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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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From:
Peter Borst <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 24 Mar 2017 09:09:17 -0400
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Citizen science came first:


The first generation of people who dedicated their effort to science were not "professional scientists," and this is not only due to the fact that the term "scientist" was coined only in the 1830s. 

While the institutionalized framework of science evolved, many people outside it were involved in the development of science. Well into the 1800s, it was still possible for non-professional scientists to contribute significantly to scientific research, as demonstrated by Mary Anning’s many discoveries of fossils in Lyme Regis in Dorset, which advanced Paleontology and Geology. However, due to gender, religion, and social class Anning never held a position in any scientific institution. 

During the late 19th century, and especially during the latter part of the 20th century, the role of amateurs diminished as established science grew in scale. Despite this, in many areas of science the participation of people outside scientific institutions continued, with volunteer meteorologists collecting weather observations and amateur naturalists sending specimens to university- and museum-led collections. 

The final decade of the 20th century marked the beginning of another change in the relationship between professional scientists and the wider public. 

The new form of engagement in science received the name "citizen science." The first recorded example of the use of the term is from 1989, describing how 225 volunteers across the US collected rain samples to assist the Audubon Society in an acid-rain awareness raising campaign. The volunteers collected samples, checked for acidity, and reported back to the organization. *

In 1996, Rick Bonney of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology described the activities of birdwatchers as citizen science in which amateurs collect data, while also learning about bird species, gain skills in systematic observation, and understand the scientific process better.16 The past decade has seen a rapid increase in the number of citizen science projects and their scale. As a result, citizen science is now the accepted term for a range of practices. **

* Kerson, R., 1989. Lab for the Environment, MIT Technology Review,

** Bonney, R., 1996. Citizen Science: a lab tradition. Living Birds. 15(4): 7-15.

Source:
Haklay, Muki. "Citizen science and policy: a European perspective." The Wodrow Wilson Center, Commons Lab (2015).

¶

Again, I firmly believe that beekeepers are citizen scientists. But I don't think they should be guinea pigs in someone else's science experiment. Go in with your eyes opened.

PLB

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