Inequality persists in a large citizen science programme despite increased participation through ICT innovations

Jönsson, Mari; Kasperowski, Dick; Coulson, Stephen James; Nilsson, Johan; Bína, Pavel; Kullenberg, Christopher; Hagen, Niclas; van der Wal, René; Peterson, Jesse

doi:10.1007/s13280-023-01917-1

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 57 publications

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“…Traditional citizen science monitoring projects, especially for insects, are generally biased towards older generations and men [116][117][118], which may affect rates of uptake of new technologies. Current participants may disengage if the deployment of technology restricts the range of potential contributions that they can make, resulting in tasks that are either overly simplistic or excessively complex [119].…”

Section: Technology As An Inhibitor-complicating Methods and Excludin...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging technologies in citizen science and potential for insect monitoring

Sheard,

Adriaens,

Bowler

et al. 2024

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Emerging technologies are increasingly employed in environmental citizen science projects. This integration offers benefits and opportunities for scientists and participants alike. Citizen science can support large-scale, long-term monitoring of species occurrences, behaviour and interactions. At the same time, technologies can foster participant engagement, regardless of pre-existing taxonomic expertise or experience, and permit new types of data to be collected. Yet, technologies may also create challenges by potentially increasing financial costs, necessitating technological expertise or demanding training of participants. Technology could also reduce people's direct involvement and engagement with nature. In this perspective, we discuss how current technologies have spurred an increase in citizen science projects and how the implementation of emerging technologies in citizen science may enhance scientific impact and public engagement. We show how technology can act as (i) a facilitator of current citizen science and monitoring efforts, (ii) an enabler of new research opportunities, and (iii) a transformer of science, policy and public participation, but could also become (iv) an inhibitor of participation, equity and scientific rigour. Technology is developing fast and promises to provide many exciting opportunities for citizen science and insect monitoring, but while we seize these opportunities, we must remain vigilant against potential risks. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Towards a toolkit for global insect biodiversity monitoring’.

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Section: Technology As An Inhibitor-complicating Methods and Excludin...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging technologies in citizen science and potential for insect monitoring

Sheard,

Adriaens,

Bowler

et al. 2024

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Citizen Observations as Legal Obligations: (Dis)Associations and Representation at the Swedish Land and Environment Court of Appeal

Kasperowski,

Peterson,

Hagen

2024

Science, Technology, & Human Values

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There is an increasing international trend in environmental activism to use legal institutions and infrastructures for citizen science (CS) to affect policy and regulation. However, knowledge about observations produced in activist CS and their functions at courts is scarce. To address this, we analyze how citizen observations (COs) reported to an established infrastructure for CS assist in producing legal obligations. Sweden provides an exemplary case due to the integration between CS biodiversity infrastructures, environmental regulation, and the increasing number of legal environmental conflicts. Data was gathered from documentation of legal cases argued in front of the Land and Environment Court of Appeal (LECA) from 2012 to 2020, and interviews with civil servants at Swedish environmental public authorities. Through a qualitative analysis, we find several ways that COs get associated to legal obligations, including through civil servants’ decisions, species spatial-temporality, comparisons between different CS reporting systems, the negotiation of species status on red lists, and interpretations of species behavior. We relate our findings to a broader discussion on what forms of representation matter in environmental regulation and who and what can speak for species and entities making up the world.

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Genetics, Epigenetics, and the Environment: Are Precision Medicine, Provider Compassion, and Social Justice Effective Public Health Measures to Mitigate Disease Risk and Severity?

Iannaccone,

Ryznar,

Van Winkle

2024

IJERPH

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Environmental forces impacting public health include exposure to toxic substances, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), diet, and exercise. Here, we examine the first two of these forces in some detail since they may be amenable to correction through cultural, medical, and practitioner intervention. At the same time, changing people’s dietary and exercise routines are likely more resistant to these interventions and are referred to only incidentally in this review. That is, societal efforts could prevent exposure to toxicants and ACEs—not necessarily requiring cooperation by the affected individuals—whereas changing diet and exercise practices requires an individual’s discipline. Toxic substances considered in this review include endocrine disruptors, arsenics, 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), the organic solvent, Trichloroethylene (TCE), and the Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) produced from incomplete combustion of tobacco and other organic materials. Exposure to each of these toxic substances may have serious adverse health effects, especially in genetically more susceptible individuals. For example, children of mothers exposed to the endocrine disruptor, Atrazine, have significantly lower birth length, weight, and head circumference. Moreover, male offspring exhibit genital abnormalities, and all of these effects may be transgenerational. However, analyses of interactions among genes, the environment, and epigenetic modifications have already revealed distinctive individual risks of adverse reactions to toxic exposure. So, interventions through precision medicine might improve the health of those exposed individuals. Adults previously exposed to more than one ACE (e.g., child abuse and inter-parental violence) are more likely to develop anxiety, cancer, and diabetes. Detecting ACE exposures in children in the general population is fraught with difficulty. Thus, the risks of ACEs to our health remain even more insidious than exposures to toxicants. Nevertheless, higher provider compassion is associated with significantly better clinical outcomes for patients with these afflictions. For all these reasons, the first major aim of this review is to recount several of the major forces contributing to or impairing public health. Our second major aim is to examine mitigating influences on these forces, including social justice and provider compassion in the setting of precision medicine. Idealistically, these mitigators might eventually lead to the development of more cooperative and compassionate cultures and societies.

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Inequality persists in a large citizen science programme despite increased participation through ICT innovations

Cited by 3 publications

References 57 publications

Emerging technologies in citizen science and potential for insect monitoring

Emerging technologies in citizen science and potential for insect monitoring

Citizen Observations as Legal Obligations: (Dis)Associations and Representation at the Swedish Land and Environment Court of Appeal

Genetics, Epigenetics, and the Environment: Are Precision Medicine, Provider Compassion, and Social Justice Effective Public Health Measures to Mitigate Disease Risk and Severity?

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