Scientific Culture and Social Appropriation of the Science

Abstract

The aim of this contribution is to conduct a critical approach to the concept and traditional measurement of scientific culture on the basis of an analysis of the phenomenon of the social appropriation of the science, assuming a multidimensional outlook sensitive to its contextual and behavioural dimensions. The analysis will be carried out along with a revision of some statistical results coming from a recent opinion survey about public perception of science and technology in Spain.

Keywords:

• Scientific Culture
• Participation and Science and Technology
• Public Understanding of Science

Acknowledgements

The authors express their acknowledgment to the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology—FECYT—and the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (HUM2005–06760) for their support for the development and publication of this research.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

José A. López Cerezo

José A. López Cerezo is Professor of Philosophy of Science in the University of Oviedo, Spain, and Academic Co‐ordinator of the Science, Technology and Society Network in the Organization of Ibero‐American States (OEI). His most recent books are: Ciencia y política del riesgo (Science and Politics of Risk), with J. L. Luján (Madrid: Alianza, 2000); Políticas del bosque (Politics of the Forest) with M. González (Madrid: Cambridge University Press, 2002); and Studies in Science, Technology, and Society (Technology in Society, edition) with A. Ibarra (2003).

Montaña Cámara

Montaña Cámara is Professor of Food Science and Nutrition in the Complutense University of Madrid. She has published some works on science communication and food science research in collaboration with national (FECYT, AGRUCON, F. ANTAMA, F. Sabor y Salud, etc.) and international (USDA, UCDavis, Fulbright Commission, AMITOM, ASA, etc.) institutions.