Public Understanding of Science最新文献

This article analyses interviews with experts on German television news concerning the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine in the context of debates about the public contribution of the social sciences and humanities. Considering the first 13 months of the war, we find that the questions put to experts are mostly not about Eastern Europe or Ukraine. Rather they concern the present and the future with reference to implications for a 'we' conceived as the viewing public in Germany. In their answers, academic experts do not draw on research, but they draw on academic knowledge to produce statements, which reduce the range of possible interpretations and outcomes using exclusion, scenarios and probabilities. Experts work to reduce contingency, a mode of 'doing expertise' that cannot be fairly characterized merely as a governance strategy and is not fully captured by debates between scientistic approaches to the social sciences and humanities and their critics.

The rapid integration of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science into daily life raises ethical concerns and stimulates discussions among stakeholders responsible for their development. Given the media's role in shaping imaginaries of emerging technologies and their acceptance, this paper systematically analyzes media discourse on ethics in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science from 2015 to 2020. Our results show that media coverage of advanced algorithmic technologies mainly focused on the industry sector, frequently addressing short-term challenges such as algorithmic bias, social justice, data privacy, and socioeconomic effects. Its portrayal in media often maintained a balanced perspective between positive and negative outcomes, paired with realistic and grounded future scenarios. This study offers a holistic and integrated analysis of how the media frames the ethics of artificial intelligence, data science, and machine learning, highlighting previously overlooked dimensions such as accountability strategies and the relationship between areas of application and their consequences.

The film Oppenheimer (2023) portrayed the Manhattan Project, which led to the first atomic bombs, and its aftermath. Shown through the eyes of Director J. Robert Oppenheimer, the film takes us through the scientific, political, and personal struggles of a wide array of characters during a time period that profoundly changed the landscape of the world. Through the film, the viewer learns not only about the Manhattan Project, but also about the quantum science underlying the atomic bomb, as well as the personal and political tensions that were intertwined with its development. Thus, the following article conducted a textual analysis to identify the ways in which the film portrays developments in quantum technologies. Three themes arose regarding the portrayals of development and key concepts in quantum physics. Broad implications are drawn for developments in quantum theory/mechanics and public development and understanding of science in general.

Individuals vary in their reliance on science and on religion to make sense of the world. We aimed to determine if these two approaches to making meaning differentially associated with specific domains of adaptive behaviors and well-being, and the extent to which these associations would be moderated by their conjoint (interactive) effects. Participants were 301 US adults who completed online surveys. Bivariate associations largely supported hypotheses-religious and science worldviews related to different types of adaptive behavior and well-being. However, when conjoint effects were considered, both reliance on religion and on science related to multiple behaviors spanning emotional and logical behaviors and well-being. The few interaction effects noted suggested that very high levels of either worldview were maladaptive. Findings highlight the need to consider and assess both reliance on religion and reliance on science and consider their conjoint effects when studying their potential for leading to adaptive behaviors and well-being.

This essay argues for the need to understand and study science communication 'in the wild' - as a set of practices that are not only 'organised, explicit, and intended actions that aim to communicate scientific knowledge', but that take on a variety of other meanings as they are realised in particular contexts. I make this point by building on my experiences of studying science communication projects and by reflecting on their internal heterogeneity in terms of what they were 'about' for those organising them. By showing this diversity in the meanings of science communication to those carrying it out, and in particular how this is exacerbated by the conditions of precarity and scarcity that frequently frame science communication activities, I argue for the importance of understanding science communication practice as not only being 'about' the communication or negotiation of scientific knowledge, but myriad other aspects, from personal prestige to the need for a job.

The public is said to be misled by Internet fakery amplified by social media, which contributes to conspiracy belief among those on the political right who feel dispossessed and powerless. In fact, conspiracy belief is difficult to attribute to any one political complexion or social stratum. Uncritical social surveys, especially if taken too literally, easily misrepresent conservative respondents, and the consequent negativity towards them is often exaggerated. Those accusing others of conspiracy belief are at least equally susceptible to the alleged predisposing factor of motivated reasoning.

As a pervasive social phenomenon, climate change skepticism has been extensively studied in Western contexts, where it is deeply intertwined with local sociopolitical structures. In China, despite the government's firm commitment to mitigation, a growing trend of public skepticism has emerged online. Using a corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis of 2426 climate skeptical posts on Zhihu, China's largest knowledge-sharing platform, this study examined how Chinese skeptics construct their discourse. Our findings revealed that Chinese climate skeptics do not merely reject scientific evidence; instead, they frame their arguments through a synthesis of national identity, geopolitical conflicts, and cultural-historical narratives, invoking climate justice claims at both domestic and international levels. Building on these insights, our research proposed a "scientific-political framework" that distinguishes four subtypes of Chinese climate skepticism: "Geopolitical Construct," "Western Conspiracy," "Natural Variability," and "Indifferent Fatalism." By shedding light on the context-specific configurations of skepticism discourse, this study contributes to a deeper theoretical understanding of climate skepticism in non-Western contexts, while also prompting critical reflection on China's long-standing over-politicized model of climate change communication.

This study explores how scientists' experiences during the pandemic influenced their trust in journalism and their willingness to engage with the media. The study employed a survey approach, collecting data from 4089 scientists affiliated with German universities and research institutions. Trust in journalism was measured across five dimensions: appropriate topic selection, accurate representation, proper fact selection, fair assessment, and desirable impact. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationships between dissatisfaction with pandemic-era media coverage, trust in journalism, and scientists' willingness to engage in science communication. Results show that scientists' trust in news media is generally limited and varies across media types. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated distrust, particularly in media outlets expected to maintain high standards, such as national newspapers and public broadcasters. Trust in journalism proved central in mediating dissatisfaction and engagement, highlighting that distrust may reduce scientists' media involvement and, in turn, weaken public trust in science.

The 'conflict thesis' between scientific and supernatural beliefs has attracted considerable intellectual interest. However, empirical studies examining its impact on health behaviours are scarce. To address this gap, drawing on the Health Locus of Control (HLOC) theory, we developed an integrated dual-pathway cognitive model to explore how these conflicting attitudes compete and how they influence health behaviours differently. In an online survey conducted with 673 middle-aged and older Chinese adults, we found that supernatural beliefs did not directly conflict with scientific attitudes. Instead, they competed in predicting cancer-prevention behaviours through their associated sub-beliefs - specifically, cancer fatalism and cancer controllability. Our findings do not support a root-level 'conflict thesis' but instead support a downstream-level 'conflict thesis'. This finding adds to the literature on the 'conflict thesis' and enhances our understanding of how conflict manifests in the cancer-prevention setting. The cultural specificity and generalizability of this study are discussed.