Framing Science
clock | August 21, 2007Kate Seip of The Anterior Commissure and two of her colleagues have announced the formation of Science Communication Consortium:
There's been a good deal of recent discussion, both face-to-face amongst colleagues and friends and within the blogosphere itself, on how scientists can effectively communicate their work to mass media and journalists, science writers and educators, and politicians and policymakers. To address these issues, we have partnered with New York Academy of Sciences to develop an inter-institutional Science Communication Consortium in the greater NYC region.
This newly-…
nisbetmc | August 14, 2007The Scientist is currently sponsoring an online discussion about framing and new directions in science communication. The web feature is in advance of an article I am contributing to the magazine, co-authored with Dietram Scheufele, a colleague at the University of Wisconsin. So far, more than 40 comments have been posted. There is also a reader survey at the site.
Regarding The Scientist discussion, Mary Miller has more to add in a post at her blog The Accidental Scientist.
clock | August 9, 2007As I predicted, bloggers have waited a day or two before they wrote much of substance abour Scifoo. First, you don't want to miss out on any cool conversations by blogging instead. Second, the experience is so intense, one needs to cool down, process and digest everything. Before I write my own thoughts, here are some links to places where you can see what others are doing:
The campers are joining the Science Foo Camp Facebook group (honor system - only campers are supposed to join, but it is open) and exchanging links, pictures and information.
There is an official aggregator where you can…
nisbetmc | July 25, 2007
As I've argued at this blog many times and in our article at Science, defining evolution in terms of medical progress is probably the best way to translate its' importance to a wider American public. Back in February, PLOS Biology published a revealing study where the authors strongly agree. In fact, they find that the framing used at scientific journals is likely to have strong implications for public perceptions. Indeed, a simple change in word choice could make an important difference.
Below the abstract, go here for full text:
The increase in resistance of human pathogens to…
clock | July 24, 2007Just came back home from a very pleasant dinner with Matt Nisbet. What luck that our trips to San Francisco coincided so well! Oh, and of course, Profesor Steve Steve was there as well...
clock | July 18, 2007Mindy discovered a cool series of videos on YouTube, done by a physics teacher.
The first one is called The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See:
Then, to respond to questions and comments, he added Patching Holes #1, Patching Holes #2 and Patching Holes #3, also well worth watching. This is certainly no Al Gore!
sheril | July 18, 2007asks Dark Tent and others..
No, not in the religious sense. Still, for far too many people, there is a distrust of science because it's viewed as a threat to the beliefs that they hold above all else. Why should an atheist care? Because the very individuals making important decisions on issues that matter - stem cell research, a woman's right to choose, systems and species to protect, and on and on - hold multiple perspectives. A healthy dialogue is the best manner by which to understand your opponent. It's the most effective way to debate rather than by holding an adamant refusal to…
sheril | July 18, 2007
If anything can be garnered from the fallout, it's that many who commented seem to have succeeded in demonstrating my point. You see, the very thing I despise about all this arguing is that it breeds intolerance and anger. While I did not write atheism is fundamentalism, I clearly hit a nerve. There was an immediate knee jerk reaction as so many were quick to defend the honor of atheism. What I meant is that is that any belief approaching extremism becomes dangerous. We cannot deny that much of the world holds a religious view and it does no good to ignore these folks and pretend they…
sheril | July 18, 2007With so much hullabaloo over the 'F' word, I'm back to say I really enjoyed reading reactions to my post. Thanks to all for taking the time to think about these ideas with me. PZ suggests I need a lesson in Framing and on that topic, I've got some thoughts here, here, here, here, and here. And if I'm still having trouble, I've got Chris, but will add I have the utmost respect for PZ and admire his style.
What tickles me most is the way so many folks jumped too quickly to conclusions over what I do and do not believe based solely on twisting and turning my words to suit their purpose.…
nisbetmc | July 17, 2007As part of their conversation series with scientists, the NY Times this week runs an interview with Harvard's Eric Mazur featuring the headline "Using the 'Beauties of Physics' to Conquer Science Illiteracy."
Mazur discusses his teaching approach in his physics course, stating that his goal is to end "science illiteracy" among college students. "It's important to mentally engage students in what you're teaching," he explains. "We're way too focused on facts and rote memorization and not on learning the process of doing science."
But what does science literacy exactly mean? When science…
sheril | July 3, 2007Day two of the Society for Conservation Biology conference. While I love this stuff, I admit there are times I'm sitting in a talk and my eyes are heavy with boredom. It's the very same phenomenon that happens in congressional offices during long tedious briefings when we the people are overscienced and under stimulated. Like much in the natural world, this is mainly about stimulation.
With regard to lackluster talks, several factors may be at fault (and let me be the first to insist that I am no doubt guilty of several now and then). After a day of both stellar and not-so-much seminars,…
clock | June 27, 2007These three links have recently become freely available:
Chris Mooney's interview with Treehugger.
Chris Mooney's article in Harper's Magazine/
And a report from the NYAS meeting.
nisbetmc | June 27, 2007Over at the Intersection, Chris generated a discussion of what issues might be the next big science policy debates. I'd like to turn the question in a slightly different direction and solicit reader opinion:
In the coming decades, what are the next great framing controversies?
In my research and at this blog, I have tracked how strategists selectively define stem cell research, intelligent design, and climate change to suit their policy goals, and how media coverage combines with citizen values to shape public concern and policy preferences.
As I have also argued, given certain…
clock | June 26, 2007The Union of Concerned Scientists has picked the 12 finalists in their cartoon contest and it is now your turn to vote for the best one.
While I personally prefer the TomTomorrowesque #9, I think that the simpler cartoons, e.g., #2 and #10, may 'frame' the issue the best (i.e., making it simple and not limiting itself to just one or two topics, e.g., global warming). You take your own pick...
nisbetmc | June 26, 2007
On June 4, more than 120 people turned out for the Nisbet & Mooney Speaking Science 2.0 talk at the New York Academy of Sciences. The talk is now part of their online content, including an E-briefing summary along with the powerpoint slides synchronized with audio of our presentation. With this tool you can listen to the entire talk or scroll through the labeled sections and slides based on topic.
NYAS has allowed free access to this member content by way of the following link from our respective Web sites.
clock | June 23, 2007So, Anton Zuiker and I went yesterday to the Talking To The Public panel discussion at Duke, organized by Sigma Xi, The Council for the Advancement of Science Writing and The Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy.
There is nothing yet on their websites about it (the 20th century school of thought!), but the entire panel discussion was taped and I'll let you know once the video is available online (in a week or so?). Once everything is online, it will also be easier for me to write in great detail (links help!) about the event.
It was nice to see David Jarmul and Rosalind Reid…
clock | June 21, 2007First, a video of Jonathan Haidt - Morality: 2012 (Hat-tip to Kevin):
The social and cultural psychologist Jonathan Haidt talks with Henry Finder about the five foundations of morality, and why liberals often fail to get their message across. From "2012: Stories from the Near Future," the 2007 New Yorker Conference.
Second, a post by Drew Westen - Winning Hearts and Minds: Why Rational Appeals Are Irrational If Your Goal is Winning Elections:
The difference between the Clinton ad and the Kerry ad -- like the difference between the Clinton campaign and virtually every other Democratic…
clock | June 18, 2007This one?
Or this one?
Framing Science is not just verbal. Visual aspects are also important.
cmooney | June 14, 2007posted by Sheril R. Kirshenbaum
While Chris is still in The Great Lakes State, I'm back with a recommendation for those in Cap City next week..
On Tuesday June 19 at 9:00, you have the opportunity to listen to Chris and Matt Nisbet present Speaking Science 2.0 at the Center for American Progress. I saw this great tag-team talk last Thursday at the American Meteorological Society's 2007 Summer Policy Colloquium. While normally I'm not a fan of dual presenters, these two pull it off spectacularly while getting their audience engaged and thinking!
Come early for breakfast at 8:30 and stay…
nisbetmc | June 13, 2007In our last major talk of the summer here in DC, on Tues. June 19 we will be delivering our Speaking Science 2.0 presentation at the Center for American Progress. Breakfast is served at 830am. The talk and discussion follows from 10 to 1130am. The Center has all the details here.
CAP senior fellow and former assistant Energy secretary Joseph Romm will be hosting the event. He's the author of the terrific new book Hell and High Water: Global Warming-The Solution and the Politics and also contributes the popular Climate Progress blog.
As was the case earlier this month at the New York…