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1. Engaging STEM Transformational Experiences for Early Momentum (ESTEEM)

   Yahdi, Mohammed ; Bracey, Zoe Buck ( November 2019 , National Science Foundation -  Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program Principal Investigator (PI) Meeting, November 2019.)

   Need/Motivation (e.g., goals, gaps in knowledge) The ESTEEM implemented a STEM building capacity project through students’ early access to a sustainable and innovative STEM Stepping Stones, called Micro-Internships (MI). The goal is to reap key benefits of a full-length internship and undergraduate research experiences in an abbreviated format, including access, success, degree completion, transfer, and recruiting and retaining more Latinx and underrepresented students into the STEM workforce. The MIs are designed with the goals to provide opportunities for students at a community college and HSI, with authentic STEM research and applied learning experiences (ALE), support for appropriate STEM pathway/career, preparation and confidence to succeed in STEM and engage in summer long REUs, and with improved outcomes. The MI projects are accessible early to more students and build momentum to better overcome critical obstacles to success. The MIs are shorter, flexibly scheduled throughout the year, easily accessible, and participation in multiple MI is encouraged. ESTEEM also establishes a sustainable and collaborative model, working with partners from BSCS Science Education, for MI’s mentor, training, compliance, and building capacity, with shared values and practices to maximize the improvement of student outcomes. New Knowledge (e.g., hypothesis, research questions) Research indicates that REU/internship experiences canmore »be particularly powerful for students from Latinx and underrepresented groups in STEM. However, those experiences are difficult to access for many HSI-community college students (85% of our students hold off-campus jobs), and lack of confidence is a barrier for a majority of our students. The gap between those who can and those who cannot is the “internship access gap.” This project is at a central California Community College (CCC) and HSI, the only affordable post-secondary option in a region serving a historically underrepresented population in STEM, including 75% Hispanic, and 87% have not completed college. MI is designed to reduce inequalities inherent in the internship paradigm by providing access to professional and research skills for those underserved students. The MI has been designed to reduce barriers by offering: shorter duration (25 contact hours); flexible timing (one week to once a week over many weeks); open access/large group; and proximal location (on-campus). MI mentors participate in week-long summer workshops and ongoing monthly community of practice with the goal of co-constructing a shared vision, engaging in conversations about pedagogy and learning, and sustaining the MI program going forward. Approach (e.g., objectives/specific aims, research methodologies, and analysis) Research Question and Methodology: We want to know: How does participation in a micro-internship affect students’ interest and confidence to pursue STEM? We used a mixed-methods design triangulating quantitative Likert-style survey data with interpretive coding of open-responses to reveal themes in students’ motivations, attitudes toward STEM, and confidence. Participants: The study sampled students enrolled either part-time or full-time at the community college. Although each MI was classified within STEM, they were open to any interested student in any major. Demographically, participants self-identified as 70% Hispanic/Latinx, 13% Mixed-Race, and 42 female. Instrument: Student surveys were developed from two previously validated instruments that examine the impact of the MI intervention on student interest in STEM careers and pursuing internships/REUs. Also, the pre- and post (every e months to assess longitudinal outcomes) -surveys included relevant open response prompts. The surveys collected students’ demographics; interest, confidence, and motivation in pursuing a career in STEM; perceived obstacles; and past experiences with internships and MIs. 171 students responded to the pre-survey at the time of submission. Outcomes (e.g., preliminary findings, accomplishments to date) Because we just finished year 1, we lack at this time longitudinal data to reveal if student confidence is maintained over time and whether or not students are more likely to (i) enroll in more internships, (ii) transfer to a four-year university, or (iii) shorten the time it takes for degree attainment. For short term outcomes, students significantly Increased their confidence to continue pursuing opportunities to develop within the STEM pipeline, including full-length internships, completing STEM degrees, and applying for jobs in STEM. For example, using a 2-tailed t-test we compared means before and after the MI experience. 15 out of 16 questions that showed improvement in scores were related to student confidence to pursue STEM or perceived enjoyment of a STEM career. Finding from the free-response questions, showed that the majority of students reported enrolling in the MI to gain knowledge and experience. After the MI, 66% of students reported having gained valuable knowledge and experience, and 35% of students spoke about gaining confidence and/or momentum to pursue STEM as a career. Broader Impacts (e.g., the participation of underrepresented minorities in STEM; development of a diverse STEM workforce, enhanced infrastructure for research and education) The ESTEEM project has the potential for a transformational impact on STEM undergraduate education’s access and success for underrepresented and Latinx community college students, as well as for STEM capacity building at Hartnell College, a CCC and HSI, for students, faculty, professionals, and processes that foster research in STEM and education. Through sharing and transfer abilities of the ESTEEM model to similar institutions, the project has the potential to change the way students are served at an early and critical stage of their higher education experience at CCC, where one in every five community college student in the nation attends a CCC, over 67% of CCC students identify themselves with ethnic backgrounds that are not White, and 40 to 50% of University of California and California State University graduates in STEM started at a CCC, thus making it a key leverage point for recruiting and retaining a more diverse STEM workforce.« less
2. Highlights and Outcomes of the 2021 Global Community Consultation

   https://doi.org/10.3897/biss.5.72716  

   Ellwood, Elizabeth R. ; Bentley, Andrew ; Buschbom, Jutta ; Hardisty, Alex ; Mast, Austin ; Miller, Joe ; Monfils, Anna ; Nelson, Gil ; Paul, Deborah L ( August 2021 , Biodiversity Information Science and Standards)

   International collaboration between collections, aggregators, and researchers within the biodiversity community and beyond is becoming increasingly important in our efforts to support biodiversity, conservation and the life of the planet. The social, technical, logistical and financial aspects of an equitable biodiversity data landscape – from workforce training and mobilization of linked specimen data, to data integration, use and publication – must be considered globally and within the context of a growing biodiversity crisis. In recent years, several initiatives have outlined paths forward that describe how digital versions of natural history specimens can be extended and linked with associated data. In the United States, Webster (2017) presented the “extended specimen”, which was expanded upon by Lendemer et al. (2019) through the work of the Biodiversity Collections Network (BCoN). At the same time, a “digital specimen” concept was developed by DiSSCo in Europe (Hardisty 2020). Both the extended and digital specimen concepts depict a digital proxy of an analog natural history specimen, whose digital nature provides greater capabilities such as being machine-processable, linkages with associated data, globally accessible information-rich biodiversity data, improved tracking, attribution and annotation, additional opportunities for data use and cross-disciplinary collaborations forming the basis for FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable,more »Reproducible) and equitable sharing of benefits worldwide, and innumerable other advantages, with slight variation in how an extended or digital specimen model would be executed. Recognizing the need to align the two closely-related concepts, and to provide a place for open discussion around various topics of the Digital Extended Specimen (DES; the current working name for the joined concepts), we initiated a virtual consultation on the discourse platform hosted by the Alliance for Biodiversity Knowledge through GBIF. This platform provided a forum for threaded discussions around topics related and relevant to the DES. The goals of the consultation align with the goals of the Alliance for Biodiversity Knowledge: expand participation in the process, build support for further collaboration, identify use cases, identify significant challenges and obstacles, and develop a comprehensive roadmap towards achieving the vision for a global specification for data integration. In early 2021, Phase 1 launched with five topics: Making FAIR data for specimens accessible; Extending, enriching and integrating data; Annotating specimens and other data; Data attribution; and Analyzing/mining specimen data for novel applications. This round of full discussion was productive and engaged dozens of contributors, with hundreds of posts and thousands of views. During Phase 1, several deeper, more technical, or additional topics of relevance were identified and formed the foundation for Phase 2 which began in May 2021 with the following topics: Robust access points and data infrastructure alignment; Persistent identifier (PID) scheme(s); Meeting legal/regulatory, ethical and sensitive data obligations; Workforce capacity development and inclusivity; Transactional mechanisms and provenance; and Partnerships to collaborate more effectively. In Phase 2 fruitful progress was made towards solutions to some of these complex functional and technical long-term goals. Simultaneously, our commitment to open participation was reinforced, through increased efforts to involve new voices from allied and complementary fields. Among a wealth of ideas expressed, the community highlighted the need for unambiguous persistent identifiers and a dedicated agent to assign them, support for a fully linked system that includes robust publishing mechanisms, strong support for social structures that build trustworthiness of the system, appropriate attribution of legacy and new work, a system that is inclusive, removed from colonial practices, and supportive of creative use of biodiversity data, building a truly global data infrastructure, balancing open access with legal obligations and ethical responsibilities, and the partnerships necessary for success. These two consultation periods, and the myriad activities surrounding the online discussion, produced a wide variety of perspectives, strategies, and approaches to converging the digital and extended specimen concepts, and progressing plans for the DES -- steps necessary to improve access to research-ready data to advance our understanding of the diversity and distribution of life. Discussions continue and we hope to include your contributions to the DES in future implementation plans.« less
3. Designing a Platform for Ethical Citizen Science: A Case Study of CitSci.org

   https://doi.org/http://doi.org/10.5334/cstp.227  

   Lynn, S.J. ; Kaplan, N. ; Newman, S. ; Scarpino, R. ; Newman, G. ( March 2019 , Citizen science)

   Involving the public in scientific discovery offers opportunities for engagement, learning, participation, and action. Since its launch in 2007, the CitSci.org platform has supported hundreds of community-driven citizen science projects involving thousands of participants who have generated close to a million scientific measurements around the world. Members using CitSci.org follow their curiosities and concerns to develop, lead, or simply participate in research projects. While professional scientists are trained to make ethical determinations related to the collection of, access to, and use of information, citizen scientists and practitioners may be less aware of such issues and more likely to become involved in ethical dilemmas. In this era of big and open data, where data sharing is encouraged and open science is promoted, privacy and openness considerations can often be overlooked. Platforms that support the collection, use, and sharing of data and personal information need to consider their responsibility to protect the rights to and ownership of data, the provision of protection options for data and members, and at the same time provide options for openness. This requires critically considering both intended and unintended consequences of the use of platforms, data, and volunteer information. Here, we use our journey developing CitSci.org tomore »argue that incorporating customization into platforms through flexible design options for project managers shifts the decision-making from top-down to bottom-up and allows project design to be more responsive to goals. To protect both people and data, we developed—and continue to improve—options that support various levels of “open” and “closed” access permissions for data and membership participation. These options support diverse governance styles that are responsive to data uses, traditional and indigenous knowledge sensitivities, intellectual property rights, personally identifiable information concerns, volunteer preferences, and sensitive data protections. We present a typology for citizen science openness choices, their ethical considerations, and strategies that we are actively putting into practice to expand privacy options and governance models based on the unique needs of individual projects using our platform.« less
4. A VISION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF BENCHMARKS TO BRIDGE GEOSCIENCE AND DATA SCIENCE

   Ebert-Uphoff, Imme ; Thompson, David R ; Demir, Ibrahim ; Gel, Yulia R: ; Karpatne, Anuj ; Guereque, Mariana ; Kumar, Vipin ; Cabral-Cano, Enrique ; Smyth, Padhraic ( September 2017 , 17th International Workshop on Climate informatics)

   The massive surge in the amount of observational field data demands richer and more meaningful collab-oration between data scientists and geoscientists. This document was written by members of the Working Group on Case Studies of the NSF-funded RCN on Intelli-gent Systems Research To Support Geosciences (IS-GEO, https:// is-geo.org/ ) to describe our vision to build and enhance such collaboration through the use of specially-designed benchmark datasets. Benchmark datasets serve as summary descriptions of problem areas, providing a simple interface between disciplines without requiring extensive background knowledge. Benchmark data intend to address a number of overarching goals. First, they are concrete, identifiable, and public, which results in a natural coordination of research efforts across multiple disciplines and institutions. Second, they provide multi-fold opportunities for objective comparison of various algorithms in terms of computational costs, accuracy, utility and other measurable standards, to address a particular question in geoscience. Third, as materials for education, the benchmark data cultivate future human capital and interest in geoscience problems and data science methods. Finally, a concerted effort to produce and publish benchmarks has the potential to spur the development of new data science methods, while provid-ing deeper insights into many fundamental problems in modern geosciences. Thatmore »is, similarly to the critical role the genomic and molecular biology data archives serve in facilitating the field of bioinformatics, we expect that the proposed geosciences data repository will serve as “catalysts” for the new discicpline of geoinformatics. We describe specifications of a high quality geoscience bench-mark dataset and discuss some of our first benchmark efforts. We invite the Climate Informatics community to join us in creating additional benchmarks that aim to address important climate science problems.« less
5. A vision for the development of benchmarks to bridge geoscience and data science

   Ebert-Uphoff, I. ; Thompson, D.R. ; Demir, I. ; Karpatne, A. ; Guereque, M. ; Kumar, V. ; Cabral-Cano, E. ; Smyth, P. ( September 2017 , 7th International Workshop on Climate Informatics)

   The massive surge in the amount of observational field data demands richer and more meaningful collab- oration between data scientists and geoscientists. This document was written by members of the Working Group on Case Studies of the NSF-funded RCN on Intelli- gent Systems Research To Support Geosciences (IS-GEO, https://is-geo.org/) to describe our vision to build and enhance such collaboration through the use of specially- designed benchmark datasets. Benchmark datasets serve as summary descriptions of problem areas, providing a simple interface between disciplines without requiring extensive background knowledge. Benchmark data intend to address a number of overarching goals. First, they are concrete, identifiable, and public, which results in a natural coordination of research efforts across multiple disciplines and institutions. Second, they provide multi- fold opportunities for objective comparison of various algorithms in terms of computational costs, accuracy, utility and other measurable standards, to address a particular question in geoscience. Third, as materials for education, the benchmark data cultivate future human capital and interest in geoscience problems and data science methods. Finally, a concerted effort to produce and publish benchmarks has the potential to spur the development of new data science methods, while provid- ing deeper insights into many fundamental problems inmore »modern geosciences. That is, similarly to the critical role the genomic and molecular biology data archives serve in facilitating the field of bioinformatics, we expect that the proposed geosciences data repository will serve as “catalysts” for the new discicpline of geoinformatics. We describe specifications of a high quality geoscience bench- mark dataset and discuss some of our first benchmark efforts. We invite the Climate Informatics community to join us in creating additional benchmarks that aim to address important climate science problems.« less