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• Date of publication Mar 31, 2015 Category: Article

  The energy question in the Belgian daily press during 2010: the role of region, newspaper type and newspaper section

  by Pieter A. Maeseele , Karel Deneckere , Koen Panis , Steve Paulussen

  The literature illustrates how media research on the energy question is characterized by a limited focus on separate energy options, resulting in a lack of research into the diversity of and mutual relations between various energy options. This paper reports on a quantitative content analysis of eight Belgian newspapers (N=1181), focusing on whether certain energy options are systematically more covered in certain regions, types of newspapers and/or types of newspaper sections. The results show that five energy options dominate the debate and that there are minimal differences per region, but remarkable differences between types of newspapers and newspaper sections.

  Volume 14 • Issue 01 • 2015

• Date of publication Mar 31, 2015 Category: Conference Review

  Science communication between risk and (un)certainty

  by Corinna Lüthje , Corinna Luthje

  The 2nd annual conference of the ad hoc group Science Communication was dedicated to research on risk and uncertainty as important challenges for the present practice of science communication. The review firstly offers a short portrait of the ad hoc group Science Communicaiton as a newly established network of communication scholars and secondly reconstructs the course of the highliy spirited debate during the conference in Jena.

  Volume 14 • Issue 01 • 2015

• Date of publication Mar 12, 2015 Category: Article

  Changes in media selection and framing of science news in Croatian daily press

  by Adrijana Šuljok

  This paper tries to 1) identify the dominant media frames of science and 2) compare media selection and framing of science-related articles in Croatian daily newspapers during two politically and socioculturally different periods: the late socialism and the (post)transition. The research methodology was based on content and frame analysis which encompassed articles on science in daily press with the highest readership between 1986–1988, and 2006–2008. The main findings indicate changes in the selection of science topics as well as in the representation of individual frames. Changes reflected not only current events in the world of science but also wider social and journalistic values, as well as evaluations of the importance of specific topics.

  Volume 14 • Issue 01 • 2015

• Date of publication Mar 03, 2015 Category: Article

  Connecting opinion, belief and value: semantic network analysis of a UK public survey on embryonic stem cell research

  by Leo Kim

  This study re-examines the survey responses of embryonic stem cell research prepared for UK Department of Health (DH) in 2006. Aided by the novel method of semantic network analysis, the main purpose of the reanalysis is to “re-present” the overlooked layer of public opinion with respect to embryonic stem cell research, and to reflect on the under-represented public opinion. This critical review attempts to shed light on potential concerns of the UK public in the face of emerging life science policy. The article argues that a new way to encourage people’s articulation and engagement in science policy should be discussed. This means more active incorporation of concepts that represent people’s opinion, belief and value in research. By applying semantic network analysis, we introduce an effective way to visualize and evaluate people’s core frame of embryonic stem cell research.

  Volume 14 • Issue 01 • 2015

• Date of publication Dec 19, 2014 Category: Editorial

  Exploring serendipitous dialogue

  by Emma Weitkamp

  Over the past decades there has been an increasing recognition of the need to promote dialogue between science and society. Often this takes the form of formal processes, such as citizen’s juries, that are designed to allow the public to contribute their views on particular scientific research areas. But there are also many less formal mechanisms that promote a dialogue between science and society. This editorial considers science festivals and citizen science in this context and argues that we need a greater understanding of the potential impacts of these projects on the individuals involved, both scientists and the public.

  Volume 13 • Issue 04 • 2014

• Date of publication Dec 19, 2014 Category: Commentary

  Science festivals: do they succeed in reaching beyond the ‘already engaged’?

  by Karen Bultitude

  The cultural phenomenon of ‘science festivals’ is ever expanding throughout the world, as universities, city and regional governments, and science engagement professionals alike embrace the concept of a focused ‘celebration’ of science. In the past however science festivals have been criticized for neglecting underrepresented audiences. This special issue explores the extent to which current science festivals have managed to engage with diverse publics, and identifies the key challenges facing the future of science festivals, most notably the need for deeper research into the impacts of science festivals.

  When science makes us who we are: known and speculative impacts of science festivals

  by Ben Wiehe

  From liquid nitrogen to public engagement and city planning: the changing role of science events

  by Jan Riise and Leonardo Alfonsi

  National Science Festival of Thailand: historical roots, current activities and future plans of the National Science Fair

  by Ganigar Chen

  The Caribbean’s best science festival: NIHERST’s Sci-TechKnoFest

  by Simone Marie King

  Einstein’s Garden 2009–2014: unexpected encounters with science

  by Ellen Dowell

  Volume 13 • Issue 04 • 2014

• Date of publication Dec 19, 2014 Category: Book Review

  Social networks and popular understanding of science and health: sharing disparities

  by Ann Grand

  In this book, Brian G. Southwell discusses how disparities in information-sharing arise and what can be done to alleviate them. In all sorts of ways and for all sorts of reasons, people have always sought to share information among their family and other social networks. However, this sharing has never been equal: inevitably, some people are better-informed than others and some are more socially-connected than others. At first glance, the plethora of communication tools and technologies available nowadays should help democratise information and reduce disparity but differences in how, when and with whom information is shared create conversation gaps and maintain inequalities. Southwell explores and catalogues information-sharing behaviours, discusses the factors that affect how and why we share information and addresses the questions of why disparities in information-sharing matter and what we can do about the gaps between ‘information-haves’ and ‘information have-nots’.

  Volume 13 • Issue 04 • 2014

• Date of publication Dec 19, 2014 Category: Essay

  Children’s University: sound language styles in a radio programme for/with children

  by Josemir Almeida Barros , Debora d’Avila Reis

  This essay intends to present and reflect on the production and reception of sound language styles in a radio programme discussing science called Universidade das Criancas UFMG (UFMG Children’s University). This programme, aimed at children, is broadcast on the UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais) Educational Radio Station, located in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

  Volume 13 • Issue 04 • 2014

• Date of publication Dec 01, 2014 Category: Article

  When quotes matter: impact of outside quotes in a science press release on news judgment

  by Paige Brown Jarreau

  Scientists often cite discrepancy between scientific values and news values as a primary factor in poor quality science reporting. The goal of this study was to understand how news values including conflict and controversy affect science communicators’ evaluation of press releases containing quotes from outside expert sources. Results of an online survey experiment suggest science communicators find a climate science press release with an outside expert quote that introduces controversy to be more newsworthy. However, when a science communicator attributes relatively high importance to reliability of facts as a guiding principle in story selection, this preference for controversy is reversed.

  Volume 13 • Issue 04 • 2014

• Date of publication Nov 17, 2014 Category: Article

  The Holy Grail of energy? A content and thematic analysis of the presentation of nuclear fusion on the Internet

  by Christian Oltra , Ana Delicado , Ana Prades , Sergio Pereira , Luisa Schmidt

  The Internet is increasingly considered as a legitimate source of information on scientific and technological topics. Lay individuals are increasingly using Internet sources to find information about new technological developments, but scientific communities might have a limited understanding of the nature of this content. In this paper we examine the nature of the content of information about fusion energy on the Internet. By means of a content and thematic analysis of a sample of English-, Spanish- and Portuguese-language web documents, we analyze the structural characteristics of the webs, characterize the presentation of nuclear fusion, and study the associations to nuclear fission and the main benefits and risks associated to fusion technologies in the Web. Our findings indicate that the information about fusion on the Internet is produced by a variety of actors (including private users via blogs), that almost half of the sample provided relevant technical information about nuclear fusion, that the majority of the web documents provided a positive portrayal of fusion energy (as a clean, safe and powerful energy technology), and that nuclear fusion was generally presented as a potential solution to world energy problems, as a key scientific challenge and as a superior alternative to nuclear fission. We discuss the results in terms of the role of Internet in science communication.

  Volume 13 • Issue 04 • 2014