Monday 15 March 2010 – National Conference Debrief and WA Catch Up

Join us for an informal get together to meet with current ASC members, hear from Dr Nancy Longnecker about the recent ASC National Conference, and to contribute to the direction of ASC WA in 2010 and beyond. We need to hear from our members in WA with regards to what they expect from their ASC membership. If you cannot make this get together, we want to hear from you – please email Sarah Lau (slau@chemcentre.wa.gov.au) with any thoughts you have regarding ASC, anything you would like to contribute and what you’d like to see from your membership.

Time: 5.30 – 6.30pm

Venue: UWA’s Centre for Learning Technology in the Physics building on the Crawley campus. Entry is via ramp between the Physics and Geography buildings. Go through the glass doors and down steps by the kitchenette, to the basement.

RSVP: Sarah Lau (slau@chemcentre.wa.gov.au) by Sun 14 Mar

ASC WA Survey

Our ASC WA Survey is still open – a big thank you to everyone who has responded so far!

The ASC WA committee would like your input regarding membership and events. The online survey linked below is quick and ‘painless’, and would help us immeasurably in organising ASC WA in 2010 and beyond.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GW286JH

_______________________________________________ ASC-list mailing list list@asc.asn.au http://www.asc.asn.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=97&Itemid=115

For ASC members in Adelaide: Understanding water: Adelaide’s climate and environment Tim Kelly, Craig Simmons, Darren Ray Host: Clare Peddie Tuesday 16 March 6-7.30pm The Science Exchange

Free – booking required. Go to http://waterclimateandenvironment.eventbrite.com

In the first of a series of three events based on the new book Adelaide: Water of a city, three experts join The Advertiser’s science reporter Clare Peddie to discuss the city’s climate and environment and how they affect water management now and in the future.

Taking in alluvial lowlands from Gulf St Vincent and the Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide’s climate is seasonal and highly variable. Our expert panel will explain why – if we are to manage water resources in Adelaide sustainably – we need to consider this and understand how water naturally moves through the city.

[cid:image001.jpg@01CAC114.BFE6C880] Steve Kern Senior Programs Co-ordinator

Ri Australia PO Box 3652 RUNDLE MALL SA 5000 Ph: (08) 7120 8604 | Fax: (08) 8221 6563 | skern@riaus.org.au| www.riaus.org.au The Royal Institution of Australia Inc is a Charitable Institution and is a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) ABN: 98638459658

Think B4U Print 1 ream of paper = 6% of a tree and 5.4kg CO2 in the atmosphere 3 sheets of A4 paper = 1 litre of water

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EL1 – Outreach Operation Manager – Sydney

Closes: COB 18th March 2010 Salary: $79,726 – $85,854 Contact Officer: Mr Allen Rooney (02) 6126 2280

Duties: The primary focus of the Operations Manager is to manage, develop, co-ordinate, promote and present the Questacon Science Squad in the Sydney metropolitan area, and the Questacon Science Play early childhood program in regional and remote Australia.

Employment Details: This is a non-ongoing full time position for a period of 12 months, working Monday to Friday 37.5 hours per week, with flexibility provided by the Questacon Collective Agreement.

APS4 – Education Officer – Sydney

Closes: COB 18th March 2010 Salary: $51,745 – $54,683 Contact Officer: Ms Kelly Osowski on (02) 9209 4110

Duties: The primary focus of this position will be to deliver science and technology based performances in school, preschools and other venues to a range of audiences, within the Questacon Science Squad and Questacon Science Play programs, and may also extend to other Outreach projects.

Employment Details: This is a non-ongoing position for a period of 12 months with the possibility of extension. It is a full time position working Monday to Friday 37.5 hours per week, with flexibility provided by the Questacon Collective Agreement.

For more information, please visit the website: http://www.questacon.edu.au/recruitment/

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED

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Dear ASCers,

Chris Mooney is speaking at the Press Club today. You may recall that he was our opening speaker at the World Conference of Science Journalists in 2007.

Acclaimed science writer to speak at National Press Club

Mr Chris Mooney, author of the controversial New York Times bestselling book, ‘The Republican War on Science’, will speak

at the National Press Club on Wednesday 10th March as part of the program for the 11th annual Science meets Parliament

[SmP].

Organiser of the event, Ms Anna‐Maria Arabia, Executive Director of the Federation of Australian Scientific and

Technological Societies [FASTS] , said Mr Mooney’s thought‐provoking views would be a timely addition to scientific debate

in Australia.

“Globally the integrity and validity of science is being placed under question largely as a result of the climate change

debate. The negativity surrounding science is palpable and is having a detrimental impact on decision makers and young

scientists’ career decisions.

“In Australia policy action by government has already stalled as a result of this negativity and the community is losing

confidence in the scientific research effort.

“Restoring confidence in the peer‐review process and the scientific profession, and raising a deeper awareness of the

importance of the scientific endeavour requires a joint effort.

“Collectively, we must ensure we remain a nation driven by knowledge, not by doubt.

“Chris Mooney is widely respected and will bring to SmP a fresh perspective, challenging many established ideas. He is

abundantly qualified to discuss the importance of distinguishing legitimate research from ideology and unsubstantiated

opinion ,” she said.

AUTHOR BACKGROUND

A senior correspondent for The American Prospect magazine, Chris has achieved widespread acclaim

with The Republican War on Science dubbed “a landmark in contemporary political reporting”

by Salon.com and a “well‐researched, closely argued and amply referenced indictment of the right

wing’s assault on science and scientists” by Scientific American.

His second book Storm World: Hurricanes, Politics, and the Battle Over Global Warming was dubbed

“riveting” by the Boston Globe and selected as a 2007 best book of the year in the science category by

Publisher’s Weekly. Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future was published last year.

Chris Mooney’s writings have been nominated for a National Magazine Award and included in the volumes Best American

Science and Nature Writing 2006. Mooney was also named one of Wired magazine’s top ten “sexiest geeks.”

FOR MEDIA INFORMATION ONLY

Andrew Heslop

0404 038 106

Released 09.03.2010

_______________

Niall Byrne Science in Public

ph +61 (3) 9398 1416 or 0417 131 977 niall@scienceinpublic.com.au

Full contact details at www.scienceinpublic.com/blog http://www.scienceinpublic.com/blog

_______________________________________________ ASC-list mailing list list@asc.asn.au http://www.asc.asn.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=97&Itemid=115

Science Communication Friday Seminar

Movie Showing

This week will be a showing of short films created by UWA Science Communication students in 2009. The films profile emerging researchers.

Location: Centre for Learning Technology, Physics Building UWA Map http://sponsored.uwa.edu.au/spice/contact)

Time & Date: 4-5pm Friday, 12th March 2010

Drinks and Nibbles Provided

Check out the Seminar Calender at http://uwasciencecomm.blogspot.com/

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Links: 3. http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=13668cc7a87872d08c05184a5&id=fee307839b&e=d8ba4a1e8b 4. http://blogspot.us1.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=13668cc7a87872d08c05184a5&id=5f8fda28a3&e=d8ba4a1e8b&c=fee307839b 5. http://blogspot.us1.list-manage.com/profile?u=13668cc7a87872d08c05184a5&id=5f8fda28a3&e=d8ba4a1e8b 6. http://us1.forward-to-friend.com/forward?u=13668cc7a87872d08c05184a5&id=fee307839b&e=d8ba4a1e8b

Assoc Prof Nancy Longnecker

Coordinator, Science Communication Program Faculty of Life and Physical Sciences, M011 The University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Highway Crawley, WA 6009

ph: 61 8 6488 3926 email: nancy.longnecker@uwa.edu.au skype: nancylongnecker

There is no point explaining everything in the universe if no one is listening to you. (UWA Sci Comm student, 2009)

CRICOS Provider No. 00126G

Science Communication Friday Seminar

Movie Showing

This week we will showing a selection of short films profiling emerging researchers, which were created by science and the media students in 2009.

Location: Centre for Learning Technology, Physics Building UWA Map http://sponsored.uwa.edu.au/spice/contact) Time & Date:_ 4-5pm Friday, 12th March 2010 Drinks and Nibbles Provided_

Check out the Seminar Calender at http://uwasciencecomm.blogspot.com/

[3]view email in browser | [4]unsubscribe | [5]update your profile | [6]forward to a friend Links: 3. http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=13668cc7a87872d08c05184a5&id=fee307839b&e=d8ba4a1e8b 4. http://blogspot.us1.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=13668cc7a87872d08c05184a5&id=5f8fda28a3&e=d8ba4a1e8b&c=fee307839b 5. http://blogspot.us1.list-manage.com/profile?u=13668cc7a87872d08c05184a5&id=5f8fda28a3&e=d8ba4a1e8b 6. http://us1.forward-to-friend.com/forward?u=13668cc7a87872d08c05184a5&id=fee307839b&e=d8ba4a1e8b

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Dear fellow South East Queensland ASCers,

It’s once again time for our Branch AGM – hope you can join us for: 1. Debrief and feedback from 2009 events 2. A report back from the ASC conference in February and discussion of the ‘Inspiring Australia’ National science engagement strategy 3. Election of committee positions 4. Discussion around events for 2010.

When: 6pm for 6.30pm start, Tuesday 30 March, 2010.

Where: For a bit of peace and quiet, the meeting will be held at Former Treasurer Lynelle Ross’ house at 1/24 Balmain St, Wooloowin. Wine and nibbles will be provided.

(http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=24+Balma in+St,+Wooloowin&sll=-25.335448,135.745076&sspn=46.019261,67.587891&ie=U TF8&hq=&hnear=24+Balmain+St,+Wooloowin+Queensland+4030&z=16)

RSVP: Please RSVP to me by Friday 26 March 2010.

Survey: To inform our discussions at the AGM, we’d like your input as to what you’d like to see for your membership in 2010. Please take 5 minutes to complete the short survey at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GY278JF. We’d like as many responses to this survey as possible, so please feel free to complete it even if you cannot attend the AGM.

Look forward to seeing you there.

Cheers, Annie

Annie Harris Senior Project Officer Science Engagement Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation Level 10, 111 George Street, Brisbane Qld 4000 PO Box 15168, City East Qld 4002 t: +61 7 3224 2383 f: +61 7 3225 8754 e: annie.harris@deedi.qld.gov.au www.science.qld.gov.au

Business Information Centre 13 25 23 www.deedi.qld.gov.au

Dear ASC-ers,

An issue running through the ASC Annual Conference in February was the threat to science communication in the broad from further erosion of key measures of specialist science reporting and commentary in the media. This may not directly affect the majority of ASC members and conference delegates. Of the 270-odd delegates around only a dozen of us, or ~5%, were specialist science reporters. Most could only stay for a day to appear on a panel, more’s the pity as a good number of the others are employed to gain space or air time in our outlets and both parties would have benefited from more one-on-one contact.

At the conference the Australian Science Media Centre announced its national count of us as being about two dozen. Raising this as an issue is not merely a case of self-interest, though those of us on the inside certainly have a stake in protecting and developing the sector. Christopher Warren, Federal Secretary of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, and Michael Gawenda, former Editor of “The Age” and now at University of Melbourne, spoke strongly at the conference on the core values to the media and society generally of growing the number of long-term specialists, not only in science. It was significant that their cases came from influential observers who are not in-house, so to speak.

Such statistics may only come to life and relevance to the great majority of ASC members on learning of personal experiences from the coal face. These have been usefully supplemented by Robyn Williams and Wilson da Silva in the latest issue of “The Walkley Magazine” of the MEAA, Issue 60, February-March 2010, just out. Thanks to the Editor of The Walkley, I have URLs for these two articles and commend them to ASCers to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest.

http://www.walkleys.com/features/617/http://www.walkleys.com/features/617/ (Robyn Williams, “Facing extinction”)

http://www.walkleys.com/features/616/ (Wilson da Silva, “My science experiment”)

As you assess the “national strategy for science communication” for making comments, you might note that the ABC has been nominated as a “strategic partner” and compare it Robyn’s dismal case study. You must be left wondering how this nomination and (unspecified) expectations came about and their prospects in practice.

My own not-so-sanguine assessment of the “national strategy” will appear in the public prints later on. (I happen to have been the sole reporter present for questioning Science Minister Kim Carr at his “media conference” after he launched the “strategy”, which was not a convincing demonstration to national politics of the importance of our field of work, as expressed ultimately by budget planners.)

Cheers all!

ASC WA Survey

Hello ASC List subscribers in WA,

The ASC WA committee would like your input regarding membership and events. The online survey linked below is quick and ‘painless’, and would help us immeasurably in organising ASC WA in 2010 and beyond.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GW286JH

To hear about the future of science communication in Australia, and have your say on ASC in WA, head to our event on Monday 15 March.

15 March 2010 – National Conference Debrief and WA Catch Up

Join us for an informal get together to meet with current ASC members, hear from Dr Nancy Longnecker about the recent ASC National Conference, and to contribute to the direction of ASC WA in 2010 and beyond. We need to hear from our members in WA with regards to what they expect from their ASC membership. If you cannot make this get together, we want to hear from you – please email Sarah Lau (slau@chemcentre.wa.gov.au) with any thoughts you have regarding ASC, anything you would like to contribute and what you’d like to see from your membership.

Time: 5.30 – 6.30pm

Venue: UWA’s Centre for Learning Technology in the Physics building on the Crawley campus. Entry is via ramp between the Physics and Geography buildings. Go through the glass doors and down steps by the kitchenette, to the basement.

RSVP: Sarah Lau (slau@chemcentre.wa.gov.au) by Fri 12 Mar

_______________________________________________ ASC-list mailing list list@asc.asn.au http://www.asc.asn.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=97&Itemid=115