scholarly journals Synthetic biology in the Science Café: what have we learned about public engagement?

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (04) ◽  
pp. A02 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin L. Navid ◽  
Edna F. Einsiedel
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
The Public ◽  
Upstream Engagement ◽  
Safety Science ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
Science Cafe

Engaging the public on emerging science technologies has often presented challenges. People may hold notions that science is too complicated for them to understand and the venues at which science is discussed are formal and perceived as  inaccessible. One approach to address these challenges is through the Science Café, or Café Scientifique. We conducted five Science Cafés across Canada  to gauge public awareness of synthetic biology technology, its potential applications, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the Science Café platform as a  knowledge-translation tool. Café participants were excited about the potential benefits of synthetic biology technology, but also concerned about the potential  risks. And while participants trusted scientists to carry out their research, there was limited confidence that regulators would ensure public safety. Science  Cafés as a forum for science to meet society were viewed positively for the relaxed atmosphere, small crowd size and informality of the venue. We conclude  that Science Cafés are an effective upstream engagement platform for discussing emerging science technologies.

scholarly journals Mainstreaming Microbes across Biomes

BioScience ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (7) ◽  
pp. 589-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence J Clarke ◽  
Penelope J Jones ◽  
Hans Ammitzboll ◽  
Leon A Barmuta ◽  
Martin F Breed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
The Public ◽  
Microbiome Research ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Global Data Sets ◽  
Global Data

Abstract Bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms in the environment (i.e., environmental microbiomes) provide vital ecosystem services and affect human health. Despite their importance, public awareness of environmental microbiomes has lagged behind that of human microbiomes. A key problem has been a scarcity of research demonstrating the microbial connections across environmental biomes (e.g., marine, soil) and between environmental and human microbiomes. We show in the present article, through analyses of almost 10,000 microbiome papers and three global data sets, that there are significant taxonomic similarities in microbial communities across biomes, but very little cross-biome research exists. This disconnect may be hindering advances in microbiome knowledge and translation. In this article, we highlight current and potential applications of environmental microbiome research and the benefits of an interdisciplinary, cross-biome approach. Microbiome scientists need to engage with each other, government, industry, and the public to ensure that research and applications proceed ethically, maximizing the potential benefits to society.

scholarly journals Synthetic biology: below the radar

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (01) ◽  
pp. R01
Author(s):  
Emma Weitkamp
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
Synthetic Approaches

Englehard et al. provide a wide-ranging look at synthetic biology, from discussion of how one might classify different synthetic approaches to consideration of risk and ethical issues. The chapter on public engagement considers why synthetic biology seems to sit below the public radar.

scholarly journals Contested extractivism: impact assessment, public engagement, and environmental knowledge production in Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 1166-1188
Author(s):  
Jonathan Tollefson ◽  
Bindu Panikkar
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Environmental Knowledge ◽  
Environmental Impact Statement ◽  
Gold Mine ◽  
The Public ◽  
Truth Claims

For large extractive mineral projects, Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) processes function in part as a procedural tool to adjudicate the legitimacy of divergent environmental truth claims. Successful anti-extraction movements work to litigate divergent knowledge claims in the public arena, but few anti-extraction communities have access to a broad public audience. This article examines the proposed Donlin Gold mine in southwestern Alaska, a locally divisive yet publicly invisible extraction controversy, to understand how communities contest the boundaries of knowledge production and legitimacy set out by EIS procedures without the benefit of broad public awareness. Through a multi-method analysis of the public engagement segment of Donlin's Draft EIS, we find that anti-Donlin activists worked to construct environmental knowledge that drew jointly on claims to local knowledge and scientific expertise through a temporary assemblage of local activists and external consultants. The contested epistemic understandings of residents, expert consultants, and state and federal regulators further reveal the role of regulatory processes in constructing and maintaining boundaries of epistemic legitimacy, while also pointing to emergent possibilities for social action based in locally-situated environmental truth claims.Key Words: Environmental Impact Statement, mining, truth claims, Donlin Gold mine, Alaska

Public Engagement in Officials’ Stories about COVID-19 across Social Media, an Iraqi Case Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Omar Bali ◽  
Alla Makii
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Healthy Behaviors ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
The Government

BACKGROUND Background: The world has not attended a major challenge like coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic for several decades. Effective two-way communication across social media facilitates public engagement in health authorities and officials in a positive way which contributes to minimizing damage, impacts, and victims. OBJECTIVE Objective: This study examines public engagement in officials’ stories about COVID-19 on social media. This examination is to realize public responses and engagement particularly during the lockdown which allows us to understand the efforts and contributions of health authorities and officials on social media to give instructions and preventive measures to the public and how the public engage. METHODS Method: This study adopted a survey method through an online questionnaire using 'Google Forms' (N= 511) with responses from adults aged 18 and over. The data collection was carried out from the first week of March until the mid of April 2020. This period was in the quarantine days ordered by the Iraqi government (the first week of March to the end of May). The duration of data collection was very important because the officials were focusing on the measures to prevent the disease and giving instructions across social media to communicate and interact with the public. RESULTS Result: We revealed that the fear of the pandemic led people to change their perception of the government authorities and officials, and this argument was statistically approved (r=0.171**, p < 0.000). We revealed that the fear of the pandemic led people to change their perception of the government authorities and officials because before the outbreak of COVID-19 the public was not satisfied with the government authorities and officials performance, but during the outbreak, the public engaged with the officials positively, (r= 0.156**, p <0.000), (r=0.127**, p <0.000). CONCLUSIONS Conclusion: The pandemic can be invested in restructuring the relationship between the government and the public positively, particularly to raise the public awareness of diseases, prevention, hygiene, and the practice of healthy behaviors. We found that only 191 (%38.2) of the participants did not try to consult the information from global sources about COVID-19. This indicates that through the internet and social media the public can potentially engage with global parties not only the local authorities.

scholarly journals Can public awareness, knowledge and engagement improve climate change adaptation policies?

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzaneh Shaikh Khatibi ◽  
Aysin Dedekorkut-Howes ◽  
Michael Howes ◽  
Elnaz Torabi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Policy Instrument ◽  
Adaptation Policy ◽  
The Public ◽  
Community Needs ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation Policy

AbstractCommunities that are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change need to adapt to increase their resilience. Effective government policies and plans are a key component of this transition, but they are not sufficient in themselves. The community needs to be made aware of the risks, acquire knowledge about the options that are available for a response, and be empowered to take their own actions. Effective public engagement is therefore key to success in planning for climate change. This paper focuses on the importance of public engagement in climate change adaptation policy. It undertakes a systematic quantitative review of the literature dealing with the core themes of climate change awareness, knowledge, and engagement in policy-making. The findings reveal a gap in the existing academic literature on public engagement, its impacts on different types of knowledge, and the integration of both into climate change adaptation policy. In addition, findings show a strong link between public knowledge and engagement that can be used to encourage and motivate the public by using behavioural economics as a policy instrument. The paper also makes a useful contribution by identifying more effective strategies to improve climate change resilience and sustainability.

Flood alleviation in a heavily urbanized area – Kai Tak Nullah, Hong Kong

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan K. L. Chan ◽  
Colin K. C. Wong ◽  
Robin H. N. Lee ◽  
Mike W. H. Cho
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Hydraulic Modelling ◽  
The Public ◽  
Design Considerations ◽  
Urbanized Area ◽  
Development Area ◽  
The Government ◽  
Exercise Design

The existing Kai Tak Nullah flows from Po Kong Village Road along Choi Hung Road and Tung Tau Estate into Kai Tak Development Area before discharging into the Victoria Harbour. Historically its upstream has been subject to flooding under storm conditions and this has had serious repercussions for the adjacent urban areas. A study has been commissioned by the Drainage Services Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), China to investigate the flood mechanisms and to provide flood alleviation measures by improving the capacity of the Kai Tak Nullah. In addition to flood alleviation, there is a strong public aspiration to rehabilitate the Kai Tak Nullah by a comparatively natural river design. Since the Kai Tak Nullah is located within a heavily urbanized area, traffic and environmental impacts are also highly concerned. The final flood alleviation scheme has thus had to strike a balance among the aforesaid factors with assistance from the hydraulic modelling utilizing InfoWorks Collection Systems (CS) software. This paper presents the public engagement exercise, design considerations, methodologies, and recommendations regarding the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Kai Tak Nullah.

Growing Inequality and Public Awareness of Inequality in the States

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
William W. Franko ◽  
Christopher Witko
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Public Concern ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Conditions ◽  
Perceptions Of Inequality ◽  
Public Opinion Polls ◽  
Opinion Polls

Here the authors present the variation that exists in income inequality across the states, and variation in public awareness or concern about income inequality as measured by public opinion polls. Though politicians may decide to tackle income inequality even in the absence of public concern about inequality, the authors argue that government responses are more likely when and where there is a growing awareness of, and concern about, inequality, which is confirmed in the analyses in this book. To examine this question in subsequent chapters, a novel measure of public awareness of rising state inequality is developed. Using these estimates, this chapter shows that the growth in the public concern about inequality responds in part to objective increases in inequality, but also that state political conditions, particularly mass partisanship, shape perceptions of inequality.

scholarly journals Robust estimation of SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in US counties

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanmo Li ◽  
Mengyang Gu
Keyword(s):  
Transmission Rate ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Infectious Period ◽  
Protective Measures ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Us ◽  
Local Officials ◽  
Us Counties

AbstractThe COVID-19 outbreak is asynchronous in US counties. Mitigating the COVID-19 transmission requires not only the state and federal level order of protective measures such as social distancing and testing, but also public awareness of time-dependent risk and reactions at county and community levels. We propose a robust approach to estimate the heterogeneous progression of SARS-CoV-2 at all US counties having no less than 2 COVID-19 associated deaths, and we use the daily probability of contracting (PoC) SARS-CoV-2 for a susceptible individual to quantify the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in a community. We found that shortening by $$5\%$$ 5 % of the infectious period of SARS-CoV-2 can reduce around $$39\%$$ 39 % (or 78 K, $$95\%$$ 95 % CI: [66 K , 89 K ]) of the COVID-19 associated deaths in the US as of 20 September 2020. Our findings also indicate that reducing infection and deaths by a shortened infectious period is more pronounced for areas with the effective reproduction number close to 1, suggesting that testing should be used along with other mitigation measures, such as social distancing and facial mask-wearing, to reduce the transmission rate. Our deliverable includes a dynamic county-level map for local officials to determine optimal policy responses and for the public to better understand the risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 on each day.

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