Low, David, and Eagle, Lynne (2019) What’s wrong with science? Has science become a (contested) belief system? Social Business, 9 (2). pp. 105-126.

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Abstract

Purpose: Disagreement with scientific evidence is manifest across a wide range of issues impacting on health, well-being and environmental issues. The purpose of this discussion is to review the nature of the disagreement across three broad sectors - climate change, vaccine hesitancy and adoption of renewable energy technology - highlighting commonalities in the rejection of scientific consensus and in the way opposition is organised and communicated.

Approach: The paper reviews the literature relating to scientific disagreement, the challenges of scientific certainty, weaknesses in relevant theories, and a range of challenges to effective scientific communication. A brief analysis of government and sceptics’ websites is provided to illustrate these challenges.

Findings: There are distinct differences between the approaches taken by governmental communicators and sceptics, with implications for the way that risk and uncertainty should be communicated in future. Recommendations for improving communications to lay audiences are provided together with directions for future research.

Item ID:	58255
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2044-9860
Keywords:	policy implications, risk communication, scepticism, science communication
Copyright Information:	© Westburn Publishers Ltd.
Date Deposited:	14 Jan 2020 21:29
FoR Codes:	35 COMMERCE, MANAGEMENT, TOURISM AND SERVICES > 3506 Marketing > 350604 Marketing communications @ 100%
SEO Codes:	91 ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK > 9104 Management and Productivity > 910403 Marketing @ 100%
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