DANGEROUS DISCONNECTS? HOW PUBLIC ......DANGEROUS DISCONNECTS? HOW PUBLIC DISCOURSE ABOUT...
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DANGEROUS DISCONNECTS? HOW PUBLIC DISCOURSE ABOUT NANOTECHNOLOGY IS MISSING THE POINT @scimeplab @sarakyeo Sara K. Yeo ([email protected]) Dominique Brossard Dietram A. Scheufele Michael Xenos University of Wisconsin-Madison Supported by the National Science Foundation (SES-DMR-0832760)
Transcript of DANGEROUS DISCONNECTS? HOW PUBLIC ......DANGEROUS DISCONNECTS? HOW PUBLIC DISCOURSE ABOUT...
DANGEROUS DISCONNECTS?HOW PUBLIC DISCOURSE ABOUT
NANOTECHNOLOGY IS MISSING THE POINT
@scimeplab@sarakyeo
Sara K. Yeo ([email protected])Dominique BrossardDietram A. Scheufele
Michael Xenos
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Supported by the National Science Foundation (SES-DMR-0832760)
AN EMERGING TECHNOLOGY
Over 1,300 products worldwide– e.g., cookware, cosmetics, electronics
Recent studies– energy storage– drug delivery
Potential adverse effects on environment and human health
PERCEIVED BENEFITS
Scheufele, D. A., Corley, E. A., Dunwoody, S., Shih, T. J., Hillback, E., & Guston, D. H. (2007). Scientists worry about some risks more than the public. NatureNanotechnology, 2(12), 732-734. doi: 10.1038/nnano.2007.392.
PERCEIVED RISKS
Scheufele, D. A., Corley, E. A., Dunwoody, S., Shih, T. J., Hillback, E., & Guston, D. H. (2007). Scientists worry about some risks more than the public. NatureNanotechnology, 2(12), 732-734. doi: 10.1038/nnano.2007.392.
Scheufele, D. A., Corley, E. A., Dunwoody, S., Shih, T. J., Hillback, E., & Guston, D. H. (2007). Scientists worry about some risks more than the public. NatureNanotechnology, 2(12), 732-734. doi: 10.1038/nnano.2007.392.
IS LOWER EHS RISK PERCEPTIONREFLECTED IN PUBLIC DISCOURSE?
WHAT TOPICS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY AREBEING DISCUSSED?
Scheufele, D. A., Corley, E. A., Dunwoody, S., Shih, T. J., Hillback, E., & Guston, D. H. (2007). Scientists worry about some risks more than the public. NatureNanotechnology, 2(12), 732-734. doi: 10.1038/nnano.2007.392.
METHOD: OPINION MINING
Sentiment analysis of Twitter content– September 1, 2010 to February 28, 2013 (30 months)
Categories based on topic– Business– National security– Environment, health, and safety (EHS)– Health and medicine– Energy– Consumer products– Basic research
MEDIA, NANOTECHNOLOGY, AND…
Rapid information dissemination– 140 million users worldwide– 340 million tweets per day
16% of Americans using Twitter (Rainie, 2013)– younger (18-29 years old)– likely to be early adopters– more “tech-savvy”
1 in 4 Americans “regularly or sometimes get news or news headlinesthrough Facebook, Twitter, or other social networking sites.” (PewResearch Center, 2011)
Pew Research Center. (2011). Press widely criticized, but trusted more than other information sources. The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.Rainie, L. (2013). The State of Facebook Pew Research Center Internet and American Life Project: Pew Research Center.
KEYWORDS
(nano OR nanotechnology OR nanotech OR nanoscale OR fullereneOR fullerenes OR buckminsterfullerenes OR "quantum dots" ORnanometers OR nanometers) AND -nanosecond AND -nanosecondsAND -apple AND -ipod AND -mp3 AND -ipods AND -mp3s AND -tataAND -ipad AND -ipads AND -iphone AND -iphones
Topic Example
Business Research and Markets: Growth Opportunities in Global NanomaterialsMarket 2011 ... – Virtual http://t.co/8d5N4z0X
National security @DARPA Military vehicles of the future will be made out ofgraphene/CN/buckypaper or some other bulk nanomaterial
Environment, health,and safety (EHS)
Is Sunscreen Toxic?: There is ongoing concern about the potentialtoxicity of nanoparticles of various materials,...http://bit.ly/am1oOd
Medicine/Health Researchers Construct RNA Nanoparticles To Safely Deliver Long-Lasting Therapy To Cells http://t.co/yQCtfT0 via @mnt_genetics
EnergyColloidal Quantum Dots Based Tandem Solar Cells Work In Full
Spectrum: Harnessing solar energy is the need of ho...http://bit.ly/mIFti4
Basic research Assembling nanoparticle catalysts with nanospheres for periodiccarbon nanotube structure growth http://bit.ly/fAiPgQ
Consumer products Kinetic Go Green Premium Nano Silver 14 Piece Food StorageContainer Set (Includes Lids and Containers) For Savings
PREVIOUS STUDIES ON TWITTER
Runge, K. K., Yeo, S. K., Cacciatore, M. A., Scheufele, D. A., Brossard, D., Xenos, M. A., . . . Su, L. Y.-F. (2013). Tweeting nano: How public discourse aboutnanotechnology develop in social media environments. Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 15(1381). doi: 10.1007/s11051-012-1381-8.
GOALS OF THIS STUDY
What topics of nanotechnology are being discussed among thesepresumably more “tech-savvy” individuals on Twitter?
Is lower EHS risk perception among public audiences reflected in Twitterdiscourse about nanotechnology?
FINDINGS
Total of 2,597,620 nanotechnology posts 2,075,498 relevant posts (79.9%)
PERCENT OF POSTS IN EACH CATEGORY
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5
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25
Business NationalSecurity
EHS Medicine/Health Energy Basic Research ConsumerProducts
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TOPICS DISCUSSED WERE NOT RELATEDTO SPECIFIC EVENTS
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Perce
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CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
Disconnect between scientists’ and public risk perception
Relatively little Twitter discussion about EHS risks of nanotechnology
Public policy requires public input– Twitter as a space for public audiences to follow opinion leaders?
Potential for insufficient regulatory policies
DANGEROUS DISCONNECTS?HOW PUBLIC DISCOURSE ABOUT
NANOTECHNOLOGY IS MISSING THE POINT
@scimeplab@sarakyeo
Sara K. Yeo ([email protected])Dominique BrossardDietram A. Scheufele
Michael Xenos
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Supported by the National Science Foundation (SES-DMR-0832760)
