Jane L. Lehr

Discussing Dialogue: Perspectives on the Value of Science Dialogue Events that do not Inform Policy

While theoretical work and empirical research have examined science policy-informing “dialogue events,” dialogue events that do not seek to inform public policy are under-theorized and under-researched, even though they are common and growing in popularity in the UK. We describe how, from a critical perspective, it may initially appear that such events cannot be justified without returning to the deficit model. But with this paper, we seek to open up a discussion about these non policy-informing events by arguing that there are in fact further ways to understand and frame them. We deliberately draw on different literatures and seek to make use of practitioner expertise within our discussion, in order to display several perspectives on the value of non-policy dialogue on science as sites of symmetrical individual or small-scale learning —rather than institutional learning—through social processes .

The Value of “Dialogue Events” as Sites of Learning: An exploration of research and evaluation frameworks

In the past five years, informal science institutions (ISIs), science communication, advocacy and citizen action groups, funding organizations, and policy‐makers in the UK and the USA have become increasingly involved in efforts to promote increased public engagement with science and technology (PEST). Such engagement is described as taking place within the context of a “new mood for dialogue” between scientific and technical experts and the public. Mechanisms to increase PEST have taken a number of forms. One of the most visible features of this shift towards PEST in ISIs is the organization and staging of adult‐focused, face‐to‐face forums that bring scientific and technical experts, social scientists, and policy‐makers into discussion with members of the public about contemporary scientific and socioscientific issues related to the development and application of science and technology. A significant aspect of the literature on efforts to increase PEST has focused on the development of a unifying evaluative framework for determining what counts as success for PEST mechanisms, and how success (or lack thereof) can be empirically measured. In this article, we draw from our experiences as UK‐based and US‐based “dialogue event” practitioners and researchers/evaluators to suggest that these existing evaluative criteria are insufficient to explore the role and value of ISI‐based “dialogue events.” Instead, we suggest that it may be productive to research and evaluate these ISI‐based “dialogue events” as sites of learning. Secondly, however, we show through a discussion of our own research frameworks that understanding these “dialogue events” as sites of learning does not intuitively provide a framework for understanding what counts as success for these efforts. Instead, research on the role of “dialogue” within the educational literature—and the connections between “dialogue” and competing understandings of the nature of science and society—offers a multiplicity of approaches to defining the terms and goals of these events. Finally, we identify two broader implications of researching and evaluating these “dialogue events” as sites of learning for ISIs and all efforts to increase PEST.

Learning to Generate Dialogue: Theory, Practice, and Evaluation

Abstract Over the past decade in the UK, communities of scientists, governmental bodies, and informal learning organizations have increasingly promoted public engagement with science. One of the most visible features of these efforts within museums is the staging of adult-focused, face-to-face forums-commonly called dialogue events-that bring scientific and technical experts, social scientists, and policymakers into discussion with members of the public about contemporary science-based issues. This article clarifies the difference between non-policy-informing dialogue events and other interactions in museums. It then describes how one institution, the Science Museums Dana Centre, London, has conceptualised, implemented, and refined its understanding of dialogue events based on iterative processes of theory-building, practice, and evaluation. It concludes by outlining future directions for promoting a broader culture of engagement through dialogue related to science and society.

Surface reconstruction of Maltese cisterns using ROV sonar data for archeological study

We present a methodology and algorithm for the reconstruction of three dimensional geometric models of ancient Maltese water storage systems, i.e. cisterns, from sonar data. This project was conducted as a part of a four week expedition on the islands of Malta and Gozo. During this expedition, investigators used underwater robot systems capable of mapping ancient underwater cisterns and tunnels. The mapping included probabilistic algorithms for constructing the maps of the sonar data and computer graphics for surface reconstruction and visualization. This paper presents the general methodology for the data acquisition and the novel application of algorithms from computer graphics for surface reconstruction to this new data setting. In addition to reconstructing the geometry of the cisterns, the visualization system includes methods to enhance the understanding of the data by visualizing water level and texture detail either through the application of real image data via projective textures or by more standard texture mapping techniques. The resulting surface reconstructions and visualizations can be used by archaeologists for educational purposes and to help understand the shape and history of such water receptacles.

Estimation of Volumetric Oxygen Concentration in a Marine Environment with an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

Dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration is a key indicator of the health and productivity of an aquatic ecosystem. This paper presents a new method for high-resolution characterization of DO as a function of both space and time. The implementation of a new oxygen optode in an Iver2 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is described, which enables the system to measure both absolute oxygen concentration and percentage saturation. Also described are details of AUV missions in Hopavagen Bay, Norway, which consisted of a series of repeated undulating lawnmower patterns that covered the bay. Through offline postprocessing of data, sensor characteristic models were developed, as well as a 3D lattice time series model. The model was constructed by estimating DO at each 3D lattice node location using a 1D Kalman filter that fused local measurements obtained with the AUV. By repeating model construction for several missions that spanned 24 h, estimates of DO as a function of space and time were calculated. Results demonstrated (1) the AUVs ability to repeatedly gather high-spatial-resolution data (2) significant spatial and temporal variation in DO in the water body investigated, and (3) that a 3D model of DO provides better estimates of total DO in a volume than extrapolating from only a single 2D plane. Given the importance of oxygen within an ecosystem, this new method of estimating the quantity of DO per volume has the potential to become a reliable test for the health of an underwater ecosystem. Also, it can be refined for detecting and monitoring a range of soluble gases and dispersed particles in aquatic environments, such as dissolved O2 and CO2 around production facilities such as fish farms, or dispersed hydrocarbons and other pollutants in fragile ecosystems.

Mapping and visualizing ancient water storage systems with an ROV — An approach based on fusing stationary scans within a particle filter

This paper presents a new method for constructing 2D maps of enclosed underwater structures using an underwater robot equipped with only a 2D scanning sonar, compass and depth sensor. In particular, no motion model or odometry is used. To accomplish this, a two step offline SLAM method is applied to a set of stationary sonar scans. In the first step, the change in position of the robot between each consecutive pair of stationary sonar scans is estimated using a particle filter. This set of pair wise relative scan positions is used to create an estimate of each scans position within a global coordinate frame using a weighted least squares fit that optimizes consistency between the relative positions of the entire set of scans. In the second step of the method, scans and their estimated positions act as inputs to a mapping algorithm that constructs 2D octree-based evidence grid maps of the site. This work is motivated by a multi-year archeological project that aims to construct maps of ancient water storage systems, i.e. cisterns, on the islands of Malta and Gozo. Cisterns, wells, and water galleries within fortresses, churches and homes operated as water storage systems as far back as 2000 B.C. Using a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) these water storage systems located around the islands were explored while collecting video, still images, sonar, depth, and compass measurements. Data gathered from 3 different expeditions has produced maps of over 60 sites. Presented are results from applying the new mapping method to both a swimming pool of known size and to several of the previously unexplored water storage systems.

Co-creating liberal studies in engineering program(s) – a perspective from Ethnic Studies, Women's & Gender Studies, and Science & Technology Studies

In 1999, historian of technology Bruce Seely argued in the Journal of Engineering Education that, ‘[p]erhaps the most constant feature of American engineering education has been the demand for change’.1 I open with Seely for two purposes. First, it is important to understand Louis Bucciarelli and David Drew’s design plan for Liberal Studies in Engineering (LSE) – a proposal to integrate engineering content with perspectives from the arts, humanities, and social sciences to create a new pre-professional degree – as part of an ongoing conversation in engineering education about the formation of engineers (and related professionals) in the USA. Second, however, I want to note that much of this history of change in engineering education (documented by Seeley and others) has been driven by fears – for example, that we are not producing the right kind of engineer and/or enough engineers and therefore will be less competitive or less creative or less able to win the Cold War or respond to twenty-first-century challenges such as climate change and terrorism.2 In contrast to this pattern of beginning from fear, I believe it is critical that as we coimagine LSE together, we start by explicitly sharing our hopes for LSE programs and their graduates.3 One of my hopes, for example, is that graduates of LSE programs will gain important intellectual and practical capacities and skills for creating, proposing, enacting, and evaluating engineering designs, policies, educational models, communications, and media. I also hope that LSE graduates will participate as knowledge producers and facilitators in efforts that seek to respond to twenty-first-century challenges and to create more socially just, equitable, and inclusive science and technology. However, I also readily acknowledge, for example, that my shared hopes for LSE graduates may be quite different from yours! This brings me to a related point – as we engage with each other, we must acknowledge that those of us interested in the development of LSE programs may have competing hopes for this shared interest. How we respond as a community to these (potential) tensions in hopes is one of the most critical decisions we will make in our work together. I also want to suggest that, as part of our work together to co-create LSE programs, we must also make space and time for critical inquiry regarding our own assumptions,

Should Women Vote

O 13 July 1910, the English humor magazine Punch published a cartoon depicting a woman pushing a rock labeled “Women’s Suffrage” up a steep hillside labeled “Parliament (Figure 1).” A caption under the picture exclaims “Excelsior!” It is followed by this statement: Suffragist: “It’s no good talking to me about Sisyphus; he was only a man!” The well–dressed woman pushes the rock in a pose suggesting strength, while she gazes directly at the viewer with a determined look on her face. The landscape behind her fades into distant mountains and clouds, leaving no means to judge whether she is approaching the summit.1 A brilliant device for teaching about women’s suffrage, this cartoon provides numerous access points for engaging students in discussion and analysis. The cartoon visually illustrates the central issue: could suffrage advocates persuade Parliament to alter voting statutes? This conflict is illustrated by the determination of the suffragists (symbolized by the woman pushing the boulder up the hill) and the resistance created by Parliament (that is, the force required to push this boulder against gravity up a seemingly unconquerable slope). At the same time, the caption, with its ironic statement (“he was only a man”), validates the larger claim of the suffrage movement that women were not just proving their rights as citizens, but also demonstrating their superior moral and ethical standards. The references embedded in the cartoon thus provoke a more in–depth analysis of multiple meanings. Contemporary students are likely to have some familiarity with the myth of Sisyphus, who was punished for his cleverness by spending eternity in Tartarus pushing a rock up a mountain only to have it fall to the bottom, forcing him to begin all over again. Yet the invocation of this myth in a different historical and political context raises the question of whether women’s struggle for equal rights was a Sisyphean sentence of endless frustration or whether, as the caption suggests, a woman might achieve what a mythical man could not. The title “Excelsior!” represents an even more subtle teaching challenge. Standard dictionary definitions, i.e. “wood shavings used for pack-