| Newswise
— In recent years the term “nanotechnology” has appeared
with dramatically increased frequency in newspapers
and news magazines. From January 1, 1998, to January
1, 2003, use of the term in print media increased by
more that 400 percent.
“With
potential nanotechnology applications across a broad
spectrum ranging from disease treatment to computer
memory, to environmental pollution control, public
awareness of the field is clearly growing fast,” says
Brenton Faber, associate professor of Communication
& Media at Clarkson University. “But little research
has tracked, categorized or sought to understand how
nanoscale science and technology is represented in
written media.”
Sponsored
by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Faber and
a team of research assistants are now analyzing how
nanoscience and nanotechnology are being defined,
presented and perceived. This information is important,
he explains, because the media plays a major role
in “framing” issues, such as a new technology’s “promise”
or “threat,” in the public mind. And those public
perceptions lead to political agendas and government
policies.
“By
understanding this media presentation,” Faber
points out, “scientists will be better able to
define their own nanoscience agenda.” He notes,
for example, a spike in attention following publication
of Michael Crichton’s novel Prey, which depicts
potential horror from self-replicating, out-of-control
nanobots.
The
media study is related to an NSF-sponsored interdisciplinary
undergraduate curriculum project in nanomaterials
science and engineering in which Faber is collaborating
with Clarkson University Chemical Engineering professors
Ian Suni and Donald Rasmussen. They are producing
three modules that will be available worldwide via
hypermedia software in 2006.
Faber’s
research interests include not only the areas of discourse
analysis related to social and technological change
and workplace communication, but he is also interested
in communication and organizational change. In 2002
he published Community Action & Organizational
Change: Image, narrative and identity.
Clarkson
University, located in Potsdam, New York, is an independent
university with a reputation for developing innovative
leaders in engineering, business and the arts and
sciences. Its academically rigorous, collaborative
culture involves 2,700 undergraduates and 400 graduate
students in hands-on team projects, multidisciplinary
research, and real-world challenges. Many faculty
members achieve international recognition for their
scholarship and research, and teaching is a priority
at every level. For more information, visit http://www.clarkson.edu.
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