“The sky in your living room”: a streaming format for live astronomy events

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Mantovani ◽  
Claudia Mignone ◽  
Federico Di Giacomo ◽  
Federica Duras ◽  
Livia Giacomini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Public ◽  
Live Streaming ◽  
Living Room ◽  
Public Outreach ◽  
Moon Phases ◽  
Public Events ◽  
Italian Peninsula ◽  
Internet Connection ◽  
Scientific Results ◽  
Italian National Institute

<p>During the last year, the outreach community had to rearrange the way of communicating science and resort to new tools for education in schools. In particular, the impossibility of organizing public events has encouraged the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) to find an alternative way to engage remotely with the general public and students. The team of EduINAF, the official INAF online magazine for education and public outreach, has developed a new format for live streaming events, titled “The sky in your living room” (“Il cielo in salotto”), to be organised around specific astronomy events such as eclipses, comets, different Moon phases, etc. The format has been designed to be centred around a live stream of telescope observations, which takes advantage of INAF’s network of observatories spread all over the Italian peninsula. The images of those telescopes are commented live by the INAF researchers, presenting the latest scientific results about the topic selected for each specific event. The team running these events has researched several options to find the best and simplest technical tools for live streaming by using only a computer and an internet connection. </p> <p>In this talk, we will present the first live event of the format, organized for the Super Moon of the 26th of May, with a focus on both its educational and outreach contents and possible fallouts, and on the technical and communicative solutions chosen for the streaming, including lessons learnt that could be of interest to colleagues organising similar events in other countries.</p> <p><br /><br /></p>

How to Podcast in Archaeology

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-266
Author(s):  
Colin P. Amundsen ◽  
Cristina Belmonte
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
General Public ◽  
Public Archaeology ◽  
Social Media Marketing ◽  
Public Outreach ◽  
Trial And Error ◽  
Business World ◽  
The Public ◽  
Broad Approach

ABSTRACTThe problem for archaeologists doing public outreach could be that we do not know who our audience is. Marketing to just the public at large is an extremely broad approach filled with the pitfalls of not engaging enough of the public, so it might be necessary to first find out who within the general public would have the most interest in your discovery and then tailor your presentation to that audience. At the podcastCooking with Archaeologistswe are using digital media, social media marketing, and our experience from the business world to do just that. Podcasting has been a trial-and-error project filled with uncertainty and doubt, and for archaeologists engaged in public archaeology it might be a practical approach to reaching the public and a medium to build an engaged and interested audience. In this “how-to” article, we will reveal what we have learned from this exciting and somewhat demanding venture and suggest how podcasting is a democratizing venture that connects the public to archaeology and the archaeologist.

scholarly journals Communicating Science through Comics: A Method

Publications ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Friesen ◽  
John Van Stan ◽  
Skander Elleuche
Keyword(s):  
General Public ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Scientific Publication ◽  
Plain Language ◽  
Flexible Framework ◽  
Scientific Results

Scientists are trained to tell stories, scientific stories. Training is also needed to comprehend and contextualize these highly nuanced and technical stories because they are designed to explicitly convey scientific results, delineate their limitations, and describe a reproducible “plot” so that any thorough reenactment can achieve a similar conclusion. Although a carefully constructed scientific story may be crystal clear to other scientists in the same discipline, they are often inaccessible to broader audiences. This is problematic as scientists are increasingly expected to communicate their work to broader audiences that range from specialists in other disciplines to the general public. In fact, science communication is of increasing importance to acquire funding and generate effective outreach, as well as introduce, and sometimes even justify, research to society. This paper suggests a simple and flexible framework to translate a complex scientific publication into a broadly-accessible comic format. Examples are given for embedding scientific details into an easy-to-understand storyline. A background story is developed and panels are generated that convey scientific information via plain language coupled with recurring comic elements to maximize comprehension and memorability. This methodology is an attempt to alleviate the inherent limitations of interdisciplinary and public comprehension that result from standard scientific publication and dissemination practices. We also hope that this methodology will help colleagues enter into the field of science comics.

scholarly journals Constructing publics in museums’ science communication

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 958-972
Author(s):  
Per Hetland
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Natural History ◽  
General Public ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Public Outreach ◽  
Natural History Museums ◽  
History Museums ◽  
Important Quality ◽  
Research Scientists

This article investigates how scientists at natural history museums construct publics in science communication and identifies four major constructions based on Braun and Schultz’s categories: the general public, the pure public, the affected public, and the partisan public. This study draws on data from 17 research scientists at two natural history research museums in Norway who were interviewed about their public outreach activities focusing on practices, settings, designated outcomes, scientists’ incentives to communicate science, and, finally, the speaking positions available for the different publics; the aim was to provide an understanding of the four constructed publics in museums’ science communication. When scientists construct different publics, they emphasize relevance as an important quality assurance device.

scholarly journals Does public outreach impede research performance? Exploring the ‘researcher’s dilemma’ in a sustainability research center

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 710-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Kassab
Keyword(s):  
General Public ◽  
Evaluation System ◽  
Career Advancement ◽  
Sustainability Science ◽  
Research Performance ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Research Center ◽  
Public Outreach ◽  
Sustainability Research ◽  
Broad Consensus

Abstract Researchers and universities are increasingly urged to communicate their findings to the general public. Despite the broad consensus about the necessity of this task, researchers are still reluctant to engage in public outreach activities. One major reason is that while being somewhat time consuming, engagement in public outreach is not adequately reflected in the metrics that are relevant for career advancement. The study at hand examines to what extent this dilemma is empirically justified. A series of statistical analyses are carried out on the basis of data from a sustainability science research center in Switzerland. The study comes to the conclusion that research performance is overall positively associated to engagement in public outreach activities. This insight has implications for the academic incentive and evaluation system.

scholarly journals Canvas and cosmos: Visual art techniques applied to astronomy data

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (04) ◽  
pp. 1730010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayanne English
Keyword(s):  
Visual Art ◽  
Human Perception ◽  
Physical Reality ◽  
Color Images ◽  
Color Theory ◽  
Electromagnetic Spectrum ◽  
Public Outreach ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Scientific Results ◽  
Technical Construction

Bold color images from telescopes act as extraordinary ambassadors for research astronomers because they pique the public’s curiosity. But are they snapshots documenting physical reality? Or are we looking at artistic spacescapes created by digitally manipulating astronomy images? This paper provides a tour of how original black and white data, from all regimes of the electromagnetic spectrum, are converted into the color images gracing popular magazines, numerous websites, and even clothing. The history and method of the technical construction of these images is outlined. However, the paper focuses on introducing the scientific reader to visual literacy (e.g. human perception) and techniques from art (e.g. composition, color theory) since these techniques can produce not only striking but politically powerful public outreach images. When created by research astronomers, the cultures of science and visual art can be balanced and the image can illuminate scientific results sufficiently strongly that the images are also used in research publications. Included are reflections on how they could feedback into astronomy research endeavors and future forms of visualization as well as on the relevance of outreach images to visual art. (See the color online PDF version at http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/S0218271817300105 ; the figures can be enlarged in PDF viewers.)

scholarly journals Social Live Streaming tools for the development of Virtual Workshops

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
C. García-García ◽  
J. Galán ◽  
R. Izquierdo
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Creative Process ◽  
Social Communication ◽  
Mass Communication ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Live Streaming ◽  
Internet Connection ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Developed World ◽  
Creative Team

<p class="Textoindependiente21">The increase of Social Media on the Internet has brought an unprecedented revolution which has changed the existing social communication systems to date. Currently, a high percentage of population in the developed world has a smartphone with Internet connection that allows being permanently connected. This enables new ways of approaching some types of tasks that have traditionally required of simultaneity in space and time, such as the development of creative proposals by a large number of people.</p><p class="Textoindependiente21">Technological advances have allowed, in a few years, the size reduction of a computer to today's mobile devices. Among the multitude of specifications offered by next-generation devices, the continuous evolution of the imaging capture systems is a highlight. The existence of both front-facing and rear cameras, both capable for taking pictures or record video has become widespread in the majority of mobile devices.</p>This paper proposes the use of Social Live Streaming Tools in mobile devices in order to facilitate the development of creative workshops, using the virtual territory as co-creation area with the aim of promoting one-to-many communications, so that a lecturer can perform a mass communication, in real time and delocalized, without losing the possibility of interact with the audience. These tools also allow the possibility for each member of a creative team to swap between different roles (viewer at some times or lecturer at others), thus stimulating the creative process through social participation.

Virtual tours and exhibits: an innovative tool for education and public outreach in INAF

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Mantovani ◽  
Federico Di Giacomo ◽  
Livia Giacomini ◽  
Caterina Boccato
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
General Public ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
Editorial Staff ◽  
Public Outreach ◽  
The Public ◽  
Innovative Tool ◽  
Education And Public Outreach ◽  
Guided Tours ◽  
At Home

&lt;p&gt;This critical period we are living worldwide forced us to rearrange our way of engaging general public and students to talk about science. Internet and computers are the most used tools for education and public outreach. INAF (National Institute for Astrophysics) has embraced this new way of interacting with the public by developing virtual tours and exhibits of its museums and telescopes spread all over Italy. In this years, INAF&amp;#8217;s researchers, thanks to &amp;#8220;Polvere di stelle&amp;#8221;, the cultural heritage for Italian astronomy, and the editorial staff of EduINAF, the official INAF online magazine for education, have collected and developed a series of virtual tours of the INAF observatories, telescopes and museums managed by the institute. By staying comfortable at home, general public, students and professors can easily access guided tours, which will fully immerse the users to admire the whole scientific and historic INAF&amp;#8217;s heritage. During the presentation, some examples will be displayed to the audience.&lt;/p&gt;

Psychological Challenges in Communicating about Climate Change and Its Uncertainites

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily H. Ho ◽  
David V. Budescu ◽  
Han Hui Por
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
General Public ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
Overwhelming Majority ◽  
Communication Styles ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Public Outreach ◽  
Complex Phenomenon ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Communicative Efficiency

The overwhelming majority of the scientific community agrees that climate change (CC) is occurring and is caused by anthropogenic, or human-caused, forcing. The global populace is aware of this phenomenon but appears to be unconcerned about CC and is slow to adopt potential mitigative actions. CC is a unique and complex phenomenon affected by various kinds of uncertainty, rendering communicative efforts particularly challenging. The compound and, potentially, conflicting uncertainties inherent in CC engender public ambivalence about the issue. The treatment of uncertainty in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) reports have been shown to be confusing to policymakers and the general public, further confounding public outreach efforts. Given diverse communication styles and the multifaceted nature of CC, an assortment of strategies has been recommended to maximize understanding and increase salience. In particular, using evidence-based approaches to communicate about probabilistic outcomes in CC increases communicative efficiency.

We know the way: learning the secrets of celestial navigation from ancient travellers

2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 023002
Author(s):  
Vassilios McInnes Spathopoulos
Keyword(s):  
General Public ◽  
Science Learning ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Online Platform ◽  
Software Applications ◽  
Internet Connection ◽  
Celestial Navigation ◽  
The World ◽  
The Way

Abstract Educators are constantly looking for new ways to inspire students to actively engage with science. Learning how to navigate by using the stars, sun and moon can be one of the first steps for pupils, students and the general public to cultivate an interest in astronomy. With this in mind, an online platform based on the Google Earth and Stellarium software has been developed. It presents basic celestial navigation techniques that were first devised and deployed by the ancient Phoenicians and Greeks, the Vikings and the Polynesian travellers. Both software applications are free to use and are available in web versions, making them easily accessible to anyone with an internet connection. The user undertakes a set of predefined tasks that take him/her on a fascinating journey both around the world and back in time.

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