scholarly journals Outreach Strategies to Engage Citizen Scientists: Insights from the Biodiversity Heritage Library

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. e25641
Author(s):  
Grace Costantino
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Media Campaigns ◽  
Science Projects ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Research Initiatives ◽  
Published Research ◽  
Support Research

How do you successfully engage volunteers in citizen science projects? In recent years, citizen science has grown considerably in popularity, resulting in rapid increases in the number of citizen science and crowdsourcing projects and providing cost-effective means for scientists to gather more data over broader spatial ranges to tackle research questions in a wide variety of scientific, conservation, and environmental fields Bonney et al. 2016, Aceves-Bueno et al. 2017. While the proliferation of such projects has produced a growing abundance of citizen scientist-generated data and published research informed by citizen science methods Follett and Strezov 2015, this also means that volunteers have a greater number of projects competing for their time. When faced with an increasingly-crowded landscape, how can you generate interest in a citizen science or crowdsourcing project and maintain contributions over the project’s lifetime? The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) supports a variety of citizen science and crowdsourcing projects, from transcribing field notes to tagging scientific illustrations with taxonomic names on Flickr and enhancing data for 19th century periodicals through its Zooniverse-based Science Gossip project. Through a variety of outreach strategies including collaborative social media campaigns, partnerships with citizen science communities, and interactive incentives, BHL has successfully engaged volunteers with diverse projects to enrich the library’s data and increase discoverability of its collections. This presentation will discuss outreach strategies for citizen science projects that BHL has undertaken to further support research initiatives with our content. In addition, the presentation will share lessons-learned and offer suggestions that attendees can apply to their own citizen science engagement efforts.

Tantawan Sludge Management: Holistic Approach Introducing New Practices

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Woraphat Pongpitukkul ◽  
Thotsaphon Chaianansutcharit ◽  
Suppakit Learduchasai ◽  
Thunyarak Suankaew ◽  
Satiraporn Sirisampan
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Joint Venture ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
Arsenic Content ◽  
Sludge Management

Abstract Following Tantawan field suspension of production, considerable volume of contaminated crude (high level of mercury and arsenic content) remains on board in Tantawan FPSO. These volumes are deemed as waste hydrocarbon sludge that hold no commercial value and must be urgently removed from the vessel as per safety requirements to maintain the vessel class and certification, according to Tantawan FPSO integrity condition. After review of many alternatives, offshore subsurface disposal initiative is the safest and most cost-effective means for disposal. Since subsurface disposal of such waste, highly mercury and arsenic contaminated crude, has never been performed in the Gulf of Thailand, several aspects need to be considered from technical and environmental perspective and public sector concerns. A cross functional team of Reservoir Engineer, Geologist, Facilities Engineer, Health and Safety, Policy, Government and Public Affair and commercial advisor, has co-devised a holistic waste management plan to inject waste into Tantawan reservoirs after obtaining required approvals by the government. Many challenges including limitation of the FPSO pumping system, sludge properties and seasonal increment weather, were encountered during the execution phase and many remedial actions were taken to mitigate their impact. Cross functional team initiatives on heater installation, adjusting injection procedure, and additional disposal well approval helped address project challenges. Entire volume of sludge was safely injected to subsurface reservoirs with cost effective operation. The success of this offshore injection process has reduced the cost to less than 10% compared to onshore disposal option to asset joint venture. The results set a new standard for Thailand petroleum waste management policy. Following this success, decommissioning of all remaining of Tantawan field are progressing as scheduled. This paper will outline the holistic approach of hydrocarbon sludge management process including the subsurface injection identifcation, stakeholder engagement, environmental impact assessment and execution challenges. Lessons learned from this paper would help other offshore operators to effectively manage hydrocarbon sludge, which demonstrate how the oil and gas industry plays a vital role in protecting the environment.

Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance (Great Plains IDEA)

2010 ◽  
pp. 110-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia Moxley ◽  
Sue Maes ◽  
Dawn Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Academic Programs ◽  
Award Winning ◽  
Viable Solution ◽  
Higher Education Leaders

This chapter will examine the organizational and technological challenges encountered by the highly successful Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance (Great Plains IDEA) since its members began offering multi-university online academic programs in 2000. Members include the following universities: Colorado State, Iowa State, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Michigan State, Missouri, Montana State, Nebraska, North Dakota State, Oklahoma State, and South Dakota State. Inter-institutional online academic programs are a cost-effective means of rapidly increasing access and addressing emerging educational needs. The chapter explains how the Great Plains IDEA began, operates and has evolved, as well as the mistakes made, lessons learned, and upcoming challenges. A major technological challenge was identifying a secure multi-institution enrollment system for sharing student data between enrolling and teaching institutions the award-winning ExpanSIS system. The authors hope that higher education leaders will be convinced that inter-institutional collaboration is a viable solution to many higher education challenges.

Co-Designing Mobile Applications for Data Collection in Citizen Science Projects – Challenges and Lessons Learned within the Nachtlicht-BüHNE Project

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friederike Klan ◽  
Christopher C.M. Kyba ◽  
Nona Schulte-Römer ◽  
Helga U. Kuechly ◽  
Jürgen Oberst ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Smartphone Apps ◽  
Science Project ◽  
Science Projects ◽  
Citizen Science Project

<p>Data contributed by citizen scientists raise increasing interest in many areas of scientific research. Increasingly, projects rely on information technology such as mobile applications (apps) to facilitate data collection activities by lay people. When developing such smartphone apps, it is essential to account for both the requirements of the scientists interested in acquiring data and the needs of the citizen scientists contributing data. Citizens and participating scientists should therefore ideally work together during the conception, design and testing of mobile applications used in a citizen science project. This will benefit both sides, as both scientists and citizens can bring in their expectations, desires, knowledge, and commitment early on, thereby making better use of the potential of citizen science. Such processes of app co-design are highly transdisciplinary, and thus pose challenges in terms of the diversity of interests, skills, and background knowledge involved.</p><p>Our “Nachtlicht-BüHNE” citizen science project addresses these issues. Its major goal is the development of a co-design process enabling scientists and citizens to jointly develop citizen science projects based on smartphone apps. This includes (1) the conception and development of a mobile application for a specific scientific purpose, (2) the design, planning and organization of field campaigns using the mobile application, and (3) the evaluation of the approach. In Nachtlicht-BüHNE, the co-design approach is developed within the scope of two parallel pilot studies in the environmental and space sciences. Case study 1 deals with the problem of light pollution. Currently, little is known about how much different light source types contribute to emissions from Earth. Within the project, citizens and researchers will develop and use an app to capture information about all types of light sources visible from public streets. Case study 2 focuses on meteors. They are of great scientific interest because their pathways and traces of light can be used to derive dynamic and physical properties of comets and asteroids. Since the surveillance of the sky with cameras is usually incomplete, reports of fireball sightings are important. Within the project, citizens and scientists will create and use the first German-language app that allows reporting meteor sightings.</p><p>We will share our experiences on how researchers and communities of citizen scientists with backgrounds in the geosciences, space research, the social sciences, computer science and other disciplines work together in the Nachtlicht-BüHNE project to co-design mobile applications. We highlight challenges that arose and present different strategies for co-design that evolved within the project accounting for the specific needs and interests of the communities involved.</p>

Utilizing Citizen Science as a Tool for Muck Mapping in the Indian River Lagoon

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 81-87
Author(s):  
Jared M. McNally ◽  
Leesa Souto
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Indian River Lagoon ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Valid Data ◽  
Indian River ◽  
Brevard County ◽  
Institute Of Technology ◽  
Thickness Measurements

AbstractMuck thickness measurements are necessary for guiding muck dredging projects within the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), a coastal estuary that covers one third of Florida's east coast. Marine Resources Council, Florida Institute of Technology, and Brevard County Natural Resources Management successfully engaged Brevard County citizens in the Muck Finders program, a muck research initiative that was designed to help quantify and prioritize muck management actions in the IRL. This program utilizes citizen science as a cost-effective means to expedite the collection of scientifically valid data. Volunteer citizen scientists are given the education, training, and equipment needed to collect scientifically valid data to verify the presence and depth of muck at various locations within the IRL. In 2017, citizen scientists of this program contributed over 300 volunteer hours, collecting muck thickness data at over 750 individual sites. A statistical comparison of muck thickness measurements to duplicate measurements collected by volunteer citizen scientists has confirmed method reliability. Muck thickness maps created from this scientifically valid data aid regulatory agencies to identifying areas where muck dredging will have the most impact.

A retrospective and lessons learned from Natural Resources Canada’s Forest 2020 afforestation initiative

2010 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
S W.J. Dominy ◽  
R. Gilsenan ◽  
D W McKenney ◽  
D J Allen ◽  
T. Hatton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Hybrid Poplar ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Fast Growing ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

Canada is seeking cost-effective means to mitigate anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, particularly CO2, that have been linked to global climate change. In 2003 the Government of Canada launched the Forest 2020 Plantation Development and Assessment Initiative to assess the potential for fast-growing woody crops to sequester carbon from the atmosphere. Across the country 6000 ha of plantations were established and monitored on nonforested lands (afforestation) using a variety of methods. Economic analyses assessed the investment attractiveness of this mitigation measure for a range of species and suitable lands, taking into account such factors as growth rates, agricultural opportunity costs and a range of possible carbon values. Analyses illustrated that at current trading prices for carbon and for much of the available lands and expanding markets for forest bioproducts, expected rates of return on investment for afforestation were relatively low. However, higher future carbon prices, combined with monetary values for environmental benefits, could dramatically change the economics of afforestation in the future. Key words: afforestation, carbon sequestration, forest carbon offset project, climate change mitigation, policy analysis, risk analysis, forest investment analysis, hybrids, hybrid poplar, fast-growing trees

scholarly journals 219 Managing Beef Cattle Growth Amidst a Global Pandemic: Lessons Learned from 2020 and Strategies for the Future

2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 38-38
Author(s):  
Bradley J Johnson ◽  
Zachary K Smith
Keyword(s):  
Beef Cattle ◽  
Growth Response ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Feedlot Cattle ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Live Animal ◽  
Efficient Manner ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Meat Animal

Abstract The coronavirus disease-19 related events of 2020 had severe detrimental effects on meat animal production in the United State. Due to harvest facility slowdowns and shutdowns, many market animals, including beef cattle, were on feed greater than 60 d past their optimal endpoint. These dramatic changes caused many changes in feeding and growth technologies management. The two major growth enhancing compounds used in feedlot cattle production are steroidal implants (IMP) and β-adrenergic agonists (β-AA). Implementation of β-AA during the pandemic was extremely difficult due to the lack of knowledge on exact shipping dates. The β-AA are fed the last 28 to 42 d on feed. Ractopamine was approved for cattle with essential a 12-h withdrawal. Many questions arose about the maximum length of withdrawal on ractopamine before losing any of the added growth response in both the live animal and carcass. Many feedlot operators relied on IMP administration to achieve added growth response in cattle held for longer days on feed. With zero-day withdrawal on implants, it was a cost-effective means to hold cattle in an efficient manner. Many producers simply could not manage β-AA feeding during the pandemic period and used other management technologies to enhance growth and efficiency during the end of the feeding period.

scholarly journals Digital Citizen Science for Responding to COVID-19 Crisis: Experiences from Iran

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (18) ◽  
pp. 9666
Author(s):  
Hossein Vahidi ◽  
Mohammad Taleai ◽  
Wanglin Yan ◽  
Rajib Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Scientific Practices ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Science Projects ◽  
Future Citizen

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has so far been the most severe global public health emergency in this century. Generally, citizen science can provide a complement to authoritative scientific practices for responding to this highly complex biological threat and its adverse consequences. Several citizen science projects have been designed and operationalized for responding to COVID-19 in Iran since the infection began. However, these projects have mostly been overlooked in the existing literature on citizen science. This research sheds light on the most significant online citizen science projects to respond to the COVID-19 crisis in Iran. Furthermore, it highlights some of the opportunities and challenges associated with the strengths and weaknesses of these projects. Moreover, this study captures and discusses some considerable insights and lessons learned from the failures and successes of these projects and provides solutions to overcome some recognized challenges and weaknesses of these projects. The outcomes of this synthesis provide potentially helpful directions for current and future citizen science projects—particularly those aiming to respond to biological disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Recognizing failures in citizen science projects: Lessons learned

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Westreicher ◽  
Marika Cieslinski ◽  
Marlene Ernst ◽  
Didone Frigerio ◽  
Barbara Heinisch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Science Projects

scholarly journals Volunteer recruitment and retention in online citizen science projects using marketing strategies: lessons from Season Spotter

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (01) ◽  
pp. A01 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alycia Crall ◽  
Margaret Kosmala ◽  
Rebecca Cheng ◽  
Jonathan Brier ◽  
Darlene Cavalier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Web Analytics ◽  
Marketing Campaign ◽  
Recruitment And Retention ◽  
Science Projects ◽  
Volunteer Recruitment

Citizen science continues to grow, potentially increasing competition among projects to recruit and retain volunteers interested in participating. Using web analytics, we examined the ability of a marketing campaign to broaden project awareness, while driving engagement and retention in an online, crowdsourced project. The campaign challenged audiences to support the classification of >9,000 pairs of images. The campaign was successful due to increased engagement, but it did not increase the time participants spent classifying images. Engagement over multiple days was significantly shorter during the campaign. We provide lessons learned to improve targeted recruitment and retention of participants in online projects.

Cost-Effective Smoke-Free Multiunit Housing Media Campaigns

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (6_suppl_2) ◽  
pp. 173S-185S ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary V. Modayil ◽  
Theodora B. Consolacion ◽  
Jonathan Isler ◽  
Sandra Soria ◽  
Colleen Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Development Process ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Media Campaigns ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Multiunit Housing ◽  
Policy Objectives ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Ethnic Markets ◽  
State And Local

Presented are cost-effective paid media strategies to educate Californians to advocate for stronger smoke-free multiunit housing (SF-MUH) policies between 2006 and 2008. Included is a summary of general market and specific ethnic market costs that correspond to SF-MUH attitudes and home smoking bans. Statewide questionnaires indicated that half of the intended general market saw an antitobacco TV ad and half of the intended ethnic markets heard radio ads. Analyses indicated that it cost $0.67 and $0.78 per person to see Caution Tape and Apartment TV ads, respectively. Slightly higher per capita costs corresponded with positive attitudes toward SF-MUH: $0.87 for Caution Tape and $1.00 for Apartment. Lessons learned from this campaign included effectiveness of specific ads in ethnic markets, impact on SF-MUH work plan policy objectives, and the need for collaborations among state and local partners throughout the message development process.

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