Team:Dundee/HumanPractice

From 2013.igem.org

(Difference between revisions)
(Created page with "{{:Team:Dundee/Templates/Navigationbar}} <html> <html lang="en"> <!-- Begin page content --> <div class="container"> <!-- Title --> <div class="page-he...")
 
(25 intermediate revisions not shown)
Line 9: Line 9:
       <!-- Title -->
       <!-- Title -->
       <div class="page-header">
       <div class="page-header">
-
           <h2><b>Clatto Country Park – Case Study</b> </h2>
+
           <h2><b>Human Practices Overview</b> </h2>
         </div>
         </div>
       <!-- Title End -->
       <!-- Title End -->
Line 15: Line 15:
       <div class="row" style="text-align:justify;margin-top:-20px;">
       <div class="row" style="text-align:justify;margin-top:-20px;">
         <div class="span6">
         <div class="span6">
-
          <p>Many open waters located in and around Dundee are affected by Blue-Green Algae. This was one motivation that made selecting our ToxiMop project appropriate because we are tackling a local problem that also has worldwide implications.</p><br>
 
-
        <p> One particular location in Dundee where Blue-Green Algae has had a dramatic effect is Clatto Country Park. In the past the park has had up to 95,000 visitors per year with recreational activities such as watersports, children’s play areas and picnic sites being the main attractions focussed around the parks freshwater reservoir and surrounding woods.</p><br>
+
<p>Our Human Practices is the exploration into environmental, political, sociological, legal, ethical, economic, and philosophical dimensions of synthetic biology. In this pursuit, we have attempted to engage the public with synthetic biology and our project. The Dundee Life Sciences sector contributes to 16% of the local economy, making it crucial that we keep the public involved in what we do.<br><br>
-
          <p>Moving forward in time, with the Blue-Green Algae problems faced by the park each year, recreational swimming is no longer permitted in the reservoir. This has shutdown the watersports programme at Clatto and the signage to warn people of the danger faced by the water has had such a dramatic effect to reduce the number of visitors per year to less than 30,000. This reduction in visitors has led to the closure of staffing facilities.  The aim of ToxiMop project is to restore open waters like Clatto back to their former glory.</p><br>
+
Having discussed the issues surrounding park closures due to algal bloom outbreaks, the team felt that the current testing and safety procedures implemented at the park were in need of questioning. To investigate the suitability of these procedures, the team started the Mop Campaign with the intention of bringing together law legislators and scientists. Furthermore, to bridge the gap between the scientific research and public legislation, we brought together representatives of local parliament, environmental agencies, respected researchers, local park rangers and members of Friends of the Earth. Together they discussed synthetic biology, how to deal with algal blooms and provided us with feedback to help guide our project.</p><br><br>
-
          <p>We have been working with George Potts, Senior Countryside Ranger, who has been involved at Clatto for 40 years. We want to raise awareness that the testing procedures at Clatto are insufficient to demand the closure recreational activities on the reservoir. This is strongly linked to the development of our MopTopus electronic sensing device, which can be used as a more appropriate measure of the toxin levels in the water. </p><br>
+
<p>Additionally, we attempted to engage people from a wide range of age groups in order to educate them on the problems caused by algal blooms and propose how synthetic biology could provide a solution. We aimed to achieve this by attending events or setting up meetings with groups from a variety of settings, such as:<br><br></p>
-
          <p>Currently sampling is carried out once a month, and when a dangerous level of toxin is detected three clean tests are required to give the all clear to the reservoir. Therefore during the summer after microcystin is detected the reservoir is closed for 3 months minimum. MopTopus will allow daily samples and updates to be taken. </p><br>
+
<ul style="padding-left:35px">
 +
<li>School Science Workshops</li>
 +
<li>Undergraduate Teaching Practicals</li>
 +
<li>Cafe Science</li>
 +
<li>Dundee Tech Meetup</li>
 +
<li>Friends of the Earth</li>
 +
<li>SEPA – Scottish Environmental Protection Agency</li></ul><br>
-
          <p>Dundee City Councils guidelines enforced for the dangerous levels of toxins for recreational sports are as advised by the WHO for safe drinking water, whereas in other locations around the world different practices are used. We want to work with Ancrum Outdoor Activity Centre, Dundee City Council and SEPA to raise awareness on the safety of the water and how using synthetic biology our MopTopus device has the potential to return locations like Clatto back to popular venues for future generations. </p><br>
+
<p>
-
          </p>
+
Some additional novel approaches we took to captivate the public eye were through a comic book and video game. These entertained our audiences, particularly the younger generation, and demonstrated a lighter side to synthetic biology.<br><br>
-
        </div>
+
 
 +
 
 +
Furthermore, we took advantage of current social media set ups to engage a larger audience. Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Flickr and Google+ were all updated on a regular basis to communicate our progress and achievements.<br><br>
 +
 
 +
 
 +
Dundee’s slogan, “One City, Many Discoveries” encompasses the progressive attitude of the city and its people. Through our human practice activities we found that the public were open to the possibilities offered by exciting new technologies such as synthetic biology.</p>
 +
</div>
         <div class="span6">
         <div class="span6">
          
          
-
          <div class="span6">
+
            <div class="span6">  
-
               <img id="image-6" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3813/9248988522_52a4a7339f_z.jpg">
+
               <center><img id="image-6" src="http://epanet.ew.eea.europa.eu/images/SEPA%20logo%20Aug%2006.JPG" style="width:100%;height:200px;"></center>
-
             </div><br>
+
             </div>
-
            <div class="span6" >
+
          <div class="span6">
 +
              <center><img id="image-6" src="http://www.cafesciencedundee.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/logo1.png" style="width:100%;"></center>
             </div>
             </div>
-
            <div class="span6">
 
-
              <img id="image-6" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2877/9248991940_cdbfbb2b9d_z.jpg">
 
-
            </div><br><br>
 
-
             <div class="span6">
+
             <div class="span6">  
-
          </div>
+
              <center><img id="image-6" src="http://www.creativedundee.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/techmeetup.png" style="width:100%;padding-top:25px;"></center>
 +
            </div>
           <div class="span6">
           <div class="span6">
-
               <img id="image-6" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7340/9248986262_af86451e09_z.jpg">
+
               <center><img id="image-6" src="http://www.craftscotland.org/images/about-us/conference/Dundee-one-city-logo.jpg" style="width:100%;height:300px"></center>
             </div>
             </div>
-
 
-
        <!--<div class="span6">
 
-
              <img id="image-6" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7341/9246199063_07c542b14e_z.jpg">
 
-
            </div> -->
 
-
        </div>
 
-
 
       </div><!-- Row End -->
       </div><!-- Row End -->
-
 
+
</div>
            
            
       <div id="push"></div>
       <div id="push"></div>

Latest revision as of 22:38, 1 October 2013

iGEM Dundee 2013 · ToxiMop

Dundee 2013

Human Practices Overview

Our Human Practices is the exploration into environmental, political, sociological, legal, ethical, economic, and philosophical dimensions of synthetic biology. In this pursuit, we have attempted to engage the public with synthetic biology and our project. The Dundee Life Sciences sector contributes to 16% of the local economy, making it crucial that we keep the public involved in what we do.

Having discussed the issues surrounding park closures due to algal bloom outbreaks, the team felt that the current testing and safety procedures implemented at the park were in need of questioning. To investigate the suitability of these procedures, the team started the Mop Campaign with the intention of bringing together law legislators and scientists. Furthermore, to bridge the gap between the scientific research and public legislation, we brought together representatives of local parliament, environmental agencies, respected researchers, local park rangers and members of Friends of the Earth. Together they discussed synthetic biology, how to deal with algal blooms and provided us with feedback to help guide our project.



Additionally, we attempted to engage people from a wide range of age groups in order to educate them on the problems caused by algal blooms and propose how synthetic biology could provide a solution. We aimed to achieve this by attending events or setting up meetings with groups from a variety of settings, such as:

  • School Science Workshops
  • Undergraduate Teaching Practicals
  • Cafe Science
  • Dundee Tech Meetup
  • Friends of the Earth
  • SEPA – Scottish Environmental Protection Agency

Some additional novel approaches we took to captivate the public eye were through a comic book and video game. These entertained our audiences, particularly the younger generation, and demonstrated a lighter side to synthetic biology.

Furthermore, we took advantage of current social media set ups to engage a larger audience. Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Flickr and Google+ were all updated on a regular basis to communicate our progress and achievements.

Dundee’s slogan, “One City, Many Discoveries” encompasses the progressive attitude of the city and its people. Through our human practice activities we found that the public were open to the possibilities offered by exciting new technologies such as synthetic biology.

Retrieved from "http://2013.igem.org/Team:Dundee/HumanPractice"