Education and public outreach: communicating science through storytelling.

Education and public outreach activities can be challenging for most active scientists, for very good reasons. Allotment of time to participate in outreach activities could be a major challenge. However, when such activities are incorporated into one's academic and research plan, they can be enriching. Here, the author describes his experience in what began as on one-off participation at an outreach event, leading to a series of speaking events addressing the public at the monthly meetings of several astronomy clubs/societies, observatories, etc. in the states of Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Colorado. They have often involved the use of motifs and characters from popular science fiction, literature, and movies and when possible, getting the audience actively involved in the presentations. Furthermore, the discussions following each presentation have been enriching in terms of getting a broad perspective of the perceptions that people in general have, regarding the origins of life, microbiology, extremophiles, and astrobiology.

Chinese scientists' mediated participation in public outreach: Multiple direct and personal norm-mediated predictors.

The rise of new media technologies has reshaped the landscape of science communication. There is little research on scientists' outreach participation and its possible predictors in different media contexts. Based on a national survey of 8,533 scientists in China, this study examined multiple direct and personal norm-mediated predictors of scientists' intentions to participate in public outreach via legacy media versus social media. Our findings revealed two consistent direct predictors (past outreach participation and personal norms) and two inconsistent direct predictors (descriptive norms and intrinsic rewards) that are significant only for participating via social media in the Chinese context. Moreover, our findings suggest a significant mediation effect of personal norms on the influence of various social norms (descriptive and subjective) and rewards (intrinsic and extrinsic) on Chinese scientists' intentions to participate in public outreach via media. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

International Microorganism Day: facilitating global outreach events using a decentralized model.

On 17 September 1683, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch merchant who lacked formal education and fortune, wrote a letter to the Royal Society of London describing for the first time a single-celled organism. As a tribute to this revolutionary discovery, the Portuguese Society of Microbiology with the support of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies in 2017, designated this day as International Microorganism Day (IMD), a day aiming to raise awareness about the wonderful world of microbes. Six years after the establishment of IMD, the knowledge of microbiology outreach around this celebration has expanded greatly, with 5 years of in-person and 2 years of online events. The peak of these commemorations was in 2023, with 63 parallel outreach events and more than 5000 attendees, most of which were children, and young adults. While these in-person events were occurring in the month of September, the #InternationalMicroorganismDay hashtag reached nearly 2.3 million people online, reflecting the number of users who have seen a post containing this hashtag on social media. Using a decentralized model to facilitate 63 grass-roots teams to organize events locally, IMD achieved global representation both online and offline. This paper presents details behind the organization and data on the international impact of the IMD 2022 and 2023 events, outlines plans to expand reach to more countries and audiences, and encourages readers to participate with their own events in future IMD editions so that global impact can be expanded even further.

Women-Focused Nonprofit Organizations and Their Use of Twitter During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Characterizing a Gendered Pandemic Through Information, Community, and Action.

This study investigates how gender-focused nonprofit organizations used Twitter to advocate on behalf of women and girls during the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected tweets from five nonprofits including Canadian Women's Foundation, Anova, UN Women, National Organization for Women, and Planned Parenthood. Through thematic analysis, we identified nine gender-related themes: safety, physical health, mental health, labor, economic situation, intersectional concerns, leadership, the role of gender in pandemic response and recovery plans, and supporting women's organizations. A subsequent content analysis revealed that women's safety, labor, and economic situation were the most prominent themes. It was also revealed that safety and intersectional concerns were raised by all organizations. We applied the theoretical framework of microblogging functions which distinguishes between information-, community-, and action-oriented tweets. Most of the tweets in our study were informational, much fewer were associated with calls to action and community engagement. Our analysis also revealed relationships between the microblogging functions and the tweets' content themes. We found that informational tweets addressed women's safety, physical health, economic situation, and the role of gender in pandemic response and recovery plans, while community-oriented tweets addressed women's labor, leadership, and supporting women's organizations. Finally, each microblogging function elicited different levels of user engagement on Twitter, with the community-oriented function receiving the largest number of "likes" compared with the information- and action-oriented functions. Our study adds to the growing body of research on social media use by feminist groups and provides novel theoretical insights by expanding the microblogging framework.

"A whole new perspective on how the body fits together"-An evaluation of a cadaver laboratory experience for high school students.

The Center for Anatomy and Physiology Education has hosted interactive human cadaver laboratory tours for local high schools (ages 14-18) and undergraduate university students since 2014 to expose students to healthcare careers. Students receive information on the history of body donation and healthcare careers and observe human anatomy on prosections and with isolated organs. The goal of this study was to evaluate students' perceptions of the anatomy laboratory tours and their impact on students' interests in healthcare careers. Students completed pre- and post-tour questionnaires. Responses were analyzed using thematic analysis and linguistic inquiry. Of the 261 students who completed pre-tour questionnaires, 204 (78%) completed the post-tour questionnaire. Before the tour, students anticipated learning about human anatomy and expected to only see but not touch a cadaver. Most students expressed excitement and/or nervousness. A few students viewed the laboratory tour as an opportunity to test if they could see themselves in a healthcare career. After the tour, most students indicated that the tour either met or exceeded their expectations. Students found the laboratory tour to be educational and interesting and were surprised by the opportunity to interact with the donor. Numerous students expressed an increased interest in healthcare careers after the tour. Overall, students perceived the tour as an engaging experience that improved their anatomical knowledge and reinforced/increased their interest in healthcare careers. Academic institutions can positively impact local students by implementing an anatomy tour, sharing access to their in-house human cadaver laboratory, and recruiting instructors to share their anatomy expertise.

A Method to Increase and Document the Impact of Astrobiology Education and Public Outreach.

Astrobiology education and public outreach (E/PO) efforts vary widely in terms of audience, content focus, duration, intensity, and numerous other characteristics. To identify best practices and gauge impact, an evaluation model is needed that functions across a variety of activities. In 2013, the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) convened 19 astrobiology E/PO specialists for 2 days in Phoenix, AZ, with a professional evaluator to develop an evaluation model. The resulting model, termed the impact analysis method (IAM), is a series of evaluation-based practices that are tied to each phase in the "life cycle" of an E/PO project: beginning with needs assessment, which leads to the articulation of clear measurable objectives, from which design criteria for the project are developed, followed by examining the fidelity of the implementation and measuring the impacts. Data from those measurements were then used by astrobiology E/PO specialists to refine future implementation, collect evidence of impact, and support subsequent program decisions. A rubric was developed to show increasing levels of rigor of the evaluation practices in each phase of the project. Eleven astrobiology E/PO specialists who used the IAM reported increases in their understanding of evaluation and improvements in their programs.

The role of case studies in recent paleopathological literature: An argument for continuing relevance.

OBJECTIVE: To critically examine the role that case studies play in recent paleopathological literature, by evaluating their frequency of publication, academic impact, and the public engagement they generate. MATERIALS: Articles published in International Journal of Paleopathology between 2011 and 2018 (N = 377). METHODS: Articles were coded as case studies, population studies, methodological studies, or reviews. Case studies were coded as cultural practices, differential diagnosis, historical, or methodological/theoretical. We utilized bibliometric analysis to assess academic impact and altmetric analysis to evaluate public engagement. RESULTS: Case studies continue to be the most frequently published, but least frequently cited, article type. There are no significant differences in public engagement data between article types. Methodological/theoretical case studies have the most academic impact. Differential diagnosis case studies have the least academic impact and generate the least public engagement. CONCLUSIONS: The case study genre includes a variety of approaches, some of which hold significant potential for contributing to the discipline of paleopathology and beyond. SIGNIFICANCE: This study updates Mays' (2012b) citation analysis, pioneers the use of altmetric data to analyze public engagement with paleopathological publications, and identifies less productive approaches and areas of heightened relevance in the case study genre. LIMITATIONS: Publications in only one journal were analyzed. Only one source was utilized for citation data (Google Scholar) and one source for altmetric data (PlumX). SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH: Expanding the granular analysis of case studies piloted here to additional journals and/or citation indexes to enlarge the sample size and provide keener insights.

Vitaport: A Learning and Artistic Path for Public Outreach on Transporter Biology, Health and Drug Discovery.

In occasion of its conclusion, the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) TransCure launched a temporary learning and artistic path in the city of Bern named 'Vitaport - Was unser Körper transportiert'. The path explained how nutrients are transported through our body and how molecules find their way to the right organ to achieve their effect there. NCCR TransCure researchers, together with students of the Bern School of Design, developed ceramic objects, texts and information graphics that took the public on a multidisciplinary journey of discovery through the human body. In this article, we report about aims, development, challenges and outcome of this ambitious science outreach project in which we could experience a rewarding and successful collaboration between scientists and artists.

Advancing Neurolinguistics in Russia: Experience and Implications of Building Experimental Research and Evidence-Based Practices.

Russia has rich theoretical and behavioral research traditions in neurolinguistics and neuropsychology, but at the beginning of the twenty-first century contemporary experimental research in these disciplines remained limited, leading to proliferation of non-evidence-based approaches in education, healthcare, and public beliefs. An academic response to this was the establishment of the Center for Language and Brain at the HSE University, Moscow, which focused on experimental psycho- and neurolinguistic research and related evidence-based practices. The Center has grown from a small group of young researchers to a large interdisciplinary unit that conducts cutting-edge research utilizing multi-site settings and novel structural and functional neuroimaging methods. The overarching aim of the Center's research is to promote scientifically grounded treatment of the language-brain relationship in the educational, clinical, and industry settings. Specifically, translational research at the Center is contributing to the advancement of clinical practice in Russia: from providing the first standardized aphasia language test to implementing protocols for intraoperative language mapping in neurosurgery departments across the country. Within research projects, a new generation of scientists is successfully being fostered, while a broader student audience is reached via courses taught by staff of the Center to students of different majors. Notable examples of public outreach programs at the Center are the Annual Summer Neurolinguistics School attracting hundreds of attendees from different countries each year, and community projects focused on raising awareness about aphasia. Together, these efforts aim to increase scientific knowledge in a multi-professional audience. In this paper, we will share our joint experiences in establishing, building, and promoting a neurolinguistics research center in Russia and the impact that this work has had on the broader public. We will delineate specific milestones of this journey and focus on the main pillars that have contributed to our progress: research, clinical work, teaching, and public outreach programs. We hope that this critical appraisal of our experiences can serve simultaneously as an inspiration and a practical guide for other groups developing research, clinical, and educational programs in different neuroscientific disciplines across the globe and aiming to improve the quality of the neuroscientific information available to the public.

Identifying Social Determinants of Health and Allocating Resources During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Currently, the world has found itself in a global pandemic with coronavirus. At its start, to limit the spread of this virus, countries, states, and counties have implemented stay-at-home orders and shutdowns. These shutdowns had great impacts on people's well-being and exacerbated social determinants of health. This project aims to identify patient social determinants of health and their associations during the COVID-19 pandemic via telemedicine. METHODS: A total of 104 patients were surveyed within Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who had not been seen for at least 4 weeks before March 23, 2020 and who did not have a scheduled visit within 4 weeks of the initial survey. Based on a patient's specific response, resources were then allocated to them. RESULTS: Most patients surveyed identified at least 1 social determinant of health, the most common being financial issues (27%), mental health issues (26%), and access to food (19%). A statistically significant relationship was found between patients who identified finances with access to food, access to medication with struggling to care for themselves or others, and physical wellness with mental health. Lastly, an association was found between those who did not identify any difficulties and wanting more information. CONCLUSIONS: By identifying needed barriers via telemedicine, we can properly allocate resources to those who need it the most and hope to decrease the potential long-term effects of this current pandemic.

The anti-cancer League and public outreach for cancer control in Peru / A liga Anticancerosa e a sensibilização pública ao controle do câncer na sociedade peruana

Abstract Peru's first cancer control public outreach scheme started in the 1910s, but ground to a standstill as it attained official governmental recognition in 1926 as the Liga Anti-Cancerosa (LAC). This paper explains the developments leading to that earliest effort to enlist a coalition of State health agencies, physicians, and lay people in a campaign to publicize early signs of this disease, as well as the medical and political reasons for and implications of its decline. Besides highlighting the importance of professional initiatives shaping cancer activism, contextualizing the rise and fall of the LAC calls attention to the effects that hospitalization of cancer treatment had on aspects of cancer care that were not directly treatment-related, such as public outreach.

Resumo O primeiro programa peruano de sensibilização pública para controle do câncer iniciou na década de 1910, mas arrefeceu quando reconhecido pelo governo como Liga Anticancerosa (LAC), em 1926. Este artigo aborda os avanços que conduziram aos pioneiros esforços de recrutamento de agências governamentais de saúde, médicos e leigos na divulgação sobre os primeiros sinais da doença, assim como as motivações políticas e médicas e as implicações de seu declínio. Além de assinalar a importância de iniciativas profissionais no ativismo na temática do câncer, a contextualização da ascensão e declínio da LAC chama a atenção para os reflexos da hospitalização no tratamento do câncer sobre aspectos indiretamente relacionados ao tratamento, como os esforços de sensibilização pública.

Current status of the website of the Biophysical Society of Japan.

Our society website was established in 2018 (https://www.biophys.jp/) and currently, it is working for disclosure and communications. However, we should reorganize the site in the near future, to fit to the shift of information media and the need for internalization, as generally requested for the modern Japanese society.

Collaboration and engagement produce more actionable science: quantitatively analyzing uptake of fish tracking studies.

Aquatic telemetry technology generates new knowledge about the underwater world that can inform decision-making processes and thus can improve conservation and natural resource management. Still, there is lack of evidence on how telemetry-derived knowledge can or has informed management, and what factors facilitate or deter its use. We present one of the first quantitative studies related to the science-action gap and evaluate factors that influence the uptake of fish telemetry findings into policies and practices, as well as social acceptance of these findings. We globally surveyed 212 fish telemetry researchers regarding the knowledge uptake of an applied fish telemetry research project of their choice. Respondents' personal and professional attributes, as well as the attributes of their chosen projects, were analyzed using machine learning algorithms to identify important factors that influenced the uptake (i.e., use, trust, and/or acceptance) of their findings. Researchers with extensive collaborations and who spent more time engaging in public outreach experienced greater uptake of their findings. Respondents with greater telemetry experience and commitment (e.g., more telemetry publications, higher proportion of research on fish telemetry) tended to achieve more social acceptance of their findings. Projects led by researchers who were highly involved and familiar with the fisheries management processes, and those where greater effort was devoted to research dissemination, also tended to experience greater uptake. Last, the levels of complexity and controversy of the issue addressed by the research project had a positive influence on the uptake of findings. The empirical results of this study support recent messages in the science practitioner literature for greater collaboration, knowledge co-production with partners, and public engagement to enable the transfer of knowledge and the use of evidence in decision-making and policies. Scientific organizations should consider shifting reward incentives to promote engagement and collaboration with non-scientific actors, and perhaps even rethinking hiring practices to consider personal and professional characteristics or attitudes such as altruism and networking skills given the influence of these factors in our model. Last, networks composed of both research and practice potentially have a key role in brokering and facilitating knowledge exchange and actions.

Communicating About Animal Research with the Public.

Animals play a key role in biomedical research and other areas of scientific inquiry. But public opinion plays a key role in influencing how this area of science is regulated and funded. Nevertheless, scientists have historically been reticent to speak openly about their animal research or to open their animal facilities to the public in any way. Consequently, most of the available information has come from those opposed to animal research. This imbalance has led to suspicion and lagging public support for this work. To reverse this effect, efforts are now being made in many parts of the world to increase openness and transparency in this sector. The authors firmly believe that encouraging more institutions to join this movement, focused on better and greater communication, is essential to preserve the research community's "permission" to perform justifiable studies involving animals. For the purposes of this article, we consider "the public" to include that cross-section of society who may be asked their views in opinion poll studies and who may vote in elections. It also includes other influential groups such as the media, scientists working in other disciplines, animal welfare groups, and politicians who may shape regulatory frameworks. Public opinion on this issue matters. The majority of funding for biomedical research comes, either directly or indirectly, from the public purse. In the case of pharmaceutical research, funding derives from selling medicines to consumers. We therefore all have a vested interest in this funding. Furthermore, legislation that covers the use of animals in research is permissive-it allows scientists to do things that might otherwise contravene animal welfare laws. But this permission is normally contingent on complying with strict protective measures designed to ensure the work stays within the ethical framework that public opinion has deemed appropriate. Open and transparent communication is the best way to promote public understanding. There is thus a responsibility on all those involved in animal research, whether scientists, animal care staff, physicians, veterinarians, members of ethics committees, or managers and leaders, to support and promote public awareness and trust in this work. Circumstantial evidence shows that, with such open dialogue, there is decreased targeting and harassment of individuals and job pride and satisfaction for all involved is improved.

Perspective: Sleep at the USA Science and Engineering Festival-A New Outreach for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

ABSTRACT: This April, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) took part as exhibitors at the USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, DC. This was AASM's first time attending the festival which is the largest conference of its kind promoting and celebrating science and technology in the United States hosting 370,000 attendees including schoolchildren, educators, and the general public. The AASM's exhibit featured interactive games as well as materials aimed at the promotion of healthy sleep habits in all age groups. A few individuals presented with more specific questions and were provided education and directed to online resources approved by the Academy. It was apparent that many people were unaware of the field of sleep medicine and responded favorably to our presence. We hope our account of the experience helps inform thought on further direction the AASM takes in the realm of public outreach and education.

Implementation of a Regional Training Program on African Swine Fever As Part of the Cooperative Biological Engagement Program across the Caucasus Region.

A training and outreach program to increase public awareness of African swine fever (ASF) was implemented by Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the Ministries of Agriculture in Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. The implementing agency was the company SAFOSO (Switzerland). Integration of this regional effort was administered by subject matter experts for each country. The main teaching effort of this project was to develop a comprehensive regional public outreach campaign through a network of expertise and knowledge for the control and prevention of ASF in four neighboring countries that experience similar issues with this disease. Gaps in disease knowledge, legislation, and outbreak preparedness in each country were all addressed. Because ASF is a pathogen with bioterrorism potential and of great veterinary health importance that is responsible for major economic instability, the project team developed public outreach programs to train veterinarians in the partner countries to accurately and rapidly identify ASF activity and report it to international veterinary health agencies. The project implementers facilitated four regional meetings to develop this outreach program, which was later disseminated in each partner country. Partner country participants were trained as trainers to implement the outreach program in their respective countries. In this paper, we describe the development, execution, and evaluation of the ASF training and outreach program that reached more than 13,000 veterinarians, farmers, and hunters in the partner countries. Additionally, more than 120,000 booklets, flyers, leaflets, guidelines, and posters were distributed during the outreach campaign. Pre- and post-ASF knowledge exams were developed. The overall success of the project was demonstrated in that the principles of developing and conducting a public outreach program were established, and these foundational teachings can be applied within a single country or expanded regionally to disseminate disease information across borders; overall, this method can be modified to raise awareness about many other diseases.

Conservation physiology and the quest for a 'good' Anthropocene.

It has been proposed that we are now living in a new geological epoch known as the Anthropocene, which is specifically defined by the impacts that humans are having on the Earth's biological diversity and geology. Although the proposal of this term was borne out of an acknowledgement of the negative changes we are imparting on the globe (e.g. climate change, pollution, coastal erosion, species extinctions), there has recently been action amongst a variety of disciplines aimed at achieving a 'good Anthropocene' that strives to balance societal needs and the preservation of the natural world. Here, we outline ways that the discipline of conservation physiology can help to delineate a hopeful, progressive and productive path for conservation in the Anthropocene and, specifically, achieve that vision. We focus on four primary ways that conservation physiology can contribute, as follows: (i) building a proactive approach to conservation; (ii) encouraging a pragmatic perspective; (iii) establishing an appreciation for environmental resilience; and (iv) informing and engaging the public and political arenas. As a collection of passionate individuals combining theory, technological advances, public engagement and a dedication to achieving conservation success, conservation physiologists are poised to make meaningful contributions to the productive, motivational and positive way forward that is necessary to curb and reverse negative human impact on the environment.

co.labore-A Genuine Collaboration between Arts and Science, Reflecting Viewpoints and Merging Skills.

Often chemists regard their scientific work as creative, when designing and synthesizing new molecules and larger assemblies. In this, we have to go through recurring stages of planning projects, doubting results, discarding ideas, and restarting them with a different approach in order to be successful in chemical research. From this point of view, can we fairly assume that these processes are analogous to the stages artists go through when creating art? In our efforts to strengthen reflective perspectives on what chemists are doing, the SFB 858 initiated a collaboration with the Academy of Fine Arts Münster. Additionally, we were aiming to enter into a dialogue about our research with a broader public.

WebAL Comes of Age: A Review of the First 21 Years of Artificial Life on the Web.

We present a survey of the first 21 years of web-based artificial life (WebAL) research and applications, broadly construed to include the many different ways in which artificial life and web technologies might intersect. Our survey covers the period from 1994-when the first WebAL work appeared-up to the present day, together with a brief discussion of relevant precursors. We examine recent projects, from 2010-2015, in greater detail in order to highlight the current state of the art. We follow the survey with a discussion of common themes and methodologies that can be observed in recent work and identify a number of likely directions for future work in this exciting area.