Filter by keyword: Public engagement with science and technology

Search results

• Date of publication Feb 01, 2021 Category: Commentary

  Science engagement with faith communities: respecting identity, culture and worldview

  by Robert C. O'Malley , John P. Slattery , Curtis L. Baxter , Katy Hinman

  Most adults in the U.S. and worldwide claim a religious affiliation. As an element of identity and worldview, faith informs many individuals' views of science, technology, and society at large. Engagement with faith communities and religious leaders about science can improve public perceptions and trust of scientists, advance evidence-based policy, and improve diversity, equity and inclusion in science fields. This commentary outlines examples and suggests guiding principles for science engagement with faith communities.

  Volume 20 • Issue 01 • 2021

• Date of publication Feb 01, 2021 Category: Commentary

  “We had to be very clear that they weren't going to try to break into any of the cases”: what potential do ‘escape rooms’ offer as a science communication technique?

  by Clare Wilkinson , Hannah Little

  ‘Escape rooms’ are a recent cultural phenomena, whereby a group of ‘players’, often friends or colleagues, are ‘locked’ in a room and must solve a series of clues, puzzles, or mysteries in order to ‘escape’. Escape rooms are increasingly appearing in a range of settings, including science centres and museums, libraries and university programmes, but what role can an escape room play in science communication? In this commentary, we explore the emerging literature on escape rooms as well as thoughts from a small number of escape room creators in the U.S. and U.K.

  Volume 20 • Issue 01 • 2021

• Date of publication Feb 01, 2021 Category: Commentary

  From the margins to the mainstream: deconstructing science communication as a white, Western paradigm

  by Summer May Finlay , Sujatha Raman , Elizabeth Rasekoala , Vanessa Mignan , Emily Dawson , Liz Neeley , Lindy A. Orthia

  In this commentary we are concerned with what mainstream science communication has neglected through cultural narrowness and ambient racism: other practitioners, missing audiences, unvalued knowledge, unrecognised practices. We explore examples from First Nations Peoples in the lands now known as Australia, from Griots in West Africa and from People's Science Movements in India to help us reimagine science communication. To develop meaningfully inclusive approaches to science communication, we argue there is an urgent need for the ‘mainstream’ to recognise, value and learn from science communication practices that are all too often seen as at ‘the margins’ of this field.

  Volume 20 • Issue 01 • 2021

• Date of publication Feb 01, 2021 Category: Commentary

  Neglected spaces in science communication

  by Clare Wilkinson

  Many of the earliest drivers for improved scientific literacy and understanding were based on the assumption that science and technology is all around us, and yet there are some spaces and communities that are neglected in science communication contexts. In this brief comment, Clare Wilkinson introduces a series of ten commentaries, which further probe neglected spaces in science communication.

  From the margins to the mainstream: deconstructing science communication as a white, Western paradigm

  by Summer May Finlay, Sujatha Raman, Elizabeth Rasekoala, Vanessa Mignan, Emily Dawson, Liz Neeley and Lindy A. Orthia

  Knowledge◦Room exploring social justice by going beyond ‘traditional’ spaces and activities of science centres

  by Hessam Habibi Doroh and Barbara Streicher

  Communities and narratives in neglected spaces: voices from SMASHfestUK

  by Wyn Griffiths and Lindsay Keith

  Queer world-making: a need for integrated intersectionality in science communication

  by Tara Roberson and Lindy A. Orthia

  STEMroller: smashing stereotypes

  by Helen Bayram and Karen Ironside

  “We had to be very clear that they weren't going to try to break into any of the cases”: what potential do ‘escape rooms’ offer as a science communication technique?

  by Clare Wilkinson and Hannah Little

  Community engagement and co-creation of strategic health and environmental communication: collaborative storytelling and game-building

  by Maria Elena Villar

  Marine and ocean sciences in Mexico: living with our backs to the sea

  by Ana Claudia Nepote and Pedro Medina-Rosas

  The elephant in the room: tackling taboos in women's healthcare

  by Aarti Kapoor and Merryn McKinnon

  Science engagement with faith communities: respecting identity, culture and worldview

  by Robert C. O'Malley, John P. Slattery, Curtis L. Baxter and Katy Hinman

  Volume 20 • Issue 01 • 2021

• Date of publication Feb 01, 2021 Category: Commentary

  The elephant in the room: tackling taboos in women's healthcare

  by Aarti Kapoor , Merryn McKinnon

  The medical arena often encounters ‘taboo’ topics. These appear especially prevalent in women's health conditions, such as menstruation and menopause. Taboos are exacerbated by medical uncertainty, complex jargon, and patients' misunderstanding of the human anatomy — impacting patients' ability to actively participate in a shared decision-making process with their doctor. In this commentary, we look at one example of a medical procedure where taboo topics pose a number of challenges in doctor-patient communication — hysterectomy. We explore whether science communication can address these challenges, as well as contribute and collaborate in other medical scenarios, thereby benefiting both disciplines, and ultimately, patients.

  Volume 20 • Issue 01 • 2021

• Date of publication Feb 01, 2021 Category: Commentary

  Community engagement and co-creation of strategic health and environmental communication: collaborative storytelling and game-building

  by Maria Elena Villar

  From a strategic communication perspective, for any communication to be effective, it must be audience-centered, with content and delivery channels that are relevant to its intended target. When trying to reach culturally specific communities or other groups that are not otherwise connected with science research, it is crucial to partner with community members to co-create content through media that is appealing and culturally competent. This commentary considers some examples including storytelling through ‘fotonovelas’ and radio stories, community drama and serious games.

  Volume 20 • Issue 01 • 2021

• Date of publication Dec 14, 2020 Category: Article

  The COVID-19 mirror: reflecting science-society relationships across 11 countries

  by Jennifer Metcalfe , Michelle Riedlinger , Martin W. Bauer , Anwesha Chakraborty , Toss Gascoigne , Lars Guenther , Marina Joubert , Margaret Kaseje , Susana Herrera , Gema Revuelta , Jan Riise , Bernard Schiele

  Twelve researchers from 11 countries used autoethnographic techniques, keeping diaries over 10 weeks of the COVID-19 crisis, to observe and reflect on changes in the role and cultural authority of science during important stages of viral activity and government action in their respective countries. We followed arguments, discussions and ideas generated by mass and social media about science and scientific expertise, observed patterns and shifts in narratives, and made international comparisons. During regular meetings via video conference, the participating researchers discussed theoretical approaches and our joint methodology for reflecting on our observations. This project is informed by social representations theory, agenda-setting, and frames of meaning associated with the rise and fall of expertise and trust. This paper presents our observations and reflections on the role and authority of science in our countries from March 10 to May 31, 2020. This is the first stage of a longer-term project that aims to identify, analyse and compare changes in science-society relationships over the course of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

  Volume 19 • Issue 07 • 2020 • Special Issue: COVID-19 and science communication, Part II, 2020 (COVID-19 and Scicomm / 2)

  Also a part of:

  Collection: Volume 19 • Issue 05 • 2020 • Special Issue: COVID-19 and science communication, Part I, 2020 (COVID-19 and Scicomm / 1)

• Date of publication Nov 24, 2020 Category: Commentary

  Activists as strategic science communicators on the adoption of GMOs in Uganda

  by Ivan Nathanael Lukanda Dr

  This commentary uses a case study of Uganda and the country's attempts to adopt genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to demonstrate how activists have become communicators of scientific knowledge in the digital age. The digital age allows activists to share their information and collaborate with those who can push their agenda. I argue that anti-GMO activists have positioned themselves as influencers in a debate where weight-of-scientific evidence seems to have been overshadowed by perceptions, largely driven by socio-democratic considerations that require participation in technological uptake.

  Volume 19 • Issue 06 • 2020

• Date of publication Nov 04, 2020 Category: Article

  Engagement styles in an environmental citizen science project

  by Yaela Golumbic , Ayelet Baram-Tsabari , Barak Fishbain

  This paper identifies the diverse ways in which participants engage with science, through the same citizen science project. Using multiple data sources, we describe various activities conducted by citizen scientists in an air quality project, and characterize the motivations driving their engagement. Findings reveal several themes, indicative of participants motivations and engagement; worried residents, education and outreach, environmental action, personal interest and opportunistic engagement. The study further illustrates the interconnectivity between science communication and citizen science practices and calls for nurturing this relationship for the mutual advancement of both fields.

  Volume 19 • Issue 06 • 2020

• Date of publication Sep 01, 2020 Category: Commentary

  Science Communication as a design challenge in transdisciplinary collaborations

  by Éva Kalmár , Hanneke Stenfert

  In this series of comments, we argue for Science Communication as an enabler of transdisciplinary, integrative collaboration in the context of today’s complex, multi-stakeholder issues. Participatory design, as a collaborative method, is effective in achieving mutual learning, shared understandings, integrating disciplines and creating solutions that make sense in the multi-layered reality of today’s challenges. Science Communication, therefore, is communication design in transdisciplinary collaborations.

  Power in science communication collaborations

  by Megan Halpern and Michael O'Rourke

  Disentangling the different layers of interdisciplinarity

  by Renate Klaassen

  Should science communication become part of a discipline of integration and implementation sciences (i2S)?

  by Gabriele Bammer

  Collective creativity: strategies for catalyzing interdisciplinary research

  by Elizabeth LaPensee and Aalap Doshi

  From actors to space, through processes: reflections from co-production and commoning

  by Paola Alfaro - d'Alençon and Horacio Torrent

  Volume 19 • Issue 04 • 2020