Seminar: Citizen Science and Social Innovation for Air Quality

Dozent:innen: Prof. Dr. Petra Ahrweiler; Blanca Luque Capellas
Kurzname: S Techniksoziologie
Kurs-Nr.: 02.149.16911
Kurstyp: Seminar

Voraussetzungen / Organisatorisches

Zielgruppe:

1. Bachelor Studierende im Studiengang Soziologie (Kernfach) [po 2011, 2016]
   
2. Bachelor Studierende im Studiengang Soziologie (Beifach) [po 2016]
   
3. Bachelor Studierende im Studiengang Wirtschaftspädagogik (Schwerpunktfach "Sozialwissenschaften")
   

Stellung im Studiengang:

1. B.A. Soziologie Kernfach: Modul "Wahlveranstaltung Soziologie (Vertiefung)" [po 2011]
   
2. B.A. Soziologie Kernfach: Vertiefungsveranstaltung im Modul "Vertiefungs- und Wahlveranstaltungen 1" [po 2016]
   

bzw.

1. B.A. Soziologie Kernfach: Vertiefungsveranstaltung im Modul "Vertiefungs- und Wahlveranstaltungen 2" [po 2016]
   
2. B.Sc. Wirtschaftspädagogik Schwerpunktfach "Sozialwissenschaften": Modul "Aufbaumodul Soziologie"
   

Anwesenheitspflicht

Wer in der ersten Sitzung unentschuldigt fehlt, gibt damit seinen Platz frei. Eine vorherige formlose Entschuldigung bei der Lehrperson per Mail genügt. Es ist kein ärztliches Attest erforderlich.

Inhalt

Description:
Social Innovation involves the creation and implementation of new ideas, practices and policies designed to address social challenges and enhance the well-being of citizens. By engaging public authorities, civil society, academia and the private sector, these innovations seek to generate social impact and empower communities to actively participate in driving change. 
Citizen Science (CS) is such a social innovation: It changes the ways how science is done – not only by scientists but by the proverbial people in the street collecting data and helping scientists to do their job. It has the potential to change personal behaviours, influence city decision making and even contribute to achieving wider policy goals.  Each volunteer citizen scientist can and will make a difference.  
Air quality monitoring, measuring and improvement is an area where CS is very promising, because here, we need more data points for better decision-making.
One in eight EU citizens are living in urban areas where air pollutant levels exceed EU air quality standards. The impact of poor air quality is far reaching on the environment and has disastrous impacts on animals, human health, and economic growth. 
 
The course will include a student project on air quality monitoring and analysis on the JGU campus. It will demonstrate how to implement a CS project that is scientifically sound, inclusive and policy-relevant; how to mix and match methods to collect hyperlocal information on traffic and air pollution; how to increase the quality of CS data, so that CS datasets can be used to inform planning decisions; how to improve the uptake of CS results with stakeholders through innovative data visualisations and stakeholder engagement techniques e.g. data cafes.
 
The course will be delivered in four working phases partly be carried out in small groups.
 
Phase 1 “Exploratory” is about urban challenges related to air quality. 
Topics:
Citizen science against air pollution (Air pollution: the invisible killer; air quality monitoring in the EU; citizen-led air quality monitoring: opportunities and challenges; how to build resilient communities to fight air pollution) 
Laying the groundwork for a citizen science project (Experiment co-creation; ensuring quality in citizen-led monitoring; policy relevance)
 
Phase 2 “Experimental”: is about citizens measuring air quality and traffic.
Topics:
Stakeholder engagement (Engagement with community champions; universities as an early gateway to citizen science; bringing at-risk communities into the topic) 
Data collection (Affordable IoT devices for urban sensing; data collection activities) 
We will find out what is the situation on campus (traffic and air pollution exposure on JGU campus for students and other university members approaching campus, moving on campus, and leaving campus); what is driving people who want change; how a potential CS project on campus could look like.
We will source and test simple data collection methods for our project, and we will collect data.
 
Phase 3 “Analytical” is about analysing CS data using digital tools and discussing within the community to inform future activities.
Topics:
Data analysis (Improving trust in citizen science data: distant cloud-based calibration; digital innovation in citizen science; data cafe: peer discussion as a form of analysis). 
We will use dynamic dashboards and data analysis for understandable results and find formats to present data in an ethical and explainable way. We will turn the data collected into a source of relevant information for all the stakeholders involved, aimed to understand how air pollution impacts their daily lives at the campus and to analyse what kind of policy measures can be implemented to improve the situation.
 
Phase 4 “Transformative” is about integrating CS results into institutional structures and lifestyle habits to drive sustainable change.
Topics:
Impact and sustainability (Citizen science in policy evaluation; citizen science beyond classroom education; behavioral change towards sustainable lifestyles).
We will use CS results and methods to stimulate innovation and change, in individuals and communities, as well as on an institutional level, planning knowledge transfer to local communities.
 
Course materials are based on the EU project “Community Observation Measurement & Participation in AIR Science” (COMPAIR; https://www.wecompair.eu).
 
Learning outcomes:

1. Good awareness of the principles of air quality monitoring, the harmful effect air pollution has on people and cities, and how the problem has been tackled on different levels and scales
   
2. Insights on how to establish a solid foundation for a citizen science project, focusing on three key pillars: co-creation, policy relevance, and the quality of experiment design
   
3. A well-rounded knowledge of stakeholder engagement techniques that help make citizen science more inclusive of different social groups
   
4. Practical skills rooted in hands-on experience of using digital tools to analyse and make sense of citizen science findings through advanced yet intuitive data analytics
   

Assignments:

1. “Student quizzes” during the course as suggested by the COMPAIR project
   
2. Active participation in work groups during course
   
3. Homework (Hausarbeit)
   

Zusätzliche Informationen

In den Modulen 09 und 10 (Kernfach) bzw. Modul 06 (Beifach) müssen jeweils ein Vertiefungsseminar und eine Wahlveranstaltung belegt werden. 

Pro Modul muss in einem der Seminare eine Hausarbeit geschrieben werden. Das Thema der Hausarbeit ist im Vorfeld mit der Betreuungsperson abzusprechen. Die Annahme von Hausarbeiten, deren Thema nicht im Vorfeld besprochen wurde, kann abgelehnt werden. Dies ersetzt nicht die Anmeldung zur Prüfungsleistung in Jogustine.

Weitere Informationen zu den Vertiefungs- und Wahlveranstaltungen finden Sie hier: https://www.soziologie.uni-mainz.de/studienverlauf-und-modulhandbuecher/ 

Weitere Informationen zur Anfertigung einer Hausarbeit finden Sie hier: https://www.soziologie.uni-mainz.de/files/2020/08/Handreichung-zur-Anfertigung-von-Hausarbeiten.pdf

Termine

Datum (Wochentag)	Zeit	Ort
16.04.2025 (Mittwoch)	10:15 - 11:45	02 751 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi)
23.04.2025 (Mittwoch)	10:15 - 11:45	02 751 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi)
30.04.2025 (Mittwoch)	10:15 - 11:45	02 751 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi)
07.05.2025 (Mittwoch)	10:15 - 11:45	02 751 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi)
14.05.2025 (Mittwoch)	10:15 - 11:45	02 751 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi)
21.05.2025 (Mittwoch)	10:15 - 11:45	02 751 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi)
28.05.2025 (Mittwoch)	10:15 - 11:45	02 751 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi)
04.06.2025 (Mittwoch)	10:15 - 11:45	02 751 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi)
11.06.2025 (Mittwoch)	10:15 - 11:45	02 751 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi)
18.06.2025 (Mittwoch)	10:15 - 11:45	02 751 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi)
25.06.2025 (Mittwoch)	10:15 - 11:45	02 751 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi)
02.07.2025 (Mittwoch)	10:15 - 11:45	02 751 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi)
09.07.2025 (Mittwoch)	10:15 - 11:45	02 751 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi)
16.07.2025 (Mittwoch)	10:15 - 11:45	02 751 Seminarraum 1137 - Georg-Forster-Gebäude (Sowi)