scholarly journals Communicating science: epigenetics in the spotlight

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie O M Dyke ◽  
Catherine A Ennis ◽  
Yann Joly ◽  
Jörn Walter ◽  
Reiner Siebert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
The Public ◽  
News Reports ◽  
Media Messages ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Media ◽  
National Newspaper

Abstract Given the public interest in epigenetic science, this study aimed to better understand media representations of epigenetics in national newspaper coverage in various regions in North America, Europe, and Asia. Content analysis was used to study media messages about epigenetics, their policy focus, and the balance of the reporting. We identified several recurring themes in the news reports, including policy messages relating to individual and societal responsibilities. We also found shortcomings in the media’s portrayal of epigenetic science, and sought to identify potential causes by considering the underlying scientific evidence that the media reported on. A case study analysis showed that the results of epigenetic studies were often overstated in academic research publications due to common experimental limitations. We suggest that defining standardized criteria with which to evaluate epigenetic studies could help to overcome some of the challenges inherent in translating complex epigenetic research findings for non-technical audiences, and present a Press Kit template that researchers can adapt and use to aid in the development of accurate and balanced press releases.

An analysis of media discourse on genetically modified rice in China

2020 ◽  
pp. 175048132098209
Author(s):  
Quan Zheng ◽  
Zengyi Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Media Discourse ◽  
Dominant Position ◽  
The Public ◽  
News Reports ◽  
Gm Rice ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Media ◽  
Specific Meaning

Current problems and controversies involving GM issues are not limited to scientific fields but spill over into the social context. When disagreements enter society via media outlets, social factors such as interests, resources, and values can contribute to complicating discourse about a controversial subject. Using the framework for the analysis of media discourse proposed by Carvalho, this paper examines news reports on Chinese GM rice from the dimensions of both text and context, covering the period of 2001–2015. This study shows that media may not only construct basic concepts, theme, and discursive strategies but also generate an ideological stance. This ideology constituted an influential dimension of the GM rice controversy. By following ideology consistent with the dominant position of the Chinese government, the media selectively constructed and endowed GM rice with a specific meaning in the Chinese social context, making possible the reproduction and communication of GM rice knowledge and risks to the public.

scholarly journals Twenty-five years of cyber threats in the news: a study of Swedish newspaper coverage (1995–2019)

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Boholm
Keyword(s):  
Informal Learning ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
Newspaper Coverage ◽  
Threat Perception ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Unauthorized Access ◽  
News Reports ◽  
Cyber Threats ◽  
The Media ◽  
Over Time

Abstract This paper explores how cyber threats are represented in Swedish newspapers. The sample comprises 1269 articles from three newspapers (Aftonbladet, Göteborgs-Posten, and Svenska Dagbladet) covering 25 years (1995–2019). The study provides a text-near and detailed analysis of the threats covered. The study analyzes these threats along several dimensions: their modality (e.g. unauthorized access or manipulation); to what extent ambiguous themes (e.g. attack, crime, and warfare) are specified in context; how cyber-threat coverage has changed over time; and the event orientation of the coverage, i.e. whether articles address topical events and, if so, which ones. There are five main findings. First, the Swedish newspaper cybersecurity discourse covers multiple threats; in total, 34 themes (present in at least 4% of articles) have been identified. Second, the representation of cyber threats varies in specificity. While generic themes such as attack and warfare are mostly specified in terms of their modality, they sometimes are not, leaving the representation vague. Third, this study, given its general approach, provides insights into media representations of particular cyber threats. For example, this study finds the meaning of “hacking” in the media to be more diversified and nuanced than previously assumed (e.g. as simply meaning “computer break-in”). Fourth, newspaper coverage of cyber threats has changed over time, in both quantity (i.e. the amount of coverage has increased) and quality, as three general trends have been observed: the state-ification and militarization of threats (i.e. increased attention to, e.g. nations and warfare as threats), the organization-ification of threats (i.e. increased attention to, e.g. government agencies and companies as threats), and the diversification and hyping of threats (i.e. cumulatively more threats are added to the cybersecurity discourse, although attention to particular threats is sometimes restricted in time). Finally, parallel to coverage of particular topical events (e.g. the “I love you” virus), newspaper representations of cyber threats largely exemplify “amplification without the event,” i.e. threats are covered without linking them to topical events, as is otherwise typical of news reports. The findings in relation to previous studies of cybersecurity discourse and the implications for informal learning and threat perception are discussed.

Employing of Media during Terrorism

2014 ◽  
pp. 157-170
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ayish
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Terrorist Organizations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Media Institutions ◽  
The World ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Media ◽  
Practical Experiences ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Vital Resource

Communication has proven to be an integral component of the terrorism phenomenon. To unravel the opportunities and challenges embedded in employing the media during terrorism, this chapter draws on research findings and practical experiences around the world to identify prime actors associated with this issue and to describe their objectives, tactics, and channels of communication. It is argued here that media constitute a vital resource in the war on terror with both terrorist organizations and states harnessing communication to advance their causes in the public sphere. In this context, four categories of media users have been identified: media institutions, terrorist organizations, governments, and citizen groups. The chapter discusses enduring issues associated with each actor's use of media and calls for evolving new conceptual frameworks for understanding media use during terrorism. It concludes by arguing that while we seem to have a huge pool of research findings and practical experiences related to using the media during terrorism, we seem to have a critical shortage in how we conceptually account for the different variables that define the use of media in terrorism situations.

The Crisis of Public Health as a Media Event

2016 ◽  
pp. 78-89
Author(s):  
Valentina Marinescu
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public System ◽  
Protest Movements ◽  
The Public ◽  
Media Messages ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Narratives ◽  
A Minor ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Media Event

The focus of the present article is on the analysis of the influence exercised by media narratives on the Romanian audience's reconstructions of social movements from January-February 2012. The analysis was interested to show what are the aspects involved in the publicizing of this media event in Romania, by focusing on the event narrative built in such a way to transmit a particular significance related to the protest movements related to the crisis of the health public system in Romania. Two research methods were used in collecting the data: a survey on two hundreds Romanian respondents and quantitative content analysis of five national Romanian newspapers. As the results show, the high consumption of mass media messages does not determine whether the public adopts the media narratives concerning the events from the beginning of year 2012. At the same time, the analysis shows that in the case of the media events that took place in Romania in January-February 2012 the impact of the media narrative on the way in which the audience from Romania rebuilt those protests was a minor one and other factors had played a major role in triggering massive mass protests in Romania.

scholarly journals The positive representation of the image of women in the media

Comunicar ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (32) ◽  
pp. 209-214
Author(s):  
Núria García-Muñoz ◽  
Luisa del Carmen Martínez-García
Keyword(s):  
Gender Issues ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
Cultural Industries ◽  
Social Imaginary ◽  
Educational Strategies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Positive Representation ◽  
The Media ◽  
Las Mujeres ◽  
Medios De Comunicacion

This article aims to outline the positive assessments made by the public, through the service of the Catalan Women’s Institute (ICD) on speeches containing media representations of gender. It is a way to illustrate how the products of cultural industries are part of the audience’s social imaginary and how it is able to identify and assess constructive representations of gender. The media and audience as agents of social change suggest ways of teaching on gender issues. Finally, the text encourages us to think about the possibility of creating and enhancing educational strategies to form a critical audience that generates proposals, guidelines, a discourse on gender according to social reality.Este trabajo tiene como objetivo describir las valoraciones positivas realizadas por la ciudadanía a través del servicio del Instituto Catalán de las Mujeres (ICD) sobre los discursos mediáticos que contienen representaciones de género. Es una forma de ilustrar cómo los productos de las industrias culturales forman parte del imaginario social de la audiencia y cómo ésta es capaz de identificar, valorar, las representaciones constructivas de género. Los medios de comunicación y la audiencia como agentes sociales de cambio sugieren vías pedagógicas sobre cuestiones de género. Finalmente, el texto nos anima a pensar en la posibilidad de crear y potenciar estrategias educativas para formar una audiencia crítica que genere propuestas, pautas, sobre un discurso de género acorde a la realidad social.

scholarly journals Public health benefits and risks of fish consumption: current scientific evidence v. media coverage

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 1885-1892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico A Pasquaré ◽  
Roberta Bettinetti ◽  
Sonia Fumagalli ◽  
Davide A Vignati
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Fish Consumption ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Information Source ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Fish Intake ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Media

AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate if and how the current degree of scientific uncertainty about the safety of fish consumption is incorporated at the media level.DesignWe used a dedicated software (TalTac®) to investigate the content of 169 news articles related to ‘mercury and fish consumption’ that appeared from 1990 to 2010 in the two Italian broadsheets with the highest circulation figures, in order to identify journalistic frames used in the coverage of benefits v. risks associated with fish consumption. Hypotheses were made on how the public might change fish consumption patterns as a result of media coverage.SettingItaly.ResultsThe two newspapers have different agendas in covering the issue. La Repubblica appears to support the view that, besides health benefits, there may be risks associated with fish consumption, while Corriere della Sera emphasizes health benefits more than possible risks. Depending on the preferred information source, the public could: (i) reduce its fish intake; (ii) increase its fish intake; or (iii) become confused about the problem and sceptical towards the media, as a result of conflicting journalistic frames.ConclusionsThe Italian media, in cooperation with scientists, public health nutritionists and dietitians, should place more emphasis on the existence of a few fish species with high to very high Hg levels and relatively low contents of beneficial n-3 fatty acids (e.g. swordfish and shark). This would enable consumers to make more educated purchasing decisions to maximize the benefits of n-3 intake while reducing possible risks from consuming Hg-contaminated fish.

Artikel: Health Information Dissemination in the Information Age: Media, Messages and Roles

1994 ◽  
Vol 19 (2-3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rolf T. Wigand ◽  
Hans-Dieter Klee
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Eating Behavior ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Information Dissemination ◽  
The United States ◽  
Free Enterprise ◽  
The Public ◽  
Media Messages ◽  
The Media

SummaryUnderstanding the priorities and workings of the mass media are a prerequisite to gaining the attention of the media and, more importantly, the cooperation of those who control access to media space and time. In addition, one needs to understand information and news filtering and gate-keeping functions carried out by the media. It is also essential to understand the interplay between reporters and their news sources and the fact that both entities have their specific priorities and agenda. In the United States of America the media’s behavior may be viewed and understood, at least in part, as the journalistic performance and exercise in the principles of the First Amendment within the Constitution. Simultaneously though the media are part of the free enterprise system, implying that they are a business whose primary motivation is to maximize profits and minimally to survive as an organization. The media, however, are not in the business of health care, medicine or public health. This contribution characterizes the health information setting in the United States of America. Relevant research has demonstrated that in the process of gaining health information by the consumer, food producers can be highly successful in influencing food-purchasing behavior and thus may have an influence on health and eating behavior. Among the issues addressed here are scientific alarmism, information confusion, disinformation, misinformation and the often resultant paradoxical behavior exhibited by the public. The knowledge gap-hypothesis is explored with regard to its appropriateness in this setting. Researchers found that short, unequivocal and positive media messages - so-called magic bullets - addressing single and relatively simple behaviors can be highly effective and that whatever advice is given should be uncomplicated and negative elements associated with the message should be avoided.It is important for scientists, medical experts and nutritionists, the media and food producers to realize that they all play a vital role in achieving broad-scale health behavior. They need to cooperate and work together to produce a set of clear, consistent, focused and positive messages based on current scientific knowledge and trends. Only then can such recommendations be communicated, understood and acted upon by the public. It is especially important to educate and inform children properly about the appropriate judgement and analysis of advertised messages pertaining to health and eating behavior questions.

Vigorous Physical Activity and All-Cause Mortality: A Story That Got Lost in Translation

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 445-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ding Ding ◽  
Klaus Gebel ◽  
Becky Freeman ◽  
Adrian E. Bauman
Keyword(s):  
Vigorous Physical Activity ◽  
Media Reporting ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Related Research ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
Lost In Translation ◽  
Published Research

Media reporting of published research findings can increase the profile and reach of new scientific findings. Dissemination is an important part of research, and media reporting can catalyze this process. In many areas, including health-related research, policymakers often rely on the media for information and guidance. Furthermore, media reports can influence the scientific community and clinicians.1·2 However, despite the potential beneficial role as a bridge between scientists and the public, misleading information can cause controversy, confusion, and even harm.3

scholarly journals Media coverage of mental health care in the UK, USA and Australia

2003 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 331-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrice Huang ◽  
Stefan Priebe
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Uk

Aims and MethodWe aimed to assess the contents and tone of articles on mental health care in the UK print media by comparing them with reporting in the USA and Australia. Two broadsheets from each country were analysed using the Internet for a random 4 months over a 1-year period. The number of articles, their content and the views expressed in them were identified and compared.ResultsA total of 118 articles on mental health care issues were found. The predominant tone of the articles in all three countries was negative, though there were slightly more positive articles in the USA and Australian media. Positive articles highlighted in the UK media covered mostly medical conferences and research findings.Clinical ImplicationsEfforts to achieve a more positive attitude towards people with mental illnesses in the public, such as anti-stigma campaigns, operate against a background of predominantly negative coverage of mental health care issues in broadsheets. The coverage in the UK may tend to be even less positive than in the USA and Australia. Medical conferences and research findings can, however, be used to promote positive views of mental health care in the media.

scholarly journals Dramatizing Ethnographic Fieldwork. Collaborative Laboratory and the Act of Intervening

Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-27
Author(s):  
Magdalena Sztandara ◽  
Grzegorz Niziołek
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Actions ◽  
Transformative Potential ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Public Sphere

What does it mean when an ethnographer intervenes in the public sphere or when a dramaturgist or theatre director conducts ethnographic research? What are the possibilities and values of such collaboration, and how it might be turned into engaged activities? In the following article, we attempt to answer these questions drawing from our pedagogical experience resulted from a joint effort of running and supervising a collaborative laboratory. For a year, groups of students (anthropologists, dramaturgists and theatre directors) jointly conceptualised, problematised and worked on the project about different masculinities. Throughout the project, all of us have been discussing, negotiating and exchanging our research methods, strategies and ways of exploring social practices by combining ethnography and performative. The outcome included thirteen interventions, understood as immediate social actions performed in the public space. The article aim is to engage with our teaching experiences and collaborative research efforts critically, as well as to problematise the real potential of the drama-based approach to ethnographic research. We argue that the form of collaboration between ethnography and performative arts opens not only new possibilities in methodological and pedagogical approach but also has transformative potential. The interventions performed in the public sphere might be understood as new modalities for disseminating research findings, which distort rather static and normative protocols of academic research presentations in Poland. They also allow reaching broader audiences and enabling more critical, intimate and involved understanding of different social and cultural practices.

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