scholarly journals What Do You Expect? Linguistic Reflections on Empathy in Science Communication

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Janich
Keyword(s):  
Social Communication ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Science And Society ◽  
Scientific Expertise ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
Emotional Level

This linguistics article, which draws additionally on interdisciplinary insights, discusses whether and to what extent more empathy could facilitate and promote the exchange of knowledge between science and society. The existence of the Internet as a knowledge resource has made it necessary, especially in online communication, to renegotiate (scientific) expertise and roles such as ‘expert’ and ‘layperson.’ A discourse linguistics case study of a science blog shows that these negotiations quickly take on the character of an emotionally charged relationship between writer and respondent and are by no means limited to the level of fact or disinterested scholarly debate. The reason for this—so this article argues—is that reciprocal expectations and expectations of expectations play an essential role in science communication, as in any social communication. This hypothesis is supported by an analysis of interviews with scientists about their expectations of the public’s understanding of science. Against this background, empathy seems to be a suitable means to better meet the expectations of one’s interlocuter (or at least to avoid disappointed expectations) and to move from a more emotional level back to a more rational one. Empathy and its role in science communication should therefore be investigated more closely—on an interdisciplinary basis.

scholarly journals Identifying diffusion patterns of research articles on Twitter: A case study of online engagement with open access articles

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Pablo Alperin ◽  
Charles J Gomez ◽  
Stefanie Haustein
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Research Evaluation ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
The Public ◽  
Online Engagement ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
Limited Diffusion

The growing presence of research shared on social media, coupled with the increase in freely available research, invites us to ask whether scientific articles shared on platforms like Twitter diffuse beyond the academic community. We explore a new method for answering this question by identifying 11 articles from two open access biology journals that were shared on Twitter at least 50 times and by analyzing the follower network of users who tweeted each article. We find that diffusion patterns of scientific articles can take very different forms, even when the number of times they are tweeted is similar. Our small case study suggests that most articles are shared within single-connected communities with limited diffusion to the public. The proposed approach and indicators can serve those interested in the public understanding of science, science communication, or research evaluation to identify when research diffuses beyond insular communities.

scholarly journals Media Representations of Official Declarations and Political Actions in Brazil During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diogo Lopes de Oliveira ◽  
Erick Moreno ◽  
Bruce V. Lewenstein
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Communication Complexity ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
Media Messages ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
Political Actions

Our case study situates science communication within the interaction of the COVID-19 disease, scientific research about the disease, public statements by relevant officials, media messages, political actions, and public opinion. By studying these interactions in the Brazilian context, we add to the understanding of science communication complexity by studying a context less easily available to the English-speaking research community. Methodologically, we identified key moments in Brazil during the pandemic using tools such as Google Trends, and content analysis of influencers' Twitter and Instagram accounts and digital newspapers. These episodes are then explored as case studies, using both quantitative and qualitative content analysis of messages to identify message emphasis frames and political agendas. The results introduce issues rarely explored in previous science communication research, especially ones associated with nationalism and political populism and national inequalities of privilege, income, and trust.

scholarly journals Media Representations of Science during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Analysis of News and Social Media on the Island of Ireland

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (18) ◽  
pp. 9542
Author(s):  
Cliodhna O’Connor ◽  
Nicola O’Connell ◽  
Emma Burke ◽  
Ann Nolan ◽  
Martin Dempster ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
Images Of Scientists ◽  
Scientific Expertise ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
Communication Challenge

COVID-19 is arguably the most critical science communication challenge of a generation, yet comes in the wake of a purported populist turn against scientific expertise in western societies. This study advances understanding of science–society relations during the COVID-19 pandemic by analysing how science was represented in news and social media coverage of COVID-19 on the island of Ireland. Thematic analysis was performed on a dataset comprising 952 news articles and 603 tweets published between 1 January and 31 May 2020. Three themes characterised the range of meanings attached to science: ‘Defining science: Its subjects, practice and process’, ‘Relating to science: Between veneration and suspicion’ and ‘Using science: As solution, policy and rhetoric’. The analysis suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic represented a platform to highlight the value, philosophy, process and day-to-day activity of scientific research. However, the study also identified risks the pandemic might pose to science communication, including feeding public alienation by disparaging lay understandings, reinforcing stereotypical images of scientists, and amplifying the politicisation of scientific statements.

Identity and Language Use Online

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naseem Hallajow
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Identity Transformation ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
The Way

Given the deeply rooted relationship between identity and language use, this article reports on a study that explores the issue of identity as a main player in Syrian university students' language use online. In specific, it investigates how Syrian university students perform their identities through their use of language online and the types of identity transformation they experience in their online communication. To address the research questions, the study employs the case study approach in order to explore the research phenomenon very closely. The findings show that identity plays a major role in the way Syrian university students access the internet and also in the choice of language they make online.

Science Communication in the Scientific and Educational Field in Different Countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Светлана Мякотникова ◽  
Svetlana Myakotnikova
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Communication Channel ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Personal Interest ◽  
Science And Society ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
The Developed Countries ◽  
Educational Field

The article deals with the phenomenon of “science communication”, which is considered as a complex system including different subjects who use varied communication channel and vehicles to generate personal interest, form positive attitude and understanding of science. The article examines the reasons which have led to an increased need for scientists to communicate. Among the latter can be identified: the loss of expertise and authority of scientists; a change in the nature of knowledge production; improved communications and a proliferation of sources of information; the democratic deficit. These factors are equally valid in the developed countries. The peculiarities of science communication in scientific and educational field in Russia, the USA, Germany, Great Britain, China and Japan are also investigated. The conclusion is made about the need of two-way communication between science and society; the dependency of communication peculiarities on government goals.

scholarly journals The birth of the influencer-activist, a case study from Spain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pau Munoz
Keyword(s):  
Political Party ◽  
Online Social Networks ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Political Organizations ◽  
Communication Techniques ◽  
Technological Tools ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Political Realities

An activist is someone active towards change in political or overall social matters who may carry her activity alone or embedded in an organization organization such a political party or an NGO. The new political realities of the network society as well as the wide array of technological tools available on the internet has facilitated the rise of a new kind of activist, the “influencer-activist” that derives from the well documented figure of the cyber-activist, who is les embedded in political organizations and for whom online social networks are the main environment of activity, sometimes the only one. I used qualitative research techniques of content analysis as well as deep interviews with key internet figures who self-identify as cyber-activists to articulate a clear definition of the influencer-activist along with a taxonomy of their tools and strategies by exploring their introduction into activism, their main motivations, online communication techniques as well as their relation with traditional forms of communication and activism and political participation.

scholarly journals Kekhilafahan Islam, Globalisasi dan Gerilya Maya: Studi Kasus Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia

FIKRAH ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 241
Author(s):  
Paelani Setia ◽  
M. Taufiq Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Global Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
National Boundaries

<p class="06IsiAbstrak"><span lang="EN-GB">This paper aims to explain the role of radical Islamic organizations in the era of globalization. The case study taken in this research is Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI). As a transnational organization, Hizb ut-Tahrir grew and crossed national boundaries, including arriving in Indonesia and playing an essential role in shaping public opinion in Indonesia. This study uses qualitative research methods to collect data through online observation, which is described by content analysis. The findings of this study are Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia is part of the players of globalization. This is evidenced by the organization's involvement in 50 countries and five continents globally supported by their global media. In Indonesia, although the Government disbanded it in 2017, Hizb ut-Tahrir's activities are still strengthened and maintained through globalization instruments such as the internet. HTI then carried out virtual guerrilla activities to keep the idea of a caliphate grounded.</span></p>

scholarly journals Hunger Hurts but Starving Works: A case study of gendered practices in the online pro-eating-disorder community

2010 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 595-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krista Whitehead
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Identity Work ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Ethnographic Methods ◽  
Eating Disordered ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Self Worth

This paper investigates collective identity-work of Pro-eating disorder (Pro-ED) groups on the Internet. Using an adaptation of face-to-face ethnographic methods to investigate online communication (Mann and Stewart 2000), the author analyzes five collective organizing practices in Pro-ED groups that reveal a highly gendered character: 1) promoting surreptitiousness, 2) organizing in and around the realm of domesticity, 3) equating beauty with self-worth, 4) relying on friendship as a chief organizing principle, and 5) using fandom as a method of attracting and maintaining members. In spite of exceptional resistance to their activities, women in the Pro-ED community are able to achieve a collective Pro-ED identity wherein they maintain eating-disordered lifestyles. The case study presented here interrupts popular sociological understandings of collective identity mobilization as having categorically positive consequences for its members.

Drama in Education Reaching Beyond the “Art Form or Teaching Tool” Dichotomy

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 70-77
Author(s):  
Irina Lešnik
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Education ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Drama In Education ◽  
History Curriculum ◽  
Art Form ◽  
Creative Solutions ◽  
Theatre Pedagogy ◽  
Emotional Level

Abstract In the following article we try to re-evaluate, the place drama occupies in contemporary elementary education. By limiting the role of drama to literature studies and theatre productions, we lose a greater potential Theatre Pedagogy has to offer to a much broader educational spectrum. The participatory practices of Theatre and Drama in Education (TiE, DiE) promote active learning, based on a most organic children’s activity - play. While students co-create the fictional world of drama, teacher's guidance is crucial in setting new challenges, encouraging students to find creative solutions and reflect on often-complex social issues. Because of its art component, drama challenges the participants on a cognitive as well as emotional level, becoming a truly transformational experience. As such, Drama in Education is especially useful when approaching sensitive and controversial topics. This thesis is presented on a case study observing Year 6 students at St’ Michael’s CE Academy in Birmingham, UK, using Drama in Education method as part of History curriculum.

The Internet is a Semicommons

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Grimmelmann
Keyword(s):  
Open Field ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Strategic Behavior ◽  
Private Property ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Field System ◽  
Technical Features ◽  
Dynamic Interplay ◽  
Enormous Success

78 Fordham Law Review 2799 (2010)The Internet is a semicommons. Private property in servers and network links coexists with a shared communications platform. This distinctive combination both explains the Internet's enormous success and illustrates some of its recurring problems.Building on Henry Smith's theory of the semicommons in the medieval open-field system, this essay explains how the dynamic interplay between private and common uses on the Internet enables it to facilitate worldwide sharing and collaboration without collapsing under the strain of misuse. It shows that key technical features of the Internet, such as its layering of protocols and the Web's division into distinct "sites," respond to the characteristic threats of strategic behavior in a semicommons. An extended case study of the Usenet distributed messaging system shows that not all semicommons on the Internet succeed; the continued success of the Internet depends on our ability to create strong online communities that can manage and defend the infrastructure on which they rely. Private and common both have essential roles to play in that task, a lesson recognized in David Post's and Jonathan Zittrain's recent books on the Internet.

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