holders of a higher education degree in humanities. On average, space research is of more interest for men, students and young people in general, and people with a degree in technology and/or science. Issues related to the policies and funding of science are mostly of interest only to academic people and those with other interests in science. Of course, the media plays a crucial role in the
dissemination and communication of science and research – it is through the media that most people get their information. In this report, respondents were asked to assess the importance of various information sources as providers of information regarding science and research. Mass media was a clear winner, with electronic media being slightly more popular than printed media. Television and radio were deemed as more significant sources of scientific information compared to newspapers. The Internet was not far behind traditional mass media. Many named their work or education as a source of scientific information. Popular magazines were chosen by more than a third of the respondents, as was general nonfiction and professional literature. The least important sources of scientific information
were public events, seminars and lectures. Other less important sources included scientific journals and literature, as well as science centres, museums and exhibitions. These results show trend-like development in the
interrelations amongst information sources. The change in the role of the Internet is notable; the amount of respondents naming the Internet as a source of scientific information has risen by four percentage points from the last survey. The importance of this increase is emphasised by the corresponding lack of increase for other sources, with the exception of science centres. The Internet appears to have increased its importance at the expense of other information channels. The main traditional channels of communication in
particular, i.e. newspapers, television and radio, have experienced a decline in importance, and their long- term development is on a downward trend. The earlier downward trend of scientific literature has halted. Throughout the monitoring period, the most stable position was held by popular scientific magazines. The
significance of the Internet has increased
amongst men and women, young and old, and other population groups with various levels of education. Presumably the responses reflect the situation in general, and are not merely from the perspective of acquiring scientific information. The responses highlight the importance of seminars, lectures and other public events as sources of information for women, and the difference seems to be heading in the same direction with regard to television, radio and popular magazines. Men in turn base their knowledge relatively more on popular scientific magazines. Young people are clearly relying on the internet. The importance of work and education is also emphasised
26 Insight Publishers | Projects
“In general,
Finnish people are optimistic, but not overly hopeful,
about science”
within younger age groups. Education level correlates positively with the use of nearly all sources of information. The respondents were asked to assess their level of
trust in various institutions in Finnish society. The highest level of trust was found in the two organisations responsible for the internal and external security of Finnish society: the police and the defence forces. Science, both as an institution and more specifically through certain organisations, is also highly trusted. Amongst scientific organisations, Finnish
universities and other institutions of higher education are trusted nearly as much as the defence forces. More than seven out of 10 respondents have great trust in these higher education institutions, while less than 10 per cent report a lack of trust. Polytechnics or universities of applied science lag behind slightly, but still manage to inspire a great deal of trust. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is the
most trusted science and research organisation on the list. Also, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation Tekes and the Academy of Finland obtain high scores, showing their trustworthiness. The general category of scientific and research
community almost reaches the same level of trust as VTT, which can be regarded as proof of citizens’ wideranging appreciation of scientific activities in this country. According to the results, the public image of science and its relations to the community are in good shape, but the same level of trust is not enjoyed in all sectors of society. While trust in science in Finland seems healthy, the same cannot be said for political organisations.
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