Consumers’ Willingness to Buy CRISPR Gene-Edited Tomatoes: Evidence from a Choice Experiment Case Study in Germany

The CRISPR gene-editing (GE) breeding method is used to increase the resilience of high-yielding tomato cultivars against pests and diseases, reducing crop protection requirements. This study investigated consumers’ willingness to buy CRISPR GE tomatoes in a repeated discrete-choice experiment. We observed a strong positive effect of providing information on the CRISPR breeding technology, while the sensory experience of the CRISPR GE tomatoes in a visit to a greenhouse had a rather weak, predominantly negative effect on the participants’ willingness to buy CRISPR GE tomatoes. We found that roughly half of the 32 participants demonstrated constant CRISPR GE tomato choices during the experiments, and these participants were mainly employed as scientists. However, the rest of the participants changed their CRISPR GE tomato choices, with the majority showing an increase in their willingness to buy CRISPR GE tomatoes; these “changers” were dominated by non-scientists. Science communication on CRISPR GE breeding technology should target people with little knowledge about the technology, and consumers of organic tomatoes seem to have more specified, stable preferences regarding the technology. Further, scientific information about the CRISPR GE methodology should preferentially be provided when new technology and information about it are not yet widespread and people have not yet formed a strong opinion about the technology.

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Decision Support Systems in Crop Protection

Outlook on Agriculture ◽

10.1177/003072709402300408 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 23 (4) ◽

pp. 281-285 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Jonathan D. Knight ◽

John D. Mumford

Keyword(s):

Decision Support ◽

Decision Support Systems ◽

Support Systems ◽

Crop Protection ◽

Expert Advice ◽

Management Decision ◽

Sufficient Information ◽

Record Keeping ◽

Pests And Diseases ◽

The Right

All farmers and growers have at some time faced the decision of whether to control a pest in their crop. In order to make the correct decision the farmer needs access to, and an understanding of, sufficient information relevant to such pest problems. Decision support systems are able to help farmers make these difficult decisions by providing information in an easily understandable and quickly accessed form. The increasing use of computers by farmers for record-keeping and business management is putting the hardware necessary for the implementation of these systems onto more and more farms. The scarcity of expert advice, increasingly complex decisions and reduced economic margins all increase the importance of making the right pest management decision at the right time. It is against this background that decision support systems have an important role to play in the fight against losses caused by pests and diseases.

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Chinese perception and willingness to buy Taiwanese brands

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics ◽

10.1108/apjml-09-2017-0203 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 816-836 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Nizar Souiden ◽

Riadh Ladhari ◽

Liu Chang

Keyword(s):

Structural Equation ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Strong Ties ◽

Content Type ◽

Foreign Companies ◽

Brand Quality ◽

Willingness To Buy ◽

Two Factors ◽

Negative Effect ◽

The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine ethnocentrism and animosity in a special context of two societies that share cultural, historical, ethnic and geographical characteristics. In particular, it first investigates the relationships between Chinese ethnocentrism and animosity toward Taiwan, and then it examines the impact of these two factors on the Chinese perception of Taiwanese brand quality and their purchase intent. Design/methodology/approach Based on a sample of 605 respondents from China, data were analyzed by structural equation modeling. Findings The results show that although Chinese animosity toward Taiwan is moderate, it is significantly driven by ethnocentrism, which has a significant and negative effect on willingness to buy, but not on the perception of Taiwanese brand quality. The Chinese animosity toward Taiwan, however, has negative and significant effects on their perception of Taiwanese brand quality and their intention of purchasing Taiwanese brands. Research limitations/implications The immense size of the country has impeded the representativeness of the authors’ sample and the generalizability of the results. Also, the study covers only one type of product. Practical implications Forming partnerships with local Chinese businesses and developing strong ties with local communities could be considered as a solution to minimize or circumvent the effect of animosity and might help foreign companies appear more “local.” Originality/value In contrast to past studies that investigated ethnocentrism and animosity in the context of countries presenting several differences (e.g. China vs USA), this study investigates the effect of ethnocentrism and animosity in the context of two countries (China and Taiwan) that share cultural, historical, ethnic and geographic characteristics. Despite the strong ties between the two countries, the Chinese have a certain animosity, though moderate, toward Taiwan and consequently are less inclined to buy Taiwanese brands. This implies that Chinese animosity toward a country may be toned down or pronounced, depending on whether they have strong or weak ties with that country.

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Why Should Scientists be on YouTube? It’s all About Bamboo, Oil and Ice Cream

Frontiers in Communication ◽

10.3389/fcomm.2021.586297 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Author(s):

Eric B. Brennan

Keyword(s):

Scientific Literacy ◽

Visual Communication ◽

Science Communication ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Ice Cream ◽

Communication Tools ◽

The Public ◽

Communications Skills ◽

Do It Yourself ◽

Diverse Groups

Scientific information is a key ingredient needed to tackle global challenges like climate change, but to do this it must be communicated in ways that are accessible to diverse groups, and that go beyond traditional methods (peer-reviewed publications). For decades there have been calls for scientists to improve their communication skills—with each other and the public—but, this problem persists. During this time there have been astonishing changes in the visual communication tools available to scientists. I see video as the next step in this evolution. In this paper I highlight three major changes in the visual communication tools over the past 100 years, and use three memorable items—bamboo, oil and ice cream—and analogies and metaphors to explain why and how Do-it-Yourself (DIY) videos made by scientists, and shared on YouTube, can radically improve science communication and engagement. I also address practical questions for scientists to consider as they learn to make videos, and organize and manage them on YouTube. DIY videos are not a silver bullet that will automatically improve science communication, but they can help scientists to 1) reflect on and improve their communications skills, 2) tell stories about their research with interesting visuals that augment their peer-reviewed papers, 3) efficiently connect with and inspire broad audiences including future scientists, 4) increase scientific literacy, and 5) reduce misinformation. Becoming a scientist videographer or scientist DIY YouTuber can be an enjoyable, creative, worthwhile and fulfilling activity that can enhance many aspects of a scientist’s career.

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Credibility of Scientific Information on Social Media: Variation by Platform and Presence of Formal Credibility Cues

10.31235/osf.io/4dhcz ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Clara Boothby ◽

Dakota Murray ◽

Anna Polovick Waggy ◽

Andrew Tsou ◽

Cassidy R. Sugimoto

Keyword(s):

Science Communication ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Active Role ◽

Scientific Article ◽

Perceived Credibility ◽

Online Platforms ◽

Similar Information ◽

Research Findings ◽

Amazon's Mechanical Turk ◽

Science Information

Responding to calls to take a more active role in communicating their research findings, scientists are increasingly using open online platforms, such as Twitter, to engage in science communication or to publicize their work. Given the ease at which misinformation spreads on these platforms it is important for scientists to present their findings in a manner that appears credible. To examine the extent to which the online presentation of science information relates to its perceived credibility, we designed and conducted two surveys on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. In the first survey, participants rated the credibility of science information on Twitter compared with the same information other platforms, and in the second, participants rated the credibility of tweets with modified characteristics: presence of an image, text sentiment, and the number of likes/retweets. We find that similar information about scientific findings is perceived as less credible when presented on Twitter compared to other platforms, and that perceived credibility increases when presented with recognizable features of a scientific article. On a platform as widely distrusted as Twitter, use of these features may allow researchers who regularly use Twitter for research-related networking and communication to present their findings in the most credible formats.

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EFFECTS OF LATE BLIGHT RESISTANT POTATO CONTAINING RB GENE ON THE SOIL MICROBES, PESTS AND PLANT DISEASES

Indonesian Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.21082/ijas.v15n2.2014.p47-54 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 47

Author(s):

Eny Ida Riyanti ◽

Edy Listanto ◽

Alberta Dinar Ambarwati

Keyword(s):

Late Blight ◽

Soil Microbes ◽

Block Design ◽

Late Blight Resistance ◽

Alternaria Solani ◽

Plant Diseases ◽

Bacterial Populations ◽

Soil C ◽

Pests And Diseases ◽

Negative Effect

Late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans is an important disease on potato. Several potato hybrids have been generated by crossing local varieties (Atlantic and Granola) with Katahdin SP951 which contains late blight resistance gene RB. Prior to release, these hybrids need to be evaluated for their environ-mental effects on non-target organisms and natural pests and diseases. The objectives of the study were to investigate the effect of LBR potato hybrids on beneficial soil microbes, pests and diseases. The trial was conducted in the confined field trial (CFT) in Lembang, West Java. The parental non-transgenic (NT) clones (Granola, Atlantic and Katahdin) and LBR hybrids (four clones of Atlantic x Katahdin SP951 hybrids; 10 clones of Granola x Katahdin SP951) were planted at a plant spacing of 30 cm x 70 cm. Fungicide applications were used as treat-ments (no spray, five and twenty times sprays). The experi-ment was arranged in a randomized completely block design with three replications. The parameters determined were popula-tions of N2 fixing and P solubilizing bacteria, soil C/N ratio as well as natural pests and diseases. The results showed that the transgenic LBR potato hybrids did not have negative effect on N fixing bacteria. The bacterial populations were around 1010-11 cells g-1 soil before planting, 1012 cells at 1.5 months after planting (MAP) and 108 cells after harvest. For P- solubilizing bacteria, their populations were 1010 cells before planting, 1012 cells at 1.5 MAP and 1011 cells g-1 soil after harvest. The soil C/N ratio of the transgenic plot was not statistically different compared to non-transgenic plot, i.e. 12-15 before planting, 10-11 at 1.5 MAP, and 10 after harvest in non-spray plot. Pests and diseases such as Alternaria solani, Liriomyza, potato tubber moth, aphid and mites on the transgenic and non-transgenic plots were statistically not different. The resistance score for A. solani was 7.2 (parental tansgenic) and 7.6 (parental non-transgenic); for Liriomyza it was 2.07 (parental transgenic) and 2.32 insect per plant (parental non-transgenic), the PTM was 0.63 (parental transgenic) and 0.73 insect per plant (parental non-transgenic), aphid and mites were 0.75 (parental transgenic) and 1.68 insects per plant (parental non-transgenic). The study indicated that LBR potato hybrids did not have any negative impacts on non-target organisms.

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Analysis of Japanese newspaper articles on genetic modification

Journal of Science Communication ◽

10.22323/2.07020202 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 07 (02) ◽

pp. A02 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ryuma Shineha ◽

Aiko Hibino ◽

Kazuto Kato

Keyword(s):

Mass Media ◽

Genetic Modification ◽

Full Text ◽

Science Communication ◽

New Technology ◽

Sources Of Information ◽

The Past ◽

Rapid Spread ◽

Current Mass ◽

Newspaper Articles

The rapid spread of technologies involving the application of “Genetic Modification (GM)” raised the need for science communication on this new technology in society. To consider the communication on GM in the society, an understanding of the current mass media is required. This paper shows the whole picture of newspaper discourses on GM in Japan. For the Japanese public, newspapers represent one of the major sources of information on GM. We subjected the two Japanese newspapers with the largest circulation, the Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun, to an analysis of the full text of approximately 4000 articles on GM published over the past to perform an assessment of the change of reportage on GM. As for the most important results, our analysis shows that there are two significant shifts with respect to the major topics addressed in articles on GM by Japanese newspapers.

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A Recap

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190497620.013.8 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Joseph Hilgard ◽

Nan Li

Keyword(s):

Scientific Knowledge ◽

Science Communication ◽

Scientific Information ◽

The Public ◽

Science Of Science ◽

Cultural Implications ◽

Science Media

This synthesis chapter recapitulates the major themes of Part I. The chapter proposes that science communication is challenging because science is complex, because humans interpret evidence in biased ways, and because the science–media landscape is shifting. Consequently, the mere supply of scientific information alone is not likely to guide audiences to science-consistent beliefs. Instead, science communicators must learn to navigate both the cultural implications of their work and the heuristics audiences use when deciding whom to trust. Consideration must be given to scientific knowledge and the audience’s values alike. A science of science communication provides an understanding of these multiple considerations and promotes effective dialogue between scientists and the public.

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Communicating Science through Comics: A Method

Publications ◽

10.3390/publications6030038 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 38 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Jan Friesen ◽

John Van Stan ◽

Skander Elleuche

Keyword(s):

General Public ◽

Science Communication ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Scientific Publication ◽

Plain Language ◽

Flexible Framework ◽

Scientific Results

Scientists are trained to tell stories, scientific stories. Training is also needed to comprehend and contextualize these highly nuanced and technical stories because they are designed to explicitly convey scientific results, delineate their limitations, and describe a reproducible “plot” so that any thorough reenactment can achieve a similar conclusion. Although a carefully constructed scientific story may be crystal clear to other scientists in the same discipline, they are often inaccessible to broader audiences. This is problematic as scientists are increasingly expected to communicate their work to broader audiences that range from specialists in other disciplines to the general public. In fact, science communication is of increasing importance to acquire funding and generate effective outreach, as well as introduce, and sometimes even justify, research to society. This paper suggests a simple and flexible framework to translate a complex scientific publication into a broadly-accessible comic format. Examples are given for embedding scientific details into an easy-to-understand storyline. A background story is developed and panels are generated that convey scientific information via plain language coupled with recurring comic elements to maximize comprehension and memorability. This methodology is an attempt to alleviate the inherent limitations of interdisciplinary and public comprehension that result from standard scientific publication and dissemination practices. We also hope that this methodology will help colleagues enter into the field of science comics.

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When Scientists Tweet for Social Changes: Dialogic Communication and Collective Mobilization Strategies by Flint Water Study Scientists on Twitter

Science Communication ◽

10.1177/1075547017751948 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 40 (1) ◽

pp. 89-108 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Mi Rosie Jahng ◽

Namyeon Lee

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Science Communication ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Virginia Tech ◽

Social Changes ◽

Collective Actions ◽

Future Directions ◽

Dialogic Communication ◽

The Public ◽

Study Team

Guided by the literature in social media and science activism, this exploratory study examined how scientists from Virginia Tech, known as the Flint Water Study team, utilized Twitter to communicate and mobilize the public in response to the contamination of water with lead in Flint, Michigan. Results from the content analysis indicated that the scientists utilized Twitter mainly to provide scientific information to the public and that public education was their main advocacy tactic. This study offers insights into how this particular group of science activists utilized social media for collective actions and suggests future directions for science communication on social media.

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Engaging Audiences - new tools and innovative methods for polar education, engagement and communication

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-7383 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Inga Beck ◽

Sophie Weeks ◽

Pia Cassarini ◽

Julia Dooley ◽

Betsy Wilkening ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Indigenous Knowledge ◽

Science Communication ◽

International Workshop ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Research Process ◽

The Arctic ◽

Collaborative Group ◽

Future Research ◽

Polar Science ◽

Education And Outreach

PEI is the leading international professional network for polar educators and scientists, formed in 2012 as an outcome of the Education and Outreach activities of the IPY, connecting polar education, research and the global community.&#160; The organisation encourages collaboration, networking and dialogue between teachers and researchers developing science communication and engagement tools and methodologies, integrating and evaluating learning and engagement at all stages of the research process. Three opportunities to be involved in this work are highlighted.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;International CollaborationPEI, collaborating with IASC, SCAR and APECS is working with researchers and polar educators to review and update Polar Science and Global Change - An International Resource for Education and Outreach (IPY2010), a comprehensive book of teaching and communication resources including scientific information, research material, methods and hands-on activities to bring polar research into classrooms and the community. The updated online version will provide existing and new resources, in multiple languages, downloadable as chapters and activities including:&#160;Current science and future research questionsEmerging topics - 3rd pole, remote sensing and microplasticsActivities/Labs for teaching polar scienceCommunication techniques for different audiencesPublic outreach initiativesCapacity building and careersIndigenous knowledgeOpportunities are available to join the collaborative group of educators and scientists to evaluate the existing resource and contribute to developing a new online resource.&#160;Professional Networking in Bits and BytesPEI members have been connecting, collaborating, and creating in an online environment since 2012. PEI members also get together at the PEI biennial international workshop to share and evaluate current polar education, outreach and science communication initiatives with international peers and experts. In preparation for the 2022 PEI Iceland workshop, members will present a programme of online professional development experiences for polar educators, science communicators and community members beginning in Spring 2021, highlighting strengths and challenges of engaging audiences . These will be shared freely and evaluated through discussion.&#160;&#160;Global DialoguePEI welcomes participation in a global cafe, connecting interdisciplinary and diverse communities, encouraging ongoing dialogue about effective polar education and action.There are many networks and partnerships who engage in polar education, science communication, community learning and research but there are few opportunities to collect together this experience and expertise on a global scale. The first global conversation - Connecting Education, Indigenous Knowledge & Arctic Research, will contribute material for a report to the Arctic Science Ministerial. It Aims to connect dialogues about polar education and outreach, particularly concerning the Arctic, which is changing faster than any other environment on the planet.This is a unique opportunity for science, education and community partners with an interest in the Arctic to weave networks, lead dialogue and participate in a global conversation.

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