Group items tagged

A group of sci­en­tists is call­ing for major fed­eral ac­tion in order to deal with the threat posed by Mon­santo's GMO crops, now pe­ti­tion­ing the EPA to ad­dress the issue head on.

Thanks Felicia - This supports what I had read about Monsanto corn during my CCD research. But I was not aware of the BT-rootworm issue, only the super-weeds mutating because of RoundUp resistance that has also been genetically modified in Monsanto corn. Honeybees do collect pollen from corn when they are desperate even though they are not needed for pollination of corn.

We spent two years working with lawyers to design a contract - learning from the best aspects of other pharmaceutical companies - to ensure that the Amazonian people benefit from a percentage of any profits with conservation and education initiatives. We are distributing the money through trusted, long-term local NGOs. So far we have created a beautiful medicine garden to conserve plants used for women's health. We also want to build a training centre to teach the community the medicine and remedy-making skills I learned, but which the new generation has lost.

Just trying out Diigo for the first time and linking to a book that I would like to follow up with.

From Peter the instructor: Thanks for trying out diigo. For future posts, provide an annotation that helps viewers decide whether or not to click on the link to read more.

See essay review of the book: Taylor, P.J. "Biology as Politics: The Direct and Indirect Effects of Lewontin and Levins," Science as Culture, 19(2): 241-253, 2010. Abstract: Lewontin and Levins's contributions are viewed from four angles: a more vigorous culture of science criticism; a visible college of Marxist scientists in the USA; inquiries into the diverse social influences shaping science; and motivating readers who want to pursue their science as a political project. Indirect contributions-influences on and appropriations by other actors in the wider realm of biology as politics-are discussed as well as the more direct effects.

This article talks about the use of GIS and building energy consumption data to create and info graphic of NYC.  This seemed linked to the conversation about combining visuals and data to effective awareness and to motivate change.

Thanks for this Felecia - I have been continuing to follow news about bees and CCD too. Interesting that this news was first acknowledged in France and other European countries a year or more before the US would start sharing the "news". The first study had many "problems" with the validity of the data according to some sources. But I knew it would only be a matter of time...It's interesting to think about the complexities of why science does or does not get into mainstream knowledge.

A report based on a series of "dialogue sessions" within and among scientists and policymakers in the Canadian federal government. While the report focuses on next steps for Canada agencies in particular, the description of existing conditions and justification for a new approach ring true. It's especially interesting that they identify the need for interpreters who can work at the interface, but do not explore means for establishing that role, nor do they promote this option as a fully-developed next step.

sprout is a social design firm devoted to creating and supporting the community-driven learning, teaching, and investigation of science. We're united by a passion to explore and reveal how to reclaim science as a richly personal and creative craft. Through our programs, stories, and studio space, we're working to make our vision real in Somerville.

Felicia: this is a very interesting project. I really like the idea of "community-driven science". I really appreciate that the project is intended to "build a community of investigators in Somerville." These type of opportunities allow communities to build networks and reflect on their local issues possible posing some alternative options. Really interesting!

This piece talks about activism that hampers scientific research, innovation and industries that are related to things suc as "pesticides, food additives, chemicals in general, pharmaceuticals, nuclear power, and biotechnology." The article states that the scientific illiteracy of the general public makes it easy for activists to generate support for increased regulation and dampening of efforts in these areas. How do you help communities assess scientific information? How do you help them look at not only the research, but the context of the research? How should informed decisions about potentially harmful technologies and processes be handled? How do you support and engage in honest and open dialogue and debate about complex and unknown outcomes?

I haven't had time to read this fully, but it would seem finding ways to help groups of individuals work to come to decisions regarding science and technology change in a way that can expose and understand a complex situation. This bit seems relevant: "Disputes between experts provoke major difficulties for decision-making and policy implementation in the case of such public confrontations, which, more often than not, are vociferous, protracted, rancorous and unresolved. Traditionally, the neutral, disinterested and objective expert has been promoted -- not least by scientists themselves -- as the rational and authoritative arbiter of public disputes over scientific or technical issues." Published in Sheila Jasanoff, Gerald E. Markle, James C. Petersen, and Trevor Pinch (eds.), Handbook of Science and Technology Studies (Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1995), pp. 506-526, plus references, with minor changes due to sub-editing. Brian Martin and Evelleen Richards 1.

I have no idea if this is true, but it is an interesting representation either way. (Graph of the percentage of adults per country who believe in evolution compared against GDP/capita)

A series of articles by Tom Vanderbilt exploring the behavioral consequences of infrastructure development in American transportation systems.

This article is by a leading member of the STEPS centre at the U. Sussex, which addresses sustainability, development & environmental change

On Point looks at rising water lines on the coasts - A big new prediction of coastal flooding and sea levels rise. We'll look at the moving edge of the water.

A group is petitioning France not to make it mandatory for women to be offered prenatal genetic testing. They argue that this amounts to eugenics, and cite the high rate of selective abortions of fetus in which trisomy 21 has been detected.

Seeing this news item this morning reminded me that, whenever a topic is raised in a course, one then starts to "see" news about it. I put "see" in scare quotes because most likely the topic was in the news before, but now one notices it. On the substance of the news item, it does show that sometimes business picks up on the science even when it remains contested by politics. For example, nuclear power plants are not being built in most part because corporations with millions of dollars cannot see themselves making a profit and bearing the risk.

Peter - Thanks for posting this. It will be interesting to see what they disclose and to consider what thought process they used for preparing these reports.

This is the lovely refworks page made by the awesome and helpful 24/7 online librarians. Let me know if you cannot see it. These relate to the topic of political affiliations and disaster relief. Sadly I did not get it in time to read most of them. It seems none is really directly applicable to my topic anyway.

Statistics, graphs and charts showing monetary contributions of honey bees in American Agriculture

Shelley's work is directly relevant to our mapping exercises -- and he does it beautifully. Check out especially his exhibit in Brooklyn (selections currently hanging in the DeCordova in Lincoln MA) titled "The origin of avant-guard" and his description of his process.

Meredith Minkler reviews the current status and practice of CBR in the U.S. and abroad, providing reasons to undertake this admittedly more-complex path for public health research in particular (identifying questions that reflect real community concerns; achieving informed consent and building community capacity; increasing cultural sensitivity and validity of measurement tools, data interpretation, and interventions; uncovering critical lay knowledge; and improving participant recruitment and retention). Along with ethical issues, Minkler uses case study examples to highlight other challenges inherent in the practice, and provides some guidelines for engagement. To my mind, her review is balanced and raises several issues not touched upon by other scholarly writings re: CBR process and practice.