Marina Joubert

Stellenbosch University | SUN · Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology

Honeybush is an indigenous fynbos shrub with the potential to contribute significantly to socio-economic development in rural South Africa. However, there exists a knowledge gap on the types of information that role players in this emerging agricultural sector need to produce quality honeybush tea efficiently, as well as their preferences for obtai...

What is transdisciplinarity - and what are its methods? How does a living lab work? What is the purpose of citizen science, student-organized teaching and cooperative education? This handbook unpacks key terms and concepts to describe the range of transdisciplinary learning in the context of academic education. Transdisciplinary learning turns out...

During June 2023, we met with the JCOM editorial board members to reflect on the current status of the journal and strategies for future growth. This editorial provides a snapshot of our position and plans.

Much of the professional fact-checking activities that were once conducted by political journalists and news media during electoral periods or political debates, or what Luengo and Garcia-Marin (2020) call fact checking of top-down claims, now focus on assessing dis/misinformation emerging from social media users, or bottom-up claims. Between 2019...

Since early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic demanded ongoing media coverage unprecedented in its scope and reach. As a result, the pandemic dominated global and national news headlines for an extended period of time. Science and health journalists, and their colleagues covering other journalistic beats, were called upon to report on various aspects of...

This study explored the main themes present in South African editorial cartoons related to Covid-19 published in 2020 to examine how they portrayed the societal discourse around the pandemic. Our data set of 1196 single-frame editorial cartoons, created by 19 cartoonists in three languages and published in 24 publications over the course of 2020, s...

The Covid-19 pandemic escalated demand for scientific explanations and guidance, creating opportunities for scientists to become publicly visible. In this study, we compared characteristics of visible scientists during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic (January to December 2020) across 16 countries. We find that the scientists who became visi...

This study investigates the definition of “vulnerability” in the visualisation and underpinning index of Stats SA’s South African COVID-19 Vulnerability Index (SA CVI)’s data visualisation dashboard. The paper establishes definitions of vulnerability in relation to literature before COVID-19, research in the time of the pandemic, and in relation to...

Science journalism faces an issue that is part of a bigger picture of media change. The economic pressures which have seen shrinking resources available for reporting news are contrasted by the relentless rise of corporate communication and public relations. Institutional science communication has become a booming industry, operating, at least part...

Our 20th anniversary this year is a special milestone for JCOM. It is a time to reflect on our past performance and future prospects. We pause to consider the activities of this journal, and the broad field of science communication over the past 20 years.

The 2022 Ecsite conference took place in Heilbronn, Germany, from 2–4 June after two years of virtual meetings due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This review presents some highlights of this event, including two memorable keynote talks by disability activist Sinéad Burke and author/educator Lucy Hawking.

We investigated pro- and anti-vaccine rhetoric on two South African Facebook pages to identify the nature, sources and justifications of the vaccine-related claims published on these pages. Our dataset consisted of 440 Facebook posts made by page administrators during 2019. Statements related to the safety and necessity of vaccines dominated the pr...

Scientists increasingly recognise that media visibility allows them to gain influence in public and policy spheres. However, some scientists shy away from publicity and journalists are purposefully selective when they seek out experts to interview. This may result in a skewed representation of scientists in the mass media. In this study, we explore...

In this editorial, we reflect on our new roles as Editor-in-Chief and Deputy Editor of JCOM. We acknowledge the work of previous editors of JCOM, the Editorial Office and the wider JCOM community who have contributed to the success of the journal. We introduce the new Editorial Board and future directions for the journal, and we encourage suggestio...

Our qualitative interviews with 16 early-career South African researchers investigated how they view public engagement and its role in their research careers, as well as the motivations, challenges and institutional factors that shape their engagement efforts. We situate our findings in the context of high societal diversity and inequality in South...

During food-borne disease outbreaks, people get most of their information about food safety and risk from the news media. Best practice in risk messaging requires the rapid sharing of information to minimise harm, while expressing empathy, accountability, and commitment. The journalistic processes through which news is shaped can prioritise informa...

Fire can destroy infrastructure and livelihoods, and claim lives. Yet, fire is inevitable and plays several vital ecological roles that have shaped ecosystems over millennia. Planned fires also serve human needs. Critical media content analysis of 390 media reports (print, online and broadcast) on fires in South African National Parks over a three-...

The Conversation (theconversation.com) represents a unique model for communicating scholarly research to the general public via explanatory journalism. Rather than relying on scholars’ personal networks, the promotional efforts of university press offices, or requests from science journalists for comments on current developments, The Conversation o...

‘Public engagement with science’ has become a ‘buzzword’ reflecting a concern about the widening gap between science and society and efforts to bridge this gap. This study is a comprehensive analysis of the development of the ‘engagement’ rhetoric in the pertinent academic literature on science communication and in science policy documents. By way...

Science amplifier platforms such as The Conversation have gained popularity in a changing media ecosystem in which the traditional roles of journalists are eroded, and scientists are urged to engage with society. The Conversation constitutes a blend of scientific communication, public science communication and science journalism, and a convergence...

Scientists are key actors in public engagement activities, such as science festivals. This study sought to explore factors that encouraged and/or deterred scientists’ participation in Scifest Africa, the flagship science festival in South Africa. A self-administered, online survey was completed by 40 scientists who participated in this science fest...

Twelve researchers from 11 countries used autoethnographic techniques, keeping diaries over 10 weeks of the COVID-19 crisis, to observe and reflect on changes in the role and cultural authority of science during important stages of viral activity and government action in their respective countries. We followed arguments, discussions and ideas gener...

Twelve researchers from 11 countries used autoethnographic techniques, keeping diaries over 10 weeks of the COVID-19 crisis, to observe and reflect on changes in the role and cultural authority of science during important stages of viral activity and government action in their respective countries. We followed arguments, discussions and ideas gener...

This study explores how South African newspaper cartoonists portrayed the novel coronavirus during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic. We show how these cartoons respond to the socioeconomic and cultural contexts in the country. Our analysis of how cartoonists represent the novel coronavirus explain how they create meaning (and may influen...

Against the background of a fast-changing media environment and increasing competition in the science arena, we explored how media outlets use science-based press releases issued by research-intensive universities in South Africa. We compared 40 science-related media articles to related institutional press releases. We found that most press release...

Why do we need to communicate science? Is science, with its highly specialised language and its arcane methods, too distant to be understood by the public? Is it really possible for citizens to participate meaningfully in scientific research projects and debate? Should scientists be mandated to engage with the public to facilitate better understand...

There is a renewed interest amongst science communication practitioners and scholars to explore the potential of storytelling in public communication of science, including to understand how science storytelling functions (or could fail) in different contexts. Drawing from storytelling as the core theme of the 2018 conference of the Public Communica...

Reflecting on the practice of storytelling, this practice insight explores how collaborations between scholars and practitioners can improve storytelling for science communication outcomes with publics. The case studies presented demonstrate the benefits of collaborative storytelling for inspiring publics, promoting understanding of science, and en...

At a time when science is perceived to be under attack and our planet is facing severe challenges, the role of science journalism in taking on these challenges was a key theme of the 11th World Conference of Science Journalists. But, while policymakers and science leaders are urging journalists to help restore public trust in science, science journ...

We explore and discuss the diverse motives that drive science communication, pointing out that political motives are the major driving force behind most science communication programmes including so-called public engagement with science with the result that educational and promotional objectives are blurred and science communication activities are...

Against the backdrop of the increasing relevance of social media in public science communication and engagement, this study aimed to expand our understanding of the relationships and interactions between social media users and scientific outputs. In order to do so, we explored the identities, characteristics and activities of South African science...

Astronomers around the world are keen and confident public communicators, with academic leaders in senior positions being the most active. They enjoy engaging with the public, with no rewards expected.

A study in South Africa shed light on a set of factors, specific to this country, that compel South African scientists towards public engagement. It highlights the importance of history, politics, culture and socio-economic conditions in influencing scientists' willingness to engage with lay audiences. These factors have largely been overlooked in...

In recent years, South Africa has tried to increase its science communication activities, being among the most active countries in Africa. The post-Apartheid government has implemented diverse public engagement initiatives to make science more relevant and accessible to broad audiences and initiatives do also apply to science journalism. The aim of...

Background People’s perceptions of scientists have repeatedly been investigated using the Draw-a-Scientist Test (DAST). The test is used to identify people’s (stereotypical) images of scientists, which might affect attitudes towards science and science-related career choices. Purpose The current study has two goals. (1) Applying the DAST at a univ...

Research into public perceptions of science and technology has often focused on scientific controversies (such as biotechnology or fracking), in order to inform policy decisions or to develop better communication strategies. Recent trends in this field of research acknowledge that the general public consists of various social segments that have qui...

Highly visible scientists are increasingly recognised as influential leaders with a special role to play in making science part of mainstream society. Through consultation with a panel of 45 experts working at the science–media interface, we sought to identify the most visible scientists currently living and working in South Africa. In total, 211 s...

Research in the field of science communication started emerging about 50 years ago and has since then matured as a field of academic enquiry. Early findings about research-active authors and countries reveal that scholarly activity in the field has traditionally been dominated by male authors from English-speaking countries in the West. The current...

Research in the field of science communication started emerging about 50 years ago and has since then matured as a field of academic enquiry. Early findings about research-active authors and countries reveal that scholarly activity in the field has traditionally been dominated by male authors from English-speaking countries in the West. The current...

This study of the science communication views and practices of African researchers-academics at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Zimbabwe-reveals a bleak picture of the low status of public science engagement in the developing world. Researchers prioritise peer communication and pay little attention to the public, policy...

PCST 2002 was the seventh in the series of the network meetings. Held in December 2002 in Cape Town, South Africa, the conference attracted more than four hundred delegates from fortyone countries to discuss theoretical and practical issues in science communication. Following is a report on the conference by the conference chair.

This report outlines science communication priorities in a country facing the same global issues as the developed world while in a state of transition and situated on an impoverished continent. South Africa's science communication aims are defined, with examples of successes (like science weeks and festivals, and science centers). Highlighting the...