Public science communication in Africa : views and practices of academics at the National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe
Date
2016
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
SISSA Medialab
Abstract
This study of the science communication views and practices of African
researchers — academics at the National University of Science and
Technology (NUST) in Zimbabwe — reveals a bleak picture of the low
status of public science engagement in the developing world. Researchers
prioritise peer communication and pay little attention to the public, policy
makers and popular media. Most scientists believe the public is largely not
scientifically literate or interested in research. An unstable funding
environment, a lack of communication incentives and censoring of
politically sensitive findings further constrain researchers’ interest in public
engagement. Most NUST academics, however, are interested in science
communication training. We suggest interventions that could revive and
support public science engagement at African universities.
Description
CITATION: Ndlovu, H., Joubert, M. & Boshoff, N. 2016. Public science communication in Africa : views and practices of academics at the National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe. Journal of Science Communication, 15(6):A05, doi:10.22323/2.15060205.
The original publication is available at https://jcom.sissa.it
The original publication is available at https://jcom.sissa.it
Keywords
Communication in science -- Africa, Communication in science -- Zimbabwe
Citation
Ndlovu, H., Joubert, M. & Boshoff, N. 2016. Public science communication in Africa : views and practices of academics at the National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe. Journal of Science Communication, 15(6):A05, doi:10.22323/2.15060205.