Publications

Mar 31, 2015 Commentary

Climate sciences meet visual arts

This set of comments reports experiences from a recent “science-meets-arts”-project in Germany, in which students from the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg (HFBK) shared day-to-day life in climate research groups for several months. The project was envisioned as a process of mutual inspiration with the aim of producing a joint exhibition and symposium at the end. This paper introduces the project as well as the subsequent commentaries and also presents some of my own observations.

The visiting artist researcher experiment

by Frauke Feser

To be up in the air — on being a visiting artist researcher in theoretical meteorology

by Laura Reichwald

Linking sediment and sentiment: on observing a sci-art project

by Werner Krauß

Visiting artist researchers as therapists for climate scientists

by Hans von Storch

Artistic research — why and wherefore?

by Friedrich von Borries

Artistic research and climate science: transdisciplinary learning and spaces of possibilities

by Sacha Kagan

Volume 14Issue 012015

Mar 31, 2015 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 14Issue 012015

Mar 31, 2015 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 14Issue 012015

Mar 12, 2015 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 14Issue 012015

Mar 03, 2015 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 14Issue 012015

Dec 19, 2014 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 13Issue 042014

Dec 19, 2014 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 13Issue 042014

Dec 19, 2014 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 13Issue 042014

Dec 19, 2014 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 13Issue 042014

Dec 01, 2014 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 13Issue 042014

Search results