Feature

Science Under Scrutiny

Despite the often gloomy view of science and technology, a recent NRB poll found that most New Zealanders view science favourably.

by Cathryn Crane

Regular news items about the greenhouse effect, overpopulation and the potential hazards of industrial materials haven't seemed to dampen New Zealanders' enthusiasm for science, according to a recent NRB poll.

Over 80% of New Zealanders surveyed feel that science has made an important contribution to the quality of life in New Zealand, with only 4% disagreeing with this view. Generally people have a positive perception of the things which science has achieved, despite the often negative images of science and technology portrayed in the popular media.

In addition, the poll found that nearly three-quarters of respondents felt that government support for science should be increased. Dr David Penny, president of the New Zealand Association of Scientists, is pleased to see the high level of goodwill revealed by the poll and hopes to see this reflected in increasing public awareness of the value of science.

"There's no hostility from the public," he says. "Obviously they have concerns over specific issues, and the survey found that often those concerns were quite well informed."

The positive perception was tempered with concern over the possible hazards arising from scientific research. Two-thirds of the respondents agreed that the activities of scientists should be more closely regulated to ensure public safety.

Most New Zealanders had some degree of interest in science, with the majority obtaining their information on science and technology developments from the popular media.

Television was the main news source, with 80% occasionally or frequently watching programmes dealing with this area. Two-thirds of respondents read about developments in newspapers and magazines and a third listened to science radio programmes.

Dr Penny believes that the very high general interest in science tends to be poorly served in most media.

"It's clear from the public that they're not getting enough science stories -- they want more," he says. Surveys taken overseas have borne this out, he maintains. In overseas surveys, science stories rated more highly than those concerned with politics or sports in terms of reader attention. This is not often recognised by newspapers or magazines, according to Dr Penny. The New Zealand Association of Science hopes to encourage more editors to be aware of the news value of science stories.

Almost 10% of respondents in the NRB survey, representing approximately 250,000 New Zealanders, frequently read magazines devoted to science and technology topics.

Despite attempts to get more women interested in science and technology, there remains a distinct gender difference in interest. Twice as many women as men were not very interested in science. At the other end of the scale, some 40% of males were very or extremely interested, and only 22% of the women respondents. Men were also more likely to read about science and watch science and technology programmes on television.

Age and educational qualifications also produced significant differences in attitudes. Those in the 16-24 year-old age bracket were less likely to read about science and technology than their older counterparts. Of the post-graduates surveyed, 34% were extremely interested in science issues; of those without any educational qualifications, just on 6% expressed the same level of interest.

One result that surprised the survey takers was the marked regional dif-ferences in attitudes. A third of respondents in the upper half of the North Island were very interested or extremely interested in science and technology. In the South Island, this figure reached 27%.

The preliminary results released by the DSIR did not suggest any interpretation for this. It may be likely that the larger proportion of business and industry in the North Island would go some way to account for the difference, as would the difference in sample size.

The survey was conducted using 2,034 New Zealand residents aged 16 years and older from 20 centres representing 93% of the main and secondary urban areas.

Cathryn Crane is a freelance journalist with an interest in environmental issues.