TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploring channels and gaps in information dissemination and acquisition among energy scientists and the public
T2 - The southeast Asian context
AU - Zhang, Langcheng
AU - Malviya, Shruti
AU - Tandoc, Edson C.
AU - Ho, Shirley S.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding:Initialsoftheauthorswhoreceivedeach award:ShirleyS.Ho,EdsonC.TandocJr.Grant
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.
PY - 2022/8
Y1 - 2022/8
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85136899226&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0273626
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0273626
M3 - Article
C2 - 36037168
AN - SCOPUS:85136899226
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 17
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 8 August
M1 - e0273626
ER -