Do not miss the Science of Being Human which will kick start the Australian Science Festival tomorrow night (Monday, August 2) at CSIRO Discovery Centre, Canberra, from 6.30pm. Below is a detailed description of the 3 hour free event which gives a rare expert insight into human behaviour. Hope to see you there. All Australian Science Festival events from August 2 to 15 can be found at www.sciencefestival.com.au.

Everyday people do what they do best – be humans. Rarely do they question how or why they do what they do in order to achieve this, but there are scientists all over the world who do. Often these scientists are engaged by military and national security agencies and subsequently the results of their research are not always very accessible.

This three hour seminar will bring the science behind three key Human Skills out into the open through three consecutive, autonomous, interactive presentations.

The first, the Science of Emotion will explore how the work of World renown psychologist Paul Ekman has been refined and translated into tools that are used by national security agencies and the subject of such television shows as Lie to Me. It will explore the scientific answers to questions such as: • Why do we have emotions? • How do they affect the body and the mind? • Why does emotion “leak” out of our bodies? • Is emotion the only universal indicator? • What are micro-expressions and why don’t we normally see them?

The second, the Science of Persuasion is based on the work of the most quoted Social Scientist in the World, Dr Robert Cialdini. Utilised by the largest corporations in the world, the extensive, yet relatively unpublished research, reveals why some people can get others to do what they want them to, yet others cannot. It will examine how the science explains: • Why we want things that are scare more than those that are plentiful? • Why we try and keep up with the “Jones”? • How authority influences our choices? • What makes a good gift?

The third, the Science of Deception combines various work of law enforcement, national security and military agencies and challenges the myths that some television shows perpetuate. It will examine how science has shown that: • Humans are not very good at detecting deception • We all lie • Men make better liars than women • Our body gives away our lies • The words we use can show we are being deceptive • Deception is cultural

The presenters: Steve Longford is a former Criminal Profiler and head of the Queensland Police Violent Crime analysis Unit. He has degrees in psychology and intelligence and has spent the last 7 years developing the Human Skills Program. Anthony McLean is also a former Queensland Police Officer having worked as an intelligence analyst for the Homicide Squad and Emergency Response Teams. He has a degree in Criminology and the only Cialdini Method Certified Trainer in the country. In 2008, both became the only Australian certified trainers for the Paul Ekman Group for Micro-expressions.

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The 11th international conference of the PCST Network will be held in New Delhi, India from 6-10 December 2010.

The event is expected to attract 500 registrants, international and from India.

If you would like to speak at the Conference, please submit an abstract by going to the conference web site. The closing date for abstracts is 31 August.

Information about the Conference – program, registration, venues, travel information and pre and post-conference events – is at the web site:

http://www.pcst-2010.org/highlights.htm

Regards

Toss Gascoigne

*************** Toss Gascoigne President PCST Network

Join the PCST network at: http://mailmanlist.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pcst/

E. director@tossgascoigne.com.au P. +61 408 704 442 W. tossgascoigne.com.au

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Australia’s central deserts support rich assemblages of animals and plants: add water, and the seemingly barren landscapes transform and pulsate with colour and activity. In this lecture, Professor Dickman will take us through the extraordinary ‘boom’ and ‘bust’ cycles that characterise inland Australia and examine how life persists during good times and bad. You will see the amazing adaptations that frogs and desert mice use to cope with the extreme conditions, how floods, wildfires and invasive species affect the native small mammals, and how so many species seem to appear and disappear at different times and places over the desert landscape. With the spectre of climate change looming, life in Australia’s central deserts may provide a glimpse of what the continent’s coastal fringes can expect in future.

Date: Thursday August 12 Time: 5:45pm – 6:45pm Location: Eastern Avenue Auditorium, University of Sydney http://maps.google.com.au/maps/place?cid=6654318546419014764&q=eastern+ avenue+auditorium&hl=en&cd=1&> Cost: FREE Contact: Sydney Science Forum Phone: 02 9351 3021 Email: science.forum@sydney.edu.au More info: http://sydney.edu.au/science/outreach/forum/lecture7.shtml

Please respond directly to Greg.

One of Australia’s leading independent documentary production companies, Electric Pictures, is seeking expressions of interest (and evidence of ability) from science communicators with the potential to join the company’s development team. In recent years, Electric has produced a variety of award-winning science films for Australian and international television, including ‘Cracking the Colour Code’, ‘Winners’ Guide to the Nobel Prize’ and ‘Superflu: Race Against A Killer’.

With staff based in Perth and Sydney, Electric Pictures is now seeking to expand its development activities and wishes to strengthen its commitment to science programming. While this is not a formal job advertisement, Electric invites contact from individuals who can clearly demonstrate their strengths in conceptualising and developing ideas, likely to appeal to Australian and overseas broadcasters. Ability counts just as much as experience. The company is prepared to engage any successful candidate on a part,full-time or casual basis and work location is not an impediment.

If you are seriously interested in such a role and are bursting with ideas that you believe can be readily translated into television, please contact Greg Colgan via email (gcelectricpictures.com.au).

______________________________________ Greg Colgan Research and Development Electric Pictures 33 Canning Highway East Fremantle 6158 +61 89 339 1133 www.electricpictures.com.au

Films coming in 2010: * A Royal Romance (ABC) * Skin Deep (SBS, ARTE, RAI)

Hello again Nancy, It really was a Twilight Zone moment as your call came in just as I was reading and thinking about your email!

As I said, very happy to participate in that assignment. Writing a pitch for a one-hr TV doco or a series (3 x 1 is optimal) would be ideal. I would encourage them to think big, think global but also think Australian. A big story that brings in new science or a new way of looking at established science…and which includes a generous helping of Australian-ness. ‘Australian’ can be in terms of settings, characters….or both. ABC very much into ‘take home’ science at the moment. Science that you can apply to your own life. A new series based around a ‘happiness camp’ is coming up. At the other end of the scale, big series that will stamp to be heard on the schedule…ala Voyage to the Planets…and hopefully build an audience.

Pitch docs only need to be a page…..maybe with a several page outline giving more detail. Series breakdown into episodes if a series.

If a distinct research need comes up, I will let you know. I would rather get someone in here who we all strongly think can bring potential projects to us with them. The person you have in mind is welcome to send me a list of proposals. If we liked any of ’em enough, I think we could throw some money at them to be researched and written up.

Thanks very much for offering to place an enquiry on the ASC mailing list for me!

Here is the text of the message – is this ok?

_______________________________________________

Subject: Documentary Film Producer Seeks Science Concept Extraordinaire!

One of Australia’s leading independent documentary production companies, Electric Pictures, is seeking expressions of interest (and evidence of ability) from science communicators with the potential to join the company’s development team. In recent years, Electric has produced a variety of award-winning science films for Australian and international television, including ‘Cracking the Colour Code’, ‘Winners’ Guide to the Nobel Prize’ and ‘Superflu: Race Against A Killer’.

Electric Pictures is now seeking to expand its development activities and wishes to strengthen its commitment to science programming. While this is not a formal job advertisement, Electric invites contact from individuals who can clearly demonstrate their strengths in conceptualising and developing ideas, likely to appeal to Australian and overseas broadcasters. Ability counts just as much as experience. The company is prepared to engage any successful candidate on a part, full-time or casual basis and work location is not an impediment. If you are seriously interested in such a role and are bursting with ideas that you believe can be readily translated into television, please contact Greg Colgan via email (gcelectricpictures.com.au).

_______________________________________________

Cheers Nancy! Greg

______________________________________ Greg Colgan Research and Development Electric Pictures 33 Canning Highway East Fremantle 6158 +61 89 339 1133 www.electricpictures.com.au

Films coming in 2010: * A Royal Romance (ABC) * Skin Deep (SBS, ARTE, RAI)

On 22/07/2010, at 11:17 PM, longneck@cyllene.uwa.edu.au wrote:

> Hello Greg, > > Great to hear from you. And good timing! I was just about to contact > you and ask you a favour… 😉 > > First, yours. Yes, I am a member of ASC and am happy to post an > advert for you to the ASC mailing list. > > Second, mine. I am keen to set an assignment for my ‘Science and the > Media’ class – for students to pitch a documentary idea to you. > There are 18 students in the class. The idea would be for you to > come to the class and tell them about Electric Pictures and give > them some background on what might make a good science documentary. > (pencilled in for Wed, 6 October). > > The class meets Wednesdays, 4-7pm. If that works at all for you, > your part could be first or last part of the session. In the rest of > that session, we are going to be watching short profiles that the > students will have produced of researchers. You’d be welcome to join > us for that. Might be some useful ‘talent’ being profile…) > > After this session, the students would prepare a pitch, turn in > something hard copy as well as present to you and the rest of the > class (pencilled in for Wed, 27 October, the last session of > semester). (I will mark the assignment, but you are welcome to the > ideas.) > > How does this sound? > > Thirdly, are you interested in someone doing some short-term > research for you? I know of a recent sci comm graduate who is > available now until mid-Sept when he leaves to travel in South > America for 3 months. He spent a month in summer as a researcher > with Catlyst and they seemed to be happy with him. He did an Honours > project with me and did a good job on it. > > Kind regards, Nancy > > 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 > > >> Hello Nancy, >> I hope that all is going well for you. >> Just wondering if you are a member of the Science Communcator mailing >> list? http://www.asc.asn.au/mailing-lists/ >> We are still on the hunt for someone to join our team here……and >> want to strengthen our science development slate. >> Perhaps it would be an idea for me to put out an invitation on such a >> list, inviting interested individuals to make contact? What do you >> think? >> Ideally, I’m looking for someone with a demonstrated journalistic >> background….who has an excellent all-round insight into various >> fields of science….and can sniff out good stories for telly. >> In the first instance, I think they’d have to indicate their >> potential >> value to us by sending in some sample ideas…… >> >> Would appreciate your thoughts Nancy. If you are a member, would you >> mind hosting such an enquiry on this list on our behalf? I could >> draft up the text. >> >> Bye for now! >> Greg >> >> ______________________________________ >> Greg Colgan >> Research and Development >> Electric Pictures >> 33 Canning Highway >> East Fremantle 6158 >> +61 89 339 1133 >> www.electricpictures.com.au >> >> Films coming in 2010: >> * A Royal Romance (ABC) >> * Skin Deep (SBS, ARTE, RAI) >

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A lot of people have seen Saturn and its rings through a small backyard telescope. But 400 years ago, the first telescopes couldn’t even show that Saturn /had/ rings.

Today we’ve got telescopes that can see right back to when the Universe was young and galaxies were in their teenage years.

Dr Kim-Vy Tran is a visiting astronomer from the USA, and studies those early galaxies. She’ll be talking at Questacon on Thursday about what today’s telescope show us, and what we hope to see with the big telescopes of the future.

This is a free talk and suitable for children aged 10 and up.

Where: Questacon, Canberra When: 6 pm, Thursday 29 July How long: 1 hour

URL: canberra.questacon.edu.au/events/#July2010 http://canberra.questacon.edu.au/events/#July2010

Enquiries about the talk: Sonia Morabito, Questacon Tel 02-6270-2949 SMorabito@questacon.edu.au

Interviews with Dr Tran: Dr Tran on 040 460 1209 or Helen Sim 02 9372 4251

cheers,

Helen Sim

UWA’s Friday Science Communication Seminars start this week

When: 4:00PM – 5:00PM

Where: Centre for Learning Technology http://www.uwa.edu.au/campus_map?id=2173 Drinks and nibbles provided.

Our first speaker is Jesse Shore, President of Australian Science Communicators. Jesse is the owner and content developer of Prismatic Sciences, an organisation providing in science communication services.

http://www.prismaticsciences.com

Jesse has over 25 years of experience as a science communicator working in a wide variety of areas including, science festivals, public events, creating exhibitions and working with communication media. Jesse was the exhibition project leader during the building of the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney where he also was a curator for 20 years.

Jesse will be presenting a talk on where science communication is in Australia and its future directions.

Next Week’s Speaker: Science Network Western Australia writer, Marisa Wikramanayake – Writing science articles from the perspective of a journalist.

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Science communication colleagues,

My arm is being twisted to offer a NSW chapter session on ‘TRUST’ … trust me.

The request was stimulated by my brief presentation on this topic at the ASC conference in Canberra. After much harassing by Phil Dooley, I have agreed to organise a session to occur here in Sydney in the next couple of months.

The session will feature a panel to discuss conceptual aspects of trust. The aim is to inform science communicators like ourselves on insights from relevant disciplines. Who should be on this panel?

Note — I am not looking for someone with opinions based on experience. That will be the job of members of the audience.

I am looking for research-based insights that resonate with systematic observation. So, recommend someone who is engaged in research on doctor-patient communication, or communication in the courtroom, or marketing, or philosophy. Make sure that they are ‘good talent’, knowledgeable but also have a great way of expressing sophisticated concepts in an accessible and compelling manner (just like you and me).

This session will also address a framework that I outlined in Canberra on how people decide whom to regard as a trustworthy scientific expert when they need to make a decision. The framework is based on a collection of concepts from linguistics, sociology, anthropology, organisational behaviour, adult learning, and studies of marketing. The framework is a key element in a workshop that I co-developed — ‘Experts 101: “survival training” for engineer, scientists, and planners faced with contentious issues’ (which have been credentialed by the International Association for Public Participation [IAP2]).

Reply with your suggestions to this listserv, or reply to me directly — willrifkin@unsw.edu.au.

Thank you in advance for your input.

Will

William D Rifkin, PhD Director, Science Communication Program Faculty of Science, BSB-BABS UNSW, Sydney, NSW 2052 AUSTRALIA

willrifkin@unsw.edu.au +61 2 9385 2748 +61 2 9385 1530 fax

www.scom.unsw.edu.au www.onset.unsw.edu.au www.dayinscience.unsw.edu.au www.scibiz.com.au

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Volunteer opportunities at the Ultimo Science Festival

Are you interested in science? Are you happy to chat with all kinds of people? Want to be involved in an exciting festival event? You can, by taking on a volunteer role at the 2010 Ultimo Science Festival. You don’t have to know all about science – just having a genuine interest is enough.

We’re looking for some dedicated individuals to help out at a variety of events throughout the Ultimo Science Festival. We’re looking for help at daytime events, night time events and weekend events.

If you’re interested go to our website for more information about what’s involved and how to apply.

http://www.ultimosciencefestival.com/usf10/?page_id=13

Please feel free to pass this onto anyone you think might be interested.

All the best,

Tilly

> (To clarify my earlier message, cost is $20 or $15 for concession ) > > >> Hi Everyone >> >> Places are filling fast for what is going to be a fascinating talk (and >> demonstration) by Nobel Laureate and Quantum Physicist, Dr William D >> Phillips. The US based Dr Phillips was invited by the School of Physics to >> give a talk as part of Sydney Ideas. >> >> This talk, that will not be recorded, will be held on Wednesday 4 August at >> the Seymour Centre at 6.30pm: >> http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2010/professor_william_d_phillips. >> shtml >> >> University of Sydney staff, students and alumni can attend for free but you >> will need ID. If you have any problems getting a seat secured please RSVP to >> me and I’ll put together a list of SoP staff and students for seat >> allocation. >>

Phil

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National Science Week presents WOULD YOU LIKE SOME GENE TECHNOLOGY WITH THAT?

18 AUGUST 2010

HOSTED BY IAN HENSCHKE (ABCTV’S STATELINE SA) 6:00PM FOR SEATING AT 6.15PM.

Coffee, tea and nibbles from 8pm.

Venue: Science Exchange Building 55 Exchange Place, Adelaide

We need to find a way to feed an extra 3 – 4 billion people by 2050. We need to do this in the face of diminishing supplies of water, fertiliser and fuel. Can gene technologies play a role? WOULD YOU LIKE SOME GENE TECHNOLOGY WITH THAT? is a National Science Week event that gives the public the opportunity to explore the potential use and acceptability of gene technologies in crop development, especially those that produce genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

With an expert panel, participate in a discussion on this topic. Give feedback, vote and have a say in the direction these technologies could take to ensure a secure food supply.

Free entry. Numbers are limited. Registration essential. For more information and to register your attendance visit: www.genetechmenu.com or call 1800 631 276.

Event hosted by Australian Centre for Plant Fucntional Genomics, University of Adelaide TechNyou, University of Melbourne

Jason Major Manager TechNyou www.technyou.edu.au 1800 631 276

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