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1357 publications found

May 27, 2024 Article

Navigating the AI era: university communication strategies and perspectives on generative AI tools

This study conducts a pioneering empirical analysis of generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, in the context of university communication across German universities. It explores the adoption rates, identifies the primary challenges, and assesses the potential of these technologies, integrating several theoretical concepts. The findings reveal a widespread use of AI for translation and language correction, with broader applications gradually emerging. Adoption rates vary significantly between private and public universities, largely due to concerns over technical issues, data protection, and AI usability. The results underscore the need for enhanced training and AI policies that support effective integration and use.

Volume 23 • Issue 03 • 2024

May 21, 2024 Book Review

Theatre about science. Theory and practice

by Andrew Glester

“Theatre About Science. Theory and Practice” is a result of the Theatre About Science Conference, held in November 2021 in Coimbra, Portugal. Most of the articles build upon presentations given at the conference, but some were written specifically for the publication.

Volume 23 • Issue 03 • 2024

May 20, 2024 Practice Insight

Hands-on climate engagement: principles for effective hands-on activities and demonstrations

by Angus Croak and Graham J. Walker

Communicating climate change to foster engagement and action is a challenge for science communication requiring novel, creative and diverse methods. In this practice reflection, we explore the potential of climate change related hands-on activities and demonstrations. Following a rapidly implemented COVID-19 project creating climate activities and workshops in the Pacific, we reflect on the underlying qualities of such activities to generate principles to guide design and facilitation of hands-on climate engagement. Through a fusing of theory, literature and practice, five principles are generated: personal and collective relevance, balancing risks/impacts with solutions, deliberative discussion and collaborative/participatory critical thinking, intrinsic motivation and positive emotional engagement, and opportunities for agency and action — with inclusive approaches providing foundation. We then describe applying the principles to refine content and create new activities.

Volume 23 • Issue 03 • 2024

May 13, 2024 Practice Insight

Prioritising community over content: value shifts in science centres

by Jennifer DeWitt and Shaaron Leverment

Science centres are increasingly adopting co-development as a tool to engage diverse audiences with science. The case study featured in this practice insight draws on an evaluation of a programme that aimed to move U.K. science centres towards more inclusive practice. Interviews with staff from eight U.K. science centres and their community partner organisations reflected shifts in science centre practitioners' understanding and valuing of co-development approaches, and, especially, the centrality placed on relationships with communities. This case study can contribute to our understanding and help us reflect on how to align our practice with a commitment to equity.

Volume 23 • Issue 03 • 2024

May 08, 2024 Book Review

Amplifying informal science learning: rethinking research, design, and engagement

by Graham J. Walker

An intriguing book on informal science learning in all its cultural and geographic diversity, deftly balancing theory, practice and the wondrous space in-between.

Volume 23 • Issue 03 • 2024

May 06, 2024 Article

Journalists and scientists together: the public problem of science disinformation in Brazil

by Fábio Henrique Pereira and Raphael Sandes de Oliveira

This article analyzes the public problem of scientific disinformation in the Brazilian media covering the Covid-19 pandemic. A content analysis of 226 articles addressing disinformation as a problem was conducted in a quality newspaper (“Folha de S. Paulo”), a popular website (Metrópoles) and a science journalism magazine (“Pesquisa Fapesp”). The results suggest that the public debate has focused on spreading fake news during the Pandemic and its negative impact on public health. In addition, two opposing discourses, one populist and the other based on the scientific community and institutional normality, structured the public problem of science and disinformation in Brazil.

Volume 23 • Issue 03 • 2024

Apr 29, 2024 Article

Standards for science communication in extended and virtual reality: a model for XR/VR based on London Charter and Seville Principles

by Jose Luis Rubio Tamayo, Daniel Lewis Wuebben and Manuel Gertrudix

Videos featuring research results, laboratory tutorials, and online webinars are fundamental tools for disseminating science and boosting scientific impact. However, extended reality (XR) video technologies, which include virtual reality (VR), represent new challenges for scientists and science communicators. XR and VR can enhance, bend, or distort the reality surrounding scientific facts. The London Charter and Seville Principles are standards for computer-based visualization and reconstruction in a virtual reproduction of heritage sites and research in domains such as archaeology. Here, we develop a similar set of standards for the representation of scientific results in XR and VR and clarify the use of implicit XR and VR elements such as storytelling, setting, agency, interactivity, and other factors. Finally, the authors propose a framework XR/VR Model of Science Representation and Communication, derived from the context and other frameworks for representing information in virtual environments.

Volume 23 • Issue 03 • 2024

Apr 24, 2024 Essay

Studying science in pop culture through textual analysis. An introduction to examining science in visual texts — Street art, comics and (animated) film

by Anna-Sophie Jürgens, Lucy Darragh, Paul Peace, Rita Agha, John Noel Viana and Isabel Richards

Textual analysis is a commonly-used qualitative method for analysing and interpreting cultural texts. This approach elicits how representations occur, their underlying assumptions and how they come to have meaning. Despite the popularity and utility of textual analysis, its interpretive and theoretical strategies are not comprehensively described in science communication research. To fill this gap and clarify how textual analysis can be used to unpack the cultural meanings and representation of science in visual texts — images, comics and films — the authors analyse and discuss four environmentally-themed scholarly articles that apply textual analysis. This showcases the value of textual analysis in investigating and understanding the relationships between pop culture and science, demystifying it for science communication students and researchers.

Volume 23 • Issue 03 • 2024

Apr 22, 2024 Book Review

Through the `queering' glass: looking at science communication from a queer lens

by Siddharth Kankaria

`Queering Science Communication' offers a kaleidoscopic collection of queer insights that both inform and question the field of science communication. Edited by Lindy A. Orthia and Tara Roberson, the book covers a diverse range of topics including LGBTQIA+ representation in science and science communication; examples of science engagement interventions designed for queer audiences; the positive and negative impacts of science (communication) on queer lives; as well as ways of queering the practice, research and teaching of science communication. Despite adopting a predominantly queer lens, this book offers various learnings for engaging a broader spectrum of marginalised identities and for eventually moving towards a more inclusive, pluralistic and reflexive science communication field.

Volume 23 • Issue 03 • 2024

Apr 15, 2024 Article

Citizen science and learning outcomes: assessment of projects in South Africa

by Nonsikelelo Sackey, Corlia Meyer and Peter Weingart

This study assessed educational goals and learning outcomes in 57 citizen science projects in South Africa. Emphasising data collection as the primary objective, the findings revealed a secondary focus on environmental awareness, protection, and management, as well as education and research advancement. Notably, educational goals were often not prioritised, and formal measures for assessing learning outcomes were infrequently employed by project leaders. The study underscores the necessity for systematic approaches to evaluate the educational impacts of citizen science projects in South Africa.

Volume 23 • Issue 03 • 2024