Three Waves of Citizen Science - a Global to National view of a field in motion

Presentation given to the members of the OECD GSF Expert Group on Citizen Scienc

Legacy, sustainability and Olympism: crafting urban outcomes at London 2012

The staging of the Olympic Games has, since the outset, been intended to produce positive and lasting outcomes, but each age has seen the Olympic movement and their appointed host cities recasting the ways in which they have sought to achieve such outcomes in light of their own values and needs. Seen against that background, this paper opens with an historical overview that spans the period since the re-establishment of the Olympics in 1896. It traces the ways in which four notions – memory, regeneration, sustainability and legacy – have progressively emerged as issues that shape the agenda of desired urban outcomes, particularly exploring the evolution of the dynamic, continually evolving but uneasy relationship between sustainability and the overlapping concept of ‘legacy’. The latter part of the paper illustrates these ideas with regard to the London 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. It analyses the ‘One Planet Games’ concept, how this was developed for the bid, and how it was subsequently put into practice, commenting particularly on the carbon footprint, the creation of the Olympic Park (as sustainable legacy) and the promotion of sustainable living. The conclusion comments on the continuing challenges encountered in maintaining the visibility of sustainability plans while addressing long-term legacy

The history of events: ideology and historiography

This chapter explores the contribution that explicit analysis of historical writings can make to the study of events. In particular, it explores three related propositions. The first concerns “narrative”, understood here as a structured account, rendered in textual form, of a sequence of events that occurred in the past. The second proposition continues the story-telling theme, noting that it is important to recognise the ways that events can be used to represent specific causes and to understand the consequences of doing so. In this regard, we point to the importance of the rich and multifaceted concept of “representation”. The third proposition concerns “narration”, or the way in which the story is told. Here, we argue that understanding of the history of events would benefit from more explicit recognition of the multiple ways in which that history has been, and could be, written. Case studies of the Salzburg Festival, the visit of George IV to Edinburgh in 1822, and the history of the modern Olympic Games are used to illustrate these propositions in turn

Tales of the Olympic city: Memory, narrative and the built environment = Historias de la ciudad olímpica: memoria, narrativa y el entorno construido

The Olympics have a greater, more profound and more pervasive impact on the urban fabric of their host cities than any other sporting or cultural event. This paper is concerned with issues of memory and remembering in Olympic host cities. After a contextual introduction, it employs a case study of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (QEOP), the main event space for the London 2012 Summer Games, to supply insight into how to read the urban traces of Olympic memory. Three key themes are identified when interpreting the memories associated with the Park and its built structures, namely: treatment of the area’s displaced past, memorializing the Games, and with memory legacy. The ensuing discussion section then adopts a historiographic slant, stressing the importance of narrative and offering wider conclusions about Olympic memory and the city. = El impacto de los Juegos Olímpicos en el tejido urbano de las ciudades anfitrionas es mayor, más profundo y más generalizado que el de cualquier otro evento deportivo o cultural. Este trabajo analiza temas relacionados con la memoria y el recuerdo en las ciudades anfitrionas de los Juegos Olímpicos. Tras introducir del contexto, se utiliza un estudio de caso del Parque Olímpico Queen Elizabeth (QEOP, por sus siglas en inglés), el principal espacio de los Juegos de Verano de Londres 2012, para plantear un nuevo enfoque sobre cómo leer las huellas urbanas de la memoria olímpica. Se identifican tres temas clave al interpretar los recuerdos asociados con el Parque y sus estructuras construidas, a saber: el tratamiento del pasado desplazado del área, la conmemoración de los Juegos y el legado de la memoria. La sección de discusión adopta un enfoque historiográfico, subrayando la importancia de la narrativa y ofreciendo gran variedad de conclusiones sobre la memoria olímpica y la ciudad

Historias de la ciudad olímpica: memoria, narrativa y el entorno construido

The Olympics have a greater, more profound and more pervasive impact on the urban fabric of their host cities than any other sporting or cultural event.  This paper is concerned with issues of memory and remembering in Olympic host cities.  After a contextual introduction, it employs a case study of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (QEOP), the main event space for the London 2012 Summer Games, to supply insight into how to read the urban traces of Olympic memory.  Three key themes are identified when interpreting the memories associated with the Park and its built structures, namely: treatment of the area’s displaced past, memorializing the Games, and with memory legacy.  The ensuing discussion section then adopts a historiographic slant, stressing the importance of narrative and offering wider conclusions about Olympic memory and the city.El impacto de los Juegos Olímpicos en el tejido urbano de las ciudades anfitrionas es mayor, más profundo y más generalizado que el de cualquier otro evento deportivo o cultural. Este trabajo analiza temas relacionados con la memoria y el recuerdo en las ciudades anfitrionas de los Juegos Olímpicos. Tras introducir del contexto, se utiliza un estudio de caso del Parque Olímpico Queen Elizabeth (QEOP, por sus siglas en inglés), el principal espacio de los Juegos de Verano de Londres 2012, para plantear un nuevo enfoque sobre cómo leer las huellas urbanas de la memoria olímpica. Se identifican tres temas clave al interpretar los recuerdos asociados con el Parque y sus estructuras construidas, a saber: el tratamiento del pasado desplazado del área, la conmemoración de los Juegos y el legado de la memoria. La sección de discusión adopta un enfoque historiográfico, subrayando la importancia de la narrativa y ofreciendo gran variedad de conclusiones sobre la memoria olímpica y la ciudad

Framing the future: sustainability, legacy and the 2012 London Games

When the International Olympic Committee (IOC) adopted ‘environment’ as a third pillar of Olympism at its centenary meeting in Paris in 1994, it was partly reacting to an environmentalist lobby critical of the growing scale and impact of the Games. Since then, the Olympic movement has striven to be more proactive in championing sustainable events management and in promoting positive environmental legacies through its bidding procedures for the Summer and Winter Games, its technical manuals and the Impact Studies that monitor a city’s performance. Indeed, the environmental agenda has been subsumed into the broadly adopted discourse that stresses the beneficial legacy bequeathed to the host city in return for the huge expenditure required to host the world’s largest sporting event. Yet, some two decades later, Olympic hosts still struggle with the enormity of what a sustainable Games really means and with developing the mechanisms for delivering it

Prepare for Citizen Science Challenges at CERN

Abstract: To inspire more people to contribute to science, and educate the public about science, two Citizen Science "challenges" were prepared during summer 2013: the CERN Summer Webfest 2013 and the Virtual LHC Challenge. The first part of this report summarizes how to organize a Webfest at CERN and the outcome of the CERN Summer Webfest 2013.The second part gives an introduction to the current state of the Virtual LHC Challenge: a development of the LHC@Home Test4Theory project planned to attract many unskilled volunteers. This work was supported by a grant from the EU Citizen Cyberlab project, with assistance from the Citizen Cyberscience Centre (CCC)

The world turned upside down? Cities, festivalization and uncertainty

The rapid proliferation of festivals experienced by cities round the world over the last four decades was brought to a sudden halt in early 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic. Planned gatherings ranging from local arts festivals to global megaevents were summarily abandoned, postponed, or converted to digital alternatives. This paper opens with a contextual introduction. The ensuing section considers the reasons for the seemingly unfettered proliferation and festivalization that had occurred pre-COVID-19, but indicates that problems had already arisen over appropriation of public space, overtourism and security before the current crisis. The next part surveys the pandemic’s impact on the urban festival sector to date. With reference to the megaevents planned for 2020 and a series of case studies of arts festivals. it notes responses ranging from whole or partial cancellations to implementation of wholly digital options. The conclusion argues that the continuing importance of physical congregation in designated places must be recognized, contending that this is enhanced rather than challenged by the rise of digital alternatives

Learning by volunteer computing, thinking and gaming: What and how are volunteers learning by participating in Virtual Citizen Science?

Citizen Science (CS) refers to a form of research collaboration that engages volunteers without formal scientific training in contributing to empirical scientific projects. Virtual Citizen Science (VCS) projects engage participants in online tasks. VCS has demonstrated its usefulness for research, however little is known about its learning potential for volunteers. This paper reports on research exploring the learning outcomes and processes in VCS. In order to identify different kinds of learning, 32 exploratory interviews of volunteers were conducted in three different VCS projects. We found six main learning outcomes related to different participants' activities in the project. Volunteers learn on four dimensions that are directly related to the scope of the VCS project: they learn at the task/game level, acquire pattern recognition skills, on-topic content knowledge, and improve their scientific literacy. Thanks to indirect opportunities of VCS projects, volunteers learn on two additional dimensions: off topic knowledge and skills, and personal development. Activities through which volunteers learn can be categorized in two levels: at a micro (task/game) level that is direct participation to the task, and at a macro level, i.e. use of project documentation, personal research on the Internet, and practicing specific roles in project communities. Both types are influenced by interactions with others in chat or forums. Most learning happens to be informal, unstructured and social. Volunteers do not only learn from others by interacting with scientists and their peers, but also by working for others: they gain knowledge, new status and skills by acting as active participants, moderators, editors, translators, community managers, etc. in a project community. This research highlights these informal and social aspects in adult learning and science education and also stresses the importance for learning through the indirect opportunities provided by the project: the main one being the opportunity to participate and progress in a project community, according to one's tastes and skills

The Ground on Which We All Stand: A Conversation About Menstrual Equity Law and Activism

This essay grows out of a panel discussion among five lawyers on the subject of menstrual equity activism. Each of the authors is a scholar, activist or organizer involved in some form of menstrual equity work. The overall project is both enriched and complicated by an intersectional analysis. This essay increases awareness of existing menstrual equity and menstrual justice work; it also identifies avenues for further inquiry, next steps for legal action, and opportunities that lie ahead. After describing prior and current work at the junction of law and menstruation, the contributors evaluate the successes and limitations of recent legal changes. The authors then turn to conceptual issues about the relationship between menstrual equity and gender justice, as well as the difference between equity and equality. The essay concludes with consideration of the future of menstrual equity and menstrual justice work. The authors envision an expanded, inclusive group of individuals working for greater gender justice