Description
Book SynopsisThis book will appeal to social science students and citizens interested in the role of social networks in information diffusion and yet it serves as a cautionary tale for communication practitioners and policymakers interested in leveraging social ties as an inexpensive method to spread information.
Trade ReviewSouthwell has made major contributions to our understanding of the roles that social processes play in driving the diffusion and impact of science- and health-related information. Concise and empirically grounded, Social Networks and Popular Understanding of Science and Health cautions against widespread reliance on peer-to-peer sharing strategies to disseminate vital information. In doing so, it challenges all of us-scientists, educators, and policy-makers-to think more critically and creatively about the potential for our communication efforts to increase disparities in access to information that can help people live healthier lives in a healthier world. Science Readers of Social Networks and Popular Understanding of Science and Health: Sharing Disparities are likely to come away better informed and inspired. -- Michelle Shumate Health Communication
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
1. Introduction
2. Evidence of Inequality in Information Sharing
3. A Catalogue of Information-Sharing Behaviors
4. Who One Is Matters: Individual-Level Factors
5. Where One Is Matters: Community-Level Factors
6. What Information Matters: Content-Level Factors
7. The Consequences of Information Sharing
8. Remedies and Realism
References
About the Author
Index
