Fabien Medvecky
Biographic Data
| ID | 309131 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Fabien Medvecky |
| GIVEN NAMES | Fabien |
| FAMILY NAME | Medvecky |
| SIGNATURE | MEDVECKY F |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Otago |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7317-8518 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 17 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 20 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Power, epistemic authority, and game theory
Authoritarian populism as a political system is on the global rise. In (what was) Bolsonaro's Brazil, Orbán's Hungary, or Trump's U.S., it yielded or yields a communicative ecosystem loosening ties with truthfulness and challenging a common ground that science has epistemic authority. In our paper we argue that the declining role of truth as a compass in public discourse and decision-making notable in what were seen as stable democracies poses ch…
Walking the line
Harassment, political interference, and violence against science communication are on the rise and pose considerable challenges for scientists, journalists, communicators, and institutions. In this commentary, we — an international group of researchers and practitioners — reflect on how scientists, science communicators and their institutions can balance the increased demand for meaningful public engagement while also appropriately responding to …
Commentary set
In an age of populism, rising authoritarianism and far-right movements that often go hand-in-hand with questioning of scientific knowledge, science communication is challenged to respond. How to foster dialogue and inclusion oriented interaction with publics and stakeholders when powerful people and institutions deny science, or if interlocutors don't share the assumption that science yields valid knowledge? In this commentary set, researchers of…
Ethics, generative AI and science communication
In this essay, we argue that the applications of generative-AI technologies to science communication need careful consideration to ensure such uses are desirable, and socially and ethically acceptable. In early applications of GenAI in science communication, especially in public media, there has been swift and overwhelmingly negative response to news about its use. Drawing on existing literature about generative-AI in adjacent fields to science c…
What We Do in Kauri Forests
Public use and anthropogenic activity are recognised sources of damage and threat to vulnerable forest areas in New Zealand, but also globally, through the spread of pathogens on shoes, tyres and on the paws of their companion adventurers.User experiences of sensitive and spiritual forest areas, however, have not been fully examined, particularly for those who might be considered 'high-risk' users of these areas.Using inplace methods and in-depth…
The Valuable Plurality of the Citizen Sciences
Citizen science is a multilayered concept. Although it is generally understood as a form of public engagement with science and technology, it can take various forms, with widely different roles for citizens. Despite this vastness, a “contributory” strand of citizen science dominates the field, which formally limits citizens’ roles to those of data gatherers for professional scientists or experts. This has led critics to argue that citizen science…
Park Rangers and Science-Public Expertise
Park rangers hold a unique set of knowledge—of science, of publics, of institutional structures, of place, and of self—that should be recognised as valuable. For too long, models of the knowledge of scientists and publics have set people like rangers in an inbetweener position, seeing them as good at communicating, translating or negotiating from one side to the other, but not as making knowledge that is powerful in its own right. In this paper w…
Trust in science and scientists
Trust in science and scientists (TSS) is an increasingly important topic with respect to how science is applied within society. However, its role regarding specific issues may vary depending upon other psychosocial factors. In this study, we investigated how trust interacts with social attitudes and motivations to shape views on scientific issues in New Zealand (N = 8,199; 74.7% New Zealand European, 55.1% female). The study went beyond TSS by in…
Sharks and New Zealand news media
Scientifically framed gene drive communication perceived as credible but riskier
Humans have caused a catastrophic decline to animal species and look to emerging technologies to stop the decline. Gene drive is a potential tool that may eradicate invasive rodents known for their devastating impact on native animals. The use of gene drive will be significantly influenced by public opinion and support, thus early dialogue with society is needed. Framing is a communication technique in which certain beliefs or values are emphasiz…
It’s not like any survey I’ve ever seen before’
This paper unpacks what happened when members of the local community were invited to design and test a valuation tool – specifically a discrete choice experiment – to find a valuation for New Zealand’s Otago Peninsula. We argue that the assumptions that lie within a discrete choice experiment are revealed when we look closely at how community participants react to the discrete choice experiment survey they have helped design. These assumptions, u…
An RRI for the present moment
The ultimate framing of the first iteration of RRI as enabling smart, inclusive, sustainable growth had as much to do with the financial crisis then engulfing the Eurozone as meeting the goals of the Lisbon Treaty. Now we have come to the end of Horizon 2020, it is presently unclear how RRI will continue to be addressed as it is mainstreamed into Horizon Europe. In this Perspective, we will argue that discussions about placing responsibility at t…
(Google-)Knowing Economics
How is economics made public? Specifically, how is economics made public on Google? Here we explore a methodological problem – studying google-knowing – and simultaneously explore the more pragmatic problem of the public-making of economics. We argue there has been very little attempt either to make economics public or to understand what is currently in the public sphere about economics. This is especially stark when compared to other knowledge c…
Public Opinion Towards Gene Drive as a Pest Control Approach for Biodiversity Conservation and the Association of Underlying Worldviews
Synthetic gene drive approaches are nascent technologies with potential applicability for pest control for conservation purposes. Responsible science mandates that society be engaged in a dialogue over new technology, particularly where there exist global ramifications as with gene drive. We hypothesize that public attitudes towards gene drive are not formed on scientific knowledge or demographics alone, but are heavily influenced by underlying w…
The role of environmental managers in knowledge co-production
An Ethics of Science Communication
An Ethics of Science Communication
The disengaged in science communication
In this article, we suggest that three concepts from cultural and media studies might be useful for analysing the ways audiences are constructed in science communication: that media are immanent to society, media are multiple and various, and audiences are active. This article uses those concepts, along with insights from Science and Technology Studies (STS), to examine the category of ‘the disengaged’ within science communication. This article d…
Innovation for a steady state
The proponents of responsible innovation (RI) have often opened their discussions with the \nreassurance that while they are against irresponsible innovation, they are not advocating \nirresponsible stagnation. In the two-by-two matrix generally used to illustrate this model of \ninnovation, the quadrant for responsible stagnation has so far gone largely unmentioned, let \nalone explored. This paper draws on existing real-world cases to examine w…
To Infinity and Beyond
Innovation for a steady state
The proponents of responsible innovation (RI) have often opened their discussions with the \nreassurance that while they are against irresponsible innovation, they are not advocating \nirresponsible stagnation. In the two-by-two matrix generally used to illustrate this model of \ninnovation, the quadrant for responsible stagnation has so far gone largely unmentioned, let \nalone explored. This paper draws on existing real-world cases to examine w…
Trust in science and scientists
Trust in science and scientists (TSS) is an increasingly important topic with respect to how science is applied within society. However, its role regarding specific issues may vary depending upon other psychosocial factors. In this study, we investigated how trust interacts with social attitudes and motivations to shape views on scientific issues in New Zealand (N = 8,199; 74.7% New Zealand European, 55.1% female). The study went beyond TSS by in…
The role of environmental managers in knowledge co-production
To Infinity and Beyond
Innovation for a steady state
The proponents of responsible innovation (RI) have often opened their discussions with the \nreassurance that while they are against irresponsible innovation, they are not advocating \nirresponsible stagnation. In the two-by-two matrix generally used to illustrate this model of \ninnovation, the quadrant for responsible stagnation has so far gone largely unmentioned, let \nalone explored. This paper draws on existing real-world cases to examine w…
The disengaged in science communication
In this article, we suggest that three concepts from cultural and media studies might be useful for analysing the ways audiences are constructed in science communication: that media are immanent to society, media are multiple and various, and audiences are active. This article uses those concepts, along with insights from Science and Technology Studies (STS), to examine the category of ‘the disengaged’ within science communication. This article d…
An Ethics of Science Communication
An Ethics of Science Communication
(Google-)Knowing Economics
How is economics made public? Specifically, how is economics made public on Google? Here we explore a methodological problem – studying google-knowing – and simultaneously explore the more pragmatic problem of the public-making of economics. We argue there has been very little attempt either to make economics public or to understand what is currently in the public sphere about economics. This is especially stark when compared to other knowledge c…
Public Opinion Towards Gene Drive as a Pest Control Approach for Biodiversity Conservation and the Association of Underlying Worldviews
Synthetic gene drive approaches are nascent technologies with potential applicability for pest control for conservation purposes. Responsible science mandates that society be engaged in a dialogue over new technology, particularly where there exist global ramifications as with gene drive. We hypothesize that public attitudes towards gene drive are not formed on scientific knowledge or demographics alone, but are heavily influenced by underlying w…
The role of environmental managers in knowledge co-production
Sharks and New Zealand news media
Scientifically framed gene drive communication perceived as credible but riskier
Humans have caused a catastrophic decline to animal species and look to emerging technologies to stop the decline. Gene drive is a potential tool that may eradicate invasive rodents known for their devastating impact on native animals. The use of gene drive will be significantly influenced by public opinion and support, thus early dialogue with society is needed. Framing is a communication technique in which certain beliefs or values are emphasiz…
It’s not like any survey I’ve ever seen before’
This paper unpacks what happened when members of the local community were invited to design and test a valuation tool – specifically a discrete choice experiment – to find a valuation for New Zealand’s Otago Peninsula. We argue that the assumptions that lie within a discrete choice experiment are revealed when we look closely at how community participants react to the discrete choice experiment survey they have helped design. These assumptions, u…
An RRI for the present moment
The ultimate framing of the first iteration of RRI as enabling smart, inclusive, sustainable growth had as much to do with the financial crisis then engulfing the Eurozone as meeting the goals of the Lisbon Treaty. Now we have come to the end of Horizon 2020, it is presently unclear how RRI will continue to be addressed as it is mainstreamed into Horizon Europe. In this Perspective, we will argue that discussions about placing responsibility at t…
Trust in science and scientists
Trust in science and scientists (TSS) is an increasingly important topic with respect to how science is applied within society. However, its role regarding specific issues may vary depending upon other psychosocial factors. In this study, we investigated how trust interacts with social attitudes and motivations to shape views on scientific issues in New Zealand (N = 8,199; 74.7% New Zealand European, 55.1% female). The study went beyond TSS by in…
What We Do in Kauri Forests
Public use and anthropogenic activity are recognised sources of damage and threat to vulnerable forest areas in New Zealand, but also globally, through the spread of pathogens on shoes, tyres and on the paws of their companion adventurers.User experiences of sensitive and spiritual forest areas, however, have not been fully examined, particularly for those who might be considered 'high-risk' users of these areas.Using inplace methods and in-depth…
The Valuable Plurality of the Citizen Sciences
Citizen science is a multilayered concept. Although it is generally understood as a form of public engagement with science and technology, it can take various forms, with widely different roles for citizens. Despite this vastness, a “contributory” strand of citizen science dominates the field, which formally limits citizens’ roles to those of data gatherers for professional scientists or experts. This has led critics to argue that citizen science…
Park Rangers and Science-Public Expertise
Park rangers hold a unique set of knowledge—of science, of publics, of institutional structures, of place, and of self—that should be recognised as valuable. For too long, models of the knowledge of scientists and publics have set people like rangers in an inbetweener position, seeing them as good at communicating, translating or negotiating from one side to the other, but not as making knowledge that is powerful in its own right. In this paper w…
Power, epistemic authority, and game theory
Authoritarian populism as a political system is on the global rise. In (what was) Bolsonaro's Brazil, Orbán's Hungary, or Trump's U.S., it yielded or yields a communicative ecosystem loosening ties with truthfulness and challenging a common ground that science has epistemic authority. In our paper we argue that the declining role of truth as a compass in public discourse and decision-making notable in what were seen as stable democracies poses ch…
Walking the line
Harassment, political interference, and violence against science communication are on the rise and pose considerable challenges for scientists, journalists, communicators, and institutions. In this commentary, we — an international group of researchers and practitioners — reflect on how scientists, science communicators and their institutions can balance the increased demand for meaningful public engagement while also appropriately responding to …
Commentary set
In an age of populism, rising authoritarianism and far-right movements that often go hand-in-hand with questioning of scientific knowledge, science communication is challenged to respond. How to foster dialogue and inclusion oriented interaction with publics and stakeholders when powerful people and institutions deny science, or if interlocutors don't share the assumption that science yields valid knowledge? In this commentary set, researchers of…
Ethics, generative AI and science communication
In this essay, we argue that the applications of generative-AI technologies to science communication need careful consideration to ensure such uses are desirable, and socially and ethically acceptable. In early applications of GenAI in science communication, especially in public media, there has been swift and overwhelmingly negative response to news about its use. Drawing on existing literature about generative-AI in adjacent fields to science c…
Sociology (13 works) · Political science (10 works) · Climate Change Communication and Perception (8 works) · Politics (7 works) · Economics (6 works) · Public relations (6 works) · Science communication (6 works) · Epistemology (5 works) · Business (4 works) · Geography (4 works)