Are Opinions Based on Science: Modelling Social Response to Scientific Facts

As scientists we like to think that modern societies and their members base their views, opinions and behaviour on scientific facts. This is not necessarily the case, even though we are all (over-) exposed to information flow through various channels of media, i.e. newspapers, television, radio, internet, and web. It is thought that this is mainly due to the conflicting information on the mass media and to the individual attitude (formed by cultural, educational and environmental factors), that is, one external factor and another personal factor. In this paper we will investigate the dynamical development of opinion in a small population of agents by means of a computational model of opinion formation in a co-evolving network of socially linked agents. The personal and external factors are taken into account by assigning an individual attitude parameter to each agent, and by subjecting all to an external but homogeneous field to simulate the effect of the media. We then adjust the field strength in the model by using actual data on scientific perception surveys carried out in two different populations, which allow us to compare two different societies. We interpret the model findings with the aid of simple mean field calculations. Our results suggest that scientifically sound concepts are more difficult to acquire than concepts not validated by science, since opposing individuals organize themselves in close communities that prevent opinion consensus.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to PLoS ON

Impact of institutional organization on research productivity and multidisciplinarity

In this article, we will describe a model to examine the influence of differently organized institutions on their scientific productivity. We take two extreme cases, on one hand, an institution divided in departments with no collaboration between people in different departments. These could be disciplines or merely projects. On the other hand, we consider an institution that allows interactions between all individuals, without a departmental structure to a department. We compare the results with data from the Institute of Renewable Energy (IER) at UNAM, which has changed its organization and policies during the last 30 years, and we could quantitatively predict the changes observed in productivity and multidisciplinarity. This model can be applied to a broader set of institutions and processes

Planeta prestado: las fuentes renovables de energía

Las fuentes renovables de energía son aquellas en que la tasa de consumo es menor a la tasa de producción y son la solar (fototérmica y fotovoltaica), la eólica, la biomasa, la geotermia, la oceánica y la hidráulica. Este tipo de energías tienen diversos beneficios: ofrecen seguridad en la oferta energética, no están sujetas a cambios bruscos de precio (como el petróleo), no hace falta inversión militar para su protección, favorecen el desarrollo rural y generan nuevos empleos. Aunque el aspecto más importante es que reducen la degradación del aire, del agua, de la tierra, de la biodiversidad y de los gases de efecto invernadero que alteran el clima. Durante esta charla, Julia Tagüeña cuestiona, analiza y debate los desafíos en nuevas alternativas energéticas. Tagüeña es Doctora en Física del Estado Sólido por la Universidad de Oxford y Licenciada en Física por la UNAM. Ha sido catedrática en diferentes niveles educativos y pertenece a diversas sociedades científicas, entre ella en la Academia Mexicana de Ciencias. Ha participado en un gran número de cuerpos colegiados y comisiones evaluadoras así como en jurados de diversos premios.ITESO, A.C

El manejo de las escalas como obstáculo epistemológico en la divulgación de la nanociencia

This paper considers three main ideas. First, the notion of epistemological obstacle (EO) proposed by Bachelard, which considers that during science teaching, the learners have their own personal explanations about the world, that function as real epistemological obstacles (EO). These EO impair the understanding of scientific knowledge. The second one is that nanoscience and nanotechnology are becoming common aspects of daily life, but where the perception of nanoscales functions as real EO that interferes with is comprehension. And third, it is considered that in informal science education environments such as science museums, it is possible to detect those EO, due to the nature of the interaction between the visitors and the exhibits. In this paper an empirical research is presented, aiming to set a proposal to work with the EO represented by nanoscales.El presente trabajo parte de tres ideas, la primera es la noción de obstáculos epistemológicos (OE), explicaciones del mundo que, de acuerdo con Bachelard, limitan la comprensión de los conocimientos científicos durante su enseñanza. La segunda es que la nanociencia y la nanotecnología se han convertido en aspectos comunes de la vida diaria a los que debería tenerse acceso, pero donde suponemos que la percepción de las escalas nano funciona como OE para la comprensión de sus alcances y aplicaciones. Por último, consideramos que en los ambientes de aprendizaje informal de los museos de ciencias, dada la naturaleza de la interacción del público con sus exhibiciones, es posible detectar dichos OE. En este trabajo, se presenta un estudio empírico que lleva a una propuesta para trabajar los OE que representan las escalas nano

Los museos latinoamericanos de ciencia y la equidad Latin American science museums and equity

América Latina y el Caribe constituyen una región muy variada, pero culturalmente afín. Los orígenes de sus países, sus riquezas y también sus problemas son muy semejantes; inclusive se encuentran puntos claros de contacto en aspectos más fundamentales, como la visión del mundo de cada sociedad. En toda esta región existe una corriente democratizadora muy fuerte que busca sociedades más justas y educadas. La ciencia juega un papel fundamental en el desarrollo como una poderosa arma de tolerancia y equidad. Por ello debe ser divulgada al mayor número posible de latinoamericanos. Para ayudar a lograr esta meta se creó la Red de Popularización de la Ciencia y la Tecnología para América Latina y el Caribe (Red POP), auspiciada por ORCYT-Unesco, que es una red interactiva que agrupa a centros y programas de popularización de la ciencia y la tecnología y que favorece el intercambio, la capacitación y el aprovechamiento de recursos entre sus miembros.<br>Latin America and the Caribbean form a region of great variations yet marked by cultural resemblances. The origins of the region's countries, of their wealth, and also of their problems are quite similar. Indeed, there are clear points of contact in the most basic aspects, such as each society's worldview. Throughout the region there is a very strong democratizing trend that seeks more just and more educated societies. Science plays a key role in development as a powerful weapon for tolerance and equity and therefore should be disseminated among the greatest possible number of Latin Americans. Red POP the Network for the Popularization of Science and Technology in Latin America and the Caribbean - was created to help reach this goal. Under the auspices of ORCYT-UNESCO, Red POP is an interactive network of centers and programs that work to bring science and technology to the public at large. It fosters exchange, skill-acquisition, and resource use among its members. Based on the network's experience, we explore to what extent science museums favor equity in their home societies

Exploring research on ecotechnology through artificial intelligence and bibliometric maps

Ecotechnology, quintessential for crafting sustainable socio-environmental strategies, remains tantalizingly uncharted. Our analysis, steered by the nuances of machine learning and augmented by bibliometric insights, delineates the expansive terrain of this domain, elucidates pivotal research themes and conundrums, and discerns the vanguard nations in this field. Furthermore, we deftly connect our discoveries to the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, thereby accentuating the profound societal ramifications of ecotechnology