Tag Archives: ECSJ2017

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Special Issue

ECSJ2017: Science Communication 5.0

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EuroScientist is delighted to be able to share some of the discussions which took part during the 4th European Conference for Science Journalists in Copenhagen between 26th and 30th June 2017. They touched upon the evolving nature of science communication, how scientists are engaging with the public and issues related to evidence-based policy making. We would like to invite you to comment on individual articles using the dialogue box below each of the articles to continue the conversation. Read more [...]

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Policy

Scientific advice for politics: The European way

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Politics is not an exact science: moral choices, traditions, communication and many other aspects play important roles. But working on politics without caring for scientific evidence is almost certainly a recipe for failure. In the last few years, the European Union has struggled to find its own, formal model for conveying scholarly knowledge in its policies. After a tangled attempt to concentrate this task into a single Chief Scientific Advisor (CSA), the Commission opted in 2015 for a much more complex Scientific Advisory Mechanism (SAM). The High Level Group at the top of the mechanism was appointed in November 2015. The seven prominent scholars that form the committee discuss their first year and a half of work in a debate at the European Conference for Science Journalists, taking place in June in Copenhagen, Denmark. Read more [...]

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This article is sponsored by
4th European Conference for Science Journalists
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Science communication

Combating fake news in science

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“Dandelion root benefits can boost your immune system and cure cancer,” “Lead developer of HPV vaccines comes clean, warns parents & young girls it’s all a giant deadly scam,” "Asteroid Warning: Govt Preps Underground Bases" — These are just three of a multitude of fake science headlines circulating on social media recently. They may all be debunked, but will they have a lasting effect on society? The impacts of fake news and the post-truth era are the subject of discussions at the 4th European Conference for Science Journalists (ECSJ2017) on 26–30 June in Copenhagen, Denmark. Read more [...]

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Science communication

Citizen journalism: A phenomenon that is here to stay

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As the catastrophic fire blazed in Grenfell Tower, London in June 2017, everyone knew they would find photos or videos online, posted by citizens, on the scene before the professional journalists. Citizen journalists are now a common presence in the event of disasters, natural and man-made, but they represent a remarkably new phenomenon. This and other new media topics are the subject of discussions in Copenhagen at the 4th European Conference for Science Journalists. Read more [...]

This article is sponsored by
4th European Conference for Science Journalists
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This article is sponsored by
4th European Conference for Science Journalists
Find out how to become a sponsor

This article is sponsored by
4th European Conference for Science Journalists
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Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI)

The Internet of Toys: The digital lives of young children

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Communication technology is a daily reality for many young children in the form of internet-connected toys and devices: the Internet of Toys. Although these offer real benefits for children, they also present hidden risks, notably relating to privacy. To better understand the challenges presented by toys and devices for children aged 0–8 years, the European Cooperation in Science & Technology (COST) programme initiated an Action to develop an interdisciplinary network for researchers to share information and knowledge: The Digital Literacy and Multimodal Practices of Young Children (DigiLitEY). Outcomes of this COST ACTION are presented at the 4th European Conference for Science Journalists (ECSJ). Read more [...]

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Policy

Climate change: It’s a business matter too

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In 1973, a group of scientists published a report linking rising CO2 with global warming and some of the resulting meteorological patterns. It was one of the first publications on what would later be called ‘climate change’. Surprisingly, the report’s authors worked at Munich Re, one of the big players in the global insurance business. “Our industry […] started monitoring this issue long before the public even noted that there was a problem,” says Peter Höppe, head of the company’s Geo Risks Research division based in Germany. Höppe will join the roundtable “Climate: facts, figures and future” at the 4th European Conference of Science Journalism. Read more [...]

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Science communication

Unbiased reporting can help call time on pseudoscience

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In July 2013, a 21-year-old man died of leukaemia in the Spanish city of Valencia. Mario chose to dismiss his doctor’s advice, turned to a so-called expert in 'natural and orthomolecular medicine' and abandoned chemotherapy, choosing instead to fight his illness with alternative medicine. Mario was not, as some might conclude, an uneducated young man who did not know better. He was studying to become a physicist, but even this background did not prevent his believing a charlatan's claims. Tragedies like this beg the question: What can journalism do to better encourage trust in scientific evidence? The 4th European Conference for Science Journalists held on 26 to 30 June 2017 aimed to answer such questions in a series of sessions that examine the roles of policymakers, citizens, scientists, and science journalists in making scientific facts great again. Read more [...]

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Science communication

Holding on to lies! Unlocking the cognitive mechanism behind misinformation

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Five years ago, the World Economic Forum declared that the spread of misinformation through social media was one of the greatest global risks to our future and prosperity. At that time, the future scale of the threat was still unclear, even to media experts. However, for anybody with the slightest doubt about how rapidly social networks are changing news consumption and its effects, last year was eye-opening and overwhelming. Misinformation and fake news have influenced every major voting process and strengthened science-denial movements — consider how ubiquitous anti-vaccine and climate change scepticism propaganda is. But what are the consequences and the remedies to this? On the 29th of June, this and other questions are the subject of discussion in the 'Science journalism in a post-truth world’ session of the 4th European Conference for Science Journalists (ECSJ2017). Read more [...]

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