

• Preface PART ONE The Historical and Political Context of the Discussion Surrounding the Public Understanding of Science and Technology 1. Why Should the Public ‘Understand’ Science? A Historical Perspective on Aspects of the Public Understanding of Science 2. The “Science Wars” and American Politics 3. From Northern to Southern Europe—Political Motivations Behind Recent Discourse on the “Public Understanding of Science” PART TWO Comparative Analysis: Results of and Reflections on Surveys as Methodological Instruments 4. Civic Scientific Literacy and Attitude to Science and Technology: A Comparative Analysis of the European Union, the United States, Japan, and Canada 5. Two Cultures of Public Understanding of Science and Technology in Europe 6. “Science in the Media” as a Cultural Indicator: Contextualizing Surveys with Media Analysis 7. Studying Public Perception of Biotechnology: Helicopter or Microscope? PART THREE Science and The Public Revised Concepts 8. Understanding “Publics” in the Public Understanding of Science 9. What Does Science mean in the “Public Understanding of Science” 10. Against Linearity—On the Cultural Appropriation of Science and Technology PART FOUR Informing the Public and Debating Science and Technology 11. From Information to Attitudes? Thoughts on the Relationship Between Knowledge about Science and Technology and Attitudes Toward Technologies 12. Information’s Role in the Introduction and Social Regulation of New Biotechnologies 13. A Public Explosion: Big-Bang Theory in the U.K. Daily Press 14. Public Understanding of Science and Technology: State of the Art and Consequences for Future Research