Showing papers by "Dominique Brossard published in 2016"

Conflict or Caveats? Effects of Media Portrayals of Scientific Uncertainty on Audience Perceptions of New Technologies

Abstract: Research indicates that uncertainty in science news stories affects public assessment of risk and uncertainty. However, the form in which uncertainty is presented may also affect people's risk and uncertainty assessments. For example, a news story that features an expert discussing both what is known and what is unknown about a topic may convey a different form of scientific uncertainty than a story that features two experts who hold conflicting opinions about the status of scientific knowledge of the topic, even when both stories contain the same information about knowledge and its boundaries. This study focuses on audience uncertainty and risk perceptions regarding the emerging science of nanotechnology by manipulating whether uncertainty in a news story about potential risks is attributed to expert sources in the form of caveats (individual uncertainty) or conflicting viewpoints (collective uncertainty). Results suggest that the type of uncertainty portrayed does not impact audience feelings of uncertainty or risk perceptions directly. Rather, the presentation of the story influences risk perceptions only among those who are highly deferent to scientific authority. Implications for risk communication theory and practice are discussed.

Tweeting disaster: an analysis of online discourse about nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident

Abstract: Of all the online information tools that the public relies on to collect information and share opinions about scientific and environmental issues, Twitter presents a unique venue to assess the spontaneous and genuine opinions of networked publics, including those about a focusing event like the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident following the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Using computational linguistic algorithms, this study analyzes a census of English-language tweets about nuclear power before, during, and after the Fukushima nuclear accident. Results show that although discourse about the event may have faded rapidly from the news cycle on traditional media, it evoked concerns about reactor safety and the environmental implications of nuclear power, particularly among users in U.S. states that are geographically closer to the accident site. Also, while the sentiment of the tweets was primarily pessimistic about nuclear power weeks after the accident, overall sentiment became increasingly neutral and uncertain over time. This study reveals there is a group of concerned citizens and stakeholders who are using online tools like Twitter to communicate about global and local environmental and health risks related to nuclear power. The implications for risk communication and public engagement strategies are discussed. Abstract

Attitudinal gaps: How experts and lay audiences form policy attitudes toward controversial science

Abstract: Input from scientific experts and lay audiences plays an important role in the realization of scientific advances and scientific policymaking. This study examines factors influencing expert and public attitudes toward the regulation of academic and commercial nanotechnology. Compared to scientific experts, lay publics are more likely to support the regulation of academic nanotechnology, with value predispositions playing a critical role in impacting such opinions. Among lay audiences, liberals and respondents reporting higher levels of religiosity were more likely to support regulation of both academic and commercial nanotechnology research, while those who paid greater attention to the media were more supportive of regulations for commercial research. Across the two groups, perceptions of risks relative to benefits consistently predicted attitudes toward regulation. Importantly, scientists rely less upon their value predispositions when forming regulatory attitudes, instead basing such attitudes on perceptions of regulatory impacts on scientific progress. The regulatory implications of these findings are discussed.

“Shared” Information in the Age of Big Data Exploring Sentiment Expression Related to Nuclear Energy on Twitter

Abstract: Living in an age of big data, this study explores (a) how much certain online information is shared by media users and (b) what sentiments do social media users predominantly express on Twitter. Qu...

Mapping Neuroscientists’ Perceptions of the Nature and Effects of Public Visibility

Abstract: How do neuroscientists “make sense” of public visibility in the context of their scientific work? Hierarchical cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling analyses of 24 in-depth interviews with ...