Communicating the way to the adoption of scientific technologies

How politicization of science affects public perceptions of energy technologies

2014-02-15

(Press-News.org) CHICAGO --- James N. Druckman has conducted extensive research on the effects of the politicization of science, which occurs when political interests shape the presentation of scientific facts to fit distinct models of "reality."

A paper on this research will be presented during a symposium held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14, at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Grand Ballroom A in the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

Druckman, the Payson S. Wild Professor in the department of political science at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University, was scheduled to present his research. However, in his absence, the presentation of the paper "When Can the Politicization of Science Affect Public Views of Health Innovations?" will be given by one of his co-authors.

Specifically, Druckman and his co-authors theorize that politicization generates anxiety and results in a status quo bias such that citizens feel uncertainty about what to believe and hence stick to the status quo. Consequently, politicization generates a substantial obstacle for any new scientific innovation as it enters the political and economic marketplace.

INFORMATION: The findings will be presented at the AAAS symposium titled "Using Social Science to Change Decisions and Improve Health Outcomes."

Also a faculty fellow with the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern, Druckman has conducted extensive research on political preference formation and communication. His recent work examines how citizens make political, economic and social decisions in various contexts. He also researches the relationship between citizens' preferences and public policy and how political elites make decisions under varying institutional conditions. (Source contact: James Druckman at druckman@northwestern.edu or office 847-491-7450) NORTHWESTERN NEWS: http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Study suggests sleep apnea may contribute to fatigue in multiple sclerosis

2014-02-15

DARIEN, IL – A new study provides evidence that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is highly prevalent in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and it suggests that OSA may be a contributor to the fatigue that is one of the most common and debilitating symptoms of MS. Results show that one-fifth of MS patients surveyed in a large tertiary MS practice carried a diagnosis of OSA, and more than half were found to have an elevated risk for OSA based on a validated screening tool. Further analysis showed that OSA risk was a significant predictor of fatigue severity, even after ...

Heinrich Jaeger to discuss physics of granular materials at AAAS meeting

2014-02-15

Pour sand from a bucket and it flows like a liquid, but stand on it and it supports weight like a solid. This unusual behavior is a property of granular materials, and it is one of the reasons Heinrich Jaeger, the William J. and Alicia Townsend Friedman Professor in Physics at the University of Chicago, has chosen to focus on these types of materials in his research. Jaeger will present a lecture on "Granular Matter: From Basic Questions to New Concepts and Applications," at the 2014 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The talk ...

Growing number of chemicals linked with brain disorders in children

2014-02-15

Boston, MA – Toxic chemicals may be triggering the recent increases in neurodevelopmental disabilities among children—such as autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and dyslexia—according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The researchers say a new global prevention strategy to control the use of these substances is urgently needed. The report will be published online February 15, 2014 in Lancet Neurology. "The greatest concern is the large numbers of children who are affected by toxic damage ...

Tired all the time: Could undiagnosed sleep problems be making MS patients' fatigue worse?

2014-02-15

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — People with multiple sclerosis (MS) might assume that the fatigue they often feel just comes with the territory of their chronic neurological condition. But a new University of Michigan study suggests that a large proportion of MS patients may have an undiagnosed sleep disorder that is also known to cause fatigue. And that disorder – obstructive sleep apnea – is a treatable condition. In the latest issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, researchers from the U-M Health System's Sleep Disorders Center report the results of a study involving ...

Can citrus ward off your risk of stroke?

2014-02-15

PHILADELPHIA – Eating foods that contain vitamin C may reduce your risk of the most common type of hemorrhagic stroke, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 66th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, April 26 to May 3, 2014. Vitamin C is found in fruits and vegetables such as oranges, papaya, peppers, broccoli and strawberries. Hemorrhagic stroke is less common than ischemic stroke, but is more often deadly. The study involved 65 people who had experienced an intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke, or a blood vessel rupture ...

Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia can reduce health care utilization and costs

2014-02-15

DARIEN, IL – A new study is the first to show decreases in health care utilization and costs following brief treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTI). Results show that sleep improved in 86 percent of insomnia patients who completed at least three sessions of CBTI. In the six months following treatment, health care utilization decreased and health care-related costs were reduced by more than $200 on average among treatment completers. "Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia is a highly effective treatment, and this study shows that a relatively ...

Is truth stranger than fiction? Yes, especially for science fiction

2014-02-15

CHICAGO – From warp drives to hyperspace, science fiction has continuously borrowed from, and sometimes anticipated, the state of the art in scientific progress. This has resulted in the perception that science and science fiction have a causal relationship, one finding direction from and fulfilling the science fantasy laid out before it. But that is rarely the case, according to Lawrence Krauss, a Foundation professor in the School of Space and Earth Exploration and the Department of Physics at Arizona State University. No doubt, science fiction has taken inspiration ...

Citizenship education goes digital

2014-02-15

WACO, Texas (Feb. 14, 2014) --Can playing online video games help students learn civics education? According to Baylor University researchers, the answer is yes. Brooke Blevins, Ph.D., assistant professor of curriculum and instruction and Karon LeCompte, Ph.D., assistant professor of curriculum and instruction in Baylor's School of Education studied the effectiveness of iCivics, a free online website founded by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor that teaches civics concepts using 19 educational games. The study, published in The Journal of Social Studies ...

Scripps researchers recommend mobile compression device to prevent DVT after joint surgery

2014-02-15

LA JOLLA, Calif. – Research from The Shiley Center for Orthopaedic Research and Education at Scripps Clinic could change how patients are treated to prevent blood clots after joint replacement surgery. A study published as the lead article in the current issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery determined that after lower extremity joint replacement surgery a mobile compression device was just as effective as blood thinners in preventing deep vein thrombosis (DVT), but without negative side effects including bleeding complications. The multicenter study, led by ...

Clinical trial success influenced by biomarker- and receptor-targeted therapies in NSCLC

2014-02-15

DENVER – Over the past decade, a great clinical focus has been directed at developing new and innovative therapies for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). An analysis of clinical trials evaluating these therapies demonstrates that the cumulative success rate for new agents for advanced NSCLC is lower than the industry-estimated rate. However, biomarker- and receptor-targeted therapies were found to substantially increase clinical trial success. The analysis was designed to evaluate the risk of clinical trial failure in advanced (stage IIIb-IV) NSCLC drug development ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

ASTRO issues update to clinical guideline on radiation therapy for rectal cancer

Mount Sinai opens the Hamilton and Amabel James Center for Artificial Intelligence and Human Health to transform health care by spearheading the AI revolution