How to foster scientific culture in the public: The role of academic journals
Author: Ji Zhao – National Academy of Innovation Strategy, CAST, China
Co-authors:
- Zhengfeng Li – Tsinghua University, China
- Hans Peter Peters – Research Center Jülich, Free University Berlin, Germany
- Emma Weitkamp – University of the West of England, United Kingdom
Initially scientific culture came into being within the scientific community. It is a set of values, patterns, code of conduct and social norms established based upon scientific activities. With the advance of modern science and technology in the past few decades, scientific culture has penetrated every corner of the society and become a mainstream value. At the same time, the diversity of social culture has also impacted affectedon scientific culture and shaped its diverse features.
Nowadays, due to the widespread usage of the social media such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, the public is widely exposed to science misinformation and extensive reports about the misconduct of the scientific community and the inappropriate application of modern science and technology. On the one hand, these negative information reports triggers self-reflection and self-criticism in the scientific community. On the other hand, the public tends to form pessimistic opinion and lose trust in science and technology. How to foster scientific culture in the public is a challenge facing government and the scientific community.
Academic journal plays an important role in scholarly communication. It ensures the quality of published findings by the merit of the peer review and the expertise of the workforce. Driven by the development of technology and economy, academic journals itself themselves areis also subject to profound changes. The use of networks, the growth of data-intensive and data-driven science and globalization of research have enriched the publishing context and dissemination model of journals. Academic journal provides good opportunities to showcase the development level and the diversities of scientific culture worldwide. Meanwhile, it can also be a source and site of regeneration of innovation ideas in the research field.
Therefore, in the proposed roundtable discussion, we would like to focus on the role of academic journals to foster scientific culture in the public.
The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.
Presentation type: Roundtable discussion
Theme: Transformation