New sciences in a new country the

New sciences in a new country – the Irish paradox Brian Trench Celsius group, DCU

Ernest Walton, 1903 -95

The Irish National Conversation on Biotechnology There is a potential for conflict between the demand by industry and the research community to move forward and capitalise on the economic opportunities presented by biotechnology and those who advocate a broader perspective that would take into account the long-term social / environmental / ethical / safety impacts of these types of technological developments … A communications strategy in biotechnology that uses a partnership approach with ongoing, transparent and open dialogue should be a priority of any initiative.

HOW WELL INFORMED PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENTS ‘ 98 ‘ 00 Very well informed Fairly well informed Neither Not very well informed Not at all well informed MEAN SCORE 2. 62 2. 91

ATTITUDE SHIFTS on STI SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ARE IMPORTANT BUT NOT THE BE ALL AND END ALL OF FUTURE ECONOMIC PROGRESS ‘ 96 ‘ 98 ‘ 00 THERE SHOULD BE MORE TIME AND SPACE GIVEN OVER TO SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES IN IRISH NEWSPAPERS, TV AND RADIO ‘ 96 ‘ 98 ‘ 00 Agree strongly Agree slightly Neither / don’t know Disagree slightly Disagree strongly MEAN SCORE 3. 83 3. 86 3. 74 3. 79 3. 80

TY STUDENTS’ LEVELS OF INTEREST IN STI 1998 Very interested Fairly interested Neither Not very interested Not at all interested 2000 2002

HOW WELL INFORMED TY STUDENTS FEEL ABOUT SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS 2000 Very well informed Fairly well informed Neither informed nor uninformed Not very well informed Not at all well informed 2002

TY STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TO S&T, 1998 -2002 Only by applying the most modern technology, can our economy become more competitive ‘ 98 ‘ 00 ‘ 02 There should be more time and space given to scientific discoveries and tech. Info. In Irish newspapers, TV and radio ‘ 98 ‘ 00 ‘ 02 Agree strongly Agree slightly Neither Disagree slightly Disagree strongly AVERAGE 3. 79 3. 76 3. 63 3. 73 3. 58

Presentation of EU survey results Highest EU Irish average (IE) score Lowest

Science and European public opinion, 1977 • Are you interested in information on science discoveries? • Do you (at least sometimes) discuss science with friends? • Do you see science as a main factor in improvements in life? 76 NL 66 EC 56 IE 73 LU 55 EC 45 IE 81 LU 69 EC 61 IE

Science and European public opinion, 1977 • Life has changed a great deal (agree)? 84 IE 65 EC 46 DE • Life has changed for the better (agree)? 74 IE 52 EC 44 NL • Science is (very / quite) important in these changes? 93 88 EC 78 IE FR, NL

Awareness of new sciences, 2005, 2006

Europeans and biotechnology, 2005 How familiar are you with the following? (Very / quite familiar) GM foods Gene therapy Nanotechnology Pharmacogenetics 92 SE 73 NL 69 DK 47 SE EC 80 45 44 27 IE 68 40 26 21 52 LT 22 MT 26 IE 14 UK

Europeans and biotechnology, 2005 How familiar are you with stem cell research? (Very / quite familiar) Very Fairly Not very Not at all 14 DK 47 DK 56 SK 67 EL IE 5 29 33 34 EC 4 26 37 32 0 SLO, SI, 7 EL 24 EL 10 DK CZ

Special EB, 2006: Biomedical research Have you heard of EC funding of medical and health research? 63 EL 44 EU 25 IE 22 UK Have you heard of (Irish) researchers working on EU collaborative research in medicine and health? 72 FR 52 EU 28 IE

Informedness on science-based issues, 2005, 2007, 2008

Europeans and radioactive waste, 2005 -8 How well informed are you on radioactive waste? Well (2005) Well (2008) 51 SE 52 SE IE 26 21 EC 25 25 15 PT 15 BG

Europeans and biodiversity loss, 2007 How well informed are you on biodiversity loss? Very well + well Not at all 53 DE 38 SK EC 38 21 IE 25 37 20 IT 11 EE, BE, FI, BG

Europeans and climate change, 2008 How well informed are you on consequences and cause of climate change? Well (consequences) Well (causes) 85 SE 88 SE IE 59 59 EC 56 56 34 PT 33 RO

Interest in science, 1989, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

Europeans and S&T, 1989 How interested are you in the following? (very interested) • New scientific discoveries • Medical discoveries • New technologies and inventions 52 FR 35 EC 28 IE 21 PT 61 FR 41 EC 32 IE 20 ES 48 FR 32 EC 29 IE 19 DE

Europeans and S&T, 2005 How interested are you in the following? (very interested) • New scientific discoveries 64 CY 30 EC 26 IE 11 LT • New technologies and inventions 54 CY 30 EC 27 IE 14 LT

Special EB, 2006: Biomedical research Are you (very/fairly) interested in medical and health research? Are you (very/fairly) interested in science and technology? 93 EL 71 EU 66 IE 47 LT 82 EL 60 EU 47 IE 40 CZ

Scientific research in media, 2007 How interested are you in scientific research? Very Fairly Not at all 27 DK 55 FR, FI, SE 34 BG, IE EC 13 44 16 IE 9 32 34 3 CZ 26 RO 6 DF, SE

Flash EB, 2008: Young people and science • Are you (moderately / very) interested in S&T news? • Are you interested in new inventions and technologies? • Are you interested in the universe, sky and stars? 86 PT 67 EU 53 IE 97 PT 87 EU 83 UK 80 IE 81 PT 64 EU 54 IE 49 PL

Attention to science, 1989, 2005, 2007

Europeans and S&T, 1989 Visit the following at least once in past year? • Science museum or science centre 26 LU 19 EC 8 IE • Zoo or aquarium 47 DE 35 EC 32 IE 21 IT • Natural history museum 28 BE 21 EC 19 IE 10 EL

Europeans and biotechnology, 2005 • Do you talk (frequently / occasionally) about biotechnology? • Would you take part in public discussions or hearings? • Would you watch a TV programme or read an article? 50 DK 32 EU 18 IE 45 LU 33 EU 29 IE 15 ES 83 SE 68 EU 64 IE 41 ES

Europeans and S&T, 2005 How often do you read articles on science in press or on internet? Regularly Occasionally Hardly ever NL 38 32 18 12 EC 19 40 20 20 IE 16 35 19 25 IT 10 41 21 28

Scientific research in media, 2007 Do you use / read the following? (regularly + occasionally) Internet search for scientific information Science articles in press or magazines 44 DK 79 SE EC 28 49 IE 19 34 16 HU 30 HU

Scientific research in media, 2007 Do you watch / listen / buy media on scientific research? (regularly + occasionally) TV Radio Specialised programmes press 84 LU 52 EE 36 LU EC 61 26 22 IE 48 25 12 48 IE 17 PT 11 PL, HU

Disposition towards science, 1989, 1997, 2005

Europeans and S&T, 1989 How do you respond to the following? agree / agree) • Science-led change is too rapid • Benefits of science outweigh harms 75 EL (strongly 58 EC 54 IE 51 48 EL, ES, IE 46 EC 30 NL 57 FR PT, UK

Europeans and S&T, 2005 How do you respond to the following? agree / agree) (strongly • Science-led change is too rapid 94 EL 60 EC 42 IE • Benefits of science outweigh harms PL 65 52 EC 50 IE 39 NL

Europeans and S&T, 1989 How do you respond to the following? agree / agree) (strongly • We are too dependent on science, not enough on faith 57 ES 46 EC 45 IE 35 BE • Scientific knowledge is not important to me in my daily life 46 ES 37 EC 35 IE 27 LU

Europeans and S&T, 2005 How do you respond to the following? agree / agree) (strongly • We are too dependent on science, not enough on faith 63 MT 41 IE 40 EC 24 NL • Scientific knowledge is not important to me in my daily life 54 AT 42 IE 37 EC 24 MT

Europeans and S&T, 1989 How important is it that EC engages in research on the following? (very important) Renewable energy 74 DK 56 IE 55 EC 35 PT Biotechnology applied to agriculture 55 IT 51 IE 47 EC 37 Nuclear energy 55 IE 38 EC 17 LU NL, PT

Europeans and biotechnology, 1997 Biotech research brings benefits in food (quite agree/ definitely agree) 70 NL 58 IE 54 EU 31 AT Biotech research brings benefits in food (DK) 16 16 IE 9 EU 4 AT, BE IT, NL, SE

Europeans and biotechnology, 1997 Biotech research brings benefits in plants (quite agree/ definitely agree) 80 69 NL, FI EU 66 IE 36 AT Biotech research brings benefits in food (DK) 17 IE 9 EU 3 NL 17 IE

Europeans and biotechnology, 2005

Europeans and biotechnology, 2005 Support for following technologies GM foods Gene therapy Nanotechnology Pharmacogenetics 46 CZ 60 BE 72 FI 69 BE EC 27 50 55 52 IE 29 34 33 33 13 LU 32 MT, LT 33 IE 31 SL

Europeans and biotechnology, 2005 Do you support embryonic stem cell research? With usual regulation With tighter regulation Only under Not at all special circumstances Don’t know 41 DK 60 BE 31 SI 20 EL 36 EE EC 23 36 17 9 15 IE 15 21 19 11 34 3 SI 23 EE 10 ES 4 SE, DK, 2 EL NL, IT

‘Don’t Know’ responses, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2007

Europeans and S&T, 1992

Irish biotechnology ‘knowledge’ responses, 1996, 1999

Scientific research in media, 2007 42 BG 34 IE 15 EU 5 EL Satisfied with media information on scientific 47 research? (DK) BG 38 IE 20 EU 4 EL Importance of science in media? (DK)

Scientific research in media, 2007 Media information on science is useful? (DK) 22 IE 8 EU 2 SK Media information on science is difficult to understand? (DK) 23 BG 23 IE 8 EU 0 EL

Attitudes to S&T, 2008

2008 Survey for SFI • SFI commissioned Drury Research to explore: – Attitudes towards Science / Engineering / Technology – Perceived importance of investment in Scientific / Engineering / Technology research – Understanding & perceived importance of a knowledge based economy – SFI awareness, understanding of SFI role

Q 3. There has been some media coverage about Ireland becoming a knowledge based economy. How well informed do you feel you are about what this means? Only 1 in 4 claim to be informed about the term “knowledge based economy”. Similar results throughout, except: ABC 1 32% consider themselves well informed, compared with 20% of C 2 DE Base: All (1001)

Q 2(i). Agree or Disagree with the following statement: Investing in scientific research is critical to Ireland’s future economic development Younger age cohort less likely to appreciate economic benefit of investment in scientific research: 67% of 18 – 24 year olds agree, compared with 77% overall NB: vast majority of ABC 1 agreed with the statement (84%) Base: All (1001)