astronomy

Marina Joubert

Marina Joubert is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Marina Joubert rather than just read about it. In short: Marina Joubert is a senior science communication researcher at The Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology (CREST) at Stellenbosch University. Previously, she was the communication manager for the National Research Foundation and managed her own independent science communication consultancy for a decade.

Key takeaways

Marina Joubert belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Marina Joubert to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Marina Joubert from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Marina Joubert is a senior science communication researcher at The Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology (CREST) at Stellenbosch University. Previously, she was the communication manager for the National Research Foundation and managed her own independent science communication consultancy for a decade. Her consultancy presented the first online course in science communication in Africa. Joubert has been honoured with the NSTF award for "Communication for Outreach and Creating Awareness" and is an honorary life member of the Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) Network (Australia), granted for "distinguished contribution to the international science communication community". She is an outspoken proponent of science communication and opposes anti-vaccination propaganda, and all quackery and pseudoscience in general.

Education and career Joubert obtained her BSc Food Science (Cum Laude) at Stellenbosch University in 1984, followed by BSc Honours (Cum Laude) in 1986 and Journalism Honours (Cum Laude) in 1987. She completed her MSc (Cum Laude) at University of Pretoria in 1989 and her PhD at Stellenbosch University in 2018. From 1989 she worked as communication manager for the Foundation for Research Development, followed by the National Research Foundation (NRF) in 1999. In 2001, Joubert became science communication manager for the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) (part of the NRF). In 2005 Joubert established Southern Science, an independent science communication consultancy, that she managed until March 2014. Part of her work during this time was to co-present science communication workshops, aimed at early-career academics, in conjunction with Robert Inglis and the University of Pretoria. The course was the first online course in science communication in Africa and more than 180 African science communicators had completed this course by 2019. In 2014, Joubert joined the University of Pretoria under contract as research communication specialist and part-time lecturer/researcher at Stellenbosch University. In 2015 she became a senior researcher at Stellenbosch University.

Interviews, conferences, studies Joubert has been interviewed several times as part of her work. In 2017 she participated in the International summit on quackery and pseudoscience held in Stellenbosch. The summit covered areas such as: the rise and dangers of pseudoscience and science denialism, communicating uncertainty in science, health regulation, science in court, the media and pseudoscience, and exploiting the desperately ill, the vulnerable and the ignorant. Her presentation was on "Science-based evidence: Accurate and ethical communication." Joubert was interviewed by Inside Education in 2017 with regards to the journal article In the footsteps of Einstein, Sagan and Barnard: Identifying South Africa’s most visible scientists. In the interview she explained that less than 1% of the scientific workforce appears in public. Therefore, these "visible scientists are increasingly recognised as the new scientific elite, because their high public profiles allow them to spread their ideas, influence policymakers, defend science and promote a culture of science in society. In our society, they are also the role models that shape the public image of science.” In 2018, Joubert said a collaboration was planned with researchers from the United States, UK and Australia with the "study aimed to better understand the messages and claims of anti-vaccination lobby groups and their potential impact on vaccination programmes in South Africa. .... We are hoping to collaborate with a number of countries to see how these groups formulate their arguments, what evidence they use and how they validate their arguments." The study was to run from 2019 to 2021. She has also been interviewed in this regard by CapeTalk radio station.

Awards and associations Amongst the awards presented to Joubert are:

2015 - NSTF award for "Communication for Outreach and Creating Awareness" 2018 - Media Excellence Award from Stellenbosch University Joubert is a member of several organisations, including:

Honorary Life Member of the Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) Network (Australia) for "a distinguished contribution to the international science communication community" The scientific committee of the PCST Network The editorial board of JCOM (Journal of Science Communication) Advisory board of the SAGE journal “Science Communication” Technical editor for Journal of Geoscience Communication South African Women in Science South African Science Journalists’ Association

Selected publications 2017 - Joubert, Marina; Guenther, Lars (29 November 2017). "In the footsteps of Einstein, Sagan and Barnard: Identifying South Africa's most visible scientists". South African Journal of Science. 113 (11/12). Academy of Science of South Africa: 9. doi:10.17159/sajs.2017/20170033. ISSN 1996-7489. 2017 - Joubert, Marina (29 November 2017). "Chris Barnard: South Africa's fallible king of hearts". South African Journal of Science. 113 (11/12). Academy of Science of South Africa: 4. doi:10.17159/sajs.2017/a0243. ISSN 1996-7489. 2018 - Meyer, Corlia; Guenther, Lars; Joubert, Marina (20 March 2018). "The Draw-a-Scientist Test in an African context: comparing students' (stereotypical) images of scientists across university faculties". Research in Science & Technological Education. 37 (1). Informa UK Limited: 1–14. doi:10.1080/02635143.2018.1447455. ISSN 0263-5143. S2CID 148729481. 2019 - Weingart, Peter; Joubert, Marina (14 June 2019). "The conflation of motives of science communication — causes, consequences, remedies". Journal of Science Communication. 18 (3). Sissa Medialab: Y01. doi:10.22323/2.18030401. ISSN 1824-2049.

References

External links Publications by Marina Joubert at ResearchGate Marina Joubert at the Journal of Science Communication Marina Joubert at Taylor & Francis online Website of the South African Agency for Science and Technology Website of CREST at Stellenbosch University Website of Journal of Geoscience Communication Marina Joubert on Facebook

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Marina Joubert

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Marina Joubert claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Marina Joubert before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Marina Joubert ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Marina Joubert

In research: Marina Joubert appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Marina Joubert in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Marina Joubert is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1963 births, Living people, South African scientists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Marina Joubert outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Marina Joubert in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Marina Joubert means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Marina Joubert out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Marina Joubert in simple terms?

Why does Marina Joubert matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Marina Joubert?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Marina Joubert.