Laura, regarding your second question " Do you think open access journals have an important role to play in making science more accessible to the general public?", I would say yes and no.
Even as a scientist, I don't have the time or patience to sort through the thousands (perhaps millions?) of new journal articles outside of my field to find studies that are interesting, and I don't think the general public does either. That is why I find blogs or newsletters (such as futurity.org) that summarize the findings of scientific articles quite useful. If something looks interesting, I will go ahead and read the actual paper the summary is referring to. This is where open access may be important, so that everyone can access these articles if they are interested in finding out more. But people are highly unlikely search for and read through full journal articles to see if there is something relevant in it to their interests. So I would advocate first the publication of high quality blogs/newsletters that summarize individual as well as several studies on a range of scientific topics, and second, the promotion of these blogs/newsletters to more of the general public. -Burak -----Original Message----- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Laura S Sent: Friday, April 08, 2011 11:48 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Disseminating scientific thought to the general public: are scientists making science readily accessible? Dear all: I think it is important to have ALL ideas on the table for discussion. Thank you Stephen, and everyone else for posting (publicly and privately). Why did I ask these questions? I wanted to see what others think about these questions, and to have a discussion. I also asked them to connect with others. I am interested in collaborating with others to promote the communication of scientific ideas to the public; I have volunteered my time in various public outreach activities that promote science understanding, but I would like to do more. I would like to do more because I think science has an essential role to play in many areas, e.g., education, environmental concerns, conservation, and policy making. **In my humble opinion: I think scientists should be wary of judging what the general public care about. I am constantly inspired by what the public is willing to learn about science, and the questions they ask about science. Unfortunately, often the school system (K-12) does not give a proper treatment of the process and nature of science for non-scientists to understand how and why scientists conduct science. ***Here are two questions for further discussion - all ideas are encouraged: Do you think post-secondary institutions properly support (financially, with job-security, etc.) scientists who choose to promote science to the general public? Do you think open access journals have an important role to play in making science more accessible to the general public? Thank you, Laura On Thu, Apr 7, 2011 at 7:15 AM, Stephen Caird <[email protected]>wrote: > I hate sounding cynical, but sometimes I wonder if the problem isn't > so much scientists not getting the word out--I feel as though most > scientists are thrilled with an opportunity to explain the > innerworkings of whatever it is they study in much detail, say, the > role of carbohydrates in biofilm formation--but moreso a problem with > the general public ::not caring:: about the explanations to be given > for natural phenomena. > > Have you ever tried to explain to someone what trans fats are, and > what effects they may be having on one's health? Few people care to > know the difference between trans- and cis- conformations, enzyme > specificity, etc., so as to actually be informed on the subject--in my > experience, many people are already placated with the understanding > they have of something, regardless of how close it is to the truth. > > I may tell someone that our fat metabolism enzymes are very slow to > degrade trans-fats, and their response may be that they've been eating > margarine all their life with no problem, and that they like it more > than butter, so what? > > Or someone, enthralled with nature, simply won't shake the ideas that > 'everything in nature works together symbiotically toward a common > goal,' 'forest fires are all bad,' not considering, or willing to > consider, that competition happens, and that fire happens, species > have adapted to the conditions prevailing within their range on the > planet. > > What a rant--I half-apologize for that...hardly--perhaps not one > bit--constructive, but that's my two cents for now. > > Steve > > On 4/7/11, Laura S. <[email protected]> wrote: > > Dear all: > > > > I am interested in your thoughts. If needed, I can elaborate more on > these > > questions. > > > > Are scientists making scientific findings readily accessible to the > general > > public? > > > > What can scientists do to improve dissemination of scientific > > information > to > > the general public? > > > > Do scientists need to be involved in teaching the public about the > > scientific method? > > > > Thank you, > > Laura > > > > > > > -- " Genius is the summed production of the many with the names of the few attached for easy recall, unfairly so to other scientists" - E. O. Wilson (The Diversity of Life)
