The Woodrow Wilson Center sent me an invitation which, sadly, I cannot accept as the event takes place in Washington, DC. Happily, they will be webcasting it,
Technology Assessment and Public Participation:
From TA to pTA
The “p” in “pTA” stands for “participatory.” This emphasizes the idea that the people who fund technology development (through taxes and consumer purchases), and live with its positive and negative consequences, but are not otherwise formally engaged through advocacy, can and should play a role in technology assessment (TA). While some advocates for TA called for the inclusion of participatory practices from the beginnings of the field’s evolution in the United States, action to implement this idea did not begin until the late 1980s, largely in Europe.
In society at large, however, participatory practices have expanded considerably over the past two decades in relation to science and technology in particular and social decision-making in general. During this event we will explore one approach to pTA, the World Wide Views exercise on Biodiversity, a global citizen consultation held in 25 countries on September 15, 2012 that provided input to the Eleventh Council of Parties of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.
Join us on Dec. 6, 2012 in the Fifth Floor Conference Room at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars to discuss this new approach and the public input it can provide. This event will be live webcast.
When: December 6, 2012
12 – 2 pm
Where: Woodrow Wilson Center – 5th Floor Conference Room
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
One Woodrow Wilson Plaza
Washington, DC 20004
Who:
Richard Worthington, Professor of Politics and Chair of the Program in Public Policy Analysis, Pomona College
Darlene Cavalier, Founder, Science Cheerleader and SciStarter and Contributing editor, Discover Magazine
David Sittenfeld, Forum Program Manager, Museum of Science, Boston
Gretchen Gano, Doctoral Student, Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology Program, Arizona State University
Discussants:
Tim Persons, Chief Scientist, Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Mikko Rask, Head of Research, National Consumer Research Centre, Finland
Moderator:
David Rejeski, Director, Science & Technology Innovation Program, Woodrow Wilson Center
For those of us on the West Coast, this means a 9 am starting time for the webcast. For those who can attend the event, please RSVP here.
There will be another webcast next week, on Dec. 5, 2012, for a Digital Storytelling presentation by Tom McFadden, science rapper/etc. for the US State Department. It’s one hour long and the start time is 11 am EST (8 am for those of us on the West Coast or 1600 UTC).
Thank you to Patricia Anderson and this Nov. 29, 2012 posting on her Emerging Technologies Librarian blog for the information. You have to keep scrolling down to find the bit about McFadden’s Dec. 5, 2012 presentation as she covers a number of exciting science initiatives such as a Science Idol project being developed by Will.i.am (Black-eyed Peas), a New Zealand Science Idol project, and this about McFadden and the NZ Science Idol,
Not only is this a real Science Idol performance competition / education / science communication that has actually already happened, but it ran under the oversight of Tom McFadden, a true innovator and leader in this conceptual space.
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More videos by and about Tom’s work with rap and storytelling for science communication.
Youtube: Tom McFadden http://www.youtube.com/user/tomcfad
Articles about Tom’s work in this area.
Regulatin’ genes: Stanford biologists rap about what makes us human:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2009/mar/11/what-makes-us-humanRappin’ for Science: http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/rappin-for-science/
BioPop Rap Battle: Tom McFadden vs Science Rapper. Who Gets Your Vote? http://bitesizebio.com/articles/biopop-rap-battle-tom-mcfadden-vs-science-rapper/
Tom is known as the Rhymebosome. Would you believe that this is such a hot emerging area that there is even a blog devoted entirely to science music?
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I highly recommend checking out Anderson’s blog. As for McFadden, here’s what the US State Dept. CO.NX website has on the event page,
Are you a fan of hip-hop and/or expressing yourself through music via the Internet? Learn how to tell your story using online tools and digital platforms! Join us for a live, engaging discussion featuring Tom McFadden, a Fulbrighter and former Stanford University biology course instructor who became a Science Rapper. Tom emerged from the California BioPop scene with hit singles such as, “Regulatin’ Genes” and “Oxidate it or Love it,” which granted him recognition in The New York Times and The Guardian. He will discuss his Science Idol Fulbright project in New Zealand, which asked New Zealanders to send in their own “science songs” via digital videos. Join Tom online to learn how to share and communicate what you’re passionate about through creativity and digital storytelling!
Format: This program will be an interactive video webcast in English. Please click on the URL above to participate. Follow the conversation on Twitter by using the hashtag #StateAlumni.
Next week looks to be very interesting.