Accessibility Skip to Global Navigation Skip to Local Navigation Skip to Content Skip to Search Skip to Site Map Menu

Dr Fabien Medvecky

Fabien Photo

Senior Lecturer

Email fabien.medvecky@otago.ac.nz
Tel +64 3 479 7848

I’m a social epistemologist; I study the relationship between knowledge and society and how social interactions shape, create and direct what counts as knowledge. And there’s no better space to study this than science communication and science policy.

I usually take a philosophical approach in my studies, though I also engage in empirical research. Basically, data without good reasoning isn’t particularly insightful, and reasoning without grounding it or relating it to the empirical world isn’t particularly meaningful.

I’m especially interested in areas that are challenging and uncomfortable, from ethical and justice issues (who gets to know what and who should get to know what; who gets a say and who should get a say; etc) to questions over contentious or controversial science and technologies (gene tech; alternative medicine; etc). I also have an interest in how economics (the discipline, not the economy) is made public, and how that interacts with other forms of knowledge and expertise.

I’m an active member of the science communication community in New Zealand and internationally, and was the president of the Science Communicators’ Association of New Zealand from 2015 to 2018.

Current Teaching

Research interests

I have three core areas of interest:

  • Normative questions in social epistemology (from the ethics of science communication to the value of ignorance in knowledge making to the ethics of RRI)
  • The relationship between economics and knowledge (from making economics public to how economics shapes knowledge through policies)
  • Social engagement in contentious issues (from alternative health to nuclear research and anything in between, but currently focusing on gene tech for pest control)

Potential Postgraduate Projects

I am happy to consider supervising project on the following topics:

  • Economics in the public space
  • Ethical issues in science communication and/or social epistemology
  • Novel technology/contentious science and the public
  • Science policy, participation, and responsible innovation

Current Postgraduate Student and Student Research

PhD

  • Matt Fuller: The campaign to ban Depleted Uranium
  • Alba Suarez Garcia: Poetry, Podcasts and narratives
  • Suzanne Claessen: Unloved Biodiversity and cartoons
  • Samantha Clarke: How GMO is represent in the media in three countries

Masters

  • Olivia Taylor-Peebles: The human-nature relationship
  • Wen Qing Ng: Dog walkers in Kauri forests
  • Millie Johnston: Neurotech and Responsible Innovation

Recent Books

de Saille, S., F. Medvecky, M van Oudheusden, K Albertson, E Amanatidou, T Birabi and M Pansera, (2020). Responsibility Beyond Growth: A Case for Responsible Stagnation, Policy Press

Medvecky, F. & Leach, J. (2019). An Ethics of Science Communication. Palgrave, London.

^ Top of page

Publications

Reid, O. S., & Medvecky, F. (2021). Sharks and New Zealand news media. Marine Policy, 134, 104751. doi: 10.1016/j.marpol.2021.104751

MacDonald, E. A., Edwards, E. D., Balanovic, J., & Medvecky, F. (2021). Scientifically framed gene drive communication perceived as credible but riskier. People & Nature, 3(2), 457-468. doi: 10.1002/pan3.10186

Macknight, V., & Medvecky, F. (2021). ‘It’s not like any survey I’ve ever seen before’: Discrete choice experiments as a valuation technology. Valuation Studies, 8(1), 7-31. doi: 10.3384/VS.2001-5992.2021.8.1.7-31

Finkler, W., Medvecky, F., & Davis, L. S. (2021). Environmental immersion and mobile filmmaking for science education: A New Zealand pilot study. Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental & Science Education. Advance online publication. doi: 10.29333/ijese/ 9155

O’Connor, R. A., Nel, J., Roux, D. J., Leach, J., Lim-Camacho, L., Medvecky, F., … Raman, S. (2021). The role of environmental managers in knowledge co-production: Insights from two case studies. Environmental Science & Policy, 116, 188-195. doi: 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.12.001

Finkler, W., Medvecky, F., & Davis, L. S. (2021). Environmental immersion and mobile filmmaking for science education: A New Zealand pilot study. Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental & Science Education. Advance online publication. doi: 10.29333/ijese/ 9155

Journal - Research Article

MacDonald, E. A., Edwards, E. D., Balanovic, J., & Medvecky, F. (2021). Scientifically framed gene drive communication perceived as credible but riskier. People & Nature, 3(2), 457-468. doi: 10.1002/pan3.10186

Journal - Research Article

MacDonald, E. A., Edwards, E., Balanovic, J., & Medvecky, F. (2021). Underlying beliefs linked to public opinion about gene drive and pest-specific toxin for pest control. Wildlife Research, 48, 30-37. doi: 10.1071/wr19149

Journal - Research Article

MacDonald, E. A., Neff, M. B., Edwards, E., Medvecky, F., & Balanovic, J. (2021). Conservation pest control with new technologies: Public perceptions. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/03036758.2020.1850481

Journal - Research Article

Macknight, V., & Medvecky, F. (2021). ‘It’s not like any survey I’ve ever seen before’: Discrete choice experiments as a valuation technology. Valuation Studies, 8(1), 7-31. doi: 10.3384/VS.2001-5992.2021.8.1.7-31

Journal - Research Article

O’Connor, R. A., Nel, J., Roux, D. J., Leach, J., Lim-Camacho, L., Medvecky, F., … Raman, S. (2021). The role of environmental managers in knowledge co-production: Insights from two case studies. Environmental Science & Policy, 116, 188-195. doi: 10.1016/j.envsci.2020.12.001

Journal - Research Article

Reid, O. S., & Medvecky, F. (2021). Sharks and New Zealand news media. Marine Policy, 134, 104751. doi: 10.1016/j.marpol.2021.104751

Journal - Research Article

MacDonald, E. A., Balanovic, J., Edwards, E. D., Abrahamse, W., Frame, B., Greenaway, A., … Medvecky, F., … Tompkins, D. M. (2020). Public opinion towards gene drive as a pest control approach for biodiversity conservation and the association of underlying worldviews. Environmental Communication, 14(7), 904-918. doi: 10.1080/17524032.2019.1702568

Journal - Research Article

Macknight, V., & Medvecky, F. (2020). (Google-)knowing economics. Social Epistemology, 34(3), 213-226. doi: 10.1080/02691728.2019.1702735

Journal - Research Article

MacDonald, E., Harbow, M., Jack, S., Kidd, J., Wright, A., Tuinder, P., … Medvecky, F., & Poutasi, M. (2019). Segmenting urban populations for greater conservation gains: A new approach targeting cobenefits is required. Conservation Science & Practice, 1(10), e101. doi: 10.1111/csp2.101

Journal - Research Article

Burns, M., & Medvecky, F. (2018). The disengaged in science communication: How not to count audiences and publics. Public Understanding of Science, 27(2), 118-130. doi: 10.1177/0963662516678351

Journal - Research Article

Fraser-Baxter, S., & Medvecky, F. (2018). Evaluating the media's reporting of public and political responses to human-shark interactions in N.S.W, Australia. Marine Policy, 97, 109-118. doi: 10.1016/j.marpol.2018.08.020

Journal - Research Article

Medvecky, F. (2018). Fairness in knowing: Science communication and epistemic justice. Science & Engineering Ethics, 24(5), 1393-1408. doi: 10.1007/s11948-017-9977-0

Journal - Research Article

Sharif, A., & Medvecky, F. (2018). Climate change news reporting in Pakistan: A qualitative analysis of environmental journalists and the barriers they face. Journal of Science Communication, 17(1), A03. doi: 10.22323/2.17010203

Journal - Research Article

Medvecky, F., & Macknight, V. (2017). Building the economic-public relationship: Learning from science communication and science studies. Journal of Science Communication, 16(2), A01.

Journal - Research Article

de Saille, S., & Medvecky, F. (2016). Innovation for a steady state: A case for responsible stagnation. Economy & Society, 45(1), 1-23. doi: 10.1080/03085147.2016.1143727

Journal - Research Article

Hine, A., & Medvecky, F. (2015). Unfinished Science in Museums: A push for critical science literacy. Journal of Science Communication, 14(2), A04.

Journal - Research Article

Medvecky, F. (2014). Valuing the environment in conservation economics: Conceptual and structural barriers. Ethics & the Environment, 19(2), 39-55. doi: 10.2979/ethicsenviro.19.2.39

Journal - Research Article

Medvecky, F., Lacey, J., & Ashworth, P. (2014). Examining the role of carbon capture and storage through an ethical lens. Science & Engineering Ethics, 20(4), 1111-1128. doi: 10.1007/s11948-013-9474-z

Journal - Research Article

Medvecky, F. (2012). Valuing environmental costs and benefits in an uncertain future: Risk aversion and discounting. Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics, 5(1).

Journal - Research Article

Parris, K. M., McCall, S. C., McCarthy, M. A., Minteer, B. A., Steele, K., Bekessy, S., & Medvecky, F. (2010). Assessing ethical trade-offs in ecological field studies. Journal of Applied Ecology, 47(1), 227-234. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01755.x

Journal - Research Article

More publications...