Nanoethics, Science Communication, and a Fourth Model for Public Engagement

In August, I published a new article in the journal Nanoethics. Over the years, I've been working out ideas on how to consider the optimal methods for undertaking science communication work as a route towards public engagement with science.

This article takes on a number of ideas within this literature, mostly with a view to arguing that we need to more effectively mobilise the digital sphere to bring about a greater empowerment of all stakeholders among the science industries. This includes the public, but also a range of other engaged individuals and institutions who may be considered stakeholders of science. In all cases, the aspiration is to enable the accumulation of science capital as a lifelong investment for all people.

The article is available as an open access publication, made possible by Salford's agreement with Springer. You can find it here.

Superhumans vs Superheroes #cheltscifest

This week, I was in Cheltenham for another amazing science festival. It was a fantastic chance to share a stage again with Emeritus Professor Kevin Warwick, whose company I have enjoyed many times. I also met the fantastic Mark Miodownik. Together, we unravelled the world of superheroes and explored how closer we have come to making them a reality. I talked about the promise and peril of technology, the number of ways in which we are already superhuman, and how the idea of what it is to be a superhero has changed over time. Here's what I did.

Manchester Science Festival 2012

What: conversation about the bioart of Gina Czarnecki within Manchester Science Festival. The event consider questions about body parts, donation, exhibiting biological products, and ownership. This video is from 'Palaces' one of Gina's works that involves the donation of milk teeth.When: 30 Oct, 2012 Where: Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester, UK Who: Gina Czarnecki and Dr Sara Rankin from UCL

-Should people be allowed to donate parts of their body to an artist?

-Is it right for galleries to exhibit artwork made of real human bones, teeth or fat?

-Does the use of human tissue in art serve any purpose, or is this just sensationalism?

Edinburgh International Science Festival

Over the next week, I'll be speaking at 2 events within the @edscifest. The first is on Thursday 5th April titled 'Designer Athletes: Fair Play or Foul?' and the other is called 'Human 2.0' Hope you can join us.  

Society for Experimental Biology (2007, March)

Society for Experimental BiologyApril 2007

Latha Menon, Oxford University Press

Impact Academic – interest to wide range of peers in academia -    not all popular science is for one audience

George Orwell – Politics and the English Language

Haldane article from many years ago for whom are you writing talk directly to the reader Dawkins really makes me feel like he’s talking to me Need to know your audience what kind of science is that? if go into a book shop and purcase a non-science book on science

we are trying to get these books to the bookshops, but for people to choose to read non-fiction is because they want to find out more

having a sense of history is crucial to any book – maybe not string theory

endnotes

ME: how does OUP feel about endnotes?

not good form to present to public an idea that has not been presented to peer review

Haldane: must be highly selective

key aspect is content outline -    under each chapter title, short descxription of what you are covering -    about 75,000 words, 8 chapters -    shape of chapter should be crystal clear

How do tou evaluate what sort of author will be a good science writer

really about telling a story

if write content outline in that way

helping people find those frames is crucial

try to do it without any pictures

strucfure, tone, polish

ME: how do authors deal with the public eye?

can you get a full stop instead of a comma or semi colon

active voice! NOT passive!

Haldane -    in my last book on genetics is 7 quotations from Dante. I don’t agree with Dante’s….but he had a theory o

Myra Wilson

Intelligent Robotics (different from remote control))

Noel Sharkey who was on the programme as a judge asked Myra to participate

great deal of sportsmanship

people helping others with parts to ensure the competition was good

TechnoGames -    Like a Robot Olympics

way of getting people into robotics

family friendly

overlap of competitors

ME: were the competitors engineers?

Science and the Media Tara, EdinburghUniversity of Paisley

Gettting Coverage simplify language human interest – what does it mean to person on street implications – how affect future

say ‘this could happen’ not ‘it wil’

People spend more time reading

Tim Radford the nature of a story and the tools we use to tell a story

Stephen jay gould – wonderful life -    our modern pattern of…