For scientists, for students or for the public? : the shifting roles of natural history museums

This article aims to discuss the main roles of natural history museums and to show how these purposes have evolved and adapted throughout the museums’ history, as a response to the development of natural sciences and societal change, from their creation in the 18th century to the present. It strives to demonstrate how the balance between research, teaching and disseminating knowledge to the public has successively shifted, without ever forsaking any of these functions. It is focused on Portuguese museums, but examining their place within international trends

Climate scientists and the public: interactions and knowledge exchanges

Raising public awareness of climate change is crucial for transforming individual behaviours and amassing support to policy measures, which may threaten prosperity and comfort levels that came to be expected in affluent societies. Scientists are one of several agents involved in public communication of climate chang

O Retorno dos "Cérebros": Regresso e Reintegração dos Investigadores Portugueses em Mobilidade

Este artigo tem por objectivo analisar o regresso de cientistas formados no estrangeiro a países semi-periféricos, apresentando resultados de uma investigação desenvolvida em Portugal. São apresentados não só dados quantitativos sobre os fluxos de retorno e as modalidades de reintegração no sistema científico, como também informação de teor qualitativo, sustentada em entrevistas, respeitante a motivações, trajectórias de carreira e impacto da mobilidade no trabalho científico. Verificou-se que, ainda que o volume de retornos a Portugal seja significativo e que a capacidade de reingresso no sistema científico seja expressiva, não está ausente de dificuldades. São identificados dois tipos de investigadores regressados, a que correspondem distintas situações de carreira e diferentes obstáculos à prossecução da actividade científica. Por fim, exploram-se os efeitos positivos da mobilidade na prática científica e no próprio desenvolvimento do sistema de I&D, assim como as barreiras à sua plena concretização.This article aims to analyse why researchers trained abroad return to and how they reintegrate in semi-peripheral countries, based on research carried out in Portugal. Quantitative data on return flows and reintegration modalities is presented alongside qualitative information, based on interviews, addressing motivations, career trajectories and the impact of mobility in scientific work. It has been ascertained that, though the amount of returns is significant and the ability to reintegrate in the scientific system is fairly common, difficulties do exist. Two types of returnee researchers are identified, corresponding to different career situations and different hurdles in pursuing scientific activities. Finally, the positive effects of mobility in scientific practice and in the development of the R&D system are discussed, together with the barriers to its comprehensive fulfilment

At the (Semi)Periphery: the Development of Science and Technology Studies in Portugal

This article presents an account of the development of STS in Portugal. It pays particular attention to two dimensions. The first regards the domains typically studied by STS scholars in Portugal, grouped in four sections: studies on the scientific system, laboratory ethnographies, research on science and society and risk case studies. The second is the institutional setting in which STS are undertaken, detailing the institutions, groups, journals and associations in this field. The paper attempts to tie the specificities of Portuguese STS with the characteristics of the local scientific system, showing how themes and analysis are influenced by the “semi-peripheral” condition of science in Portugal

Visual Representations of Science in a Pandemic: COVID-19 in Images

This article aims to contribute to the understanding of the social dimensions of the 2020 pandemic, with a particular emphasis on the visual practices of science communication in times of health emergency, by analyzing how the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is being visually represented. It seeks to identify the format and content of images used to illustrate online information about the pandemic, in particular, from websites of policy institutions, research promoters, and media in Portugal and Spain. By examining a sample containing 600 images, it aims to identify the messages being conveyed and the effects these images intend to provoke and to illuminate the differences in representations among the three sources of communication. Differences and similarities with visual images of previous pandemics (influenza, AIDS) are examined. This article ascertains that policy websites aim to be mostly prescriptive, relying on infographics to convey prevention and care instructions to its audiences. On the other hand, science websites rely mostly on stock photos and images from scientific articles to illustrate current research, while newspaper websites are the most diversified in terms of the images they use and the topics they cover. This study concludes that representations of science are still very much based on stereotypical imagery of labs and white coats, that representations of the medical side of the pandemic are focused on images of intensive care that aim to generate fear and stimulate responsible behavior, and that the social aspects of the pandemic are illustrated by images that focus either on pandemic prevention (e.g., washing hands) or on the impacts of the pandemic itself (e.g., empty streets during lockdown).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Forecasting with missing data: Application to a real case

This paper presents a comparative analysis of linear and mixed models for short term forecasting of a real data series with a high percentage of missing data. Data are the series of significant wave heights registered at regular periods of three hours by a buoy placed in the Bay of Biscay. The series is interpolated with a linear predictor which minimizes the forecast mean square error. The linear models are seasonal ARIMA models and the mixed models have a linear component and a non linear seasonal component. The non linear component is estimated by a non parametric regression of data versus time. Short term forecasts, no more than two days ahead, are of interest because they can be used by the port authorities to notice the fleet. Several models are fitted and compared by their forecasting behavior.Significant wave height, mean square error, linear interpolation, ARIMA models, nonparametric smoothing

Pulled or Pushed? The Emigration of Portuguese Scientists

This chapter addresses the migration of scientific professionals from Portugal in the past few decades, focusing on the pull (which attract skilled workers to a country) and push (which repel workers away from the country of origin) factors that drive this migration. Based on official statistics, a questionnaire survey with researchers abroad and semi-structured interviews with returnee scientists, the chapter shows how Portugal, as a semi-peripheral country, has traditionally been a sending rather than a receiving country for scientists. Exit trends were actively encouraged throughout the last few decades by national science policies (training of human resources that provided opportunities for studying and working abroad) and by European policies (of intra-EU mobility). Similarly, the growth of resources in the Portuguese scientific system came to be a factor for attracting foreign scientists to Portugal. Mobility rates, both outbound and return, were high but over time push factors became less significant, as Portugal increased its attractiveness for young researchers wishing to pursue advanced training and even for foreign researchers. However, in later years, the economic crisis and the austerity measures implemented to deal with it, as well as some changes in science policy, have created favourable conditions for an increase in brain drain. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Document type: Part of book or chapter of boo

Medical scientific societies in Portugal

Medical scientific societies, just like other scientific associations, are a fairly neglected object in the studies of science. Most of the published research in this area is comprised by historical studies of individual societies, by type or by geographical region. This article aims to fill this gap by presenting original research on contemporary medical societies. It seeks to characterise what are their main activities, how do they function and what relations they establish with other actors in the scientific field. It is focused on Portuguese medical societies but if seeks to draw comparisons with other national contexts whenever there is available information. The data presented was gathered as part of a project intituled SOCSCI Scientific Societies in Contemporary Science, which aims to understand scientific societies in general. This article pays particular attention to three medical societies which were included in a sample of in-depth studies from the project: the Lisbon Society of Medical Sciences, the Portuguese Neurology Society and the Portuguese Neurosciences Society.As sociedades científicas médicas, tal como as restantes sociedades científicas, são um objeto relativamente negligenciado nos estudos da ciência. A maioria da investigação publicada nesta área é composta por estudos históricos de sociedades individuais, ou por tipo, ou por região geográfica. Este artigo procura preencher este vazio apresentando investigação original sobre sociedades médicas contemporâneas. Procura compreender quais são as suas principais actividades, como funcionam e que relações estabelecem com outros atores no campo científico. É focado nas sociedades médicas portuguesas mas procura fornecer comparações com outros contextos nacionais sempre que existir informação disponível. Os dados apresentados foram recolhidos como parte de um projecto intitulado SOCSCI Sociedades científicas na ciência contemporânea, que procura compreender as associações científicas em geral. Este artigo dá particular atenção a três sociedades médicas que foram incluídas numa amostra de estudos aprofundados do projecto: a Sociedade de Ciências Médicas de Lisboa, a Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurologia e a Sociedade Portuguesa de Neurociências