CSIRO Study Shows Community Attitudes towards Science in Australia

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) released the results of their study on the attitudes of Australians towards science and technology.

According to the report authored by Craig Cormick, there is generally a high level of interest and trust in science in Australia. They also found minimal impact of negative media coverage on science and research organizations. It was also noted in the report that pro-science and technology values are strong predictors of support for even controversial topics such as GM foods. The other key findings of the study include the following points:

• Television is the most popular source of information on science and technology. Those with high interest in science and technology favor getting information online.
• Almost half of the population are not interested in science, and the younger generations are becoming increasingly unengaged on science.
• Attitudes to science in schools are a major predictor of attitudes to science in later life.