Life Sciences Communication

Breast cancer patients with greater need seek more information online

arbinder — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 19:12:52 +0000

A recent study co-authored by LSC Professor Bret Shaw has revealed that patients with more concerns about their breast cancer are heavier users of online information. Those in greater need were more likely to seek experiential information, such as stories about other patients or how to be a better health care consumer, as compared to more science-based content.

The study was published in the June issue of the Journal of Health Communication, and it received prominent coverage in today’s edition of HONIonline Weekend Edition.

Scientific information largely ignored when forming opinions about stem cell research

arbinder — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 17:03:41 +0000

When forming attitudes about embryonic stem cell research, people are influenced by a number of things. But understanding science plays a negligible role for many people.

That’s the surprising finding from a team of UW-Madison communications researchers — including LSC Professor Dietram Scheufele — who have spent the past two years studying public attitudes toward embryonic stem cell research. Reporting in the most recent issue of the International Journal of Public Opinion Research, the researchers say that scientific knowledge — for many citizens — has an almost negligible effect on how favorably people regard the field.

Find out more about the study from the official UW news release.

LSC and UW Cooperative Extension Unveil New Environmental Communication Newsletter

arbinder — Tue, 20 May 2008 22:20:50 +0000

There is widespread evidence that human behavior can have harmful effects on the environment. But despite the strong link between human behavior and environmental degradation, many people continue their daily activities, paying little attention to ecological concerns, even when they are aware of how they might live more sustainably.

A new, free newsletter, “Environmental Communication and Social Marketing,” has been created by faculty from the UW-Madison and UW Cooperative Extension to address this problem. The newsletter teaches innovative, psychology-based strategies for promoting behaviors that positively impact the environment.

This publication is multidisciplinary, drawing from the social and natural sciences to highlight practical, evidence-based approaches that encourage sustainable behavior. It focuses on a range of issues that are crucial to protecting natural resources in Wisconsin such as adopting storm water management practices, preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species and restoring habitat for wildlife and fish.

“Environmental Communication and Social Marketing” is expected to be published three times per year in both print and Web versions. To subscribe to an e-mail version of this newsletter, send an email to join-ecsm@lists.wisc.edu. In addition to the newly launched website, there is a PDF version of the newsletter and more details at UW News. For information about covering this new publication, contact Bret Shaw, Co-Editor of the newsletter and Environmental Communication Specialist for UW Cooperative Extension and Asst. Professor in the Department of Life Sciences Communication, at brshaw@wisc.edu or 608-890-1878.

National Science Foundation Honors LSC Grad Student

admin — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:19:45 +0000

Congratulations to LSC doctoral student Andrew R. Binder for receiving an Honorable Mention in the 2008 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program! Andrew was the only student in the field of communication honored this year by NSF. His application received highly favorable reviews from social science scholars, who all recognized his excellent record of research and his promise as a future communication scholar.

Wisconsin Top-5 in Mass Communication

admin — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 17:15:48 +0000

The recent Academics Analytics / Chronicle of Higher Education Faculty Productivity Rankings have Wisconsin ranked #4 in mass communication again. This makes Wisconsin one of only two programs that held their top-5 ranking in mass communication since last year. UW-Madison overall was also ranked #15 in the nation, ahead of Cornell, NYU, Brown, and the University of Chicago in terms of overall faculty productivity.

LSC Graduate Student Participates in Restoration Work in New Orleans

admin — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 22:01:28 +0000

Kate Tillery Danzer, a Master’s candidate in LSC and the Gaylord Institute for Environmental Studies, recently made a trip to New Orleans with UW-Madison’s Water Resources Management team in an effort to determine the possibility of restoring Bayou Bienvenue, a cypress swamp near the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans.

Read more in this article published in Madison’s The Capital Times newspaper.

LSC Assistant Professor to Participate in the New Agendas in Science Communication

admin — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 00:45:29 +0000

LSC Assistant Professor Bret Shaw is participating in the New Agendas in Science Communication conference being hosted at The University of Texas at Austin February 22-24, 2008. The conference will bring together 20 scholars from across the nation whose work is shaping the future of science communication research and teaching. Research presented at the conference will be published in Science Communication: New Agendas, which is expected to be published in the fall of 2008. The book is part of a communication research series edited by Roderick

Hart and Stephen Reese of the University of Texas at Austin and published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Wisconsin Ranked #4 in Mass Comm

admin — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 04:57:02 +0000

“The recent Academics Analytics / Chronicle of Higher Education Faculty Productivity Rankings have Wisconsin ranked #4 in mass communication again. This makes Wisconsin one of only two programs that held their top-5 ranking in mass communication since last year. UW-Madison overall was also ranked #15 in the nation, ahead of Cornell, NYU, Brown, and the University of Chicago in terms of overall faculty productivity.”

Nano Scientists and the Public

admin — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:44:50 +0000

The unknown human health and environmental impacts of nanotechnology are a bigger worry for scientists than for the public, according to a new report authored by LSC professor Dietram A. Scheufele and colleagues in the journal Nature Nanotechnology (more at UW news).

See select news coverage of this story at the Daily Telegraph (UK), AFP (France), COSMOS magazine (Australia), SmallTimes (U.S.), and other news sources (see Google News).

Welcome New Staff: Sue Patera

admin — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 05:32:14 +0000

Sue Patera joins the Life Sciences Communication’s support staff team in September.
Sue serves as main receptionist for our department. She assists faculty and students
in the registration process. Sue provides clerical assistance to the LSC undergraduate and graduate programs.

Sue comes to LSC with many years of academic unit experience at another UW campus. Prior to arriving in Madison, she worked at UW-Eau Claire. While at Eau Claire, she served in the department of English providing similar types of support. She also spent several years working in the Media Development Center managing film and video rental equipment and in the UW-Eau Claire’s Housing & Resident Life Center assisting students with their housing assignments and needs.

Welcome, Sue!