Scientific Message Research Articles

Contributing to the cultural ecosystem services and human wellbeing debate: a case study application on indicators and linkages

Inadequacies in the indication of cultural ecosystem services (CES) are a hindrance in assessing their comprehensive impacts on human wellbeing. Similarly, uncertainties about the quantity and quality of CES, in real time and space, have hampered the ability of resource managers to precisely take responsive management actions. The aim of the study is to demonstrate, how CES indicators can be identified and qualified in order to link CES to human wellbeing, and to integrate them into the ‘ecosystem services cascade’ and the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) models. A case study methodology is applied at the Nairobi-Kiambu (Kenya) peri-urban area. Primary data on CES was collected in the case study through survey, field observations and matrix tables. Secondary data originates from literature analysis. Results show that the participatory identification of CES and human wellbeing indicators could improve their transparencyand comprehensibility. The environmental policy formulation and implementation processes have been demonstrated. The tripartite framework of CES-human wellbeing-DPSIR has demonstrated more linkages and feedbacks than initially indicated in the cascade model. For policy formulation and implementation, appropriate communication of results is mandatory. This is illustrated by a terminology that enables the transfer of scientific messages to stakeholders, especially for the local people. The conclusion indicates the importance of consistency in qualifying CES and human wellbeing indicators even at this time of urgency to bridge the gaps existing in CES and human wellbeing research.

Expanding the knowledge translation metaphor

BackgroundKnowledge translation (KT) is a buzzword in modern medical science. However, there has been little theoretical reflection on translation as a process of meaning production in KT. In this paper, we argue that KT will benefit from the incorporation of a more theoretical notion of translation as an entangled material, textual and cultural process.DiscussionWe discuss and challenge fundamental assumptions in KT, drawing on theories of translation from the human sciences. We show that the current construal of KT as separate from and secondary to the original scientific message is close to the now deeply compromised literary view of translation as the simple act of copying the original. Inspired by recent theories of translation, we claim that KT can be more adequately understood in terms of a ‘double supplement’ – on the one hand, KT offers new approaches to the communication of scientific knowledge to different groups in the healthcare system with the aim of supplementing a lack of knowledge among clinicians (and patients). On the other, it demonstrates that a textual and cultural supplement, namely a concern with target audiences (clinicians and patients), is inevitable in the creation of an ‘autonomous’ science. Hence, the division between science and its translation is unproductive and impossible to maintain. We discuss some possible implications of our suggested shift in concept by drawing on pharmaceutical interventions for the prevention of HIV as a case. We argue that such interventions are based on a supplementary and paradoxical relation to the target audiences, both presupposing and denying their existence.SummaryMore sophisticated theories of translation can lay the foundation for an expanded model of KT that incorporates a more adequate and reflective description of the interdependency of scientific, cultural, textual and material practices.

Videnskabelig (u)redelighed - også et tema for lingvistik

The debate about scientific dishonesty over the last few years has revealed differences and confusion regarding scientific dishonesty. Every branch of science ought to have well-established criteria for scientific dishonesty, to be able to distinguish between sloppy science and dishonest science. Sc. dishonest behaviour is characterized by being dishonest or reckless, and by twisting the scientific message. The aim of this article is to a) provide a list of criteria to define scientific dishonesty, and b) exemplify and discuss specific linguistic aspects of the discussion. Furthermore it will be argued that agreeing on common rules is not enough as general rules can be interpreted differently. Therefore a common judgement is necessary, i.e. a committee, either local or national. It is recommended that any local institution establishes a committee of their own.

Взгляд на российское образование в области туризма через призму парадигмы устойчивого туризма (подведение концептуальных итогов международного научно-практического семинара российско-норвежского проекта РГУТИС «Образование в области развития устойчивого туризма в России»)

The full and comprehensive inclusion of sustainable tourism in Russian tourism studies and thematic plans of disciplines at the present time are particularly important nowadays. Meanwhile we can note very superficial and simplified understanding of the concept of sustainable development in tourism, when they simply proclaim the necessity of taking into account natural, social limitations, and interests of the local economy, but at the same time, the Russian researchers and teachers do not have enough awareness of all the possible refractions of this problem. Passed at the 22nd of September 2016 in RSUTS scientific-practical seminar «Sustainable rural tourism in Russia» was drafted to help resolve the identified problems. Leading international and Russian experts in the field of sustainable tourism development gave the examples of their own researches which demonstrate the breadth and multi-dimensionality of sustainability in tourism. There were presented and illustrated with the method of case studies such topics as 1) the correlation of center and periphery as a factor in the long-term sustainability in tourism; 2) service orientation as a factor of long-term competitiveness of destinations; 3) the problem of finding the optimal balance between state regulation and ethnic autonomy; 4) the interests of local residents and their informing with the positive results of tourism development; 5) factor of liminality in tourist experiences; 6) avoidance of excessive standardization and universalization of tourism products as a factor of competitiveness of peripheral destinations; 7) the concept of touristscapes and taskscapes; 8) optimal route network and reference point for the sustainable development of tourism; 9) the importance of tourism for the depressed rural settlements of Russia; 10) the peculiarities of small businesses processes in rural tourism, 11) entrepreneurship as the factor of increase of stability and competitiveness of the tourism industry under crisis conditions. These and other aspects of sustainable tourism development were the subject of extensive discussion at the scientific-practical seminar, which resulted in a more complete understanding of the paradigm of sustainability in the current realities of the Russian tourism industry. The article presents views, concepts and elements of academic debate, which took place during the seminar from representatives of five countries: Russia, Norway, Australia, Sweden and Iceland. The purpose of this publication consisted in the systematization of the academic content of the reports and scientific messages, and the explanation of how they can contribute to strengthening the concept of sustainable tourism as a comprehensive and productive paradigm in tourism research and education-conceptual approach.

The Influence of Religiously and Scientifically Framed Messages on Agreement with Water Use Restrictions

Recent droughts in 2012 and 2013 have increased attention to water use issues in the United States. Cities, government agencies, and environmental nonprofit organizations use scientifically-framed messages to advocate for water conservation. In addition, some religious organizations use messages based on religious teachings to promote water conservation. Because approximately 70% of the U.S. public reports some religious affiliation, it is important to investigate the influence of religious and scientific messages for promoting water conservation. I report the results of an experiment that examines how scientifically- and religiously-framed messages influence attitudes about water use restrictions. I found that Christians were no more or less likely to agree with a policy calling for water use restrictions than non-Christians and non-religious people. However, a Christian religious message negatively influenced agreement with water use restrictions in the entire sample—and in a Christian subsample. Results suggest that religiously framed messages may not increase environmental concern.

The communications gap between scientists and public: More scientists and their institutions feel a need to communicate the results and nature of research with the public.

Public outreach has become an issue of growing importance for science. Many scientists and scientific institutions feel a need to inform the public about potentially dangerous misconceptions or to counter a continuing barrage of misinformation from numerous quarters including commercial lobbies and fundamentalists. In fact, there are alarming deficits in the public's understand of science, as was highlighted this year in a study by the Wellcome Trust, which found that only 9% of respondents were aware that antibiotic resistance means that bacteria are resistant to antibiotics (https://wellcome.ac.uk/sites/default/files/antibiotic-resistance-graphic-wellcome-apr16.pdf). More than three times as many, 31%, think that it is their own bodies that have become resistant to antibiotics. Similar levels of ignorance have prevailed regarding the fact that antibiotics kill only bacteria and not viruses, and are therefore not suitable for treating flu or the common cold. There has been debate over where the blame lies for such ignorance, but most observers now apportion it in varying measures between scientists, science writers or journalists, and the public itself. Institutions also carry some responsibility due to expending more effort bolstering their own reputations, rather than meticulously reporting their research. Indeed, public resistance to scientific messages may stem in part from the continuous stream of exaggerated claims, according to Charles Seife, Professor of Journalism at New York University. “Some of the reasons for the resistance come from the fact that history is littered with self‐serving, incorrect, and even dangerous pronouncements in the name of science”, he said. “It would be a very stupid and bovine population that actually believed every official statement declaring a “breakthrough” in science. Anyone who trusts blindly in “science”, thinking that even the most corporate of research is pure and unsullied by commercial interests, is incredibly naive”. > If lack of public knowledge were the only problem for science communication, …

‘Hope for a Celestial City - A Triptych’: A musical composition for sustainability and cleaner productions for the Jing-Jin-Ji region, China

The construction of better alternatives to the present lifestyles and the solution of the environmental problems generated by modern economies and intensive exploitation of natural resources certainly require better science and technology. However, it is very unlikely that the needed global and complex solutions may be provided by one disciplinary field only, although very important, as science is. Solutions require broad minded approaches and comprehensive understanding of the multi-dimensionality of life on earth. A variety of tools and ways to approach the transition towards a cleaner and healthier environment is needed, not only to capture the complexity of life expressions, but also to value and appreciate the complexity of languages, narratives and points of view (scientific, artistic, economic, social, among others) that may lead to the “Celestial City”, a metaphor for better ways of living.This work explores the meaning and the potential contribution of a musical piece, representative of art and social languages, to inspire a transition process, with specific focus on Jing-Jin-Ji (JJJ) region, China. The piece is the 'Hope for a Celestial City – A Triptych' is a three-sections work for solo violin, composed by Carlotta Ferrari. It is inspired by the designed future 'urban' agglomerations such as the urbanised region of Jing-Jin-Ji, China. The piece refers to Bunyan's 'Celestial City' (this expression refers to 'The Pilgrim's Progress', written by John Bunyan in 1678) as a way to reflect on the past, present and future of JJJ. The work is inspired by three sets of quotes. Each of them is divided in two sub-sections: the first one is referred to as 'literature quote', which serves also as non-scientific reference for each section of the musical composition; the second one, on the other side, contains a set of scientific and technical references to guide and base the inspiration of the music. The first part of the piece represents the arrogant industrial civilization, “humans subdue nature”, with a particular attention to JJJ. The second part is focused on puzzling and soul-searching energy and work. In particular, the concept is that human activities can be either harmful or beneficial both for the environment and for elevating the society. The third part represents the 'pilgrimage' of human life and activities towards a different city: the Celestial City, where efforts achieve the result of harmonious and sustainable life. In other words, a more sustainable city can be built by transforming the present urban systems from competition to cooperation within and beyond Jing-Jin-Ji region borders. Implementing control targets, optimizing industrial structures and infrastructures, and achieving both coal consumption and air pollution reduction are seen as important technical steps towards more equitable and fulfilling life, where new patterns of connection, interaction, and exchange among residents are achieved within a healthier urban environment. The use of aesthetic inquiry, multiple languages and new creative approaches represents a support for accelerating the transition toward a more sustainable and equitable post fossil-carbon society, in particular in the case of expanding urban agglomerations. This work represents a methodological approach to artistic engagement trough music creation and performance. The purpose of such a process is to generate a collective reflection and to produce a transformative power. The collective reflection is stimulated by music performance. Furthermore, this is a way to include the contribution of artists into an important sustainability issue. Finally, this work demonstrates that music can support the communication of scientific messages, which could be difficult to be delivered in their original science form.

Risk Belief and Attitude Formation From Translated Scientific Messages About PFOA, an Environmental Risk Associated With Breast Cancer

ABSTRACTEvidence regarding possible environmental causes of breast cancer is advancing. Often, however, the public is not informed about these advances in a manner that is easily understandable. This research translates findings from biologists into messages at two literacy levels about perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a possible environmental contributor to breast cancer. The Heuristic Systematic Model (HSM) was used to investigate how ability, motivation, and systematic and heuristic processing lead to risk beliefs and, ultimately, to negative attitudes for individuals receiving translated scientific messages about PFOA. Participants (N = 1,389) came from the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation’s Army of Women. Findings indicated that ability, in the form of translated messages, predicted systematic processing, operationalized as knowledge gain, which was negatively associated with formation of risk beliefs that led to negative attitudes toward PFOA. Heuristic processing cues, operationalized as perceived message quality and source credibility, were positively associated with risk beliefs, which predicted negative attitudes about PFOA. Overall, more knowledge and lower literacy messages led to lower perceived risk, while greater involvement and ratings of heuristic cues led to greater risk perceptions. This is an example of a research, translation, and dissemination team effort in which biologists created knowledge, communication scholars translated and tested messages, and advocates were participants and those who disseminated messages.

Earthquake risk communication as dialogue – insights from a workshop in Istanbul's urban renewal neighbourhoods

Abstract. An important paradox of hazard communication is that the more effectively a potential physical threat is made public by the scientist, the more readily the scientific message becomes normalized into the daily discourses of ordinary life. As a result, a heightened risk awareness does not necessarily motivate personal or collective preparedness. If geoscientists are to help at-risk communities adopt meaningful measures to protect themselves, new strategies are needed for public communication and community engagement. This paper outlines an attempt to develop a novel approach to train geoscientists, using doctoral and post-doctoral researchers in an EU integrated training network studying tectonic processes and geohazards in Turkey. An urban field visit to seismically vulnerable neighbourhoods in Istanbul allowed the researchers to meet with local residents facing the seismic threat. Those meetings exposed the complex social, political and cultural concerns among Istanbul's at-risk urban communities. These concerns were used to provoke subsequent focus group discussions among the group of geoscientists about roles, responsibilities and methods of communicating hazard information to the public. Through the direct testimony of local residents and geoscientists, we explore the form that new strategies for public communication and community engagement might take.

Unraveling the Invisible Water World... through the MIA project

Unraveling the Invisible Water World... through the MIA project

Light and Chemistry

MinSik Cho (18 years old) of the CheongShim International Academy in Korea is awarded first prize in the 2015 IUPAC Physical and Biophysical Chemistry Division student cartoon competition for his cartoon describing the origins of color in molecules. The theme of the competition, held during the 2015 International Year of Light, was Light and Chemistry. MinSik’s cartoon was selected both for the excellence of the artwork and the quality of the scientific message conveyed. The members of the Division would like to wish him well in his further studies and thank him and the other entrants for participating in the competition.

Communicating Mathematics and Science in the Classroom: Exploring the Interactive Route

Communicating mathematical problems and scientific concepts is considered as a complex and difficult endeavour. Teaching, whether of complex mathematical problems and scientific concepts or of 'straightforward and clear' ideas in the humanities, is a process of communication. This paper argues that communication skills are an integral part of the teaching of Science and Mathematics. Communicating Science and Mathematics in the classroom involves thorough explanations and, because the concepts dealt with are in themselves complex, this may involve going over the concepts repeatedly. This ability to put across the mathematical or scientific message is the ability by the teacher to communicate. Research has insisted that the ability to communicate and to pose questions are central attributes of an effective teacher. This paper argues that more than being able to communicate and ask questions, for effective teaching of Mathematics and Science the teacher needs to employ interactive teaching techniques to involve learners; this way the teacher actively involves learners in communication and therefore in both the teaching and learning process. The teacher and learner roles in the contemporary classroom need not be distinctively outlined as this creates an obstacle to understanding. This allows both the teacher and student to understand concepts from each other's perspective. Through interaction between teacher and student, the teacher is able to explain the mathematical problem to the student from the student's perspective. Through a semi-structured interview and observation the study involves a sample of 32 students from four secondary schools in the two provinces of Midlands and Bulawayo.

I Want More and Better Cells! - An Outreach Project about Stem Cells and Its Impact on the General Population.

Although science and technology impact every aspect of modern societies, there is still an extensive gap between science and society, which impairs the full exercise of citizenship. In the particular case of biomedical research increased investment should be accompanied by parallel efforts in terms of public information and engagement. We have carried out a project involving the production and evaluation of educational contents focused on stem cells - illustrated newspaper chronicles, radio interviews, a comic book, and animated videos - and monitored their impact on the Portuguese population. The study of the outreach materials in a heterogeneous sample of the population suggests that they are valuable tools to disseminate scientific messages, and that this is especially true for the comic-book format. Furthermore, the data showed that clear and stimulating outreach materials, that are able to teach new concepts and to promote critical thinking, increase engagement in science at different levels, depending on the depth of the concepts involved. Additionally, these materials can influence political, social and personal attitudes toward science. These results, together with the importance attributed to scientific research in stem cells by the population sampled, validates the diffusion of such materials as a significant contribution towards an overall public understanding and engagement in contemporary science, and this strategy should thus be considered in future projects. Regardless, stringent quality control must be implemented in order to efficiently communicate accurate scientific developments, and the public stimulated in terms of finding additional sources of reliable information.

The unseen uncertainties in climate change: reviewing comprehension of an IPCC scenario graph

The reports published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are comprehensive assessments of the scientific knowledge and uncertainties surrounding climate projections. They combine well-formed language with supporting graphical evidence and have the objective to inform policymakers. One of the most discussed and widely distributed visual in these reports is the graph, showing the global surface temperature evolution for the 21st century as simulated by climate models for various emission scenarios, which is part of the Summary for Policymakers (SPM) and the Working Group I contribution to the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4). It displays two types of uncertainties, namely the socio-economic scenarios and response uncertainty due to imperfect knowledge and models. Through 43 in-depth interviews this graph and caption was empirically tested with a sample of people analogous to the SPM target audience. It was found that novice readers were unable to identify the two different types of uncertainties in this graph without substantial guidance. Instead they saw a great deal of uncertainty but falsely attributed it to the climate model(s) and ignored the scenario uncertainties. Our findings demonstrate how the choice of display can directly impact a reader’s perception of the scientific message. A failure to distinguish between these two types of uncertainties could lead to an overestimate of the response uncertainties, and an underestimation of socio-economic choices. We test this assumption and identify the difficulties non-technical audiences have with this graph and how this could inevitably impede its value as a decision support tool.

Report on Student Activities in Granada

This February ASLO held the 2015 Aquatic Sciences Meeting in Granada, Spain. Aquatic scientists from 64 countries were present to share their science, network with colleagues, explore the beautiful host city, and indulge in delicious tapas. Students comprised 35% of the meeting attendees (886 registered students), with 40 students from developing countries. Three out of four students attending the meeting in Granada were current ASLO members and many new students joined the society at the meeting. ASLO awarded 34 travel grants to students attending the meeting. Grants ranged from $250–$750 USD. Grant applicants applied online when registering for the meeting and grants were awarded through a random lottery process. The student board members and the early career committee are diligently working to improve the travel grant process based on your feedback and we will be announcing changes in the near future. There were numerous activities and workshops geared toward students at the meeting. On Monday, the Student Board Members hosted a mixer with food and drinks for student attendees. Hundreds of students came to socialize and network as did a number of board members and the meeting organizers. The Board of Directors also had the pleasure of interacting with students that attended the annual Business Meeting and those that stopped by the ASLO and Wiley booth over the course of the week. There were three lunchtime workshops sponsored by the Student Board Members. On Tuesday, students had the opportunity to learn about honing their scientific message from actor and comedian Brian Palermo at the Snap it Up! workshop. Brian dissected three oral presentations given in concurrent sessions on the previous day and provided tips for engaging the audience when discussing science. At the Teaching Aquatic Science workshop students, early career and advanced scientists were able to learn about better teaching methods for large classes from Dr. Bob Chen. This discussion workshop was well received and everyone left with new ideas and methods for engaging and teaching students in large classes. On Thursday, we hosted our most popular workshop, ­Scientific Speed Networking, a variation on the speed dating concept. Over 200 students honed their “elevator pitches” while networking with their peers and established scientists. Students and established scientists interacting at the Scientific Speed Networking workshop in Granada. Grace Wilkinson, Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, grace.wilkinson23@gmail.com Amy Burgess, Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, University of Oregon, Coos Bay, Oregon, USA, burgess5@uoregon.edu.

Scientific Message Translation and the Heuristic Systematic Model: Insights for Designing Educational Messages About Progesterone and Breast Cancer Risks.

Results of ongoing scientific research on environmental determinants of breast cancer are not typically presented to the public in ways they can easily understand and use to take preventive actions. In this study, results of scientific studies on progesterone exposure as a risk factor for breast cancer were translated into high and low literacy level messages. Using the heuristic systematic model, this study examined how ability, motivation, and message processing (heuristic and systematic) influenced perceptions of risk beliefs and negative attitudes about progesterone exposure among women who read the translated scientific messages. Among the 1254 participants, those given the higher literacy level message had greater perceptions of risk about progesterone. Heuristic message cues of source credibility and perceived message quality, as well as motivation, also predicted risk beliefs. Finally, risk beliefs were a strong predictor of negative attitudes about exposure to progesterone. The results can help improve health education message design in terms of practitioners having better knowledge of message features that are the most persuasive to the target audiences on this topic.

On the Method: Quantitative Reasonsing and Social Science

The research on social science eventually comes through any meaning about the human and society. Its message is directed to the society and the principal object of research would be its components, generally research participants or samples in terms of research method. As for nature, it is per se obvious that humans or populace act on various factors to influence their decision. This complex nature of human strands generally prevail that the multivariate analysis is an usual challenge for the social science researchers. For example, the researchers may like to know the relationship of special training on math and achievement of math score. He or she may apply a multivariate analysis from several variables, in which one may be controlled and pretest or post test will be administered. So he groups two classes in test and for a longitudinal study over one semester between the specially trained students and normal class. Then he adds one other variable of family income level that he supposes one important factor to affect the achievement of student in math subject. This would be quantitatively answered by applying a multivariate test, called specifically as factoral ANOVA. The simple ANOVA test may be dosed in several times to understand more a complex interaction or control among the variables. Nevertheless, it has the weakness that unnecessary time and effort would be consumed. Additionally, MANOVA or other multivariate analysis of data would lead us to the more intense and precise result when the variables in consideration all interact to affect the outcome variables. It can be made distinct from mere aggregation of each result from one way ANOVA or univariate and bivariate analysis. Like these, in various ways. the quantitative studies are used to find the scientific truth. Through the Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis (QRA), we could achieve much progress which would be helpful to accelerate the interest and skills in the empirical studies. Most of all, the studies in concern of quantitative method might be a leapfrog for one, who fears of the difficult quantitative skills of analysis. Many of researchers may be fragile since the math courses in the high school and one pass in the college days are all we may have experienced. It is challenging also because the days might be far gone of middle age. For this reason, it never is a puffery that we would fear of quantitative skills. I hope that this paper could be a small help to adapt with the quantitative paradigm. Additionally, it would be great to realize that the quantitative reasoning is fairly powerful and very persuasive to frame a scientific message not only for the peer professionals, but also for lay world. We don’t have to cite the belief of empiricists and its modern evolution backed up by the mathematicians and statisticians. The benefit from this research method is obvious from many realities. The SPSS program facilitates to save from the difficult hand-on works in the earlier quantitative research. The empirical studies, particularly in the sphere of quantitative studies, typically are related with a mass of survey experiment which flavors the kind of political engraft with the research circle.

How Motivated Reasoning and Temporal Frames May Polarize Opinions About Wildlife Disease Risk

We draw from theories of motivated reasoning, dual-processing models, and attribution of responsibility to examine how scientific messages may increase public polarization with respect to emerging risk issues such as Lyme disease. A nationally representative sample of Americans ( N = 460) read messages about Lyme disease that varied the framing of responsibility for the prevalence of the disease (human/wildlife vs. wildlife only) and when its effects will occur (today vs. in the next 10 years). The influence of framing was contingent on participants’ partisanship, which resulted in a boomerang effect among Republicans and increased the degree of political polarization regarding support for proenvironmental behaviors.

The Constraints of Literary Paradigms

Ida (2011), written by Jorn Hurum and Torstein Helleve and illustrated by Esther van Hulsen, is a non-fiction picturebook for children with an ambitious objective. It presents a fossil, the findings from the study of this fossil, and the dispute over the validity of the results. The composition of the text is threefold: the book opens with an illustrative story about the life and death of the primate that ends up becoming the fossil in question, subsequently introduces a lexicographical section ensuring the credibility of the scientific results of the primate’s research group, and finally provides instructions for appropriate activities that offer the child reader ownership of the presented knowledge. This article discusses the ambiguity within the book. The discussion has a primary focus on the constraints within the illustrative story that is jointly ruled by scientific aims and the traditions of children’s literature. The purpose of the protagonist is to die, which is rather rare in a children’s book. Nonetheless, the protagonist’s life and death takes place in the jungle environment which, according to Marilyn Strasser Olson “apparently reduces the tension” (Olson 2013: 55). The intertextual use of Christian mythology adds a solid cultural background to the story and the artwork calls to mind Henri Rousseau’s jungle cosmology. It will nonetheless be argued that the literary traditions embedded in the book ultimately blur the validity of the scientific message. Keywords: Christian mythology; the jungle; non-fiction picturebooks; reading pact (Published: 23 January 2015) Citation : Nordic Journal of ChildLit Aesthetics, Vol. 6, 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/blft.v6.26973

Aspects of scientific Japanese revealed by JECPRESE

Abstract This study examines the language used by researchers in science and engineering, where clarity is essential. We prepared The Japanese-English Corpus of Presentations in Science and Engineering (JECPRESE) to examine how language is used in science and engineering to clearly and accurately present information. JECPRESE contains transcriptions of presentations given in Japanese and English by researchers. Analyses revealed vagueness in Japanese arising from the tendencies of the Japanese language to sometimes omit subjects and to lack specificity in conveying discourse strategies, verb tense, and mood. Such vagueness is considered to have roots in traditional Japanese society and culture that aim to maintain harmony in a community. However, in an age of global communications, this can be an obstacle to projecting an understandable message. Suggestions are made as to how to make scientific Japanese present clearer messages to a professional community based on linguistic considerations.