Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 8 Document Number: D10313
Notes:
2 pages., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign., Researchers report consumer research indicating that the "future of U. S. citrus may hinge on consumer acceptance of genetically modified food."
23 pages., via online journal., In 2015, the Philippine Supreme Court ruled against the field testing of Bt eggplant, a genetically modified crop. This decision was covered extensively in the local press, forcing scientists to defend their research. We used qualitative, inductive analysis to examine how three news outlets constructed science in their coverage of the issue. We found that science was constructed through four themes: science searched for proof, absolute consensus had to be reached, the characteristics of scientific inquiry are used to discredit scientists, and science is aware of its logical limits. These findings have implications for the public acceptance of innovations.
28 pages, via online journal, While uncertainty is central to science, many fear negative effects of communicating scientific uncertainties to the public, though research results about such effects are inconsistent. Therefore, we test the effects of four distinct uncertainty frame types (deficient, technical, scientific, consensus) on three outcomes (belief, credibility, behavioral intentions) across three science issues (climate change, GMO food labeling, machinery hazards) with an experiment using a national sample (N = 2,247) approximating U.S. census levels of age, education, and gender. We find portraying scientific findings using uncertainty frames usually does not have significant effects, with an occasional exception being small negative effects of consensus uncertainty.