Why ecosystem management can't work without Social science: An example from the California northern spotted owl controversy

It is increasingly obvious that social science, while not a sufficient condition for making ecosystem management effective, is a necessary condition. A social science typology of ecosystems is developed, applied, and shown to have substantial and unexpected implications for the practice of ecosystem management. Ecologists and environmental scientists, in particular, will find some conclusions uncomfortable. The application involves a case material from the California northern spotted owl controversy.     

城市大气质量模式研究进展

本文通过对大气质量模式发展历史的回顾,及其发展趋势的讨论,认为城市大气质量预报模式的建立与发展主要受以下三个动态因素的支配：（１）政府环境管理目标;（２）科学进步;（３）计算机及信息处理和通讯技术。结合三要素就建立我国城市空气质量预报系统框架进行了讨论。     

地震科技人员开发能力的灰色关联分析

应用灰色系统理论，根据江苏省地震工程研究院的地震科技开发资料，分别以项目负责人的年龄、学历、职称、职务、学科作为比较数列，对年度内完成的实际合同额进行了多因素灰色关联分析，排出了关联序。研究结果客观地揭示了开发能力与人的各种因素——年龄、学历、职称、职务、学科之间的相互关系，为市场经济条件下，地震科技人才的开发、培养和应用，提供了科学依据。     

“Science is Everywhere,but No One Knows It”: Assessing the Cultural Distance to Science of Rural South African Publics

ABSTRACT

In science communication, a prerequisite for reaching different parts of a society is to find out how these publics experience and interpret science. Since rural South African publics are perceived to exhibit a large cultural distance to science, the present exploratory study aimed to know in more detail how rural South Africans perceive and understand science in their local and social contexts. Theoretical notions on cultural distance and the methodological approach of segmentation studies were considered. Semi-structured interviews with rural South Africans were carried out in four towns (n?=?52) that differ with respect to having a large scientific installation in their vicinity, or not. Sensitively comparing local and social contexts helped identifying three different publics who differed regarding their perceptions of science; however, the large scientific installations only made a difference in perceptions for those publics who were generally less exposed to and less knowledgeable about science.     

Between Active Seekers and Non-Users: Segments of Science-related Media Usage in Switzerland and Germany

ABSTRACT

Citizens’ attitudes toward science are related to their use of science-related information from various sources. Evidence is scarce regarding citizens’ individual media repertoires for staying informed about science as segmentation studies so far have primarily focused on scientific attitudes. In this paper, we explore audience segments regarding their science-related information behavior and whether such segments are comparable or vary between two countries with similar information environments. Based on two surveys in Switzerland and Germany, we identify national audience segments that differ in their science-related information repertoires, and analyze their sociodemographic characteristics and science-related attitudes. In both countries, we find very comparable information user segments ranging from those who inform themselves frequently about science (“Active Seekers”/“Science Consumers”) to those who hardly get in contact with any information about science and research (“Non-Users”). Those segments which get in contact with information about science frequently show generally more positive attitudes.     

Protective Progressives to Distrustful Traditionalists: A Post Hoc Segmentation Method for Science Communication

ABSTRACT

This study demonstrates a post-hoc segmentation that is effective in creating distinct and robust segments of interest for researchers and practitioners in science communication. We use agglomerative hierarchical clustering to classify survey respondents based on answers to a short, five-item battery of questions drawn from variables that are frequently used in science communication. Resulting segments demonstrate strong differences in regards to demographics, issue-specific science knowledge, attention to media, sentiment toward media, and social networking site use. We assess the utility of the segments through a series of regression analyses in order to determine differences among segments with regards to intent to seek information about three science issues: fracking, nanotechnology, and synthetic biology.     

Indonesia’s Accidental Island: Composing the Environment in the Echo of Disaster

By presenting stakeholders’ competing representations of an extraordinary geological formation, an island with a surface that is comprised of runoff from an infamous mud volcano in East Java, this article explores the communicative openings and closures that arise during an environmental disaster. A particular concern is attuning communicative practices to the diverse human and nonhuman actors that not only produce disasters but also shape our understandings and responses to disasters. Drawing on the work of Bruno Latour, this article suggests that non-anthropocentric modes of inquiry present new communicative and political possibilities for pursuing both social justice and safe environments. While this article focuses on a specific set of incidents in Indonesia, this project develops tools and perspectives that can be applied to environmental conflicts at other places.     

Objectivity as Trained Judgment: How Environmental Reporters Pioneered Journalism for a “Post-truth” Era

Amid debate about the role and practices of journalism in the era of Presidents Trump and Putin, this commentary argues that environmental journalism offers a conceptual model and guide to action for all journalists in the “post-truth” or “post-fact” era. Since the specialism was formed in the 1960s, environmental journalists have reported on politically partisan issues where facts are contested, expertise is challenged, and uncertainty is heightened. To deal with these and other challenges, environmental journalism, this commentary argues, has reassessed and reconfigured the foundational journalistic concept of objectivity. The specialism has come to view objectivity as the implementation of a transparent method, as the pluralistic search for consensus, and, most importantly, as trained judgment. By developing these definitions through the reporting of several science policy controversies, environmental journalists have pioneered journalism for the “post-truth” era.     

基于AHP-熵权法的基层地震科普能力评价*

为提高基层地震科普评价工作的客观性和精准性,根据“环境-投入-产出-效果”的评价框架,建立涵盖保障能力、队伍能力、设施能力、产出能力、活动能力5类26项指标的基层地震科普能力评价指标体系,选用AHP-熵权法计算指标的组合权重;以天津为例进行验证,并提出相关工作建议。结果表明:建立的评价模型对于开展定量化的区域基层地震科普能力评价具有较强的参考价值,评价结果与实际情况基本相符;天津市基层地震科普在硬件建设方面取得较好成效,但整体能力依然偏弱,16个区平均得分仅为0.344 8;发展不平衡、软实力不足是制约当前发展最重要的2个因素;提出相关的工作建议可为优化基层科普工作布局、提高工作实效提供有益参考。     

安全文化学课程内容及其教材框架设计研究

为构建安全文化学课程内容体系,进而为安全文化学教材编著奠定基础,分析安全文化学的内涵及课程地位与性质。基于此,从风险社会视阈与“大安全—大文化”视角介入,建立安全文化学课程内容体系的逻辑结构图,并构建安全文化学课程内容体系结构。在此基础上,对安全文化学课程教材编著从指导思想及内容深度与广度2方面进行思考。结果表明:安全文化学课程内容体系建构及其教材编著意义重大且急需,该研究为安全文化学教材编著,以及高等院校安全工程专业人才培养中开设安全文化学课程奠定了基础。