{"id":2854,"date":"2012-03-31T10:00:21","date_gmt":"2012-03-31T10:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/ofschemesandmemes\/?p=2854"},"modified":"2015-05-14T15:26:23","modified_gmt":"2015-05-14T14:26:23","slug":"communities-happenings-29th-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/ofschemesandmemes\/2012\/03\/31\/communities-happenings-29th-march","title":{"rendered":"Communities Happenings \u2013 29th March"},"content":{"rendered":"

Communities Happenings is a (usually) weekly post with news of interest to NPG\u2019s online communities. The aim is to provide this info in one handy summary. Listings include tweetups and conferences that we\u2019re attending and\/or organising as well as new online tools, products or cool videos. We also occasionally flag up NPG special offers and competitions plus updates about NPG social media activities such as new accounts you might want to follow. Do let us know what you find most useful!
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

SoNYC\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

SoNYC is the monthly discussion series which the nature.com Communities team organises in collaboration with Ars Technica and Rockefeller University. The event is also\u00a0live-streamed<\/a>\u00a0and archived and we create a round-up post including a Storify storyboard of all the online conversations around the event.<\/p>\n

March 20th\u2019s event\u00a0was a re-scheduling of last October\u2019s event on,\u00a0\u201cSetting the research record straight\u201d<\/a>\u00a0which focussed on deterring and detecting plagiarism in scientific papers. The panel featured Retraction Watch blogger, Ivan Oransky, John Kreuger of the Office of Research Integrity and Liz Williams, Executive Editor of The Journal of Cell Biology. As\u00a0we did<\/a>\u00a0for February\u2019s event, we posted preview content on Of Schemes and Memes \u2013 thanks to\u00a0Rich van Noorden<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Dot Clyde<\/a>\u00a0for contributing along with\u00a0Ivan<\/a>\u00a0and others. You can find a write-up of the event\u00a0from Nature NYC blogger Jennifer Cable\u00a0here<\/a>,\u00a0as well as a\u00a0Storify<\/a>\u00a0collating the online conversation. Here is the take-home message as described by\u00a0Jennifer Cable<\/a>:<\/p>\n

It was implied in most of the discussion that retractions are a result of bad science, whether or not there was an initial intent to deceive. However, as John Krueger pointed out, retractions are a healthy part of the scientific process and a well-written retraction notice can contribute as much, if not more, to the advancement of science than the initial manuscript. And, as Liz Williams put it,<\/em>
\n\u201cIf the goal is to preserve the integrity of the scientific literature, then retractions are a sign of progress.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The next SoNYC event will be the first birthday celebration on\u00a0Wednesday May 2nd<\/sup>\u00a0featuring an open mic night for attendees to demo an online tool, app or website that they find useful for communicating or carrying out science online. You can find out more\u00a0information\u00a0 about the birthday celebrations, including how to\u00a0enter, in our summary post<\/a>. In the meantime, keep an eye on the\u00a0#SoNYC\u00a0<\/a>hashtag and feel free to\u00a0get in touch<\/a>\u00a0if you have any questions.<\/p>\n

SoNYC is growing: Announcing SoSEA and SoVan<\/strong><\/p>\n

We’re pleased to be supporting the replication of the SoNYC model in other locations. Over the past week, we’ve announced new events in Seattle<\/a> and Vancouver<\/a>, where local organisers are putting together similar monthly meetings. As these events will be livestreamed and enthusiastically tweeted, you’ll be able to join in the conversations wherever you are, or catch up on the video archives and Storifys of tweets afterwards.<\/p>\n

Soapbox Science specials\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last week the Soapbox Science blog featured a special series on alternative sources of funding for scientists.\u00a0Over the years science funding has changed significantly. Today, researchers are usually funded by a mixture of grants from government agencies, non-profit foundations and institutions. However, with the increasing popularity of social media and the internet, methods used to obtain money may be undergoing a shift. New routes linking funding sources with scientists are being increasingly explored. This special Soapbox Science series focused on the new ways in which science groups and individuals are obtaining funding and how projects such as\u00a0Petridish<\/a>,\u00a0Tekla Labs<\/a>, and\u00a0Kickstarter\u00a0<\/a>may change the future of scientific research.\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>Posts included:<\/p>\n