Evidence and Public Engagement in Immigration Control
February 10, 2014
Immigration control has become a fundamental project in contemporary Britain especially in relation to the incapacity of the welfare state to absorb large numbers of poor immigrants coming from all over the globe. However, as Bridget Anderson has argued in her book ‘Us and Them: the Dangerous Politics of Immigration Controls’, immigration control, as a …
Making science public: The science and silence conundrum
December 26, 2013
The issue of science and advocacy is a complex topic and has led to heated discussions amongst scientists, science communicators and commentators of different persuasions, especially this year it seems. There was first a flurry of debate provoked, in July this year, by an article written by Tamsin Edwards who argued that climate scientists should …
Making science public blog posts in 2013 – an overview
December 17, 2013
This is now our second year of blogging at Making Science Public. Just like at the end of the previous year, I want to provide an overview of what we have done, what we have covered, and what the highlights of our blogging activities have been. Launch and SiP There were two major events that …
Tools for thinking about an increasingly complex world
December 15, 2013
A few weeks ago I had to write a seminar talk about epigenetics in the media. In the course of investigating the historical background to that emerging discipline, I looked at Conrad Hal Waddington’s work on embryology and development and his creation of the metaphor ‘epigenetic landscape’. But this is not what this blog post …
Lists
December 13, 2013
Alasdair Taylor first wrote this blog post on 11 December for his own blog attheinterface. He has allowed us to repost it on our Making Science Public blog, as it addresses issues we are grappling with! Here is what he wrote: It’s the end of the year, or nearly, and time to start reflecting. It …
Dark energy in Westminster
December 12, 2013
This is a guest blog by Dr Clare Burrage who works at the Particle Theory Group within the School of Physics and Astronomy. It complements the post by Professor Philip Moriarty that I cross-posted recently. Here is Clare’s story about her experience of Westminster: When I told friends and colleagues that I was going to …
Maybe, Minister: Can politics and science ever speak the same language?
December 6, 2013
This blog post by Professor Philip Moriarty (member of the MakingSciPub network of Honorary Associates) was first published in PhysicsFocus on 5 December, 2013. Phil and Dr Clare Burrage from Physics and Astronomy have been spending the week at Westminster. This is Phil’s story: Along with 35 other scientists (including my colleague Clare Burrage here …
Is Asda right about mental health?
October 2, 2013
This is a guest post by Greg Hollin, doctoral researcher at the Institute for Science and Society, University of Nottingham. The obvious answer to the question above is ‘no’; a finer example of Betteridge’s Law of Headlines is not easily found. The decision by Asda – who sold a ‘mental patient fancy dress costume’ complete with …
The ‘Making Science Public’ blog: What is it for?
August 17, 2013
Our ‘Making Science Public’ blog puzzles some readers, and perhaps rightly so. One blogger in particular pointed out recently that he found what we are doing ‘confusing’. This confusion emerged in particular in the context of us posting some guest-posts on climate science and climate politics (and climate scepticism) and also in the context of …
Making Science Public: A one-year anthology of blog posts
August 2, 2013
In spring 2012 we began work on a five-year research programme funded by the Leverhulme Trust entitled ‘Making Science Public: Challenges and Opportunities’ (2012-2017). The programme deals with all aspects of ‘making science public’, but in particular with controversies around science, politics, publics and participation. As part of the programme, we began writing a blog …