Perspectives from the Netherlands on women in science

The first woman to graduate from a Dutch university achieved that milestone more than 140 years ago in 1879, yet women's participation in science in the Netherlands still needs to improve. This paper presents and puts into perspective the country's latest figures for gender participation in science. It also discusses recent developments in the Netherlands regarding gender and diversity, particularly for women in science. Finally, the paper reflects on measures to increase women's participation in science in terms of both research and policy, and in relation to current Dutch developments in science communication

New practices in science communication: Roles of professionals in science and technology development

Currently, Science Communication (SC) professionals who are working in the context of science and technology development, have various jobs at universities, government agencies, NGOs and industry. Their positions have changed in recent years, due to developments in science and technology and to social trends. Increasingly, SC practitioners play a role as mediator in participatory processes, or facilitator of stakeholder meetings. These roles require decisions in difficult to manage processes and in situations that are hard to overlook. A decision support system would be able to help them. In this paper we describe the changing role of SC practitioners and the context in which they make decisions. Then we argue which requirements decision support systems must meet in order to support SC practitioners in their decision making processes. Our paper is based on a literature review on professionalization and in-depth interviews with science communication professionals. Our main conclusion is that a decision support system should not only support the SC practitioner‟s instrumental decisions, but shoul

Putting responsible research and innovation into practice at a local level in South Africa

Chapter 3 in the book Science Communication in South Africa.Published by African Minds

Inspiring and cultivating science awareness in young audiences through dialogue and astronomy. Discussion of three experiences

Nowadays, science and technology and its applications impact our societies in various ways. Some of these applications are easily accepted, while other applications are disputed or even rejected. At the same time, increasingly, it is expected that people are able to deliberate the consequences of applications when accepting or rejecting applications. Therefore, communication about science and technology and its applications with various stakeholders, such as citizens, consumers or children, is considered necessary. One way to better understand the complex processes of acceptance and rejection in the science-society relationship, is by stimulating and analysing interests of young people, our future scientific citizens, in science and technology. In this paper, we describe three different experiences on science outreach with children and young people. First, UNAWE is a project that aims to engage and inspire young children in the age group of 4 to 10 years old, especially the underprivileged by using astronomy as a tool. Second, experiences are described with astronomy popularization in Brazil. Videocasts and hands-on activities developed with children and teenagers in Sấo Paulo state in Brazil are given. Finally, experiences with children in Dutch Science Cafés, called Zabuki, are described. Learning from these experiences can enhance our understanding of the complex science-society relationship as well as the experiences can inspire our future scientific citizens (Millar & Osborne, 2000, Siune et al, 2009)

The science-media interaction in biomedical research in the Netherlands. Opinions of scientists and journalists on the science-media relationship

Scientists’ participation in science communication and public engagement activities is considered important and a duty. However, in particular, the science-media relationship has not been studied frequently. In this paper, we present findings from interviews with both scientists and journalists which were guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior. Results show that different behavioural, normative and control beliefs underlie scientists’ and journalists’ participation in science-media interactions. Both groups are positive about science-media interactions, but scientists perceive various disadvantages in this relationship while journalists perceive mainly practical barriers. Enhancing mutual understanding and further research is suggested

Quality of science journalism in the age of Artificial Intelligence explored with a mixed methodology

Science journalists, traditionally, play a key role in delivering science information to a wider audience. However, changes in the media ecosystem and the science-media relationship are posing challenges to reliable news production. Additionally, recent developments such as ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence (AI) more generally, may have further consequences for the work of (science) journalists. Through a mixed-methodology, the quality of news reporting was studied within the context of AI. A content analysis of media output about AI (news articles published within the time frame 1 September 2022–28 February 2023) explored the adherence to quality indicators, while interviews shed light on journalism practices regarding quality reporting on and with AI. Perspectives from understudied areas in four European countries (Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Spain) were included and compared. The findings show that AI received continuous media attention in the four countries. Furthermore, despite four different media landscapes, the reporting in the news articles adhered to the same quality criteria such as applying rigour, including sources of information, accessibility, and relevance. Thematic analysis of the interview findings revealed that impact of AI and ChatGPT on the journalism profession is still in its infancy. Expected benefits of AI related to helping with repetitive tasks (e.g. translations), and positively influencing journalistic principles of accessibility, engagement, and impact, while concerns showed fear for lower adherence to principles of rigour, integrity and transparency of sources of information. More generally, the interviewees expressed concerns about the state of science journalism, including a lack of funding influencing the quality of reporting. Journalists who were employed as staff as well as those who worked as freelancers put efforts in ensuring quality output, for example, via editorial oversight, discussions, or memberships of associations. Further research into the science-media relationship is recommended

Abundance and diversity of ascidians in the southern Gulf of Chiriquí, Pacific Panama

© The Author(s), 2011. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Aquatic Invasions 6 (2011): 381-390, doi:10.3391/ai.2011.6.4.03.Little is known about the ascidian fauna of Pacific Panama. Ascidian surveys were conducted in the southern Gulf of Chiriquí on the Pacific coast of Panama in January 2008 and 2009. Surveys along linear transects at 2-3 m depth (snorkel, 2008) and 5 and 12 m depth (SCUBA, 2009) were conducted at multiple sites within a chain of islands extending out from the mainland. Twelve different ascidian taxa were observed with mean densities of up to ~17 ascidians m-2. The most abundant species was Rhopalaea birkelandi. Two of the most abundant taxa (Ascidia sp., Pyura sp.) appear to represent previously undescribed species. Several species of didemnids were also abundant. Ascidians were most abundant near the coast of the mainland and were less abundant near the islands farthest offshore. These data on Panamanian ascidian communities provide a baseline of local biodiversity against which it will be possible to determine whether the communities change over time, if additional species become introduced to the region, or if native Panamanian species become invasive in other parts of the world.This research was supported by Ocean Life Institute Exploratory Grant (250513.38) to Carman and Sievert, Tropical Research Initiative Grant (253750.09) to Carman, Molyneaux and Sievert, a University of Hartford International Center Faculty Grant to Bullard, and CNPq senior postdoctoral grant to Rocha (200914/2008-1)

Inspiring and cultivating science awareness in young audiences through dialogue and astronomy. Discussion of three experiences

Abstract Nowadays, science and technology and its applications impact our societies in various ways. Some of these applications are easily accepted, while other applications are disputed or even rejected. At the same time, increasingly, it is expected that people are able to deliberate the consequences of applications when accepting or rejecting applications. Therefore, communication about science and technology and its applications with various stakeholders, such as citizens, consumers or children, is considered necessary. One way to better understand the complex processes of acceptance and rejection in the science-society relationship, is by stimulating and analysing interests of young people, our future scientific citizens, in science and technology. In this paper, we describe three different experiences on science outreach with children and young people. First, UNAWE is a project that aims to engage and inspire young children in th