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Scientific experts can play an important role in decision-making surrounding policy for technical and value-laden issues, often in contexts that directly affect lay publics. Yet little is known about what characterizes scientific experts who want lay public involvement in decision-making. In this study, we examine how synthetic biology experts' perceptions of risks, benefits, and ambivalence for synthetic biology relate to views of lay publics, deference to scientific authority, and regulations. We analyzed survey data of researchers in the United States, who published academic articles relating to synthetic biology from 2000 to 2015. Scientific experts who see less risk and are more deferent to scientific authority appear to favor a more closed system in which regulations are sufficient, citizens should not be involved, and scientists know best. Conversely, scientific experts who see more potential for risk and see the public as bringing a valuable perspective appear to favor a more open, inclusive system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From time to time, some social media users avoid content posted by specific people in their networks. Most research on such selective avoidance has focused on individual motivations and other psychological factors rather than on social network characteristics, and there is a need for a systematic analysis of the relationships between individuals' social media networks and selective avoidance. This study fills that gap in the literature, drawing on theory about egocentric or personal publics. We test our predictions using data from three surveys of adults in the United States, collected just before each of the last three major national elections. Results are discussed in light of theory about the role of media technology in shaping political communication and scholarly discourse about how selective avoidance affects information flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract With increasing numbers of people using social media to get news and political information, whether social media helps users learn about politics has become an important question. Intrigued by the potential of social media to politically educate people, researchers have begun to explore the effects of social media on political knowledge. However, the findings from these studies have been far from conclusive. Drawing on both cross-sectional and panel data from two recent United States presidential elections, this study examines how political social media use and general social media use influence political knowledge. Overall, the results of the cross-sectional and panel analyses lead to the same conclusions. Both show that political social media use does not have a significant effect on political knowledge, while general social media use has a moderately negative effect on political knowledge. Thus, on balance, the overall impact of social media on political knowledge appears to be negative. Implications and directions for future research are discussed. Highlights • General social media use has a moderately negative effect on political knowledge. • Political social media use does not have a significant effect on political knowledge. • On balance, the overall impact of social media on political knowledge is negative. • Findings hold consistent across two different U.S. presidential election cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares public attitudes toward nanotechnology in the United States and Singapore, using large-scale survey data in both countries. Results indicate that Singaporeans tend to be more knowledgeable about and familiar with nanotechnology than the U.S. public. Singaporeans tend to perceive greater benefits and fewer potential risks of nanotechnology, and to indicate greater support for government funding for nanotechnology than the U.S. public. Between the two countries, perceived familiarity with nanotechnology and the benefits and risks of the emerging technology tend to be interpreted differently through the lens of value predispositions (religiosity and deference to scientific authority) and therefore they indirectly affect public support. Specifically, the U.S. public tends to use religiosity to interpret benefits and Singaporeans are inclined to use religiosity to think about risks. Deference to scientific authority also moderates the impact of perceived familiarity with nanotechnology on funding support for the technology among the U.S. public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using nanotechnology as a case study, this article explores (1) how people's perceptions of benefits and risks are related to their approval of nanotechnology, (2) which information-processing factors contribute to public risk/benefit perceptions, and (3) whether individuals' predispositions (i.e., deference to scientific authority and ideology) may moderate the relationship between cognitive processing and risk perceptions of the technology. Results indicate that benefit perceptions positively affect public support for nanotechnology; perceptions of risk tend to be more influenced by systematic processing than by heuristic cues, whereas both heuristic and systematic processing influence benefit perceptions. People who are more liberal-minded tend to be more affected by systematic processing when thinking about the benefits of nanotechnology than those who are more conservative. Compared to less deferent individuals, those who are more deferent to scientific authority tend to be less influenced by systematic processing when making judgments about the benefits and risks of nanotechnology. Implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing popularity of social media as a channel for distributing and debating scientific information raises questions about the types of discourse that surround emerging technologies, such as nanotechnology, in online environments, as well as the different forms of information that audiences encounter when they use these online tools of information sharing. This study maps the landscape surrounding social media traffic about nanotechnology. Specifically, we use computational linguistic software to analyze a census of all English-language nanotechnology-related tweets expressing opinions posted on Twitter between September 1, 2010 and August 31, 2011. Results show that 55 % of tweets expressed certainty and 45 % expressed uncertainty. Twenty-seven percent of tweets expressed optimistic outlooks, 32 % expressed neutral outlooks and 41 % expressed pessimistic outlooks. Tweets were mapped by U.S. state, and our data show that tweets are more likely to originate from states with a federally funded National Nanotechnology Initiative center or network. The trend toward certainty in opinion coupled with the distinct geographic origins of much of the social media traffic on Twitter for nanotechnology-related opinion has significant implications for understanding how key online influencers are debating and positioning the issue of nanotechnology for lay and policy audiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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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 focuses on the extent to which U.S. campaigns are adapting traditional campaign strategies to the Web and/or developing innovative strategies that employ some of the particular affordances of Web technologies and on how well campaign characteristics, such as incumbency and major party affiliation, and/or race characteristics, such as statewide office and competitiveness, explain the level of a campaign's adaptation of or innovation with Web technologies. Adapting traditional campaigning proved to be far more common than developing innovative strategies. The findings suggest that additional aspects of campaigns' structure and organizational processes need to be studied in order to understand campaigns' Web technology adoption strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, candidates and other political actors have dramatically increased their presence and activities online. Although the notion of these activities reaching beyond a limited set of early-adopters is relatively new, younger citizens have long been at the forefront of new developments on the web and continue to make up a substantial proportion of those seeking political information online. Given longstanding concern over levels of civic and political engagement among young people, questions concerning what young people seeking information and opportunities for political involvement online might find there are particularly relevant. In particular, we explore political websites that are directly targeted at younger voters (e.g. Rock the Vote and similar sites), websites produced by candidates and political parties, and possible linkages between these two web spheres. Based on content and hyperlink analyses spanning the 2002 and 2004 US election cycles, we find a complex evolution of the online political information environment offered to youth. Although the youth engagement web sphere experienced dramatic growth during this time period, our data also identify a reluctance of many mainstream political actors to speak directly to young people through the web, and a surprising underdevelopment of linkages between youth politics websites and the wider web of political information online. We conclude by considering the implications of these patterns for future research on the role of new media in processes of political communication and engagement. [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]

Examines the public discourse associated with the 1997 Teamsters strike against the United Parcel Service in the United States. Role of political issues on the formation of public opinion; Origins of public opinion; Reliance of the public for political information on the mass media.

Focuses on the influence of the opinion of social and political elites on the opinion formation and policy evaluations of the public in the United States. Reliance on the credible sources of information for the formation of political judgment; Characteristics of social elites; Consideration of racial status as an important source cue.

Abstract: This study analyzes the relationship between state-level variables and Twitter discourse on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Using geographically identified tweets related to GMOs, we examined how the sentiments expressed about GMOs related to education levels, news coverage, proportion of rural and urban counties, state-level political ideology, amount of GMO-related legislation introduced, and agricultural dependence of each U.S. state. State-level characteristics predominantly did not predict the sentiment of the discourse. Instead, the topics of tweets predicted the majority of variance in tweet sentiment at the state level. The topics that tweets within a state focused on were related to state-level characteristics in some cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As research on human applications of CRISPR advances, researchers, advisory bodies, and other stakeholder organizations continue calling for global public discourses and engagement to shape the development of human gene editing (HGE). Research that captures public views and tests ways for engaging across viewpoints is vital for facilitating these discourses. Unfortunately, such research lags behind advances in HGE research and applications. Here, we provide the first review of nationally representative public-opinion surveys focused on HGE to discuss limitations and remaining gaps, illustrating how these gaps hinder interpretation of existing studies. Rigorous research with proper methods for capturing representative public opinion of HGE is limited, especially in countries outside of the United States and on a global scale. The result is severely restricted understanding of even the surface level of public views concerning HGE. We identify broad areas where we need more and better research capturing public views, and describe how future surveys can help collect insights necessary for discourse and decision making on HGE.

Using nanotechnology as a case study, this article explores (1) how people's perceptions of benefits and risks are related to their approval of nanotechnology, (2) which information-processing factors contribute to public risk/benefit perceptions, and (3) whether individuals' predispositions (i.e., deference to scientific authority and ideology) may moderate the relationship between cognitive processing and risk perceptions of the technology. Results indicate that benefit perceptions positively affect public support for nanotechnology; perceptions of risk tend to be more influenced by systematic processing than by heuristic cues, whereas both heuristic and systematic processing influence benefit perceptions. People who are more liberal-minded tend to be more affected by systematic processing when thinking about the benefits of nanotechnology than those who are more conservative. Compared to less deferent individuals, those who are more deferent to scientific authority tend to be less influenced by systematic processing when making judgments about the benefits and risks of nanotechnology. Implications are discussed., (© 2013 Society for Risk Analysis.)