The Self Reliance Foundation, the fiscal agent for the Hispanic Radio Network, is producing a weekly, live, one-hour Spanish radio talk show. The show would introduce audiences to current breakthroughs in the sciences through science updates, interviews with research scientists and educators, and audience call-ins. The editorial plan is that approximately 20% of the topics for the interview/call-in part of the show will fall within five general categories: Breakthroughs in Science, Opportunities in Science, Science and the Environment, Science and Health, and Technology. The PI would be Jeff Kline, President of the Self Reliance Foundation. The Producer and Co-Project Director would be Javier Sierra, the Washington, DC, Bureau Chief for the Self Reliance Foundation. They would work closely with an advisory committee of approximately 15 Hispanic scientists and heads of organizations serving the Hispanic communities.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Robert RussellJeff KlineJose AponteIsabel BenemelisJavier Sierra
David Grubin Production, Inc., in conjunction with Thirteen/WNET, is producing a multimedia project entitled, The Secret Life of the Brain. The project will examine new understandings into the processes of the human brain that have developed over the last decade. Through an exploration of the brain's normal development from conception through old age, the project conveys the most recent knowledge available. The series will enable audiences to appreciate the current revolution in neuroscience, understand how new technologies have enabled scientists to unearth a wealth of information, and learn how neuroscience research impacts the health and future well-being of the average person. The five one-hour programs in the series will explore the brain from conception through age two, childhood from age two through puberty, adolescence, adulthood, and normal aging process in older age. Educational outreach materials for use in informal and formal setting will include two separate sets of printed materials, one for adolescents and one for adults. A Secret Life of the Brain Web Site will include Brain Games, the Brain Quiz, and the Live Brain that present learning opportunities for adults and teens. The project Principal Investigator will be David Grubin who will serve as Executive Producer. Grubin previously was the producer of Healing and the Mind with Bill Moyers and the critically acclaimed biographies of Lyndon Johnson, Franklin Roosevelt, and Theodore Roosevelt. June Kinoshita, an internationally recognized science reporter and editor, will serve as the Series Science Editor. Lead advisors for each program will be Bruce McEwen, President-elect of the Society for Neuroscience and Professor at Rockefeller University (Program 1); Steve Petersen, Director, Division of Neuropsychology, Dept. of Neurology and Neurological Surgery at the Washington University School of Medicine (Program 2); Steven Hyman, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (Programs 3 & 4); and Carl Cotman, Director for the Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia at the University of California, Irvine (Program 5). Robert Miller of WNET will be responsible for the educational materials to accompany The Secret Life of the Brain.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
David GrubinTamara RobinsonWilliam Grant
Freedom Machines is a one-hour special for public television which will highlight the information about the newest technological advances which support over 54 million Americans with disabilities. Through personal narratives, high-impact storytelling, and a comprehensive public education and outreach campaign, the show will inform viewers about assistive technology (AT) being used, and how it is adapted and designed by people with disabilities. The individuals to be profiled, many of them leaders in science and technological fields, will encourage young people with disabilities to pursue careers in the sciences. Many of the devices and approaches to be featured will also show how valuable these technologies are for the able bodied, general public. The sixty-minute documentary is structured around the themes of Pioneers, Partners and Prophets in order to examine the evolving relationship between technology and the disabled, profile emerging technologies and explore the larger societal implications of this growing phenomenon. A companion website and extensive outreach program will continue the informative material, support and create networks, and promote linkages between viewers, either abled or disabled, and the technology that might benefit them. Technological changes have always been influenced by people with needs beyond the ordinary. This dynamic is even more relevant in today's information age. Freedom Machines will dramatically demonstrate that designing a world of inclusion benefits everyone.
The Fred Friendly Seminars is producing a three-part, prime-time television series about the ethical, legal and social implications of advances in genetic research and technology. The audience for the series is the general public with special emphasis on the scientific and policy-making communities. Each of the programs will begin with a presentation of the basic genetic science linked to a specific ethical and policy issue and then will engage a panel in a Socratic dialogue based on a hypothetical situation related to that issue. The panel will represent a wide range of perspective including scientists, policy makers and people experiencing the dilemmas presenting in the hypothetical situations. Outreach material for the project will be developed by the National Center for Science Literacy, Education and Technology and Exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History. The center will produce a 16-page discussion guide designed for by a variety of informal education organizations that reach the general public. This guide will be available in both print and on the project web site. In addition to the guide, the web site include guidelines about how to use segments of the series as catalysts for discussion, a list of annotated resources on genetics, and a behind-the-scenes look at the genomic research labs of the museum.
SoundVision Productions is producing new programs for "The DNA Files." This highly regarded and very successful radio series is designed to further public understanding of genetic science as well as the ethical, legal and social issues emanating from genetics and biotechnology. These five, new, one-hour programs and feature segments will be on topics that have emerged in recent years as significant developments in the realm of genetic research such as pollution prevention and reduction and the patenting of gene sequences and related genetic information. Specific topics tentatively planned for the new programs include: "The Ecology of Genetic Engineering," "The Genetics of Memory and Aging," "The Genetics of X and the Genetics of WHY," and "Genetic Diseases of the Brain." The programs and features will also introduce those products and processes that, while currently viewed as only future fantasies of the biotech industry, are likely to become real in one or another within the lifetimes of the current generation of public radio listeners. The major outreach component of the project will be via a World Wide Web site. This is a particularly appropriate medium for outreach for this project since demographic studies indicate that most members of the public radio audience have computers and are able to access the web. SoundVision will upgrade the present "The DNA Files" web site to become a more active and integrated part of the project. Every program will have a dedicated section on the web site that will provide expended information and resources beyond those included in the broadcast. The web will provide a forum for public interaction with the issues by engaging the scientists, related experts, policy makers and the public. The project also will make cassette tapes and transcripts of the programs available on request. The PI is Bari Scott, who is the Executive Producer for the series; Jude Thilman will serve as Project Director. The programs are hosted by NBC Dateline reporter John Hockenberry and distributed by National Public Radio. Project advisors in the field of genetics include Elbert Branscomb, Luca Cavalli-Sforza, Troy Duster, Charles Epstein, Ted Friedman, Henry Greely, Leroy Hood, Ruth Hubbard, Sheila Jasanoff, Arthur Kaplan, Daniel Kevles, Mary Clair King, Phillip Kitcher, Julie Korenberg, Michael Malinowski, Desmond Mascarenhas, Pilar Ossario, Gerald Rubin, Lee Silver, and Sylvia Spengler.
WGBH is producing a two-hour NOVA special that will examine the scientific undertaking to decipher all three billion letters of the human genetic code. The program will take viewers inside the labs where this effort is going on and will examine the difficult decisions that are arising from our growing understanding of the human genome. The central narrative thread in "The Human Blueprint" is the extraordinary race now going on between two teams striving to be the first to read, or "sequence," the human genome. On one side is the official Human Genome Project, funded by the federal government and coordinated by the National Human Genome Research Institute; on the other side is private industry, in the form of a well-financed company run by a biologist with a long track record of finding quicker, cheaper ways to plumb the secrets of the genetic code. To support the extended use of the series, "The Human Blueprint" will be featured in the NOVA teachers guide and will be the subject of an enhanced Web sit at NOVA Online. The Executive Producer for the programs will be Paula Apsell, Executive Producer for NOVA, and the series will be produced by Elizabeth Arledge who has produced science programming for WGBH, WNET and CBS News. Dr. Joseph Levine will serve as science consultant to "The Human Blueprint" and will work with the producer to plan program research, suggest sequence possibilities, review program treatments and critique the film at early stages. Dr. Levine has a Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard University and served as the science editor for the WGBH series "The Secret of Life." Advisors to the series include: W. French Anderson, Professor of Biochemistry and Pediatrics and the Director of Gene Therapy Laboratories at the University of Southern California School of Medicine; David Baltimore, President of the California Institute of Technology and Chairman of the NIH AIDS Vaccine Research Committee; Paul Berg, Director of the Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Research at Stanford University; Robin Blatt, Founder of the Genetic Resource at the Massachusetts Health Research Institute; David Blumenthal, Director of the Institute for Health Policy and Professor of Medicine and Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital Robert Cook-Deegan, Director of the National Cancer Policy Board, Institute of Medicine and the Commission on Life Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences; Ronald G. Crystal, Director of the Gene Therapy Core facility at Cornell University Medical College; Georgia M. Dunston, Professor of Microbiology and Acting Director of the National Human Genome Center at Howard University; Philip R. Reilly, Executive Director of the Shriver Center for Mental Retardation; Lydia Villa-Komaroff, Vice President of Research and Professor of Neurology at Northwestern University.
Lichtenstein Creative Media is producing a national public radio series that examines recent advances at the frontiers of brain research and explores the scientific, behavioral, medical and social/ethical implications of those advances. "The Infinite Mind" is a weekly, one-hour program hosted by Dr. Frederick K. Goodwin, former director of the National Institute of Mental Health and head of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health Administration. He is an internationally recognized authority on the brain and behavior. While each program will focus on one specific topic (e.g., "How Children Learn"), the series covers a full spectrum of issues involving the human brain. The format for the programs includes documentary segments, interviews and discussions with research scientists, listener call-ins, guest essays and special reports.
The Educational Broadcasting Corporation (WNET in New York) is developing and producing a new public television project exploring cutting-edge technology. The project consists of an eight-part hourly broadcast component; six 60-second "mini-programs;" a World Wide Web component; and extensive educational outreach targeted to adults aged 25-39 and older. The topics for the eight programs in season one are: Replacements - prosthetic devices and biologically electronic artificial body parts In Search of Eve - the race to decode the human genome Light of the 21st Century - Fiber Optics Nanotechnology - molecular manipulation of materials Technospy - technologies used to gain information Sports Technology - the pursuit of better equipment and training regimes Artificial Intelligence - efforts to create computers the mimic human intelligence Appropriate Technologies - technologies that use local, inexpensive material Beth Hoppe, WNET's Director of Science Programs will serve as Executive Producer for the series. Each of the programs would be produced by an independent producer selected by WNET. Content advisors include: Angela Christiano, Departments of Dermatology, Genetics and Development, Columbia University; Sheila Sen Jasanoff, Harvard University JFK School of Government; Horace Freeland Judson, Center for History of Recent Science, George Washington University; Michio Kaku, theoretical physicist, CUNY and host, Explorations radio series; Wilfred Pinfold, Microprocessor Research Labs, Intel Corp.; and Barbara Wilson, chief technologist, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Beth HoppeTamara RobinsonWilliam GrantBarbara Flagg
This Phase I SEPA proposal supports a consortium of science and education partners that will develop System Dynamics (SD) computer models to illustrate basic health science concepts. The consortium includes Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU), Portland Public Schools (PPS), Saturday Academy, and the Portland VA Medical Center. SD is a computer modeling technique in which diagrams illustrate system structure and simulations illustrate system behavior. Desktop computers and commercial software packages allow SD to be applied with considerable success in K-12 education. NSF grants to Portland Public Schools have trained over 225 high school teachers in Portland and surrounding areas. Two magnet programs have been established with an emphasis on systems and at least five other schools offer significant systems curriculum. Major components of this project include (1) Annual summer research internships at OHSU for high school teachers and high school students, (2) Development of SD models relevant to each research project, (3) Ongoing interactions between high school science programs and OHSU research laboratories, (4) Development of curriculum materials to augment the use of the SD model in the high school classroom or laboratory setting, and (5) Development of video materials to support the classroom teacher. Content will focus on four fundamental models: linear input/exponential output, bi-molecular binding (association/dissociation), population dynamics, and homeostasis. Each of these models is very rich and may be extended to a broad variety of research problems. In addition these models may be combined, for example to illustrate the effect of drugs (binding model) on blood pressure (homeostasis model). System Dynamics is an exemplary tool for the development of materials consistent with National Science Education Standards. SD was specifically developed to emphasize interactions among system structure, organization, and behavior. Students use these material as part of inquiry-based science programs in which the teacher serves as a guide and facilitator rather than the primary source of all content information; technical writing by students is also encouraged. Finally, these SD materials will provide a coherent body of work to guide the ongoing professional development of the classroom science teacher.
JOURNEY TO PLANET EARTH is a new television science series and outreach initiative from Emmy award- winning producers Marilyn and Hal Weiner. With a comprehensive informal and formal education program designed by the Chicago Academy of Sciences, the project will educate and motivate millions of people about the most important health and environmental issues of the 21st century. Against a backdrop of scientific findings illustrating the complexity and fragility of the Earth's natural systems, the series will provide a much needed perspective to help students and the general public understand and cope with the difficulties of developing a global agenda that addresses the health and environmental concerns of the next millennium. JOURNEY TO PLANET EARTH's outreach initiative targets middle-school aged youth in a variety of informal and formal educational contexts, including ten of the country's leading science museums. It is supported by a comprehensive evaluation program and strategic outreach partnerships with organizations such as the North American Association for Environmental Education, the Geological Survey, the International Food Policy Research Institute, the National 4-H, the Department of Agriculture's Classroom Program, the GLOBE Program and AAAS.
The Self-Reliance Foundation (SRF) requests Phase II support from NIH for the "Hispanic Role Model and Science Education Outreach Project." The project's goal is to develop daily, nationally broadcast, Spanish-language radio programming which encourages the development of science literacy in relation to biomedical research, introduces careers in biomedical research and other health sciences, and provides parents with information on how their children can achieve academic success. In addition, SRF proposes to support further learning through an 800-telephone number outreach service which links listeners with information and local resources, a related Web site with resources and links related to program topics, and a weekly newspaper column. SRF's daily programs reach a cumulative weekly audience of over two million. Through the proposed three year project, SRF can produce 90 short-form (two to five minute) and six one-hour programs on biomedical research, science education, and careers that will reach over two to three million listeners each week in the U.S. and additional listeners throughout the Western Hemisphere. The radio programs are already broadcast daily or weekly on over 100 Spanish-language stations reaching 80% of U.S. Hispanics. The programs will bring listeners the latest information on biomedical findings and how to use this information in everyday life, inspirational interviews with Hispanic biomedical research scientists, and practical information for students and parents on how to pursue careers at all levels in biomedical research fields and the health professions. Through partnerships with the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), the National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services Organizations (COSSMHO), the ASPIRA Association, and other national groups, SRF will identify Hispanic biomedical research scientists and health care practitioners as experts in the development of editorial content of shows and as guests for role model interview shows.