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Sep 20, 2017 Commentary

The changing face of expertise and the need for knowledge transfer

by Aleksandra Berditchevskaia , Cindy Regalado , Stephan Van Duin

New public participatory modes of practice are emerging in fields as diverse as politics, healthcare and research. In part, these DIY and citizen-led initiatives have gained momentum from the optimism of new technologies, which allow unprecedented access to previously inaccessible knowledge and tools. Equally, they are the result of a growing frustration with power hierarchies and systems that reinforce elites. Experts are increasingly regarded with suspicion as trust in public institutions is eroded and individuals begin to give more weight to personal accounts, and information shared within networks of peers. In this climate there is a critical need for improved knowledge transfer practices based on improved empathy, understanding and communication of shared values and motivations. In this session we questioned the role of expertise in a changing landscape of knowledge production and practice. Using the lens of science & technology communication and hands-on DIY practices, we explored how to move towards a more inclusive model of knowledge transfer, where different types of expertise are acknowledged and valued.

Volume 16Issue 042017

Sep 20, 2017 Commentary

From ‘post truth’ to e-persons, contemporary issues in science communication

by Emma Weitkamp

The Science in Public Conference, held this year at the University of Sheffield, generated animated discussion of a wide range of topics. Six commentaries cover conference themes around engagement with science and technology and how science and technology are shaping what it means to be human. The commentaries range from discussions of our relationship with expertise and how science communication can better act as a knowledge broker in a time of ‘alternative facts’ to exploration of fictional narratives and how they might be used to open up dialogue about science and technology.

Science communication: process, power and politics

by Peter Broks

The changing face of expertise and the need for knowledge transfer

by Aleksandra Berditchevskaia, Cindy Regalado and Stephan Van Duin

Does being human influence science and technology?

by Laura Fogg-Rogers

Robots, AI, and the question of ‘e-persons’ ― a panel at the 2017 Science in Public conference, 10–12 July 2017

by Michael Szollosy

SiP 2017 panel: speculations and concerns on robots' status in society

by Erik Stengler and Jimena Escudero Pérez

Science fiction and science futures: considering the role of fictions in public engagement and science communication work

by Michael Reinsborough

Volume 16Issue 042017

Sep 20, 2017 Commentary

Robots, AI, and the question of ‘e-persons’ ― a panel at the 2017 Science in Public conference, 10–12 July 2017

by Michael Szollosy

In response to EU draft legislation on robots and artificial intelligence ― which included the headline-grabbing proposals to introduce rights for ‘e-persons’ and necessitating that robots come equipped with a ‘kill switch’ ― a diverse group of experts and academics gathered in Sheffield as part of the Science in Public 2017 conference. Panellists and the audience discussed the origins and implications of the ideas behind the EU initiative, and more specifically, whether robots or artificial intelligence qualifies for right as ‘persons’, and how the EU proposal imagines robots and artificial intelligence in particular, historically-contingent ways that influence or distort our present discussions and attempts to legislate on the future use and development of technology.

Volume 16Issue 042017

Sep 20, 2017 Commentary

SiP 2017 panel: speculations and concerns on robots' status in society

by Erik Stengler , Jimena Escudero Pérez

Studying fictional depictions of robots and artificial intelligence in cinematographic science fiction narratives acquires a new level of relevance as legislators' approaches to the subject seem to be strongly influenced by popular culture. This panel of Science in Public 2017 presented various on-going investigations of this kind, showing that the critical mass in this area of research is growing

Volume 16Issue 042017

Sep 20, 2017 Commentary

Does being human influence science and technology?

by Laura Fogg-Rogers

This article addresses two major questions about women and science. Firstly, the commentary looks at the ways science and technology are discussed and represented all around us in society. Secondly, I ask whether this matters. The defining issue is therefore whether or not being human affects the type of science and technology that is conducted and valued within our society. By addressing these questions in science communication, we can add much to the debate about gender diversity and affirmative action being portrayed in our media and culture.

Volume 16Issue 042017

Jun 21, 2017 Commentary

Making citizen science newsworthy in the era of big data

by Stuart Allan , Joanna Redden

This article examines certain guiding tenets of science journalism in the era of big data by focusing on its engagement with citizen science. Having placed citizen science in historical context, it highlights early interventions intended to help establish the basis for an alternative epistemological ethos recognising the scientist as citizen and the citizen as scientist. Next, the article assesses further implications for science journalism by examining the challenges posed by big data in the realm of citizen science. Pertinent issues include potential risks associated with data quality, access dynamics, the difficulty investigating algorithms, and concerns about certain constraints impacting on transparency and accountability.

Volume 16Issue 022017

Jun 21, 2017 Commentary

Old media and new opportunities for a computational social science on PCST

by Federico Neresini

Although with some reluctance, social sciences now seem to have accepted the challenge deriving from the growing digitisation of communication and the consequent flow of data on the web. There are actually various empirical studies that use the digital traces left by the myriads of interactions that occur through social media and e-commerce platforms, and this trend also concerns the research in the PCST field. However, the opportunity offered by the digitisation of traditional mass media communication — the newspapers in particular — is much less exploited. Building on the experience of the TIPS project, this paper discusses the advantages and the limits of computational social science on PCST using newspapers as the main source of data. Some methodological issues are also addressed, in order to suggest a more aware use of such data and the several computational tools available for analysing them.

Volume 16Issue 022017

Jun 21, 2017 Commentary

Computer-aided text analysis: an open-aired laboratory for social sciences

by Yuri Castelfranchi

Thanks, on the one hand, to the extraordinary availability of colossal textual archives and, on the other hand, to advances in computational possibilities, today the social scientist has at their disposal an extraordinary laboratory, made of millions of interacting subjects and billions of texts. An unprecedented, yet challenging, opportunity for science. How to test, corroborate models? How to control, interpret and validate Big Data? What is the role of theory in the universe of patterns and statistical correlations? In this article, we will show some general characteristics of the use of computational tools for the analysis of texts, and some applications in the areas of public communication of S&T and Science and Technology Studies (STS), also showing some of their limitations and pitfalls.

Volume 16Issue 022017

Jun 21, 2017 Commentary

The landscape of online visual communication of science

by Cristina Rigutto

Online visual communication of science focuses on interactive sharing and participatory collaboration rather than simple knowledge dissemination. Visuals need to be stunning to draw people in and engage them, and a cross-media approach together with digital multimedia tools can be used to develop a clear and engaging narrative to communicate complex scientific topics. On the web both science communicators and the public manage co-create, shape, modify, decontextualise and share visuals. When it happens that low science literacy publics devoid a picture of its information assets, caption or source, they distort image meaning and perpetuate misinformation.

Volume 16Issue 022017

Jun 21, 2017 Commentary

The shift from public science communication to public relations. The Vaxxed case

by Davide Bennato

Social media is restructuring the dynamics of science communication processes inside and outside the scientific world. As concerns science communication addressed to the general public, we are witnessing the advent of communication practices that are more similar to public relations than to the traditional processes of the Public Understanding of Science. By analysing the digital communication strategies implemented for the anti-vaccination documentary Vaxxed, the paper illustrates these new communication dynamics, that are both social and computational.

Volume 16Issue 022017

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