scholarly journals Affect in science communication: A data-driven analysis of TED talks

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia Fischer ◽  
Loris Jeitziner ◽  
Dirk U. Wulff
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Scientific Content ◽  
Audience Engagement ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Conflicts ◽  
Positive Valence ◽  
Modern Form ◽  
Ted Talks

Science communication is changing. It is increasingly directed not only at peers but at the public in general. Accordingly, understanding the circumstances under which audience members engage with scientific content is crucial to improving science communication. In this article, we investigate the role of affect on audience engagement with a modern form of science communication: TED talks. We examined how affect valence---a net positive or negative affect---and density---the proportion of affective words---are associated with a talk's popularity---reflecting views and likes---and polarity---reflecting dislikes and comments. We found that the valence of TED talks was associated with both popularity and polarity, with positive valence being linked to higher talk popularity and lower talk polarity. Density, on the other hand, was only associated with popularity, with higher affective density being linked to higher popularity---even more so than valence---but not polarity. Moreover, we observed that the association between affect and engagement was partially moderated by talk topic. Specifically, whereas higher density was related to higher popularity across most topics, valence seemed to particularly impact the popularity and polarity of TED talks on social topics, which regularly discuss polarizing issues such as race or political conflicts. We discuss implications of our findings for increasing the effectiveness of science communication.

scholarly journals The public-engaged scientists: Motivations, enablers and barriers

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 313-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Cerrato ◽  
Valentina Daelli ◽  
Helena Pertot ◽  
Olga Puccioni
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Institutional Commitment ◽  
First Year ◽  
The Public ◽  
Training Courses ◽  
Training Programmes

Why do scientists volunteer to be involved in public engagement in science? What are the barriers that can prevent them participating in dialogue with society? What can be done to facilitate their participation? In this paper we present a case study of the Children's University programme of the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) (Trieste, Italy), discussing the three-year experience, and reporting the outcomes of a series of focus groups conducted with the young scientists who volunteered in the programme. Two kinds of motivations emerged. The first is personal, for example volunteers' desire to improve their own communication abilities, or their curiosity for a new activity. The second is related to the perceived role of scientists in society: many volunteers feel a sense of duty and the need to promote science and its importance in society, to have an impact on the public perception of science and to seed the love for science in young people. After the first year of their involvement, volunteers expressed the need to keep improving their communication skills and participating in professional training courses, and agreed that science communication should become part of all standard training programmes of PhDs. In order for the outreach not to remain a sporadic experience, it is essential that a strong institutional commitment exists to promote, recruit, encourage, professionally train and support those involved.

Assessment by Audiences Shows Little Effect of Science Communication Training

2020 ◽  
pp. 107554702097163
Author(s):  
Margaret A. Rubega ◽  
Kevin R. Burgio ◽  
A. Andrew M. MacDonald ◽  
Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch ◽  
Robert S. Capers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Communication Training ◽  
Communication Course ◽  
Good Communication ◽  
Public Science ◽  
The Public ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Science Community

As the science community has recognized the vital role of communicating to the public, science communication training has proliferated. The development of rigorous, comparable approaches to assessment of training has not kept pace. We conducted a fully controlled experiment using a semester-long science communication course, and audience assessment of communicator performance. Evaluators scored the communication competence of trainees and their matched, untrained controls, before and after training. Bayesian analysis of the data showed very small gains in communication skills of trainees, and no difference from untrained controls. High variance in scores suggests little agreement on what constitutes “good” communication.

scholarly journals Saw It on Facebook: The Role of Social Media in Facilitating Science Issue Awareness

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 205630512093041
Author(s):  
Julian M. Mueller-Herbst ◽  
Michael A. Xenos ◽  
Dietram A. Scheufele ◽  
Dominique Brossard
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Gene Editing ◽  
Network Heterogeneity ◽  
The Public ◽  
Final Sample ◽  
Communication Challenges ◽  
Information Landscape ◽  
The Impact

Spreading issue awareness about increasingly interdisciplinary scientific discoveries faces progressively larger communication challenges due to the complexity, innovation pace, and broad applicability of these innovations. Traditionally, the public relies on legacy media for information and discussion of science topics. In face of a changing information landscape, however, legacy media struggle with decreasing funding for their science desks, and science journalists turn to more specialized outlets, often online. Given these developments, it is important to understand which platforms besides legacy media serve as facilitators of science issue awareness. In this study, we analyzed the impact of social media on the awareness of gene editing. We used a representative survey administered by professional survey firm YouGov between December 2016 and January 2017, yielding a final sample of 1,600 US adults with a 41.7% response rate. The regression analysis findings suggest that social media is a significant avenue through which awareness of gene editing, and subsequently other scientific issues, is spread. Using the example of Facebook, we were able to demonstrate that how, rather than if, one uses social media is the determining factor in spreading issue awareness. Awareness was positively predicted by the length of social media sessions and network heterogeneity, while pure amount of sessions actually negatively predicted awareness. Legacy media remain an important predictor of gene editing awareness. These results demonstrate that social media functions as an important information space for science issues and should receive individual attention along with legacy media outlets when examining science communication.

scholarly journals The Cheshire explainer. Musings about the training of explainers

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (04) ◽  
pp. C06
Author(s):  
Antonio Gomes da Costa
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Clear Definition ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Scientific Training ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Core ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
Definition Of

The profession of explainer is still pretty much undefined and underrated and the training of explainers is many times deemed to be a luxury. In the following pages we make the argument that three main factors contribute to this state of affairs and, at the same time, we try to show why the training of explainers should really be at the core of any science communication institution. These factors are: an erroneous perception of what a proper scientific training means for explainers; a lack of clear definition of the aptitudes and role of explainers required by institutions that are evolving and diversifying their missions; and an organizational model based on top-down practices of management and activity development which underappreciates the potential of the personnel working directly with the public.

Mutable Matter: Using Sensory Methods in Public Engagement with Nanotechnology

Leonardo ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Last
Keyword(s):  
Public Engagement ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Public Realm ◽  
Pilot Program ◽  
Art Practice ◽  
The Public ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Future

Mutable Matter is an experimental public engagement pilot program that seeks to enable non-scientists to explore and co-imagine the future of nanotechnology. Located at the intersection of geography, science communication and art practice, Mutable Matter is intended as a starting point for examining playful sensory engagement methods bridging tangible public and intangible scientific spaces. The project both challenges the role of non-scientists as mere commentators on pre-decided innovation trajectories and draws attention to the way scientific information is creatively encountered in the public realm.

Can archaeologists intervene in public debate on urgent questions of a social, cultural or political nature? A reflection on the Israeli–Palestinian Archaeology Working Group (IPAWG)

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-58
Author(s):  
Ghattas Jeries Sayej
Keyword(s):  
Working Group ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Public Debate ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Conflicts ◽  
Public Figures ◽  
Making A Difference ◽  
The Media ◽  
Shed Light

AbstractThe archaeologist's role in public life is not limited to only understanding, reflecting and informing on the past, but also should reveal who we are at present and help society in manoeuvring into the future. We are a major part of the public intellectuals who should intervene in public debate, not only in the media but also as a part of the decision-making process. We can contribute to making a difference in many aspects of human life, intellectually, socially, culturally and politically. This paper will aim to shed light on my involvement in the Israeli–Palestinian Archaeology Working Group (IPAWG). I will focus on how a small group of archaeologists has contributed positively to one of the most complicated political conflicts in modern history. I will also address an example from Al-Jib to indicate the role of archaeologists as scientists, citizens and public figures.

scholarly journals Openness and privacy in born-digital archives: reflecting the role of AI development

AI & Society ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angeliki Tzouganatou
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Digital Archives ◽  
Audience Engagement ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Core ◽  
Technological Means ◽  
Opening Up ◽  
Digital Assets

AbstractGalleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAMs) are striving to retain audience attention to issues related to cultural heritage, by implementing various novel opportunities for audience engagement through technological means online. Although born-digital assets for cultural heritage may have inundated the Internet in some areas, most of the time they are stored in “digital warehouses,” and the questions of the digital ecosystem’s sustainability, meaningful public participation and creative reuse of data still remain. Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), are used to bring born-digital archives to light, aiming to enhance the public’s engagement and participation. At the core of this debate lies both the openness of data and issues of privacy. How open to the public should born-digital archives be? Should everything be open and available online, and what does it take to achieve balance between openness and privacy, especially through AI initiatives? The study is qualitative and builds on the rationale of grounded theory. The role of AI development is critically investigated in relation to opening up born-digital archives online, by considering privacy and ethics issues. Grounded in the context of the author’s PhD research, the paper proposes a human-centred approach to AI development for democratising its development towards fairness and social inclusion, contrary to the stereotypical cliché of blackboxing, allowing space for the plurality of born-digital archives to flourish.

scholarly journals Dialogue as therapy: the role of the expert in the ICRP Dialogues

2021 ◽  
pp. 014664532110337
Author(s):  
M. Takahashi
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
International Commission ◽  
Radiological Protection ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
Fukushima Daiichi ◽  
Understanding Of Science

Science communication is commonly framed as a battle with ignorance and the field of radiological protection is not exempt from this tendency. By correcting deficits in the public’s understanding of science, the expert is often imagined to be able to convince the public of its objective safety (‘anzen’), thereby inspiring a sense of calm (‘anshin’). In the wake of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi disaster, however, the International Commission on Radiological Protection has sought to break with this tradition by organising a series of participatory seminars in which experts engage those affected by the disaster as equals. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, this article suggests that the Dialogue seminars can be best understood using the metaphor of therapy; using it to describe the premise, form, and objectives of the Dialogues with a view to identifying good practice for future radiological protection scenarios.

scholarly journals Credibility aspects of research-based gaming in science communication — the case of The Maladaptation Game

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (01) ◽  
pp. A01
Author(s):  
Therese Asplund
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Game Design ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Perceived Fit ◽  
The Public

While previous studies have found games and gaming to be a new and innovative communication strategy to inform the public and citizens about scientific research and engage them with it, this article addresses the under-researched question of credibility aspects in research-based gaming. The study analyses agricultural stakeholders' discussions on the credibility of scientific descriptions in The Maladaptation Game — a game based on research on climate change maladaptation in Nordic agriculture. The analysis of focus group transcripts and frame credibility finds that players attribute credibility to 1) the perceived correspondence between game-articulated information on climate change, suggested adaptation actions and their potential maladaptive outcome, 2) the perceived “fit” between these elements and players' experiences, and 3) the information sources underpinning the game. Lastly, the article discusses the role of research-based games in science communication and advocates the need for careful balance between models of conceptual and scientific thinking in game design and everyday experiences among players.

scholarly journals Science Communication 2.0

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 42-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dra. María Dolores Olvera-Lobo ◽  
Lourdes López-Pérez
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Scientific Culture ◽  
Online Newspapers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Spanish Science ◽  
The Media

The level of scientific culture among young Spaniards is one of the lowest in Europe. The media, as spokespersons to the public, and public universities, as the institutions responsible for higher education, are two important parties with the responsibility for changing this situation. This study analyses how both use the Internet and Web 2.0 to promote science. In the case of universities, the results demonstrate the effort they are making to connect science to these tools. 72.9% have a scientific news feed and almost a third have a profile on Facebook and Twitter. However, the role of Spanish science is still irrelevant in online newspapers. Only 35.4% of published information refers to research in Spain.

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