Investigations on the relationships between science and society see some of their most fruitful and significant spheres in the themes of health and medicine. The concepts and the problems linked to health issues inscribe within themselves practices, competences and choices that refer to science – in fact, as it has emerged, Italians judge medicine a…
Observa – Science in Society is a non-profit association. In line with its mission to offer a balanced and independent viewpoint on the debate regarding the relationship between science and society, Observa does not depend upon private, or public, institutions. Members’ support, together with funded projects and donations, results thus necessary for the implementation of…
Second edition of the Venice Science Communication Symposia On the 15th and 16th of January, some of the major international experts in science communication met for the second time, in the context of the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti. The focus of this year’s Symposium was “Quality in the Communication of Science”. Coordinated…
During these latest years, a series of dramatic events, last in chronological order Eluana Englaro’s case, and even numerous films (from Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby to Denys Arcand’s Les Invasions Barbares) have focussed public debate on the issues of euthanasia and of the so called “biological will”. In the light of the most recent…
Recently the public debate has been focussed on the reform of the Italian university system and on the cuts in the funds dedicated to research. But what are the public opinion orientations about the role of research and of researchers in the Italian society? The data from the Science and Society Monitor offer a rich…
For the last ten years UNESCO and L’Oréal have been promoting an international partnership project, “L’Oreal UNESCO for Women in Science”, that has the finality to support the role of women in science and to foster their full participation in scientific research world-wide. Thanks to this project, over 350 female researchers around the world have…
90% of Italians are convinced that the earth climate is warming up because summers are more and more hot and winters are less and less cold. Italian public opinion is not much affected neither by scientific evidence nor by environmentalist campaigns. Citizens give prominence to natural observation and direct experience of seasons changing. These and…
Food price increase and periodic alarms for food scarcity at global scale have caught Italian public opinion attention. 60% of European believe that food (low) quality is a major threat for health, more risky that pollution or dumbing of waste. Italian worries about food mainly concern the use of pesticides in cultivations: over one third…