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Scientists' attitude toward the Mertonian norms of science measures the degree to which scientists adhere to ethical values in research activities. Though the norms are generally applicable in scientific communities, cultural aspects and research experience may create a difference in attitudes. The present study assesses the effect of country of origin and academic career stages on scientists' attitudes toward the Mertonian norms among 83 Korean and 101 Indonesian scholars. The scientists' attitudes were assessed by 29 items covering six dimensions of Mertonian norms: personal, national, and global disinterestedness; communalism; universalism; and skepticism. As the instrument used for cross-cultural study, the differential item functioning test of generalizability was first employed to detect and resolve items that might be affected by cultural bias. Further, a two-way analysis of variance was performed to examine the main effect of country of origin and academic career stages on the scientists' attitudes, followed by a clustering analysis to analyze the type of scientists based on their attitudes. The results showed that all dimensions except for personal disinterestedness were significantly affected by the country of origin, indicating that Korean scientists have a relatively higher adherence to the Mertonian norms than Indonesian. However, academic career stages were found to be significant only for global disinterestedness, with trainee researchers showing higher adherence than established researchers in this construct. Furthermore, the clustering analysis classified scientists into three groups: High adherence to Mertonian Norms, Low adherence to Universalism, and Low adherence to National and Global. The results are discussed in the Korean and Indonesian sociocultural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lackner et al. found science overconfidence peaks at intermediate levels of knowledge. Those with intermediate knowledge also hold the most negative attitudes toward scientists. In doing so, they provide a novel measure of overconfidence that measures the tendency to give incorrect answers as opposed to answering, 'I don't know'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mass media is the main source of scientific information for most Americans, but inaccuracy of reporting has threatened the public's understanding of science. Perceived media bias and fake news has also made the public skeptical of the media, and scientists' perceptions are no different. Because scientists are the most trusted source for scientific information in America, it is important they remain willing to work with the media. This study used the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to explore scientists' perceptions of working with reporters, including their attitude, subjective norms, behavioral control, and intent to engage with the media in the future. In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 tenure-track faculty at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) in spring 2018. These participants represented low, moderate, and high communicators. The findings from this study indicated mostly negative attitudes toward reporters due to skepticism in their ability to accurately report science. Behavioral control was also limited due to time and ability constraints, but participants recommended trainings as ways to increase behavioral control. Subjective norms were somewhat mixed, with some positive norms from mentors but perceived negative norms from the public. Despite negative attitudes toward reporters, intent to engage with the media was mixed. However, subjective norms and behavioral control were often discussed as reasons to not engage with reporters. The findings from this study offered recommendations for both practice and research to help foster positive relationships between scientists and reporters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prompted by Wyndham Lewis's call in BLAST for a 'USEFUL LITTLE CHEMIST' to 'restore to us the necessary BLIZZARDS', this paper considers the conceptions of climate and climatic change – natural and anthropogenic – that were in circulation in the early twentieth century. Engaging with the writing of scientists, journalists, novelists, and avant-garde polemicists, it examines early twentieth-century iterations of the notion that climate determines culture, the period's awareness of past climatic changes, the theories advanced to explain these changes, and the attitudes taken towards the possibility of human-induced climatic change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to gain an insight into scholars' concerns emerging from the COVID-19 crisis, we asked scientists from all over the world about their attitudes and predictions regarding the repercussions of this current crisis on academia. Our data showed that the academic world was placed in an unprecedented situation. Results further showed that everybody worked on-line, conducting studies was impossible or highly impeded, and lab work was difficult. Almost a quarter of all scientists participating in our survey were anxious about their scientific employment, and over 25% expected serious financial losses as a consequence of the pandemic. Moreover, we identified sex differences regarding the severity of the COVID-19 impact in the majority of questions. We inferred from this that women perceived to be in a worse situation than men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Electronic Turkish Studies is the property of Electronic Turkish Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Pamukkale University Journal of Education is the property of Pamukkale University Journal of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Over 50,000 Ph.D. degrees in Science and Engineering (S&E) are awarded annually by United States (U.S.) universities, but few studies have systematically considered how the various aspects of doctoral training can influence the occupational outcomes of S&E doctoral graduates. This inquiry draws from the National Science Foundation's Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System to investigate how the characteristics of U.S. degree-granting departments and institutions are associated with doctoral graduates' entrance into different career sectors (i.e., academia, industry, government). The conceptual framework is based on the Scientific and Technical Human Capital theory (Bozeman et al. in Int J Technol Manag 22(7–8):716–740, 2001) as well as Berger and Milem's (Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, Agathon Press, New York, 2000) model of college impact. We find that a number of university and department factors are associated with the career choice of S&E doctoral graduates after finishing their Ph.D including: (a) structural characteristics, such as geographic location and faculty composition, (b) organizational behaviors, such as those symbolizing a program's relative emphasis on traditional academic work versus activities valued in industry, and (c) peer group characteristics such as a department's proportion of female and minority Ph.D. students. These results will be particularly informative for policy makers, faculty and administrators in S&E programs, and prospective doctoral students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We want to present a pragmatic conception about applied mathematics. We initiate our investigation stating such problem: If many mathematical theories were developed independently of theoretical physics, so why many of such theories have been so effective in scientific theories? We claim for an initial isomorphism between structures in mathematics and natural sciences. Then, we connect the heuristic searching for regularities and how it sheds light to our crucial question. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that this isomorphism is not always preserved when it is applied to scientific purposes. Thus, we present the operational attitude of scientists to use and manipulate mathematical tools to solve theoretical problems demanded by theoretic-empirical researches. Pure mathematics furnishes a plenty variety of structures in which, when applied to physics, they become relations between quantities or between observables. Scientists adapt and shape mathematical theories in different levels to make it useful tools to grasp regularities in natural world. Finally, we conclude that this isomorphic similarity and the plasticity of the operational use of mathematical tools in physics give us the possibility to make this hybrid language be so successful in applications. Consequences of this discussion to foundations of mathematics are presented as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study, using the data from the questionnaire survey of researchers working for Korean national research institutes, investigates the consequences of conflicting occupational identities. Those researchers may have two different occupational identities: as a scientist and/or a civil servant. Those with a strong scientist identity support individualist values (self-development for research capabilities, pro-incentive, and information sharing) more solidly than those with a strong civil servant identity; for public-social values (altruism, trust in other organizational members, and organizational commitment), vice versa. The study casts practical implications for balanced alignment between self-recognized occupational identities and managerial strategies (incentive, performance evaluation, and training). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientists are frequently asked to broadly share their expertise and research with a variety of audiences, beyond typical academic circles in their home disciplines. That could include developing community engagement programs, school outreach, leveraging online social networks, and other activities. The purpose of this study was to examine U.S. agricultural and natural resources (ANR) scientists' typical science communication channels, their experiences utilizing Twitter for sharing their knowledge, research, and engaging in online public science discussion. Diffusion of Innovations theory and the model of science in-reach versus outreach guided this study. Researchers used a qualitative case study design. Data collection included ANR scientist interviews (n = 8) and application of Internet-based research methods for observing scientists' Twitter activities. Four themes emerged from the data: 1) academic journals and conferences as scientists' typical communication channels, yet Extension efforts help to broaden audiences, 2) scientists expected research to be peer-reviewed before public dissemination to combat misinformation and spreading of 'junk science', 3) scientists balanced professionalism, personalization, promotion, and Twitter hashtags for engagement, and 4) scientist-identified barriers to using Twitter included lack of time and avoiding heated discussions. Recommendations include revisiting scientists' job descriptions and expectations for online science engagement. Also, there should be continual development and implementation of science communication training for scientists targeting best Twitter practices, growing followers for outreach beyond academic colleagues and groups, using visuals for online engagement, intentional scheduling for social media, and how to effectively navigate heated online discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Collected Papers of the Law Faculty of the University of Rijeka / Zbornik Pravnog Fakulteta Sveučilišta u Rijeci is the property of Pravni fakultet Sveucilista u Rijeci and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The decision whether to have a realist or an anti-realist attitude towards scientific hypotheses is interpreted in this paper as a choice that scientists themselves have to face in their work as scientists, rather than as a 'philosophical' problem. Scientists' choices between realism and instrumentalism (or other types of anti-realism) are interpreted in this paper with the help of two different conceptual tools: a deflationary semantics grounded in the inferentialist approach to linguistic practices developed by some authors (e.g., Sellars, Brandom), and an epistemic utility function that tries to represent the cognitive preferences of scientists. The first tool is applied to two different questions traditionally related to the problem of scientific realism: the non-miracle argument, and the continuity of reference. The second one is applied to the problem of unconceived alternatives, and to the distinction between realist and instrumentalist attitudes towards scientific hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to a widespread view, Thomas Kuhn's model of scientific development would relegate rationality to a second plane, openly flirting with irrationalist positions. The intent of this article is to clarify this aspect of his thinking and refute this common interpretation. I begin by analysing the nature of values in Kuhn's model and how they are connected to rationality. For Kuhn, a theory is chosen rationally when: i) the evaluation is based on values characteristic of science; ii) a theory is considered better the more it manifests these values; and iii) the scientist chooses the best-evaluated theory. The second part of this article deals with the thesis of the variability of values. According to Kuhn, the examples through which epistemic values are presented vary for each person, and for this reason individuals interpret these criteria differently. Consequently, two scientists, using the same values, can come to a rational disagreement over which theory to choose. Finally, I point out the limitations of this notion of rationality for the explanation of consensus formation, and the corresponding demand for a sociological theory that reconnects individual rationality with convergence of opinions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an online Qualtrics panel survey experiment (N = 1620), we found that scientists posting self-portraits (“selfies”) to Instagram from the science lab/field were perceived as significantly warmer and more trustworthy, and no less competent, than scientists posting photos of only their work. Participants who viewed scientist selfies, especially posts containing the face of a female scientist, perceived scientists as significantly warmer than did participants who saw science-only images or control images. Participants who viewed selfies also perceived less symbolic threat from scientists. Most encouragingly, participants viewing selfies, either of male or female scientists, did not perceive scientists as any less competent than did participants viewing science-only or control images. Subjects who viewed female scientist selfies also perceived science as less exclusively male. Our findings suggest that self-portraiture by STEM professionals on social media can mitigate negative attitudes toward scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the life and work experience of the Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai in the field of social prominence and wealth, in business and in philanthropy. It discusses that Sarabhai as the chairman at the Indian National Committee for Space Research, and his efforts for the growth and development of the space research.

China has achieved a dramatic development in scientific research over the last few decades. However, just like many other countries, it has also seen a surge of scientific misconducts. With its expansion of international publications, retractions due to suspected research misconduct are also on the rise. A transcultural case study was conducted by investigating the perception of research misbehaviors by Chinese researchers compared to their Belgian Flemish colleagues. The study was designed to find out variation in research practices in different countries and to see how research was shaped and influenced by cultural contexts. An online questionnaire was sent to 3,236 researchers by e-mails and it received a response rate of 13.09%. They were asked to score 32 research misbehaviors on a 5-point scale. The findings suggested that compared to Flemish respondents, the Chinese had a significantly higher acceptance toward most research misbehaviors. To be more specific, the Chinese respondents felt less unacceptable toward behaviors violating such values as honesty, fairness, and verifiability than the Flemish, while their perceptions of behaviors that violated such values as responsibility, objectivity, and truth were not different compared to the Flemish. This case study implies that the Chinese research community is in an urgent need of training in responsible conduct of research and strong as well as sound guidelines for responsible research practices in place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Tikrit University for Humanities is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Scientific Papers of Silesian University of Technology. Organization & Management / Zeszyty Naukowe Politechniki Slaskiej. Seria Organizacji i Zarzadzanie is the property of Silesian Technical University, Organisation & Management Faculty and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article focuses on the concerns of world scientists about potential damage on planet Earth. Topics discussed include role of human beings in environmental destruction including ozone depletion, marine life depletion and biodiversity destruction: ways to stabilize the human population and suggesting establishment of sustainable environment.

Despite a growing consensus regarding the value of inquiry-based learning (IBL) for students’ learning and engagement in the science classroom, the implementation of such practices continues to be a challenge. If science teachers are to use IBL to develop students’ inquiry practices and encourage them to think and act as scientists, a better understanding of factors that influence their attitudes towards scientific research and scientists’ practices is very much needed. Within this context there is a need to re-examine the science teachers’ views of scientists and the cultural factors that might have an impact on teachers’ views and pedagogical practices. A diverse group of Egyptian science teachers took part in a quantitative–qualitative study using a questionnaire and in-depth interviews to explore their views of scientists and scientific research, and to understand how they negotiated their views of scientists and scientific research in the classroom, and how these views informed their practices of using inquiry in the classroom. The findings highlighted how the teachers’ cultural beliefs and views of scientists and scientific research had constructed idiosyncratic pedagogical views and practices. The study suggested implications for further research and argued for teacher professional development based on partnerships with scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this case study, we analyze the discourse, practices and representations of a group of scientists who issued public statements about the French shale gas controversy. The reasons they gave for engaging in this process of communication focused on their social responsibility, their collective ad hoc expertise and the neutrality of their position. We also investigated how these scientists actually produced their communications, despite the tensions between individual and collective positions. We discuss how this experience led them to reflect both individually and collectively on their representations of science in society. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An analysis of 12 semi-structured interviews with university-based scientists and non-scientists illustrates their life journeys towards, or away from, science and the strengths and impact of life occurrences leading them to choose science or non-science professions. We have adopted narrative approaches and used Mezirow's transformative learning theory framework. The areas of discussion from the result have stressed on three main categories that include ‘smooth transition’, ‘incremental wavering transition' and ‘transformative transition’. The article concludes by discussing the key influences that shaped initial attitudes and direction in these people through natural inclination, environmental inspirations and perceptions of science. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

study assesses how scientists think about science communication training based on the argument that such training represents an important tool in improving the quality of interactions between scientists and the public. It specifically focuses on training related to five goals, including views about training to make science messages understandable, as well as attitude-focused training meant to build trust and credibility, to demonstrate that one listens to the public, to demonstrate that one cares about the public's views, and to frame messages to resonate with audiences' pre-existing values. The theory of planned behavior and procedural justice theory were used to identify potential predictors of views about training toward these goals. Results show that the scientists rate message comprehension and credibility most favorably and give their lowest rating to training related to framing. Regression analyses reveal that believing that public engagement can make a difference (external efficacy) and belief in the ethicality of specific goals were the best predictors of whether scientists saw value in goal-oriented training. The results suggest that communication trainers might benefit from emphasizing the effectiveness and ethicality of engagement activities if they want to attract scientists to communication training, and that more work may need to be done by professional organizations to help scientists consider the value of thinking about communication goals beyond the traditional focus on message comprehension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Written in response to criticism of our work by Fouad Abd-El-Khalick, this position paper reaffirms and reinforces our position about the need to broaden and enrich the scope of nature of science (NOS) oriented curricula by exposing students to the voices of practising scientists. While Abd-El-Khalick's motivation for promoting the so-called consensus view of NOS is rooted in issues of assessment (or ‘benchmarking', as he calls it), we argue that the major reason for teaching about NOS is its contribution to what Shen calls civic and cultural scientific literacy. We are critical of the consensus view for its philosophical naivety, failure to reflect contemporary scientific practice and potential for confusing students, and we re-state our view that it is important to expose students to a diversity of practice among the sub-disciplines of science. We argue that richer NOS understanding and a more authentic view of scientific practice can be achieved through direct and indirect contact with scientists at the cutting edge of research and development, which we characterise as learning about scientists, learning from scientists and learning with scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses sexual orientation and sexuality issues in the scientific community. Topics discussed include the attitudes towards the LGBT community, social acceptance and fast changing public attitudes in the USA. Cases of scientists undergoing sex change operations, gender identity and sexual orientation are discussed. Emotional aspect of the LGBT people, peer pressure and family rejection is elaborated.

Changing institutions is an integral part of an academic life. Yet little is known about the mobility patterns of scientists at an institutional level and how these career choices affect scientific outcomes. Here, we examine over 420,000 papers, to track the affiliation information of individual scientists, allowing us to reconstruct their career trajectories over decades. We find that career movements are not only temporally and spatially localized, but also characterized by a high degree of stratification in institutional ranking. When cross-group movement occurs, we find that while going from elite to lower-rank institutions on average associates with modest decrease in scientific performance, transitioning into elite institutions does not result in subsequent performance gain. These results offer empirical evidence on institutional level career choices and movements and have potential implications for science policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental challenges are complex and require expertise from multiple disciplines. Consequently, there is growing interest in interdisciplinary environmental research that integrates natural and social science, an often arduous undertaking. We surveyed researchers interested and experienced in research at the human-environment interface to assess perspectives on interdisciplinary research. Integrative interdisciplinary research has eluded many of our respondents, whose efforts are better described as additive multidisciplinary research. The respondents identified many advantages and rewards of interdisciplinary research, including the creation of more-relevant knowledge. However, they also reported significant challenges and obstacles, including tension with departments (49%) or institutions (61%), communication difficulties, and differing disciplinary approaches, as well as institutional barriers (e.g., a lack of credit in promotion and tenure). Most (52%) believed that developing interdisciplinary breadth should begin as early as the undergraduate level. We apply our results to recommendations for successful interdisciplinary endeavors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review past studies on how scientists view the public, the goals of communication, the performance and impacts of the media, and the role of the public in policy decision-making. We add to these past findings by analyzing two recent large-scale surveys of scientists in the UK and US. These analyses show that scientists believe the public is uninformed about science and therefore prone to errors in judgment and policy preferences. Scientists are critical of media coverage generally, yet they also tend to rate favorably their own experience dealing with journalists, believing that such interactions are important both for promoting science literacy and for career advancement. Scientists believe strongly that they should have a role in public debates and view policy-makers as the most important group with which to engage. Few scientists view their role as an enabler of direct public participation in decision-making through formats such as deliberative meetings, and do not believe there are personal benefits for investing in these activities. Implications for future research are discussed, in particular the need to examine how ideology and selective information sources shape scientists’ views. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In contentious natural resource debates, the credibility of scientists is at risk. In this case study, citizens in contending communities and scientists in a forest management controversy constructed the scientists’ credibility differently. Shared values and views of the nature of science and objectivity were primary factors for constructing scientists’ credibility. Citizens who expected value-free, objective scientists to authenticate their knowledge were concerned about how the values of scientists on the opposite side affected research framing. Citizens who emphasized limited objectivity were less skeptical of scientists. Scientists acknowledged their values but defended their credibility in terms of professional standards, balance and resource constraints. In short, scientists’ credibility is relative because each individual has unique values and views of the nature of science and objectivity. Through a collaborative policymaking process, citizens and scientists should develop shared values and visions to reconstruct a temporary, intersubjective sense of credibility. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reports on the growth of scientists at national laboratories in the U.S. through discretionary funding known as Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD). It mentions that their curiosity maintain their connection to the scientific community. An overview of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) signed by President Barack Obama is also presented.

Scientific work is characterized by a certain kind of abeyance. On the one hand scientific workers have a highly autonomous workplace, find their work to be meaningful and themselves to be profeßionals. On the other hand they have to live with financial insecurity and unclear prospects for a very long time. This profile lets one ask for the precarious potential of scientific work. This text aligns central findings of the scientific investigation of precariousneß and in a first approach correlates them with the characteristics of science. It becomes obvious that the subjective proceßion of material and institutional risks of precariousneß lead to a dominant pattern of individual problem solving and forbearance which constrains the apperception of options for collective action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debate about the nature and appropriateness of advocacy by environmental scientists is important—it represents understanding the role of these citizens in our society. Much has been written about advocacy by scientists, and that literature describes substantial diversity in reasons advocacy by scientists is or is not appropriate. Despite the nature of this literature there has been no comprehensive, systematic review of why some favor and others oppose advocacy by environmental scientists. Through a literature review we catalogued, categorized, and critiqued the arguments used for and against the appropriateness of advocacy by environmental scientists. Most arguments, whether for or against advocacy, are characterized by some significant deficiency. From our analysis of the literature an argument emerges that to date has never been fully articulated: that advocacy is nearly unavoidable, and that scientists, by virtue of being citizens first and scientists second, have a responsibility to advocate to the best of their abilities, to improve their advocacy abilities, and to advocate in a justified and transparent manner. We also discuss the meaning and relevance of advocacy being justified and transparent. We suggest scientists expend their efforts to better understand what constitutes appropriate advocacy and spend less effort pondering whether they should advocate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do scientists react when the institutional setting in which they conduct their work changes radically? How do long-standing norms regarding the social responsibility of scientists fare? What factors influence whether scientists embrace or reject the new institutions and norms? We examine these questions using data from a unique survey of 602 scientists in Russia, whose research institutions experienced a sustained crisis and sweeping changes following the collapse of the Soviet Union. We develop measures of how respondents view financing based on grants and other institutional changes in the Russian science system, as well as measures of two norms regarding scientists' social responsibility. We find that the majority of scientists have adapted, in the sense that they hold positive views of the new institutions, but a diversity of orientations remains. Social responsibility norms are common but far from universal among Russian scientists. The main correlates of adaptation are age and current success at negotiating the new institutions, though prospective success, work context, and ethnicity have some of the hypothesized associations. As for social responsibility norms, the main source of variation is age: younger scientists are more likely to embrace individualistic rather than socially oriented norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to identify prominent features of the nature of science (NOS) embedded in authentic scientific inquiry. Thirteen well-established scientists from different parts of the world, working in experimental or theoretical research, in both traditional fields such as astrophysics and rapidly growing research fields such as molecular biology, completed an open-ended questionnaire about the NOS and participated in in-depth interviews. The descriptions of their practices provide a somewhat striking contrast to the image of science usually portrayed in science curricula and textbooks. These accounts of authentic scientific practice have considerable potential for development into interesting cases as teaching resources to enhance and enrich students' understanding of NOS and for the design of more effective laboratory work and field experience. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed93:109–130, 2009 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reprint of the article "The Nature of Science," which appeared in a 1993 issue of "Science for All Americans," is presented. Scientists believe that events and things in the universe are understandable through systematic study and use of intellect and instruments. They accept that scientific ideas are subject to change through continuous testing and improving of theories. They treat scientific inquiry as a way to demand evidence, a mix of logic and imagination, which explains and predicts, avoid biases and not authoritarian.

The article reports on scientists' religion and spirituality. It mentions that the study of Religion among Academic Scientists (RAAS) closes the gap in understanding especially after the 2005 and 2006 examination of religious and spiritual beliefs and practices of academics in the U.S. by means of survey. The survey was responded by 75 percent of individuals wherein 271 of the participants took part in in-depth interviews. It is concluded that scientists are not anti-religion where in fact number of believers teach sciences at the nation's top academic institutions.

This paper compares the attitudes of European and US scientists engaged in human genetics research about some of the ethical issues raised by recent advances in genetic testing, by the increasing likelihood of subsequent genetic therapies, and by hovering threats to the privacy of those tested in the face of concerns raised by individual and institutional third parties. Surveys of both groups indicate strong and fairly uniform support for attempts to discern and cure serious diseases or disorders and decisions to terminate pregnancies in which fetuses have serious genetic defects. But the data also indicate a number of issues where European and US respondents disagree and where that disagreement is characterised by a more cautious approach on the part of the European scientists. These data should provide a foundation for subsequent reflection and discussion within the scientific communities as well as within the society at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers author's insights regarding the discrimination for women in science leadership and laboratories. She discuses topics including characteristics of research scientists on their work, struggles faced by women in science organisational culture, and reforms in the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC's) in promoting gender equity policy.

Under the auspices of a multi-national European scientific project involving whole genome sequencing, GEUVADIS, we set out to investigate the attitudes of the participating scientists of having their own genome sequenced. The views of such researchers on this subject have not been fully explored before and we utilized questionnaires and discussion groups to elicit their opinions. Many said that it was the first time that they had an opportunity to discuss ethical and social issues about sequencing. The many ongoing multi-national science projects present a good opportunity for social science research involving scientists and would benefit from rigorous research methodology, taking into account any language barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]