Part of the MaRS Best Practices Series:
http://www.marsdd.com/bestpractices/sept14
These are presentation notes rather than the presentation.
The Toronto Star’s science reporter, Peter Calamai, discusses how scientists and the media can work better together to contextually frame scientific and technological issues for the broader public. He also addresses how good science communication helps to better inform both the public and policy makers.
Get introduced to MaRS' lecture series for up-starts: CIBC Presents Entrepreneurship 101.
Speaker: Tony Redpath
More information: http://www.marsdd.com/ent101
Speaker: Dr. Michael May, CEO of Rimon Therapeutics
Michael May is the CEO of Rimon Therapeutics, a company he founded to commercialize his thesis work at U of T. In this presentation, Michael discusses what it is like making the transition from the lab to the boardroom.
More information: http://www.marsdd.com/Events/Event-Calendar/Ent101/2007/Science-and-business-do-mix-20071128.html
Speaker: Bonnie L. Kuehl
Science doesn't make sense to most people; it's like a foreign language they can't understand, let alone speak. Scientific Insights works with companies and organizations to translate science into a language they understand. Bonnie will tell us her story and how she and her fellow scientists work with companies to communicate science in a clear and practical manner.
For more information and the webcast: http://www.marsdd.com/Events/Event-Calendar/Ent101/2008/Science-and-business-do-mix-20080130.html
The document is a presentation about protecting and commercializing intellectual property given by Arshia Tabrizi, a lawyer. It discusses the different types of intellectual property including trade secrets, patents, copyrights, and trademarks. For each type of IP, it outlines how to obtain, maintain, and use legal protections for ideas and innovations. The presentation provides an overview of intellectual property for entrepreneurs and business owners.
The document summarizes the mission and approach of the Social Entrepreneurship Summit Barb Steele. Their mission is to advance corporate social and environmental responsibility in Canada. They offer advisory services, programs, and membership to help companies with stakeholder engagement, community investment, climate change, employee engagement, and reporting. Their signature programs include "What's the big idea?" and "Scaling Social Innovation" to support social innovation.
Tony Redpath, course coordinator, explains what Entrepreneurship 101 is all about.
Read more about this event on the MaRS site: http://www.marsdd.com/Events/Event-Calendar/Ent101/2008/opening-event-10012008.html
Part of the MaRS Best Practices Series - Pre-Clinical development workshop
Speaker: Rich Donaldson, Director Process Chemistry Ricerca BioSciences
Once a clinical lead candidate has been identified, chemical development and biology testing are needed to gather the data required for IND filing. This work is best completed by coordination between chemistry and biology components. On the chemistry side, process research to develop a chemistry route that is sufficiently robust to synthesize test article for biology is the first requirement. Successful efficient scale-up to produce kilogram quantities of non-GMP and cGMP API is the ultimate goal. We explore how these various programs fit together from the chemistry perspective. Also some discussion of what analytical chemistry is needed for chemistry and biology support.
Get introduced to MaRS' lecture series for up-starts: CIBC Presents Entrepreneurship 101.
Speaker: Tony Redpath
More information: http://www.marsdd.com/ent101
Speaker: Dr. Michael May, CEO of Rimon Therapeutics
Michael May is the CEO of Rimon Therapeutics, a company he founded to commercialize his thesis work at U of T. In this presentation, Michael discusses what it is like making the transition from the lab to the boardroom.
More information: http://www.marsdd.com/Events/Event-Calendar/Ent101/2007/Science-and-business-do-mix-20071128.html
Speaker: Bonnie L. Kuehl
Science doesn't make sense to most people; it's like a foreign language they can't understand, let alone speak. Scientific Insights works with companies and organizations to translate science into a language they understand. Bonnie will tell us her story and how she and her fellow scientists work with companies to communicate science in a clear and practical manner.
For more information and the webcast: http://www.marsdd.com/Events/Event-Calendar/Ent101/2008/Science-and-business-do-mix-20080130.html
The document is a presentation about protecting and commercializing intellectual property given by Arshia Tabrizi, a lawyer. It discusses the different types of intellectual property including trade secrets, patents, copyrights, and trademarks. For each type of IP, it outlines how to obtain, maintain, and use legal protections for ideas and innovations. The presentation provides an overview of intellectual property for entrepreneurs and business owners.
The document summarizes the mission and approach of the Social Entrepreneurship Summit Barb Steele. Their mission is to advance corporate social and environmental responsibility in Canada. They offer advisory services, programs, and membership to help companies with stakeholder engagement, community investment, climate change, employee engagement, and reporting. Their signature programs include "What's the big idea?" and "Scaling Social Innovation" to support social innovation.
Tony Redpath, course coordinator, explains what Entrepreneurship 101 is all about.
Read more about this event on the MaRS site: http://www.marsdd.com/Events/Event-Calendar/Ent101/2008/opening-event-10012008.html
Part of the MaRS Best Practices Series - Pre-Clinical development workshop
Speaker: Rich Donaldson, Director Process Chemistry Ricerca BioSciences
Once a clinical lead candidate has been identified, chemical development and biology testing are needed to gather the data required for IND filing. This work is best completed by coordination between chemistry and biology components. On the chemistry side, process research to develop a chemistry route that is sufficiently robust to synthesize test article for biology is the first requirement. Successful efficient scale-up to produce kilogram quantities of non-GMP and cGMP API is the ultimate goal. We explore how these various programs fit together from the chemistry perspective. Also some discussion of what analytical chemistry is needed for chemistry and biology support.
Toronto Community Housing manages 60,000 social housing units with an average age of 39 years, requiring $650 million in capital investments between 2002-2008 and an estimated $900 million needed between 2009-2019. To address the growing capital investment needs, Toronto Community Housing developed a three-part strategy including investing in energy efficiency to reduce costs, leveraging assets and cash flows through redevelopment, and funding repairs and re-capitalization. This strategy has allowed them to access low-cost capital through corporate bond placements to fund their social housing expenditures.
Speaker: Don Duval, Vice President, Business Services, MaRS
Using a case study example, Don discusses the importance of understanding and refining your business model in order to grow your business and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace.
Part of the MaRS CIBC Presents Entrepeneurship 101 lecture series: http://www.marsdd.com/ent101
Ogilvy Renault - Padwick - Legal Structure For Debt Financing Of Renewab...MaRS Discovery District
Legal Structure For Debt Financing Of Renewable Projects by James Padwick of Ogilvy Renault
Presented at the Green Energy Act Finance Forum on January 29th, 2010
Regenerative Medicine: Impact of Convergence on Drug, Device, and Biologics D...MaRS Discovery District
Speaker Dr. Annemarie Moseley, CEO of Aggregate Therapeutics (Palo Alto) explores how drug-device combination products are altering the medical practice from development to regulation to treatment.
Part of the MaRS Emerging Technologies Event Series. More information on the series can be found here:
http://www.marsdd.com/emergingtech/
- The entrepreneurs lacked experience running a business and had unrealistic financial projections. Their proposed online gambling business would operate in a legal gray area and focus on making money rather than building a sustainable company.
- When asked about competitors, the entrepreneurs demonstrated only a surface-level knowledge of the market and competition. They also did not appear to understand the cultural factors needed to succeed.
- Questions about technology, intellectual property, and capital requirements revealed the entrepreneurs had done little planning or preparation. They intended to waste funding and misrepresented details about other term sheets.
Top ROI for Community Power - by Dr. Ingo Koenig, Managing Partner, Koenig & Consultants, at the Green Energy Act Finance Forum on Friday January 29, 2010. For more information visit http://www.marsdd.com/greenenergyforum
The document discusses Community Interest Companies (CICs) in the UK. Some key points:
1) CICs are a legal structure tailored for social enterprises. They have an "asset lock" to protect assets for community benefit and must pass a "community interest test".
2) Over 2,000 CICs have been established since 2005. The majority are limited by guarantee and operate in the education, health, and social work sectors.
3) CICs are regulated by the CIC Regulator and must submit an annual report. They have restrictions on asset transfer, payments to directors, and dividends to maintain their community focus.
4) Case studies show how CICs
This document provides an overview of science communication, including its history and current state. It discusses how science communication has evolved from traditional science journalism to include science blogging by scientists and others online. While the digital age has increased the availability of science information, it has also introduced challenges like inaccurate content, biased search results, and uncivil online comments that can polarize readers and influence their views of science topics. Overall, the document examines the opportunities and challenges presented by changes in how science information is communicated and accessed.
This document provides guidance for student journalists on reporting and writing news stories. It discusses the importance of journalism in a democratic society and emphasizes getting the most accurate information possible through thorough verification of sources. The document offers tips for different types of stories, conducting interviews, developing story ideas, writing engaging leads, and building strong long-term source relationships based on honesty and integrity. The overall message is that quality journalism requires diligent research, even if it means the reporter must be willing to work long hours and ask difficult questions to uncover important truths.
This document discusses the qualities needed for effective investigative journalism. It outlines that investigative journalists need passion for truth, curiosity, initiative, logical thinking, flexibility, strong teamwork and communication skills, well-developed reporting abilities, broad general knowledge, determination, and patience to conduct thorough investigations that serve the public interest. The document also provides examples of how journalists can generate story ideas from their own experiences, conversations, routine fact-checking, published news, and unverified tips that then require further investigation.
Jaume Vilalta (Director of the Quequicom TV program in the TVC) and Xavier Kirchner (Director of the IMAE program in the FCRI) explain what's the key to Communicate Science.
jvilalta.b@tv3.cat
imae@fcri.cat
This document provides guidance on how to become a science journalist. It begins by explaining the important role of science journalists in communicating scientific discoveries and research to the general public. It then offers several tips for getting started in the field, such as obtaining a journalism degree, gaining experience writing about science, and maintaining a portfolio of published work. The document also provides advice on continuously building scientific knowledge, finding story ideas, and looking for job opportunities at newspapers, television stations, radio, or as a freelancer. Overall, the document serves as a guide for those interested in pursuing a career in science journalism.
ENGL 123 Informative and Surprising Essay Instructions (1014) .docxYASHU40
ENGL 123 Informative and Surprising Essay Instructions (1014)
The Informative and Surprising Essay
This assignment requires you to write an essay that follows the surprising reversal pattern.
Keep in mind that, although your purpose is to change the reader’s view, you are not writing a
persuasive argument. You are not trying to convince a resisting reader that a particular value or
policy is wrong. Instead, you are trying to expand the view of an open-minded reader by
providing new information.
You must do four things to get full credit for the assignment:
1. Write an informative essay of 500-550 words.
2. Give the common view or, if you ask a question, give the expected answer to your
question.
3. Present your surprising reversal.
4. Use specific details to make your ideas clear and concrete.
In addition, if you use outside sources, you must give credit to your sources. However, since
we have not yet covered APA-style documentation in class, no deductions will be made for
violations of format. You must, however, name the source of your information in your paper
and list the source at the end of your paper. Deductions will be made if no attempt is made to
cite the source.
If you use your own experiences as support for your thesis, this is fine—and you may use first-
person words (I, me, my, mine). This tone is appropriate, since you do not want to refer to
yourself in the third person.
This assignment may be revised.
English 1130READING FOR RHETORICAL CONTEXTCritical Readers have a keen interest in the rhetorical context of the text. When we speak of rhetoric, we mean the author’s use for language for an intended effect. An important word here is intended. Both writing and reading are intentional. They are deliberate actions, guided by a purpose.
Rhetorical context: author’s purpose, author’s intended audience, circumstances of production, author’s position toward other texts, the larger conversation.
When you do a close reading of the text focusing on its content, genre, organization, and stylistic features, you perform a textual analysis. Another type of analysis is also important: rhetorical analysis. Rhetorical analysis examines the author’s purpose and motivation for writing the text, the intended audience, the circumstances surrounding the text’s production, the author’s position toward other writers and other texts, and the larger conversation of which the text is part. It also explores how the author’s choice of genre, organizational structure, and stylistic features advances his/her purpose. To perform a rhetorical analysis, ask yourself the questions in the box below.
QUESTIONS FOR ANALYZING THE RHETORICAL CONTEXT OF TEXTS
· What is the author’s purpose? What do I perceive as the effect the author intends to have on the audience? What role does the author assume in relation to the audience?
· What do I know about the author’s credibility and background?
· How does th ...
This document provides guidance for science journalism. It defines science journalism as writing that explores recent scientific events and explains them to a general audience in an accessible way. The role of a science journalist is to bridge the gap between the scientific community and the ordinary people by reporting on science in a way that is understandable to non-experts. Some tips for science journalists include building basic scientific knowledge, making contacts in the scientific field, and writing stories with a human focus while avoiding jargon and overly technical explanations. The document also outlines elements that should be included in a science article like facts, expert interviews, illustrations, and providing solutions or takeaways.
Investigative journalism involves deeply investigating topics of public interest, such as crime, corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. It requires original research through sources and documents to uncover new information or shed light on an issue in a way that reveals its significance. The core of investigative journalism is to uncover information that is in the public interest. Successful investigative journalists employ strong reporting skills, determination, and ethics to ferret out well-guarded information from hostile sources on issues that matter to readers.
RELATE: Research Labs for Training Journalists. 80 journalism students are sent on one-week study tours to EU-funded research labs, where they shadow and interview researchers. Subjects cover everything from climate change modelling to cultural heritage, aeronautics, photonics, and vaccine research for TB and cancer.
This document provides guidance on effectively presenting research findings to an audience. It discusses identifying the main points of the research, ranking topics by importance, and using stories to engage the audience. Presentations should include background on the literature, hypotheses, methodology, findings, and limitations. Visual aids should supplement the presentation, not be the focus. Tips are provided on eye contact, voice, dress, and practicing to improve presentation skills. The document also discusses opportunities to present at conferences to share research and get feedback.
This document discusses best practices for scientists communicating science to journalists and the public. It recommends that scientists understand television rules and formats, focus on clear and engaging storytelling to explain one main concept per program, and work as part of a team with journalists and communications professionals. The goal is for audiences to understand scientific findings and their relevance in everyday terms, and to explain what they learned to others.
Scientists and the media can benefit from a constructive relationship based on mutual respect. Journalists can help scientists gain recognition for their work, while scientists can help inform and educate the public. The document provides guidelines for scientists working with media, including respecting deadlines, using clear language, and correcting any factual errors. It also comments that the existing Press Code of Practice may not completely prevent inaccurate scientific reporting, and endorses introducing guidance to ensure factually accurate media coverage of science.
The document provides guidance on science writing. It discusses that science writing is meant for a general audience to make science approachable. An effective science writer tells an interesting story that further investigates the world around us. Science writing is a conversation between writer and reader to communicate information in an enthusiastic way. The key aspects of science writing are clear communication, anticipating reader understanding, connecting scientists with the public, and reporting on topics that affect people's lives.
The document provides guidance on science writing. It discusses that science writing is meant for a general audience to make science approachable. An effective science writer tells an interesting story that further investigates the world around us. Science writing is a conversation between writer and reader to communicate information in an enthusiastic way. The key aspects of science writing are clear communication, anticipating reader understanding, connecting scientists with the public, and reporting on topics that affect people's lives.
Toronto Community Housing manages 60,000 social housing units with an average age of 39 years, requiring $650 million in capital investments between 2002-2008 and an estimated $900 million needed between 2009-2019. To address the growing capital investment needs, Toronto Community Housing developed a three-part strategy including investing in energy efficiency to reduce costs, leveraging assets and cash flows through redevelopment, and funding repairs and re-capitalization. This strategy has allowed them to access low-cost capital through corporate bond placements to fund their social housing expenditures.
Speaker: Don Duval, Vice President, Business Services, MaRS
Using a case study example, Don discusses the importance of understanding and refining your business model in order to grow your business and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage in the marketplace.
Part of the MaRS CIBC Presents Entrepeneurship 101 lecture series: http://www.marsdd.com/ent101
Ogilvy Renault - Padwick - Legal Structure For Debt Financing Of Renewab...MaRS Discovery District
Legal Structure For Debt Financing Of Renewable Projects by James Padwick of Ogilvy Renault
Presented at the Green Energy Act Finance Forum on January 29th, 2010
Regenerative Medicine: Impact of Convergence on Drug, Device, and Biologics D...MaRS Discovery District
Speaker Dr. Annemarie Moseley, CEO of Aggregate Therapeutics (Palo Alto) explores how drug-device combination products are altering the medical practice from development to regulation to treatment.
Part of the MaRS Emerging Technologies Event Series. More information on the series can be found here:
http://www.marsdd.com/emergingtech/
- The entrepreneurs lacked experience running a business and had unrealistic financial projections. Their proposed online gambling business would operate in a legal gray area and focus on making money rather than building a sustainable company.
- When asked about competitors, the entrepreneurs demonstrated only a surface-level knowledge of the market and competition. They also did not appear to understand the cultural factors needed to succeed.
- Questions about technology, intellectual property, and capital requirements revealed the entrepreneurs had done little planning or preparation. They intended to waste funding and misrepresented details about other term sheets.
Top ROI for Community Power - by Dr. Ingo Koenig, Managing Partner, Koenig & Consultants, at the Green Energy Act Finance Forum on Friday January 29, 2010. For more information visit http://www.marsdd.com/greenenergyforum
The document discusses Community Interest Companies (CICs) in the UK. Some key points:
1) CICs are a legal structure tailored for social enterprises. They have an "asset lock" to protect assets for community benefit and must pass a "community interest test".
2) Over 2,000 CICs have been established since 2005. The majority are limited by guarantee and operate in the education, health, and social work sectors.
3) CICs are regulated by the CIC Regulator and must submit an annual report. They have restrictions on asset transfer, payments to directors, and dividends to maintain their community focus.
4) Case studies show how CICs
This document provides an overview of science communication, including its history and current state. It discusses how science communication has evolved from traditional science journalism to include science blogging by scientists and others online. While the digital age has increased the availability of science information, it has also introduced challenges like inaccurate content, biased search results, and uncivil online comments that can polarize readers and influence their views of science topics. Overall, the document examines the opportunities and challenges presented by changes in how science information is communicated and accessed.
This document provides guidance for student journalists on reporting and writing news stories. It discusses the importance of journalism in a democratic society and emphasizes getting the most accurate information possible through thorough verification of sources. The document offers tips for different types of stories, conducting interviews, developing story ideas, writing engaging leads, and building strong long-term source relationships based on honesty and integrity. The overall message is that quality journalism requires diligent research, even if it means the reporter must be willing to work long hours and ask difficult questions to uncover important truths.
This document discusses the qualities needed for effective investigative journalism. It outlines that investigative journalists need passion for truth, curiosity, initiative, logical thinking, flexibility, strong teamwork and communication skills, well-developed reporting abilities, broad general knowledge, determination, and patience to conduct thorough investigations that serve the public interest. The document also provides examples of how journalists can generate story ideas from their own experiences, conversations, routine fact-checking, published news, and unverified tips that then require further investigation.
Jaume Vilalta (Director of the Quequicom TV program in the TVC) and Xavier Kirchner (Director of the IMAE program in the FCRI) explain what's the key to Communicate Science.
jvilalta.b@tv3.cat
imae@fcri.cat
This document provides guidance on how to become a science journalist. It begins by explaining the important role of science journalists in communicating scientific discoveries and research to the general public. It then offers several tips for getting started in the field, such as obtaining a journalism degree, gaining experience writing about science, and maintaining a portfolio of published work. The document also provides advice on continuously building scientific knowledge, finding story ideas, and looking for job opportunities at newspapers, television stations, radio, or as a freelancer. Overall, the document serves as a guide for those interested in pursuing a career in science journalism.
ENGL 123 Informative and Surprising Essay Instructions (1014) .docxYASHU40
ENGL 123 Informative and Surprising Essay Instructions (1014)
The Informative and Surprising Essay
This assignment requires you to write an essay that follows the surprising reversal pattern.
Keep in mind that, although your purpose is to change the reader’s view, you are not writing a
persuasive argument. You are not trying to convince a resisting reader that a particular value or
policy is wrong. Instead, you are trying to expand the view of an open-minded reader by
providing new information.
You must do four things to get full credit for the assignment:
1. Write an informative essay of 500-550 words.
2. Give the common view or, if you ask a question, give the expected answer to your
question.
3. Present your surprising reversal.
4. Use specific details to make your ideas clear and concrete.
In addition, if you use outside sources, you must give credit to your sources. However, since
we have not yet covered APA-style documentation in class, no deductions will be made for
violations of format. You must, however, name the source of your information in your paper
and list the source at the end of your paper. Deductions will be made if no attempt is made to
cite the source.
If you use your own experiences as support for your thesis, this is fine—and you may use first-
person words (I, me, my, mine). This tone is appropriate, since you do not want to refer to
yourself in the third person.
This assignment may be revised.
English 1130READING FOR RHETORICAL CONTEXTCritical Readers have a keen interest in the rhetorical context of the text. When we speak of rhetoric, we mean the author’s use for language for an intended effect. An important word here is intended. Both writing and reading are intentional. They are deliberate actions, guided by a purpose.
Rhetorical context: author’s purpose, author’s intended audience, circumstances of production, author’s position toward other texts, the larger conversation.
When you do a close reading of the text focusing on its content, genre, organization, and stylistic features, you perform a textual analysis. Another type of analysis is also important: rhetorical analysis. Rhetorical analysis examines the author’s purpose and motivation for writing the text, the intended audience, the circumstances surrounding the text’s production, the author’s position toward other writers and other texts, and the larger conversation of which the text is part. It also explores how the author’s choice of genre, organizational structure, and stylistic features advances his/her purpose. To perform a rhetorical analysis, ask yourself the questions in the box below.
QUESTIONS FOR ANALYZING THE RHETORICAL CONTEXT OF TEXTS
· What is the author’s purpose? What do I perceive as the effect the author intends to have on the audience? What role does the author assume in relation to the audience?
· What do I know about the author’s credibility and background?
· How does th ...
This document provides guidance for science journalism. It defines science journalism as writing that explores recent scientific events and explains them to a general audience in an accessible way. The role of a science journalist is to bridge the gap between the scientific community and the ordinary people by reporting on science in a way that is understandable to non-experts. Some tips for science journalists include building basic scientific knowledge, making contacts in the scientific field, and writing stories with a human focus while avoiding jargon and overly technical explanations. The document also outlines elements that should be included in a science article like facts, expert interviews, illustrations, and providing solutions or takeaways.
Investigative journalism involves deeply investigating topics of public interest, such as crime, corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. It requires original research through sources and documents to uncover new information or shed light on an issue in a way that reveals its significance. The core of investigative journalism is to uncover information that is in the public interest. Successful investigative journalists employ strong reporting skills, determination, and ethics to ferret out well-guarded information from hostile sources on issues that matter to readers.
RELATE: Research Labs for Training Journalists. 80 journalism students are sent on one-week study tours to EU-funded research labs, where they shadow and interview researchers. Subjects cover everything from climate change modelling to cultural heritage, aeronautics, photonics, and vaccine research for TB and cancer.
This document provides guidance on effectively presenting research findings to an audience. It discusses identifying the main points of the research, ranking topics by importance, and using stories to engage the audience. Presentations should include background on the literature, hypotheses, methodology, findings, and limitations. Visual aids should supplement the presentation, not be the focus. Tips are provided on eye contact, voice, dress, and practicing to improve presentation skills. The document also discusses opportunities to present at conferences to share research and get feedback.
This document discusses best practices for scientists communicating science to journalists and the public. It recommends that scientists understand television rules and formats, focus on clear and engaging storytelling to explain one main concept per program, and work as part of a team with journalists and communications professionals. The goal is for audiences to understand scientific findings and their relevance in everyday terms, and to explain what they learned to others.
Scientists and the media can benefit from a constructive relationship based on mutual respect. Journalists can help scientists gain recognition for their work, while scientists can help inform and educate the public. The document provides guidelines for scientists working with media, including respecting deadlines, using clear language, and correcting any factual errors. It also comments that the existing Press Code of Practice may not completely prevent inaccurate scientific reporting, and endorses introducing guidance to ensure factually accurate media coverage of science.
The document provides guidance on science writing. It discusses that science writing is meant for a general audience to make science approachable. An effective science writer tells an interesting story that further investigates the world around us. Science writing is a conversation between writer and reader to communicate information in an enthusiastic way. The key aspects of science writing are clear communication, anticipating reader understanding, connecting scientists with the public, and reporting on topics that affect people's lives.
The document provides guidance on science writing. It discusses that science writing is meant for a general audience to make science approachable. An effective science writer tells an interesting story that further investigates the world around us. Science writing is a conversation between writer and reader to communicate information in an enthusiastic way. The key aspects of science writing are clear communication, anticipating reader understanding, connecting scientists with the public, and reporting on topics that affect people's lives.
This document discusses research as both a formal, step-by-step process and an intuitive, creative process involving serendipity and insight. It examines how research is often presented as mechanical but in reality involves human complexity and motivation. True breakthrough research, called transformative research, is especially nonlinear and relies on preparedness, chance discoveries, and intuition to fundamentally change understanding of a discipline. Examples of serendipitous discoveries are given across sciences, medicine, history and social sciences.
This document discusses different types of research: pure research, original research, and secondary research. Pure research is done simply to gain knowledge without a particular purpose, exploring various topics and sources. Original research aims to discover new information not yet found. Secondary research examines existing research from others to draw new conclusions or relationships between studies. Research can also be directed, with a specific focus or goal, or non-directed for general learning without an objective. Research challenges preconceptions and requires defining terms and considering evidence objectively.
Presentation by Global Student Square executive director Beatrice Motamedi for students at JEA China 2017 National Summer National Convention, Duke Kunshan University in Shanghai.
Workshop about increasing the impact of your research, the importance of good communication (incl. storytelling) and the use of social media.
Given at Research Day of Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at Ghent University.
How does your perception impact your clinical decisions? We enter new situations with our heuristics and beliefs firmly in place. What if our values render us inert to our surroundings, the patient in front of us, or even data in support of new clinical evidence?
Similar to From Bench to Headline: Translating science for the media (20)
Don Tapscott's New Solutions for a Connected Planet - MaRS Global LeadershipMaRS Discovery District
In this new age of networked intelligence, collaborative communities are enhancing and even bypassing crumbling institutions. We are innovating the way our financial institutions and governments operate; how we educate our children; how the healthcare, newspaper, and energy industries serve their customers; how we care for our neighbourhoods; and even how we solve global problems.
From his latest book, (co-author Anthony D. Williams) Macrowikinomics: New Solutions for a Connected Planet, Don Tapscott presents groundbreaking innovations from every corner of the globe: how businesses, organizations and individuals alike are using mass collaboration to revolutionize not only the way we work, but how we live, learn, create and care for each other.
The document discusses cleantech investments and carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. It notes that while cleantech investments have generated bullish returns, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have risen significantly to 396 parts per million, higher than the pre-industrial level of 280 parts per million. Although the cleantech sector is seeing investment success, carbon emissions continue to rise globally indicating that efforts to reduce fossil fuel usage still have a long way to go.
Supporting the commercialization of new energy technology by Kaliyur SridharanMaRS Discovery District
The document discusses the future of energy and smart grid opportunities. It outlines the core and emerging areas in power generation, transmission and distribution, and commercial, industrial, residential and community applications. These include generation optimization, renewable integration, microgrids, asset monitoring, smart meters, energy storage, cyber security, and demand response. The document also describes GE's innovation centers and Grid IQ center, which conduct research, development and testing to advance smart grid technologies and foster collaboration and innovation.
Supporting the commercialization of new energy technology by Celine BakMaRS Discovery District
The document analyzes the clean technology industry, noting that downstream sectors will see the most growth. It finds that the industry currently employs 44,000 Canadians and has significant potential for economic opportunity and exports, with revenues projected to grow to $60 billion and exports to $35-45 billion by 2020. The clean technology industry is globally competitive, with over half of some sectors' revenues coming from exports.
Supporting the commercialization of new energy technology by Annette VerschurenMaRS Discovery District
The document discusses the results of a survey of customers. 52% of respondents had 1 complaint about a product or service, 29% had 2 complaints, 15% had 3 complaints, and 4% had 4 complaints. A separate survey found 55% of customers had 1 negative experience with a company, 21% had 2 negative experiences, 17% had 3 negative experiences, and 7% had 4 negative experiences.
The document discusses emerging energy storage and generation technologies and their role in Ontario's smart grid plans. It notes that storage and new technologies are important for managing assets like nuclear power during off-peak hours and meeting commitments like supporting 1 in 20 electric vehicles by 2020. The document outlines Ontario's policy framework and economic opportunities in these sectors, and considers steps to maximize the potential of emerging technologies and industries in Ontario.
This document discusses flexible solar cells that can harness energy from both visible and infrared light. It references a 2009 study by Sargent et al. that developed infrared photovoltaics through solution processing. The document also mentions Ted Sargent and Illan Kramer in relation to full-spectrum flexible solar technology.
The document summarizes a presentation on electric energy storage systems and opportunities. It discusses how energy storage can help integrate renewable resources and manage grid assets. A variety of energy storage technologies are being demonstrated, but costs remain challenging. Opportunities exist across the energy storage value chain, including in materials, power electronics, and as service providers. Energy storage could maximize PV penetration and support customer energy solutions by providing non-storage options.
Ontario ranked 1st in North America for solar PV installations in 2010. Canada invested $505 million in energy-related research in 2009. Between 2006-2011, Ontario launched 23 energy-related academic research centres, laboratories, and initiatives. The document discusses Ontario's energy sector assets and opportunities, including in smart grid, grid interconnection, electric vehicles, energy efficiency, nuclear, solar PV, and storage. It notes the potential for Ontario to develop these sectors given existing research capabilities and industry.
The document promotes Ontario's energy innovators and their big ideas to the world. It encourages Ontario's energy innovators to look for their next big idea and promotes taking those ideas global to have an impact on the world.
Smart Energy Networks allow for more efficient use of energy resources through various innovations:
- Energy exchanges between power grids and gas networks provide new flexibility by allowing power to be stored as gas and vice versa. This includes power-to-gas technologies like electrolyzers to convert excess renewable energy into hydrogen.
- Over $3 billion has been invested in green energy projects in Canada and the US, including over 1000 MW of wind power and 150 MW of solar power across several provinces and states.
- Alternative technologies like fuel cells and waste heat recovery complement renewables by reducing costs and increasing environmental benefits.
- Power-to-gas allows for seasonal electricity storage by converting excess power into hydrogen which can be injected
The document discusses power-to-gas as a viable utility-scale energy storage solution using electrolysis to convert surplus electricity into hydrogen gas. It addresses common myths about the efficiency and technological progress of electrolysis. Examples are given of hydrogen being distributed and used in existing natural gas pipelines in places like Hong Kong, Hawaii, and parts of Europe. The document concludes that electrolysis is a bridging technology between power and gas grids to store large amounts of surplus electricity and that significant technology progress has been made, so no breakthroughs are required for market entry, though policy barriers still exist.
This document discusses sources and uses of energy by 2020. It notes that Germany is on target to reach 35% renewable power by 2020, while the EU target is 20% and Scotland aims for 100% renewable power. China is also expected to exceed its 15% renewable target. The document surveys opinions on adopting renewable power, energy storage and going off-grid at home by 2020. It suggests that 100% of vehicles will be electric by 2030. Finally, it outlines changing energy sources and impacts on transmission and distribution grids.
Ravi Seethapathy gave a presentation at the MaRS Discovery District Future of Energy Summit in Toronto, Canada on June 8, 2012. The presentation was titled "Grid of the Future: Beyond Just Electricity" and discussed several futuristic concepts for electrical grids, including situational awareness beyond just electricity parameters, adaptive protection and controls to balance loads and renewable energy, and convergence of electricity and thermal systems. The presentation also covered future distribution systems incorporating distributed energy resources, electric vehicles, storage, and microgrids.
The document discusses the increasing amounts of renewable energy, particularly wind and solar, on electricity grids and the need for flexibility to integrate these variable resources. It outlines different generation sources and their relative flexibility. Areas of focus for integrating renewables include improved forecasting, visibility of distributed resources, and incorporating renewables into economic dispatch. Emerging sources of flexibility mentioned are energy storage, demand response, and smart grids.
Germany has ambitious renewable energy targets of 80% renewable generation by 2050 and 35% by 2020 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition to a sustainable energy system. This has led to a large increase in distributed renewable generation, especially solar PV, connected to the distribution grid. This is challenging grid operators as renewable generation introduces high variability that must be balanced. Pilot projects are exploring solutions like smart metering, demand response, and energy storage to improve grid observability, balance generation and load, and maximize grid capacity utilization in adapting distribution grids to the energy transition.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) coordinates the development of interoperability standards for the smart grid through the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel. NIST's Green Button initiative aims to empower consumers by giving them access to download their energy usage data in a standardized, machine-readable format from their utility website. This access to data is intended to spur innovation through third-party applications and services that help consumers understand and reduce their energy use. Over 10 million consumers now have access to their Green Button data with over 30 million expected to have access by 2013.
The document discusses the importance of protecting personal privacy in the development of smart grid technologies through an approach called "Privacy by Design". It advocates embedding privacy protections from the start of new projects rather than as an afterthought. Specifically, it argues that energy consumers should control information about their own energy usage even if not legally required to build confidence in smart grid systems.
The document discusses the importance of protecting personal privacy in the development of smart grid technologies through an approach called "Privacy by Design", which embeds privacy into new technologies from the initial design stage. It notes that gaining consumer trust will be essential for smart grid initiatives to succeed, as many consumers are currently wary about privacy risks, and outlines seven foundational principles of Privacy by Design.
SR&ED: What you need to know about the changing landscape - MaRS Best PracticesMaRS Discovery District
The Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax incentive program provides support in the form of tax credits to groups or individuals conducting scientific research or experimental development in Canada.
Some significant changes are on the way as a result of the last federal budget. See how these new rules could affect you!
Introduction of Cybersecurity with OSS at Code Europe 2024Hiroshi SHIBATA
I develop the Ruby programming language, RubyGems, and Bundler, which are package managers for Ruby. Today, I will introduce how to enhance the security of your application using open-source software (OSS) examples from Ruby and RubyGems.
The first topic is CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures). I have published CVEs many times. But what exactly is a CVE? I'll provide a basic understanding of CVEs and explain how to detect and handle vulnerabilities in OSS.
Next, let's discuss package managers. Package managers play a critical role in the OSS ecosystem. I'll explain how to manage library dependencies in your application.
I'll share insights into how the Ruby and RubyGems core team works to keep our ecosystem safe. By the end of this talk, you'll have a better understanding of how to safeguard your code.
Main news related to the CCS TSI 2023 (2023/1695)Jakub Marek
An English 🇬🇧 translation of a presentation to the speech I gave about the main changes brought by CCS TSI 2023 at the biggest Czech conference on Communications and signalling systems on Railways, which was held in Clarion Hotel Olomouc from 7th to 9th November 2023 (konferenceszt.cz). Attended by around 500 participants and 200 on-line followers.
The original Czech 🇨🇿 version of the presentation can be found here: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/hlavni-novinky-souvisejici-s-ccs-tsi-2023-2023-1695/269688092 .
The videorecording (in Czech) from the presentation is available here: https://youtu.be/WzjJWm4IyPk?si=SImb06tuXGb30BEH .
Salesforce Integration for Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Solutions A...Jeffrey Haguewood
Sidekick Solutions uses Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Solutions Apricot) and automation solutions to integrate data for business workflows.
We believe integration and automation are essential to user experience and the promise of efficient work through technology. Automation is the critical ingredient to realizing that full vision. We develop integration products and services for Bonterra Case Management software to support the deployment of automations for a variety of use cases.
This video focuses on integration of Salesforce with Bonterra Impact Management.
Interested in deploying an integration with Salesforce for Bonterra Impact Management? Contact us at sales@sidekicksolutionsllc.com to discuss next steps.
Skybuffer SAM4U tool for SAP license adoptionTatiana Kojar
Manage and optimize your license adoption and consumption with SAM4U, an SAP free customer software asset management tool.
SAM4U, an SAP complimentary software asset management tool for customers, delivers a detailed and well-structured overview of license inventory and usage with a user-friendly interface. We offer a hosted, cost-effective, and performance-optimized SAM4U setup in the Skybuffer Cloud environment. You retain ownership of the system and data, while we manage the ABAP 7.58 infrastructure, ensuring fixed Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and exceptional services through the SAP Fiori interface.
Webinar: Designing a schema for a Data WarehouseFederico Razzoli
Are you new to data warehouses (DWH)? Do you need to check whether your data warehouse follows the best practices for a good design? In both cases, this webinar is for you.
A data warehouse is a central relational database that contains all measurements about a business or an organisation. This data comes from a variety of heterogeneous data sources, which includes databases of any type that back the applications used by the company, data files exported by some applications, or APIs provided by internal or external services.
But designing a data warehouse correctly is a hard task, which requires gathering information about the business processes that need to be analysed in the first place. These processes must be translated into so-called star schemas, which means, denormalised databases where each table represents a dimension or facts.
We will discuss these topics:
- How to gather information about a business;
- Understanding dictionaries and how to identify business entities;
- Dimensions and facts;
- Setting a table granularity;
- Types of facts;
- Types of dimensions;
- Snowflakes and how to avoid them;
- Expanding existing dimensions and facts.
Monitoring and Managing Anomaly Detection on OpenShift.pdfTosin Akinosho
Monitoring and Managing Anomaly Detection on OpenShift
Overview
Dive into the world of anomaly detection on edge devices with our comprehensive hands-on tutorial. This SlideShare presentation will guide you through the entire process, from data collection and model training to edge deployment and real-time monitoring. Perfect for those looking to implement robust anomaly detection systems on resource-constrained IoT/edge devices.
Key Topics Covered
1. Introduction to Anomaly Detection
- Understand the fundamentals of anomaly detection and its importance in identifying unusual behavior or failures in systems.
2. Understanding Edge (IoT)
- Learn about edge computing and IoT, and how they enable real-time data processing and decision-making at the source.
3. What is ArgoCD?
- Discover ArgoCD, a declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes, and its role in deploying applications on edge devices.
4. Deployment Using ArgoCD for Edge Devices
- Step-by-step guide on deploying anomaly detection models on edge devices using ArgoCD.
5. Introduction to Apache Kafka and S3
- Explore Apache Kafka for real-time data streaming and Amazon S3 for scalable storage solutions.
6. Viewing Kafka Messages in the Data Lake
- Learn how to view and analyze Kafka messages stored in a data lake for better insights.
7. What is Prometheus?
- Get to know Prometheus, an open-source monitoring and alerting toolkit, and its application in monitoring edge devices.
8. Monitoring Application Metrics with Prometheus
- Detailed instructions on setting up Prometheus to monitor the performance and health of your anomaly detection system.
9. What is Camel K?
- Introduction to Camel K, a lightweight integration framework built on Apache Camel, designed for Kubernetes.
10. Configuring Camel K Integrations for Data Pipelines
- Learn how to configure Camel K for seamless data pipeline integrations in your anomaly detection workflow.
11. What is a Jupyter Notebook?
- Overview of Jupyter Notebooks, an open-source web application for creating and sharing documents with live code, equations, visualizations, and narrative text.
12. Jupyter Notebooks with Code Examples
- Hands-on examples and code snippets in Jupyter Notebooks to help you implement and test anomaly detection models.
Programming Foundation Models with DSPy - Meetup SlidesZilliz
Prompting language models is hard, while programming language models is easy. In this talk, I will discuss the state-of-the-art framework DSPy for programming foundation models with its powerful optimizers and runtime constraint system.
For the full video of this presentation, please visit: https://www.edge-ai-vision.com/2024/06/building-and-scaling-ai-applications-with-the-nx-ai-manager-a-presentation-from-network-optix/
Robin van Emden, Senior Director of Data Science at Network Optix, presents the “Building and Scaling AI Applications with the Nx AI Manager,” tutorial at the May 2024 Embedded Vision Summit.
In this presentation, van Emden covers the basics of scaling edge AI solutions using the Nx tool kit. He emphasizes the process of developing AI models and deploying them globally. He also showcases the conversion of AI models and the creation of effective edge AI pipelines, with a focus on pre-processing, model conversion, selecting the appropriate inference engine for the target hardware and post-processing.
van Emden shows how Nx can simplify the developer’s life and facilitate a rapid transition from concept to production-ready applications.He provides valuable insights into developing scalable and efficient edge AI solutions, with a strong focus on practical implementation.
In the rapidly evolving landscape of technologies, XML continues to play a vital role in structuring, storing, and transporting data across diverse systems. The recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) present new methodologies for enhancing XML development workflows, introducing efficiency, automation, and intelligent capabilities. This presentation will outline the scope and perspective of utilizing AI in XML development. The potential benefits and the possible pitfalls will be highlighted, providing a balanced view of the subject.
We will explore the capabilities of AI in understanding XML markup languages and autonomously creating structured XML content. Additionally, we will examine the capacity of AI to enrich plain text with appropriate XML markup. Practical examples and methodological guidelines will be provided to elucidate how AI can be effectively prompted to interpret and generate accurate XML markup.
Further emphasis will be placed on the role of AI in developing XSLT, or schemas such as XSD and Schematron. We will address the techniques and strategies adopted to create prompts for generating code, explaining code, or refactoring the code, and the results achieved.
The discussion will extend to how AI can be used to transform XML content. In particular, the focus will be on the use of AI XPath extension functions in XSLT, Schematron, Schematron Quick Fixes, or for XML content refactoring.
The presentation aims to deliver a comprehensive overview of AI usage in XML development, providing attendees with the necessary knowledge to make informed decisions. Whether you’re at the early stages of adopting AI or considering integrating it in advanced XML development, this presentation will cover all levels of expertise.
By highlighting the potential advantages and challenges of integrating AI with XML development tools and languages, the presentation seeks to inspire thoughtful conversation around the future of XML development. We’ll not only delve into the technical aspects of AI-powered XML development but also discuss practical implications and possible future directions.
Building Production Ready Search Pipelines with Spark and MilvusZilliz
Spark is the widely used ETL tool for processing, indexing and ingesting data to serving stack for search. Milvus is the production-ready open-source vector database. In this talk we will show how to use Spark to process unstructured data to extract vector representations, and push the vectors to Milvus vector database for search serving.
Fueling AI with Great Data with Airbyte WebinarZilliz
This talk will focus on how to collect data from a variety of sources, leveraging this data for RAG and other GenAI use cases, and finally charting your course to productionalization.
Cosa hanno in comune un mattoncino Lego e la backdoor XZ?Speck&Tech
ABSTRACT: A prima vista, un mattoncino Lego e la backdoor XZ potrebbero avere in comune il fatto di essere entrambi blocchi di costruzione, o dipendenze di progetti creativi e software. La realtà è che un mattoncino Lego e il caso della backdoor XZ hanno molto di più di tutto ciò in comune.
Partecipate alla presentazione per immergervi in una storia di interoperabilità, standard e formati aperti, per poi discutere del ruolo importante che i contributori hanno in una comunità open source sostenibile.
BIO: Sostenitrice del software libero e dei formati standard e aperti. È stata un membro attivo dei progetti Fedora e openSUSE e ha co-fondato l'Associazione LibreItalia dove è stata coinvolta in diversi eventi, migrazioni e formazione relativi a LibreOffice. In precedenza ha lavorato a migrazioni e corsi di formazione su LibreOffice per diverse amministrazioni pubbliche e privati. Da gennaio 2020 lavora in SUSE come Software Release Engineer per Uyuni e SUSE Manager e quando non segue la sua passione per i computer e per Geeko coltiva la sua curiosità per l'astronomia (da cui deriva il suo nickname deneb_alpha).
HCL Notes and Domino License Cost Reduction in the World of DLAUpanagenda
Webinar Recording: https://www.panagenda.com/webinars/hcl-notes-and-domino-license-cost-reduction-in-the-world-of-dlau/
The introduction of DLAU and the CCB & CCX licensing model caused quite a stir in the HCL community. As a Notes and Domino customer, you may have faced challenges with unexpected user counts and license costs. You probably have questions on how this new licensing approach works and how to benefit from it. Most importantly, you likely have budget constraints and want to save money where possible. Don’t worry, we can help with all of this!
We’ll show you how to fix common misconfigurations that cause higher-than-expected user counts, and how to identify accounts which you can deactivate to save money. There are also frequent patterns that can cause unnecessary cost, like using a person document instead of a mail-in for shared mailboxes. We’ll provide examples and solutions for those as well. And naturally we’ll explain the new licensing model.
Join HCL Ambassador Marc Thomas in this webinar with a special guest appearance from Franz Walder. It will give you the tools and know-how to stay on top of what is going on with Domino licensing. You will be able lower your cost through an optimized configuration and keep it low going forward.
These topics will be covered
- Reducing license cost by finding and fixing misconfigurations and superfluous accounts
- How do CCB and CCX licenses really work?
- Understanding the DLAU tool and how to best utilize it
- Tips for common problem areas, like team mailboxes, functional/test users, etc
- Practical examples and best practices to implement right away
HCL Notes and Domino License Cost Reduction in the World of DLAU
From Bench to Headline: Translating science for the media
1. SESSION NOTES
Not to be quoted without permission
MaRS Best Practices Series: From Bench to Headline:
Translating science for the media
Speaker: Peter Calamai
Infectious Science:
the media and researchers as agents of contagion
Notes for an address at MaRS
Toronto Sept 14, 2006
I’ve been asked to fill the next 40 minutes with some thoughts about news coverage of
science, and especially scientific research, by the mass media. As well my self-appointed
task is to disabuse you of a few misconceptions that are often uttered by researchers. My
intention is first to provide a half dozen practical tips for when you’re faced with dealing
with a reporter, tips from the worm’s-eye-view of a reporter.
Then I’m going to pull the lens back and look more generally about the general
environment in which such interviews take place. Largely I think it’s an unhealthy
environment because neither scientists nor reporters make enough effort to understand
the culture and values in which the others work. That’s part of the reason there aren’t
more of these interviews and more news about science in the mass media.
Then I’ll deal briefly with ways to improve that environment. This talk is officially
entitled “From bench to headline: Translating Science for the Media” but I had come up
with an alternate title which was considered too risqué. That other title is “Infectious
Science: the media and researchers as agents of contagion.” I think it actually gives some
useful hints about the way forward.
And finally I’m going to offer to tackle your questions. And all of this will be
accomplished without resort to any PowerPoint slides. If you have read Edward Tufte's
paper “The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint” you’ll know why. If you haven’t it’s probably
too late to save you.
There’s an the old Irish adage which says: “It’s a terrible death to be talked to death, it’s a
terrible death to die.” Even worse if the long-winded speaker isn’t actually dealing with
the audience came hoping to hear. So if my talk doesn’t deal with some of your concerns,
then I urge you to ask questions.
Okay, let’s start with those half-dozen tips from a worm’s eye view. The assumption here
is that a reporter is interested in making news out of research carried out by you, your
group or by someone at your institution who you’re advising. I’m also assuming that you
have some prior warning that this is likely to happen, because a paper is coming out in a
big name journal, or there’s a conference presentation, or the institute or university has
put out a publicity release.
So here’s how I would suggest you prepare either for yourself or in helping someone
else:
2. SESSION NOTES
Calamai MaRS remarks Sept. 14
• Be concise. Condense the main thrust of the findings to no more than 25 words.
Try this explanation out in advance on a tough audience – your aged aunt, a
teenager, a grounds worker at the university,
• Be imaginative. Come up with some colourful (but still accurate) analogies for the
most complicated aspect of your research. Let me give an example. Earlier this
year I was struggling to write about a major advance in self-assembling molecular
corrals, work carried out by John Polanyi’s group at the U of T. In an interview
Professor Polanyi told me that they had “contrived to make molecules ski and
crash down prettily.” I used that quote. When the piece ran in the Sunday Star the
illustrations included a scanning electron microscope image of the molecular
corral. But an imaginative editor also added four small photos of skiers falling
down. The word image led to the photographs and I’m sure drew far more readers
into the story than otherwise. [Microscope, March 26]
• Be honest. Your work may have few immediate practical applications. Then say
so. There is nothing shameful about a finding that advances human understanding
without any immediate contribution to the economy or human health.
• Be helpful. If asked – and only if asked – be ready to provide names and co-
ordinates of other researchers who are familiar with the research but unaffiliated.
In the science news business these are known as “validators.” They’re the people
who say this is ground-breaking work, not you. They’re also people qualified to
point out any limitations or shortcomings, which you’ve already volunteered of
course.
• Be visual. Either have already co-operated with the public information officials to
make available good illustrations – photographs or graphics – or be prepared to
help in making these happen. A rough sketch is often all that’s needed by a media
outlet that’s big enough to have its own graphic artists. This isn’t just my view.
The folk who run the EurekaAlert service at the AAAS asked science journalists
earlier this year about their jobs. The results were presented at the EuroScience
Open Forum meeting in Munich in July. Top of the list of problems was getting
good visuals for stories. [citation here]
• Finally and maybe most importantly: Be a thorough researcher. Check out the
media outlet of the reporter(s) who will be interviewing you. That may mean
switching channels for the national TV news the night before or picking up a
different newspaper in the morning. Believe it or not, most reporters have fragile
egos and they’ll chaff if it’s obvious you’re only aware of their competitors.
All that applies to the best of all possible worlds, where you have some advance notice
and time to prepare. What if the phone rings and it’s a reporter with a looming deadline
who thinks something in your field is newsworthy that maybe you consider is old hat?
The first priority is to clarify what the reporter is looking for. Are you the main focus of
this news story or just one of the supporting cast, perhaps even a validator. Is this a quick
news hit or a mini-feature? Is the reporter looking primarily for information or primarily
for someone to quote or record on tape? We call that the search for the killer quote.
2
3. SESSION NOTES
Calamai MaRS remarks Sept. 14
After determining as much as you can about the circumstances, buy yourself 15 minutes
if possible to run through that check list of six items. Use whatever excuse you like – in
the middle of a meeting, got to call home on family emergency. But do call back in 15
minutes or, if it’s someone like me on the other end, they’ll start pestering you in 16
minutes.
Most likely, it won’t be someone like me. There are about 540 members of the Canadian
Science Writers’ Association today, which is as much of a shock to me, as a founding
member in 1970, as it probably is to you. But the number of full-time science and
medical reporters working in staff positions for major mass media in Canada has, in fact,
fallen over the past 35 years, not increased. It stands today at just 43. So you might get
called by Anne McIlroy the Globe’s science reporter, or Maureen Taylor, the national
medical/health reporter with CBC-TV, or Denis Buckert, who covers science and
environment from the Ottawa bureau of Canadian Press, or Margaret Munro, the science
reporter based in Vancouver for CanWest News. You might, but it’s far more probable
that you’ll be called by a journalist who does not regularly report about scientific research
and also certainly has no prior knowledge of your particular field.
So those worm’s eye view rules apply even more to such general assignment reporters.
Negotiate how much detail they want or need. Keep the explanations simple but not
simplistic. Avoid acronyms like MaRS, abbreviations like PCR, specialized terms like
nucleation sites. Don’t obscure the main story with subsidiary material. Don’t refer to
previous research in the field unless absolutely unavoidable.
Now for a really vexed question. Do you volunteer feedback to the reporter after the item
airs or appears in print? I say yes, always. Certainly if you think the piece covered all the
important points accurately and well, you should say so. But just as importantly if you
think the reporter missed something vital or got something factually wrong. If you don’t
draw such mistakes to the attention of journalists, they are electronically perpetuated not
only by that reporter but by any other journalist whose “research” consists of checking
the files.
However, you should keep two things in mind. It’s quite possible that the reporter did not
omit that one aspect you consider so crucial. It could very well have been cut by an editor
for space. So a non-confrontational opening is to say something like, “too bad there
wasn’t time/space to include the names of my co-investigators.”
As for accuracy issues, just keep in mind that journalists do worry about accuracy but
they’re much less concerned about precision. To spell your name wrong or assign you to
the incorrect university or hospital is a cardinal sin to any reporter. So should be
confusing a virus and a bacteria. But rounding off numbers to one decimal place (or no
decimal place at all) usually isn’t. And referring to polymerase chain reaction as photo
copying DNA is quite acceptable.
You see, what we’re most worried about is that readers or viewers are going to find the
story dull and tune out. The former editor of the New York Times, Howell Raines, used
to refer to the deadly danger of “eat-your-peas” articles, ones which readers were
expected to consume not because of any innate appeal but because they were “good” for
them. Another term in the trade is “learn-until-you-bleed” stories. No one wants to write
them because only nerds would read them. So that’s why the analogies in a science story
3
4. SESSION NOTES
Calamai MaRS remarks Sept. 14
might be a tad flashy for your own taste. But are they actually wrong in a substantive way
that does harm to the science. Then say so. [example of greenhouse gas warming, of
gravitational warping of space-time – both wrong]
From the point of view of a reporter with 40-years experience, all of that is good advice.
You can pay thousands of dollars to so-called media consultants and get a lot less. But I
don’t think such advice truly gets to the heart of the matter. The real issue is the mutually
reinforced ignorance which divides journalists and scientists. This divide means that
Canadians aren’t given enough opportunities to learn about the many newsworthy
accomplishments of researchers in this country.
I talk a lot at journalism schools about the failings of the media with respect to science, so
today let me talk here about the other side, the misconceptions about the media under
which too many scientists labour. There are four:
First is the misconception of a partnership supposedly desired between the media and
scientists.
Second is the misconception that the country’s general welfare would be improved if we
simply communicated more about science to the Canadian public.
A corollary to this is the misconception that the public would be more likely to approve
of developments like genetic engineering if they better understood the underlying
science.
The last is the misconception that scientists actually engage the public in any sort of
meaningful dialogue.
These matter because adherence to such ideas helps set most scientists apart from many
of their fellow citizens. And unless scientists abandon these misconceptions I see little
hope for narrowing the gap between the lab and the hearth.
So to the first – the notion that the mass media has any interest in joining a so-called
“partnership” with scientists to help explain their work to the wider public. Few news
reporters in the mass media would ever make such a claim, at least not with a straight
face or without crossing their fingers behind their backs.
A news reporter is not interested in a partnership. We’re interested in exploitation.
Reporters care about the activities of scientists when – and only when – they constitute
good stories, good copy.
Treating scientists like this isn’t discriminatory. Reporters have the same exploitative
attitude toward politicians, hockey players, environmental activists, guerilla leaders,
actors, CEOs, painters, serial killers, Supreme Court judges, al-Qaeda terrorists, the
Governor of the Bank of Canada, and – should he or she be available for interviews –
God.
Let me be utterly frank: a reporter’s overriding focus is, will this story get me on The
National tonight or in the front section of the Toronto Star. Or am I going to be relegated
to hourly recycling on Newsworld or stuck away in the ghetto of the Science page to be
seen by a fraction of the potential audience and have little impact?
4
5. SESSION NOTES
Calamai MaRS remarks Sept. 14
A great many people in the world of science harbour a bizarre idea that reporters are
ablaze with a desire to educate the public and that, therefore, they will embrace the idea
of an educational “partnership” with scientists or judges or whomever. My only
explanation for this misconception is that these people must have been listening to
newspaper publishers or network executives. Our bosses often give speeches about the
media’s duty to educate. Reporters almost never do.
As I said at the beginning, I’m concentrating on MASS media and on NEWS coverage.
This focus excludes many efforts that enthusiastically embrace the idea of a “partnership”
between journalists and scientists and often do see public education as a primary goal.
Think of Scientific American, Quirks and Quarks, Daily Planet, NOVA, The Nature of
Things and so on. There are also trade publications, like Chemical & Engineering News,
the slick in-house magazines from organizations like Genome Canada, and a plethora of
information services on the web aimed at narrower and narrower audiences.
I’m not suggesting for one moment that scientists ought not to want their research
featured on Quirks and Quarks or in the pages of Scientific American. So long as they
pronounce or spell your name right and give credit to the proper funding agency, what’s
not to like.
But these are “boutique” media outlets which appeal mostly to people already interested
in science. So it’s a cardinal sin to extrapolate from their interest in “partnerships” and
“education” to any such interest by reporters doing “real” news in the true mass media,
such as “The National” on CBC-TV or the Toronto Star.
My chief task at the Star, and the chief task of my counterparts in other mass media, is to
make news about scientific research appealing to members of the public who don’t
normally listen to Quirks and Quarks, watch Daily Planet on the Discovery network or
leaf through Scientific American. A few statistics will give you a feel for the relative
audiences.
The Daily Planet show is broadcast twice a night, at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. Eastern. These
airings average 200,000 viewers total each night. There’s no way of knowing but there’s
likely a lot of overlap between the audiences on successive nights. Let’s assume that a
quarter of the viewers are new for each of the four other nights, so that’s 50,000 times
four equals another 200,000. There’s a Best-Of Daily Planet show on CTV on Saturday
mornings watched by about 100,000. So total of 500,000 Canadian TV science viewers
for the week seems reasonable.
CBC’s Quirks and Quarks estimates the audience for the radio broadcast in Canada at
450,000 with something like another 15,000 who download the podcast version plus an
unknown number who listen to live streaming on the Internet or download MP3 files
directly from the show’s own website. So something around a half-million all across
Canada.
There would likely be a lot of overlap between Daily Planet viewers and Quirks and
Quarks listeners. But assume there’s none. Add those two numbers and you have a
maximum of a million across Canada over a whole week. That’s about 700,000 fewer
than the nightly audience for CTV National News and 300,000 fewer than the Toronto
area readers of the Star on a single Saturday.
5
6. SESSION NOTES
Calamai MaRS remarks Sept. 14
Numbers don’t tell the whole story here, as anyone who watches or listens to these
programs knows. They both do a tremendous job that isn’t matched in any other country
and I have nothing but admiration for the shows and their dedicated staffs.
And what’s news anyhow? I very deliberately haven’t defined it. That’s mostly because
whole tomes have been written about this vexed issue. By far the best is Deciding What’s
News by Herbert Gans, who is that rarity, a sociology professor who can write clear
prose. Gans devoted 10 years to his study of how senior editors choose news stories at
CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, Newsweek, and Time. Last year Northwestern
University Press issued a 25th anniversary edition of the book, with a new preface from
the professor, who is still going strong.
My own definition of science news is far more rough-and-ready than Gans’ scholarly
work. Science news is some recent finding or development that Star readers are unlikely
to know about and that I can convince an editor ought to be in the paper. This definition
does not encompass stories explaining subjects like photosynthesis, which many people
don’t understand because they either couldn’t be bothered to pay attention in primary
school or because they haven’t been curious enough to look it up since. That’s not news
reporting. That’s remedial education … and it’s not my job.
In some cases, news also has the added frisson of being something that somebody wants
to keep out of the paper or off the air. This doesn’t happen anywhere near as much with
news about science as it does with political or sports news but it can. Just to give one
example which you might not have already heard. Under the Liberals, the federal
government produced Kyoto plans which claimed Canada’s managed forests would act as
major “sinks” for carbon dioxide gas through that self-same photosynthesis process. But
research by federal scientists suggested that, at best, it would be a wash, with the forests
as much a “source” as a “sink.” This work was deliberately suppressed, with the scientists
actively discouraged from submitting their studies for publication.
I fear that I’m coming awfully close to killing this first misconception with sheer
verbiage. But I feel it is crucial that you understand that news reporters in the mass media
aren’t interested in “partnership” with scientists … or with anyone else. At the best, we’re
interested in mutual exploitation. I get my story and you get publicity.
In the interests of time, let me roll the second and third misconceptions into one. So that
would be that more science communication would lead to more public understanding of
science which in turn would increase support for research generally and ease the way for
controversial developments like genetic engineering. The end result would be a better
educated society and therefore an increase in general welfare.
Academics who specialize in the public understanding of science call this view the
“deficit model.” In other words, the public are deficient in their knowledge about science.
To put that right, we pry open their heads and pour in information. Thus enlightened,
Canadians will appreciate more fully the inherent cultural and economic values of
scientific research and the days of milk and honey at the granting councils will be with us
forever.
Of course, that model doesn’t work, despite the earnest preachings of Jean-Jacques
Rousseau. The U.K. government and agrobusiness discovered this when they tried to sell
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Calamai MaRS remarks Sept. 14
genetically modified foods by ‘educating” the British public about the underlying
science. The Ontario government is discovering it right now with public opposition to
wind energy farms, despite the overwhelming weight of favourable scientific findings.
And the federal government will discover it whenever it finally proposes a plan for long-
term management of waste nuclear fuel, despite a public “education” process which
lasted three years.
It doesn’t work because of the fourth misconception. Despite the belief of some in the
research community, scientists in Canada have not really engaged the public in any sort
of meaningful two-way dialogue. There have been attempts, a few of them laudable but
most of them laughable, unfortunately. One of the latest ideas is a European import
known as the café scientifique. The concept is simple. You propose a topic of proven
public interest which has a substantial scientific component. Could be something like
long-term management of spent nuclear fuel or dealing with an insect infestation like the
western pine beetle. The locale is someplace where people already gather that’s not
academic, like a café if you’re in Paris or a pub here in Canada. You bring some experts
to the pub and they have a discussion with people who show up.
I went to one of these recently, put on by a university which will remain anonymous in a
town I will not identify for the same reason. It was a disaster. It reinforced everything that
many non-scientists think about scientists. It was held in an alcove of a noisy pub, yet the
presenters stood at a podium and attempted to deliver a classroom-style lecture using a
PowerPoint presentation. They asked audience members to hold their questions to the
end. Representatives from the university went around the bar chiding patrons for talking.
But most importantly, the scientists never bothered to ask the members of the public what
they wanted to know about the topic under discussion, a topic very germane to the daily
lives of people in that community. They assumed the deficit model and tried to pour facts
into the heads of their audience. It wasn’t just a failure to communicate (to use the words
of Cool Hand Luke). It was a failure to engage.
It hasn’t escaped my attention that I’m also guilty of very similar pontificating behaviour
here. At least I have spared you the PowerPoint. In my defence I can say only that
desperate times require desperate measures. And I believe these are desperate times for
the position of science and research in Western societies.
Consider these straws in the wind. About 40 per cent of Americans believe that Genesis
accurately describes the creation of the Earth. Don’t get smug about those dumb
Yankees. I’ll bet the figure in Canada is at least 20 per cent. Certainly there are more and
more Canadians who express a belief in magic and who appear to have descended into
superstition. Just talk to a university undergrad today and you can gauge the elevation of
emotion over reason, of personal conviction over hard thinking.
Some of this disillusionment was inevitable as science abandoned the Newtonian
universe for what is still the baffling and inscrutable universe of quantum physics. Or on
the biological side, does epigenetics explain why people behave the way they do one iota
better than phrenology. For the Victorians, science made the world easier to understand.
Since then it has made it far more difficult.
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Calamai MaRS remarks Sept. 14
We have a paradox. To the greatest extent ever in human history, the world is being
shaped by science. Scientific advance appears to be unstoppable, constant and
cumulative, as has been argued in the recent book Suicide of the West by Richard Koch
and Chris Smith [Continuum]. Yet there is a widespread and growing loss of faith in
science among both the governed and the governors.
It may seem trivial to some but I believe that the International Astronomical Union did a
grave disservice to science last month by demoting Pluto. Most of my non-science friends
had the same reaction: “If scientists can say that Pluto isn’t a planet after saying it was for
so long, why should we believe anything that science says!”
I think much of this disillusionment can be traced to a common public misconception
about science, which is constantly reinforced in almost all mass media reporting about
science and research. That misconception is that the goal of science, and scientists, is to
provide answers. But scientific research almost never yields final answers, as I hope most
here would agree. It does, however, keep coming up with better and better questions.
Unfortunately, most Canadians who aren’t scientists manage to pass through 16 years of
formal education without learning this distinction. As I said so smugly way back at the
beginning of these remarks, I don’t see remedial education as part of my role as a
journalist. But as scientists you could force me to do so, by making it newsworthy.
That’s what I hoped to get at by suggesting that risqué title – “Infectious Science: the
media and researchers as agents of contagion” I was trying to piggyback on the latest
buzz word in government and marketing circles. It’s “viral” and it refers to programs or
campaigns that propagate their ideas like a virus, usually through word-of-mouth.
A good example of this is the idea of demonstrating nucleation sites by dumping a whole
roll of Mentos (those round white candy mints) in a bottle of Coke (or Pepsi). We wrote
about it this past Sunday in the Ideas section of the Star. The demo had done the rounds
of science fairs and shows for years. But then a website called Eepy Bird posted a video
of what happens when you combine 200 liters of Diet Coke and more than 500 Mentos.
That was featured on YouTube, which is a free video hosting site. And that meant that
Coke and Mentos experiment was recreated on almost every broadcast and print media
outlet in Britain and in the U.S. Without anyone noticing they were learning about
nucleation sites!
I suspect some of you are muttering something like not in a blue moon, I won’t. Okay
come up with something else, something that makes science so infectious. that ordinary
members of the public can’t help but catch it.
The second string to this bow is called by various names, such as “upstream engagement”
or Science Push. It asks these kinds of questions:
• how do we find out what people want to know about science, rather than just tell
them what we think they should know.
• how do we inform government policy-makers about what the public is thinking
about science.
• how and when do we inform policy-makers about what they want/ need to know
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Calamai MaRS remarks Sept. 14
• how do we avoid nanotechnology becoming the next debacle, where people didn’t
know much about the science but they knew they were uncomfortable with it.
In Britain they’re years ahead of us in this approach, partly because they were so scarred
by the public backlash against genetically modified foods and the public distrust of
government after the mishandling of Mad Cow disease. As a friend in London who works
in this field commented in an email recently:
We could all do with spending just a bit more time thinking about who we want to
talk with and why. All too often scientists, and science communicators, don't
think carefully enough about what the audience is going to get out of an
experience. 'Educating' people is not what science communication in any form is
about.
If you make science “viral” in Canada, the mass media will become your partners,
completely against their natural instincts. We won’t have any choice because what you
will be doing will be newsworthy, by anyone’s definition.
If I was using PowerPoint, this is where I’d throw up a slide summarizing my take-home
messages. The bulleted points would likely shoot in from the sides and flash on the
screen. Then I’d insult your intelligence by repeating the words you are perfectly capable
of reading for yourselves.
So, minus the magic of PowerPoint here are those bullets:
discover what people want to know about your field of research
discover how this differs for various audiences
discover how the media work (and also how reporters do)
discover how to exploit the media to make science infectious
Thank you for your attention and I’ll be pleased to try to answer any questions.
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