Science Communication

This article is a contribution to the growing body of work that has emphasized the need to develop a theoretical framework capable of exploring metaphorical communication as a social rather than just as a cognitive process. The author draws attention to some of the social dynamics through which the inherent poly-valence of metaphors becomes stabilized, though never entirely neutralized. Specifically, he highlights the ways in which context, practices, and space serve to close down potential meanings. This is followed by an analysis of the deployment of a musical metaphor—nucleotide-bases-as-musical-notes that produce the “music of life”—in the context of a traveling science exhibition, The Geee! in Genome, whose stated goal is to educate and stimulate debate among the Canadian public. The author shows that although the musical metaphor lacks heuristic utility as a tool for explaining the “science” in the exhibition, it contributes to the staging of genomics and “life” itself as a spectacle; this makes it possible to frame contentious issues around genetic determinism, biotechnology-enabled health care, enhancement, commodification, and property rights in a more hospitable semantic terrain.

Gender stereotypes in the mass media perpetuate traditional views of women that may influence children's perceptions of women in science, engineering, and technology. This study used a randomized posttest-only control group design to determine the efficacy of media literacy training on middle school–aged children's perceptions of scientists. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: discussion, discussion plus viewing of television and film clips that featured images of women, or a control. A total of 304 seventh-grade students were asked to complete the Draw-A-Scientist Test and to write down the source of information for their drawings. Across conditions, boys were more likely than girls to draw male scientists, and girls were more likely than boys to draw female scientists. Boys also were more likely to depict other stereotypes of scientists. Media sources were listed as the primary source of information for the drawings.

Images derived from science fiction have been widely used to discuss the emerging science of nanotechnology. Such usage also reflects what it takes to make science noteworthy, interesting, and important. According to journalist Gary Stix, science fiction imagery has helped “to create a fascination with the small that genuine scientists, consciously or not, would later use to draw attention to their work on more mundane but eminently more real projects” (Stix 2001, 36). The vocabulary of sci-fi has ultimately enabled those enthusiastic about nanotechnology to transcend the limits of the popular rhetorical habits put on science and its place in modern culture.

This article examines the different ways in which Spanish, French, and U.K. newspapers framed the Prestige oil spill. In contrast to earlier large oil spills such as the Torrey Canyon, the Internet had a significant influence upon mainstream news coverage and the coordination of protest activities. The findings suggest that the local Spanish press provided the most sustained coverage, and geographic propinquity to the accident was a good predictor of the frequency and intensity of reporting. The regional Spanish press focused upon implications for the local economy rather than the effects on wildlife. In contrast, the sampled national newspapers in Spain, France, and the United Kingdom framed the oil spill in terms of its ecological impacts and the political controversy regarding who was to blame. The implications of these differences are discussed and considered in relation to the globalization of news and the changing politics of risk.

Knowledge transfer and exchange has become an increasingly important practice in the arena of publicly funded health and social research. Throughout its history, investigators have used a variety of borrowed theories to explore and explain the determinants, processes, and results of knowledge transfer. As the context in which knowledge transfer takes place has changed, so too has the theory used to explore and explain the process. This article reviews the role of theory in knowledge transfer and exchange research and proposes a novel source for potentially useful new theory in the current context: social epistemology.