Public Communication of Science and Technology

Más de 350 divulgadores de ciencia se reúnen en el XV Congreso de Popularización de la Ciencia en América Latina y el Caribe en Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Derivado de un acuerdo de Asamblea, se pone en circulación este manifiesto sobre la situación de la popularización/divulgación de la ciencia.

Although, in the last decades, the historiography of popular science/science popularization has significantly evolved from the “deficit model” legacy to “knowledge in transit” and the “participatory turn” (Secord 2004, Bucchi, Neresini 2007, Topham 2009, Nieto-Galan 2016), not much is known about the role of popular science in 20th-century Western societies (Bowler 2009, Schirrmacher 2013), and even less about the role of science popularization in dictatorial regimes, in the “age of extremes” – as historian Eric Hobsbawm defined the century-. Since non-democratic, dictatorial regimes have a very weak “public sphere”, often submitted to strict government control and censorship, the audiences’ epistemological role remains highly problematic. To what extend did readers, visitors, patients, users, and consumers, among other audiences, shape science in that kind of top-down, vertical and hierarchical political contexts? Was there “knowledge in transit”, if any, under a strict social control and repression? Was popular science/science popularization a tool for the legitimation of a dictatorship?  This round table will try to answer these questions through the analysis of several cases studies in Francoist Spain (1939-1975) (Riquer, 2010). The regime resulted from the fascist victory in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), and lasted up to the 1970s (Preston 1995), in a country, in which, after years of totalitarian rule – 1940s and 1950s-, the introduction of economic liberalism – from the 1960s onwards- was fully incompatible with political freedom in the public sphere. Papers on environmental controversies (Santiago Gorostiza), national parks  (Judit Gil), Darwinism (Clara Florensa), popular astronomy (Pedro Ruiz-Castell), science on the air (Jordi Ferran), the public image of the chemical industry (Agustí Nieto-Galan), among other examples, will contribute to build up a stronger interpretative framework on how and why did popular science circulate in that dictatorial regime.

This Impact Report identifies and summarises the diverse impacts, resulting from the £500m of UK funding of Science and Technology in 2013, using numerous quantitative metrics and short case study extracts.  It shows how the varied impacts of a national science and technology organization and its many funded programmes can be annually identified, captured, tracked, and summarised in a public document.

The report was produced for, and by, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) -  the UK Research Council responsible for funding: (1) all UK astronomy, particle and nuclear physics research, (2) related UK science and technology facilities (e.g. as Harwell and Daresbury), (3) the UK contribution to international science (e.g. CERN, international telescopes and space missions), (4) innovation and business spin-off programmes, and (5) UK public engagement activities.

The Report was co-researched and co-authored by the STFC Impact Team, including myself while Impact Evaluation Manager in 2013, with Dr. Claire Dougan-McCallie (lead author/Head of Impact) and Jenny Beard, with additional input from senior managers, and many data and case study contributions from other key managers across STFC.

Varied key impacts are identified and reported including:

• Research amongst the best (by citation impact) in astronomy, nuclear and particle physics.
• Supported research of 226 Principal Investigators in 70 universities, led to 1,100 peer-reviewed papers in 2012.
• Facilities (the Diamond Light Source, ISIS and CLF) were used in 2012/13 by over 4,200 unique users , in over 2,400 experiments, producing over 1,000 papers in peer-reviewed journals.

• Technology from CERN benefited the UK economy by over £100 billion every year.
• Funding the development of the UK’s space, internet and computer animation industries, returned over £500 billion to the UK economy per annum.
• Funded Innovation Campuses hosted over 230 enterprises and supported over 5,000 jobs.
• UK industry won £43 million in contracts from the international subscriptions funded, and had accumulated a total of £150 million since 2005.

• Funded research inspired future generations to study STEM subjects, attracting 90% of UK undergraduates to study physics, funded 782 PhD students  and 16,800 student training days.
• Between 2009 to 2012 public engagement programmes engaged people on 58 million occasions, with 2 million people engaged in face-to-face activities in 2013 alone.

El presente trabajo tiene por objetivo analizar la representación de los pueblos indígenas en las salas Arqueología y Etnografía en la megaferia de ciencias Tecnópolis (Buenos Aires, Argentina), y pro- blematizar la práctica de los estudiantes y graduados de la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras de la Universidad de Buenos Aires en el desarrollo de las guiadas educativas en su rol de anfitriones. Para ello, se parte desde un enfoque etnográfico basado en la observación participante y en la realización de entrevistas no direccionadas durante los años 2018 y 2019 (entre los meses de julio y octubre). A partir del análisis antropológico del guión museográfico y museológico de ambas salas, se propone profundizar en la relación entre los anfitriones y la muestra como un complejo entramado donde se ponen en tensión las trayectorias pedagógicas, y el posicionamiento teórico/epistemológico adoptado por los anfitriones, para sortear las problemáticas inherentes a la exposición. 

In diesem Beitrag plädiere ich dafür, Wissenschaftskommunikations-Events wie den Science Slam nicht als Phänomen des Kulturverfalls zu deuten. Die Wissenschafts- und Technikforschung hat gezeigt, dass selbst die wissenschaftliche Suche nach wissenschaftlichen Tatsachen mühselig ist. Daher scheint es sinnvoll, sich bei der Untersuchung der Kommunikation von Wissenschaft bezüglich der Beurteilung von Wissen zurückzuhalten. Naheliegender erscheint es, Wissen als soziales Phänomen zu beobachten. Mit Bezug zur Wissenssoziologie werde ich argumentieren, dass wir uns mit Urteilen bezüglich des Kommunizierten und der Kommunizierenden zunächst zurückhalten sollten. Damit ist der Beitrag ein Plädoyer für Wissenskommunikation jenseits der Vorstellung einer defizitären Öffentlichkeit.

O intuito que motivou esta pesquisa foi, em um escopo mais alargado, perceber em que medida a divulgação científica está mudando com o uso da Internet no Brasil. Mais especificamente, perceber como os modelos de comunicação pública da ciência se confluem no espaço digital e, perceber se, com o advento das tecnologias em rede, estaria surgindo um novo modelo para além das noções de déficit, diálogo e participação em divulgação científica (TRENCH, 2008) como se conhece hoje. Os caminhos apontados pelo estudo, no entanto, fizeram com que se chegasse a outras avaliações, mais interessantes do que o que o plano inicial poderia prever. Ao invés de fazer uma correspondência entre teoria e prática, modelo e aplicação através de uma análise discursiva dos manuais de divulgação científica (para observar como materializam a ideia de “modelo de comunicação pública de ciência”) e da análise de páginas na Internet para saber como déficit, diálogo e participação se manifestam na prática, foi possível revisitar e colocar alguns questionamentos sobre a própria noção de “modelo” e tomar o mapeamento de campo também como problema. A partir daí, foi possível sugerir que o conceito de modulação, de Gilles Deleuze (2000) pode ser um caminho interessante para ajudar a pensar estes modelos, bem como perceber algumas questões que inquietam uma parcela dos divulgadores de ciência no Brasil no que toca sua própria prática – e algumas ideias que informam suas opiniões sobre jornalista, cientista e público. Assim, foi possível perceber, ainda que de forma inicial, que pode ser que modelo e modulação se sobreponham e funcionem sem a necessidade de que um prescinda do outro, embora sejam formulações diferentes. E pode ser que esta seja uma das formas como a divulgação científica aponta para mudanças no meio digital.

每年都有数百万的儿童与他们的父母或老师同学们一起近距离接触野生动物。而对公众进行保护教育也是对各专业动物园协会的成员们的一项基本要求。但是，最近几年，动物园受到越来越多来自动物权益保护组织的批评，认为他们没有很好地展示他们对生物保护的公众理解的权威性，以及对相关生物学概念的诠释，例如动物对栖息地的适应性。的确，迄今为止还没有一个完整的研究项目严格地评估过动物园对他们最主要的受众---儿童在有关生物保护的学习方面的影响。这份（我的）研究是对于全世界7-15岁儿童游览动物园的教育价值的最大规模调查（包括样本2839个）。这项研究从对生物保护的学习方面（通过注释图检测的方法）以及从对于野生保护的态度转变方面入手，评估了通过有教学引导和无教学引导这两种方式游览伦敦ZSL动物园所获得的相关学习成果。结果显示，有34%参与无教学引导的孩子和41%接受教学引导游览的孩子学习到了生物保护相关的知识。多数接受无教学引导浏览方式的孩子对于动物和动物栖息地的理解呈现消极变化。总的来说，本研究为儿童游览动物园的潜在教育价值提供了依据。但是，研究同时也认为动物园常规的无教育引导尚不足以激发来访儿童的最优学习效果。该研究遵从一种生物保护学学习的理论模式： 将保护学教育者视做开发概念资源的工匠，从而提升儿童对科学的理解。

El libro fue integrado a partir de once capítulos, los cuales han sido redactados por investigadores de distintas áreas del conocimiento, provocando así una diversidad de temas e intereses en torno a la investigación y de la necesidad de establecer caminos de comunicación que nos acerquen al conocimiento de vanguardia que se va generando en nuestra localidad, región, país y en el ámbito internacional.

En el trabajo denominado Claves para identificar los documentos que dan mayor calidad a una publicación científica, de la autoría de Jesús Heraclio del Río Martínez, MariCarmen González-Videgaray y Diana Cecilia del Río Valdés, se postula que para seleccionar adecuadamente una publicación, previo a leer su contenido, el lector debe hacer un análisis breve pero concienzudo de la publicación (prelectura) para determinar el nivel de complejidad de la obra, así como la calidad, vigencia y pertinencia de su soporte documental.

En el segundo capítulo denominado Audiovisuales divulgativos. Guía práctica su autor, Adrián Orozco Gutiérrez se adentra a comprender la diferencia entre hacer ciencia y divulgar la ciencia, ofreciendo los diferentes tipos de herramientas de que se vale para divulgarla, profundizando en las audiovisuales; llevando al lector a formular sus propias cápsulas al describir las características que éstas deben contener, exponiendo claros ejemplos de cómo realizar clips de divulgación tanto de audio como de video.

En el tercer capítulo que corresponde a Los mosquitos, quiénes son y su importancia en la salud, de Fidel de la Cruz Hernández- Hernández, Felipe de Jesús Hernández-Cázares y Febe Elena Cázares-Raga, se hace mención de la importancia que tienen muchos insectos en la vida misma, algunos que participan en la polinización en reino vegetal, pero también otros que perjudican enormemente la vida misma, como es en la transmisión de enfermedades; en este capítulo también se muestran las diferencias que hay entre los insectos, como son las diferentes partes de sus cuerpos. En forma concisa se describe el ciclo de vida de los mosquitos, desde la generación de la larva, su desarrollo dentro de un capullo, su metamorfosis para así dar lugar a la etapa adulta del mosquito que sale y en cuestión de minutos comienza a volar; en forma interesante se le realiza una radiografía al mosquito haciendo una descripción de cómo funciona su organismo y finalmente se hace énfasis en la importancia que tienen las campañas de prevención de las picaduras de mosquitos.

En el cuarto capítulo titulado Los Neonicotinoides, ¿los pesticidas más seguros?  cuyo autor es Luis Fernando Ortega Varela, se detallan qué son los neonicotinoides y cómo estos insecticidas neuroactivos producidos por sustancias derivadas de la nicotina, que aun siendo altamente eficientes en la protección de cultivos contra las plagas que destruyen las cosechas como el maíz, cereales, remolacha y girasol principalmente, se asocian al descenso del número de abejas y otros insectos polinizadores afectando sus funciones cognitivas y alterando sus capacidades para interpretar las señales del medio externo y de aprendizaje.

Posteriormente, en el quinto capítulo, que tiene como autor a Alfredo Raya Montaño, se presenta un fascinante tema de la observación del Bosón de Higgs en el Gran Colisionador de Hadrones; aquí se describe cómo en el siglo XX se da respuesta a la pregunta que los humanos nos hemos hecho desde que tenemos razonamiento “¿Cómo se formó el universo?”, la respuesta es La Gran Explosión, donde el espacio y el tiempo emergieron simultáneamente; muestra las diferentes etapas del surgimiento del universo en lapsos inclusive de millonésimas de segundo, llegando a determinar que la edad del universo es de unos 10 billones de años. El autor de este interesante capítulo hace una descripción de los componentes más pequeños de lo que está compuesta la materia, tales como los leptones y los quarks, el electrón, el muón, el tau, entre otros. Para explicar cómo cada partícula adquiere su propiedad básica, la masa, el autor describe el Bosón de Higgs, que es el que da masa a las partículas mediante un fenómeno de ruptura espontánea de simetría.

En el siguiente capítulo, el número 6 de este libro, titulado Introducción a las espumas metálicas los autores, Ignacio Figueroa, Gabriel Lara-Rodríguez y Jorge A. Verduzco presentan la relación que guarda la investigación y aplicación de un novedoso material llamado espumas metálicas, las cuales son estructuras constituidas por una parte sólida (láminas de paredes delgadas) y otra hueca. En el capítulo se muestran los diferentes tipos y propiedades tanto de espumas naturales como artificiales, así como la descripción de las rutas de fabricación de estas últimas.

En el capítulo 7 de este libro, se articula un documento en el que se considera la obra de Thomas Piketty como fundamental en el proceso de refundación de la economía como disciplina científica. La autora de Thomas Piketty: La emergencia de un nuevo paradigma económico-jurídico, Teresa Da Cunha Lopes, plantea que la crisis del sistema económico se deriva, además de situaciones económicas, de un sistema educacional anquilosado: se cuenta con economistas que abordan escasamente el capitalismo y tenemos, igualmente, juristas que reflexionan muy poco en torno a la justicia y la naturaleza del derecho.

Las universidades y la responsabilidad social, es denominado el capítulo 8 de esta obra. En él, sus autores, Katia Beatriz Villafán Vidales, Fabiola González Betanzos, et al, exponen la política nacional de inclusión con responsabilidad social. Así mismo, conciben la responsabilidad social como función sustantiva de la educación superior y la incorporan al caso de la Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, donde destacan la responsabilidad social universitaria impulsada por la Comisión de Planeación Universitaria, en la edificación de equidad, justicia y sostenibilidad.

A través del capítulo 8 de este libro, Panorama actual de la migración en Michoacán, ¿quiénes estudian el tema de la migración y qué es lo que están investigando?, de la autoría de María Elena Rivera Heredia y Casimiro Leco Tomás, se destaca que el estudio del caso michoacano permite advertir que el fenómeno migratorio tiene un papel preponderante y Michoacán es un laboratorio sugerente para el estudio de las migraciones en donde confluye una migración nacional, internacional y el tránsito de centroamericanos y el retorno de los paisanos. Los autores señalan que los estudiosos del fenómeno migratorio en Michoacán están creciendo numéricamente, en capacidad de trabajo interinstitucional y en ampliación de la perspectiva y alcances de los estudios migratorios. Además, cuentan con nuevas generaciones de jóvenes, hombres y mujeres interesados en profundizar, ampliar y difundir el estudio de las diferentes facetas y actores de la migración. 

El trabajo sobre la Sensibilización en derechos humanos para universitarios y universitarias: una experiencia desde Michoacán, escrito por Alethia Dánae Vargas-Silva y María de Lourdes Vargas-Garduño, presenta una experiencia de la implementación de un taller de formación en el respeto a la diversidad llevado a cabo en tres contextos del Estado de Michoacán: la Universidad Intercultural Indígena de Michoacán, ubicada en la comunidad Canangio, de la comunidad de Pichátaro, municipio de Tingambato. El segundo contexto está en la Unidad Académica de Ciudad Hidalgo, de la Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, con un grupo de la Licenciatura en Psicología, y el tercer grupo, también de la Facultad de Psicología de la Universidad Michoacana pero en su Unidad Académica Central en la ciudad de Morelia, capital del Estado.

El último capítulo del libro, Deporte como estrategia de prevención de conductas antisociales en adolescentes, de la autoría de Lluvia María Hernández-Cedeño, Jesús B. Vaca-Cortés y Roberto Oropeza Tena, analizan cifras de 2015 para México sobre el Programa Nacional de Prevención Social de la Violencia y la Delincuencia, al igual que las aportaciones del Secretariado Ejecutivo del Sistema Nacional de Seguridad Pública. Lo anterior con el fin de advertir los resultados en torno a la prevención social de la violencia, la delincuencia y mejora de la seguridad, reducción de conductas antisociales y antijurídicas. Los autores concluyen en las bondades de transitar hoy como lo proponían los griegos en la antigüedad (mente sana en cuerpo sano) en aras de prevenir conductas antisociales, a través de la práctica deportiva. 

Esperamos que esta visión panorámica de lo que se está investigando en México sea de interés para nuestros lectores, en este segundo libro de la Serie ¿Ya te enteraste?

ETHICS AND EPISTEMOLOGY OF NANOTECHNOLOGY

I – Critically Mapping Current Approaches

From an early stage, nanoscience and nanotechnology (NST) have been associated with a political will to integrate upstream the question of their "ethical and societal implications". In this context, the implication of the social and human sciences (SHS) has given way to a great variety of approaches to NST ethics. After a decade of SHS involvement, it is time for an appraisal. This article seeks to critically map the different approaches of SHS involvement in NST with regard to their problematization of ethical issues and to identify their shortcomings and limitations. Especially, it is argued that concrete technoscientific NST developments and the concerns with the values that they generate should be better articulated.

II – For an object-centred approach

The ethics of nanoscience and nanotechnology (NST) calls to question the division between the neutrality objects and the morality of uses. NST lead us therefore to a new kind of "Copernican revolution", taking us from a situation where the subject is the only moral being to a situation where objects fully enter in the field of moral philosophy. This article shows how the epistemological analysis of the mode of existence of nano-objects can renew the ethical issues on several singular fieldworks. The demonstration will be based on four case studies of nano-objects, conceptualized as "relational objects" : artificial molecular machines, drug nanocarriers, bio and eco-toxicology of nanoparticles, and biomarkers for personalized medicine.

ÉTHIQUE ET ÉPISTÉMOLOGIE DES NANOTECHNOLOGIES

I – Cartographie critique des approches existantes

Les nanosciences et nanotechnologies (NST) ont été placées très tôt sous le signe d’une volonté politique d’intégrer, en amont, la question de leurs « enjeux éthiques et sociétaux ». Dans ce contexte, les démarches « d’accompagnement » des technosciences par les sciences humaines et sociales (SHS) se sont multipliées, et diverses approches de l’éthique des NST ont été proposées. Après une décennie d’implication des SHS, un bilan s’impose. Cet article propose une cartographie raisonnée des différentes démarches d’accompagnement des NST par les SHS quant à leur problématisation du questionnement éthique, et en indique les insuffisances et les limites. Il soutient notamment que les développements technoscientifiques concrets des NST et les questions de valeurs qu’ils suscitent doivent être mieux articulés.

II – Pour une approche centrée sur les objets

l'éthique des nanosciences et nanotechnologies (NST) appelle à remettre en question le partage entre la neutralité des objets et la moralité des usages. Les NST nous poussent par conséquent à une sorte de nouvelle « révolution copernicienne », nous faisant passer d'une situation où le sujet est le seul être moral à une situation où les objets entrent de plain-pied dans le champ de la philosophie morale. Le présent article montre comment l'analyse épistémologique du mode d'existence des nano-objets permet de renouveler le questionnement éthique sur des terrains à chaque fois singuliers. La démonstration se fera sur la base de quatre cas concrets de nano-objets, conceptualisés comme des « objets relationnels » : les machines moléculaires artificielles, les nanovecteurs de médicament, la bio et l'éco-toxicologie des nanoparticules, et les biomarqueurs pour la médecine personnalisée.

This paper argues that there exists a collective epistemic state of 'Broad Medical Uncertainty' (BMU) regarding the effectiveness of many medical interventions. We outline the features of BMU, and describe some of the main contributing factors. These include flaws in medical research methodologies, bias in publication practices, financial and other conflicts of interest, and features of how evidence is translated into practice. These result in a significant degree of uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of many medical treatments and unduly optimistic beliefs about the benefit / harm profiles of such treatments. We argue for an ethical presumption in favour of openness regarding BMU as part of a 'Corrective Response'. We then consider some objections to this position (the 'Anti-Corrective Response'), including concerns that public honesty about flaws in medical research could undermine trust in healthcare institutions. We suggest that, as it stands, the Anti-Corrective Response is unconvincing.

With the accelerated growth the social media platform Instagram has seen over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic its potential as a tool for communicating archaeological science is becoming ever more apparent. The platforms' focus on images and video makes it specifically suited for visually rich fields like archaeology. Here we present the results of a three-year effort in archaeological science communication on the platform, analyzing audiences, impacts, and issues arising. The amount of archaeological content on the platform is growing rapidly, but reaching a broad audience effectively needs to be tied to well-defined communication strategies. We argue that Instagram can be turned into a powerful educational tool for public archaeology, including providing guidance for new students, mitigating pervasive conspiracy theories, elucidating the issues with collecting and trading artifacts, and adding nuance to the public image of archaeology.

Research on Public Communication of Science and Technology has been
focused on non-experts and mediators. Scientists as communicators has not been explored yet although they are involved in communicative practices. The SHARPER project, in the “European Researchers Night” framework, carried out a study to evaluate the researcher communication strategies. During the 2014-2017 events, information about researcher expectation, preparation and communication strategies were collected using observation and interviews. Moreover, information on the event organization, management and development have been recorded. The results showed different strategies that scientists used based on the researchers culture and skills adopting particular communication styles and tools. In this presentation it will be proposed results coming from quantitative and qualitative methods used during the first and the second wave of the research.

Despite the revolutions brought out by science and technology in different walks of life, it did not catch the eye of the masses and has remained a privilege of a few. The rising population, environmental backlash, mismanagement of resources and wrong societal priorities indicates the failure of both the scientists and science communicators in disseminating science in proper form to the masses.
Carl Sagan, a renowned science populariser has aptly said that it is suicidal to create a society dependent upon science and technology in which hardly anybody knows anything about it. So popularization of science and technology in the language of the masses is a must for the well being of the nation and the proper growth and development of human society.
In this article an attempt is made to enlist the efforts put forward and contributions made by various organizations in Punjab to popularize science and technology in Punjabi. The role of government agencies and NGOs in this field has also been discussed. A bird eye view of the present state of popular science literature available, its different forms and role of print media is also presented. It is concluded that popular science writing in Punjabi is still in its infancy and there is a dire need to do more in this field.

In order to find solutions in the current panorama of “post-truth” and “anti-intellectualism,” a recent report from the Science and Technology Committee of the House of Commons has suggested a move towards more direct communication from experts. Since some historical examples have shown that experts’ excessive confidence and patronisation of the public resulted in breaking trust between Science and Society, my study focuses on the possible pitfalls of direct communication from experts. I took the TED Talks format as a case study, as its core feature is precisely a direct popularisation of any topic from the most authoritative experts in any field. My quantitative and textual analysis of TED Talks on Artificial Intelligence (AI) highlighted that the tone of the majority of the talks given by experts in the field is overly optimistic and patronising, and that AI is depicted through a discourse of unchallengeability and inevitability. My analysis has also shown that the only talks which present less commanding tones, and tackling issues, are those given by non-experts. With non- experts I mean speakers whose expertise is not strictly related to the research and development of AI. My study emphasised the potential dangers of seeing the developers of a technology also as the most authoritative communicators about that technology. I concluded that, if we want to build a long-lasting bond of trust between Science and Society, we need to provide different angles, which require voices from people who are not directly touched in their work by public discussion. This necessity ultimately reaffirms mediators as key-figures in the communication between experts and the public.

The Conversation representa un cambio notable en la relación de los académicos con sus públicos. Cualquiera que sea la especialidad, institución o temática, los profesores e investigadores tienen ahora un canal abierto de forma permanente para compartir sus hallazgos y puntos de vista. Las Universidades modestas, los departamentos en construcción, los profesores excéntricos y los problemas comunes también tienen su oportunidad de hacerse visibles.

Three key questions guide this thesis.
First, how is public communication of science and technology (PCST) organized in different models of expert–public interaction?
Second, how do different models of science and technology popularization frame science and technology narratives?
Third, building on the first two questions, what are the implications of these models for the social contract between science and society?

This thesis involves both an exploratory cross-case analysis of PCST and a comparative mixed-methods study. The case studies were conducted using a broad array of methods: reviewing policy documents, articles from 3 newspapers over 12–18 years, and the study of participation in experiments and new infrastructures for doing citizen science through documents, observations, and interviews.
This thesis has eight crucial contributions to an improved understanding of public communication of science and technology.
By critically examining the three science communication models, dissemination, dialogue and participation, the thesis makes five contributions: 1) a study of how public appreciation of science and technology are promoted by the use of bias; 2) a study of how public engagement with science and technology are promoted by mediatization processes; 3) a study of how researchers in their popularization activities promote critical understanding of science and technology being modest witnesses; 4) a study of the dialogue models’ room for participation in knowledge and policy construction processes; and 5) in studying the participation model, a better understanding of citizen science and boundary infrastructures.
Finally, the thesis has three more general contributions: 6) it represents the first comprehensive examination of science communication policy in Norway; 7) focusing on technology, it links science communication research and innovation studies; and 8) it contributes to a more analytical approach studying the three science communication models as trading zones within the context of the Nordic model of science communication.

El libro es el segundo volumen de una colección que busca contribuir al debate y al diálogo en torno a la comunicación pública de la ciencia a través de la investigación académica. En esta obra se presentan diversos trabajos que muestran desde las tendencias de la investigación académica internacional en la comunicación pública de la ciencia hasta análisis de productos y proyectos en los que el conocimiento científico se recontextualiza en diversos medios y lenguajes.

To date, the majority of scholarly research into the public communication of climate change has been focused on three main areas: the communication of risk; the dynamics of debate in legacy media such as newspapers, and how these debates are framed by various actors. Much of the audience research on this topic has also mostly been concerned with frame analysis, notably rhetorical critique. The significance of the degree to which Internet-based platforms have displaced legacy media is not reflected in the research literature, although this is beginning to change. This article will argue that this shift to networked communications and the massive expansion in communicative possibilities this represents requires a reconceptualization of audience research on climate change communication. The article therefore proposes a new approach grounded in an encoding/decoding model that accommodates the pluralistic nature of internet texts and their audiences. This approach identifies opportunities to harness newly emerged internet audience research tools – ‘big data’ – to analyse the production, circulation, interpretation and reproduction of communication about climate change by online audiences.

Cos’hanno in comune cristalli, esseri viventi, pianeti e atomi? Due secoli di progressi nelle scienze evolutive ci mostrano un filo rosso che unisce micro e macrocosmo, un nuovo paradigma che sta cambiando il volto dell’intera civiltà umana.

This article, published alongside the translation of “Bishop Brown – A Fundamental Modernist” in this volume of Pragmata, highlights the value of John Dewey’s short piece for The New Republic, originally written in 1926. Dewey pays tribute to a singular character, Bishop Brown, who claimed inspiration from both Darwin and Marx, which caused him to be excom-municated from the Episcopal Church. Overlooked by the large majo- rity of commentators of Dewey’s work, “Bishop Brown” nevertheless concludes the series of articles that Dewey com-piled in the 1920’s, at the height of the anti-evolutionist campaign led by fundamentalist protestants. These articles were recently translated into French and published together under the title Écrits sur les religions et le naturalisme (2019). In going back to this whole series and by taking into consideration its culmination in this laudatory portrait of Bishop Brown, “the bishop of atheists and Bolsheviks,” this article sheds a new light on Dewey’s combative naturalism, on his criticism of religion, as well as on the “controversy” with Walter Lippmann and his relation to communism

Accompagnant la traduction de « Bishop Brown - A Fundamental Mondernist » dans ce même volume de Pragmata, le texte met en valeur l’intérêt de ce petit article que John Dewey a composé pour New Republic en 1926 et dans lequel il rendait hommage à un singulier personnage, Monseigneur Brown, qui se réclamait de Darwin et de Marx et fut pour cela excommunié de l’Église Épiscopale. Négligé par la grande majorité des commentateurs de l’œuvre de Dewey, « Bishop Brown » conclut pourtant la série des articles que Dewey a
rédigés dans les années 1920 à l’apogée de la campagne anti-évolutionniste menée par les fondamentalistes protestants – rassemblés récemment en français dans ses Écrits sur les religions et le naturalisme (2019). En reprenant l’ensemble de cette série et en tenant compte de sa culmination dans ce portrait laudateur de Monseigneur Brown, « l’évêque des athées et des bolchéviques », le texte offre un nouvel éclairage sur le naturalisme batailleur de Dewey, sur ses critiques des religions, mais aussi sur sa « controverse » avec Walter Lippmann et sur son rapport au communisme.

Millones de niños visitan zoológicos todos los años con sus padres o la escuela para tener un encuentro de primera mano con la vida silvestre. La educación pública para la conservación es un requisito básico para ser miembro de las asociaciones de zoológicos profesionales. Sin embargo, en los últimos años la crítica a los zoológicos se ha incrementado por parte de los grupos que abogan por los derechos de los animales por no demostrar con certeza su valor para la comprensión pública de la conservación ni de otros conceptos biológicos relacionados, tales como la adaptación de los animales a los hábitats. De hecho, hasta la fecha ningún estudio a gran escala ha evaluado rigurosamente el aprendizaje de la biología de la conservación considerando a los niños como la audiencia clave en los zoológicos. El presente estudio representa la investigación más grande (n = 2839) reportada a nivel internacional sobre el valor educativo de las visitas al parque zoológico para niños de 7 a 15 años de edad. Este estudio evalúa los resultados relativos de aprendizaje de las visitas autoguiadas y guiadas por educadores en el zoológico ZSL de Londres, tanto en términos de aprendizaje sobre biología de la conservación (medido por dibujos esquemáticos) como en el cambio de actitudes hacia la conservación de la vida silvestre. Los resultados muestran que un 34% de los niños que realizan visitas sin guía y un 41% que visitan guiados por un educador evidencian aprendizajes relacionados con la biología de la conservación. Cambios negativos en la comprensión sobre los animales y sus hábitats fueron más prevalentes en los niños que realizaron visitas no guiadas al zoológico. En general, este estudio ofrece evidencia sobre el potencial valor educativo para los niños de visitar los zoológicos. Sin embargo, también sugiere que la oferta estándar en los zoológicos de visitas educativas autoguiadas es insuficiente para lograr mejores resultados de aprendizaje en los niños.. El estudio apoya un modelo teórico de aprendizaje de la biología de la conservación que define a los educadores de la conservación como generadores de herramientas para desarrollar recursos conceptuales que promuevan el mejoramiento de la comprensión científica en los niños.

Trench（这个问题）提出了一个关键问题---我们如何能够知道科学传播是否向大众成功地传播有价值的东西。谨慎采用，熟练操作，并有效共享的高质量效果研究能够为研究实践者提供一个基础，来发现发现科学传播活动的哪些方面正在在工作，通过什么样的方法，面向哪个受众群以及原因。这篇论文辩证地回顾了主流科学传播实践的评估现状，并将关注点聚焦在了拥有最优资源的机构。

的确，“科学中心和博物馆已经在设计和实施游客调查和其他评估步骤方面脱颖而出，他们旨在宣传和提高自身的实践能力”（Trench, this issue）。但是，在这些机构中“行业标准”的游客调查和评估步骤提供了一个基本错误的虚拟目录以及调查设计，抽样和分析中的低质量实践。的确，我已经在华威大学社会研究方法的教学中使用了来自领先科学传播评估顾问和机构的案例来演示调查设计和推理论证的低质量实践。

In the diverse social structure that characterizes India, misbeliefs and superstitions are still as active as in earlier days. Social media in particular has been swamped by hundreds of beliefs and superstitions during the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily 'infecting' digitally literate people who are unable to check the fake and unthinkingly pass on suspect messages going viral. Common people in general have been found wanting in responding to calls for greater awareness and necessary behavioural change towards adopting safe practices. Mainstream media in India has been largely playing its role in educating people about the pandemic and thereby contributing towards inculcating scientific temper, but more needs to be done. Five highly circulated superstitions and misbeliefs on social media about the coronavirus have figured in this observation, while public awareness campaigns like 'hoax busters' by Indian Scientists' Response to Covid-19 (ASRC) and 'Infodemic vis...

The theoretical prediction of Higgs boson was arguably one of the most important contributions in particle physics in the 20th century, with significant implications for modern cosmology. Its reported discovery in 2012 was celebrated as one of the most significant scientific achievements of all times. The fierce public discourse that followed was at large ignited by the media-hyped nickname “God particle” attributed to Higgs boson. The debate regarding the science-religion relation reinvigorated once again and plenty theologically informed views were expressed. In this paper, I take into consideration the authoritative views expressed by the Catholic Church and the Greek-Orthodox Church and I discuss them in comparison with each other, as well as in juxtaposition with other views expressed in the public discussion on the issue, in an attempt to draw philosophically interesting inferences.

Desde distintas ópticas, los trabajos aquí presentados contribuyen a la comprensión sobre cómo se producen, para qué se producen, por qué son importantes y en qué sentido son fundamentales para un país las estrategias de comunicación pública de la ciencia. Proponen asumir que la comunicación pública del conocimiento expresa también las controversias socio-científicas y la relación social de ciencia y tecnología en las condiciones imperantes de transición vertiginosa en la producción cultural, científica y tecnológica.

Wildlife managers are responsible for mitigating conflict from stakeholder groups towards controversial natural resource management plans. These stakeholder groups can be summed up in a wide lens as: utilitarians (anthropocentric), mutualists (biocentric), and pluralists (‘middle of the road’) (Decker et al. 2012). Each group has a distinct value and belief system from the other, therefore motivated reasoning is a concern for wildlife and habitat management issue communication. “Specifically, values and [people’s] orientations are stable and enduring; they change gradually over time across generations as opposed to within individuals; whereas attitudes are more transitional in nature and therefore may be more easily influenced by communication strategies and other conservation interventions” (Teel et al. 2010). Motivated reasoning is the cognitive phenomenon where a person reacts to information in a way that supports their pre-formulated opinion and motivations on the subject. There are often controversial natural resource management plans/issues; this essay will be discussing framing devices, controversies, and how they influence motivated reasoning in the public sphere.

Introduction at the film by C. Nolan - Interstellar - shown at the Planetarium of Bari during the second day of the film festival "Space Words" organized by University of Bari, Seminario Interuniversitario di ricerca Storia della Scienza, Planetarium and Apulia Film Commission.

Studies on Public Communication of Science (PCST) have traditionally focused either on the cases of "deviation," i.e. cases in which scientists face directly the audience by skipping the usual stages of scientific communication, or, in line with relevant theoretical prospects on cases of technoscientific controversies. The extra-ordinary science is over-exposed by the media compared to the attention dedicated by the same to the “normal science”. Sometimes this causes a conflictual relationship between the media and researchers. However, scientists and researchers have to deal with the limitations of mass media mechanics - above all the newsworthiness - and with the specific limitations of each medium (radio, tv, disclosure magazines an the Web). This crystallization process doesn't appear to be overcome, not even through multimedial channels. This paper aims to reflect on the possibilities, strategies and tools to communicate researchers daily activities, i.e. those cases in which research is not occupied with crisis situations, nor it is involved in processes aiming to defining scientific boundaries. A good example can be found in non-specialist forms of public involvement in the scientific process (public engagement),
also supported by institutional initiatives. In this study we try to understand the new trends in the PCST and its
possible future developments. Therefore, starting by analysing the trend of scientific news presented by the media, up to the recent case of involvement of a non- expert audience in an RNA study - which led non-expert citizens to co-sign a scientific paper for the first time- this paper will try to comprehend the new trends in the PCST department and its possible developments.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the cc by 4.0 license. Nuncius 37 (2022) 84-117 brill.com/nun In the Footsteps of Galileo History of Science in Italian tv Films and Series in the Nineteen-Sixties and Seventies

Italian scientific biopics experienced a period of extraordinary media hype in the 1970s, when some intellectuals personally committed to bringing the lives of the scientists of the past to television in order to discuss the relationship between knowledge and power in the present. Nevertheless, might we properly speak of “Italian-style” historical-scientific fictional drama? To answer this question, we will focus on Roberto Rossellini, Liliana Cavani and, above all, Lucio Lombardo Radice, a promoter, scientific consultant, author and presenter of, and sometimes even actor in, some of the most controversial of these scientific biopics. This article aims, first of all, to reconstruct this history, explaining the reasons for the success of the genre, starting in the 1960s, and the crisis it underwent in the 1980s; secondly, to ascertain the influences these ideological works exerted on choices, approaches and styles of the next generation of science historians and communicators.

In the information society and in the complexity that is one of the distinctive features of modernity, the public role of experts has increased considerably. Engineers, doctors, jurists or politicians are increasingly called upon to talk about issues of public relevance. In this historical-cultural context, experts are inclined to undertake public communication activities. In this contribution we focus attention on a particular type of expert, that is scientists and researchers. In fact, the next few years will see universities and research centers involved in the challenge represented by the Third Mission. There are many reasons for engaging in public activities, from the pedagogical will to literate the population to science to the need to respond to new career criteria. The public exhibition of the experts is interpreted, in this contribution, in the light of two important sociological aspects: that of social “reputation” and the concept of “trust”. Starting from the results of a research carried out in the context of the European Researchers’ Night, elements are provided to include the role of the expertise in the public scene within a conceptual framework that can encourage future reflection on the public role of the experts.