Scientists as public communicators : individual- and institutional-level motivations and barriers for public communication in Singapore

This study identifies the outreach activities that scientists engage in, as well as their perceived motivations and barriers towards such activities. It examines the forms of communication training that Singapore-based scientists have undergone and the types of communication training they would like...

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Main Authors: Ho, Shirley S., Looi, Jiemin, Goh, Tong Jee
Other Authors: Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/142867
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-1428672020-07-06T06:10:13Z Scientists as public communicators : individual- and institutional-level motivations and barriers for public communication in Singapore Ho, Shirley S. Looi, Jiemin Goh, Tong Jee Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information Social sciences::Communication Outreach Activities Science and Technology This study identifies the outreach activities that scientists engage in, as well as their perceived motivations and barriers towards such activities. It examines the forms of communication training that Singapore-based scientists have undergone and the types of communication training they would like to receive. Five focus groups were conducted with scientists across scientific disciplines from public universities and research institutes who engaged in direct and mediated outreach activities. Overall, the lack of time and institutional constraints were the main barriers to outreach activities. Their desire to impact public welfare and secure research funds were primary motivators to conduct outreach activities. The participants also expressed interest in communication training in terms of speech and drama classes, writing newspaper articles, and publicizing their research on blogs and social media. The participants also wished to understand how Singapore’s media functions and learn how to liaise with media practitioners. Participants provided different responses based on their seniority, institutional affiliations, and prior experience in outreach activities. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as directions for future research are discussed. MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore) Accepted version 2020-07-06T06:10:13Z 2020-07-06T06:10:13Z 2020 Journal Article Ho, S. S., Looi, J., & Goh, T. J. (2020). Scientists as public communicators : individual- and institutional-level motivations and barriers for public communication in Singapore. Asian Journal of Communication, 30(2), 155-178. doi:10.1080/01292986.2020.1748072 0129-2986 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/142867 10.1080/01292986.2020.1748072 2-s2.0-85082737458 2 30 155 178 en Asian Journal of Communication © 2020 AMIC/WKWSCI-NTU. All rights reserved. This paper was published by Taylor & Francis in Asian Journal of Communication and is made available with permission of AMIC/WKWSCI-NTU. application/pdf
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
country Singapore
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic Social sciences::Communication
Outreach Activities
Science and Technology
spellingShingle Social sciences::Communication
Outreach Activities
Science and Technology
Ho, Shirley S.
Looi, Jiemin
Goh, Tong Jee
Scientists as public communicators : individual- and institutional-level motivations and barriers for public communication in Singapore
description This study identifies the outreach activities that scientists engage in, as well as their perceived motivations and barriers towards such activities. It examines the forms of communication training that Singapore-based scientists have undergone and the types of communication training they would like to receive. Five focus groups were conducted with scientists across scientific disciplines from public universities and research institutes who engaged in direct and mediated outreach activities. Overall, the lack of time and institutional constraints were the main barriers to outreach activities. Their desire to impact public welfare and secure research funds were primary motivators to conduct outreach activities. The participants also expressed interest in communication training in terms of speech and drama classes, writing newspaper articles, and publicizing their research on blogs and social media. The participants also wished to understand how Singapore’s media functions and learn how to liaise with media practitioners. Participants provided different responses based on their seniority, institutional affiliations, and prior experience in outreach activities. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as directions for future research are discussed.
author2 Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
author_facet Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
Ho, Shirley S.
Looi, Jiemin
Goh, Tong Jee
format Article
author Ho, Shirley S.
Looi, Jiemin
Goh, Tong Jee
author_sort Ho, Shirley S.
title Scientists as public communicators : individual- and institutional-level motivations and barriers for public communication in Singapore
title_short Scientists as public communicators : individual- and institutional-level motivations and barriers for public communication in Singapore
title_full Scientists as public communicators : individual- and institutional-level motivations and barriers for public communication in Singapore
title_fullStr Scientists as public communicators : individual- and institutional-level motivations and barriers for public communication in Singapore
title_full_unstemmed Scientists as public communicators : individual- and institutional-level motivations and barriers for public communication in Singapore
title_sort scientists as public communicators : individual- and institutional-level motivations and barriers for public communication in singapore
publishDate 2020
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/142867
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