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Post by ncsuhobbyresearch on Aug 30, 2013 5:53:18 GMT -8
Are you an insect collector?We need your help with a new National Science Foundation sponsored research study that will investigate the characteristics and educational experiences of people who are active in science hobbies. More and more people are engaging in science hobbies; schools and science centers would like to know more about the characteristics of science hobbyists and how these organizations might better support hobbyists’ networking and education. What will happen if you take part in the study?The information gained from this research can help science educators and researchers understand how to better teach science in schools and museums, and how to design better community-based science programs. Participation in this study is voluntary. Information you provide will be anonymous. If you complete the survey, you may elect to enter a drawing for a $100 Target gift card. Survey Link: tinyurl.com/NCSUhobbysurveyPlease feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. Thanks! Elysa Corin Research Assistant Dr. Gail Jones Professor North Carolina State University ced_stemhobby@ncsu.edu For more information about our research: www.ncsu.edu/project/scienceEd/hobby.html*Research participants must be at least 18 years old and live in the United States.
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Post by exoticimports on Aug 30, 2013 9:16:49 GMT -8
Most amateur entomologists are self trained.
The roadblock to beneficial science hobbyists isn't education, it's US government.
We don't need research into the hobby. We don't need networking, as you can see we have that. We need limitations on the US government and agencies.
Eliminate the Lacey Act. Put CITES under control of a real institution. Eliminate taxes, licensing requirements, and other barriers to importing/exporting dead specimens. Embargo Mexico and other countries that do not allow study, including butterfly collecting.
If NSF or NCSU want to study something, study the adverse effects on science caused by ill-conceived and beauracratic regulations.
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Post by Adam Cotton on Aug 30, 2013 9:35:38 GMT -8
More and more people are engaging in science hobbies; That is correct if you count playing video games and watching music videos on YouTube as 'science hobbies'. Most of the young people nowadays are not at all interested in entomology or similar hobbies. As a result the average age of entomologists is increasing rapidly, and the number of people engaged in the hobby is gradually decreasing as the 'old boys/girls' leave us for the great entomologists' paradise in the sky (or whatever you believe in). A large part of the blame for this rests on the modern distractions available to young people, but also the active discouragement in many countries where collecting is banned or regarded as a form of murder. It is virtually impossible to capture the interest of kids if they are not allowed to run around waving nets without either the police coming round or being told how badly they are behaving. Adam.
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Post by nomad on Aug 30, 2013 10:00:01 GMT -8
I agree, recently I have heard that one Major British butterfly enthusiast remarked, that it was VERY SAD to see young people putting specimens into store boxes at the London Insect fair, collectors of any insects in the U.K are treated as lepers by the majority of today's Entomologists.
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rjb
Full Member
Posts: 187
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Post by rjb on Aug 30, 2013 18:48:23 GMT -8
I filled out your survey, but I strongly agree with the above comments. Other science hobbies are suffering also. I became a chemist because as a child I got a chemistry set that showed me how exciting chemistry could be. Today in the US it is almost impossible to experience that excitement, no one will sell comparable chemistry sets, it is not "safe" enough in our current culture. Can't really be a chemistry hobbyist anymore.
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Post by ncsuhobbyresearch on Aug 31, 2013 5:32:43 GMT -8
Hi rjb,
Thank you for filling out our survey. We really appreciate your participation and your comments. With our results, we hope to provide educators and policy makers useful information about the current state of science hobbies in the United States. Part of this will include information about what supports and hinders hobbyists in their hobby involvement. There is very little research currently available on science hobbyists, we hope much good can come from this research. Thank you for adding information about your experiences to our study!
Best, Elysa
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Post by Adam Cotton on Aug 31, 2013 10:02:39 GMT -8
Sorry I can't join in, I'm British and live in Thailand so I just don't qualify although I am over 18. I do appreciate the objectives of your study and hope you can obtain plenty of useful data that might even improve things long term, at least in the USA.
Adam.
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Post by admin on Sept 1, 2013 16:44:20 GMT -8
I filled out your survey, but I strongly agree with the above comments. Other science hobbies are suffering also. I became a chemist because as a child I got a chemistry set that showed me how exciting chemistry could be. Today in the US it is almost impossible to experience that excitement, no one will sell comparable chemistry sets, it is not "safe" enough in our current culture. Can't really be a chemistry hobbyist anymore. Hey, that's interesting. When I was 7 years old I sold Christmas cards door-to-door to win enough points to get a Gilbert chemistry set. I'll never forget how much fun it was. It opened so many doors to me. That got me hooked on science from a very young age and now here I am today, in the sciences. But you are right, by today's standards fooling around with chemistry sets may get you unwanted attention from the National Security Administration.
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rjb
Full Member
Posts: 187
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Post by rjb on Sept 2, 2013 4:37:50 GMT -8
NSA worries about terrorists, others worry about drugs and the marketers of chemistry sets worry about litigation. All result in a restriction in the availability of chemicals to hobbyists. I know some rocket-hobbyists who reacted to NSA restrictions on interstate transport of rocket engines by cooking up rocket fuel in their kitchens when they couldn't buy the engines through the mail. How safe is that?
We insect-hobbyists do not have enough numbers to influence our legislators concerning collecting restrictions. Maybe we need an organization of all science hobbyists that could mutually oppose government attempts to ruin anyone's hobby. Who would organize it? Not me- I only care about my beetles. Rick
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tims
New Member
Posts: 12
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Post by tims on Sept 3, 2013 7:17:18 GMT -8
I'm thinking that the term hobbyist is less then adequate for many of us; also, let's through out the term amateur, it is demeaning. There is a point where one transitions from an activity that amuses one's self to where the activity is a personal passion. And, if a collector or breeder of insects want to call himself or herself an entomologist, by all means he/she should do so, without any need for clarifying adjectives.
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Post by admin on Sept 3, 2013 9:25:16 GMT -8
Nice avatar tims.
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Post by ncsuhobbyresearch on Sept 3, 2013 10:13:22 GMT -8
I'm thinking that the term hobbyist is less then adequate for many of us; also, let's through out the term amateur, it is demeaning. There is a point where one transitions from an activity that amuses one's self to where the activity is a personal passion. And, if a collector or breeder of insects want to call himself or herself an entomologist, by all means he/she should do so, without any need for clarifying adjectives. Hi tims, Within the scope of this project, we use the term "hobbyist" to refer to people who spend their free time engaging in a science pursuit of their choosing. For example - we would consider an astrophysicist to be an astronomy hobbyist only if they spent some of their free time, outside their professional obligations, in pursuit of their astronomy interest. (It is interesting to note that astronomy hobbyists commonly refer to themselves as amateur astronomers, whereas the term amateur may not be acceptable within the insect collecting community.) We made this distinction so people with and without formal training in their area of science expertise would be eligible to take part in our study. I agree with you, though - there is certainly a lot of grey area in the words used to describe these leisure activities and the people who pursue them. Most of the terms currently in use refer to a person's level of certification in a subject area and not necessarily how passionate they are about that subject. Best, Elysa
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Post by wingedwishes on Sept 3, 2013 11:27:44 GMT -8
As complicated as English is, there are any number of labes to use to indicate degreed entomoligists and others. Collector, breeder, retailer, hobbyist, expert, researcher, behaviorist, and many more terms can be used to group the majority of us.
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Post by joee30 on Sept 7, 2013 22:29:32 GMT -8
It'd be nice if there was less crack downs on collectors for what we do as a hobby. In the end, all our specimens end up in a museum one way or another. Sadly, people think that we are evil for killing beautiful butterflies, but think you are weird if you are collecting locusts, cicadas, beetles, and other families.
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Post by ncsuhobbyresearch on Oct 1, 2013 10:37:39 GMT -8
Hello, To those of you who have filled out our survey and participated in our research, I thank you. Your insights and experiences as insect collectors are invaluable in understanding the issues facing science hobbyists in the United States. I'm posting because we need 5 more insect collectors to respond to our survey. If you are interested in participating, I encourage you to do so. If you have any questions, please feel free to respond here or contact me at: ced_stemhobby@ncsu.edu Survey Link: tinyurl.com/NCSUhobbysurveyBest, Elysa
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