http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/47133 2026-10-20T02:04:24Z http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/47255 Title: The Scientific Temper of Climate Change Coverage in Indian Newspapers Authors: Bhatta, Archita; Nagarathinam, S; Kumar, Sanjeev Abstract: Despite the efforts of several science communication organizations, coverage of science and science based issues remains very low in the worldwide media in general and Indian media, in particular. In contrast, the Indian media has seen an escalation of climate change reporting in the last decade. Climate change being an issue with far reaching social and economic implications, coverage of the issue is likely to have policy implications. Media coverage of scientific issues to a large extent informs policy decisions. Thus scientific coverage of an issue like climate change will result in scientific policies. In order to ensure this, the scientific temper of coverage of an issue like climate change needs to be tracked. This study of the scientific temper of climate change coverage in three mainstream English language newspapers published from New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai shows that there has been very little attempt to involve science and scientists in the reportage. Majority of the news reports have used politicians as primary claim makers and have been sourced from the UN or IPCC reports. In comparison the number of reports using scientists as the primary claim makers and sourced from peer-reviewed journals is very low and has remained almost constant over the years. Page(s): 101-119 2015-07-01T00:00:00Z http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/47254 Title: Understanding the Connotation, Impact and Measurement Concerning Informatization of Science Popularization in China Authors: Hu, Junping; Zhong, Qi; Luo, Hui Abstract: Informatization is the new direction of the effort in the field of science popularization in China. It refers to the change not only in the technological approach and the channels of science popularization, but also to the idea and the model of science popularization. This paper shed light on the connotation concerning informatization of science popularization (ISP) in three dimensions. It illustrates that ISP produces profound impact on the science popularization practice, the individuals, and society. Regarding practice, ISP in China includes the digitalization period, networking period and intelligentializing period. ISP makes the practice more powerful and efficient. It is of importance for ISP to promote the construction of the knowledge society and create the atmosphere of scientific culture in society. Finally, the measurement framework of ISP is proposed, which aims at promoting the working process and achieving the ultimate goal through a monitoring method. Page(s): 120-134 2015-07-01T00:00:00Z http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/47253 Title: Promoting Scientific Culture: A Review of Public Policies in the Ibero-American Countries Authors: Cortassa, Carina; Polino, Carmelo Abstract: The article presents an overview of a recent study aimed at describing how the efforts to improve the public scientific culture (SC) have gained ground in the broader frame of public policies for S&T in Ibero-America. The purpose is to assess to what extent the discourse of the governmental agencies reflects the concern over the matter and in which way the usual ‘loud and clear´ claims in this sense turn into operative strategies, actions and tools. The outcomes suggest a complex scenario. Although most of the countries explicitly encompass the need to improve public engagement with science in their respective sectorial Plans, the interest put forth at this rethorical level doesn’t always match with the type of (limited) actions actually carried on in a factual level. Besides, the huge heterogeneity of concepts, tools, practices and aims reported in each context as part of the promotion of scientific culture not only entails a difficulty to achieve a reliable picture of the regional policies in this field but, at the same time, hinders the possibility of a more accurate assessment and comparison among them. Page(s): 135-162 2015-07-01T00:00:00Z http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/47252 Title: Science Communication and Democracy Authors: Schiele, Bernard; Marec, Joëlle Le; Baranger, Patrick Abstract: It should first be noted that the topic here is science communication and not scientific discourse. A primary scientific discourse is one produced by a researcher for another researcher. Science textbooks fall into this category, and such discourses are generally geared to specific audiences. Science communication, on the other hand, is not aimed at specialists but at a broader, more disparate, audience. This means that communications about science geared to lay audiences and delivered via various types of media, including the printed press, radio, television and the internet (Jacobi, 1999; Schiele, 2001), are received and interpreted in a cultural, institutional and political environment that is broader than the scientific context of the original discourse (Gregory & Bauer, 2003). They also get caught up in issues of professional communication and the general business of media and networks that generate a very heterogeneous social structure. Our focus here is on science communication in the areas of professional communication and media, apart from the strictly educational and cultural fields. This paper investigates contemporary modes of science communication in society. We wish to show that, contrary to the spirit of the Enlightenment, which fostered the free flow of ideas in the public sphere, making it a condition of democratic debate (Habermas, 1978), science communication is today beset by many and varied at-tempts to control it, and which ultimately threaten the relationship between science, an informed public, and the functioning of democracy. Page(s): 163-182 2015-07-01T00:00:00Z