Review: A Private Universe online resources

A Private Universe depicts a very familiar situation for teachers worldwide, namely that students do not let go of their misconceptions as easily as might be expected after a detailed and thorough learning process

Hollyweird science – A symposium at the 253rd annual meeting of the American Chemical Society. San Francisco 3 & 4 April 2017

Science in film is gaining attention from scientists and science communicators. Sixteen experts gathered at the 253rd Annual Meeting of the American Chemical Society to explore the role and relevance of science in film. An audience of researchers, academics and students enjoyed first-hand accounts from filmmakers, science consultants and experts in science communication, who all agreed on the important impact the way science is depicted in film has on education, outreach and the relationship between science and society

15th annual STS Conference Graz 2016

Celebrating 15 years of success and growth, the STS Conference Graz on May 9 and 10, 2016, gathered nearly 200 delegates from all over the world who had the opportunity to discuss and share research and experiences on 6 main themes: Policy and Technology; Gender and Queer STS; Mobility, Energy and Sustainability; Responsible Research and Innovation Studies; Nutrition, Health and Biomedicine; and Information and Communication Technologies, Surveillance and Society

Studying Science Communication

Proceedings of the Panel of the EASST2014 conference, organised by Sarah R Davies and Maja Horst. Volume edited by Erik Stengler

Beyond the techno-thriller: Michael Crichton and societal issues in science and technology

Michael Crichton is primarily known for being an outstanding writer of techno-thrillers and co-creator of the genre. In this paper I suggest that his fictional works can and should be considered under the deeper and wider perspective of his concern for societal issues regarding science and technology with a profound consideration of their effects and on the life of people and the development of society.In fact this defining feature of his work is inclusive of numerous works by Michael Crichton that would not fit into the techno-thriller genre. It therefore seems a more appropriate way to characterize his work. This idea is further supported by the fact that most of the few works of his that do not fit into this perspective were written during a brief period of time in which Michael Crichton explored other genres, only to return to his humanistic approach to science and technology for the rest of his fiction-writing career

Book Review: Handbook of Research in Science Education: Volume II

Review of Handbook of Research in Science Education: Volume II

SiP 2017 panel: Speculations and concerns on robots’ status in society

Studying fictional depictions of robots and artificial intelligence in cinematographic science fiction narratives acquires a new level of relevance as legislators’ approaches to the subject seem to be strongly influenced by popular culture. This panel of Science in Public 2017 presented various on-going investigations of this kind, showing that the critical mass in this area of research is growing

From "fun science" to seductive science

Science centers and museums have undergone a great evolution in recent decades although it seems that, lately, the science museum model has been somewhat stagnant. Since the radical changes of the mid-twentieth century, it has developed towards strategies in which visitor numbers take precedence over other considerations. Alongside a school science that could be described as “boring”, a trend has emerged with a focus on “fun science” in museums, hoping to address current shortcomings. In this article we question this view and propose the idea of “seducing science” as an alternative to achieve long term impact of museum visits

Online science videos: An exploratory study with major professional content providers in the United Kingdom

We present an exploratory study of science communication via online video through various UK-based YouTube science content providers. We interviewed five people responsible for eight of the most viewed and subscribed professionally generated content channels. The study reveals that the immense potential of online video as a science communication tool is widely acknowledged, especially regarding the possibility of establishing a dialogue with the audience and of experimenting with different formats. It also shows that some online video channels fully exploit this potential whilst others focus on providing a supplementary platform for other kinds of science communication, such as print or TV