Invited to be a Spotlight Speaker at the SISTC2017 Conference (http://www.sistc.sg/conference_speakers.html).

Here’s an abstract of my talk:

Decoding Science Communication: Media Effects on Public Perception of Science & Technology

Expansion in online and social media information sources makes it easier for people to access content about science and technology. This talk will emphasize the communication tools that journalists and science communicators commonly use to convey content about science and technology to the public. Using empirical studies in communication research, I will highlight the theoretical processes, such as the agenda-setting effect (“media shapes what audience think is important”) and media framing effects (“media affects how audience perceive an issue”) on audience perception. Both local and international controversial scientific issues such as climate change and nuclear energy, as well as emerging technologies such as nanotechnology, will be used as examples to illustrate the various media effects. I will describe the social-psychological mechanism behind how the public forms perceptions and make decisions about science and technology. The ultimate goal of the talk is to allow teachers to critically use science in the media to engage students in socio-scientific issues, and get students to be critical and reflective consumers of science content in the media.