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The nature of scientific knowledge – inspiration from Higgs

On 4 July 2012 physicists at CERN, the world’s largest particle physics laboratory, announced that they now have compelling evidence for the existence of the Higgs boson, an elementary particle whose...

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The Advanced Technology Institute – opportunities and challenges for academia

This week saw the announcement of details about the previously heralded Advanced Technology Institute (ATI). The focus of the ATI is on encouraging firms in New Zealand to make better use of the...

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Is it peer reviewed?

During my visit to the Euroscience Open Forum in Dublin last week, I participated in a panel discussion entitled ‘Science Advice for European Policy’ organised by the UK charitable trust Sense about...

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From Dublin to Dakar

As mentioned in my previous post, I recently spoke at the Euroscience Open Forum in Dublin. This is the European equivalent of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting,...

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That was the week that was

Rarely has New Zealand science had a week like last week, and one can only hope that it is a portent for the future. Government made a number of announcements regarding the science and innovation...

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Science, values and policy

As I have repeatedly stated, policy formation is properly based on a variety of inputs. The distinctive role of science is to provide the base knowledge (and limits of knowledge) with which the other...

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The science–policy nexus

A recent commentary published in Science (Rebuilding public trust in science for policy making), while focused on the Japanese science-policy nexus in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, makes...

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We are challenged to find the challenges: a window of opportunity

Two weeks ago in Auckland I co-chaired a meeting of advisors on science and economic policy from a number of small advanced countries. A feature of the more successful small advanced economies has been...

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Reflections on the social license for science and technology

The term ‘social license’ with respect to the application of science and technology received prominence last week in the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s interim report on hydraulic...

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Avoiding spectacular mediocrity

One phrase has stuck in my mind after the Small Advanced Nations meeting in Auckland last month: “spectacular mediocrity”. This phrase was used by one of my counterparts to describe the outcome of...

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Research should be a clever and risky business

In my recent discussion paper Which science to fund: time to review peer review? I discussed some of the challenges facing science systems. As I have considered elsewhere, there are clearly some...

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From global to local: risks, science and technology

Our understanding of risks at global and regional levels has matured markedly since they first really came into public consciousness during the Cold War. We now recognize a broad range of risks that...

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A modern ‘two cultures’?

Increasingly governments, and indeed university councils, expect academics to engage more comprehensively with the private sector in research. The logic behind this encouragement is overwhelming. In...

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Tackling a problem jointly

At their meeting in Queenstown last week, the Australian and New Zealand Prime Ministers announced a joint initiative to fund a trans-Tasman project that will evaluate some potential vaccine candidates...

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Update on the National Science Challenges

The first round of workshops, which were primarily aimed at ensuring alignment across government agencies, have been completed and generally were high constructive. Next week a second round of...

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What is in the water?

In recent weeks we have seen a revival of the water fluoridation “debate”. Perhaps the question we need to ask is “what is the debate really about?” The science of fluoride in water is effectively...

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Scientists, the media and society: where are we now?

Scientists have long used media to create interest in their work for a variety of reasons. Until recently this has often been for reasons of profile enhancement, fundraising or the promotion of...

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An update on the National Science Challenges

Last Friday the National Science Challenge panel reconvened to meet with MBIE and MBIE’s Science Board to review progress on the National Science Challenges and to be debriefed on the workshops and Hui...

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STEMming the tide: The need to improve science education, not abandon it

I have been most concerned by recent reports suggesting that some schools are considering making Year 11 Science an elective course, rather than continuing with it as part of the school’s compulsory...

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Towards a smarter nation – the role of science education and science literacy

Increasingly it is accepted that democratic governments must better incorporate the use of research derived evidence into policy formation. Many challenges that societies face require an understanding...

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