Search

Events such as the 2017 "March for Science" have brought greater attention to public attitudes toward science and scientists. Our analyses of recent poll data show that Americans' confidence in scientists has been high for roughly 40 years (relative to other institutions), and that it is high even for controversial topics such as global warming and nuclear energy. International comparisons show broad similarities with individuals in Germany and the UK, including that trust in scientists can fluctuate depending on who employs them and what topic is under discussion. Finally, more granular analyses in the United States reveal large divides in trust based on geographic location and religious identification (i.e., rural residents exhibit comparatively low trust and the nonreligious comparatively high trust), while the gap between political partisans has been relatively small but has spiked in recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthetic biology research community will influence the future development of synthetic biology and its emergence into the sociopolitical and regulatory arenas. Because of this influence, we provide a first look at those involved in the research field—their views regarding the field and interactions with the public—using a unique sample of United States–based researchers who have published in the broad field of synthetic biology. Our data indicate a range of views of the moral and regulatory aspects of the science, based in part on various values and professional judgments, with differences emerging across synthetic biologists (e.g. bench scientists and computer scientists) and researchers focusing on ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI). Importantly, the researchers are engaged in public outreach activities, which could provide opportunities for public discourse on the sociopolitical aspects of synthetic biology. The implications of these findings for the future of the technology and upstream engagement emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the different opinions concerning the online incivility which can undermine perceptions of media. Discussed are the research works which include the potential for uncivil discourse to enhance political polarization in society by Mutz, 2006 and Stryker, 2011; the political elites and partisans boost levels of incivility in news media by Muddiman in 2013 and the perception that individuals in society hold polarized attitudes by Hwang, Kim & Huh in 2014.

This research offers one of the first analyses of the US public's views about synthetic biology, based on nationally representative survey data. We provide in-depth, multiyear descriptive results of public attitudes toward this issue and compare them with individuals' attitudes toward other issues. Our data indicate that the public does not generally feel informed about synthetic biology or believe it is personally important. However, Americans express more reservations about the moral downside of synthetic biology than about other issues. Multivariate analysis reveals that values and predispositions-particularly religiosity, deference to scientific authority and trust in scientists-are linked to support for synthetic biology. We also see evidence indicating that deference to scientific authority reduces the potential for religiosity and distrust in scientists to polarize public attitudes about synthetic biology. We conclude by describing the implications of our findings for the development of synthetic biology research and upstream public engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncivil discourse is a growing concern in American rhetoric, and this trend has expanded beyond traditional media to online sources, such as audience comments. Using an experiment given to a sample representative of the U.S. population, we examine the effects online incivility on perceptions toward a particular issue-namely, an emerging technology, nanotechnology. We found that exposure to uncivil blog comments can polarize risk perceptions of nanotechnology along the lines of religiosity and issue support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Communication is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this essay, we draw on broader psychological theories of the attitude–behavior relationship to postulate specific reciprocal patterns of causality between the civic attitudes and forms of political and civic engagement featured in contemporary political communication research. We then examine the extent of these reciprocal relationships with a 2-wave panel survey of 2,872 Pacific Northwest residents. Spanning the 2004 elections, structural equation modeling of the panel data shows complex reciprocal causal paths between political/civic attitudes (internal and external efficacy and civic pride and faith) and a range of political and civic behaviors (voting, political action, media use, political/community talk, and group involvement). The conclusion suggests how to conceptualize these variables and model their relationships in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the implications of political weblogs for theories of mediated public deliberation. Guided by contemporary questions surrounding the internet and the public sphere, we examine blog and newspaper coverage of the nomination and confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court of Samuel Alito with an eye toward further development of theories of mass deliberation. Specifically, we pursue questions concerning volume of coverage, ideological polarization, and interactive features in the blogosphere, using newspaper coverage as a point of reference. Data come from content analyses of newspaper stories mentioning Alito in the headline or lead paragraphs from the initial nomination announcement through final confirmation, as well as archival impressions of blog posts featuring hyperlinks to the newspaper stories. Our analysis suggests that blogs may enhance as well as complicate processes of mediated deliberation. We conclude by discussing empirical and conceptual implications of these findings for future research on the role of blogs in the contemporary public sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the significant rise in the number of Americans who turn to the Internet for political information, examines the effects of these behaviors on political and civic engagement in an evolving media landscape. Specifically, the authors test hypotheses derived from competing models - the instrumental approach, which posits direct effects of Internet use, and a psychological approach, which predicts contingent effects. Analyses of 1,212 surveys from the 2004 American National Election Studies reveal a pattern of direct effects of Internet use on basic information acquisition and use but contingent effects for concrete acts of civic or political engagement. These results provide an important window on the political impacts of contemporary Internet use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Having become fully integrated into the contemporary political landscape, infotainment-oriented media extend Americans' traditional news (e.g. newspaper, radio, and television) to include a greater number of sources for political information, and in some cases, political mobilization. Given the increasing prominence of infotainment-oriented media in contemporary politics, this study addresses the effects of one particular type of info-tainment—late-night comedy—during the 2000 presidential campaign. Specifically, we are interested in whether watching late-night comedy shows influences viewers' evaluations of the candidates who have appeared on these shows; in particular, we investigate priming as the mechanism by which such influences occur. Findings from the 2000 National Annenberg Election Survey (N = 11,482) indicate that evaluations of candidates are based in part on respondents' sociodemographics, perceptions of candidates to handle certain issues, and their character traits. There was a main effect of watching late-night comedy on evaluations of candidates; more importantly, viewers were more likely than nonviewers to base their evaluations of George W. Bush on character traits after he appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many consider the World Wide Web to be nothing more than an additional medium alongside others in which established patterns of political behavior and information flows are played out anew others contend that the special characteristics of the Web hold the potential to produce fundamentally different patterns of political behavior than those found off line. This article analyzes the occurrence of position taking and issue dialogue on campaign websites associated with a random sample of 200 races from the Us. 2002 election cycle. Though this study found some similarities between online and offline campaigning, it also identified ways in which the individual messages and overall political information environment created by candidates and available to voters through the Web in 2002 did not conform to the usual patterns found in the offline world of print and broadcast communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article, the author offers information on the operational changes in the journal, particularly its shift to online-only publication starting January 2019.

A correction is presented to the article "The Values of Synthetic Biology: Researcher Views of Their Field and Participation in Public Engagement" in the previous online issue of the journal.