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Jun 22, 2016 Commentary

How training can fix the existential crisis in science journalism

Science Journalism has been through a huge transition period in the past two decades as digital outlets compete with print media ― and that transition is continuing. It's left many science journalists unsure of their place in this new ecosystem and unsure of how best to use the new tools they have been presented with, such as social media. Now is an important time for training in this sector to ensure that journalists ― and the publications they work for ― can find their place again. There is also a real need for training for new writers ― to bridge the gap between their degree and their first job as a journalist.

Volume 15Issue 042016

Jun 22, 2016 Commentary

The Cheshire explainer. Musings about the training of explainers

by Antonio Gomes da Costa

The profession of explainer is still pretty much undefined and underrated and the training of explainers is many times deemed to be a luxury. In the following pages we make the argument that three main factors contribute to this state of affairs and, at the same time, we try to show why the training of explainers should really be at the core of any science communication institution. These factors are: an erroneous perception of what a proper scientific training means for explainers; a lack of clear definition of the aptitudes and role of explainers required by institutions that are evolving and diversifying their missions; and an organizational model based on top-down practices of management and activity development which underappreciates the potential of the personnel working directly with the public.

Volume 15Issue 042016

Jun 22, 2016 Commentary

Continuing professional development in the largest scientific laboratory in the world: perspectives and needs for a science communicator @ CERN

by Paola Catapano

A short outline of the evolution of communications at CERN since 1993 and the parallel growth of the need both for professional communications and, at the same time, the need for training in more and more complex competencies for the new profession.

Volume 15Issue 042016

Mar 17, 2016 Commentary

The dangers of ‘Miss Information’: science and comedy in South Park

by Edward Bankes

Interest in the possible role for comedy as a medium for communicating and engaging the public in science is growing. However, current research has so far been restricted to exploring whether the content of scientific knowledge is accurate and precise within comedy, and whether the public might be said to understand science better for having watched it. In this commentary, I suggest that this approach neglects the diversity with which scientific ideas and images are used in comedy, particularly when comedy is written without the explicit goal of communicating science. I present my current research on the American animated comedy South Park, which suggests a different story: science serves to expose the hypocrisy and self-interest that governs the town. I suggest that examples such as South Park might benefit the analysis of comedy and science, by seeking to explain the very presence of science in comedy and in doing so, explore the values attributed to science within popular culture.

Volume 15Issue 022016

Mar 17, 2016 Commentary

Visual communication, popular science journals and the rhetoric of evidence

by Dirk Hommrich , Guido Isekenmeier

While the use of scientific visualisations (such as brain scans) in popular science communication has been extensively studied, we argue for the importance of popular images (as demonstrated in various talks at #POPSCI2015), including pictures of everyday scenes of social life or references to pictures widely circulating in popular cultural contexts. We suggest that these images can be characterised in terms of a rhetorical theory of argumentation as working towards the production of evidentiality on the one hand, and as aiming to link science to familiar visualities on the other; our example is da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man".

Volume 15Issue 022016

Mar 17, 2016 Commentary

Hollywood heroes in high tech risk societies: modern fairy tales and emerging technologies

by Anna Lydia Svalastog , Joachim Allgaier

Science, research and emerging technologies often play a key role in many modern action movies. In this contribution we suggest to use genre analysis of folk narratives as an innovative and useful tool for understanding science and technology in action movies. In this contribution we outline our approach using illustrative examples and detail how understanding action movies as modern fairy tales can benefit the study of science, research and technology in popular culture.

Volume 15Issue 022016

Mar 17, 2016 Commentary

"People seem to really enjoy the mix of humour and intelligence": science humour in online settings

by Oliver Marsh

This commentary considers the topics of humour and online settings. Both have received increasing attention amongst researchers and practitioners of science communication, and both raise numerous questions around the role of informality and enjoyment in the spread of information. However, online settings also provide a great range of data with which to address these questions. Here I suggest that close consideration of technical infrastructure plays an important role in this data collection. I shall do so using case studies drawn from two popular participatory websites, reddit and Facebook, which display contrasting attitudes towards using humour. I argue that these attitudes are partly products of the different tools provided by the pages for users to show appreciation, which affect the appearance of content on the websites. I also suggest that these tools allow users to appreciate jokes in multiple ways, and by extension might provide researchers with methods for assessing different forms of engagement.

Volume 15Issue 022016

Mar 17, 2016 Commentary

Science and South Park, Reddit and Facebook, Leonardo da Vinci and the Vitruvian Man, and modern fairy tales about emerging technologies: science communication and popular culture

by Joachim Allgaier

The prevalent lack of research on the interrelations between science, research and popular culture led to the organization of the first International Conference on Science and Research in Popular Culture #POPSCI2015, which took place at Alpen-Adria-Universität in Klagenfurt, Austria, from 17--18 September 2015. The aim of the conference was to bring together not only science communication researchers with an interest in popular culture, but also other scholars, scientists and researchers, artists, media professionals and members from the general public. In this issue of JCOM we present four invited commentaries which are all based on presentations at the conference.

The dangers of ‘Miss Information’: science and comedy in South Park

by Edward Bankes

"People seem to really enjoy the mix of humour and intelligence": science humour in online settings

by Oliver Marsh

Visual communication, popular science journals and the rhetoric of evidence

by Dirk Hommrich and Guido Isekenmeier

Hollywood heroes in high tech risk societies: modern fairy tales and emerging technologies

by Anna Lydia Svalastog and Joachim Allgaier

Volume 15Issue 022016

Dec 15, 2015 Commentary

Open science

by Ann Grand

Open science is the most recent paradigm shift in the practice of science. However, it is a practice that has emerged relatively recently and as such, its definition is constantly-shifting and evolving. This commentary describes the historical background of open science and its current practice, particularly with reference to its relationship with public engagement with research.

Volume 14Issue 042015

Dec 15, 2015 Commentary

Open Access: what's in it for me as an early career researcher?

by Nancy Pontika

When entering the research world, Early Career Researchers (ECRs) may encounter difficulties building a good reputation for their research, its quality and the research results. Open access is the movement that could assist ECRs to: (a) widely disseminate their scholarly outputs, (b) demonstrate the research and societal impact of their work and, (c) organise online research portfolios that can be accessed by all researchers, as well as prospective employers.

Volume 14Issue 042015

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