Thesis (Ph.D.)--Drexel University, 2008. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-91).

Thesis advisor: George M. Barnett / Lifelong science learning is important for making informed decisions on science topics, and there is a need to engage broader and more diverse audiences with science. One opportunity for engagement occurs when students share science topics with a public audience. Research indicates this interaction can have benefits for students, but little is known about the impact it may have on audience members’ thoughts about science. Youth are different from typical sources of science information, and may elicit different reactions. This dissertation examines the impact youth sources may have on adults’ perceptions of and responses to science topics. Young adults (N = 399) were randomly assigned to one of two scenarios. Both scenarios stated two individuals would describe research they had done about local air quality on the news. One scenario identified the individuals as local high school students, and the other as research scientists from a local institution. Dependent variables included perceptions of the warmth and competence of the presenters, expectations of the quality of the information they would share, willingness to take action based on that information, and general trust in scientists. A subset of participants (N=22) was selected for cognitive interviews and asked to explain the thoughts that influenced their survey responses. Results showed multiple reactions to the scenario. Three groups were identified in the perceptions data: one expressed trust in the presenters, one expressed skepticism, and one based their perceptions on personal experiences doing science. Participants said intertwined thoughts about trust in scientists and assumptions about the presenters’ intentions influenced perceptions, with an overall assumption that youth would have good intentions while adults might not. Participants did not appear to separate their expectations of the information from the people who would share it. However, their willingness to take action was related to the action, not the presenter or information. Findings suggest youth may be an avenue for engaging individuals who have lower trust in typical science information sources. Implications for science education and communication are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on July 17, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p.150-155). Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2008. / "Graduate Program in Political Science." Includes bibliographical references (p. 242-262).

Thesis (M.S. in Computer Science)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2010. / Thesis Advisor(s): Martell, Craig. Second Reader: Anand, Pranav. "March 2010." Description based on title screen as viewed on April 26, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Persuasion, Persuasion Detection, Hostage Negotiations, Cialdini, Cohen, Cohen's Kappa. Includes bibliographical references (p. 73-75). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University

<p> Dissemination of news and information is often challenging in small, rural communities, where sprawling geography and limited resources can limit the effectiveness of communication systems. While traditional media and local organizations attempt to inform the public through newspapers, flyers, radio, social media, and word of mouth, no one means of communication is entirely successful in reaching the masses. Rural institutions and organizations often lack a means of communicating current news to members of small towns due to the void of an integrated information infrastructure, or <i>infostructure </i>. </p><p> Borrowing from the framework of Communication Infrastructure Theory and previously suggested models for community infrastructure, this study was an effort to better understand how people in this small town communicate&mdash;how they create, disseminate and prefer to receive information about the community. This exploratory, qualitative, case study examined communications in one small, rural town to determine whether or not the library might be able to partner with local media, resident networks, and other organizations in the community, to maximize available resources, eliminate duplication, and increase overall effectiveness in the communication infrastructure. This new model would place the public library, or anchor institution, at the center of the storytelling network, as the hub for local news and information. </p><p> Through interviews and focus groups with 32 members of the community under study, I identified ways in which people communicate, connections between storytelling agents within the local storytelling network, and voids that, if addressed might improve the community&rsquo;s ability to communicate in general. This study suggested ways that libraries might serve a role as the anchor of anchors for communication in rural communities.</p><p>

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University

The democratisation of science - shifting science governance, work opportunities and ideologies away from the exclusive domains of elite minorities and into the hands of the people - is an important aim of science communication. If communication products such as television series can influence people�s relationships with science in terms of their career choices, belief systems and feelings of ownership over science, then it is important for science communicators to understand what television series are saying about science. In this thesis I examine representations of science in the long-running science fiction television series, 'Doctor Who'. In particular I analyse the social, cultural, political and economic aspects of this representation to assess its consistency with four goals for the democratisation of science: goals that I name franchise (lay empowerment in science governance), equality (equal access to opportunities in science workplaces and careers), progress (democratic choice about the role of technology in our lives and our societies) and enlightenment (democratic freedom to choose our beliefs and worldviews about the universe). Analysing the more than 200 'Doctor Who' serials broadcast between 1963 and 2008, I first give an overview of broad trends in the way the program has dealt with science themes and characters across four decades (1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 2000s), finding significant changes over that period. I then analyse in greater theoretical depth three ways that debates about the democratisation of science manifest within 'Doctor Who'. I show that the program varies in the degree to which it is consistent with the goals for the democratisation of science. First, I investigate plotlines that depict struggles for science governance within societies and that show people trying to achieve democratic outcomes by renegotiating their relationship to science. Within that discussion I show that the literary construct of �the hero� can obstruct democratic outcomes in the struggles for science governance that disenfranchised characters face. In this regard, I link �the hero� to the social construct of �the expert� in real world science, which has also been critiqued as obstructive to democratisation ends. Second, I investigate real-world public dissent to ideologies of science as they are expressed allegorically in the program. Such expressions manifest through themes that counterpose one ideological position on science (such as liberal humanism) to another ideological position (such as technorationalism) in the form of a battle between archetypal characters who embody these principles. Responding to the work of scholars who have elaborated this point, I show that such expressions of dissent to science can be twisted and undermined to serve scientistic ideals through the clever manipulation of the literary imagery that is generally associated with antiscience protest. Third and finally, I investigate the role-modelling function of scientist and non-scientist characters in 'Doctor Who': do they role-model empowered or disempowered positions for audiences within the institution of science? In concert with the literature I show that some structural elements of fiction - including the presence of a fallible scientist hero or an ensemble cast - can contribute positively to the capacity of characters to fulfil a positive role-modelling function that encourages equality in the science workplace and open access to science for all.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Murdoch University, 2006. / Thesis submitted to the Division of Arts. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 312-320).