Thesis (MPhil) -- Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: When reporting on new research or claims by scientists, the science journalist faces a number of pitfalls. For a number of reasons the journalist might produce a story which is inaccurate or misleading. Thus, when a scientist claims to have found a cure for cancer, the journalist needs to check himself before delivering the story. In this paper I will examme a number of issues concerning the reporting of frontier science, or new research. In this realm it is particularly difficult to distinguish more reliable science from less reliable science. The problem is compounded by the vested interests of scientists, pharmaceutical companies and other interest groups. What the science journalist writes, influences public opinion, conceptions about science, and often affects people's decision-making regarding medical issues. There is thus a clear ethical aspect to science reporting. I will try to show that an understanding of how science works is crucial to reporting science responsibly. In this regard the distinction between frontier and textbook science is of particular importance. Theoretical distinctions such as these provide useful tools for the interpretation of claims from the frontier. The first chapter, then, will deal with theoretical concepts pertaining to how SCIence works. In the second we will examine a number of examples of how reporting from the frontiers can go wrong. We will argue that a better understanding of science might have prevented many of the inaccuracies and misleading claims examined. In chapter three we will attempt to list what can go wrong, and examine some of the possible consequences, thus outlining the ethical aspect of science reporting. Finally we will make a few suggestions and outline some guidelines which might contribute to more accurate and responsible reporting from the frontiers. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Wanneer daar oor nuwe navorsing of aansprake deur wetenskaplikes berig moet word, word die wetenskapsverslaggewer gekonfronteer deur 'n aantal moontlike slaggate. Om verskeie redes kan daar onakkuraat of misleidend verslag gedoen word. Wanneer 'n wetenskaplike dus berig dat daar 'n kuur vir kanker gevind is, moet die joernalis homself eers aan sekere beginsels herinner. In hierdie skrywe sal ek 'n aantal kwessies te doen met die beriggewing van pionierswetenskap, of nuwe wetenskap, ondersoek. Op hierdie terrein is dit veral moeilik om tussen betroubare en minder betroubare wetenskap te onderskei. Die probleem word vererger deur die belange van wetenskaplikes, farmaseutiese maatskappye en ander belangegroepe. Dit wat deur die wetenskapsjoernalis berig word, beïnvloed publieke opinie en beskouings oor die wetenskap, en raak dikwels mense se besluitneming rakende mediese kwessies. Daar is dus 'n duidelike etiese aspek aan wetenskapsverslaggewing verbonde. Ek gaan poog om te wys dat 'n begrippnj van hoe wetenskap werk, onmisbaar is vir verantwoordelike wetenskapsverslaggewing. In hierdie verband is die onderskeid tussen pioniers- en handboekwetenskap van besondere belang. Teoretiese onderskeide soos dié verskaf bruikbare gereedskap VIr die interpretasie van aansprake uit die pionierswetenskap. In die eerste hoofstuk sal 'n aantal teoretiese konsepte oor die werking van wetenskap verduidelik word. In die tweede hoofstuk sal 'n aantal voorbeelde van waar verslaggewing van [N4]pionierswetenskap verkeerd geloop het, bespreek word. Ek gaan argumenteer dat In beter begrippisj van wetenskap moontlik baie van dié onakkuraathede en misleidende aansprake sou kon voorkom het. Hoofstuk drie sal dan poog om te lys wat verkeerd kan gaan, en sal sommige van die moontlike gevolge ondersoek. Hierdeur sal die etiese aspek van wetenskapsverslaggewing dus uitgestippel word. Aan die einde sal ek 'n paar voorstelle maak, en probeer om riglyne uit te stip wat kan bydra tot meer akkurate en verantwoordelike verslaggewing van pionierswetenskap.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Science forms an integral part of our lives. It is tied to social practices, public policies and political affairs. Yet, very little is reported on it unless it is making hard news. This thesis was written from the premise that the public requires as much accurate information as possible to make choices and decisions. In many instances, they solely depend on the news media to supply that information. Journalists have a responsibility to reflect and explain the complexity of a world that is increasingly influenced by science. In Namibia the establishment of conservancies under the CBNRM programme of government, have an influence on many rural people's lives who would previously not have been too concerned about science news. Through the Media and Publicity Strategy of the CBNRM programme, communication of the environmental message of conservancies has been successful to a large extent, especially in terms of reportage in the local press. The messages conveyed in the press have been overwhelmingly positive and supportive of the system. From the perspective of the level of journalism practised in this regard, the effort has not been that great. Publications in Namibia operate on very limited budgets and have to manage with a minimum number of reporters. This means journalists are expected to cover a range of different beats, and are seldom offered the opportunity to develop as specialist writers in specific fields. The field of science and environment is generally not regarded as an area that produces hard news on a regular basis. This was evident in the articles reviewed for the purposes of this thesis. The majority of stories were written from press releases or field trips organised by the CBNRM programme organisers. Stories that were self-generated were not very well researched, or did not follow through on potential hard news angles or ideas. In a world of war, hunger, poverty, diseases and many other tragedies, the story of the development of communal conservancies is a wonderfully positive story that highlights the success of sustainable development, the upliftment of the rural poor and achievements in terms of conservation. It is a welcome change for journalists to tell a positive story to the world. However, as journalists should know, every story has two sides. The purpose is not necessarily to find fault with the conservancy philosophy or to shoot it down or find sensationalism where it is not due. Their role is to present a full, unbiased account of the facts so that their readers can make up their own minds on whether they support the concept, or not. If journalists failed to inform their readers about the problems experienced by the implementation of conservancies, then they have failed to give their readers the full picture. The conclusions drawn in this thesis on the level of science or environmental reporting in Namibia, serve to emphasise the urgent need for specialist writers in the profession. A handful of dedicated and committed science writers that increasingly raises the level of reporting will make a vast difference in the fields of science and environment in Namibia. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Wetenskap vorm 'n integrale deel van ons lewens. Dit is gebind aan sosiale gebruike, openbare beleidsrigtings en politieke sake. Tog word daar baie min daaroor geskryf, behalwe wanneer dit harde nuus is. Hierdie tesis is geskryf vanuit die oogpunt dat die publiek soveel as moontlik akkurate inligting nodig het om keuses te maak. In baie gevalle vertrou hulle uitsluitlik op die nuus media om daardie inligting te verskaf. Joernaliste het 'n verantwoordelikheid om 'n wêreld wat al hoe meer beïnvloed word deur wetenskap te verduidelik. In Namibië het die daarstelling van bewareas deur die CBNRM-program van die regering, 'n groot invloed op die lewens van baie plattelandse mense se lewens gehad wat voorheen nie veel sou omgegee het oor wetenskapnuus nie. Die daarstelling van bewareas het 'n hele nuwe wêreld met baie nuwe uitdagings tot by hulle voordeur gebring. Dit was belangrik om hulle genoegsaam in te lig oor die voor- en nadele van die stelsel om hulle in staat te stelom te besluit of hulle wou betrokke raak of nie. Die boodskap wat die pers oorgedra het, was oorweldigend positief met baie steun vir die stelsel. Vanuit 'n joernalistieke perspektief gesien, was die beriggewing rue so noemenswaardig nie. Publikasies in Namibië werk met baie beperkte begrotings en moet klaarkom met 'n minimum aantal verslaggewers. Dit beteken daar word van joernaliste verwag om oor 'n wye verskeidenheid onderwerpe te skryf. Wetenskap- en omgewingsberiggewing word oor die algemeen gesien as 'n gebied wat nie werklik harde nuus op 'n gereelde basis produseer nie. Dit het duidelik gebleik uit die artikels wat ontleed is vir die doel van die tesis. Die meerderheid van die stories is geskryf van persverklarings en uitstappies georganiseer deur die CBNRM. Die stories wat wel self gegenereer is, was nie baie goed nagevors rue. In 'n wêreld van oorlog, hongersnood, armoede en siektes, is die ontwikkeling van . bewareas 'n wonderlike positiewe storie wat dien as bewys van die sukses van volhoubare ontwikkel, die opheffmg van plattelandse arm mense en wat bereik kan word met bewaring. Dit is 'n welkome verandering vir joernaliste om vir 'n slag 'n positiewe storie aan die wêreld te vertel. Maar, soos joernaliste behoort te weet, het elke storie twee kante. Die doel van 'n joernalis is nie noodwendig om fout te vind met die filosofie van bewareas nie, of om dit af te skiet of sensasie te soek waar dit nie nodig is nie. Hulle rol is om 'n volledige, onsydige verslag van die feite weer te gee sodat hulle lesers self kan besluit of hulle die konsep ondersteun of nie. As joernaliste daarin gefaal het om hulle lesers in te lig oor die probleme wat ondervind is met die implementering van bewareas, dan het hulle daarin gefaal om die volledige prentjie aan hulle lesers te skets. Die slotsom van die tesis oor die vlak van wetenskap- en omgewingsjoernalistiek in Namibië is dat daar 'n dringende tekort aan spesialis skrywers in die professie is. Selfs net 'n handvol toegewyde wetenskapskrywers sal al klaar 'n groot verbetering bring in die kwaliteit van verslaggewing in die wetenskap- en omgewingsvakgebied in Namibië.

Avec l’essor des technologies de l’information et de la communication, la société et les organisations se transforment, serecomposent tous secteurs confondus. On appelle communément disruption, le changement de paradigme économique etorganisationnel lié aux TIC, plus précisément, à la digitalisation des processus.Les modes d’échanges entre les hommes ont évolué. Notre mémoire de master 2 (Numérique, recomposition organisationnelles et appropriation des TIC, Gravereaux, 2013) nous aura permis de comprendre que les véritables changements qui opèrent en organisation se situent au-delà des usages des espaces numériques de travail et des outils TIC.Notre thèse s’inscrit dans la continuité de ce travail préliminaire qui nous avait offert de questionner, de manière introductive, quelle pouvait être la portée de la dimension politique dans l’appropriation des technologies numériques.Cette thèse de doctorat a pour but de saisir, d’identifier, d’analyser et de conceptualiser, tant sur le plan théorique que pratique, le processus de transition organisationnelle qui opère dans les établissements de santé traversés par l’informatisation du dossier de soin et par la maturation des Systèmes d’Information Hospitalier. Après avoir compris qu’il fallait dépasser les usages pour comprendre l’appropriation des TIC, nous orienterons nos réflexions et enquêtes de façon à confronter ce point de vue et à lui donner une portée opérationnelle.Les phénomènes communicationnels liés aux changements et aux transformations en organisations constituent un élément central de ces recompositions. Le chercheur doit enquêter pour questionner et saisir ces phénomènes à l’aune de la compréhension particulière d’un établissement de santé.Le regard communicationnel porté sur un espace, un vécu, en transition, tentera de mettre à jour les conditions qui participent de l’appropriation des nouveaux outils liés à la traçabilité des soins : la forme informatisée du dossier patient.Notre thèse de doctorat se propose d’apporter une contribution à des problématiques de recherches actuelles en questionnant l’individu au travail au regard des questions politico-organisationnelles liées à l’appropriation du dossier patient informatisé.Ces acteurs que nous sommes venus « étudié », soignants, médecins, personnels administratif, sont au coeur, vivent, en même temps que l’organisation, ce phénomène de disruption qui affecte l’intégralité du dispositif organisationnel.À partir d’une rupture disruptive, de nouvelles formes d’organisation du travail, liées aux changements de pratiques del’information médicale, apparaissent, émerge des dissonances. De la même façon, pour accompagner cette organisation émergente, les formes et normes de management en santé, sont amenées à se recomposer et donc à se spécialiser.Nous assistons à une recomposition globale de la Santé, dont les composantes du dispositif tendent à faire de la contribution, de la collaboration, de l’autonomie et de la traduction, les nouveaux fondamentaux du management en organisations de santé accompagnant la métamorphose digitale des routines des acteurs. / With the growth of information and communication technologies, society and organizations are transforming, recomposing all sectors combined. The common paradigm shift is to change the economic and organizational paradigm linked to ICT, more precisely, to the digitalization of processes.The modes of exchange between men have evolved. Our Master 2 thesis (Digital, Organizational Reorganization andAppropriation of ICTs, Gravereaux, 2013) allowed us to understand that the real changes that operate in organization arebeyond the use of digital workspaces and ICT tools.Our thesis is part of the continuation of this preliminary work which offered us to question, in an introductory way, what could be the scope of the political dimension in the appropriation of digital technologies.This doctoral thesis aims at capturing, identifying, analyzing and conceptualizing, both theoretically and practically, the process of organizational transition that operates in the healthcare institutions through which the computerization of the care file And by the maturation of Hospital Information Systems. Having understood that we need to go beyond the uses to understand ICT appropriation, we will orient our reflections and investigations in order to confront this point of view and to give it an operational scope.The communicationa phenomena linked to changes and transformations in organizations are a central element of theserecompositions. The researcher must investigate and question these phenomena in terms of the particular understanding of a healthcare institution.The communicative look at a space, a experience, in transition, will try to update the conditions that participate in the appropriation of the new tools related to the traceability of care: the computerized form of the patient record.Our doctoral thesis proposes to make a contribution to current research questions by questioning the individual at work withregard to the politico-organizational issues related to the appropriation of the computerized patient record.These actors, who have come to be "studied", caregivers, doctors and administrative staff, are at the heart of this phenomenon of disruption, which affects the entire organizational system, at the same time as the organization.From a disruptive rupture, new forms of work organization, linked to changes in the practices of medical information, emerge, emerging from dissonances. In the same way, to support this emerging organization, the forms and standards of health management, are led to recompose and therefore to specialize.We are witnessing a global recomposition of health, whose components of the system tend to make contribution, collaboration, autonomy and translation, new fundamentals of management in health organizations accompanying the digital metamorphosis of routines actors.

The concept of the invisible college is a key focus of scientific communication research with many studies on this topic in the literature. However, while such studies have contributed to an understanding of the invisible college, they have not adequately explained the interaction of social and structural processes in this phenomenon. As a consequence, past research has described the invisible college differently based on researchers’ perspectives, resulting in misinterpretations or inconsistent definitions of the relevant social and structural processes. Information science and related disciplines have focused on the structural processes that lead to scholarly products or works while placing less emphasis on the social processes. To advance understanding of the invisible college and its dimensions (including both social processes and structural processes), a proposed model (Modern Invisible College Model, MICM) has been built based on the history of the invisible college and Lievrouw’s (1989) distinction between social and structural processes. The present study focuses on the social processes of informal communication between scholars via social media, rather than on the structural processes that lead to scholarly products or works. A developed survey and an employed quantitative research method were applied for data collection. The research population involved 77 scholars from the Institute of Public Administration (IPA), in Saudi Arabia. Descriptive statistics, frequency and percentage were conducted for each statement. Means and standard deviations were calculated. The results indicate that the majority of participants heavily use social media for scientific communication purposes. Also, the results confirm that scholars consider social media to be an effective and appropriate tool for scientific communication. Seven factors were found in the findings to have positive correlations with uses and gratifications theory and the use of social media. This research contributes to and benefits scholars, reference groups (i.e., the invisible college itself), and institutions, and provides insight about the systematic development of indices for the use of informal communication channels.

No description available.

This thesis examines the rhetorical, analytical, and critical efficacy of reflexivity and sociological theory as means for reconciling the normative and descriptive functions of the rhetoric of science. In attempting to define a separate research domain within Science Studies, rhetoric of science has borrowed Strong Program and constructivist principles and descriptions of scientific practice from the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge (SSK) as a basis for analyzing scientific discourse. While epistemological claims in the social sciences have been considered inherently self-referential and subject to reflexive analysis and critique, rhetoricians have generally taken these claims on face value and applied them to a treatment of scientific practice. Accordingly, rhetoricians have maintained a natural ontological attitude to sociological theories and descriptions supporting an understanding of scientific discourse as implicitly rhetorical. Recently, however, the concept of "rhetoric" in rhetoric of science has come under scrutiny. This thesis will connect arguments involving the relation of the "irreducibly social" nature of science, to a concept of scientific discourse as rhetorical "without remainder,” to the philosophical commitments of reflexive analysis. Stipulations as to the universal presence and influence of social and rhetorical forces in science substitute, I argue, for a conception of the scientific rhetor as a social type. Although I do not mystify either scientific discourse or practice, I wish to provide grounds for determining whether, given claims about the nature and relation of scientific discourse and practice, rhetorical analyses can be considered either trivial or substantive, descriptive or normative, or even rhetorical or social. / Master of Science

The aim of this study was to investigate factors affecting the adoption of open access in research activities within Tanzanian public universities in order to device mechanisms of enhancing the use of this mode of scholarly communication. The study adopted the UTAUT model to formulate an open access research model comprising of six constructs and five moderators for guidance of this investigation. A triangulation approach for data gathering was adopted. In the first instance, a semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 398 respondents selected using the stratified random sampling from a population of 1088 university researchers from six public universities in Tanzania. The interview involving 63 policy makers and structured records review were also conducted to complement the questionnaire survey. The descriptive and binary logistic regression statistics of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) were used for data analysis. The study established that majority of the policy makers (90.5%) and researchers (72.1%) were aware of open access. Attitude, awareness, effort expectancy, and performance expectancy were established as the key determinants for researchers’ behavioural intention of open access usage while age, awareness, behavioural intention, facilitating conditions and social influence were found to significantly affect researchers’ actual usage of open access. It was concluded that researchers’ and policy makers’ general perceptions about open access were very positive signifying the acceptance of this mode of scholarly communication in the study area. Current poor research conditions and researchers’ low Internet self-efficacy such as inadequate information search and online publishing skills were cited as the main hindrances for researchers to use open access in scholarly communication. The study recommends institutionalisation of open access publishing in Tanzanian public universities and other similar research institutions so as to improve the dissemination of research output emanating from such institutions. Six areas for further research to establish more insights regarding the feasibility for open access development in the country are also recommended. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

The risks and opportunities that climate change presents for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) have been largely overlooked by previous research (Schaefer et al. 2011, Williams & Schaefer 2013). The subsequent lack of knowledge in this field makes a meaningful, profitable and sustainable engagement of SMEs with climate change challenging. Current research has difficulty explaining (1) why SMEs rarely engage with climate change (2) how climate change is currently communicated to SMEs and (3) how SMEs overcome the knowledge gap between business practice and climate change science (cf. Hoffman 2004, 2006, Hart 2007, Goodall 2008). In this thesis I critically examine 31 SMEs which engage with climate change knowledges, 5 Innovation-Support-Organizations (ISOs) which communicate climate change knowledges and 2 business-led communities of practice that discuss climate change-related business practices. Over a three-year period, I explore why and how business leaders approach the knowledge gap between climate change science and business practice, drawing on a variety of ethnographic research methods: (1) in-depth semi-structured and open interviews; (2) participant observations; (3) practitioner's workshops; and (4) an online survey. My research demonstrates that the participating ISOs communicate climate change in an overly simplistic way. The participating ISOs focus on persuading business leaders to engage with climate change. The participating business leaders who hear this persuasive message are already willing to engage with climate change. Their motivations to engage are lay-knowledge-dependent, derived from personal values, space and place identity. What the participating business leaders require is practical advice on how to mitigate the impact of, and adapt to, climate change, and they therefore try to overcome the limitations of current climate change communication through forming and joining communities of practice. By doing this, they can make sense of climate change in specialist niche communities and benefit from social belief systems. To enhance the number of SMEs engaging with climate change, I recommend that the participating ISOs target the personal values of business leaders and actively use these specialist niche communities niches within which the participating business leaders develop business practice to learn about climate change-related business practices themselves. Overall, my PhD shows that to create meaningful, profitable and sustainable engagement with climate change, business leaders and ISOs, as well as governments and society, need to address their "confusion and anxiety about the goals, ambitions and destinies [they] foresee" for themselves (Hulme 2013: 298).

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, August 2014. / The general poor performance in physical science in South Africa is a cause for concern. The reasons for this situation includes lack of basic content knowledge by science teachers, unprofessional attitudes, ineffective teaching approaches, lack of resources and failure to understand the language of science by the learners. This study investigated South African grade 12 learners’ meanings of everyday words when used in science context. The study focused on grade 12 physical science learners from four different government secondary schools in Johannesburg. These learners had different home languages and socio-economic background. Data was obtained through a questionnaire given to learners followed by group interviews with the learners. A face-to-face interview with each physical science teacher from each school was also conducted. This study reveals that learners face difficulties with meanings of everyday words when used in science context as was reflected by their response in the questionnaire. The physical science teachers from the four secondary schools were not aware that everyday words (nontechnical words) are misunderstood by the learners when they are teaching them. As such teachers were not explaining the meanings of these words to learners in their context of use. Also the teachers did not know the difference between technical words and non-technical words. The study seeks to make the science teachers aware of this problem so that they can take time to explain the meanings of these words when teaching and this might improve understanding of science concepts. It is hoped that if there is shared meaning of words used in the instructional language between the teacher and learners it would improve the general performance in physical science.

Natural resource decisions require consideration at many levels, ranging from how one invertebrate will be affected by a nearby road, to how an entire watershed will be transformed by a massive clearcut. Considerations reach farther than just the local ecological community-human communities, economies, and future impacts on the communities and economies must also be considered. Integral to decision-making is having the correct information, which best comes from effective communication. Because scientific results are frequently used in natural resource decision-making, communicating science effectively is particularly important. In the context of natural resource decision-making, this study examines how Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) scientists in the Pacific Northwest view communication actions for disseminating scientific research results. Secondary survey data were used with over 150 surveys returned for an 82% response rate. Perspectives on the importance of communication were analyzed with data illustrating socio-demographic information and theoretical scientific attitudes. The results support the proposition that many scientists find more participatory, holistic communication actions involving the extended peer community to be very important. Certain variables, including age, theoretical attitude, and organization of employment, significantly affect the degree of importance reported by the scientists and can be used to predict responses for specific areas of communication. / Graduation date: 2004