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Analysing the construct ‘ geoengineering on Wikipedia’. Nils Markusson CEC14, Berlin, Aug 2014. intro. Definitions and classifications are fluid and contested How to study their construction in public discourse? Wikipedia offers an opportunity Highly public (few-to-many)
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Analysing the construct ‘geoengineering on Wikipedia’ Nils Markusson CEC14, Berlin, Aug 2014
intro • Definitions and classifications are fluid and contested • How to study their construction in public discourse? • Wikipedia offers an opportunity • Highly public (few-to-many) • Topology (linked labels) ideal for this question • Heterogeneous, contextualised, longitudinal
methods • Collaboration with researchers in Paris and Barcelona • Dataset 1: geoengineering in climate change network • Dataset 2: context and structure • Selected 34 start articles, followed in and out links, resulted in a set of 1155 articles • Dataset 3: history • Manually looked into history of the 34 geoengineering related Wikipedia pages, including both content and links • Data collected June 2013
(25% of current g.e. articles initiated after 2010) 2010 2009 (40% of current g.e. articles initiated Dec 2008-2009) 2008 Geoengineering 2007 Biochar; iron fertilisation 2006 2005 Afforestation Planetary engineering Geoengineering; space sunshade; cloud seeding 2004 2003 Terraforming 2002 Reforestation Initiation of relevant articles Article with main GE topic
results two groups: ‘core’ and ‘land-based’ • ‘Core’: main article, SRM, OF, WM… • ‘Land-based’: BECCS, biochar… (varies by resolution) • Weakly connected, competing different contexts • Core ↔ science; Land-based ↔ technology • Core far from climate policy • A few military categories roots include terraforming and planetary engineering
resistance of the medium • resists the seductive simplicity of stated definitions and classifications and makes visible informal aspects of discursive practice • resists tendencies towards decontextualized and ahistorical presentation in the discourse on geoengineering • can usefully be contrasted with the de facto definitions and classifications
visualisation • Lists, diagrams, networks • Network graphs (gephi) crucial • Analysis and interpretation • Overview, complexity, zooming • Fits with the fluidity of de facto definitions
thank you! See also: “Bounding boundaries: The construction of geoengineering on Wikipedia”, N. Markusson, A. Kaltenbrunner, D. Laniado, T. Venturini http://www.geoengineering-governance-research.org/cgg-working-papers.php