Science for the people

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Comment The Daily Telegraph a Mail LAST week your roving science correspondent visited a fascinating institution — the Universeit van Amsterdam Wetenschaps Winkel (UvAWW) or, in English, Science shop.

The UvAWW is one of a number of "Science shops" in Holland, and in fact is the most firmly established. Originally set up by a group of socialist science students, angry at the way science was directed towards serving the needs of big business and the rich, and ignoring or acting against the needs of working class and oppressed people, the UvAWW is now accepted by and. partly funded by the University of Amsterdam.

Any individual or group can become a client of a science shop if they have no commercial aims; if they are unable to pay for the research themselves; and if they will use the results in some practical way.

Most clients fall into the categories of trade unions, environmental groups, women's groups and third world groups and so far the UvAWW has dealt with over a thousand questions from these and other sources.

To ensure that the UvAWW is responsive to the needs of its clients, they are represented on the advisory committee which runs it. The shop members and supporters are subdivided into subject areas (e.g. a biology group, a chemistry group, etc) and into interest areas (e.g. a trade union group, a women's group, a pollution group, etc..).

How does a group get its question answered, or its problem dealt with? Firstly, it takes its proposal to the science shop, where a summary of the question is pt up on a notice board. The science shop then advertises the question in the weekly paper of the and Kate Marshall.

Friday March 4/Saturday March 5, from 7.30 on Friday and from 10am on Saturday, at University of London Union, Malet St, London WC1. To register send £5 waged (£2 students, free for claimants) to Critique, 31 Cleveden Rd, Glasgow G12 OPH.

'HOW to Fight for a Labou Victory': 'The call for a national meeting of CLPs, unions and campaigning groups came from a conference of Briefing groups on February 5, in view of the threats posed by growing speculation that unilateralism will not be in the manifesto, and continued attempts to expel members of the Party". Monday March 7, 7.30, House of Commons.

LABOUR democracy and university. Students and/or staff members may volunteer to work on the question, but usually the science shop. has to actually find someone to do the research.

Next, a letter accepting the proposal and signed by the board of the univer-. sity is issued. The guts of the process are the research which now takes place. This may be a survey, a search of the scientific literature for relevant facts, or actual experiments.

Alternatively, it may be simply necessary to find an expert to provide advice.

Provisional results will be discussed with the clients, while final results may be published or made the subject of a public The range of questions dealt with may be illustrated with this selection from the current UvAWW noticeboard:

a) a request for information on the effects of dumping radioactive waste at sea.

b) legal advice on noise pollution in the town of Weesp.

c) a request for information on cancer deaths in part of a city. local government: day conference for District Labour Parties, Saturday March 26, 10.30 to 4.30, at Manchester Poly Students' Union. Sponsored by Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester DLPs. Contact: Frances Done, Manchester City Labour Party, Hulme Labour Club, 1 Stoneylow Close, Manchester M15.

SOUTHWARK Trades Council meeting on YTS.

Thursday March 3, 7.30 at Walworth Town Hall.

Speaker: Clare Short.

EL SALVADOR Solidarity Campaign: Labour Movement conference, Saturday May 14, 10am to 5pm, County Hall, London SEI.

Credentials £2 from ESSC, 29 Islington Park St, London N1.

SHEFFIELD Labour move.

ment conference on Irelanc d) the consequences of a town plan on the female population.

e) research into dioxin pollution in the mud of land reclaimed from the sea.

Past questions dealt with include the following:

a) •Researchers carried Ames' tests (a simple test to see if something causes mutations of bacteria if it does, it is likely to cause cancer in humans) on chemicals used by workers - a disinfectant and a chemical in the waste from a chemical factory. These tests were negative, fortunately.

b) Workers in a plastics factory were given information about styrene, a substance which evaporates from the resin used to make polystyrene. Styrene causes cancer and this information resulted in a trade union campaign for better health and safety provisions for the workers.

c) Printworkers using a new process suffered skin and eye irritation. Despite official statements, the Chemistry Department at UvA found that the chemicals used in the process were potentially dangerous to workers' health. As a result working conditions were modified.

TAN AARDENTE TRIER BEORÜISLEV — Saturday March 19, Sheffield University Students' Union, 9.30 to 4.30.

Sponsored by Sheffield Trades Council, Sheffield District Labour Party, and Sheffield LCI.

WAR in the Third World and the Third World War:

conference, Saturday March 12, Friends' Centre Ship St, Brighton, 10am to 6pm. Speakers include Fred Halliday, Uri Davis, Adrian Crewe, Salvador Moncada, Jenny Pearce.

Tickets £1.50. Information Clare (0273) 771284, Indra 739022, Bryn 698111.

RELEASE political prisoners in Kenya. Picket J.M.

Solidarity Day, March 2 1983, Kenya High Commission, 45 Portland Place, W1; 12 noon to 2pm.

LABOUR Campaign for Gay Rights public meeting:

122 March 1983 Page d) Advice was given on helped the case of the prisoners against the government.

And so on!

Next week, I'll say a bit more about this unique (as far as I know) attempt to bring science to the people and provide science for the people. I'll try and discuss the strengths and weakness of the science shops as well, and say why I think we should be trying to get science shops set up in Britain.

Science Column Birthday Appeal.

Every SO seller should manage to get a couple of small presents from their clients - 25p or 75p (or more!). It's quite easy -you say • "did you know that the SO science column is two years old this week?"

They you say "do you enjoy reading it?" To this, the answer should be "yes" (at least, that's what they say to me!) Then you raise the question of a little extra cash this week. I've raised £1.75 from three people so far, and there are lots more to ask!

Please let me know what you raise, SO I can announce it here.

WINKEL

'Gay Liberation and the labour movement'. . Friday March 18, 7.30 at County Hall, London SEI. Speakers include Andy Harris (GLC) and Tom Sawyer (Assistant General Secretary NUPE).

CALDERDALE March for Jobs. Organised by Sowerby LPYS. Assemble Cornholme 8.45am. Rallies at Todmorden 10am, at Hebden Bridge 12.15pm, at Sowerby Bridge 3.30pm, at Halifax Town Hall 5pm. LABOUR Committee on Ireland, London Region: annual general meeting 1983. Sunday March 13, 1.30pm, at Caxton House St John's Way, London N19 INTERNATIONAL Women's Day demonstration: Sunday March 5, 11.30am from. Jubilee Gardens, near County Hall.

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an air conditioning system in a women's prison which