Chemists and “The Public”: IUPAC’s Role in Achieving Mutual Understanding (IUPAC Technical Report)
Chemists and “The Public”: IUPAC’s Role in Achieving Mutual Understanding (IUPAC Technical Report)
Peter Mahaffy, Anthony Ashmore, Bob Bucat, Choon Do, and Megan Rosborough
Pure and Applied Chemistry, 2008
Vol. 80, No. 1, pp. 161–174
doi:10.1351/pac200880010161
This report informs IUPAC’s efforts to enhance the public understanding of and appreciation for chemistry by evaluating IUPAC’s mandate, strengths, and weaknesses, and providing insights from a substantial review of the relevant science communication literature. It summarizes the recommendations of an IUPAC project whose overall goal is to provide a framework that will bring the same level of intellectual rigor to IUPAC’s science communication activities as to its scientific activities. This implies that careful attention must be paid to the terminology used to describe these activities, to clear articulation of goals and motives for public understanding of chemistry initiatives, and to inclusion of rigorous evaluations of outcomes from the outset in the design of projects on the public understanding of chemistry.
Informed by our analysis of best practices for science communication, this report provides the following conclusions and recommendations:
IUPAC has an important role to play in enhancing public understanding of chemistry.
Public understanding of chemistry activities aimed at supporting teachers and students within the formal school system are more effective than those aimed at the general public.
IUPAC’s primary targeted public should be IUPAC chemists and educators, and IUPAC’s most important role is to help them understand and work with a variety of other publics.
It is proposed that IUPAC’s niche be to focus on activities that indirectly enhance public understanding, such as:
(a) helping scientists identify and understand their publics
(b) influencing international organizations
(c) supporting science education systems, particularly in countries in transition
(d) supporting scientists and educators by communicating relevant findings from IUPAC projects, conferences, and activities at an appropriate level
(e) supporting national chemical societies and other organizations
Recommendations are presented for steps to be undertaken by IUPAC to implement these recommendations and to develop a clearer strategy for public understanding of chemistry initiatives and activities.
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- Masthead
- Contents
- Adding a Stone to the IUPAC Edifice
- Spain Celebrates Its Year of Science Honoring Mendeleev
- Where Does IUPAC Stand with Regard to this Discipline?
- Triads, Triads, Everywhere
- Chemistry in the Information and Communications Technology Age
- Analytical Terminology and the Orange Book–The Resources at the End of the Rainbow
- Peter Mahaffy Awarded 3M Canada Teaching Fellowship
- Pieter S. Steyn Receives Science for Society Gold Medal
- Chemical Heritage Foundation Produces Distillations, a Weekly Podcast
- Mechanistic Aspects of Chemical Vapor Generation of Volatile Hydrides for Trace Element Determination
- Assessment of Theoretical Methods for the Study of Reactions Involving Global Warming Gas Species Degradation and Byproduct Formation
- Analysis of the Usage of Nanoscience and Technology in Chemistry
- Extension of ThermoML–The IUPAC Standard for Thermodynamic Data Communications
- Provisional Recommendations
- Further Conventions for NMR Shielding and Chemical Shifts (IUPAC Recommendations 2008)
- Transport of Pesticides via Macropores (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Performance Evaluation Criteria for Preparation and Measurement of Macro- and Microfabricated Ion-Selective Electrodes (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Chemists and “The Public”: IUPAC’s Role in Achieving Mutual Understanding (IUPAC Technical Report)
- DE STERS!
- Glossary of Terms Related to Solubility (IUPAC Recommendations 2008)
- Structure-Based Nomenclature for Cyclic Organic Macromolecules (IUPAC Recommendations 2008)
- Impact of Scientific Developments on the Chemical Weapons Convention (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Graphical Representation Standards for Chemical Structure Diagrams (IUPAC Recommendations 2008)
- The Periodic Table: Database or XML?
- The Investigation of Organic Reactions and their Mechanisms
- Modern Physical Chemistry for Advanced Materials
- Physical Organic Chemistry in Latin America
- Infrared Spectroscopy Applied to Biological and Biomimetic Systems
- Malta III–Research and Education in the Middle East
- The Future of Science Is through Its Students
- Physical Organic Chemistry
- Safe Food
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- Nano-Bio & Clean Tech
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- Mark Your Calendar
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Contents
- Adding a Stone to the IUPAC Edifice
- Spain Celebrates Its Year of Science Honoring Mendeleev
- Where Does IUPAC Stand with Regard to this Discipline?
- Triads, Triads, Everywhere
- Chemistry in the Information and Communications Technology Age
- Analytical Terminology and the Orange Book–The Resources at the End of the Rainbow
- Peter Mahaffy Awarded 3M Canada Teaching Fellowship
- Pieter S. Steyn Receives Science for Society Gold Medal
- Chemical Heritage Foundation Produces Distillations, a Weekly Podcast
- Mechanistic Aspects of Chemical Vapor Generation of Volatile Hydrides for Trace Element Determination
- Assessment of Theoretical Methods for the Study of Reactions Involving Global Warming Gas Species Degradation and Byproduct Formation
- Analysis of the Usage of Nanoscience and Technology in Chemistry
- Extension of ThermoML–The IUPAC Standard for Thermodynamic Data Communications
- Provisional Recommendations
- Further Conventions for NMR Shielding and Chemical Shifts (IUPAC Recommendations 2008)
- Transport of Pesticides via Macropores (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Performance Evaluation Criteria for Preparation and Measurement of Macro- and Microfabricated Ion-Selective Electrodes (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Chemists and “The Public”: IUPAC’s Role in Achieving Mutual Understanding (IUPAC Technical Report)
- DE STERS!
- Glossary of Terms Related to Solubility (IUPAC Recommendations 2008)
- Structure-Based Nomenclature for Cyclic Organic Macromolecules (IUPAC Recommendations 2008)
- Impact of Scientific Developments on the Chemical Weapons Convention (IUPAC Technical Report)
- Graphical Representation Standards for Chemical Structure Diagrams (IUPAC Recommendations 2008)
- The Periodic Table: Database or XML?
- The Investigation of Organic Reactions and their Mechanisms
- Modern Physical Chemistry for Advanced Materials
- Physical Organic Chemistry in Latin America
- Infrared Spectroscopy Applied to Biological and Biomimetic Systems
- Malta III–Research and Education in the Middle East
- The Future of Science Is through Its Students
- Physical Organic Chemistry
- Safe Food
- Macro- and Supra-Molecular Architectures and Materials
- Challenges in Organic and Bioorganic Chemistry
- Nano-Bio & Clean Tech
- Chemistry Industry and Environment
- Mark Your Calendar
