scholarly journals Vaccine confidence, public understanding and probity: time for a shift in focus?

2021 ◽  
pp. medethics-2020-106805
Author(s):  
Ana Wheelock ◽  
Jonathan Ives
Keyword(s):  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Scientific Output ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Gaze ◽  
Vaccine Confidence ◽  
Vaccine Scares ◽  
Complementary Strategy

Lack of vaccine confidence can contribute to drops in vaccination coverage and subsequent outbreaks of diseases like measles and polio. Low trust in vaccines is attributed to a combination of factors, including lack of understanding, vaccine scares, flawed policies, social media and mistrust of vaccine manufacturers, scientists and decision-makers. The COVID-19 crisis has laid bare societies’ vulnerability to new pathogens and the critical role of vaccines (and their acceptability) in containing this and future pandemics. It has also put science at the forefront of the response, with several governments relying on academics to help shape policy and communicate with the public. Against this backdrop, protecting public trust in scientists and scientific output is arguably more important than ever. Yet, conflicts of interest (CoI) in biomedical research remain ubiquitous and harmful, and measures to curb them have had limited success. There is also evidence of bias in industry-sponsored vaccine studies and academics are voicing concerns about the risks of working in a CoI prevalent research area. Here, we set out to challenge established thinking with regard to vaccine confidence, by shifting the gaze from a deficit in public understanding towards probity in research relationships and suggesting an alternative and perhaps complementary strategy for addressing vaccine mistrust. We argue that a concerted effort needs to be made to revisit the norms that undergird contemporary vaccine research, coupled with a willingness of all stakeholders to reimagine those relationships with an emphasis on demonstrating trustworthiness and probity.

L'importance des outils de planification forestière dans les opérations de relations publiques en Suisse | The importance of forestry planning tools in public relations operation in Switzerland

2004 ◽  
Vol 155 (11) ◽  
pp. 487-491
Author(s):  
Christina Giesch Shakya
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Public Relations ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
The Public ◽  
Forest Management Plan ◽  
Forest Enterprises ◽  
Forestry Services ◽  
Regional Forest ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

The current study examines the importance of planning and management documents (notably the forest management plan and the regional forest plan) for public relations purposes. 17 people (15 forest engineers and 2 forest guards) were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. The results of our survey show that some of the information used for public relations is taken from the planning documents. The forest management plan is primarily considered to be an internal document, but it also provides information on the objectives of forest enterprises, justifications of the planned measures, numbers and maps. The regional forest plan contributes to the public relations in three ways: its content provides information about objectives, description of forest functions, projects and measures. In addition, the participation of the public in the process of elaborating this plan is an ideal opportunity to heighten awareness in society and further public understanding of the forest and forestry services. Finally, as the regional forest management plan is in the public domain, it functions as a type of «show case» of the forest service.

KAUTILYA ON THE SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY OF ACCOUNTING, ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN AND THE ROLE OF ETHICS IN ANCIENT INDIA

2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Balbir S. Sihag
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Economic Performance ◽  
Organizational Design ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Ethical Values ◽  
Allocation Of Resources ◽  
Economic Data ◽  
Ancient India

Kautilya, a 4th century B.C.E. economist, recognized the importance of accounting methods in economic enterprises. He realized that a proper measurement of economic performance was absolutely essential for efficient allocation of resources, which was considered an important source of economic development. He viewed philosophy and political science as separate disciplines but considered accounting an integral part of economics. He specified a very broad scope for accounting and considered explanation and prediction as its proper objectives. Kautilya developed bookkeeping rules to record and classify economic data, emphasized the critical role of independent periodic audits and proposed the establishment of two important but separate offices - the Treasurer and Comptroller-Auditor, to increase accountability, specialization, and above all to reduce the scope for conflicts of interest. He also linked the successful enforcement of rules and regulations to their clarity, consistency and completeness. Kautilya believed that such measures were necessary but not sufficient to eliminate fraudulent accounting. He also emphasized the role of ethics, considering ethical values as the glue which binds society and promotes economic development.

Reversing the gaze on race, social justice, and inclusion in public librarianship

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Amber Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Structural Racism ◽  
The Public ◽  
Race And Class ◽  
The Gaze ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Historical Times ◽  
Diversity Studies

While contemporary revisionist narratives frame the public library as a benevolent and neutral community resource, it has existed for over two centuries and has a deeply shaded past. Particularly, public libraries played key roles in projects tied to the industrialist mission of states and the education of select social groups during key historical times. In no uncertain terms, these were inherently racist and colonial projects in which libraries helped proffer socially constructed and politically motivated ideas of race and class. This work draws on relevant and important work in anti-oppression studies, Black studies, critical diversity studies, and Critical Race Theory (CRT) to trouble contemporary revisionist perspectives in public librarianship to show how they further entrench monocultural normativity and structural racism. It also draws on scholarship in anti-racism studies to reimagine possibilities for public librarianship that genuinely reflect its core values of equity and justice.

scholarly journals A Bibliometric Insight of Genetic Factors in ASD: Emerging Trends and New Developments

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Kang Wang ◽  
Weicheng Duan ◽  
Yijie Duan ◽  
Yuxin Yu ◽  
Xiuyi Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Factors ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Scientific Output ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
De Novo Mutations ◽  
Emerging Trends ◽  
Genetic Abnormalities

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) cases have increased rapidly in recent decades, which is associated with various genetic abnormalities. To provide a better understanding of the genetic factors in ASD, we assessed the global scientific output of the related studies. A total of 2944 studies published between 1997 and 2018 were included by systematic retrieval from the Web of Science (WoS) database, whose scientific landscapes were drawn and the tendencies and research frontiers were explored through bibliometric methods. The United States has been acting as a leading explorer of the field worldwide in recent years. The rapid development of high-throughput technologies and bioinformatics transferred the research method from the traditional classic method to a big data-based pipeline. As a consequence, the focused research area and tendency were also changed, as the contribution of de novo mutations in ASD has been a research hotspot in the past several years and probably will remain one into the near future, which is consistent with the current opinions of the major etiology of ASD. Therefore, more attention and financial support should be paid to the deciphering of the de novo mutations in ASD. Meanwhile, the effective cooperation of multi-research centers and scientists in different fields should be advocated in the next step of scientific research undertaken.

Research on Emotion Recognition and Dementias: Foundations and Prospects

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Gregorio González-Alcaide ◽  
Mercedes Fernández-Ríos ◽  
Rosa Redolat ◽  
Emilia Serra
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Recognition ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Scientific Output ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Intellectual Structure ◽  
Clinical Neurology ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Cognitive Areas

Background: The study of emotion recognition could be crucial for detecting alterations in certain cognitive areas or as an early sign of neurological disorders. Objective: The main objective of the study is to characterize research development on emotion recognition, identifying the intellectual structure that supports this area of knowledge, and the main lines of research attracting investigators’ interest. Methods: We identified publications on emotion recognition and dementia included in the Web of Science Core Collection, analyzing the scientific output and main disciplines involved in generating knowledge in the area. A co-citation analysis and an analysis of the bibliographic coupling between the retrieved documents elucidated the thematic orientations of the research and the reference works that constitute the foundation for development in the field. Results: A total of 345 documents, with 24,282 bibliographic references between them, were included. This is an emerging research area, attracting the interest of investigators in Neurosciences, Psychology, Clinical Neurology, and Psychiatry, among other disciplines. Four prominent topic areas were identified, linked to frontotemporal dementia, autism spectrum disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s and Huntington disease. Many recent papers focus on the detection of mild cognitive impairment. Conclusion: Impaired emotion recognition may be a key sign facilitating the diagnosis and early treatment of different neurodegenerative diseases as well as for triggering the necessary provision of social and family support, explaining the growing research interest in this area.

Understanding understanding: a model for the public learning of radioactivity

1999 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 267-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Alsop
Keyword(s):  
Informal Learning ◽  
Background Radiation ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Change Model ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
The Public ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
Conceptual Change Model

While much of the work in the public understanding of science has focused on the public's appreciation of science and their familiarity with key scientific concepts, understanding the processes involved in learning science has largely been ignored. This article documents a study of how particular members of the public learn about radiation and radioactivity, and proposes a model to describe their learning—the Informal Conceptual Change Model [ICCM]. ICCM is a multidimensional framework that incorporates three theoretical dimensions—the cognitive, conative, and affective. The paper documents each of these dimensions, and then illustrates the model by drawing upon data collected in a case study. The emphasis of the analysis is on understanding how the members of the public living in an area with high levels of background radiation learn about the science of this potential health threat. The summarizing comments examine the need for a greater awareness of the complexities of informal learning.

scholarly journals What Affects Chinese Residents’ Perceptions of Climate Change?

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinjia Wu ◽  
Jiansheng Qu ◽  
Hengji Li ◽  
Li Xu ◽  
Hongfen Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Climate Change Risk ◽  
Climate Governance ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
National Education ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation

The theme of global sustainable development has changed from environmental management to climate governance, and relevant policies on climate governance urgently need to be implemented by the public. The public understanding of climate change has become the prerequisite and basis for implementing various climate change policies. In order to explore the affected factors of climate change perception among Chinese residents, this study was conducted across 31 provinces and regions of China through field household surveys and interviews. Combined with the residents’ perception of climate change with the possible affected factors, the related factors affecting Chinese residents’ perception of climate change were explored. The results show that the perceptive level of climate change of Chinese residents is related to the education level and the household size of residents. Improving public awareness of climate change risk in the context of climate change through multiple channels will also help to improve residents’ awareness of climate change. On the premise of improving the level of national education, improving education on climate change in school education and raising awareness of climate change risk among dependents will help to improve the level of Chinese residents’ awareness of climate change, which could be instrumental in promoting public participation in climate change mitigation and adaptation actions.

The roles of rhetoric in the public understanding of science

1994 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan G. Gross
Keyword(s):  
Rhetorical Analysis ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Contextual Model ◽  
Deficit Model ◽  
The Public ◽  
Science Rhetoric ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
Social Scientific

In the public understanding of science, rhetoric has two distinct roles: it is both a theory capable of analysing public understanding and an activity capable of creating it. In its analytical role, rhetoric reveals two dominant models of public understanding: the deficit model and the contextual model. In the deficit model, rhetoric acts in the minor role of creating public understanding by accommodating the facts and methods of science to public needs and limitations. In the contextual model, rhetoric and rhetorical analysis play major roles. Rhetorical analysis provides an independent source of evidence to secure social scientific claims; in addition, it supplies the grounds for a rhetoric of reconstruction, one that reconstitutes the fact and facts of science in the public interest.

scholarly journals Call them COVIDiots: Exploring the effects of aggressive communication style and psychological distance in the communication of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 096366252198919
Author(s):  
Haoran Chu ◽  
Shupei Yuan ◽  
Sixiao Liu
Keyword(s):  
Social Norm ◽  
Distance Perception ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Communication Style ◽  
Communication Styles ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
The Public ◽  
Aggressive Communication ◽  
Close Distance

This study examined the influences of perceived distance to communicator on the effects of aggressive style (i.e. personal attacks and intense languages) in communicating scientific issues such as COVID-19 to the public. With a multi-site experiment ( N = 464), we found that aggression led to a heightened violation of expected social norm regarding communication styles. However, the interpretation of violation varied depending on the individual’s perceived distance to the communicator. Close distance articulated the urgency and severity of COVID-19 risks conveyed with aggression, which further increased compliance with the message. Far distance perception amplified aggression’s negative influence on writer likeability. The findings showed that aggressive communication may generate positive outcomes when dealing with public understanding of scientific issues such as COVID-19, but communicators need to build a closer connection with their audience.

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