Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology (CREST)

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Browsing Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology (CREST) by browse.metadata.advisor "Weingart, Peter"

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    Factors influencing the public communication behaviour of publicly visible scientists in South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-03) Joubert, Catherina Magdelena (Marina); Weingart, Peter; Mouton, Johann; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: Given the policy intention of the South African government to encourage and support public science engagement, this study set out to identify and understand the factors that influence scientists’ behaviours as far as public communication about their work is concerned. Based on an extensive literature review and interviews with 30 publicly visible scientists, a complex blend of factors that influence scientists’ participation in public science communication were identified and explored. Important factors included field of research, career stage, age, gender, personality and population group, as well as scientists’ attitudes towards communication platforms and the public. Furthermore, this study yielded new insight into the influence of the historical, bio-geographical, cultural and socio-political contexts on scientists’ engagement with public audiences, while also highlighting how their communication behaviour is shaped by institutional environments and national contexts. The population group to which the individual scientists belong emerged as an important factor in terms of scientists’ perceived ability to connect with multi-cultural and multi-lingual audiences in South Africa. In light of changes in the norms that govern scientists’ behaviour, and contradictory policies that scientists may encounter, the conflicted and contested nature of public science communication was highlighted, along with scientists’ resulting ambivalence about their own participation in these activities. The current study shows that visible scientists in South Africa are mostly keen to engage with public audiences, and that they are typically motivated towards public engagement by a blend of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. Time constraints and a lack of institutional support, incentives and recognition remain key barriers which limit scientists’ participation in public communication of science. Earlier findings that visible scientists are typically highly productive leaders in the science community were validated, thereby challenging the perception that public science communication carries a stigma and is too time-intensive to accommodate in the career of a serious scientist. Based on the findings in this study, it is recommended that policymakers who seek to stimulate quality and/or quantity of public science engagement, need to focus on the contextual factors, i.e. the policies and support structures in the institutions where scientists work. Further policy implications that are outlined include the value of mobilising black scientists as role models and enabling visible scientists to act as communication mentors, as well as the need to ensure responsible use of social media and ethical science PR practices in public communication of science.
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    New potentials in the communication of open science with non‐scientific publics: The case of the anti‐vaccination movement
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Van Schalkwyk, Francois Barend; Weingart, Peter; Muller, Johan; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: There is persistent pressure on science to be more open. But for all the fervour, scant attention has been paid to the full gamut of the potentials of openness, both positive and negative. These potentials are, in many cases, linked to open access to the formal communications of science made possible by digitisation, the internet and developments in information and communication technologies. A consequence of direct access to the formal communications of science is that traditional channels of communication are no longer the gatekeepers to the public’s understanding of science. Instead, new and different types of channels for the communication of science are proliferating in a society that is increasingly online and networked, and it is therefore reasonable to expect attentive non‐scientific publics to access the communications of science. If this is the case, then open science introduces new trajectories in its communication that are best understood with reference to flows of information in the communication networks that define the network society. It is the direct access to the communications of open science by non‐scientists that this thesis examines in order to answer the question ‘What are the potentials of open science in the communication of science?’. It does so by investigating the presence of two products of science – open research data and open access journal articles – in the online communications of a specific non‐scientific community: the anti‐vaccination movement. Specifically, it determines (1) whether the product is being accessed by the anti‐vaccination movement as indicated by references in three online spheres (Twitter, Facebook and the web); (2) whether the product is being used by the antivaccination movement as indicated by the movement’s level of engagement in each online sphere; and (3) whether there are intermediaries in the online communication networks of the antivaccination movement as indicated by mapping the movement’s online communication networks centred around the products of open science. Findings show that the anti‐vaccination movement is not accessing open research data. In the case of open access journal articles, findings show that online social networks allow the anti‐vaccination movement to amplify its minority position by being selective in terms of the vaccine science it feeds into its online communication networks, and by being highly active without engaging closely with the scientific knowledge at its disposal. In part, the amplification was found to be attributable to the presence of different types and a disproportionate number of intermediaries. The consequences of the anti‐vaccination movement’s use of open access journal articles in its online communications is the production and amplification of uncertainty around the safety of vaccinations. Science communicators will need to develop new strategies to counter the potentially detrimental health outcomes of increases in uncertainty and vaccine refusal in the broader population. This first foray into the potentials of open science shows that the development of such communication strategies will require further research to understand better how attention, influence and power function in a society increasingly defined by its global communication networks.
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    Perceptions of the environment and environmental issues in Stellenbosch, South Africa: A mixed-methods approach
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-12) Meyer, Corlia; Weingart, Peter; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The issue of environmental perceptions is an important research area. Due to increased environmental degradation from human activities, concern for the environment is growing. Successful environmental management cannot be achieved without understanding the perceptions that people have of the environment. If human behaviour towards the environment is to be changed, it is important to know how environmental perceptions are formed and where information about the environment comes from. This research aims to contribute to the literature by examining the public’s perceptions of the environment in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. The reasons for and consequences of environmental issues are unevenly distributed around the world, with developing nations being more susceptible to environmental damages. Concern for the natural environment was historically limited to developed nations, but this concern spread globally during the late 20th century. Three waves for environmental concern exist. The first wave (1940 – 1950)was when people realised that the earth has limited resources. During the second wave (1960 – 1970) production and consumption created by-products and waste, and during the third wave (1980 – 1990) specific global environmental problems, such as climate change and ozone depletion, appeared. The globalisation of environmental concern has made the research of environmental perceptions of developing nations crucial. Perceptions of the environment and environmental issues can serve as indicators of actual environmental degradation, it can influence the public’s participation in environmentally friendly activities, and it can influence an individual’s pro-environmental behaviour. To the researcher’s knowledge this is the first study investigating socio-demographic and environmental communication variables influencing the public’s perceptions about the environment and environmental problems, in a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. The research questions include: How do the public perceive the environment and environmental problems? Are these perceptions influenced by socio-demographic factors such as gender, ethnic group, age, religious affiliation, education and income? What sources of environmental information do the public use to get informed about the environment? How knowledgeable are individuals about the environment? Is there a relationship between environmental knowledge and information sources used? What are the strongest variables influencing perceptions about the environment? How do publics differ in their perceptions about the environment? The literature review revealed eight hypotheses. Television is the media source that will be most used by the public for information about the environment. Individuals with high levels of education will be more knowledgeable about the environment and view environmental problems as more serious. Individuals that do not belong to a specific religion will be more concerned about the environment. White South Africans will perceive environmental problems as more serious than other population groups. Younger individuals will be more concerned about the environment. A mixed method approach is used for the data collection. Data collection took place in four neighbourhoods in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The first phase uses surveys as a data collection tool. It helps to identify the variables that influence environmental perceptions. Hundred and ninety-one adults from various socio-demographical backgrounds were interviewed. Fifteen interviews with respondents from within the quantitative sample were completed to collect the qualitative data. Respondents from the Stellenbosch public perceived the natural environment it terms of three themes: natural or nature, vegetation and animals. The population did not perceive environmental problems as a serious social problem and ranked crime, poverty and corruption as the three most serious social problems South Africans have to deal with. Of the environmental problems, the respondents perceived water scarcity (drought), climate change and pollution as the top three most severe environmental problems South Africans face. The gender, population group, socio-economic status and level of education of an individual influenced how serious a respondent perceived environmental problems. The sample public have relatively good knowledge about the environment and environmental problems. The population group, socio-economic status and level of education played a role in how knowledgeable an individual is about the environment. The source the respondents use to most to access information about the environment is television. This is followed by personal sources (family and friends) and newspapers. Population group, age and socio-economic status as variables influenced the source an individual used to access environmental information. Two hypotheses were rejected. Age and religion did not influence how serious and individual perceived the environment. Of all the variables, environmental knowledge, gender and the population group of an individual are the variables with the strongest influence on the Stellenbosch sample’s perceptions about the environment. The dissertation also makes a distinction between four different Stellenbosch publics, based on environmental knowledge, environmental perceptions and environmental information sources used. Two of the publics have lower levels of environmental knowledge and perceive environmental problems as less serious. The other two publics have higher levels of environmental knowledge and perceive environmental problems as more serious. Overall, the research has confirmed some previous findings that female, Caucasian individuals with high levels of education and income perceived environmental problems as more serious and are more concerned about the environment. This research should inform environmental conservation policies and management. When policies are created, they should be aimed at those who are less educated about the environment and are less concerned about the environment.