Monthly Archives: April 2013

Jobs: ASC seeking paid (and volunteer) writers!!

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Get creative, gain new skills, make a difference to ASC

Location: anywhere in Australia with broadband internet access
Payment: per article for Inspiring Australia articles; love and appreciation for other writing.

We all know that writing is a critical skill for science communicators. The ASC needs people that can contribute to a number of writing projects, some are paid (money) and some are volunteer (paid for with thanks, adoration, and a growing prominent public portfolio of pieces as an ASC Writer).

1. Inspiring Australia Updates: Writing posts to ASC website about Inspiring Australia activities and projects. Writers for this task will need to deliver to a set structure and adhere to a style guide. Payment is a flat fee per post. For more details please contact Jesse.Shore@prismaticsciences.com

2. Website posts: You can do this now as all members have access to the ASC website (set up in WordPress)… To get some experience and write content you just need to get the latest login and get cracking. Kali and Claire can provide support to get your articles up there. Payment is a byline, love and adoration.

3. Articles for SCOPE: This is writing fun stuff for our monthly member newsletter. This newsletter goes straight to the inboxes of 400+ members! What a great way to get exposure and have some articles for your portfolio… Payment is a byline, love and adoration.

To express your interest for the above fun times, please send:

a)    a CV

b)    a statement noting which jobs you are interested in

c)     examples of your writing

d)    a statement addressing the selection criteria below:

  1. Established interest in science communication
  2. Writing and editing experience
  3. Enthusiasm!

Applications are invited by e-mail no later than 5 pm on 24 May 2013 to Claire Harris (ASC Vice President) at: jobs@asc.asn.au

Applications must be submitted in PDF or Word 2003/2007 format (.doc or .docx). Candidates must be current financial members of ASC.

If you have any questions about the roles generally, please email jobs@asc.asn.au

Job: ASC seeking Scope newsletter Editor

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Have your finger on the pulse, gain new skills, make a difference to ASC

Location: anywhere in Australia with broadband internet access
Honorarium: $150 (+GST) per issue, with the expectation of 10 to 11 issues produced per year.

Scope is the monthly online newsletter of the Australian Science Communicators (ASC), a network of 400 + professional science and technology communicators across Australia and overseas.

The current Editor, Sally Miles, is resigning due to competing commitments, so ASC is looking for a new Editor (or two co-editors) effective from the June 2013 issue. Sally will be available to handover to the new Editor to ensure a smooth transition into the role.

The role includes the following activities:

  • Sourcing content from ASC branches, members and web editors (usually in the first two weeks of the month)
  • Occasionally interviewing people (members and non-members) for profile pieces
  • Listing recent news items or summarising topical stories to keep members up to date on current science communication issues
  • Editing content for consistency of style and formatting including permalinks, extracts and tagging
  • Working with the membership officer to ensure the member distribution list and log-in activation codes are current
  • Formatting the month’s material into short ‘teaser’ formats with click-throughs
  • Managing images and checking we have rights to use images in newsletter
  • Circulating (via Mail Chimp) to the membership on the third Thursday of the month
  • Responding to feedback from members, the National Executive
  • Attending the monthly ASC Communication team meeting and providing input (or driving) Scope planning
  • Liaising with the webmaster, membership officer, web editors and the national president as needed.

The key selection criteria for this role are:

  • Established interest in science communication
  • Computer and internet literacy, in particular familiarity (or can quickly get familiarity) with WordPress, MailChimp, Dropbox, Word/Pages, PowerPoint, Keynote
  • Excellent time management skills
  • Capacity to commit ~15 hours per month to ASC activities.

Applications are invited by email no later than 5 pm on 19 May 2013 for the attention of Claire Harris (ASC Vice President) at:  jobs@asc.asn.au

Please include a brief CV (two pages maximum) and a statement addressing the selection criteria with relevant evidence along with contact details of two professional referees (one page maximum). Applications must be submitted in PDF or Word 2003/2007 format (.doc or .docx). Candidates must be current financial members of ASC.

If you have any technical questions about the role, email Sally at: editor@asc.asn.au

Cheer squad, critic or crusader? Science and medical writers today

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17 May 2013
6:00 pmto8:00 pm

Cheer squad or critic? Awareness raiser, crusader or watchdog? What is the role of science and medical writers today?

Join us for a discussion on this, and more, by a panel of expert science and medical writers in Sydney on 17 May. This is a joint event of the Australian Science Communicators and the Australasian Medical Writers’ Association.

Our speakers are:

  • Jane McCredie — executive director of the NSW Writers’ Centre
  • Mikey Slezak — Australasian correspondent for New Scientist
  • Bianca Nogrady — freelance journalist, author and broadcaster.

As well as the role of science and medical writers they’ll be covering:

  • employment options
  • audiences, styles and philosophies in science and medical writing
  • relationships with other fields.

This session is for anyone who cares about the public discussion of science and medicine.

Place: Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, 280 Pitt St, Sydney (near Bathurst St) smsa.org.au

Drinks and nibbles start at 6 pm, discussion begins at 6:30 pm (for about an hour).

Seating is limited and bookings are essential:
http://scienceandmedicine.eventbrite.com.au/

Cost: Free for ASC and AMWA members; $10 for the general public

Enquiries: Helen Sim 0419 635 905 (voice or text)

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Jane McCredie is an author and journalist specialising in science and medicine. She is co-editor with Natasha Mitchell  of this year’s anthology of The Best Australian Science Writing and writes a weekly blog on medicine for the Medical Journal of Australia’s electronic sister publication, mjainsight.com.au. Her book on the science of sex and gender, Making Girls and Boys, was published in Australia in 2011 and in the US (under the title, Beyond X and Y) in 2012. The former popular science publisher at NewSouth Books, Jane is now executive director of the NSW Writers’ Centre.

Michael Slezak is New Scientist’s Australasian correspondent. Since starting there a year ago, he’s written about everything from dinosaur footprints to space mining, and covered every twist and turn in the Higgs boson story. Before that, he spent two years as a medical journalist at Reed Business Information and studied and taught philosophy of science at the University of Sydney.

Bianca Nogrady is a freelance science journalist, broadcaster and author, who is yet to meet a piece of research she doesn’t find fascinating. In nearly a decade of freelance reporting, she has written for publications including Scientific American, The Australian, Ecos magazine, Australian Doctor and the ABC’s health, science and environment websites. She is also author of The End: The Human Experience Of Death (in bookstores this month) and co-author of The Sixth Wave: How To Succeed In A Resource-Limited World (2010).

 

SA Branch Event: Stargazing Night at the Heights Observatory

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The Heights Observatory is one of the best – but little known – stargazing venues in Adelaide. It is the best equipped school observatory in South Australia, located just 20 minutes from the Adelaide CBD.

Our visit will highlight the work done at the observatory; provide a tour of the facility; and offer the opportunity to look through the telescopes at a number of objects in the night sky.

 Australian Science Communicators members, families and friends; the general public; teachers and students are welcome to join us. Numbers are limited so bookings are essential.

When: Saturday April 20 at 7:00 pm

Bookings at: www.heightsvisit.eventbrite.com.au

Where: The Heights School, Brunel Drive, Modbury Heights, SA, 5092. (The car park is situated off Augusta Street. Walk across the school playing fields to the observatory buildings – please do not drive on the grass.)

 Cost:  $5 for ASC members. $10 for non-members

Money raised will go to the STAR group – a volunteer organisation comprised of school students, parents and interested members of the community that operates and maintains the facility.

Technical Notes: The Heights Observatory is a purpose built facility consisting of two buildings. The Papaelia Observatory is a traditional domed observatory housing a 355mm (14″) Meade LX200 GPS ACF Schmidt Cassegrain telescope while the adjacent Ingham rooms are a flat top retractable roof observatory housing a high quality 315mm (12.5″) Ritchey–Chrétien Cassegrain telescope from Optical Guidance System and a. small classroom. The Observatory also has a 405mm (16″) Meade Light-Bridge Dobsonian, a  255mm (10″) GSO Dobsonian, and 80mm Celestron NextSTAR GT GOTO scope.  It has a QHY8 cooled CCD camera and Canon 40D DSLR camera for astronomical imaging.

WA Branch Monthly Social

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12 April 2013
5:30 pmto7:00 pm

The WA Branch invites you to our regular social gatherings for 2013. The first will be held this Friday, 5.30pm at Steve’s in Nedlands. These will be held at the same location every 2nd Friday of each month. See you there!

ASC SA Journal Club: Are scientists susceptible to a soundbite?

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ASCSA journal club is a social way to keep up with current research in science communication and to refine your skills in critical analysis. We’ll review selected articles in groups and also share ideas on the best journals to watch and the best tools for searching for and collating articles.

This month we’ll be reviewing a recently published paper looking whether the framing of a press release (in this case, estimating the date of fisheries collapse) results in more citations in the peer-reviewed literature mentioning that projection (spoiler alert….yes!)  As blogger Dr Bik asks “are us scientists just as prone to believe soundbites promoted by press releases and the media, particularly for hyped-up papers outside our own discipline?”

6.00 – 7.30 pm, Tuesday 9th of April, Science Exchange, Adelaide.

Free for ASCSA and RiAus members / $10 non-members – pay at the door. Please register at http://ascsajournalclub.eventbrite.com.au/

The open access paper can be downloaded here: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0056723

Blog discussions here: http://deepseanews.com/2013/03/media-hype-gets-you-more-citations-well-it-did-for-this-fisheries-paper/