Just published two new books on the relationship between science, technology and society: Dynamics of Disaster and The Culture of Science. Among the editors, Barbara Allen and Martin W. Bauer from Observa international scientific committee. Below, a short review of both the volumes.
Barbara L. Allen and Rachel A. Dowty (eds.), Dynamics of Disaster. Lessons on Risk, Response and Recovery, with a foreword by Alan Irwin, Science in Society Series, Earthscan, 2011.
Disasters are the result of complex interactions between social and natural forces, acting at multiple scales from the individual and community to the organisational, national and international level. Effective disaster planning, response and recovery require an understanding of these interacting forces, and the role of power, knowledge and organisations. This book sheds new light on these dynamics, and gives disaster scholars and practitioners new and valuable lessons for management and planning in practice.
Martin W. Bauer, Rajesh K. Shukla, and Nick Allum (eds.), The Culture of Science. How the Public Relates to Science Across the Globe, Routledge Studies in Science, Technology and Society, Routledge, 2011.
This book offers the first comparative account of the changes and stabilities of public perceptions of science within the US, France, China, Japan, and across Europe over the past few decades. Among the contributions: Martin W. Bauer, The Changing Culture of Science across Old Europe: 1989 to 2005; Massimiano Bucchi and Federico Neresini, Monitoring Science in the Public Sphere: The Case of Italy.
