The full list of awarded projects, and the programme themes to which they are attached is given below.
Re-modelling Science Communication
Spinning Science: The Nanotech Industry and Financial News
This project will investigate the relationship between financial news sources (the scientists and public relations agents who work in the nanotechnology area) and journalists who cover financial news in this emerging sector. It seeks to address the gap in the research on communication of risk to the public, which has not studied financial journalism or the relationship between nanotechnology companies and the messages they give to the financial media through their public relations offices.
Ms Mary Ebeling, University of Surrey - m.ebeling@surrey.ac.uk
Ends September 2006
What Does Social Change Mean in the Context of Engineering Education?
This project aims to explore engineering education in universities and to consider how it might promote social change. The research will investigate what changes, if any, engineering academics consider are necessary to make to engineering education in order to move towards a seamless interface between science, engineering and society.
Dr Jane Pritchard, University of Glasgow – j.pritchard@udcf.gla.ac.uk
Ends December 2006
Science in the Economy and the Economics of Science
Work Roles and Careers of Academic Scientists in University-Industry Collaboration
This project will examine the changing nature of work roles and careers of academic scientists in the context of closer university-industry ties. It aims to explore how it might be possible to bridge the gap in the normal work practices and career interests of scientists whose work straddles both the University and industrial sectors. The study will examine the organisational frameworks that support co-operative behaviour and joint knowledge production across the sectors and examine whether joint projects and centres influence the training of young scientists and influence their career expectations and prospects.
Prof Alice Lam, Brunel Business School – alice.lam@brunel.ac.uk
Ends September 2006
Labour Markets and Knowledge Flows in the Chinese National System of Innovation
This project will explore how China, as a country with relatively low per-capita income, has managed to create significant world-leading innovators in the ICT sector over the past twenty years. It will study the impact of mobility of knowledge between academic and industrial institutions on the ability of companies to innovate. It will examine whether or not the model adopted by Chinese firms reflects the UK or USA model, with emphasis on professional qualifications and mobility, and what impact is seen by access to state funding and resources.
Dr Matias Ramirez, Brunel Business School – matias.ramirez@brunel.ac.uk
Ends July 2006
Issues Involved in the Diffusion of Knowledge through Migration of Scientific Labour
The study is aimed at understanding the impact of mobility of immigrant scientists on development and innovation in developing countries. Focusing on India, the project will seek to redress the balance of previous mobility studies, and will examine the complex mechanisms for transferring knowledge and building new capabilities which reach beyond mobility itself and centre on issues surrounding the adaptability of immigrant scientists and the firms that employ them.
Prof David Wield, Open University – d.v.wield@open.ac.uk
Ends March 2006
Science Technology and Globalization
Regulatory Practices and Challenges of the African Crop Biotechnology Sector
Building on a phase 2 project, this project aims to study current practices and emerging developments in the regulatory systems of crop biotechnology in African countries that have adopted GM technology in crops. It will investigate the regulatory procedures, resources and experiences of three projects and will identify and suggest specific capability areas in order to facilitate the development of national regulatory frameworks in Kenya, Egypt and South Africa.
Dr Joanna Chataway, Open University – j.c.chataway@open.ac.uk
Ends February 2006
This award is conditional
The World Wide Web of Science: Emerging Global Sources of Expertise
This study aims to explore the impact that the internet and the web are having in transforming access to sources of scientific expertise. It will focus on six global issues, including HIV/AIDS, water and sanitation, climate change and terrorism, and will ask whether patterns of access to websites on these issues are more concentrated or diversified than access to offline resources. The project aims to identify how the web is used and how the resources available on it can be most appropriately developed to increase access.
Dr Ralph Schroeder, University of Oxford – ralph.schroeder@oii.ox.ac.uk
Ends March 2006
Databases, Naturalists and the Global Biodiversity Convention
This project will look at two newly-constructed biodiversity databases, the National Biodiversity Network (NDN) and Mapmate, and aims to investigate the differences and complementarities between the two databases, why different communities and contributors use different databases, and to reveal the assumptions, ideals and visions behind the databases. The study will explore the potential for fruitful collaboration between the two ventures, in order to strengthen the connection between field naturalists and national and international biodiversity policy.
Ms Claire Waterton, Lancaster University – c.waterton@lancaster.ac.uk
Ends December 2005
Science and Gender, Ethnicity and the Lifecycle
Public Perceptions of Gamete Donation in British South Asian Communities
This research aims to explore the ways in which conceptual frameworks and knowledge about new reproductive technology may be influenced by ethnic, religious and cultural contexts. The project focuses on attitudes towards gamete donation in British South Asian communities and will seek to increase awareness of the reasons for the shortage of gamete donors from ethnic communities, as well as recommend a strategy to enhance the involvement of these communities with scientific and technological debate.
Dr Lorraine Culley, De Montfort University – lac@dmu.ac.uk
Ends January 2006
Gender Theories and Risk Perception: A Secondary Analysis
This project aims to investigate the common finding in many surveys that women typically report higher perceptions of public risk than men. The research will address the deficit of theory surrounding this frequently observed relationship between gender and risk.
Prof Nick Pidgeon, University of East Anglia – n.pidgeon@uea.ac.uk
Ends December 2006
Asbestos Diseases: Scientific Definitions and Gendered Identites
The proposed research aims to further our understanding of the personal and collective identity of sufferers of asbestos disease in relation to the scientific processes that exist in the medical and legal environment in which they engage. It focuses on the impacts of asbestos disease in Britain and South Africa and examines the ways in which cultural background and gendered experiences influence the responses of sufferers of asbestos disease to science and the law.
Dr Linda Waldman, Institute of Development Studies – l.waldman@ids.ac.uk
Ends September 2006
The Impact of Gender Innovation on Regional Technology, Economy and Society
This project seeks to identify the barriers that exist in the workplace which inhibit female participation in innovation activities in science, engineering and technology. The study aims to identify appropriate means of measuring innovation activities amongst men and women in order to address current gender disparities. It hopes to recommend policy measures to overcome both capability stereotypes and the economic vulnerability of women in the scientific labour market.
Prof Pooran Wynarczyk, University of Newcastle – pooran.wynarczyk@ncl.ac.uk
Ends September 2006
This award is conditional
