Search by tag «SciComm» 29 results
Technophobes And Fear of New Technology
Technologies develop faster than we can grasp them and understand how they will affect our lives. And the unknown often causes fear and rejection. The phenomenon of technophobia is still under-explored. However, the causes and symptoms of technophobia can lead to serious social consequences, such as the loss of cultural identity and strong social disintegration. Therefore, we need to get to know better: what is technophobia, what are its consequences and how do we "cure" them. Here is an interview with Timofey Nestik by ITMO.NEWS. Mr. Nestik is Doctor of Psychology, Professor at RAS, Head of Laboratory of Social and Economic Psychology, and Expert of the Board on Scientific and Technical Programs of the Ministry of Education and Science.
30.10.2017
Science Film for the Modern Viewer
The 12th International Science Film Festival “World of Knowledge” took place in St. Petersburg on October 18 to 20. This year’s topic was Ecology. The festival presented scientific and educational films from Russia, France, Germany, Australia, Spain, the UK and others. The program included a film competition, a separate short film program, scientific lectures, workshops and talks on ecology, film and art. Several screenings were held at ITMO University. ITMO.NEWS visited the festival and asked the guests what they look for in modern science films and how it can appeal to a mass audience.
23.10.2017
BBC Expert: How to Make Science More Accessible
Julian Siddle, a BBC science journalist and the producer for BBC World Service and BBC Radio, has given a series of talks at Central Exhibition Hall Manege and ITMO University as part of the UK-Russia Year of Science and Education 2017. Speaking to the audience, he discussed the ways to explain gravity waves to children, why major discoveries often begin with the simplest questions and whether scientific content can compete with the social media’s top vloggers.
15.09.2017
Anna Krongauz, Editor of Popular Science Website N+1 On Science Writing And New Ethics
Popular science is becoming more and more in-demand by the modern society: science lectures gather audiences even on weekends. But does that mean that people are becoming more interested in science? Or does it happen because they see popular science as just source of entertainment? Anna Krongauz, the editor of popular science website N+1, discussed these issues in an interview with ITMO.NEWS. As she explains, not only does the public want to know more about science, but it is already unwittingly engaged in the discussion about the high-technology future. In short, our society is becoming all the more interested in popular science.
15.09.2017
"In English, Please": De-Jargonizer Helps Make Science Accessible
Israeli scientists have developed software that can analyze a scientific article’s level of comprehensibility. The algorithm, named De-Jargonizer, separates words into three categories according to their frequency of use and, using a simple formula, determines how accessible the text will be to a wider audience. Having tested their software on articles from PLOS ONE, the scientists learned that the abstracts of some articles can consist of rare scientific terms by up to 27 percent. Developers hope that their program will help adapt texts to be more accessible to a majority of people.
21.08.2017
Cool Science: Why Science Communication Matters
Science communication is new to Russia, both as a concept and as a career field. Yet in just a few years a community of experts on the matter has formed here, and they are ready to start making science accessible to the larger society. Why does it matter? What are the main difficulties of this task? How can you innovate science communication? These are some of the questions that were asked at the launch of the new “Formula for Science PR 3.0” handbook – a collection of practices and expert opinions. The Moscow event was organized by Russian Venture Company’s Communication Lab, ITMO University and Association for Communication in Education and Science (AKSON)
09.08.2017
Summer at Sirius: SciComm, Interactive Learning and Sports Programming
ITMO University students and staff dedicated part of their summer to the Sirius educational center for talented children. They've worked at the center's press service, taught the school students modern educational technologies, and as trained them for programming contests.
07.08.2017
“Formula for Science PR 3.0”: SciComm for the Modern Society
How does scientific knowledge manage to survive in a distrustful society? What should science journalists do in the post-truth era? How is science communicated in Germany, Italy and Russia? Can science and business finally be friends? The “Formula for Science PR 3.0”, a newly assembled collection of practices and expert opinions in the field of Science Communication, answers all these questions and more. The “Communication Lab” project of the Russian Venture Company (RVC) publishes the only handbook on Science Communication in Russia. Its third edition was developed by ITMO University’s Center for Science Communication: more than 20 experts working in science popularization in Russia and abroad were invited to take part.
14.07.2017
SciComm in Russia: How Does It Work and What’s Its Future?
If you think that everyone knows that the Earth revolves around the Sun — well, you'd be disappointed. According to data gathered by the Higher School of Economics three years ago, 8% of respondents in Russia still believed it's vice versa. So, what does this mean? At the very least, it means that science writers, communicators and journalists still have a lot to do! During the recent course "Theory and Practice of Science Communication", its participants learned how to speak about complex things to a wide audience, why business needs science communication, and what will be popular science's future.
02.03.2017