Week 5/5: outline and abstract

Struggles in Scientific Storytelling

Outline:

1)    The kairotic struggle of English Second Language biomedical researchers

2)    Kairos

a)    The origins of kairos

b)    The modern resurrection of kairos

3)    Modern applications of kairos in science and medicine

a)    Kairos in scientific publications

b)    Impact of inequalities

4)    Strategies to eliminate non-scientific barriers

a)    Developing individualized workaround strategies

b)    Editing assistance

c)    Training

d)    Reference books

e)    Discourse community socialization

5)    Gatekeepers: academic journals editors and peer-reviewers

a)    Journal editors

b)    Constructing constructive comments – improving peer-review

6)    In closing

Abstract

Biomedicine is a global discipline – where researches collaborate and compete to further scientific discovery and to develop cures for disease regardless of their country of origin or current place of residency. English is the universal language used by biomedical researchers - placing English Second Language (ESL) researchers at a distinct disadvantage is this global community. Knowing and being able to communicate the right message at the proper time – kairos – is not a trivial task for native English speakers, and it can be a significant hurdle of ESL researchers. Examining the evolution of the meaning and usage of kairos over time provides a lens to evaluate the hurdles that ESL authors face and provides a foundation to develop strategies to overcome inequities.