nisbetmc | October 12, 2007
A busy day but a quick analysis of breaking news:
Gore's Inconvenient Truth has been a stunning success in generating news coverage to his preferred "pandora's box" framing of the "climate crisis" and in mobilizing a latent base of concerned citizens. His perspective is likely to only be amplified after winning the Nobel prize.
But as we describe in our framing article at Science and as I explain at NPR's On the Media, there still remains a Two Americas of climate change perceptions. Over the past year Democrats have grown even more concerned about the issue while Republicans remain…
nisbetmc | October 9, 2007The identity politics wrapped up in author Sam Harris' statements at a recent atheist conference here in Washington, DC has sparked a ton of discussion and debate. Paul Kurtz, chair of the Center for Inquiry and Editor of Free Inquiry, has circulated an important response via various email lists. Nathan Bupp, media relations director at CFI, asked that I post it here at Framing Science.
Kurtz appears to agree with the proposal to drop the label "atheist" but argues strongly that other terms such as "secular humanist" are important and appropriate. These terms signal a philosophical…
nisbetmc | October 8, 2007
On Friday, I was in Seattle for our latest stop in the Speaking Science 2.0 tour. We were hosted by the University of Washington's Forum on Science Ethics and Policy (FOSEP), the Dept. of Communication, the Pacific Science Center, and Town Hall Seattle. (I will have a post up later about how FOSEP serves as an innovative model for regional collaborations around science communication.)
The day started at 11am with a presentation I gave to about 60 faculty and graduate students on the communication dynamics of the stem cell debate. While I was wrapping up the presentation at the Student Union…
nisbetmc | October 4, 2007That's the headline at the Drudge Report today with a link to this AP story on Hillary Clinton's Sputnik anniversary speech. As a way to attract attention and rally the base, Clinton adopts the tagline from Chris Mooney's Republican War of Science, offering up a frame device that immediately triggers public accountability as a train of thought.
nisbetmc | October 4, 2007
Pew has released an analysis of trends in partisanship among cohorts of Evangelicals over the past six years. The significant finding is that Evangelicals ages 18-30 increasingly identify as Independents and Democrats, in greater combined proportion than Republican. While maintaining roughly conservative positions on several key social issues, this shift in partisan identity underscores the opportunity for secularists to emphasize shared common ground on policy issues such as the environment or poverty.
nisbetmc | October 4, 2007
Tomorrow at the University of Washington I will be speaking to the Department of Communication in the morning and then joined in the evening by Chris Mooney to deliver our Speaking Science 2.0 lecture. In the afternoon, we will also be hosting a discussion with graduate students on the topic of "When Science Turns Political..."
The events are sponsored by the Forum on Science, Ethics, and Policy (FOSEP) and the Pacific Institute. The evening talk at the Pacific Science Center, free and open to the public, starts at 7pm (details on the full day's events).
Using the anniversary of Sputnik as…
nisbetmc | October 2, 2007
The editors at The Scientist have made our October cover story on framing freely available for the month of October. Make sure you check out our 4,000 word feature, the common set of frames that apply across science debates, the sidebar emphasizing eight key recommendations for moving forward, editor Richard Gallagher's views on framing, the reader poll, and the ongoing discussion forum hosted by The Scientist (at the end of the feature).
nisbetmc | October 1, 2007Back in the spring, the Nisbet/Mooney tour visited the New York Academy of Sciences (Audio and Slides). In terms of turn out and post-discussion, it was one of the best events we have done. Now it appears that our ideas have inspired a new outreach effort coordinated by NYAS and area graduate students. From the NYAS Web site:
Early Career Investigators Create Science Communication Series
Science Alliance Program Director Lori Conlan called it "the proudest moment" in her tenure with the Academy's professional development program for young scientists when a trio of members presented her with…
nisbetmc | September 29, 2007
I'm back in DC after an all too short trip to Minneapolis. Chris Mooney and I flew in to speak at the annual meetings of the Association for Reproductive Health Professionals. Among the gathered physicians, nurses, and health advocates, there was definitely a lot of buzz about the potential to apply research on framing to issues ranging from contraception to abortion rights. As advisers to ARHP, Chris and I look forward to more collaboration over the next year.
Last night, we also spoke at the University of Minnesota's Bell Museum of Natural History, appearing on a panel with the bloggers PZ…
nisbetmc | September 26, 2007
Appearing as the cover story for the October issue of The Scientist, I've teamed up with my colleague Dietram Scheufele to pen a 4,000 word feature that expands on the Framing Science thesis previously introduced in short articles at Science and the Washington Post.
There's a great deal of context and research outlined in this article, so I hope everyone gets a chance to read the full text. (Currently, it's subscription protected.)
Allowed the luxury of space, we provide a fuller discussion of the origins and nature of research on framing. We then describe a common set of frames that…
nisbetmc | September 24, 2007
From the UK's Independent:
The Pope is expected to use his first address to the United Nations to deliver a powerful warning over climate change in a move to adopt protection of the environment as a "moral" cause for the Catholic Church and its billion-strong following. The New York speech is likely to contain an appeal for sustainable development, and it will follow an unprecedented Encyclical (a message to the wider church) on the subject, senior diplomatic sources have told The Independent. It will act as the centrepiece of a US visit scheduled for next April - the first by Benedict XVI,…
nisbetmc | September 21, 2007
Why is this couple smiling? Because Oprah might be the friend they need in order to win ultra tight elections.
More than 8 million people watch Oprah's show and more than 2 million people read her magazine. Previous research shows that these heavy daytime TV viewers do not typically follow coverage of politics very closely and do not vote in presidential primaries. Indeed, the majority don't even vote in the general presidential election.
So what does it mean when Oprah comes out and endorses for president Barak Obama? The answer is that it is hard to say.
In today's political world, the…
nisbetmc | September 20, 2007
E.O. Wilson is on a noble mission to bridge the perceived divide between science, religion, and partisanship. In his book, The Creation, by framing environmental stewardship as not only a scientific matter, but also one of personal and moral duty, Wilson has engaged an Evangelical audience that might not otherwise pay attention to popular science books, or for that matter, appeals on the environment.
Shifting his focus to the partisan divide, Wilson employs a similar strategy by penning the forward to a forthcoming book by former Republican Congressman Newt Gingrich. In A Contract with the…
nisbetmc | September 19, 2007For those planning to attend the AAAS panel on "Communicating Science in a Religious America," I just received notice that it is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 17 at 145pm. It's programmed as a 180 minute symposium with six panelists and then lots of time for comments from the moderator and audience. It promises to be a great dialogue around themes of immense interest to conference attendees!
nisbetmc | September 18, 2007
Before there was EO Wilson's breakthrough success with The Creation, there was Carl Sagan, who was a master at emphasizing the shared values between science and religion.
Consider this example: According to both Sagan biographies, during the late 1980s, in advocating his "nuclear winter" hypothesis, the Cornell astronomer led a delegation of scientists to the Vatican to give a research briefing for Pope John Paul, who subsequently issued a statement against nuclear build-up. Based on the meeting's success, Sagan came away convinced of the need to emphasize the common goals between scientists…
nisbetmc | September 17, 2007 Philosopher Paul Kurtz has been an influential mentor to me and he remains a major inspiration. Back in 1997, Kurtz hired me to work at the Center for Inquiry-Transnational as Skeptical Inquirer's media relations director. Three years later he strongly supported my decision to go to graduate school.
In my time at CFI, I learned from Kurtz the importance of framing messages in ways that affirm shared common values and that go beyond just attacks. When I arrived at graduate school, I began to research how to turn Kurtz's philosophy and practice into a systematic approach to public engagement…
nisbetmc | September 16, 2007
In a cover story at this week's NY Times magazine, Gary Taubes digs deep into the world of epidemiological research on diet and health. It's an important topic to call attention to, but the article is framed in disastrous and irresponsible ways.
Instead of telling a detective story hung around just how amazingly complex it is to figure out the linkages between diet, drug therapies, and human health, Taubes and his editors go the unfortunate route of defining the article in terms of conflict, drama, and public accountability.
They readily translate their preferred interpretation by way…
nisbetmc | September 14, 2007
For scienceblogs.com readers who have never been to an annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, you are missing out on the world's greatest discussion of research and new ideas. In particular, I find that the meetings feature a one-of-a-kind forum for discussion of science and society issues, ranging from policy matters to public engagement. This year's meetings are in Boston, February 14-18. If the registration seems a bit pricey, believe me, it is well worth it to attend, plus you can build into the cost a year subscription to Science magazine.
At this…
nisbetmc | September 14, 2007
This fall, I am traveling to many different cities and institutions to talk to a diversity of groups about new directions in science communication. Below is an updated lineup with new events scheduled for Princeton University, Bucknell University, and the National Cancer Institute.
There are also more details on the much anticipated panel discussion at the University of Minnesota that will include the bloggers PZ Myers and Greg Laden. The popular podcast series CFI Point of Inquiry plans to record and rebroadcast the event.
A few other possible stops are still in the works for the fall and…
nisbetmc | September 12, 2007Gallup has released a cross-national polling analysis that challenges the conclusion that Muslim extremism is at the heart of support for terrorism, that terrorism derives from a rejection of Western values and modernity, and that the solution is to replace Muslim faith with a Western secular view. From the report:
To begin to understand the danger of this diagnosis, we must first understand the factors that do and do not drive sympathy for violence. As a starting point, Muslims do not hold a monopoly on extremist views. While 6% of Americans think attacks in which civilians are targets are "…