The project `Perception of Science by Catalan Society: Sociological study 1995' used a questionnaire to determine: the level of interest in science among Catalans; which channels the public uses to find out about scientific matters; attitudes towards science as an element of culture; the level of scientific knowledge of the Catalan population; and the sociological profile of the population according to its level of scientific culture. Compared with the results of a similar study carried out in 1989, knowledge and interest in science in the Catalan population has increased, and may be connected to the increase of the portion of the population with secondary or university education. Although interest has increased among women, those with highest levels of `scientific culture' are well educated, socially active young men. Other socio-demographic features and patterns of media use suggest that more effective diffusion of scientific information might be achieved if particular types of information were aimed at specific groups through particular media.
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References
1.
See also the theoretical discussion by Pardo, R. A., 1997, Scientific-technological knowledge and the legitimation of science and technology in Spain. Science and Democracy, edited by J. D. Miller (in the press).
2.
Pardo R. A. , 1997, Scientific-technological knowledge and the legitimation of science and technology in Spain. Science and Democracy, edited by J. D. Miller (in the press).
3.
Staff, L., 1989, Percepció social de la Ciència a Catalunya, (Social perception of science in Catalonia) Unpublished report to the Comissió per a l'Estímul de la Cultura Científica del Departament de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Commission for the Promotion of Scientific Culture, Department of Culture, Autonomous Government of Catalonia).
4.
Research carried out by the Science Communication Observatory of the Pompeu Fabra University with the collaboration of the Institut d'Estudis-Yankelovich (technical director: Enric Renau; methodological support: Xavier Riudor) funded by the Comissió per a l'Estímul de la Cultura Científica del Departament de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Commission for the Promotion of Scientific Culture, Department of Culture, Autonomous Government of Catalonia).
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Durant, J. , Evans. G., and Thomas, G., 1989, The public understanding of science. Nature, 340, 11-14.
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According to Pardo, `for a large part of the population, formal education at the primary and secondary levels initially shapes the structure of interest and, above all, constitutes the basic source of information about the various scientific-technological topics and dimensions of contemporary culture.' See Pardo, R. A., 1997, Scientific-technological knowledge and the legitimation of science and technology in Spain. Science and Democracy, edited by J. D. Miller (in the press).
7.
Rafael Pardo has already mentioned this `reinforcement of training or as an alternative to it' by the media, but taking into account that, in Spain, the media do not pay much attention to scientific and technological subjects compared with other industrialized countries. See Pardo, R. A., 1997, Scientific-technological knowledge and the legitimation of science and technology in Spain. Science and Democracy, edited by J. D. Miller (in the press).
8.
Results published in the `Science and Technology' supplement, La Vanguardia, 24 April 1993. Of the different sections published by the newspaper, the supplement is the most highly rated by readers.
9.
and Greenbaum, J., 1994, El club europeo del dos por ciento (The European two-per-cent club), Open Computing (New York: McGraw Hill).
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Göpfert, W. , 1994, Seminar `Informations Scientifiques et Médias Européens', Poitiers (France), November.
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Ribas, C. , 1995, Entrevista a Bruce V. Lewenstein (Interview with Bruce V. Lewenstein), Quark, Ciencia, Medicina Comunicación y Cultura, October, 124-131.
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The relationship between ignorance and fear had already been shown by Durant: see Durant, J., 1989The public understanding of science. Nature, 340, 11-14
13.
The case of Denmark in relation to biotechnology, included in The Hague Conference (`Biotechnology in European Society', The Hague, 21-22 November 1994) indicates that when people know what industry, the authorities and scientists are doing first-hand through a public debate—in short, when they are better informed—they value scientific activity more positively. Author and reference please to the Danish study.
14.
According to the results of the Eurobarometer with regard to biotechnology, Denmark and Germany are the countries in which the population has the greatest knowledge on this subject. Despite this, Denmark is among the countries which promote its development the most, whereas Germany displays the lowest degree of confidence in biotechnology of the whole of the European Union. See Durant, J., Bauer, M., Gaskell, G., Midden, C., Liakopoulos, M., and Scholten, L., 1955, Public understanding of science in Europe. Paper presented to the conference `Public Understanding of Science and Technology', Berlin.
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Fayard, P. , 1992, Let's stop persecuting people who don't think like Galileo!Public Understanding of Science, 1, 15-16.
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Lévy-Leblond, J.-M. , 1992, About misunderstandings about misunderstandings. Public Understanding of Science, 1, 17-21.
17.
Also noted in the report `El mercado de la Información en España 1993-1997' (The information market in Spain 1993-1997), Andersen Consulting-Universidad de Navarra, 1993.
18.
Diezhandino, P. , 1994, Periodismo de servicio la utilidad como complemento informativo en Time, Newsweek y US News and World Report, y unos apuntes del caso español (Service journalism, used as a complement of information in Time, Newsweek and US News and World Report, and some notes on the Spanish case) (Bosch: Barcelona).
