Editor’s Choice: Designing a Sustainable Noise Mapping System Based on Citizen Scientists Smartphone Sensor Data

by -

Editor’s Choice: This article is an excellent example of crowd-based monitoring for public health purposes using the ubiquity of smartphones in urban environments. — LFF —

Abstract:

In this study, we attempted to assess the feasibility of collecting population health data via mobile devices. Specifically, we constructed noise maps based on sound information monitored by individuals’ smartphones. We designed a sustainable way of creating noise maps that can overcome the shortcomings of existing station-based noise-monitoring systems. Three hundred and nine Seoul residents aged 20–49 years who used Android-based smartphones were recruited, and the subjects installed a special application that we developed for this study. This application collected information on sound and geographical location every 10 min for 7 days. Using GIS, we were able to construct various types of noise maps of Seoul (e.g., daytime/nighttime and weekdays/weekends) using the information on sound and geographical location obtained via the users’ smartphones. Despite the public health importance of noise management, a number of countries and cities lack a sustainable system to monitor noise. This pilot study showed the possibility of using the smartphones of citizen scientists as an economical and sustainable way of monitoring noise, particularly in an urban context in developing countries.

Image Credit: Figure from article – Collective sound map of Seoul, South Korea

Source: PLOS ONE: Designing a Sustainable Noise Mapping System Based on Citizen Scientists Smartphone Sensor Data

Upscience: inverting the pyramid of scientific enquiry

by -

Children learn how science works mainly from fact-filled textbooks. The wider public experiences scientific discovery second-hand, through best-seller books, newspapers and television, as well as online formats like science blogs and TED Talks. Even for many undergraduate science students, the majority of hands-on experience comes from lab exercises which aim to support textbook learning, rather than further scientific research.

As a result, we live in a world where everyone talks about science, but hardly anyone does it. Only a minuscule fraction of the planet’s population, an elite of professional scientists at the top of an intellectual pyramid, produces the science that appears in textbooks and on TV. The rest of the world consumes scientific facts or is force-fed them in school, often resulting in conceptual indigestion and sometimes lifelong science phobia.

In a world where the number of people with the means to contribute to science is exploding, thanks to to the internet, mobile devices, rapid economic growth and improved access to education, this situation is bound to change. That’s why I believe we need to define a new type of science that inverts the traditional intellectual pyramid: upscience.

Source: Billion Brain blog: Upscience: inverting the pyramid of scientific enquiry

Crowdsourcing for scientific discovery: Researchers find novel ways to analyze data for drug and target discovery

by -

In a unique project, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have crowdsourced the annotation and analysis of a large number of gene expression profiles from the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s (NCBI) Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). More than 70 volunteers from 25 countries helped Mount Sinai researchers analyze the data, enabling the identification of new associations between genes, diseases, and drugs – something that a smaller number of unaided researchers, or an automated computer program, would not be able to achieve. An article published today in the journal Nature Communications describes the crowdsourcing project.

Omics repositories, which are virtual storehouses for raw gene expression data, contain thousands of studies. Such an abundance of data opens opportunities for integrative analyses that can uncover new knowledge that was missed or was not possible in the initial publication of the data. For example, while a dataset from a given study may have been used for a particular published article, that same dataset may contain evidence whose value can only become realized when combined with data from another study. Then, it might become apparent that a drug can be repurposed to treat a different disease. Several computerized search engines have been designed to comb through this data. However, for these tools to be effective they require heavy, time-consuming human curation to ensure accuracy.

Source: Crowdsourcing for scientific discovery: Researchers find novel ways to analyze data for drug and target discovery

Citizen Science at Universities: Trends, Guidelines and Recommendations

by -

Citizen science, the active involvement of non-professional scientists in research, is experiencing an upsurge of interest. Activities range from small projects by groups with a common interest to large international projects, which involve professional scientists and research institutions. Citizen science can involve a vast range of activities, from gathering data in remote regions of the planet to crowdsourcing over the internet. Smart phones and other low-cost instruments are opening up new opportunities for public engagement with research. Thus scientists at many LERU universities and elsewhere are actively involved in managing citizen science projects in various domains.

The League of European Research Universities (LERU) recognises the potential of citizen science for research and its role in the open science movement. LERU is aware that modern IT technologies enable citizens to engage in monitoring pollution, collecting data on biodiversity, language studies as well as many other research activities. LERU’s commitment to tracking important trends in research, advising on them and encouraging a productive relationship between science and society motivates this paper.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: First, it provides a set of actionable guidelines for professional scientists engaging in citizen science at universities, thus helping to ensure high quality research results of citizen science projects and encouraging efficient collaboration between professional scientists and the public. Second, based on these guidelines, this paper provides a series of policy recommendations for universities, research funding organisations and policy-making bodies to promote excellence in citizen science.

Source: LERU_AP20_citizen_science.pdf

Together towards a strategy for citizen science in Germany

by -

Summary of YouTube video:

Presentation of the process involved for the development of a Green Paper Citizen Science Strategy 2020 for Germany / Demonstration of the function and characteristics of dialogue forum, the contributions of the GEWISS project consortium and advisory board, processes and results of the online consultation and the position papers and the implementations for the final Green Paper.

Source (video): Together towards a strategy for citizen science in Germany

Citizen Scientists and Science Hobbyists: Educating the Life-Long Learner

by -

Abstract:

This study investigated STEM hobbyists, some who engaged in citizen science projects related to their hobby and some who did not, with the goal of understanding how science hobbies develop over the lifespan. One of the long-range goals of science education is to develop individuals who are knowledgeable about science concepts, processes and understand the nature of science and are able to participate in public decision making related to science. A nation-wide survey was developed and participants included 2119 non-citizen scientists and 745 citizen scientists. Results showed that citizen scientists reported different hobby-related motivations, interests, and experiences than the non-citizen science hobbyists. Citizen scientists had higher ranked scores for sharing information with others (male citizen scientists), educating youth (male citizen scientists), and being influenced by formal and informal educational institutions (male and female citizen scientists). Citizen scientists were more likely than non-citizen scientist hobbyists to report publishing articles about their hobby, speaking to the public, and using electronic media to communicate with other hobbyists. Citizen scientists also reported they had improved science process skills and a better understanding of the nature of science as a result of participating in their hobby. The implications of the study for teachers and informal science educators are discussed.

Source: Citizen Scientists and Science Hobbyists: Educating the Life-Long Learner

Editor’s Choice: From planning to motivations: citizen science comes to life

by -

This introduction points to the second issue of the Journal of Science Communication’s special series on citizen science. The first had much of interest, and this looks like an interesting one too. — CJL —

Abstract:

This issue forms Part II of JCOM’s collection of articles and essays exploring the field of citizen science. Here I introduce the articles in Part II, outlining how they contribute to our understanding of the ways that volunteers participate in citizen science projects, what motivates this participation and what learning arises as a result of participation.

Photo Credit: Figure 1 from “Science learning via participation in online citizen science” (included in issue).

Source (Intro): From planning to motivations: citizen science comes to life

Source (Issue): Issue 03, Special Issue: Citizen Science, Part II, 2016

Homogenizing effects of cities on North American winter bird diversity

by -

Abstract:

Urbanization is widespread throughout the United States and Canada. Studies at different scales have shown mixed consequences of urban areas for ecological communities and biodiversity. Here, we use geographic data on urban extent and survey data from the Christmas Bird Count to investigate the influence of urbanization on winter bird diversity over a continental scale. We compared the alpha (local richness) and beta diversity (turnover with distance) of 42 urban bird communities to nearby non-urban communities. We investigated the processes underlying beta diversity between non-urban and urban sites by comparing the frequency of occurrence in species and variability in relative abundances across sites. Alpha diversity was statistically indistinguishable between urban and non-urban sites when controlling for latitude. Community similarity decreased less rapidly over distance in urban compared to non-urban sites, indicating that spatial homogenization from urbanization results in lower beta diversity. Eighteen species of non-native or native generalists occurred across all urban sites, whereas no species occurred in all non-urban sites. Mean-variance scaling of relative abundance shows that species in urban sites maintained similar levels of community dominance across space compared to non-urban sites. The widespread presence of urban species is likely due to similarity in habitats among cities compared to nearby non-urban sites. The decreased variability in relative abundance of urban species is possibly due to urban resource subsidies (e.g., bird feeders, garbage, and irrigation) and shelter (e.g., landscaping, buildings, and microclimates). The increased occurrence of widespread species in cities and less variation in relative abundances across urban sites contribute to the homogenizing effect of cities on avian communities.

Source: Homogenizing effects of cities on North American winter bird diversity

Citizen science or scientific citizenship? Disentangling the uses of public engagement rhetoric in national research initiatives

by -

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: The language of “participant-driven research,” “crowdsourcing” and “citizen science” is increasingly being used to encourage the public to become involved in research ventures as both subjects and scientists. Originally, these labels were invoked by volunteer research efforts propelled by amateurs outside of traditional research institutions and aimed at appealing to those looking for more “democratic,” “patient-centric,” or “lay” alternatives to the professional science establishment. As mainstream translational biomedical research requires increasingly larger participant pools, however, corporate, academic and governmental research programs are embracing this populist rhetoric to encourage wider public participation.

DISCUSSION: We examine the ethical and social implications of this recruitment strategy. We begin by surveying examples of “citizen science” outside of biomedicine, as paradigmatic of the aspirations this democratizing rhetoric was originally meant to embody. Next, we discuss the ways these aspirations become articulated in the biomedical context, with a view to drawing out the multiple and potentially conflicting meanings of “public engagement” when citizens are also the subjects of the science. We then illustrate two uses of public engagement rhetoric to gain public support for national biomedical research efforts: its post-hoc use in the “care.data” project of the National Health Service in England, and its proactive uses in the “Precision Medicine Initiative” of the United States White House. These examples will serve as the basis for a normative analysis, discussing the potential ethical and social ramifications of this rhetoric. We pay particular attention to the implications of government strategies that cultivate the idea that members of the public have a civic duty to participate in government-sponsored research initiatives. We argue that such initiatives should draw from policy frameworks that support normative analysis of the role of citizenry. And, we conclude it is imperative to make visible and clear the full spectrum of meanings of “citizen science,” the contexts in which it is used, and its demands with respect to participation, engagement, and governance.

Source: Citizen science or scientific citizenship? Disentangling the uses of public engagement rhetoric in national research initiatives.

Crowdsourcing citizen science: exploring the tensions between paid professionals and users

by -

Abstract:

This paper explores the relationship between paid labour and users within the Zooniverse, a crowdsourced citizen science platform. The user activities involve the collective categorisation of large datasets, mainly relating to images that cannot currently be analysed algorithmically. However, unlike other examples of micro-tasking, there is also the possibility for individual users to make serendipitous discoveries. It was initially established by a small group of academics for a single astronomy project, but has now grown into a multi-project platform that has engaged over 1.3 million users so far. The growth has introduced different dynamics to the platform as it has incorporated a greater number of scientists, developers, links with organisations, and funding arrangements. The different organisations and funding requirements each bring additional pressures and complications. The scientists come from a research-led university context, while the developers are drawn from more of a start-up culture with an emphasis on open-source ideals. The relationships between paid/professional and unpaid/citizen labour have become increasingly complicated with the rapid expansion of the Zooniverse. The paper draws on empirical data from an ongoing research project that has access to both users and paid professionals on the platform. This combination of ethnography, in-depth interviews, and quantitative data combines to provide new insights into the organisation and processes of this large citizen science platform. The Zooniverse case study provides an important starting point for understanding the dynamics of paid and unpaid work in the context of peer production. There is the potential through growing peer-to-peer capacity that the boundaries between professional and citizen scientists can become significantly blurred. Crowdsourcing can allow the complex tasks involved in data analysis to be collectively achieved, yet there remain limits to the contribution that individuals in the crowd can make. The findings of the paper therefore address important questions about the production of value, ownerships, and the politics of open source acts. These are considered specifically from the viewpoint of the users and therefore form a new contribution to the theoretical understanding of crowdsourcing in practice.

Source: Crowdsourcing citizen science: exploring the tensions between paid professionals and users