Academic Crowdsourcing in the Humanities by Academic Crowdsourcing in the Humanities lays the foundations for a theoretical framework to understand the value of crowdsourcing, an avenue that is increasingly becoming important to academia as the web transforms collaboration and communication and blurs institutional and professional boundaries. Crowdsourcing projects in the humanities have, for the most part, focused on the generation or enhancement of content in a variety of ways, leveraging the rich resources of knowledge, creativity, effort and interest among the public to contribute to academic discourse. This book explores methodologies, tactics and the "citizen science" involved.
Citizen Scientists: be a part of scientific discovery from your own backyard by Anyone can get involved in gathering data for ongoing, actual scientific studies such as the Audubon Bird Count and FrogWatch USA. Just get out into a field, urban park, or your own backyard. You can put your nose to a monarch pupa or listen for raucous frog calls. You can tally woodpeckers or sweep the grass for ladybugs. This book, full of engaging photos and useful tips, will show you how.
Toxic Exposures by The increase in environmentally induced diseases and the loosening of regulation and safety measures have inspired a massive challenge to established ways of looking at health and the environment. Communities with disease clusters, women facing a growing breast cancer incidence rate, and people of color concerned about the asthma epidemic have become critical of biomedical models that emphasize the role of genetic makeup and individual lifestyle practices. Likewise, scientists have lost patience with their colleagues' and government's failure to adequately address environmental health issues and to safeguard research from corporate manipulation. Focusing specifically on breast cancer, asthma, and Gulf War-related health conditions-"contested illnesses" that have generated intense debate in the medical and political communities-Phil Brown shows how these concerns have launched an environmental health movement that has revolutionized scientific thinking and policy. Before the last three decades of widespread activism regarding toxic exposures, people had little opportunity to get information. Few sympathetic professionals were available, the scientific knowledge base was weak, government agencies were largely unprepared, laypeople were not considered bearers of useful knowledge, and ordinary people lacked their own resources for discovery and action. Brown argues that organized social movements are crucial in recognizing and acting to combat environmental diseases. His book draws on environmental and medical sociology, environmental justice, environmental health science, and social movement studies to show how citizen-science alliances have fought to overturn dominant epidemiological paradigms. His probing look at the ways scientific findings are made available to the public and the changing nature of policy offers a new perspective on health and the environment and the relationship among people, knowledge, power, and authority.
Worldchanging : a user's guide for the 21st century by This team of top-notch writers, brought together by founder Alex Steffen, includes Cameron Sinclair, founder of Architecture for Humanity, GeekCore founder Ethan Zuckerman and sustainable food expert Anna Lappe, among many others. Each chapter will offer practical answers to important questions, such as: Why does buying locally produced food make sense? What steps can we take to influence our workplace toward sustainability? How do we volunteer and advocate more effectively? How can we travel, live, work and learn in world changing ways? How, in short, can every human being help build a better future locally and globally? Illustrated with photographs and designed by Stefan Sagmeister, one of the most influential graphic designers working today, Worldchanging will prove that a life that is sustainably prosperous, just and democratic, dynamic and peaceful, is not just possible, it's here.
Monarchs in a Changing World by Monarch butterflies are among the most popular insect species in the world and are an icon for conservation groups and environmental education programs. Monarch caterpillars and adults are easily recognizable as welcome visitors to gardens in North America and beyond, and their spectacular migration in eastern North America (from breeding locations in Canada and the United States to overwintering sites in Mexico) has captured the imagination of the public. Monarch migration, behavior, and chemical ecology have been studied for decades. Yet many aspects of monarch biology have come to light in only the past few years. These aspects include questions regarding large-scale trends in monarch population sizes, monarch interactions with pathogens and insect predators, and monarch molecular genetics and large-scale evolution. A growing number of current research findings build on the observations of citizen scientists, who monitor monarch migration, reproduction, survival, and disease. Monarchs face new threats from humans as they navigate a changing landscape marked by deforestation, pesticides, genetically modified crops, and a changing climate, all of which place the future of monarchs and their amazing migration in peril. To meet the demand for a timely synthesis of monarch biology, conservation and outreach, Monarchs in a Changing World summarizes recent developments in scientific research, highlights challenges and responses to threats to monarch conservation, and showcases the many ways that monarchs are used in citizen science programs, outreach, and education. It examines issues pertaining to the eastern and western North American migratory populations, as well as to monarchs in South America, the Pacific and Caribbean Islands, and Europe. The target audience includes entomologists, population biologists, conservation policymakers, and K-12 teachers. Contributors: Anurag A. Agrawal, Cornell University; Jared G. Ali, Michigan State University; Sonia Altizer, University of Georgia; Michael C. Anderson, Eden Prairie, Minnesota; Sophia M. Anderson, Eden Prairie, Minnesota; Kim Bailey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources; Rebecca Batalden, University of Minnesota; Kristen A. Baum, Oklahoma State University; Scott Hoffman Black, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation; Brianna Borders, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation; Lincoln P. Brower, Sweet Briar College; Wendy Caldwell, University of Minnesota; Mariana Cantu-Fernandez, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico; Nicola Chamberlain, Harvard University; Sonya Charest, Montreal Insectarium; Andrew K. Davis, University of Georgia; Alma De Anda, Covina, California; Guadalupe del Rio Pesado, Alternare, A.C., Mexico; Janet Kudell-Ekstrum, USDA Forest Service; Linda S. Fink, Sweet Briar College; Mark Fishbein, Oklahoma State University; Juan Fernandez-Haeger, University of Cordoba, Spain; Eligio Garcia Serrano, Fondo Monarca, Mexico; Mark Garland, Cape May Monarch Monitoring Project; Brian Hayes, Monarch Teacher Network; Elizabeth Howard, Journey North; Mark D. Hunter, University of Michigan; Sarina Jepsen, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation; Diego Jordano, University of Cordoba, Spain; Matthew C. Kaiser, University of Minnesota; Ridlon J. Kiphart, Texas Master Naturalists; Marcus R. Kronforst, University of Chicago; Jim Lovett, University of Kansas; Eric Lee-Mader, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation; Stephen B. Malcolm, Western Michigan University; Hector Martinez-Torres, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico; Susan Meyers, Stone Mountain Memorial Association; Erik A. Mollenhauer, Monarch Teacher Network; Mia Monroe, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation; Eneida B. Montesinos-Patino, Monarch Butterfly Fund; Gail M. Morris, Southwest Monarch Study; Elisha K. Mueller, Oklahoma State University; Kelly R. Nail, University of Minnesota; Karen S. Oberhauser, University of Minnesota; Diego R. Per
The Incidental Steward by A search for a radio-tagged Indiana bat roosting in the woods behind her house in New York's Hudson Valley led Akiko Busch to assorted other encounters with the natural world--local ecological monitoring projects, community-organized cleanup efforts, and data-driven citizen science research. Whether it is pulling up water chestnuts in the Hudson River, measuring beds of submerged aquatic vegetation, or searching out vernal pools, all are efforts that illuminate the role of ordinary citizens as stewards of place. In this elegantly written book, Busch highlights factors that distinguish twenty-first-century citizen scientists from traditional amateur naturalists: a greater sense of urgency, helpful new technologies, and the expanded possibilities of crowdsourcing. The observations here look both to precisely recorded data sheets and to the impressionistic marginalia, scribbled asides, and side roads that often attend such unpredictable outings. While not a primer on the prescribed protocols of citizen science, the book combines vivid natural history, a deep sense of place, and reflection about our changing world. Musing on the expanding potential of citizen science, the author celebrates today's renewed volunteerism and the opportunities it offers for regaining a deep sense of connection to place.Interview with Dr. Phil Christensen
Dan Stanton interviews Dr. Phil Christensen about his love for science and Citizen Science projects like Rock Around the World.
Interview with Darlene Cavalier Founder of SciStarter
René Tanner interviews Darlene Cavalier about the importance of Citizen Science. Ms.Cavalier is the founder of SciStarter, an enterprise that makes connections between scientists and the public.
Music: www.purple-planet.com
