TY  - THES
T1  - Objectives and tools of science communication in the context of globalization
A1  - Shults,Alexandra
Y1  - 2008/12/09
N2  - The arrival of modern means of communication and growing mobility of people and resources have dramatically contributed to the changes occurring in the world. This process might be characterized as globalization. A lot of things are exposed to reconsideration and should be organized in a more effective manner, including, in particular, the scientific community which should be dynamically developing in international environment and should have the tools for staying competitive in terms of application of its resources and knowledge.
As knowledge is turning into a commercial commodity, the abilities of a scientist is becoming a capital. At the same time, globalization exercises a strong influence over the struggle for resources where productions centers fight each other to gain the qualities stressing their competitive edge.
This ever-changing environment has a considerable impact on the publicly-funded scientific institutions. To sustain the high level of research projects, the scientific community should be able to secure the internationalization of development of resources on which its knowledge is based. In case of applied science, the research projects should be relevant and successful from the viewpoint of creating innovations.
The market sends impulses to successful innovations, but development of such innovations requires the most effective application of best talents and technologies. The achievement of these goals are directly dependant on professional communication shaped within the peculiarities of academic environment.
The demand for such communication, particularly in English-speaking nations, had led to forming a new field of knowledge known as science communication which progressed in successful self-identification and professionalization. This doctoral thesis offers the study of emergence and development of science communication, including an overview of the instances indicating a growing demand for communication, and focuses on its methods.
The central thesis of the study suggests that science communication has a great potential and natural ability in presenting scientific projects in the best way suited for dynamically changing environment. The second thesis asserts that practical application of science communication in scientific community is a difficult process slowly progressing despite the obvious benefits attached to this type of communication. The third thesis pins the success of implementation of science communication strategies to the unwavering support of the management and extending authority of the communicators. 
The actual evidence for justification of the theses presented in this work was analyzed on the example of Germany to trace development and role of communication efforts in scientific institutions.
The current status of science communication was evaluated not only at theoretical level by analyzing the earlier studies on the subject, but also enriched by empirical study of expert opinions collected in the course of a poll. The interviewing involved the top managers and professional communicators from the largest scientific and educational organizations and state agencies of Germany, Europe and the U.S. The principal objective of the poll was the analysis of the goals of communication strategies adopted by these institutions and analysis of the issues related to communicating science.
The final part of the work, a case study, was carried out in the Fraunhofer Institute of Nondestructive Testing (IZFP),financed at the expense of orders placed by industrial customers of international origin. The Institute has been successful in managing technology transfer at different levels and is involved into a large number of joint projects for assuring its participation at the international market and gaining valuable resources, including technologies, expertise and young talents.
The case study clearly illustrates that despite the ongoing process of adjustment of strategies to relevant goals and objectives of applied R&D in global environment, science communication experiences a series of problems described in the literature as barriers of traditional scientific institutions.
The reasons for existing status quo in the scientific environment are deeply rooted in complexity and diversity of cultural, psychological, national and international as well as historical aspects of human communication. As a result, the implementation of practical solutions proposed for these purposes may and should be successful in combination with executive decisions.
The most important conclusion drawn in this study is that the integration of communication into scientific environment, provided that it is applied in correct and effective way, may significantly influence the quality of innovations and their acceptance by society.
KW  - Wissenschaft
KW  - Kommunikation
KW  - Globalisierung
KW  - Angewandte Forschung
CY  - Saarbrücken
PB  - Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek
AD  - Postfach 151141, 66041 Saarbrücken
UR  - http://scidok.sulb.uni-saarland.de/volltexte/2008/1955
ER  -