SCIENCE, COMMUNICATION AND
SOCIETY
BACKGROUND
Scientific biomedical knowledge plays an increasingly important role in society,
influencing societal debate and informing policy decisions on public health. There
are various authorities that are involved in communicating the results from
biomedical research and there are different groups in society who may benefit
from the information provided (e.g. to main or improve their health). The public is
informed of biomedical science by journalists, organizations such as the RIVM
(National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) and scientists make
their appearance in the media. Such activities may be initiated for a variety of
reasons, including to inform, influence behavior, to change public perception, or
to build trust in science or encouraging participation in research. Not in the least
place because of social media, the way such activities work out are difficult to
control, may be ineffective or even counterproductive.
LEARNING GOALS
1. Explain different views on the relation between science and society and the
role of science communication.
2. Distinguish different models of science communication and characterize their
similarities, differences and underlying assumptions.
3. Distinguish and apply different techniques for presenting and framing scientific
knowledge.
4. Explain different approaches to changing behavior and the associated role of
science communication.
5. Evaluate the role of science communication in societal debates on biomedical
topics.
WEEK 1: SCIENCE & SOCIETY, AND THE ROLE OF
SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
LE INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE – Bart
Bloemen
Goal of science communication
Transfer scientific knowledge
Increase public support for science
Inform public decision-making
Make science accountable
Improve scientific knowledge
The increasing importance of science communication
Scientists need to go public: ‘public outreach’, societal impact, accountability
To oppose societal developments:
o Digital society: availability of (false) information
o Science relativism
Developments in science:
o Complexity of modern science
o Influence of technology on daily life
,Science is (sometimes) popular
Science writing (books, magazine, newspapers)
TV, radio, movies, series
Social media
Science museums
Science events (science café, science festival)
Different audiences
Policy makers
Healthcare professionals
Patients
General public
Media
LE SCIENCE, COMMUNICATION AND SOCIETY
Science and society
Science Society
Source of knowledge Value of knowledge
Instrumental value Technology; informed decision-
Curiosity making
Science journalism, media
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RELATION BETWEEN SCIENCE
AND SOCIETY (= SOCIETAL CONTEXT OF SCIENCE
COMMUNICATION)
Relation between science and society
Science needs to go ‘public’
Digital society: availability of information
“Post-truth” society (?)
Complexity of modern science and influence of technology on daily life
Diversity and inclusivity in science
Artifical intelligence (AI)
1. Science needs to go ‘public’
Science in transition?
Steering of research priorities: supranational (EU), national, funding
agencies, university level
Commercialization: public-private partnerships, focus on practical
applications, knowledge as an economic good
Accountability of science to justify how money is invested and to justify its
use in decision-making
Knowledge should also be protected as some types of knowledge do not need to
be shared with everyone.
“Citizen science” by participation of citizens in research and participation of
patients in research.
,“Fold it” is an online puzzle video game about protein folding. In 2011, gamers
successfully “modelled” the enzyme Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (M-PMV) retroviral
protease. You receive points when you have the right configuration. This is a way
of science communication.
2. Digital society
There is a shifting in the media landscape from traditional/’linear’ media to
online media (social media, streaming, blogs). In the past, you had newspapers
and science journalists, but now people can find all kinds of views on e.g.
vaccination online (Dr. google). A lot of information is available online. So, people
come to an expert with certain expectations and the opinion of a scientist is not
trusted anymore.
What is the influence on science communication (e.g. science journalism)?
Filter bubbles: people with a negative view on e.g. vaccination will see more
things related to this view online (instead of another view).
3. ‘Post-truth’ society?
We live in a society where facts do not matter anymore as people mostly
depend on opinions and feelings. In 2016, it was the word of the year because
Trump was elected president. It seems to be a general development that the
scientific consensus on specific topics is not accepted or trusted anymore, e.g.
vaccination, GMOs (genetically modified organisms), climate change. Many
aspects contribute to the lack of trust in science nowadays.
Describing situations in which objective facts are less influential in shaping
public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief
4. The complexity of modern science and influence of technology on daily
life
Science communication is important due to several aspects:
Multi-disciplinary teams
High specialization
Uncertainty: personal risk factors for disease -> There is more uncertainty in
personalized medicine than before
Example: a lot of papers are published each year on echocardiology. Reading
all of these papers takes a lot of time, which people usually do not have, to
keep up with the current discoveries/techniques.
The impact of modern science: science has an increasing impact on daily life. ->
NBIC: nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, cognitive
sciences. This combination leads to lots of changes in research.
5. Diversity and inclusivity in science
There is an increasing demand in science that we should try to respect the
knowledge of patients and more traditional types of knowledge (like holistic
medicine).
There is a growing recognition of the importance of inclusivity and diversity in
science:
Addressing biases in research
Ensuring representation of different demographic and cultural perspectives
Acknowledging traditional and local knowledge systems alongside formal
scientific knowledge
, More focus on the question: “Who gets to define what counts as knowledge?”
Science as a social process could possibly enhance objectivity.
What is on the science agenda? There is a huge disparity in what is actually
funded. A lot of diseases common in developing countries with a high impact on
quality of life, etc. are not studied as much as rare types of cancers occurring in
rich countries.
Dimensions of representation in clinical trials:
6. Artificial intelligence (AI)
AI is becoming an active collaborator in scientific discovery, even designing
innovative physics experiments that outperform traditional human approaches.
Also AI helps both scientists and the public better understand complex scientific
information, shaping perceptions of science in society.
DIFFERENT VIEWS ON HOW SCIENCE & SOCIETY SHOULD
INTERACT, AND THE ROLE OF SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
There are four different visions on the relationship between science, technology
and society:
1. Neutral vision
Science and technology are neutral tools that allow us to realize our goals
and ideals. Science is about collecting facts and generating objective knowledge.
Science should be independent from society. The accumulation of objective
knowledge leads to societal progress. Example: “guns don’t kill people, people kill
people”.
There was a new technology to visualize an embryo (ultrasound). The debate is
that people themselves can decide whether to use it or not, and in itself the
technique does not do anything as it is just a tool. A lot of institutes in the
Netherlands reason from the neutral vision.
SOCIETY
BACKGROUND
Scientific biomedical knowledge plays an increasingly important role in society,
influencing societal debate and informing policy decisions on public health. There
are various authorities that are involved in communicating the results from
biomedical research and there are different groups in society who may benefit
from the information provided (e.g. to main or improve their health). The public is
informed of biomedical science by journalists, organizations such as the RIVM
(National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) and scientists make
their appearance in the media. Such activities may be initiated for a variety of
reasons, including to inform, influence behavior, to change public perception, or
to build trust in science or encouraging participation in research. Not in the least
place because of social media, the way such activities work out are difficult to
control, may be ineffective or even counterproductive.
LEARNING GOALS
1. Explain different views on the relation between science and society and the
role of science communication.
2. Distinguish different models of science communication and characterize their
similarities, differences and underlying assumptions.
3. Distinguish and apply different techniques for presenting and framing scientific
knowledge.
4. Explain different approaches to changing behavior and the associated role of
science communication.
5. Evaluate the role of science communication in societal debates on biomedical
topics.
WEEK 1: SCIENCE & SOCIETY, AND THE ROLE OF
SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
LE INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE – Bart
Bloemen
Goal of science communication
Transfer scientific knowledge
Increase public support for science
Inform public decision-making
Make science accountable
Improve scientific knowledge
The increasing importance of science communication
Scientists need to go public: ‘public outreach’, societal impact, accountability
To oppose societal developments:
o Digital society: availability of (false) information
o Science relativism
Developments in science:
o Complexity of modern science
o Influence of technology on daily life
,Science is (sometimes) popular
Science writing (books, magazine, newspapers)
TV, radio, movies, series
Social media
Science museums
Science events (science café, science festival)
Different audiences
Policy makers
Healthcare professionals
Patients
General public
Media
LE SCIENCE, COMMUNICATION AND SOCIETY
Science and society
Science Society
Source of knowledge Value of knowledge
Instrumental value Technology; informed decision-
Curiosity making
Science journalism, media
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RELATION BETWEEN SCIENCE
AND SOCIETY (= SOCIETAL CONTEXT OF SCIENCE
COMMUNICATION)
Relation between science and society
Science needs to go ‘public’
Digital society: availability of information
“Post-truth” society (?)
Complexity of modern science and influence of technology on daily life
Diversity and inclusivity in science
Artifical intelligence (AI)
1. Science needs to go ‘public’
Science in transition?
Steering of research priorities: supranational (EU), national, funding
agencies, university level
Commercialization: public-private partnerships, focus on practical
applications, knowledge as an economic good
Accountability of science to justify how money is invested and to justify its
use in decision-making
Knowledge should also be protected as some types of knowledge do not need to
be shared with everyone.
“Citizen science” by participation of citizens in research and participation of
patients in research.
,“Fold it” is an online puzzle video game about protein folding. In 2011, gamers
successfully “modelled” the enzyme Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (M-PMV) retroviral
protease. You receive points when you have the right configuration. This is a way
of science communication.
2. Digital society
There is a shifting in the media landscape from traditional/’linear’ media to
online media (social media, streaming, blogs). In the past, you had newspapers
and science journalists, but now people can find all kinds of views on e.g.
vaccination online (Dr. google). A lot of information is available online. So, people
come to an expert with certain expectations and the opinion of a scientist is not
trusted anymore.
What is the influence on science communication (e.g. science journalism)?
Filter bubbles: people with a negative view on e.g. vaccination will see more
things related to this view online (instead of another view).
3. ‘Post-truth’ society?
We live in a society where facts do not matter anymore as people mostly
depend on opinions and feelings. In 2016, it was the word of the year because
Trump was elected president. It seems to be a general development that the
scientific consensus on specific topics is not accepted or trusted anymore, e.g.
vaccination, GMOs (genetically modified organisms), climate change. Many
aspects contribute to the lack of trust in science nowadays.
Describing situations in which objective facts are less influential in shaping
public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief
4. The complexity of modern science and influence of technology on daily
life
Science communication is important due to several aspects:
Multi-disciplinary teams
High specialization
Uncertainty: personal risk factors for disease -> There is more uncertainty in
personalized medicine than before
Example: a lot of papers are published each year on echocardiology. Reading
all of these papers takes a lot of time, which people usually do not have, to
keep up with the current discoveries/techniques.
The impact of modern science: science has an increasing impact on daily life. ->
NBIC: nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, cognitive
sciences. This combination leads to lots of changes in research.
5. Diversity and inclusivity in science
There is an increasing demand in science that we should try to respect the
knowledge of patients and more traditional types of knowledge (like holistic
medicine).
There is a growing recognition of the importance of inclusivity and diversity in
science:
Addressing biases in research
Ensuring representation of different demographic and cultural perspectives
Acknowledging traditional and local knowledge systems alongside formal
scientific knowledge
, More focus on the question: “Who gets to define what counts as knowledge?”
Science as a social process could possibly enhance objectivity.
What is on the science agenda? There is a huge disparity in what is actually
funded. A lot of diseases common in developing countries with a high impact on
quality of life, etc. are not studied as much as rare types of cancers occurring in
rich countries.
Dimensions of representation in clinical trials:
6. Artificial intelligence (AI)
AI is becoming an active collaborator in scientific discovery, even designing
innovative physics experiments that outperform traditional human approaches.
Also AI helps both scientists and the public better understand complex scientific
information, shaping perceptions of science in society.
DIFFERENT VIEWS ON HOW SCIENCE & SOCIETY SHOULD
INTERACT, AND THE ROLE OF SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
There are four different visions on the relationship between science, technology
and society:
1. Neutral vision
Science and technology are neutral tools that allow us to realize our goals
and ideals. Science is about collecting facts and generating objective knowledge.
Science should be independent from society. The accumulation of objective
knowledge leads to societal progress. Example: “guns don’t kill people, people kill
people”.
There was a new technology to visualize an embryo (ultrasound). The debate is
that people themselves can decide whether to use it or not, and in itself the
technique does not do anything as it is just a tool. A lot of institutes in the
Netherlands reason from the neutral vision.
