MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY – DIGITAL MEDIA

1. MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY – DIGITAL MEDIA Societal Dimensions of Nanotechnology PI Meeting July 28-29,2008 David M. Berube Co-ord, PCOST – Public Communication of Science and Technology North Carolina State University USA

2. HISTORY • August 2001- first meeting with program officers on defining field; • December 15, 2001 – first exploratory grant on societal issue; • NIRT 2002 – first NIRT on societal issues.

3. DIGITAL MEDIA • CRDM – 27 doctoral students. • Digital media - • computer-mediated communication; • visual rhetoric; • digital culture; • electronic communication across the curriculum; • media and technology policy; • textual mediation; • digital literacy; and • online information design http://www.chass.ncsu.edu/crdm/

4. http://communication.chass.ncsu.edu/pcost/index.html

5. PCOST The PCOST Center's mission is to provide opportunities for scholars to understand and improve the public communication of emerging science and technology. PCOST will work with and support faculty and students working in wide arena of scholarship including communication, media studies, human sciences, and associated subject fields. Audiences for our work include stakeholders in science and technology such as policy makers, scientists, business leaders, and non-governmental organizations involved in debates about science and technology.

6. PLANS - $$$ • * PCOST is not waiting for government funding, we are establishing a sponsorship system. • * PCOST anticipates an annual web conference summit to discuss state of public communication of science. • * PCOST has begun efforts to coordinate our work with Duke team (CEIN) w/o funding.

7. RESOURCES • 14 FACULTY from 5 universities including UNC, UNC-G, and Duke and over a dozen concentrations. • RTP presence. • Environmental Sciences (8 companies/1,430 employees); • Information Technology (35 companies/20,849 employees); • Life Sciences (48 companies/9,715 employees); • Materials Sciences and Engineering (21 companies/1,187 employees); and • Scientific Associations, Foundations, and Institutes (18 companies/4,030 employees).

8. DM: CHALLENGES • How does Digital Media give demographics, that are usually silent within traditional media, a voice? Does this present the possibility for a new group/type of amplifiers and attenuators? • Since people trust blogs more than traditional media, how should scientists use this to their advantage? • How has digital media strengthened the voice of grass roots activism/NGOs? • How can government communication/websites allow the public to become more active by also producing and sharing information? • How does digital literacy and the digital divide contribute to Intergenerational Conflict (IGC)?

9. DM: CHALLENGES (2) • Can Massive Multiplayer Online Gaming (MMOG) be used to simulate crisis situations for emergency professionals? How could MMOGs be used to help communicate scientific risk information to the public? Is it possible for the public to view traditionally fictive formats (i.e. MMOGs) as purveyors of non-fictive information that should be respected/taken seriously? • How are user/contributor-managed sites like Wikipedia raising the bar for production efficiency by throwing traditional corporate hierarchy out the window? How can science develop similar sites with the same production efficiency? (NCouncil of Science and Environment – standards report, issues landscape; Societal Dimensions PI].

10. White Paper on Risk Communication 07/31/08 Workshop – 08/28-29/08. Citizen’s Guides to Nanotechnology. Delphi Rounds on expert/inexpert risk rankings lead to Engagement activities and focus groups AND a closing program/workshop. http://communication.chass.ncsu.edu/nirt/Home.html

11. 4 pp. PDF files downloadable on applied nanoscience written for inexpert audiences. Introduction to Nanotechnology. Agri-, silva- & aqua-culture. Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment. Cosmetics. Computers. Consumer products. Energy. Food products. Risks. Tissue Engineering & Transplants. Toxicology. Water….. Citizen’s GuidestoNanotechnology * http://communication.chass.ncsu.edu/citizenguidetonano/index.html

12. D. Berube, PI: “NIRT: Intuitive Nanotoxicology and Public Engagement,” NSF-NIRT (Nanotechnology Interdisciplinary Research Team) 09/01/07 – 08/30/12 D. Berube, PI: “DRU: Risky Business: Risky decisions under uncertain conditions,” NSF-DRU (Decision-Making, Risk and Uncertainty) 09/01/08-08/31/11. D. Berube, I: “IGERT: Genetic Engineering and Society: The Case of Transgenic Pests,” NSF-IGERT, 09/01/09-08/31/11. CURRENT PENDING

13. NEW RESEARCH • Fear appeals and their effect on public perceptions. • Belief based arguments and nanobiotechnology. • Fuzzy systems as an alternative to traditional probability in risk analysis under conditions of high uncertainty. • “Especially tasty fruit” as an anchoring principle. http://nanohype.blogspot.com/

14. This work was supported in part by grants from the National Science Foundation, NSF 06-595, Nanotechnology Interdisciplinary Research Team (NIRT): Intuitive Toxicology and Public Engagement. THANKSdmberube@ncsu.edu