dangerous disconnects? how public ......dangerous disconnects? how public discourse about...

DANGEROUS DISCONNECTS?HOW PUBLIC DISCOURSE ABOUT

NANOTECHNOLOGY IS MISSING THE POINT

@scimeplab@sarakyeo

Sara K. Yeo (skyeo@wisc.edu)Dominique BrossardDietram A. Scheufele

Michael Xenos

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Supported by the National Science Foundation (SES-DMR-0832760)

AN EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

Over 1,300 products worldwide– e.g., cookware, cosmetics, electronics

Recent studies– energy storage– drug delivery

Potential adverse effects on environment and human health

PERCEIVED BENEFITS

Scheufele, D. A., Corley, E. A., Dunwoody, S., Shih, T. J., Hillback, E., & Guston, D. H. (2007). Scientists worry about some risks more than the public. NatureNanotechnology, 2(12), 732-734. doi: 10.1038/nnano.2007.392.

PERCEIVED RISKS

Scheufele, D. A., Corley, E. A., Dunwoody, S., Shih, T. J., Hillback, E., & Guston, D. H. (2007). Scientists worry about some risks more than the public. NatureNanotechnology, 2(12), 732-734. doi: 10.1038/nnano.2007.392.

Scheufele, D. A., Corley, E. A., Dunwoody, S., Shih, T. J., Hillback, E., & Guston, D. H. (2007). Scientists worry about some risks more than the public. NatureNanotechnology, 2(12), 732-734. doi: 10.1038/nnano.2007.392.

IS LOWER EHS RISK PERCEPTIONREFLECTED IN PUBLIC DISCOURSE?

WHAT TOPICS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY AREBEING DISCUSSED?

Scheufele, D. A., Corley, E. A., Dunwoody, S., Shih, T. J., Hillback, E., & Guston, D. H. (2007). Scientists worry about some risks more than the public. NatureNanotechnology, 2(12), 732-734. doi: 10.1038/nnano.2007.392.

METHOD: OPINION MINING

Sentiment analysis of Twitter content– September 1, 2010 to February 28, 2013 (30 months)

Categories based on topic– Business– National security– Environment, health, and safety (EHS)– Health and medicine– Energy– Consumer products– Basic research

MEDIA, NANOTECHNOLOGY, AND…

… TWITTER

Rapid information dissemination– 140 million users worldwide– 340 million tweets per day

16% of Americans using Twitter (Rainie, 2013)– younger (18-29 years old)– likely to be early adopters– more “tech-savvy”

1 in 4 Americans “regularly or sometimes get news or news headlinesthrough Facebook, Twitter, or other social networking sites.” (PewResearch Center, 2011)

Pew Research Center. (2011). Press widely criticized, but trusted more than other information sources. The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.Rainie, L. (2013). The State of Facebook Pew Research Center Internet and American Life Project: Pew Research Center.

KEYWORDS

(nano OR nanotechnology OR nanotech OR nanoscale OR fullereneOR fullerenes OR buckminsterfullerenes OR "quantum dots" ORnanometers OR nanometers) AND -nanosecond AND -nanosecondsAND -apple AND -ipod AND -mp3 AND -ipods AND -mp3s AND -tataAND -ipad AND -ipads AND -iphone AND -iphones

Topic Example

Business Research and Markets: Growth Opportunities in Global NanomaterialsMarket 2011 ... – Virtual http://t.co/8d5N4z0X

National security @DARPA Military vehicles of the future will be made out ofgraphene/CN/buckypaper or some other bulk nanomaterial

Environment, health,and safety (EHS)

Is Sunscreen Toxic?: There is ongoing concern about the potentialtoxicity of nanoparticles of various materials,...http://bit.ly/am1oOd

Medicine/Health Researchers Construct RNA Nanoparticles To Safely Deliver Long-Lasting Therapy To Cells http://t.co/yQCtfT0 via @mnt_genetics

EnergyColloidal Quantum Dots Based Tandem Solar Cells Work In Full

Spectrum: Harnessing solar energy is the need of ho...http://bit.ly/mIFti4

Basic research Assembling nanoparticle catalysts with nanospheres for periodiccarbon nanotube structure growth http://bit.ly/fAiPgQ

Consumer products Kinetic Go Green Premium Nano Silver 14 Piece Food StorageContainer Set (Includes Lids and Containers) For Savings

PREVIOUS STUDIES ON TWITTER

Runge, K. K., Yeo, S. K., Cacciatore, M. A., Scheufele, D. A., Brossard, D., Xenos, M. A., . . . Su, L. Y.-F. (2013). Tweeting nano: How public discourse aboutnanotechnology develop in social media environments. Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 15(1381). doi: 10.1007/s11051-012-1381-8.

GOALS OF THIS STUDY

What topics of nanotechnology are being discussed among thesepresumably more “tech-savvy” individuals on Twitter?

Is lower EHS risk perception among public audiences reflected in Twitterdiscourse about nanotechnology?

FINDINGS

Total of 2,597,620 nanotechnology posts 2,075,498 relevant posts (79.9%)

PERCENT OF POSTS IN EACH CATEGORY

0

5

10

15

20

25

Business NationalSecurity

EHS Medicine/Health Energy Basic Research ConsumerProducts

Perce

nt of

total

relev

antp

osts

TOPICS DISCUSSED WERE NOT RELATEDTO SPECIFIC EVENTS

Volum

e of p

osts

Perce

nt of

relev

ant p

osts

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Disconnect between scientists’ and public risk perception

Relatively little Twitter discussion about EHS risks of nanotechnology

Public policy requires public input– Twitter as a space for public audiences to follow opinion leaders?

Potential for insufficient regulatory policies

DANGEROUS DISCONNECTS?HOW PUBLIC DISCOURSE ABOUT

NANOTECHNOLOGY IS MISSING THE POINT

@scimeplab@sarakyeo

Sara K. Yeo (skyeo@wisc.edu)Dominique BrossardDietram A. Scheufele

Michael Xenos

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Supported by the National Science Foundation (SES-DMR-0832760)