handbook of public communication of science and technology Communicating science and technology has become a priority of many research and policy institutions, a concern of many other private and public bodies, and an estab- lished subject of training and education. In the past few decades the field has devel- oped and expanded significantly, not only in terms of professional practice, but also in terms of research and reflection. As well as introducing the main issues, arenas and professional perspectives involved, this unique volume couples an overview of the pro- blems faced by practitioners with a thorough review of relevant literature and research. The handbook format makes this a student-friendly resource, but its breadth of scope and expert contributors mean it is also ideal for practitioners and professionals working in the field. Combining the contributions of different disciplines and the perspectives of different geographical and cultural contexts, this original text pro- vides an interdisciplinary as well as a global approach to public communication of science and technology. Contributors include mass communication scholars, sociol- ogists, discourse analysts, public relations practitioners, science journalists, and others. It is a valuable resource for students, practitioners and professionals in the fields of media and journalism, sociology, history of science, and science and technology. Massimiano Bucchi is Professor of Sociology of Science at the University of Trento, Italy. He is author of several books including Science and the Media (Routledge, 1998) and Science in Society (Routledge, 2004), and is co-editor of Journalism, Science and Society Relations (with M. Bauer, Routledge, 2007). Brian Trench is Senior Lecturer and former Head of the School of Communications, Dublin City University, Ireland. He researches models of science communication, public representations of science and emerging technologies in the knowledge society, and social uses of the internet. Massimiano Bucchi and Brian Trench are members of the scientific committee of the international Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) network. handbook of public communication of science and technology edited by massimiano bucchi brian trench Fir st published 2008 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an impr int of the Taylor & Francis Group, an infor ma business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2008. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” # 2008 Massimiano Bucchi and Br ian Trench for editor ial matter and selection; individual chapter s, the contr ibutor s All r ights reser ved. No par t of this book may be repr inted or reproduced or utilized in any for m or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any infor mation storage or retr ieval system, without per mission in wr iting from the publishers. Br itish Librar y Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the Br itish Librar y Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Handbook of public communication of science and technology / edited by Massimiano Bucchi and Br ian Trench. p. cm. Includes bibliog raphical references. (electronic) 1. Communication in science–Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Technical wr iting–Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Bucchi, Massimiano, 1970– II. Trench, Br ian. Q223.H344 2008 5010 .4–dc22 2007042978 ISBN 0-203-92824-5 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 978-0-415-38617-3 (hbk) ISBN 978-0-203-92824-0 (ebk) Contents List of illustrations vii Notes on contributors ix Introduction Massimiano Bucchi and Brian Trench 1 1 Popular science books Jon Turney 5 2 Science journalism Sharon Dunwoody 15 3 Science museums and science centres Bernard Schiele 27 4 Cinematic Science David A. Kirby 41 5 Of deficits, deviations and dialogues: theories of public communication of science Massimiano Bucchi 57 6 Health campaign research Robert A. Logan 77 7 Genetics and genomics: the politics and ethics of metaphorical framing Iina Hellsten and Brigitte Nerlich 93 v CONTENTS 8 Survey research and the public understanding of science Martin W. Bauer 111 9 Scientists as public experts Hans Peter Peters 131 10 Public relations in science: managing the trust portfolio Rick E. Borchelt 147 11 Environmental groups and other NGOs as communicators of science Steven Yearley 159 12 Public participation and dialogue Edna F. Einsiedel 173 13 Internet: turning science communication inside-out? Brian Trench 185 14 Risk, science and public communication: third-order thinking about scientific culture Alan Irwin 199 15 Public communication of science and technology in developing countries Hester du Plessis 213 16 Communicating the social sciences Angela Cassidy 225 17 Evaluating public communication of science and technology Federico Neresini and Giuseppe Pellegrini 237 Index 253 vi Illustrations Figure 5.1 A model of science communication as a continuum 62 Tables 4.1 Summary of dominant scientist stereotypes, common themes and representative films over time 46 5.1 A multi-model framework of science communication 69 8.1 50 years of country surveys of public understanding of science 112 8.2 Paradigms, problems and solutions 115 14.1 Characteristics of first-, second- and third-order thinking on risk communication 208 17.1 PCST initiatives and their evaluation 241 17.2 Evaluation and experimental design 245 Boxes 8.1 National and international institutions that have sponsored or conducted PUS surveys 114 8.2 Examples of knowledge and attitude items in literacy research 116 vii Contributors Martin W. Bauer is Reader in Social Psychology and Methodology at the London School of Economics, UK. He directs the programme ‘Social and Public Com- munication’, and researches science communication and the public understanding of science in comparative perspective, and the role of resistance in socio-technical processes. Books include Genomics and Society (edited with G. Gaskell, Earthscan, 2006), Journalism, Science and Society (edited with M. Bucchi, Routledge, 2007) and Atoms, Computers and Genes – Public Resistance and Socio-Technical Responses (Routledge, 2008). Rick E. Borchelt is Lecturer in Science Policy and Politics at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He has served as Director of Commu- nications for the US Department of Energy’s Office of Science, where he imple- mented a strategic communications plan for public outreach on the Department’s science portfolio. He has practised science and technology public affairs at the University of Maryland, the National Academy of Sciences (and its sister organi- sations, the Institute of Medicine and National Academy of Engineering), as press secretary to the House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology under the chairmanship of the Hon. George E. Brown, and as White House special assistant for science and technology public affairs. Massimiano Bucchi is Professor of Sociology of Science at the University of Trento, Italy. He is a member of the PCST International Scientific Committee and has served as advisor and evaluator for several research and policy bodies, including the US National Science Foundation and the European Commission. His research addresses mainly the interaction among experts, citizens and policy-makers and the role of the public sphere in scientific debates. He is author of several books including Science and the Media: Alternative Routes in Science Communication (Routledge, 1998) and Science in Society. An Introduction to Social Studies of Science (Routledge, 2004), and co-editor of Journalism, Science and Society: Science Communication between News ix CONTRIBUTORS and Public Relations (with M. Bauer, Routledge, 2007) and essays in international journals including Nature, Science, and Public Understanding of Science. Angela Cassidy is Research Fellow at the University of Leeds, UK, researching knowledge and communication of food chain risks among scientists, farmers, food campaigners, industry and the wider public in Britain. She has published a series of articles on popular evolutionary psychology, addressing the interactions between a newly emerging research subject: contemporary politics and the public domain. Her research interests centre on the relationship between expertise and everyday, commonsense knowledge and how this plays out in the communica- tion, development and public legitimacy of the sciences. Sharon Dunwoody is Evjue-Bascom Professor of Journalism and Mass Commu- nication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. She studies components of the mediated science communication process, from the attitudes and beha- viours of journalists and scientists who generate messages, to the efforts of audi- ences to process them. Co-edited books include (both with S. Friedman and C. Rogers): Scientists and Journalists (AAAS, 1986) and Communicating Uncertainty (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1999). She has offered communication counsel on oversight committees of the National Academies and currently serves on the Committee on Public Understanding of Science and Technology of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Hester du Plessis is Senior Researcher in the Faculty of Art, Design and Archi- tecture