Unwrapping DIY enquiry: The study of 'enquiry' in DIY practice at individual, community & place levels

Do-It-Yourself (DIY) enquiry represents ownership over learning and action: figuring things out by oneself, experimenting, and questioning the state of things to find potential solutions to local concerns. It is an identifiable collective behaviour of self-reliance exhibited throughout our history but in the digital age and in societies with increasing levels of education, the way DIY practice unfolds is little understood. Traditional studies on public engagement in science and technology and perspectives on production of knowledge and technology have focused primarily on institutionally mediated methods of public participation and the validity of public contributions to established fields. This thesis research makes empirical, theoretical, and methodological contributions: using a multi-method approach and grounded theory for qualitative data analysis to explore DIY enquiry in practice, community, and place. The three in-depth case studies explore the nature of the production of knowledge, the role of technologies, and the barriers and opportunities to public engagement in DIY enquiry. Participant observation of a community of DIY practice reveals its inner processes, interactions, and framings of science and technology and how DIY practice is performed through DIY tool use and development. The design and facilitation of a DIY workshop series demonstrates the initial stages of engagement in DIY enquiry and reveals that barriers and opportunities to engagement are mediated by frame of mind, setting, facilitation, and interactions. The observation of place-based citizen initiatives of DIY enquiry reveals its range of interconnected actions: development of techniques and strategies for tool development, data interpretation, and leveraging of knowledge and stance for advocacy. Together the cases reveal the transformative power of DIY enquiry, how it builds knowledge, culture, and identity and that engagement requires curiosity, courage, commitment, and foundational competencies. They also reveal an inherent tension between DIY enquiry framed as a means (seeking collective/organised actionable goals) and as an end (enabling personal empowerment). This research facilitates a better understanding of the democratic potential of public engagement in science in our time but it also promotes the leveraging of knowledge production between professional/institutional science and civil society

Creativity in Citizen Cyberscience

An interview study was conducted to explore volunteers’ experiences of creativity in citizen cyberscience. Participants were recruited from 4 projects: GeoTag-X, Virtual Atom Smasher, Synthetic Biology, and Extreme Citizen Science. Ninety-six interviews were conducted in total: 86 with volunteers (citizen scientists) and 10 with professional scientists. The resulting thematic analysis revealed that volunteers are involved in a range of creative activities, such as discussing ideas, suggesting improvements, gamification, artwork, creative writing, and outreach activities. We conclude that the majority of creative products are community-related. Creativity in citizen cyberscience is a collective process: volunteers create within a project and a community, both for themselves and for others

Welcoming Play in Times of Trauma: A Response to Cassie Brownell

I’m honored and delighted to welcome Cassie Brownell to a growing community of early childhood play researchers. In one sense, welcoming implies an unequal power relation where an established member of a community introduces an unknown newcomer. This feels a bit disingenuous. Cassie is already a rising star in our field and really needs no introduction! Her work is part of an exciting new trend in literacy research that blends play with social activism and community building

Toward Meaningfully Engaging Children in Futures Work

Despite the fact that many decisions made today will affect our children’s tomorrows, there is a general bias that children and youth are incapable of understanding and discussing serious topics. As a result, we typically exclude them on matters of concern that we believe are beyond their capacity. This exclusion has been carried into civic participation wherein children are not given a voice in discussions that involve their current and future experiences as citizens. Foresight methods hold promise for developing skills to help us sense-make and vision in the complexity of today’s society. How might we engage children as participants in futures work? We conducted a literature review, consulted foresight practitioners who work with young people, and tested playshop prototypes engaging children in foresight methods and techniques. Findings show that although children and adults think differently, both views convey valuable meaning, and inviting all ages to the table can lead to more robust sense-making and visioning

Purple Patcher 1938

This is a digitized version of the 1938 Purple Patcher. Physical copies of the Purple Patcher are held by the College of the Holy Cross Archives.https://crossworks.holycross.edu/purple_patcher/1018/thumbnail.jp

Purple Patcher 1939

This is a digitized version of the 1939 Purple Patcher. Physical copies of the Purple Patcher are held by the College of the Holy Cross Archives.https://crossworks.holycross.edu/purple_patcher/1083/thumbnail.jp