At this weeks Friday seminar Sean O’Halloran will discuss his PhD research on

Science, Policy and Roadside Drug Testing

The story of the implementation of legislation dealing with the effects of drugs on road safety is an interesting case study at the boundary of policy and science. The story helps to demonstrate that science is not always the dominant influence in political decision-making, even when scientific issues affect the assessment of the problem or the presentation of solutions.

Technocratic assessments of risk are necessarily balanced by public perceptions of risk, where politicians are under pressure to act, or at least be seen to act, to combat perceived threats to community health and safety. Traditional expectations of scientific expertise are also challenged by a ‘democratisation’ of expertise, where ‘appropriate’ scientific evidence is considered more important than ‘reliable’ scientific evidence.

Rhetorical strategies for communicating the many scientific complexities surrounding the effects of drugs on road safety also help to demonstrate the framing of risk, not only in the context of road safety, but in many other contexts – GMO, climate change, uranium mining, nanotechnology and the like. Risks associated with illicit drugs are often framed in value-laden and emotionally charged language where science is co-opted to legitimise problem framing and legitimise unvalidated technological solutions.

Location:_ Seminar Room, [1]CLT, Physics Building UWA Time & Date:_ 4-5pm Friday 7th April, 2010 Drinks and Nibbles Provided_ Links: 1. http://www.clt.uwa.edu.au/contact

Next Week_: Greg Colgan from the one of Australia’s leading documentary production companies, [2]Electric Pictures, will discuss the science television market, show examples of science films and workshop documentary ideas. Links: 2. http://www.electricpictures.com.au

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Following on from her popular session at the National Conference in February, we’re honoured to have Alison Leigh presenting to us:

WHAT’S THE BUZZ? TRENDS IN SCIENCE DOCUMENTARIES Alison Leigh, Editorial Director, World Congress of Science & Factual Producers

Monday May 17th, 6.30 – 8 PM. Clarendon Hotel, 156 Devonshire St, Surry Hills Members – Free; Non-members $5 Light snacks provided, bar menu available

RSVPs essential: ascnsw@gmail.com

Science and Natural History Programming has become fashionable again in the international market place. So what’s out there breaking new ground and making people talk ? What’s hot and what’s not ? what’s on the way up and what’s on the way down? We take a look at clips from some of the most outstanding and successful science TV programs of 2009 from the perspective of the international production community. What will the Australian science communication industry make of them?

Alison Leigh is Editorial Director of the annual WORLD CONGRESS OF SCIENCE AND FACTUAL PRODUCERS. She played a leading role in producing and commissioning science TV programs in Australia for over a decade, including six years as executive producer ABC TV Science Unit, (QUANTUM, HOT CHIPS, “THE FUTURE EATERS”, “WHAT’S YOUR POISON? – the science of everyday drugs.) She returned to ABC TV in 2007 to run Catalyst for a season. Since then she has worked as a writer for series like Beyond¹s KIDS DETECTIVES and BACKYARD SCIENCE .She is currently writing the companion volume to an upcoming ABC TV series “Making Australia Happy”. Alison is a founding member and past president of ASC.

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Pimp your PowerPoint > > Start designing attention-grabbing presentations that stand out from the > typical snoozers (from The-Scientist.com) > > http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/57186/;jsessionid=00E0D38A84F2977 > F2F180336C81C4255 > >

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Sydney Café Scientific: ‘Hello?? Why are we STILL alone in the Universe?’

Basement, Circular Quay, Sydney

6pm, Monday 3 May

Free event

It’s 50 years since we started using radio telescopes to search for signals from extra-terrestrial life, and 25 years since the SETI Institute was established in California. But all we’ve heard so far is a ringing silence. Are we just talking to ourselves?

Join astronomy experts Fred Watson, Charley Lineweaver and Carol Oliver in the groovy, relaxing atmosphere of the Basement jazz club for a fascinating discussion and discover:

+ why we haven’t found anything yet;

+ how likely it is that life is out there in space;

+ what forms this life might take; and

+ what we’d say if ET did make contact!

Hosted by Bernie Hobbs (ABC New Inventors) and Dr Paul Willis (ABC Catalyst)

PANELISTS

Professor Fred Watson is Astronomer-in-charge at the Anglo-Australian Observatory in Coonabarabran.

Dr Carol Oliver manages the Australian Centre for Astrobiology at the University of New South Wales. She is on the International Academy of Astronautics’ SETI Permanent Study Group, and is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics.

Dr Charley Lineweaver is the coordinator of the Planetary Science Institute at the Australian National University. He holds a joint appointment as an Associate Professor in the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics and the Research School of Earth Sciences.

The bar is open and serving drinks and bar food. Come along, listen and ask your own questions.

Presented by ABC Science

Enquiries: Abbie Thomas, ABC Science 02 8333 5116

Abbie Thomas

abc.net.au/science

02 8333 5116

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>From Australians stranded in Europe to fresh vegetable growers in Africa, people dependent on the world’s airlines have done it hard in the past two weeks. If the eruption of one volcano in Iceland can disrupt us so badly, what could the Bluebird project do? You are about to find out. >From today, the ABC invites you to enter the world of the experimental science of geoengineering-the deliberate manipulation of the Earth’s atmosphere to counteract climate change. Bluebird AR, an interactive alternative reality story about geoengineering, will play out on websites, in the social media, on ABC programs, and all around you. Bluebird AR is about Kyle Vandercamp, a brilliant, young, Australian researcher employed on a top-secret, privately-financed project to study solutions to climate change. He becomes deeply concerned about the project’s true objectives and finally decides to blow the whistle. You can find out why. He has his own blog at http://www.otakudaddy.net/kyle/. Bluebird AR presents an opportunity to explore the ethical, geopolitical and environmental issues of actions such as blowing sulphur particles or reflective materials into the atmosphere, releasing iron into the ocean, or burying carbon deep in rock. Will they save or destroy the world? Who decides whether we should try them? The story may be fiction, but its background is not. The science foundations of the project were developed with the help of Stanford climate scientist, Ken Caldiera, Canadian environmental scientist, David Keith, and US futurologist, Jamais Cascio. According to Bluebird AR’s creators, during the year it has taken to write and produce the materials, several of Bluebird’s scenarios have come true-just like eruption of Eyjafjallajökull. And the role of philanthro-capitalists is explored. Bill Gates and his peers have made remarkable contributions to global health. But could there be billionaires out there who are willing to go a step further to ‘save the world’? Fictional character Juanita Monte is a journalist and film maker producing an online documentary series Now I Can Change The World on philanthro-capitalism. Her first episode is now online at www.nowicanchangetheworld.com (and is an entirely factual 25-minute doco) and her second episode was to be a profile of fictional emerging philanthro-capitalist Harrison Wyld. But her project takes a turn when Kyle blows the whistle on Bluebird. The program should generate intense interest among thinking young Australians-and worldwide. And it will provide plenty of opportunities for discussion and interaction in all sorts of forms. So why don’t you and your organisation become involved? All it takes to get started is a visit to the Bluebird AR website at www.abc.net.au/bluebird Not only is Bluebird AR an interesting experiment in how to tell a story involving science, but people in your organisation could well be approached to provide background, answer questions, comment or make suggestions. If you want to take the opportunity, you can steer the process. Your organisation can become involved, providing people and information to add to the debate, and at the same time promoting itself and the field in which it is working. If there are people in your organisation who could contribute, or who would like to be briefed as the project develops we would be pleased to hear from them. Join the debate, unlock the drama and explore a whole new form of online storytelling with Bluebird AR. abc.net.au/bluebird For more information please contact Niall Byrne, niall@scienceinpublic.com.au, 0417 131 977.

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Dear fellow ASC-ers – just a quick post to let you know my current position is winding up and I’ll be available for freelance work from June. If you need any help with a project, big or small, please do contact me (writing, editing, proofing, project management – websites, publications, educational programs – I’ve done it all over the last 16 years!). Kind thanks Jane Lewis 0422 961355

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Members may be aware of AusAID’s Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYAD) program, which places skilled young Australians (18-30) on short-term assignments in developing countries. Hoping some of you may find the following of interest – it’s a tremendous opportunity with a science facility that is gaining international attention – BECA received a special mention by Bill Gates in his annual letter 2010

COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST – NAIROBI, KENYA

Africa has lagged behind in the scientific field due in part to lack of state of the art facilities. Biosciences Eastern and Central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI) Hub is a new world-class bio-sciences research facility recently launched in Nairobi, Kenya and open to scientists and other stakeholders from Africa’s national research institutes and universities. It brings to par the continent’s research capability with that of the world’s most advanced countries. The AYAD will be based at the BecA-ILRI Hub office located at the ILRI Kabete campus, Nairobi. The campus is about half an hour’s drive from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and about 15 minutes drive from the central business district. The ILRI campus has a serene environment and hosts other partner institutions such as the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), and the International Potato Centre (CIP).

Applications are sought for a Communication Specialist at Beca in a 12 month placement from July/Aug 2010 through the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development Program. Ideally the applicant will have either an undergraduate science degree and post-graduate communication qualifications or a bachelor’s degree in journalism, advertising, communications or related subject area. Applicants should also have at least two years experience in a relevant field with demonstrated experience in graphics arts, writing, editing, design, layout, web work and database management.

The Communication Specialist will assist in implementing the BecA-ILRI Hub communication strategy and to provide communications support to research scientists and technical support staff at the Hub. The person will help transform data and information into highly readable and informative messages conveyed through stories and other information products aimed at specific target audiences including donors, scientists, policy makers and the general public, through the media.

Further general details on AYAD (eligibility, allowances etc) can be found at http://ayad.com.au/home The Crawford Fund is the Australian Partner Organisation for the placement and further information is available below and by contacting Cathy Reade, Coordinator, Public Awareness at the Crawford Fund by email initially at creade@squirrel.com.au To be eligible for the AYAD Program you must be 18-30 year old and an Australian citizen.

It is envisaged that through applications and subsequent interviews, suitable candidates will be identified by 20 May for placement in July/Aug 2010. If you are interested, please contact Cathy asap so that additional information can be provided to you in the first instance, and then further information provided by phone or contact with the partners in Africa. Ideally, your CV with a covering letter will be received by 8 May.

Cheers,

Cathy Reade

Coordinator – Public Awareness

Crawford Fund

Ph/Fax: 07 54483095

Mobile: 0413 575 934

www.crawfordfund.org

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– Hello SCERN Members (c/o ASC e-mailing list),

Your feedback, earlier this year, strongly recommended a periodic digest of science communication research in Australia. I hope to compile, therefore, a list of your research outputs during the past 12 months (i.e. May 2009 – April 2010).

Research outputs will include, books/chapters; journal articles; conference proceedings; commissioned reports; unpublished research thesis; audio/visual material; and science shows/exhibits that involve a research component.

Please send them to me in the form of a reference list by Thursday 6 May. To maintain consistency, I would be grateful if you could use the APA style of referencing. If you have other research outputs that do not belong to the above categories please let me know separately.

With the information you send me, I will compile a chronological list of research outputs. It is not possible at this stage to say if they would be listed categorically as well; (that will depend on the information I receive from you).

Also I would like to add that I’ll be working on this project one day per week, so please bear with me if I don’t get back to you immediately.

Thank you in advance and I look forward to hearing from you presently, Sean.

Seán Perera PhD Centre for the Public Awareness of Science The Australian National University Canberra, Australia T: +612 61251073 E: Sean.Perera@anu.edu.au

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Catalyst and Cambridge

Black rats versus Bogul rats- which will triumph? Science Communication graduate Mark Cornish followed the ABC television team for Catalyst as they created a segment looking at competition between introduced and native rats in Sydney. Mark’s month long internship with ABC Sydney was made possible by the Elizabeth Anne Nichols Travel Award. Link: http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst

Meanwhile, Muza Gondwe was getting with the Naked Scientists, indulging in the incurably curious at the Wellcome Collection, decrypting World War II messages with an Enigma machines, and promoting African engagement with science through posters and a documentary about African Science Heroes – a great way to spend a six months fellowship on the Public Understanding of Science at the Centre of African Studies, University of Cambridge.

4-5pm Friday 23rd of April Seminar Room, CLT, Physics Building UWA_ All welcome! Drinks and nibbles provided. Links: http://www.clt.uwa.edu.au/contact

The following week, Sean O’Halloran will share his PhD research looked at the implementation of legislation dealing with the effects of drugs on road safety, an interesting case study at the boundary of policy and science. The story helps to demonstrate that science is not always the dominant influence in political decision-making, even when scientific issues affect the assessment of the problem or the presentation of solutions.

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WORLD-WIDE DAY IN SCIENCE is today … 21 April 2010. 10 minutes from you, a scientist, or science-based professional you know “The high point of your 21 April?” “What got you interested in science in the first place?” www.dayinscience.unsw.edu.au

WHY BOTHER? Consider the audience, the reach into high schools. Thousands of website hits each month.

PARTICIPANTS & INSTITUTIONS Barry Marshall, Peter Doherty, Fiona Wood, Brian Gaenssler, Terence Tao Staff from – Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, LPNHE-Paris, Fermilab, Ecole Polytechnic, Cambridge Enterprise Pty Ltd, Gene Technology Information Service, SymbioticA Pty Ltd, iThemba LABS, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Pfizer, Friends of the Earth, Bahrain Petroleum Company, United Arab Emirates University, Ceylon Tobacco Company, Civil Aviation Authority – Arabian Gulf British High Commission, Discovery Channel, Luna Media, Edinburgh University, U of the Republic of Uruguay, U of Queensland, Deakin University, U of New England, Pompeu Fabra U, TV Catalonia, U of Barcelona, and – of course – UNSW.

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

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