scholarly journals Explainers of science centres and museums: a study on these stakeholders in the mediation between science and the public in Brazil

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (02) ◽  
pp. A01 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chrystian Carlétti ◽  
Luisa Massarani
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Young People ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
The Public ◽  
High School Certificate ◽  
Science Centres ◽  
Brazilian Science ◽  
Practice Of Science

In this paper, we investigate who are the explainers who work is Brazilian science centres and museums. We used an online survey, which was answered by 370 people from 73 institutions out of a group of 200 scientific and cultural centres. Our results indicate that most of these professionals are young people between 18 and 25 years old, they hold a high school certificate or are attending university, and they have been working in this field for less than five years. Only a fifth declared that they had done professional training before starting their activities; about 60% said that they are not prepared to attend to disabled visitors. We believe that our study will improve the practice of science communication, contributing to the creation of training and professional courses.

scholarly journals Capturing the many faces of an exploded star: communicating complex and evolving astronomical data

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (05) ◽  
pp. A02
Author(s):  
Lisa Smith ◽  
Kimberly Arcand ◽  
Randall Smith ◽  
Jay Bookbinder ◽  
Jeffrey Smith
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Object A ◽  
Cassiopeia A ◽  
The Public ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
The Face ◽  
Final Item ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
The Many

This study explored how different presentations of an object in deep space affect understanding, engagement, and aesthetic appreciation. A total of n = 2,502 respondents to an online survey were randomly assigned to one of 11 versions of Cassiopeia A, comprising 6 images and 5 videos ranging from 3s to approximately 1min. Participants responded to intial items regarding what the image looked like, the aesthetic appeal of the image, perceptions of understanding, and how much the participant wanted to learn more. After the image was identified, participants indicated the extent to which the label increased understanding and how well the image represented the object. A final item asked for questions about the image for an atronomer. Results suggest that alternative types of images can and should be used, provided they are accompanied by explanations. Qualitative data indicated that explanations should include information about colors used, size, scale, and location of the object. The results are discussed in terms of science communication to the public in the face of increasing use of technology.

scholarly journals The public-engaged scientists: Motivations, enablers and barriers

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 313-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Cerrato ◽  
Valentina Daelli ◽  
Helena Pertot ◽  
Olga Puccioni
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Institutional Commitment ◽  
First Year ◽  
The Public ◽  
Training Courses ◽  
Training Programmes

Why do scientists volunteer to be involved in public engagement in science? What are the barriers that can prevent them participating in dialogue with society? What can be done to facilitate their participation? In this paper we present a case study of the Children's University programme of the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) (Trieste, Italy), discussing the three-year experience, and reporting the outcomes of a series of focus groups conducted with the young scientists who volunteered in the programme. Two kinds of motivations emerged. The first is personal, for example volunteers' desire to improve their own communication abilities, or their curiosity for a new activity. The second is related to the perceived role of scientists in society: many volunteers feel a sense of duty and the need to promote science and its importance in society, to have an impact on the public perception of science and to seed the love for science in young people. After the first year of their involvement, volunteers expressed the need to keep improving their communication skills and participating in professional training courses, and agreed that science communication should become part of all standard training programmes of PhDs. In order for the outreach not to remain a sporadic experience, it is essential that a strong institutional commitment exists to promote, recruit, encourage, professionally train and support those involved.

Effects of gender harassment on science popularization behaviors

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 718-728
Author(s):  
Lisa McDonald ◽  
Chantal Barriault ◽  
Thomas Merritt
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Gender Harassment ◽  
The Public ◽  
Science Popularization ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Clothing Choices

In this pilot study, we used a mixed methods online survey to ask science popularizers how gender harassment influences the way they communicate science to the public. Popularizers reported that gender harassment caused the science popularization field to increasingly strive for gender inclusivity in the creation of content. However, harassment made female popularizers feel they must emphasize their legitimacy, quite conscious of their clothing choices, and wary of engaging the public through mediums or topics that provoke more severe harassment. Implications for science communication and public engagement are discussed.

scholarly journals Responding to Richard: Celebrity and (mis)representation of science

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 535-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Johnson ◽  
Elaine Howard Ecklund ◽  
Di Di ◽  
Kirstin R.W. Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Science And Religion ◽  
The Public ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Practice Of Science

Drawing on 48 in-depth interviews conducted with biologists and physicists at universities in the United Kingdom, this study examines scientists’ perceptions of the role celebrity scientists play in socially contentious public debates. We examine Richard Dawkins’ involvement in public debates related to the relationship between science and religion as a case to analyze scientists’ perceptions of the role celebrity scientists play in the public sphere and the implications of celebrity science for the practice of science communication. Findings show that Dawkins’ proponents view the celebrity scientist as a provocateur who asserts the cultural authority of science in the public sphere. Critics, who include both religious and nonreligious scientists, argue that Dawkins misrepresents science and scientists and reject his approach to public engagement. Scientists emphasize promotion of science over the scientist, diplomacy over derision, and dialogue over ideological extremism.

scholarly journals A survey to gather perspectives of DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance-funded researchers on public engagement with science

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 269
Author(s):  
Sarah Iqbal ◽  
Banya Kar
Keyword(s):  
Public Engagement ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Funding Agency ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
The Public ◽  
Structural Support ◽  
Professional Recognition ◽  
Science Funding ◽  
Public Engagement With Science

Lately, the Indian research ecosystem has seen an upward trend in scientists showing interest in communicating their science and engaging with non-scientific audiences; however, the number and variety of science communication or public engagement activities undertaken formally by scientists remains low in the country. There could be many contributing factors for this trend. To explore this further, the science funding public charity in India, DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance (India Alliance), in a first of its kind of study by a funding agency in India, surveyed its 243 research grantees in November 2020 requesting their views on public engagement with science in India through an online survey. The survey included both quantitative as well as open-ended questions to assess the understanding of, participation in, and attitude of India Alliance Fellows/Grantees towards public engagement with research, identify the enablers, challenges, and barriers to public engagement for India Alliance Fellows/Grantees, understand the specific needs (training/capacity-building, funding, etc.) and develop recommendations for India Alliance as well as for the larger scientific ecosystem in the country. The survey showed that India Alliance grantees are largely motivated to engage with the public about science or their research but lack professional recognition and incentives, training and structural support to undertake public engagement activities.

scholarly journals The emergence of modern science communication in Australia

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (03) ◽  
pp. A01 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toss Gascoigne ◽  
Jennifer Metcalfe
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Research Institutions ◽  
University Departments ◽  
University Courses ◽  
Sharp Growth ◽  
Science Centres ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
Practice Of Science

Modern science communication has emerged over the last 60 years as a field of study, a body of practice and a profession. This period has seen the birth of interactive science centres, the first university courses to teach the theory and practice of science communication, the first university departments conducting research into science communication, and a sharp growth in employment of science communicators by research institutions, universities, museums, science centres and industry. This chapter charts the emergence of modern science communication in Australia, against an international background.

scholarly journals Birth of a science centre. Italian phenomenology

2006 ◽  
Vol 05 (02) ◽  
pp. F
Author(s):  
Paola Rodari
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Science Museum ◽  
Cultural Economic ◽  
The Public ◽  
European Science ◽  
Science Centre ◽  
Total Investment ◽  
Science Centres ◽  
The Cost

In May 2004 the Balì Museum, Planetarium and interactive science museum, was opened to the public in Italy: 35 hands-on exhibits designed according to the interactive tradition of the Exploratorium in San Francisco, an astronomic observatory for educational activities, a Planetarium with 70 places. With a total investment of about three million euros, about two thirds of which were spent on restructuring the splendid eighteenth-century villa in which it is housed, the undertaking may be considered a small one in comparison with other European science centres. Three million euros: perhaps enough to cover the cost of only the splendid circular access ramp to the brand-new Cosmocaixa in Barcelona, an investment of one hundred million euros. But the interesting aspect of the story of the Balì Museum (but also of other Italian stories, as we shall see) lies in the fact that this lively and advanced science centre stands in the bucolic region of the Marches, next to a small town of only 800 inhabitants (Saltara, in the Province of Pesaro and Urbino), in a municipal territory that has a total of 5000. Whereas in Italy the projects for science centres comparable with the Catalan one, for example projects for Rome and Turin, never get off the ground, smaller ones are opening in small and medium-sized towns: why is this? And what does the unusual location of the centres entail for science communication in Italy? This Focus does not claim to tell the whole truth about Italian interactive museums, but it does offer some phenomenological cues to open a debate on the cultural, economic and political premises that favour their lives.

scholarly journals A REVOLUÇÃO DA ROBÓTICA UTILIZANDO LIXO ELETRÔNICO NO ENSINO BÁSICO: FORMAÇÃO AMPLIADA E MENOR VULNERABILIDADE DE JOVENS À VIOLÊNCIA NAS ESCOLAS PÚBLICAS

Revista LEVS ◽  
2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Cajazeira de Melo e SILVA ◽  
Josualdo Junior Dias da SILVA ◽  
Eduardo Manuel de Freitas JORGE ◽  
Débora Abdalla SANTOS ◽  
Hugo SABA
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Public School ◽  
Young People ◽  
Open Source ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Electronic Waste ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Educational Robotics ◽  
The Public ◽  
Multidisciplinary Education

Resumo: Este artigo apresenta a aplicação da robótica educacional livre no ambiente das escolas públicas utilizando lixo eletrônico ao invés de soluções comerciais para a construção dos robôs. Para demonstrar o percurso metodológico, foi realizado um experimento utilizando Aprendizagem Baseada em Problemas ou Projetos (PBL - Problem ou Project Based Learning) com estudantes da Educação Profissional Integrada ao Ensino Médio (EPI) do município de Alagoinhas. Como resultado, observou-se que a robótica na escola é uma atividade capaz de manter os jovens afastados das ruas e de lhes proporcionar uma formação ampliada multidisciplinar, reduzindo a sua vulnerabilidade por estar afastado das ruas e com outros objetivos. Dessa forma, o tempo livre do aluno é empregado em uma atividade educacional profissionalizante e inclusiva.Palavras-chave: Robótica Educacional Livre, Vulnerabilidade, Formação Multidisciplinar, Aprendizagem Baseada em Problemas.Abstract: This paper shows the application of an open source educational robotics in the public school environment. The project’s principle was to use electronic waste, instead of using commercial solutions for the construction of the robot. Demonstrated by the methodology path, an experiment was done to use PBL - Problem or Project Based Learning with Vocational Studant integrated with the high school of Alagoinhas municipality. As a result, it was observed that robotics in school is an activity that is able to keep young people off the streets and provides an expanded  multidisciplinary education.  Therefore, enabling them to be less vulnerable to the streets and to have them more involved in other activities. This way, student’s free time is used for not only vocational educational activities but also activities that are more inclusive involving other students.Keywords: Open Source Educational Robotics, Vulnerable, Multidisciplinary Education, Project Based Learning

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