computer science

Science and Development Network

Science and Development Network is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Science and Development Network rather than just read about it. In short: SciDev.Net, short for Science and Development Network, is an online source of news and analysis about science and technology in the context of global development. It aims to help individuals and organisations apply science to decision-making in order to promote sustainable development and poverty reduction.

Key takeaways

Science and Development Network belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Science and Development Network to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Science and Development Network from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

SciDev.Net, short for Science and Development Network, is an online source of news and analysis about science and technology in the context of global development. It aims to help individuals and organisations apply science to decision-making in order to promote sustainable development and poverty reduction.

History SciDev.Net was founded in 2001 by David Dickson as a science news service for developing countries. It originated from a project set up by news staff at the journal Nature (with financial assistance from the Wellcome Trust, United Kingdom) to report on the World Conference on Science, in Budapest, in 1999. It was established in response to the significant gap in scientific knowledge between rich and poor countries and with the understanding that "those who stand to benefit the most from modern science and technology are also those with the least access to information about it." SciDev.Net seeks to redress this imbalance via its free-to-access website, regional networks, and science communications training.

Ownership Since 2017, SciDev.Net has been owned by CABI (CAB International), a not-for-profit organisation focusing primarily on agricultural and environmental issues in low- and middle-income countries, and the creation, curation, and dissemination of scientific knowledge. SciDev.Net operates editorially independently from CABI with its content overseen by an independent Editorial Advisory Group whose role is to ensure its editorial independence protocol is adhered to. SciDev.Net has a global edition, which is based at CABI's headquarters in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, and there are five regional desks covering Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, Asia and Pacific, and Sub-Saharan Africa (English and French).

Website The SciDev.Net website is made up of a global edition and five regional editions. It publishes in four languages: English, Spanish, French, and Arabic. Content includes news, analysis, opinions, in-depth features, podcasts, and data visualisations. Content is categorised under the following topics: agriculture, environment, health, governance, enterprise and communication. Articles are written mostly by freelance journalists, the majority of whom are based in low- and middle-income countries.

Podcasts SciDev.Net's Sub-Saharan Africa editions produce a podcast series in English (Africa Science Focus), French (Santé, Science et Développement) and Arabic (The Spark). The podcasts feature scientists from across Africa and the Middle East talking about topical science issues and the impact of science on development in the region. In 2021, the Africa Science Focus podcast was awarded silver in the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards. The podcasts are published on the website and are available to download from a range of other platforms.

Creative Commons All SciDev.Net website material is free to reproduce under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 licence. Under the terms of this licence, users are permitted to copy, distribute, display and perform the content, and make derivative works, so long as the original author and website are quoted as the source. Hundreds of media outlets have syndicated SciDev.Net's work including global media houses such as The Guardian, The BBC and The Thomson Reuters Foundation as well as regional news outlets like AllAfrica, The Asian Scientist and El Espectador.

Training: Script SciDev.Net trains researchers and journalists to improve the communication of scientific research to the public and policymakers through its science communication training programme, Script. Script provides online training on science communication skills. This aims to enable researchers to simplify complex findings and engage non-specialist audiences and equip journalists to report on science accurately, enhancing public understanding of science. Over the past ten years, Script has trained more than 10,000 researchers and journalists worldwide. It seeks to facilitate connections between researchers and journalists, fostering collaboration to increase media coverage of scientific research. Script supports universities in integrating science communication modules into journalism curricula, with the aim of ensuring that future journalists are equipped to report on scientific issues. By strengthening the communication of scientific findings, the programme aims to promote greater public awareness and the use of evidence in decision-making at policy and personal levels, to enhance the impact of scientific research.

Communications Visitors who sign-up with SciDev.Net receive a free weekly email with all the latest stories from the website. These are available in English, Spanish, Arabic and French. Readers can also submit announcements, events, jobs and grants to SciDev.Net's noticeboard for free and these are featured on the website and in the weekly emails.

Funders SciDev.Net's primary funders are the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA)[ and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Other organisations that have supported its content include: the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, the European Journalism Centre, Adaptation Research Alliance, and Carnegie Corporation of New York. SciDev.Net works with a range of organisations at global, regional and national levels to achieve shared objectives. These include: the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS); the science news service AlphaGalileo, and the World Federation of Science Journalists.

References

External links Official website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Science and Development Network

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Science and Development Network claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Science and Development Network before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Science and Development Network ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Science and Development Network

In research: Science and Development Network appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Science and Development Network in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Science and Development Network is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics British news websites, British technology news websites, Free-content websites, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Science and Development Network outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Science and Development Network in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Science and Development Network means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Science and Development Network out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Science and Development Network in simple terms?

Why does Science and Development Network matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Science and Development Network?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Science and Development Network.