Science in Britain

Learned societies and independent scientific institutions play a large part in promoting the sciences in Britain, although they do very little actual research.

Most pure research is conducted in the universities, which also play an essential part in maintaining the supply of trained specialists. The learned societies play an important part in the discussion and publication of the results of research.

At present there are over 900 learned scientific societies in Britain with approximately 400 scientific publications.

The traditional method of scientific publication, in which results are written in papers and published in journals, is still the main means of communication among scientists. The leading learned societies have for long been important agencies for communicating scientific information. The most eminent of the learned societies are:

• The Royal Society which was founded in 1660. Its present activities include the holding of the scientific meetings, publication of research work, mainly in the “Philosophical Transactions” and the “Proceedings”, the delivery of lectures, the presentation of medals.

• The Royal Society of Arts which was founded in 1754. Its principal object has been to promote the progress of all departments of science. It deals with scientific, artistic, technical, industrial and commercial problems. The society regularly holds meetings and publishes a monthly journal.

• The British Association for the Advancement of Science which was founded in 1831 to promote general interest in science and its application. One of the chief activities is the annual meetings attended by many young students as well as by eminent scientists. Its 14 sections cover the whole range of pure and applied science and there is a division for studying social and international relations of science.

 Words and Expressions to Remember:

learned societies	наукові товариства
science	наука
human sciences, the humanities	гуманітарні науки
scientific worker, the scientist	науковець, дослідник, вчений
scholar	науковець (гуманітарні науки)
to be a scientist (scholar)	бути науковцем
to do scientific work	вести наукову роботу
research, investigation	дослідження
analysis (pl. –ses)	аналіз
study	дослідження, наукова дисципліна, наукова стаття, монографія
approach	підхід
data	дані, факти, відомості
paper (on)	дослідження, праця, наукова доповідь
journal	журнал
proceedings	записки наукового товариства (засідання)
to describe	описувати, характеризувати
to quote	цитувати, посилатися
to work out	вирішувати (завдання), розробляти (план)
to tackle the problem	взятися за справу, приступити до вирішення проблем
to submit	подати на розгляд
efficient	продуктивний, ефективний, кваліфікований
short abstract	стислі тези
address, lecture (on)	доповідь
theme of the conference	тема конференції
topics for discussion	питання для обговорення
organizing committee	організаційний комітет
participant, delegate, member	учасник (конференції)
social programme	соціальна програма

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