Exploring channels and gaps in information dissemination and acquisition among energy scientists and the public: The southeast Asian context

Langcheng Zhang, Shruti Malviya, Edson C. Tandoc, Shirley S. Ho

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study investigates the flow of energy-related information, which plays a vital role in promoting the public understanding and support for various energy sources. Through 12 focus group discussions with the public and energy experts, this study found that energy information flows from scientists to the public through both direct (e.g., roadshows, scientists’ blogs) and indirect (via agents, e.g., school, news media) channels. However, communication gaps remain between scientists and the public. First, the public commonly obtains information from personal experience and the media but not directly from scientists. Second, while the public stressed the importance of mass media and social media, only a few experts reported writing news commentaries or making social media posts about energy. Third, while scientists emphasize their relationships with the government and other agencies in disseminating information, the public shows relatively weak trust in these agencies. Implications are made for future research and public communication on energy issues.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere0273626
JournalPLoS ONE
Volume17
Issue number8 August
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Zhang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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