Papers by Dominique Brossard
Journal of Science Communication
Of all the online information tools that the public relies on to collect information and share op... more Of all the online information tools that the public relies on to collect information and share opinions about scientific and environmental issues, Twitter presents a unique venue to assess the spontaneous and genuine opinions of networked publics, including those about a focusing event like the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident following the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Using computational linguistic algorithms, this study analyzes a census of English-language tweets about nuclear power before, during, and after the Fukushima nuclear accident. Results show that although discourse about the event may have faded rapidly from the news cycle on traditional media, it evoked concerns about reactor safety and the environmental implications of nuclear power, particularly among users in U.S. states that are geographically closer to the accident site. Also, while the sentiment of the tweets was primarily pessimistic about nuclear power weeks after the accident, overall sentiment becam...
ECompós, 2013
Brazil is the second world producer of transgenic crops. However, intense controversies were arou... more Brazil is the second world producer of transgenic crops. However, intense controversies were around their introduction in the country. This study analyzes media coverage of GM crops in two elite Brazilian newspapers, Folha de S. Paulo and O Globo, in 2003, the “Year of Controversy”, a period of intense political debate over the issue. Using issue attention cycle and media frame building as theoretical frameworks, we combine quantitative content analysis and in-depth individual interviews with journalists to identify the main influencers of media coverage. Our study revealed that the two newspapers covered the issue differently than in the United States. North American newspapers tended to emphasize dramatic elements when the GM issue was discussed in the political arena; in Brazil, technical elements were a major focus in the stories.
The purpose of this study is to examine the interactive effect of worldviews and media frames on ... more The purpose of this study is to examine the interactive effect of worldviews and media frames on policy preference. Using flooding as a case study, we examine the interplay of ecological worldviews and news framed as either emphasizing harmony with nature or mastery over nature on individuals’ preference
for flood protection policy. A total of 255 undergraduate students participated in a 2 (ecological worldviews: balance-with-nature vs. humandomination-over-nature) x2 (media frames: harmony frame vs. mastery frame) between-subjects experiment. The findings indicate that both the balance-with-nature worldview and the human-domination-over-nature
worldview have significant impacts on preference for flood protection policy. Furthermore, the harmony frame amplified the effect of the balance-withnature
worldview in supporting a natural approach to flood protection. In contrast, the mastery frame amplified the effect of the human-dominationover-nature worldview on the preference for a structural approach to flood
protection. Implications are discussed.
This study uses the psychometric paradigm (Renn & Rohrmann, 2000; Slovic, 1992) as an analytic fr... more This study uses the psychometric paradigm (Renn & Rohrmann, 2000; Slovic, 1992) as an analytic framework to analyze the risk dimensions being conveyed in media coverage of Avian flu in Hong Kong and in the United States between 2003 and 2007. A quantitative content analysis of The New York Times and South China Morning Post stories showed different patterns of avian flu related risk content coverage. The differences revealed that dimensions related to dreadfulness, catastrophic potential, uncertainty, and unfamiliarity were more emphasized in The New York Times than in South China Morning Post. The authors discuss the implications.
Materials Today, 2010
People have been progressively turning to the internet for science news and information. In 2006,... more People have been progressively turning to the internet for science news and information. In 2006, more than two-thirds of US adults turned to the internet when searching for specific science topics 2 . 67% of Americans, for instance, reported using online sources to find information about stem cell research while only 11% said they would use a library 3 . And the availability of online information about emerging technologies has greatly increased over the past 10 years, more so than other media outlets 4 . As a result, nanotechnology news and information is readily available on the internet and accessible to lay audiences. Not surprisingly, the internet is increasingly serving as people's preferred news source about nanotechnology. In fact, previous research has linked attention to science news online (versus traditional media outlets) to more awareness and knowledge about nanotechnology 5 . This link between online use and knowledge has broad implications as several surveys have demonstrated that many Americans have heard of nanotechnology, but the majority lacks a scientific understanding of nanotechnology 6 .
The SAGE Handbook of Risk Communication, 2014
Politics and the life sciences : the journal of the Association for Politics and the Life Sciences
This study analyzes the issue attention cycle for print and online media coverage of a scientific... more This study analyzes the issue attention cycle for print and online media coverage of a scientific publication examining the deaths of Chinese factory workers due to lung damage from chronic exposure to nanoparticles. The results of the nanoparticle study, published in 2009, embody news values that would make the study a prime candidate for press coverage, namely, novelty, negativity, controversy, and potential widespread impact. Nevertheless, mentions of the event in traditional English-language print media were nearly nonexistent. Online media, on the other hand, gave the story greater coverage. This case study exemplifies why online media may not be bound to the same issue attention cycle that print media are for controversial scientific events.
Risk Analysis, 2011
Studies that investigate how the mass media cover risk issues often assume that certain character... more Studies that investigate how the mass media cover risk issues often assume that certain characteristics of content are related to specific risk perceptions and behavioral intentions. However, these relationships have seldom been empirically assessed. This study tests the influence of three message-level media variables-risk precision information, sensational information, and self-efficacy information-on perceptions of risk, individual worry, and behavioral intentions toward a pervasive health risk. Results suggest that more precise risk information leads to increased risk perceptions and that the effect of sensational information is moderated by risk precision information. Greater self-efficacy information is associated with greater intention to change behavior, but none of the variables influence individual worry. The results provide a quantitative understanding of how specific characteristics of informational media content can influence individuals' responses to health threats of a global and uncertain nature.
Brazil is the second world producer of transgenic crops. However, intense controversies were arou... more Brazil is the second world producer of transgenic crops. However, intense controversies were around their introduction in the country. This study analyzes media coverage of GM crops in two elite Brazilian newspapers, Folha de S. Paulo and O Globo, in 2003, the “Year of Controversy”, a period of intense political debate over the issue. Using issue attention cycle and media frame building as theoretical frameworks, we combine quantitative content analysis and in-depth individual interviews with journalists to identify the main influencers of media coverage. Our study revealed that the two newspapers covered the issue differently than in the United States. North American newspapers tended to emphasize dramatic elements when the GM issue was discussed in the political arena; in Brazil, technical elements were a major focus in the stories.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
We use an experiment with a nationally representative sample of the u.S. population to examine ho... more We use an experiment with a nationally representative sample of the u.S. population to examine how political partisans consume and process media reports about nanotechnology-a scientific issue that is unfamiliar to most Americans. We manipulate the extent to which participants receive ideological cues contextualizing a news article, and follow their subsequent information seeking about nanotechnology. Our results provide insights into patterns of media use and how media use differs among people with varying political ideologies. When cues clarifying the political stakes of nanotechnology are made available, individuals are willing to read information from countervailing sources. When such cues are lacking, however, individuals avoid incongruent information and opt for headlines from attitudeconsistent sources. We explore variations in the circumstances under which ideological selectivity occurs and demonstrate that both confirmation bias and defensive avoidance are heightened under such conditions.
ABSTRACT Nanotechnology is an emerging technology poised to benefit society both technically and ... more ABSTRACT Nanotechnology is an emerging technology poised to benefit society both technically and socially, but as with any new advance, there is potential risk. This paper describes a novel deliberative exercise involving nanotechnology that engages the public in debate regarding the funding of nanotechnology-related research while also discussing potential risks and benefits of this emerging field of science. In a 2-h time frame, participants are provided with general background terminology and examples of advances in nanotechnology in 10 different research areas. The participants are then asked to reach consensus on how the funding should be distributed among these 10 areas. Overall, we found that participants gained factual knowledge and confidence in their knowledge. They valued learning about nanotechnology and the opportunity to discuss a real-world relevant topic with others.
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Papers by Dominique Brossard
for flood protection policy. A total of 255 undergraduate students participated in a 2 (ecological worldviews: balance-with-nature vs. humandomination-over-nature) x2 (media frames: harmony frame vs. mastery frame) between-subjects experiment. The findings indicate that both the balance-with-nature worldview and the human-domination-over-nature
worldview have significant impacts on preference for flood protection policy. Furthermore, the harmony frame amplified the effect of the balance-withnature
worldview in supporting a natural approach to flood protection. In contrast, the mastery frame amplified the effect of the human-dominationover-nature worldview on the preference for a structural approach to flood
protection. Implications are discussed.
for flood protection policy. A total of 255 undergraduate students participated in a 2 (ecological worldviews: balance-with-nature vs. humandomination-over-nature) x2 (media frames: harmony frame vs. mastery frame) between-subjects experiment. The findings indicate that both the balance-with-nature worldview and the human-domination-over-nature
worldview have significant impacts on preference for flood protection policy. Furthermore, the harmony frame amplified the effect of the balance-withnature
worldview in supporting a natural approach to flood protection. In contrast, the mastery frame amplified the effect of the human-dominationover-nature worldview on the preference for a structural approach to flood
protection. Implications are discussed.