Who supports science-related populism? A nationally representative survey on the prevalence and explanatory factors of populist attitudes toward science in Switzerland

Science and its epistemology have been challenged by science-related populism—a variant of populism suggesting that a virtuous “ordinary people,” and not allegedly corrupt academic elites, should determine the “production of truth.” Yet almost no studies have assessed the prevalence of science-related populist attitudes among the population and explanatory factors thereof. Based on a nationally representative survey in Switzerland, our study shows that only a minority of the Swiss exhibit science-related populist attitudes. Comparisons with reference studies suggest that these attitudes may be less prevalent in Switzerland than political populist attitudes. Those who hold stronger science-related populist attitudes tend to have no university education, less personal contact with science, lower scientific literacy, and higher interest in science. Additional analyses show that left-leaning citizens are less likely to hold science-related populist attitudes than moderate and right-leaning citizens. Our findings contribute to current debates about a potential fragmentation of science communication audiences and call for further research on the sociodemographic and attitudinal profiles of people with skeptical orientations toward scienc

Editorial: Science Communication in the Digital Age—New Actors, Environments, and Practices

Digitalization challenges science communication in theoretical as well as methodological ways. It raises questions on how scientists, organizations, and institutions, as well as citizens and actors from other fields communicate about science and how science communication affects politics and the public. This thematic issue presents a collection of articles attempting to tackle digitalization’s challenge for science communication research. In this editorial, we provide a short overview of the included articles. Additionally, we outline some future avenues that research could follow to examine further the implications that digital channels could have for science communication

Science comics for adult education: The "Ask Sophie!" project

Die Wissenschaftskommunikation ist gefordert, Bürger*innen jenseits eines hochgebildeten, wissenschaftsaffinen Publikums zu erreichen, zu informieren und zur aktiven Auseinandersetzung mit Wissenschaft zu bewegen. Da Visualität und Narration dabei helfen können, Hürden des Verstehens abzubauen, bergen Wissenschaftscomics eine Chance, dieser Herausforderung zu begegnen. Vor diesem Hintergrund animiert der Wissenschaftscomic „Frag Sophie!“ Bürger*innen dazu, aktiv in den Austausch mit Wissenschaft zu gehen. Die Comic-Figur „Sophie“ fungiert dabei als Dialogpartnerin: Interessierte können Wissenschaftsfragen mithilfe einer Eingabemaske einreichen – „Sophie“ beantwortet diese unterstützt von Wissenschaftler*innen der Universität Münster. Die Autorinnen des Beitrags gehen auf Erwachsene als vielschichtige und entlang von Bildung, Wissenschaftsvertrauen und Mediennutzung differenzierbare Zielgruppe der Wissenschaftskommunikation ein und reflektieren die Potenziale, aber auch Grenzen von Wissenschaftscomics als Instrument der Erwachsenenbildung. (DIPF/Orig.)Science communication needs to reach citizens beyond a highly educated, science¬friendly public and inform as well as motivate them to actively engage with science. Since visualization and narration can help break down barriers to understanding, science comics are one way to meet this challenge. Against this backdrop, the science comic “Ask Sophie!” encourages citizens to actively participate in an exchange with science. The comic character “Sophie” serves as a partner in dialogue: Science questions may be submitted via an online form, and Sophie answers them with the support of scientists at the University of Münster. The authors of the article see adults as a multilayered target group for science communication that can be differentiated according to education, trust in science and media use and reflect on the potentials and limits of science comics as a tool for adult education. (DIPF/Orig.

Building resilience of coastal fishing communities to harmful algal blooms

Starting in May 2015 a massive harmful algal bloom (HAB) of the toxigenic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia occurred along the North American west coast resulting in unsafe levels of domoic acid in seafood. Subsequent fisheries harvest closures were both the longest and the most geographically widespread on record. Fishery-dependent coastal communities were severely impacted, with a fisheries resource disaster declaration occurring for the 2015-16 season of the California Dungeness crab fishery. This research aims to assess the social, cultural and economic impacts of the 2015 HAB event across 17 fishing communities on the US west coast using primary survey data. The survey instrument collected sociodemographic and economic factors hypothesized to confer resilience to HAB events as well as data that quantifies individual impacts. Community responses to the massive 2015 US west coast HAB event will be examined within a community disaster resilience framework. The impacts may be influenced by the community’s social vulnerability, dependence on commercial and recreational fisheries, as well as any immediate adaptive responses. The survey data will be used to empirically test existing indices of community social vulnerability and commercial fishing dependence that have been developed by NOAA using secondary data. The results from this analysis will identify protective factors that contribute to a community’s ability to cope with HABs, and promote cost-effective and practical means of building resilience to future HAB events in at-risk communities

Unintended health and societal consequences of international travel measures during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review

RATIONALE FOR REVIEW International travel measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic represent a relatively intrusive form of non-pharmaceutical intervention. To inform decision-making on the (re)implementation, adaptation, relaxation or suspension of such measures, it is essential to not only assess their effectiveness but also their unintended effects. This scoping review maps existing empirical studies on the unintended consequences, both predicted and unforeseen, and beneficial or harmful, of international travel measures. We searched multiple health, non-health and COVID-19-specific databases. The evidence was charted in a map in relation to the study design, intervention and outcome categories identified and discussed narratively. KEY FINDINGS Twenty-three studies met our inclusion criteria-nine quasi-experimental, two observational, two mathematical modelling, six qualitative, and four mixed-methods studies. Studies addressed different population groups across various countries worldwide. Seven studies provided information on unintended consequences of the closure of national borders, six looked at international travel restrictions, and three investigated mandatory quarantine of international travelers. No studies looked at entry and/or exit screening at national borders exclusively, however six studies considered this intervention in combination with other international travel measures. In total, eleven studies assessed various combinations of the aforementioned interventions. The outcomes were mostly referred to by the authors as harmful. Fifteen studies identified a variety of economic consequences, six reported on aspects related to quality of life, well-being, and mental health, and five on social consequences. One study each provided information on equity, equality, and the fair distribution of benefits and burdens, environmental consequences and health system consequences. CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS This scoping review represents the first step towards a systematic assessment of the unintended benefits and harms of international travel measures during COVID-19. The key research gaps identified might be filled with targeted primary research, as well as the additional consideration of gray literature and non-empirical studies

IGGSA Shared Tasks on German Sentiment Analysis (GESTALT)

Ruppenhofer J, Klinger R, Struß JM, Sonntag J, Wiegand M. IGGSA Shared Tasks on German Sentiment Analysis (GESTALT). In: Faaß G, Ruppenhofer J, eds. Workshop Proceedings of the 12th Edition of the KONVENS Conference. Hildesheim, Germany: Universität Heidelberg; 2014: 164-173

Junge Hochschul- und Mediendidaktik. Forschung und Praxis im Dialog

Am 29./30.05.2012 fand in Hamburg die Konferenz “Junges Forum Hochschul- und Mediendidaktik” (JFHM) statt. Ausgerichtet vom Zentrum für Hochschul- und Weiterbildung (ZHW) der Universität Hamburg, kooperierten bei der Konzeption und Durchführung der Tagung Vertreterinnen und Vertreter aus hochschul- und mediendidaktischer Berufspraxis mit Vertreterinnen der wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchsförderung aus der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Hochschuldidaktik (DGHD) und der Gesellschaft für Medien in der Wissenschaft (GMW). Das Ziel der Tagung war die Sichtbarmachung und Vernetzung theoretischer und praktischer hochschul- und mediendidaktischer Arbeit. Der vorliegende Sammelband vereint Beiträge der Konferenz und gibt so einen Einblick in aktuelle Themen von Hochschul- und Mediendidaktik - und zwar speziell aus der Perspektive jüngerer Forscherinnen und Forscher sowie Praktikerinnen und Praktiker. Er gibt damit auch Anhaltspunkte dafür, welche Themen diese Arbeitsbereiche in Zukunft (weiter) beschäftigen werden. (DIPF/Autor