Urs Dahinden

Biotechnology in Switzerland: high on the public agenda, but only moderate support.

In Switzerland, there have been intensive public debates about biotechnology because of the specific Swiss political system of direct democracy that led, in 1992 and 1998, to two national referenda on biotechnology regulation. As a result, the Swiss population is well informed but skeptical about this technology. These findings contrast with the deficit model of public understanding of science, which predicts a positive correlation between knowledge of, and support for, a specific technology. What role did the media play in the development of public opinion? This question is discussed because of a content analysis (time series) of national newspapers. In addition, representative surveys and focus groups yield insights into the public perception of biotechnology and the influence of mass communication for opinion formation.

Exploring the use of computer models in participatory integrated assessment – experiences and recommendations for further steps

Integrated assessment (IA) can be defined as a structured process of dealing with complex issues, using knowledge from various scientific disciplines and/or stakeholders, such that integrated insights are made available to decision makers (J. Rotmans, Enviromental Modelling and Assessment 3 (1998) 155). There is a growing recognition that the participation of stakeholders is a vital element of IA. However, only little is known about methodological requirements for such participatory IA and possible insights to be gained from these approaches. This paper summarizes some of the experiences gathered in the ULYSSES project, which aims at developing procedures that are able to bridge the gap between environmental science and democratic policy making for the issue of climate change. The discussion is based on a total of 52 IA focus groups with citizens, run in six European and one US city. In these groups, different computer models were used, ranging from complex and dynamic global models to simple accounting tools. The analysis in this paper focuses on the role of the computer models. The findings suggest that the computer models were successful at conveying to participants the temporal and spatial scale of climate change, the complexity of the system and the uncertainties in our understanding of it. However, most participants felt that the computer models were less instrumental for the exploration of policy options. Furthermore, both research teams and participants agreed that despite considerable efforts, most models were not sufficiently user-friendly and transparent for being accessed in an IA focus group. With that background, some methodological conclusions are drawn about the inclusion of the computer models in the deliberation process. Furthermore, some suggestions are made about how given models should be adapted and new ones developed in order to be helpful for participatory IA.

Biotechnology in Switzerland: Frames in a Heated Debate

The public debate over biotechnology has been especially intense in Switzerland. The frame theory is introduced as a promising approach for better understanding this controversy. One shortcoming of current frame research is the diversity of frame typologies. An attempt to compare and integrate several frame typologies is presented. The theoretical analysis suggests that most of the frames are not issue specific but of a more general nature. The empirical section presents the framing of biotechnology over the past thirty years, during which increasing conflicts paralleled a higher diversity of frames in the media.

Representation of Islam and Christianity in the Swiss Media

What is the role of the media in multi-religious societies? Are they aggravating latent tensions between religions or rather helping to promote mutual understanding? These are the key research questions addressed in this paper. The discussion in this paper refers to narration and framing as two theoretical approaches from communication science. The empirical findings of a media content analysis in Switzerland show strong differences between Islam and Christianity: While Christianity and its denominations are mainly presented in positive frames and positive narratives (e.g. “good mother”), the image of Islam is rather negative. Islam receives relatively high media attention, but the focus is not on Islam in Switzerland, but on Islam abroad. A number of qualitative interviews with journalists and representatives of religious organisations show that this negative image is not caused by anti-muslim attitudes, but rather the outcome of journalistic routines. The paper discusses these findings against the background of the research questions and concludes with some recommendations for journalists and representatives of religious organizations.

Demokratisierung dank Internet? — Zum Austauschverhältnis zwischen neuen elektronischen und traditionellen massenmedialen Öffentlichkeiten

Verschiedene Autoren verbinden mit der zunehmenden Verbreitung des Internet die Hoffnung, dass durch dieses Medium eine Demokratisierung der Gesellschaft eingeleitet werden konne. Begrundet wird diese Erwartung u.a. mit dem Hinweis, dass sich das Internet im Gegensatz zu traditionellen Massenmedien (Zeitungen, Zeitschriften, Radio, Fernsehen) durch viel tiefere Eintrittsbarrieren auf der Angebotsseite auszeichnet. Der Zutritt zur allgemeinen Offentlichkeit, der bisher ausschlieslich durch die Massenmedien gewahrt oder verwehrt wurde, steht nun prinzipiell allen politischen Akteuren offen, die durch die Benutzung des Internets die Selektionsfunktion der Massenmedien unterlaufen konnen. Dieser offene Zugang zum “Massenmedium Internet” biete eher Gewahr fur einen egalitaren offentlichen Diskurs, an dem sich alle beteiligen konnen.