Scientists as policy actors: A study of the language of biofuel research
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In: Environmental Science & Policy, Vol. 47, 01.03.2015, p. 137-147.
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Scientists as policy actors
T2 - A study of the language of biofuel research
AU - Upham, Paul
AU - Dendler, Leonie
PY - 2015/3/1
Y1 - 2015/3/1
N2 - Theory suggests that the influence of science on policy will be greater when scientific discourse is aligned with the language and meaning of wider social concerns. Seeking to assess whether scientists may be guided by such propositions in a controversial environmental policy arena, we examine the language and content of public-facing, UK scientific research grant abstracts on biofuels for the period 2007-2011, comparing these to stakeholder position statements and newspaper articles of the same period. We find that UK scientists have indeed broadly reflected societal concerns about biofuels during this period. However we also find that both science and society have paid less attention to procedural issues. We comment on the implications of the findings for the role of science in environmental policy development.
AB - Theory suggests that the influence of science on policy will be greater when scientific discourse is aligned with the language and meaning of wider social concerns. Seeking to assess whether scientists may be guided by such propositions in a controversial environmental policy arena, we examine the language and content of public-facing, UK scientific research grant abstracts on biofuels for the period 2007-2011, comparing these to stakeholder position statements and newspaper articles of the same period. We find that UK scientists have indeed broadly reflected societal concerns about biofuels during this period. However we also find that both science and society have paid less attention to procedural issues. We comment on the implications of the findings for the role of science in environmental policy development.
KW - Sustainability sciences, Communication
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84918787002&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.envsci.2014.11.005
DO - 10.1016/j.envsci.2014.11.005
M3 - Journal articles
AN - SCOPUS:84918787002
VL - 47
SP - 137
EP - 147
JO - Environmental Science & Policy
JF - Environmental Science & Policy
SN - 1462-9011
ER -