Communicating the Risk of Scientific Research

Timothy D. Giles Georgia Southern University

Abstract

Risk communication has been explored in technical communication for over 15 years, but it has been largely confined to communicating the risk of industrial activity, medical risks, or environmental threats to the public. Using the framework previous risk communication has provided, this article applies those ideas to research science, specifically to stem cell research, where government opposition until recently has limited this research, preventing it from potentially providing organs for those who need a replacement or more effective treatments for other diseases such as diabetes or Parkinson's disease. Risk communication in the United States and Europe is contrasted to delineate the greater effort being made in Europe to construct stem cell research socially for the researcher and the public.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2010-07-01
DOI
10.2190/tw.40.3.c
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication

References (46) · 4 in this index

  1. Professional Writing and Rhetoric: Readings from the Field
  2. Mad Cows and Mother's Milk: The Perils of Poor Risk Communication
  3. Silent Spring
  4. The Pasteurization of France
  5. 10.1353/con.2004.0022
Show all 46 →
  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Risky Rhetoric: AIDS and the Cultural Practices of HIV Testing
  3. Baake K. and Kaempf C., Navigating Inconsistent Definitions for “Risk” and Related Terms in Online Sources: A…
  4. Kain D. and Smith C., Risk and Resiliency: Understanding the Complex Role of Community in Communication about…
  5. Baker M., Scientific Definition by Political Request, Nature Reports Stem Cells, http://www.nature.com/stemce…
  6. 10.1038/385810a0
  7. OrganDonor.gov, Access to U.S. Government Information on Organ & Tissue Donation and Transplantation, http://…
  8. Green Culture: Environmental Rhetoric in Contemporary America
  9. Technical Communication Quarterly
  10. Green Culture: Environmental Rhetoric in Contemporary America
  11. Central Works in Technical Communication
  12. User-Centered Technology [Electronic Resource]: A Rhetorical Theory for Computers and Oth…
  13. Participation and Power: Civic Discourse in Environmental Policy Decisions
  14. The New Rhetoric
  15. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  16. 10.2190/MFM
  17. Bowie J. L. Citing Press Releases? Message posted to http://lyris.ttu.edu/read/messages?id=325861#325861, Jun…
  18. Roslin Institute, Personal communication, December 18, 2007.
  19. Free Inquiry
  20. Free Inquiry, Statement of Purpose, http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=fi&page=purpose, 2008.
  21. Innovative Science Enhancing Lives
  22. Public Interest—Cloning
  23. Was Dolly Already ‘Old’ at Birth?
  24. OHSU Scientists First to Successfully Create Primate Embryonic Stem Cells
  25. Oregon Health and Science University, http://www.oshu.edu/, 2007.
  26. Driving Research Toward Therapy
  27. Outreach/Science and Society
  28. Frequently Asked Questions
  29. School Events
  30. Public Events
  31. The Stem Cell Dream
  32. Going Backstage, http://www.iscr.ed.ac.uk/outreach/backstage.html, Scottish Center for Regenerative Medicine, 2007.
  33. Coutinho A., Smith A., and Wallace H., Humanised Mice, or How to Accurately Model Human Genetic Disease in th…
  34. Stem Cells Cross the Atlantic to Build Bridges with Latin America
  35. Stem Cell Therapy for Spinal Cord Injuries. Ready or not?
  36. College Composition and Communication
  37. Stem Cell Stories: Science and Ethics on Screen
  38. Writing Community Change: Designing Technologies for Citizen Action
  39. 10.4324/9781410606815
  40. 10.2190/MFM
  41. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication