A workshop on science journalism organised at SISSA of Trieste, Italy a few weeks ago outlined scenarios that should serve as a source for debate among professionals and scholars to grasp how information activities regarding science, medicine and technology will evolve in the next few years. It is a time of great uncertainty, yet a common path to venture through can be made out: the new science journalism should meditate on a different concept of science, an in-depth conceptualisation of different audiences, alternative narrations and its role in the democratisation of knowledge within a
Technoscientific risks have been creating a growing social demand for participation in the scientific citizenship. This interview will emphasize that decision making (and so, in a more general sense, democracy) in the knowledge society requires new mediatic forums and new communication processes suitable to the highly multi- and inter-disciplinary nature of modern social debates. It argues that a new research agenda for risk conflicts, and a more neutral role for science journalism, are needed.
Science communication is certainly growing as an academic field, as well as a professional specialization. This calls to mind predictions made decades ago about the ways in which the explosion of scientific knowledge was envisioned as the likely source of new difficulties in the relationship between science and society. It is largely this challenge that has inspired the creation of the field of science communication. Has science communication become its own academic subdiscipline in the process? What exactly does this entail?
Digital media have transformed the social practices of science communication. They have extended the number of channels that scientists, media professionals, other stakeholders and citizens use to communicate scientific information. Social media provide opportunities to communicate in more immediate and informal ways, while digital technologies have the potential to make the various processes of research more visible in the public sphere. Some digital media also offer, on occasion, opportunities for interaction and engagement. Similarly, ideas about public engagement are shifting and extending
In this commissioned paper from the Climate Change Education Roundtable, Heidi Cullen offers strategies for mainstream media to engage the public around the topic of climate. She offers key strategies such as focusing on storytelling, paying attention to the changing media landscape, and being aware of audience needs.
Many informal science and mathematics education projects employ multiple media, but studies typically have investigated learning from a single medium, rather than multiple media. The present research, funded by the National Science Foundation, used Cyberchase(a multiple-media, informal mathematics project targeting 8-to 11-year-olds, produced by Thirteen/WNET) to investigate synergy among multiple media components and how they interact to yield cumulative educational outcomes.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Shalom FischRichard LeshElizabeth MotokiSandra CrespoVincent Melfi
The work described in this white paper was undertaken in direct response to information WNET received from science museums describing certain challenges they face when partnering with public television stations on outreach initiatives. The PBS Series THE HUMAN SPARK provided the perfect opportunity to explore better ways to collaborate on large-scale initiatives, and to learn how these collaborations might provide the framework for attracting new audiences, increasing membership and revenue, and developing long-lasting partnerships.
Inclusion, Disabilities, and Informal Science Learning, a report by the CAISE Access Inquiry Group, sets forth a framework for changing this inequity. This white paper offers a theoretical framework for thinking about inclusion of people with disabilities in informal science education (ISE), then reviews current practice in museums (broadly defined), in media and technology, and in youth and community programs. While "investigations located a number of projects, initiatives, and organizations that have sought greater inclusion of people with disabilities in ISE," the report concludes, "these