How the public adds value to science

As part of Science Week, we heard from sociologist Áine Macken-Walsh about her research around what values drive human behaviour.

Regeneration is the process of renewal and evolution. In the week that Ireland is celebrating science, the focus is on this very topic.

Specifically, Science Week 2024 is examining the power of regeneration and how it impacts future generations from the decisions and the work we do today.

Supported by Research Ireland, Science Week is focusing on topics such as protecting our natural world, adopting more sustainable approaches to energy supply and investigating new solutions to safeguard our health.

One such researcher is Áine Macken-Walsh, a sociologist and senior research officer at Teagasc’s Rural Economy and Development Programme.

Teagasc is the state agency providing research, advisory and education in agriculture, horticulture, food and rural development in Ireland.

Macken-Walsh studies the values that drive human behaviour, how these values are shared by people and how different values can influence each other for greater sustainability.

Áine Macken-Walsh. Image: Research Ireland.

Her research dovetails with the theme of regeneration because it’s about innovating human and physical forms of capital, from human knowledge to land resources, so that current needs are met without compromising capacities to meet future needs.

“Regeneration of family farming, for instance, requires the maintenance and preservation of some existing farming practices and land resources, while also innovating to meet contemporary needs, for example gender equality [and] environmental protection,” she told SiliconRepublic.com.

“Regeneration is not only preservation, but also involves expansion and diversification of approaches, capabilities, and abilities.”

Partners in STEM

A key element of Science Week is engaging the public in science, which Macken-Walsh said is “essential for science to have any real impact”.

“Science must be expanded to have direct application outside laboratory settings, and the public has a major role not only in taking up science, but translating, innovating and adapting it in diverse, real-world contexts – on farms, in industries, in homes etc,” she said.

“The public are not just ‘learners’ – they add value to science. People in everyday life should be regarded as partners in STEM.”

Macken-Walsh also said she often uses the term STEAM, incorporating the arts as well as science, technology engineering and maths, because she feels the arts and humanities subjects have enormous potential in communicating with the public and encouraging active participation in science.

This, she said, will hopefully allow the current emphasis on citizen science to become more commonplace, along with a ‘multi-actor approach’ where non-scientists are funded partners in innovation projects.

“It is only through true collaborative work – bringing people with different values, knowledges, perspectives and views of the world – that we can access a sufficient ‘pool of knowledge’ to imaginatively and innovatively address problems such as climate change.”

Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.