IYS Outeach through SPS Science Outreach Catalyst Kits (SOCKs)

First published in 1887 by Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof, Esperanto is the most successful constructed language, with speakers all around the globe and even native speakers. The relationship between Esperanto and science starts very early: the scientific journal Internacia Scienca Revuo was created in 1904 and the International Esperantist Science Association (ISAE) was founded in 1907 (Wera Blanke, Scienca Revuo 206, 2006). Many publications and books about scientific topics have since been written or translated in Esperanto.&#160; Esperanto has initially been envisioned as a lingua franca to be used in international communication, both in general and for scientific purposes. While English has since taken this role, there is still a desire to maintain and develop the scientific culture and the related terminology in Esperanto. Science outreach is one way to achieve this goal, and new projects have appeared in the last few years. Esperanto represents an interesting challenge for outreach : being a more neutral language, not related to a specific country or ethnic group, the community of speakers (albeit small) is by essence more international and more diverse than in national languages. This is an opportunity, but also comes with some difficulties. In this work, I&#8217;ll discuss the advantages and obstacles of communicating science in Esperanto. I&#8217;ll present various projects of science communication in Esperanto, with a focus on my personal experience with my YouTube channel D-ro Lo&#265;jo, where I do videos about science and in particular about planetary science.

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Engaging bioscientists in science communication: Evidence from an international survey

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.10842.1 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. 209

Author(s):

Andrea Boggio ◽

Giorgio Scita ◽

Carmen Sorrentino ◽

David Hemenway ◽

Andrea Ballabeni

Keyword(s):

Science Communication ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

Basic Research ◽

Social Value ◽

Science Outreach ◽

The Public ◽

The Social ◽

Negative Feelings ◽

Study Participants ◽

Institutional Actors

Background: Exchanges between scientists and nonscientists are critical to realizing the social value of basic research. These exchanges rest in part on the willingness and ability of scientists to engage effectively in science communication activities. In this paper, we discuss the perception and willingness of basic scientists in the biological and biomedical fields to engage in science outreach. Methods: The analysis is based on qualitative data collected as part of a survey on the social value of basic research and is framed by the theory of planned behavior. This is a well-established theory of human behavior that relies on the premise that a person’s intention to engage in a behavior is the single best predictor of whether that person will in fact engage in that behavior. Results: Our data show that, while bioscientists maintain a positive attitude towards science communication, their intentions are influenced by some negative feelings with regard to how nonscientists react to science communication efforts. Interactions with institutional actors, governmental bodies and the public are particularly problematic. On the other hand, interactions with clinicians and patients are framed in positive terms. Finally, some study participants raised concerns as to their ability to communicate science effectively, the availability of time and resources, and the lack of proper rewards, particularly in terms of career advancement, for those who engage in science efforts. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that bioscientists' intentions to engage in science communication efforts must be better studied to develop empirically-informed interventions to increase scientists’ participation in science outreach efforts.

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Do science blogs promote reader engagement? An experimental comparison between a blog post and traditional expository text

10.31235/osf.io/vyxdz ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Miriam Krause ◽

Natalie Hudson-Smith ◽

Joseph Buchman ◽

Stephanie Mitchell

Keyword(s):

Public Engagement ◽

Expository Text ◽

Experimental Comparison ◽

Future Research ◽

Reading Group ◽

Research Topics ◽

Science Outreach ◽

Reader Engagement ◽

Science Blogs

Science blogging is a common practice for communication with broad audiences; however, the effectiveness of blogs for promoting public engagement with scientific material has not been fully assessed. This study investigated reader engagement after reading either a scientific blog post or a related expository-style article by comparing whether participants volunteered for further email communications at the end of the study. We found that the blog group showed significantly greater engagement than the expository reading group. Results provide evidence for the effectiveness of blogging as a science outreach tool, and suggest potential future research topics related to age, gender, and geography.

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Evaluating citizen science outreach: A case-study with The Peregrine Fund’s American Kestrel Partnership

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0248948 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (3) ◽

pp. e0248948

Author(s):

Sarah E. Schulwitz ◽

Greg C. Hill ◽

Vanessa Fry ◽

Christopher J. W. McClure

Keyword(s):

Citizen Science ◽

Communication Strategies ◽

Monitoring Program ◽

Research Priorities ◽

Future Research ◽

Discussion Boards ◽

Science Program ◽

Science Outreach ◽

American Kestrel

Citizen science programs can be powerful drivers of knowledge and scientific understanding and, in recent decades, they have become increasingly popular. Conducting successful research with the aid of citizen scientists often rests on the efficacy of a program’s outreach strategies. Program evaluation is increasingly recognized as a critical practice for citizen science practitioners to ensure that all efforts, including outreach, contribute to the overall goals of the program. The Peregrine Fund’s American Kestrel Partnership (AKP) is one such citizen science program that relies on outreach to engage participants in effective monitoring of a declining falcon species. Here, we examine whether various communication strategies were associated with desired outreach goals of the AKP. We demonstrate how social media, webcams, discussion boards, and newsletters were associated with perception of learning, agreement with our conservation messaging, and participation in our box monitoring program. Our results thus help us to improve our outreach methodology, suggest areas where other citizen science programs might improve their outreach efforts, and highlight future research priorities.

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