Comparing the structures of storytelling and magic for science communication with an agent-based model

2021 ◽  
pp. 096366252110229
Author(s):  
José Ilić-García ◽  
Fernando Izaurieta ◽  
Ignacio Ormazábal ◽  
Hernán F. Astudillo
Keyword(s):  
Computational Model ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Actual Effectiveness ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
The One ◽  
Art Industry

When scientists engage in Public Understanding of Science to communicate their research to lay audiences, a common suggestion is to structure their talk around storytelling. Thus, it is crucial to know the actual effectiveness of storytelling in science communication compared to other structures. For instance, a structure almost unexplored is the one of magic or illusionism. As storytelling, it has been evolving and improving over humanity’s history to become ever more effective, granting magicians a prominent place in the entertainment and art industry. In the present work, we compared various storytelling structures and the structure of magic, through an agent-based computational model. The results open the questioning of story architectures; propose a new way to test ideas in science communication; and show that double-blind control studies are very much needed for further testing the structures of Public Understanding of Science and further developing agent-based models.

scholarly journals How to take non-knowledge seriously, or “the unexpected virtue of ignorance”

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 385-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristian H. Nielsen ◽  
Mads P. Sørensen
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Democratic Deliberation ◽  
Understanding Of Science

This commentary argues that we need to take ignorance and non-knowledge seriously in the fields of science communication and public understanding of science. As much as we want ignorance to disappear, it seems that it is here to stay—in the sciences and in the rest of society. Drawing on the vast but scattered literature on ignorance and non-knowledge, we suggest that paying closer attention to these phenomena could be beneficial for science communicators. Despite the fact that ignorance and non-knowledge, just like knowledge, today are highly politicized fields, they may also open up for new lines of inquiry and may be key to more pluralistic and equal democratic deliberation about science and technology.

scholarly journals Communicating Science and Technology. Gradiva’s Books of Popularization of Science and Technology and the Portuguese Public

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-118
Author(s):  
Inês N. Navalhas
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
The Other ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Portuguese Population ◽  
Popularization Of Science ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
The One

Abstract By focusing on the books of popularization of science and technology published by Gradiva this research aims at understanding the mechanisms and strategies to bring science and technology to a broader audience in Portugal, after 1974, the year of the Carnation Revolution that put an end to a long half century dictatorship. I use a mix conceptual framework: on the one hand, I use the scientific literacy and public understanding of science and technology main references to explore the public’s behavior and opinion concerning scientific and technological knowledge; on the other hand, I analyze Gradiva’s choices concerning the collections aimed at popularizing science and technology. So, I hope to contribute to map the perception of the Portuguese public about techno-scientific themes that influence their life and decisions, to understand how scientists relate to scientific and technological popularization literature and to assess scientific literacy in the Portuguese population.

Teaching biotechnology: identity in the context of ignorance and knowledgeability

1997 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Michael ◽  
Anne Grinyer ◽  
Jill Turner
Keyword(s):  
Participant Observation ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Focus Group Discussions ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Critical Studies ◽  
Social Trends ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
The One

This paper considers the sorts of identities constructed by biotechnology teachers for themselves, biotechnology and their students. Drawing upon insights from critical studies of the public understanding of science, we analyse teachers' views on biotechnology and the teaching of it. These views were partly derived from questionnaires and participant observation, though our main source of data were focus group discussions. Our analysis shows that the teachers held ambivalent views about their role and biotechnology. For example, on the one hand, science and biotechnology are `impure' in the sense of being part of the messy world of politics and ethics. Within this controversial domain, the teachers saw their role as one of assuring `balance' in which the students are exposed to both pro and con dimensions of biotechnology. On the other hand, science and biotechnology are `pure', part of an idealized realm in which useful scientific knowledge is produced. Biotechnology thus was `intellectually interesting in its own right'. We suggest that such ambivalence is not necessarily a problem, reflecting broader social trends.

scholarly journals Science museums as political places. Representing nanotechnology in European science museums

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (04) ◽  
pp. C02 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brice Laurent
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
The Political ◽  
Science Museums ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Role ◽  
European Science ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
Global Public Policy

Science museums perform representations of science and that of its publics. They have been called to intervene in nanotechnology within global public policy programs expected to develop the field. This paper discusses the case of European science museums. It starts by examining the case of a European project that involved science museums working on nanotechnology. This example illustrates a "democratic imperative" that European science museums face, and which implies a transformation of their public role. It offers a path for the analysis of the current evolution of European science communication perspective – from "public understanding of science" to "scientific understanding of the public" – and of the political construction this evolution enacts.

scholarly journals Introduction: From “The Popularization of Science through Film” to “The Public Understanding of Science”

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Vidal
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Deficit Model ◽  
The Public ◽  
Popularization Of Science ◽  
History Of ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
The Relationship

Science in film, and usual equivalents such asscience on filmorscience on screen, refer to the cinematographic representation, staging, and enactment of actors, information, and processes involved in any aspect or dimension of science and its history. Of course, boundaries are blurry, and films shot as research tools or documentation also display science on screen. Nonetheless, they generally count asscientific film, andscience inandon filmorscreentend to designate productions whose purpose is entertainment and education. Moreover, these two purposes are often combined, and inherently concern empirical, methodological, and conceptual challenges associated withpopularization,science communication, and thepublic understanding of science. It is in these areas that the notion of thedeficit modelemerged to designate a point of view and a mode of understanding, as well as a set of practical and theoretical problems about the relationship between science and the public.

scholarly journals Tension between visibility and invisibility: Science communication in new information environments

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Metag
Keyword(s):  
Public Engagement ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
The Public ◽  
New Information ◽  
Public Engagement With Science ◽  
Understanding Of Science

The visibility and invisibility of scientific knowledge, its creation, and of scientists are at the core of science communication research. Thus, prominent paradigms, such as the public understanding of science or public engagement with science and technology, have implications for the visibility of scientific knowledge in the scientific community and among the public. This article posits that visibility in science communication is achieved with the availability of scientific knowledge, the approval of its dissemination, and its accessibility to third parties. The public understanding of science and public engagement with science paradigms emphasize different aspects of visibility with the latter focusing on the visibility of the creation of scientific knowledge more than public understanding of science which focuses on the knowledge itself. The digital information environment has engendered new formats and possibilities for visibility but also new risks, thereby creating tensions in science communication.

scholarly journals Embracing the future through science communication: the inaugural "Mr. Science" Science Communication Conference in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (05) ◽  
pp. R05
Author(s):  
Guoyan Wang ◽  
Hepeng Jia ◽  
Jingyi Han ◽  
Yuqin Yang
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Communication Research ◽  
Ethical Aspects ◽  
The Public ◽  
Culture Of Science ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
Communication Study

The inaugural "Mr. Science" Science Communication Conference was held in Suzhou, China on July 9, 2021. It was the largest Chinese conference on science communication study since the start of the 21st century. More than 260 scholars discussed the spirit and culture of science, science communication during the COVID-19 crisis, the public understanding of science, and the ethical aspects of science communication. The conference aimed to develop a system for researching science communication within China. This review outlines the content of the conference and summarizes the key trends in science communication research in China.

scholarly journals Cultural determinants in the perception of science

2008 ◽  
Vol 07 (02) ◽  
pp. E
Author(s):  
Pietro Greco
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perception ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
The Other ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
The Public ◽  
Cultural Determinants ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
Science And Risk ◽  
The One

Those studying the public understanding of science and risk perception have held it clear for long: the relation between information and judgment elaboration is not a linear one at all. Among the reasons behind it, on the one hand, data never are totally “bare” and culturally neutral; on the other hand, in formulating a judgment having some value, the analytic component intertwines – sometimes unpredictably – with the cultural history and the personal elaboration of anyone of us.

Industrial Influences on the Development of the Communication of Science in the UK

1998 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 178-180
Author(s):  
Lynne Gornall ◽  
Brychan Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Technology Policy ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
The Public ◽  
Strategic Review ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Contemporary Context

The paper traces the role of industrial influences on the development of the ‘public understanding of science’, showing the initiatives as aspects of wider debates, articulated by key figures and groups in the field. In the contemporary context, this is related to the 1993 national strategic review of UK science and technology policy and the development in universities of the new field of ‘science communication’.

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