Passion for dissemination in astronomy
Passion for dissemination in astronomy
A study that has just been published, realizes that astronomers enjoy the dissemination of science more than other scientists.
Marta Entries and Martin Bauer, from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), conducted a survey of 9,000 IAU members, the International Astronomical Union. Of the total, only 2587 responded (30%) of which the majority (87%) indicated that they carry out outreach activities, be it through conferences, exhibitions, local events, visits to schools, etc.
The most prolific, who made about 20 activities per year per person, are from Africa and South America, which surprised Marta Entradas that she supposed she would find that in astronomers from developed countries because they have more resources.The study, published in Nature, also accounts for two important aspects:
1-The motivation for informative activities are not strongly associated with the search for awards or recognitions, but a sense of duty and a form of pleasure (nature.com says joie de vivre, happiness of living).
2-A contrary to the idea that disclosure or popularization activities could put the reputation of scientists at risk, 96% considered that their commitment or engagement with the public (engagement) has no negative consequences on their reputation.It is also pointed out that those who most carry out and enjoy these activities do not usually have specific support, punctual training or great resources.
The study was echoed on the IAU website and the following graph of the frequency of participation in online channels by professional astronomers is used:
This would indicate, then, that the link between professionals and the general public is established more personally than online.
It occurs to me that, as a consequence of this, many of the dissemination activities in astronomy are not properly documented or recorded, which in turn has other consequences: there seems to be less disclosure of the real one; These activities are like islands, isolated from one another, when knowledge of their realization could generate a link between astronomers and their dissemination initiatives.DISCLOSURE IN GENERAL AND IN PARTICULAR ASTRONOMY, A BALANCE
It is difficult to take stock if you do not have enough data obtained in a methodological way. Despite this, I think a first approximation is possible:
In the last decades there was an increase in informative activities of different species, for multiple reasons. On the one hand, in Argentina for example, there were initiatives for the publication of books such as the Science collection that barks from the Siglo XXI publishing house and TV programs for the Encuentro channel.
On the other hand, the Futuro de Página / 12 supplement disappeared and the TN Ciencia program was discontinued. In the newspapers of the Federal Capital, a science supplement is not published, except on Saturdays in the newspaper La Prensa, dedicated almost exclusively to health issues. The newspaper Página / 12, however, has a fixed section, on Wednesdays, with interviews with Argentine scientists, by Pablo Esteban.
In the "inside" newspapers of the rest of the Argentine provinces, it is difficult to find science supplements.
In the provinces where there is more astronomical activity, more journalistic articles are recorded, such as in Córdoba, San Juan and Salta some years ago.
The planetariums, now digital, are also astronomical dissemination centers. The Faculty of Astronomy of the UNLP stopped publishing its monthly bulletin, however, that house of studies continued with the disclosure by other means, in particular the La Plata Planetarium, as well as the usual visits to the Observatory.
In terms of professional communication, ESO and NASA give lectures in the creation of online dissemination materials, both in text format, as well as in the dissemination of images, graphics and videos.This balance, then allows to account for advances and setbacks, but it is not enough to make an "accounting entry" with a favorable or negative result.
Yes it is valid to take into account that some things have been done in favor of the dissemination in science and astronomy in particular.WHAT'S MISSING
It is also possible to think about the pending issues. IAU knows that a pending issue lies in translation. There are many very good materials for dissemination, which are in languages that the public does not handle, in general, English. IAU has a specific translation initiative for materials in astronomy.
The same can be said, not only to texts, but also to images or videos, which also require translation forms or subtitles, in the case of videos.
It would be good to have an open repository of materials without limitations of copyright, in Spanish or translated into Spanish, so that disseminators can use them with ease.
It would also be desirable for there to be initiatives among astronomy professionals and communication professionals to generate improvements in the informative activities of professionals in astronomy.ASTROARG: THE NODE OF THE ARGENTINE ASTRONOMY
At some point, in this blog, I suggested the need for an astronomy node in Argentina that would gather dissemination materials and have a federal agenda of events, among other things. This Node would also bring together the news from the observatories and publications of professionals in the field of dissemination, that is, it would be a good place to document, register and accredit the initiatives of professionals in popularizing astronomy. That, at the same time, would allow coordinating activities among astronomers.
On the other hand, sometimes somewhat distorted information emerges through the mass media, as happened a few days ago with the Oumuamua object, on which professionals could make the relevant clarifications in such a Node, although the mass media do not consult them. In short, it would be a source of consultation for the general public, which could also be considered by the media.
It would be logical that such an initiative would be taken by the Argentine Association of Astronomy.
This platform, in addition, could count on the contribution of amateurs who in many cases are true experts in observational astronomy and astrophotography. Doing so would not require large economic resources, because basically it would be a website, a forum type, with sections and for its administration it would not need a large number of people either.
As far as I know, there is no initiative of this kind in any country in the world. If we did, we would be pioneers.
It is worth mentioning that I mentioned this proposal in the post in which I celebrated 10 years of the blog, but the proposal was made in pdf format hosted on another site. So that it has greater diffusion, now I indicate the same with the corresponding link in the margin of the blog.Sources and related links
Nature.com Astronomers have an outsize passion for outreach
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07519-2Bustling public communication by astronomers around the world driven by personal and contextual factors
Marta Tickets & Martin W. Bauer
Nature Astronomy (2018)
DOI: 10.1038 / s41550-018-0633-7IAU Astronomers Show Exceptional Involvement in Outreach Activities
https://www.iau.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iau1813/?langStar performers
http://www.lse.ac.uk/News/Research-Highlights/Society-media-and-science/Star-performersProject AstroArg in Scribd
https://es.scribd.com/doc/260749536/Proyecto-Nodo-Astronomia-Argentina-Astro-ArgAbout the images
Initial image: Dr. Mariela Corti giving a class. Credit: IAR. In the bulletin: http://tux.iar.unlp.edu.ar/boletin/bol-mar18.htm
Graphic: NATURE / M. Tickets (LSE, ISCTE-IUL)
SOURCE LINK THE BEST ONLINE UFO WEBSITES https://www.beviral.online
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