the changing climate for science, society and public policy world science forum november 11, 2005

The Changing Climate for Science, Society and Public Policy

World Science Forum

November 11, 2005

The Changing Climate For Science, Society and Public PolicyWorld Science Forum – November 11, 2005

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The climate is determined by

Issues within science itself

Government regulations, priorities and funding

How the public relates to science


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Within science….


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Advances in science are coming at a very rapid pace, in part because

“Big science” has spread into new fields

Increasing inter-dependency of sciences

Advances in science are being fueled by advances in technology


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The life sciences began doing “big science” projects


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Human Genome Other Species Genomes


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Genomes Proteomes


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Trends of the last decade

Big science came to the life sciences

All scientific fields are now clearly inter-dependent

Diminishing amounts of disciplinary science


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The Leading Edge is Multidisciplinary


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Science’s top 125 include:

What is the universe made of? What is the biological basis of consciousness? How and where did life on earth arise? What determines species diversity? What genetic changes made us uniquely human? How are memories stored and retrieved? How does Earth’s interior work? Are we alone in the Universe? How hot will the greenhouse world be?


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Advances in science are coming at a fantastic and accelerating pace, in part because

Big science has spread into new fields

Increasing multi-disciplinarity of science

Advances in science are being fueled by advances in technology


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Technologies are enabling

New kinds of science

New questions

New understanding


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L. Chang, M.D., T. Ernst, Ph.D., O. Speck, Ph.D.Harbor-UCLA Medical CenterGenerating words (left brain dominant)

LeftLeft

RightRight

DorsalDorsal

VentralVentralAnteriorAnterior

posteriorposteriorLL

RR

LL

RR

SMASMA

Broca’s areaBroca’s area

Broca’s areaBroca’s area

Parietal CortexParietal Cortex

Functional MRI of a “normal” subject

Chang, et al.


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The context is set by




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Post 9/11 Security Issues

Ease of travel

Travel to foreign meetings

Visas for foreign students and colleagues


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Recent Changes in International Student Interest in US S&E Graduate Training

http://www7.nationalacademies.org/internationalstudents/

Change in Applications, Admissions, and Enrollmentsfor International Graduate Students 2003-04

Total Engineering Life Sciences Physical Sciences

Applications* -28% (-5%) -36% (-7%) -24% (-1%) -26% (-3%)

Admissions -18% -24% -19% -17%

Enrollments -6% -8% -10% +6%

*2004-2005 data in parentheses


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Post 9/11 Security Issues

Ease of travel

New research priorities


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New research priorities

Bioterrorism

Transportation security

Cybersecurity

Safety of the food supply

These are affecting both funding and research community behavior


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Overall, research funding has become a lower US national priority….


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…the committee is deeply concerned that the scientific and technical building blocks of our economic leadership are eroding at a time when many other nations are gathering strength….


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Measures of International Standing Authorship Trends

0

50

100

150

200

250

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

Year

Art

icle

s (i

n th

ousa

nds)

United States

Western Europe

Japan

Emerging East Asia

http://www7.nationalacademies.org/internationalstudents/


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Federal policies can shift the lead in particular scientific domains….


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Origin of Embryonic Stem Cell Papers

Source: Levine, A., Politics and the Life Sciences, Sept. 14, 2005.


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Recommendations

Increase talent pool by improving k-12 science and math education

Strengthen US commitment to long-term basic research…to maintain the flow of new ideas that fuel the economy, etc.


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The climate is determined by



How the public relates to science


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People generally still respect science and technology….


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US public’s view of scientific research

National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators - 2002


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People still respect S&T….

….but not everywhere in the same way or degree


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In Europe, the overall view of science has deteriorated:

In 2005, 52% of people felt benefits of science outweighed its risks vs. 61% in 1992

That’s almost 20 percentage points below the US.

Eurobarometer 2005


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The American situation is not as good as it might appear….


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People have little understanding of what is and is not science

60% of Americans believe in extrasensory perception

41% think astrology is somewhat scientific

47% still do not answer “true” to the statement: “Human beings developed from earlier species of animals”

Science and Engineering Indicators, 2004


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The science-society relationship is deteriorating

Much more tension in the relationship

A new dimension has been added to the public’s view of and behavior toward science and technology


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Historically, science and technology have been evaluated primarily on the basis of their costs/risks and benefits


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Now, values (and politics) are being overlaid onto “simple” risk/benefit calculations


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We have seen values issues in the past

Galileo, the earth and the sun

Whether scientists should work on nuclear weapons

Values (and political) issues are now very present in our society


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One political (economic) example…

Is there global warming?


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“Human values” issues

Cloning and stem cells

Studying “personal” topics

Sex

Genetics of behavior

Teaching “intelligent design” in science classrooms


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Intelligent design claims to believe in gradual change

But a supernatural being guided the process

Claims to be a scientific alternative to evolution


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“You have to admit that evolution theory is not complete.”

Dutch Education Minister, Maria Van der Hoeven, 2005

Not just an American issue:


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Overlay of values is having serious consequences for the whole science-society relationship

Society wants to influence science

Rather than just the reverse

Creating a growing divide between science and the rest of society


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Causes of the “Great Divide”

Encroachment on/of values

Misunderstandings about the word “theory”

“Theory” has different meaning to scientists and lay persons

Science’s assumption that scientific illiteracy is the major obstacle


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We cannot just “educate” our way out of it

The problem is not just lack of understanding

People do understand much of what we’re saying or want to do

They don’t like it

The conflict with their core values trumps their view of societal benefits


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…. science is valuable for telling us what we need to know, whether we like the answer or not….

Cong. Rush Holt, AAAS Carey Lecture, 2005


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What can we do?

Continue protesting/lamenting the situation

The problem is not going to go away

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome”


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What can we do?

Continue protesting/lamenting the situation

Adopt a more assertive strategy

Engage with the public on the issues

Try to find common ground


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Public PublicUnderstanding Engagement


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Monologue Dialogue

We need to change the intent and the style of the conversation:


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We need to hear from the public about:

Their concerns about science and technology and their concomitants

Risks and benefits

Encroachment on human values

Their priorities among research areas

Questions they would like or need us to answer

Help frame the research agenda


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Go “Glocal”!

Julia Taguena Parga, 2005


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Some groups are working on it already…


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Public engagement is now a concept we are hearing in Europe, Canada, Mexico and the United States

It should be a strategy used throughout the world


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Formal dialogues in the United States:

NIH/NHGRI’s “Ethical, Legal and Social Implications” (ELSI) Program

AAAS’s Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion

Johns Hopkins Univ. Genetics and Public Policy Center


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AAAS Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology

Town meetings

Topical public workshops

Partnerships with science museum and centers

Active outreach

Clubs

Lodges

Religious institutions


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We need a global commitment to engagement!


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Only Working Together Can We Improve the

Relationship

Only Working Together Can We Improve the

Relationship


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the changing climate for science, society and public policy world science forum november 11, 2005

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