0000004759 00000 n We live in an information-driven society. This PowerPoint goes through the food web and has a picture of the ocean food energy pyramid. Applied universities are Germany-specific tertiary education and research institutions. Our analysis is based on an empirical survey among 499 researchers in Germany conducted from April to June 2020. Science and technology has led to the construction of good and reliable roads, rails and bridges which has made transportation easier and comfortable. Although these concepts differ in their objectives, they generally assume a form of scientific value creation that is no longer self-sufficient and is increasingly interwoven with society. Click through the PLOS taxonomy to find articles in your field. }, author={Muhammad Arham Parvez and Irfan Ahmad Rana and Adnan Nawaz and Hafiz Syed Hamid Arshad}, journal={Environmental science . Technology has largely influenced every aspect of living. We designed a standardized instrument, consisting of six sections (A: sociodemographics, B: work context, C: knowledge transfer, D: teaching, E: research, F: general questions, G: personality). In the last decade, however, policymakers have begun to focus more on the societal impact of research and hence on what academic research offers for the economy, society, culture, public administration, health, environment, and overall quality of life [2, 5, 6]. Geogirl. In particular, we were interested in researchers perspectives on a) societal engagement as a part of scientific activity, b) whether societal impact should be considered more in research evaluation, c) the performance of institutional communication departments in reaching relevant societal stakeholders, and d) the importance of knowledge transfer at the institutions. (3) Distribution of the researchers sex across age groups. Some of the questions we analyzed were implemented as a 5-point Likert scale (strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree). Each question allowed further responses in an open text fieldfrom the few additional responses and the high response rate, we concluded that the identified categories were robust. Copyright: 2021 Fecher, Hebing. All Published Paper Digital Li ;:iH/> Pn3lpnF}kgUU@e/m;,mN[.VkuW_ymG;PnTk|lh e|.##U*uv'Whq*ebNC So when we speak of the impact of science on society we are speaking about the more advanced countries, and when we speculate on the future, it usually concerns the same areas of the world. When it comes to gender, male researchers are more inclined to pursue goals that are also related to their disciplines and vice versa. It was only from the late 1980s onward that researchers were increasingly expected to account for their achievements in evaluation exercises [24]. Nevertheless, as researchers expressions of impact, they provide a suitable textual data basis for developing goal and format categories [82, 83]. 2. 0000041113 00000 n Our framework for societal goals and our results can also be the basis for disciplinary self-understanding (e.g., in learned societies), in that they can stimulate a normative discussion about good transfer and its evaluation. Furthermore, 62% of humanities scholars consider preserving cultural heritage a goal of their activities; 54% of social scientists consider strengthening the position of disadvantaged groups to be an impact goal. Only 28% of the researchers from universities have used collaboration formats, compared to 53% of researchers from applied universities and 35% of researchers from independent institutes. They are rather transfer-oriented and usually specialized in certain fields (e.g., arts, technology, or business). Get in touch with your inner creative with our downloadable resources. Social scientists have the most experience with advisory formats: 50% have used them compared to 28% of humanities scholars and 24% of natural scientists. Think you'll never have to ask for help? PowerPoint: Aquatic Biomes & Species Diversity. On the other hand, scientists must understand the problems policy-makers face and endeavor to make the results of their research relevant and comprehensible to society. It contributes to ensuring a longer and healthier life, monitors our health, provides medicine to cure our diseases, alleviates aches and pains, helps us to provide water for our basic needs including our food, provides energy and makes life more fun, including sports, music, entertainment and the latest communication technology. Researchers from applied universities are the primary users of advisory formats: 57% of researchers at applied universities have used advisory formats compared to 40% of researchers at independent institutes and only 26% of the researchers at universities. Regarding the disciplinary background, we used the classification of the German Research Association (DFG) and merged the disciplines into three groups: 41% of the respondents were from the natural sciences, 35% were from the social sciences, and 26% were from the humanities [84]. Students are always looking for inspiring presentation topics for their academic assignments because employers look for people who have exc For example, if economic and technical impact were the sole basis for assessing societal impact, social sciences and humanities scholars would be discriminated against [6, 63]. In this paper, we focus on those who stated that their primary work location is Germany, leaving us with 499 valid (59%) cases to analyze. Martin, for example, asked pointedly whether the creation of the REF would create a Frankenstein monster, because the costs of conducting the evaluation might outweigh the benefits [8]. It makes sense for critical evaluation research to make use of empirical work on the exchange between science and society. People who smoke may have seen a smoking . The Impact of Science on Society. Later, entire lines of (communication) research addressed how the public deals with science, for example, the public understanding or awareness of science (PUS, PAwS), scientific literacy, or more recently the public engagement with science and technology (PEST) and the science of science communication [3033]. In addition, it is striking that only 27% of the respondents assume that knowledge transfer plays an important role at their institution; also 27% n believe that the institutional communication department is managing to reach relevant stakeholders in society. Making a contribution to education is by far the most common impact goal across all disciplines (87% for the humanities, 70% for the social sciences, 58% for the natural sciences). In the Netherlands, a region with some of the most developed examples of impact governance, the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU), the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) have implemented guidelines for the evaluation and improvement for research, the Standard Evaluation Protocol (SEP). Researchers from independent institutes should in theory be able to devote more resources to transfer activities than researchers at universities and applied universities, as this latter group has teaching obligations. With my research, I would like to . According to Bornmann, three main strands of societal impact can be distinguished: First, societal impact as a product (i.e., as an artifact that embodies scientific knowledge), second, societal impact as use (i.e., the adoption of academic knowledge by societal stakeholders), and third, societal impact as benefits (i.e., the effects of the use of research) [2]. We've updated our privacy policy. Initially, these focused on intra-scientific (and often bibliometric) impact. Enjoy access to millions of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, and more from Scribd. Discover all the effective and impactful Impact On Society presentation templates and google slides. It is also evident that researchers from applied universities tend to be more economically oriented, while researchers from independent institutes tend to be more policy-oriented. It contributes to ensuring a longer and healthier life, monitors our health, provides medicine to cure our diseases, alleviates aches and pains, helps us to provide water for our basic needs - including our food, provides energy and makes life more fun, including sports, music, entertainment and the latest communication technology. This can ensure that students find the . The institutional review board and data protection officer of the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society approved this study. Yes A steam turbine with the case opened, an example of energy technology. Researchers from applied universities are especially likely to have used advisory and collaboration formats. (1) $3.00. PPTX. This confirms the descriptive observations: Humanities scholars (p = 0.01) and social scientists (p<0.01) are significantly more likely to agree that societal relevance should be part of research evaluation compared to natural scientists. A Brief History of Creativity from Cheops Pyramid to Silicon Valley: 5000 Yea Week 1, an introduction to the systematic study of society. For example, many associations for the social sciences and humanities in Germany expressed concern that the BMBF initiative does not take into account the current state of science communication research [24]. The Middle Atlantic Planetarium Society has membership from Maine to Georgia and west to the Great Lakes. Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254006, Editor: Laurentiu Rozylowicz, University of Bucharest, ROMANIA, Received: February 2, 2021; Accepted: June 18, 2021; Published: July 9, 2021. Fig 3 provides an overview of the societal goals the respondents could choose from by disciplinary group. Furthermore, female researchers (controlled for discipline), applied researchers, and younger researchers are significantly more in favor of including societal relevance in research evaluation. e0254006. Investigation, Science, technology and innovation must drive our pursuit of more equitable and sustainable development. 0000003566 00000 n https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254006.g002. The first round involved topic experts (i.e. The topic has, however, been prominently discussed: Referring to the announcement that the next EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation will focus more on the societal benefits of research, the Alliance of Science Organisations stated in 2018 that any such evaluation should be differentiated and tailored to the demands of science [15]. Principles of an Attractive Headline 1. If this cannot be done, science will precipitate evils greater than any that mankind has ever experienced. Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society, Berlin, Germany, Until the 1970s there was no doubt among policymakers that public investment in research would have a positive societal impact. Based on a communication-centered approach, this article examines how researchers approach societal impact, that is, what they think about societal impact in research governance, what their societal goals are, and how they use communication formats. Search. In 2020, it set up a think tank to work out how societal impact could be evaluated [17].