Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/60402

JaLCDOI : 10.14943/71599

KEYWORDS : Research Results;Information Dissemination;Press Releases;Graduate Students;研究成果;記者発表;プレスリリース;大学院生

When scientific research results are published and announced for society, the information is disseminated through a form of a press release mostly in the order of researchers to public relations staff to journalists to society. In this study, first-year graduate students delve into the role of researchers, public relations staff and journalists, who are all regarded as professionals involved with the information dissemination, and examine issues and countermeasures from the viewpoint of the students. There are two reasons for putting out press releases that serves as a means to deliver research results to citizens. One is accountability to society since scientific research activities are conducted based on public funding, which stems from taxpayers’money. The second is information sharing with society so that decision-making processes in the so called transknowledge areas, which include issues requiring input from both experts and citizens, can take place by involving informed citizens. Six problems concerning press releases are discussed here. They are wrong understanding of research results, their overemphasis, attention by society to areas other than the research results, discrepancies in their standpoint between researchers and their affiliation, revelation of research misconduct or ethically wrong research conduct, and difference between citizens, journalists and scientists in their attitude toward research outcome. Countermeasures to deal with these problems can be roughly divided into two, which are respective recognition of one’s profession and research ethics education, as well as formation of a feedback channel for such information. After recognizing the differences in the role of three professions involved with a press release, it is important to design a system based on a premise that discrepancies between the norms and realities exist. What is important in designing the system is to anticipate and allow differences in recognition so that a foundation is created to enable specialists to act as a mediator.
記者発表による市民への情報伝達過程では，情報はおおむね研究者，広報担当者，ジャーナリスト，市民の順で伝わる．そこで，記者発表に関与する専門職と考えられる研究者，広報担当者，ジャーナリストの役割を考え，情報伝達過程における課題と解決策を博士後期課程1年次の大学院生の視点から考察した．市民に研究成果を届ける記者発表をする理由は二つある．税金を原資として運営する研究の市民に対する説明と，「トランス−専門知」が関わる領域での社会の意思決定のための情報提供である．ここで記者発表をめぐる課題は六つ挙げられるだろう．研究成果の間違った理解と伝搬，研究成果の強調，社会からの関心の研究成果以外への集中，研究者個人と組織の立場の相反，研究不正や倫理的問題の発覚，そして，市民・ジャーナリスト・科学者の態度の違いである．これらの課題の解決策はおおむね，それぞれの専門職としての役割の認識と倫理教育，情報のフィードバック回路の形成に大別できる．ここから，記者発表に関わる三者の役割の違いを認識したうえで，規範と現実の食い違いは生じるとの前提でシステムの設計をするのが重要である．そして，その設計において大事なことは認識のずれを許容し吸収する仕組みの準備である．そのためには，バッファーとしての役割を担う中間的専門家が活動できる基盤が必要である．