Information-seeking Intentions Of The Public In Science Communication

Along with the updating and developing of concepts of science communication,the role of the public has gradually changed from traditionally passive recipient to participator or negotiator of science information communication.The fierce discussions of the public on socio-scientific issues suggest that if it's needed to propel dialoging between science and public,and to promote public understanding and paticipation of science,it's better to understand that information seeking of the public and the sufficiency of information are not only key to risk prevention and life quality improvement,but also basic to public paticipation of scientific dialogs and decisions.Among several socio-scientific issues,transgenic theme has caught attentions of many researchers and practitioners from many fields because it's outstanding in hot topics,relevance with daily life,social influence and communication significance.In order to explore information seeking mechanism of the public about transgenic issue,a risk information seeking and processing model from west scholars has been introduced and examined in context of Chinese local cultrue.The results indicated that the model could be acceptable and it's helpful to explain and predict information-seeking intentions of domestic publics about transgenic.Informational subjective norms play as the most powerful predictor of information-seeking intentions,followed by current knowledge and the belief that media provide valid cues for processing information.Based on research findings and realities,some practical sugesstions were proposed for government,enterprise,medium and individuals.