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Showing posts with the label science

A Newsletter for Science Communication

I've been thinking about how to use my blog and online spaces. I spend a lot of time consuming science communication and public engagement news, updates and discussion across all of the social networks. I have little time to blog but I realised that there is a big gap - as nowhere pulls all of this news and information together regularly.  So, I am launching a newsletter for science communication news.  The aim is to bring together science communication news from around the globe, including events, journal articles, events and podcasts.  It's for anyone that practices science communication or studies it or has any vague interest in it whatsoever.  You can sign up here . It's free. It will be in plain text. It will work on mobile. Simple!  The first newsletter will arrive on Tuesday 29 Sept. Then it will be weekly from that point.  I've been quiet as I am returning to work from maternity leave. Stepping away from work always allows some time to reflect. I have also been

Connecting scientists and the public in online dialogues about science

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My Churchill Trust Travel Fellowship Report, Connecting scientists and the public in online dialogues about science has now been published . Social media offers much promise for the engagement of new global audiences. This report summarises my journey to the USA, Canada, China and Japan and includes useful observations, tips and case studies for those looking to connect the public with science via online platforms. In theory, social media has the potential to break down barriers and open channels of communication between people of every background and profession on a global scale. Online networks also have a huge potential to democratise many areas, especially academic scientific research. It can allow the public access behind previously closed doors and into restricted spaces through the use of video and images. Importantly, it offers and the opportunity for two-way conversations with global audiences no matter where the research is being conducted. I travelled to the USA, Cana

My 2015 Reading List

As many people are looking for presents at this time of year I thought I would round up some of my favourite books that I read in 2015 (along with a few other favourites). My plan was to write full reviews of all of these books but somehow it is the end of the year and I never quite managed it. This year has gone by so quickly. If you have any suggestions of your own please add them below. I am looking for a few new reads over the holidays So You've been Publicly Shamed, Jon Ronson I really enjoyed this book and the follow ups Jon has done with people who have become well known for all the wrong reasons due to exploits, mishaps and misinterpretations on social media. It starts to think about how and why people behave like they do online and it could go into a little more depth but is a great read to make you think about how mob mentality, anonymity and online behaviour in general can be a powerful tool but also a dangerous force. How to Thrive in the Digital Age, Nick

PechaKucha, Androids and Line: Science Communication in Japan

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The last week of my Churchill Fellowship was spent in Tokyo, Japan. I learnt an immense amount about Japan, it's attitudes to science, engagement initiatives and its use of social media ... did you know Japan has a social network called Line ? No, me neither... My short trip also included a PechaKucha presentation, a debate about whether we could love robots and a meeting with the ultimate in robots, ASIMO. Tokyo was incredible. I completely fell in love with its chaos, speed and the people. During my week I went along to the PechaKucha nights and spoke about my Fellowship and my journey in science communication. You can watch it below. If you don't know what PechaKucha is, you have 20 images and 20 seconds to talk about each one. It's a challenge but great fun. The night was really enjoyable and there was about 250 people there. I really enjoy running the PechaKucha nights in Aberdeen so it was fantastic to meet with the founders and organisers of the nights. It

Science, China and why we should all take notice of WeChat.

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I spent last week in Shanghai exploring the use of social media to communicate science as part of my Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship . I had an extremely busy week and was lucky enough to meet with researchers in science communication, representatives from Nature and the Royal Society of Chemistry in Shanghai. Who all gave me extremely valuable insights into science communication and social media in China. Welcome to Shanghai! The majority of my time was spent at Shanghai Jiao Tong University , which is a well established institution in China. I visited researcher Dr Yi Mou who has written a number of papers about the use of social media for health messaging and its uptake by academics on a professional basis in China. Yi Mou also translated some interesting findings from science communication surveys in China that have been conducted over the past number of years. Me, Dr Li Mou and Dr Nainan Wen from Nanjing University where I also visited I was incre

Social media networks are becoming more like real life, not less

This week there's been a higher than normal amount of discussion around to the topic of 'the death of social media', well, there has been on my social media networks. And that links to what I want to talk about in this post. The Atlantic published a piece yesterday on 'The Decay of Twitter' which followed the announcement that Twitter was running at a financial loss. Today, Essena O'Neill announced that she is quitting Instagram because social media 'isn't real life'.  I've found the discussions around both of these really interesting but many discussions about social media often assume a couple of points that I think should be thought about further and these haven't really been addressed in commentary that I have seen. 1) Everyone should be using the same social network Obviously for a social network to be a social network it needs users and for business (like Twitter) additional users is a sign that they are doing well. But as a use

Updates from Hapsci and a call for help!

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Next month (November) I will be continuing my Churchill Fellowship with a trip to Shanghai and to Tokyo. As you can imagine I am very excited about taking this trip.  I  will be meeting with a number of interesting people including two research groups that focus on science communication in China and in Japan. It's going to be a new experience for me and I'm looking forward to the trip. But before I head on my way I wanted see if there are any particular questions people wonder about science and science communication in China and Japan from my blog readers.  It would be great if you could tell me if you  interact/follow any great science focused accounts that are based in China or Japan. I would be interested to know if there are any particular pages or accounts that people really love. I also want you to help me (and  researcher  Paige Brown Jarreau  ) to understand more about who reads this blog and other blogs related to science.  You will also get FREE science a

Churchill Fellowship: Toronto and the Social Media Lab

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Ah, beautiful Toronto. I wasn't expecting to fall in love with this city as much as I did, but I really did. I met some fantastic people and had some great discussions about the use of social media for public engagement with science.* *disclaimer, there are lots of city skyline shots in this blog post.   I spent a good four days in Toronto exploring over the weekend and meeting with scientists and staff at the University of Toronto and speaking with the fantastic Social Media Lab at Ryerson University . I was invited to speak at the Ryerson University Social Media Lab about my Churchill Fellowship. I've included my slides and a YouTube video of my talk 'How scientists are using social media'  at the bottom of this post.  Toronto by day    Toronto by night The space they have in the Social Media Lab is great (it's based within offices once lived-in by Google). I tried out one of the 'chairs' in the image below although thankfull

Why scientists use social media

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Over the past few weeks, as part of my  Churchill Fellowship , I've been speaking to scientists across the US and Canada about their motivations for using social media. It has been interesting to hear what motivated them to start and their motivations to continue.  The reasons scientists made the first step in setting up social media accounts for professional use have included being 'told to get online/start a Twitter account' by research funders or their institutions; to voice general frustrations and/or connect with others outside of their immediate research lab; because they heard it was 'a good thing to do' from others or they wanted to connect with the public about their work. For many, it is of course a combination of those reasons. Very few started out with an aim or vision of what they wanted to achieve. Their navigation of the networks and their choice of network was determined by what they were told to do (e.g. 'get on Twitter') or by wo

Crowdfunding Research: Could it bring scientists and the public closer together?

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Research funding comes from a few, fairly limited places .  With the increase in crowdfunding platforms  online  there's an opportunity to bolster funding from traditional routes with additional cash direct from the public pocket. What this new funding route might bring about, rather unintentionally, is increased understanding and trust between the public and scientists as it brings them closer together through this new, more direct, funding model. In the long-term it could also contribute to the personalisation of science and the democratisation of scientific research.   Traditionally, researchers have received research funding by applying for competitive grants that are overseen by governments, charitable bodies and/or private investors. Although these grants are distributed by the research bodies and funders, other than private investment a significant portion of the money comes from the public's pocket, either through donations or taxes. These funds are then distrib

Friday Favourites 8 May

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A round up of the best things that I have discovered online this week. Covering everything from posts on public engagement with research, how we use social media and other good stuff. I posted this week about my upcoming trip to North America to look at the communication of science via social media. If you missed it, you can read it here .  1) LIFESAVING TOOL:  Freedom thanks to @DrMRFrancis for this one. It's an app that blocks the internet so you can concentrate when you need to. You just let the app know how long you need to stay offline and that's it, work away. I think this might be one for the thesis writers!  2) ONLINE DISCUSSION:  The #NASINTERFACE discussion on trust in science This roundtable discussion with academics and journalists looked at aspects of trust and public perceptions of science. There were some interesting side conversations on Twitter and you can view the talks online. It was focused on the life sciences (just to add some context).

Creating effective social media networks; why it isn't all about numbers.

In my current job I help researchers engage with the public about their research work. I talk with them about how they might engage with particular groups of people or how they might think about structuring a public talk. I especially like talking with people about different ways they can engage and how they might think about using online tools and social media to engage with others about what they are doing. This post is about maximising the potential of social media networks for engagement and measuring success online. It isn't all about the numbers.... The first thing I ask is, 'why do you want to do this?' Followed closely by, 'who is it you want to engage with or reach?' This second question is so important. It's no use chatting to fellow researchers and tweeting links to scientific research papers if you want to speak to people outside of the research field about their views on nature. Tailoring content and building the right network of contacts is so i