[p2p-research] Fwd: JCOM 9(2) - new issue - June 2010

Sun Jun 27 07:26:16 CEST 2010

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <jcom-eo at jcom.sissa.it>
Date: Mon, Jun 21, 2010 at 5:40 PM
Subject: JCOM 9(2) - new issue - June 2010
To: michelsub2004 at gmail.com

Dear all, we announce that the June 2010 issue of JCOM - Journal of Science
Communication - (issue 2, volume 9)

http://jcom.sissa.it/

is online.

Comments, remarks and papers by you are kindly requested.

The next issue will be online on 21 September 2010.

Contents:

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EDITORIAL

A game of democracy. Science museums for the governance of science and
technology

Paola Rodari

Luckily enough, more democracy is always called for. Even in countries that
can truly be described as democratic. And democracy (which is a constant
reference in these pages) is increasingly related to knowledge, be it about
whether growing GMOs, starting nuclear energy production or allowing the
choice of a child's gender through IVF techniques. The need to make
democratic decisions on controversial issues, which increasingly imply
scientific and technological knowledge, comes from the bottom, as citizens
voice - sometimes even vehemently - the desire to express themselves.

http://jcom.sissa.it/archive/09/02/Jcom0902%282010%29E/

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ARTICLE

Bringing the universe to the street. A preliminary look at informal learning
implications for a large-scale non-traditional science outreach project

Kimberly Arcand, Megan Watzke

"From Earth to the Universe" (FETTU) is a collection of astronomical images
that showcase some of the most popular, current views of our Universe. The
images, representing the wide variety of astronomical objects known to
exist, have so far been exhibited in about 500 locations throughout the
world as part of the International Year of Astronomy. In the United States,
over 40 FETTU exhibits have occurred in 25 states in such locations as
libraries, airports, nature centers, parks and college campuses. Based on
preliminary evaluations currently underway, this project - a large-scale,
worldwide astronomy outreach in non-traditional locations - has unique
opportunities and implications for informal science learning. We present
some early findings from the observational section of the exhibit's formal
evaluation in five selected locations in the U.S. and U.K., including
emphasis on inter-organizational networking, visitor attention and
participant make-up as well as generative asp
 ects of the exhibit.

http://jcom.sissa.it/archive/09/02/Jcom0902%282010%29A01/

**********

More than "mountain guides" of science: a questionnaire survey of
professional science communicators in Denmark

Kristian Hvidtfelt Nielsen

This article sums up key results of a web-based questionnaire survey
targeting the members of the Danish Science Journalists' Association. The
association includes not only science journalists but also other types of
science communicators. The survey shows that science communicators have a
nuanced and multidimensional view on science communication, science, and
technology. Science communicators are thus more than the "mountain guides"
of science, as a recent definition describes it. The survey respondents are
not just interested in helping the public at large to a wider recognition of
scientific knowledge, but also want to contribute to democratic debate and
social legitimisation of science and technology. The respondents exhibit a
certain amount of optimism in relation to science and technology, yet also
take a sceptical stance when confronted with overly positive statements
regarding science and technology. Finally they have a predominantly social
constructivist perception
 of science and technology when it comes to external relations to society,
while they lean towards a hypothetical-deductive science understanding when
it concerns the internal dynamics of science

http://jcom.sissa.it/archive/09/02/Jcom0902%282010%29A02/

**********

Transatlantic communication in the early years of the International
Scientific Series (1871 to 1875)

Howard J. Swatland

The first 18 volumes of the International Scientific Series published in
both London and New York were reviewed to assess their contribution to
transatlantic communication of popular science. The dominant flow of ideas
was westwards on topics such as science versus religion, empiricism in
psychology, survival of the fittest, jurisprudence versus mental illness,
economics and development of cinematography. There was an eastward flow in
philology. The preparation of volumes was rushed and many authors merely
expanded previous notes, articles and pamphlets. Commercial and idealistic
motives conflicted. There were disagreements among authors. Despite all
this, the series had a lasting effect on social thought.

http://jcom.sissa.it/archive/09/02/Jcom0902%282010%29A03/

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COMMENT

Engagement tools for scientific governance

Andrea Bandelli

Museums have a great potential to facilitate the political engagement of
citizens, intended not in the sense of taking part to the "party politics",
but as full participation in the systems that define and shape society.

http://jcom.sissa.it/archive/09/02/Jcom0902%282010%29C01/

**********

Sally Duensing

Changing standpoint on issues, by playing

Sally Duensing previously worked at the Exploratorium in San Francisco and
is now based in London where she carries out research on science
communication. In this interview, she tells about her experience as an
evaluator of the Decide project, one of the most successful discussion games
ever designed. Years after its creation, Decide is still used nearly all
over the world. Its main strong point is that it allows to grasp the
standpoint of the others and, at the same time, to express your own
standpoint in a mutual exchange of experience; in addition, the interface
and the game rules allow to overcome any cultural and age gaps. However,
sometimes the public expects a debate with an expert rather than a dialogue
among peers, whereas on other occasions the debate was inhibited especially
by the presence of a scientist. In museums, discussion games often clash
with the needs of members of the public, who generally have limited time.
However they can still be useful to the museum
 activities when the results of the discussions are used to program other
activities: it is a way to gather valuable information on the public's
orientations which is often underrated.

http://jcom.sissa.it/archive/09/02/Jcom0902%282010%29C01/Jcom0902%282010%29C02

**********

Barbara Streicher

When stories make the context disappear

Barbara Streicher is the executive manager of the Austrian Science Center
Netzwerk, a network grouping over ninety Austrian institutions committed to
science communication activities. Barbara used discussion games on many
different occasions, all of which were outside a museum, and took place in
places such as cafés, libraries, schools, but also shelters for homeless
people and prisons. The communication exchange among participants always
proved to be very open and respectful at the same time, even when the topics
dealt with were especially sensitive and in social distress conditions. The
game experiences were generally positive, whatever the places they were set
in. The negative aspects are totally irrelevant and basically concern the
time limitation and, in some cases, language difficulties. However, in her
experience, there is still not an involvement of decision makers, and
therefore it can be said that participation games are a way to help people
form an opinion on contr
 oversial issues rather than an instrument with an impact on democratic
governance.

http://jcom.sissa.it/archive/09/02/Jcom0902%282010%29C01/Jcom0902%282010%29C03

**********

Frank Burnet

More scientists and less surrogates

Frank Burnet, now an independent consultant, was the director of the unit of
Science Communication at the University of the West of England, and his work
and research experience has mainly focused on the communication relation
between science and society. In addition, Frank contributed to the
development of the project "Meet the Gene Machine", a discussion format
concerning topical science issues. The positive aspect of participation
games is the increase in the participants’ awareness of important issues,
provided that the game experience is followed by structured discussion. In
this case a fundamental role is played not only by the mediator, but also by
the scientist. The presence of an expert, and not so much of a communicator,
is crucial if you really want to create a contact between scientific world
and civil society. An unsolved issue is what the ideal place for effective
formal discussion on scientific topics among adults would be: indeed,
science centres appear to be
 heavily associated with the academic establishment on the one hand, and
with children entertainment places on the other. Furthermore, real channels
for connection and communication exchange with decision makers are still
lacking.

http://jcom.sissa.it/archive/09/02/Jcom0902%282010%29C01/Jcom0902%282010%29C04

**********

Guglielmo Maglio

Creating exhibitions from debates

Guglielmo Maglio is Manager of Exhibitions at the science centre "Città
della Scienza" of Naples. With "Città della Scienza" he took part in the
creation of "Decide", which he appreciates for its ability to create an
informal atmosphere favouring discussion. As concerns the involvement of
scientists and policy-makers in the debate, though desirable, it sometimes
may influence negatively the spontaneity of the debate among non-experts. In
the participants, the main differences can be ascribed to personal
experience, rather than to other factors such as age, nationality or social
groups. Though not the ideal places for the use of this kind of games,
especially owing to time limits, science centres may exploit them to attract
specific groups of interest and may obtain useful information on the
attitudes of the public to subsequently develop exhibitions and events on
the themes dealt with.

http://jcom.sissa.it/archive/09/02/Jcom0902%282010%29C01/Jcom0902%282010%29C05

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