Author Archives: victorialeitch

Event review: Ultimo Science Festival

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 Thank you to Isabelle Kingsley for the event review.

The curtain has fallen on the eighth annual Ultimo Science Festival.  Between 12 and 22 September, Harris Street Ultimo was transformed into a nucleus of science. There was something for everyone — talks that challenged our perceptions of the world, hands-on activities to puzzle over, startling exhibitions, inspiring science shows and even the chance to share ideas with real research scientists.

The Festival kicked off with a bang on Thursday 12 September with 387 people packing into the grand UTS Great Hall to hear Shari Forbes from UTS Centre for Forensic Science talk about death, decomposition and detector dogs.

Other lectures at UTS included Dr Elizabeth Denney-Wilson and Associate Professor Robyn Gallagher who discussed why it’s so hard to avoid putting on weight at the UTSpeaks Fighting Fat lecture, and it was standing-room-only at the Great White Sharks talk by Barry Bruce and Professor William Gladstone.  Overall, UTS lectures attracted more than 1100 people during the Festival.

Friday 13th challenged our perceptions with science, maths, magic, marine science and myth-busting, while unwinding with drinks and live music.  Featured were talks about Adam Spencer’s TED adventure and love of prime numbers, Emma Johnston’s passion for Sydney Harbour and Ruben Meerman’s look into the science of crowds and cocktails.  Lying on a bed of nails and encounters with Joanna the goanna, a children’s python and a sweet grey-headed flying fox were some of the highlights.

Art and data come together to create past, present and future forms of life at the Living Data: Art from climate science exhibition at The Muse gallery at Ultimo TAFE.  Brilliantly curated by Lisa Roberts, the exhibition challenged our senses with artworks that combine scientific and sensory knowledge of climate change.  Three discussion forums brought together thinkers, artists and scientists to lead lively discussions on topics including our relationships with things we eat, how we know things and our understanding through art and science.

Speed Meet a Geek was a huge success with over 100 people of all ages coming in to sit down and meet research scientists.  The Powerhouse Museum café was buzzing with chatter — children as young as 5 were engaged in asking questions and discussing science.

On Monday 16th ABC Radio National’s ‘Health Report’ was broadcast live from the Ultimo Science Festival. Dr Norman Swan lead a discussion with 3 experts covering diet, exercise and the psychology of maintaining health. A full-house of audience came along.

260 high school students took part in the Festival’s school day.  Students met research scientists and found out about their science careers, made biodegradable plastic, floating houses and demonstrated how the internet works using bing-pong balls.

A new event for USF was the popular Young Master Scientists competition. The Live Finals hosted by Ruben Meerman, the Surfing Scientist, featured 5 student teams from schools around Sydney area performing a ‘seven minutes of science’ in front of a cheering audience and 3 judges to compete for the title of Sydney best young science communicators.  ‘Interrobang’ from Mercy Catholic College in Chatswood took home the crown.

The always popular Art and Science Soiree brought together artist and scientists in a networking event.  Guests took part in speed meet sessions, saw some amazing performances and had tiny 3D versions of their heads printed.  Some incredibly interesting and creative ideas and projects came out of the evening.

By popular demand, Simon Pampena, the Angry Mathematician from ABC’s Catalyst, teamed up with Nerd Nite Sydney’s Dr Justine Rogers and UNSW’s Dr Rob Brooks to bring out the funny side of science at a hilarious night of nerdy comedy.  Not surprisingly, this event sold out.

The final weekend of the Festival was all about the kids.  Slime, steam, electricity and things that glow were all on show throughout the Powerhouse Museum.  Visitors also got to get an exclusive peek at the Museum’s collection with curator tours, and families packed into the theatre to hear Chris Lintott (BBC One, The Sky at Night) speak about how hundreds of thousands of people collaborate to help scientists study galaxies, discover planets and even map the Milky Way at the How to discover a planet from your sofa talk.

Lashings of scientific fun were had by all who attended.  Thank you to Inspiring Australia and the City of Sydney for making it all possible.

From the discussion list – Proofreading your own writing

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Thank you to Ian McDonald for summarising the proofreading suggestions from the list.

I’m sure I am not the only one but I always find that proof-reading your own writeing is difficult – particularly when you are trying to find that last typo. Now, how many of you noticed the three errors in my first sentence? Even the smallest typo or grammatical error can distract the reader from the theme of a paragraph, even article. Do they remember what you are writing about or do they only remember that you misspelt a word (writing), added a hyphen (proofreading) and were not consistent in your style (I’m and I am).

I have learnt from personal experience. Putting hours of effort into researching, planning, writing and editing articles only to have readers point out that one typo you missed – frustrating yet completely understandable. It’s the industry we are in, so we have to deal with it. So, who was I going to call on to get some of the best tips in Australia – well the Australian Science Communicators of course.

Before I summarise the tips and hints from the ASC e-list discussion, I did want to point out that yes, I agree that getting another person to proofread your writing is one of the best ways of picking up those final errors. However, sometimes this isn’t possible – your article might need an urgent release and your usual “go to proofer” might be away. So what else can you do?

Below is a list of tips suggested by our fellow peers and thanks to everyone who replied to my initial email – it was really appreciated.

  • Read your article out loud – the ear picks up errors the eye just glosses over.
  • Read your text backwards word by word – that’s another way of making familiar text unfamiliar.
  • Switch the order of the paragraphs around and read it like that.
  • Change the style and size of font – the eye/mind gets used to seeing similar displays and skates over them. By making them unfamiliar, it treats them as new, locking on to faults.
  • Proofread in one sitting (usually hard copy), in a quiet place during the time of the day when you are most alert.
  • Look at different elements (captions, images, grammar, document style) in further readings (electronic version can be helpful).
  • Maintain drafts of proofed versions after document is published, so if errors are picked up later you can trace the source of the problem (graphic designer, you, other person).

If your work isn’t required urgently some suggested that leaving it for a few days will help to pick up far more errors than if I try to conduct the proofreading soon after finishing the writing. Finally, if you or someone else does pick up errors after you publish your work, correct the electronic file where ever possible.

Some useful resources were also suggested:

Style manuals

  • The News Ltd Style Guide – especially useful if your role involves more media and news writing rather than corporate and government communication.
  • The Australian English Style Guide by Pam Peters – this works a little bit more like a dictionary i.e. you can search alphabetically for ‘semicolons’ or ‘hyphens’ and it will explain correct/most common usage.

Books

Online programs

  • PerfectIt is useful for finding typos and inconsistencies in MS Word documents. It’s not free, but there is a 30-day free trial. Note: I did download this program to test and it did pick up on the use of a hyphen in proofreading which the word spell check did not.
  • If you work on a Mac, there is a ‘text to voice’ function, in which the computer will literally read a selected passage of text out loud to you.

Feel free to add to this list by commenting on the story below or adding to the ASC email list discussion.

ASC 2014 workshops and activities

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The ASC2014 Program Committee is excited to announce that there are new optional workshops and activities available for conference delegates. Spaces are limited:

  • Sunday 2nd February: Community Storytelling Series, Part 1

Telling stories with images using smart phones and tablets. A free 3 hour afternoon workshop for delegates only [times to be confirmed] Facilitated by Susan Rooney-Harding and hosted by The Edge [limited to the first 40 RSVPs]

Everyone has a story to tell, and a community to whom that story is relevant. Our Community Storytelling Series is designed to give you the confidence and know-how to tell your stories using the tools you already have at hand your iPad, iPhone and other smart phones and tablets. Join Susan Rooney-Harding in the first of this three part series to hone your story capturing and story sharing skills. Keep an eye out for the remaining two workshops in the series being released soon:

  • Wednesday 5th February: Community Storytelling Series, Part 2

The art and practice of story capturing. A free 3 hour workshop for delegates during the conference.

  • Thursday 6th February: Community Storytelling Series, Part 3

iPad/iPhone movie making using your iPads and iPhones. A one day post-conference workshop [times to be confirmed] Facilitated by Susan Rooney-Harding and hosted by The Edge [limited to the first 20 RSVPs]

Susan Rooney-Harding, Creative Director/Producer of Inspireevery1 Production Susan Rooney-Harding is the Creative Director and Multimedia Producer of Inspireevery1 Production. She has vast experience in community storytelling and has equipped multiple communities and individuals with the skills to create digital content for multiplatform use. Prior to this role she was the ABC Open Producer for the Riverland in South Australia. Content that she created with her community has been seen on News 24, Landline, ABC Online, ABC Open and ABC Rural. Susan is an active board member and the Multimedia Director for Women in Technology and Innovation and is this years TEDx Adelaide Women licensee.

  • Monday 3rd February: Speed networking session brought to you by ASC’s SEQ branch and the University of Queensland, on the ABC Balcony from 8pm. Free for delegates only.
[limited to the first 80 RSVPs]

To RSVP for these events you simply need to log into the delegate portal using your access key. Click the Edit button next to Other Activities to view and select available optional activities at this time.

If you need any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the Conference Office by email asc2014@eventcorp.com.au.  General event information and access can be found at www.ascconference.asn.au

President’s update: Rocketing towards the end of the year, AGM and members abroad

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Thanks to Claire Harris for the President’s update.

It is that time of year. The pace quickens with everyone trying to get things out before Christmas and some of us, no doubt, fall in a heap (but hopefully only momentarily).

With so many work activities on my plate, I’ve been flitting from one thing to the other and to be honest, I have not found this very fulfilling. While I like variety, I miss the days of really being able to get my brain power going within a particular project or challenge to see it through and feel a sense of shared accomplishment.

Recently, however, I was very lucky to travel to Indonesia as part of my work on an international project. I have been part of the project team for two years leading the communication and engagement strategy and initiatives.

Connecting with others on the project—mainly soil mapping experts hailing from Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia—was very fulfilling and we achieved a lot in the few days we were together. I again reflected that having a shared vision of objectives and motivations for an initiative or collective is very important and helps to garner momentum in a particular direction.

This is perhaps a natural mindset for many communicators as whoever or whatever agency communicators are working with, they are trying to understand objectives and nut out stakeholder needs so they can then tie these together to deliver activities; hopefully achieving change of some description.

Also on my trip, I was lucky to accidentally connect with Michelle Kovacevic, an ASC member working in an international research agency. She has been in Indonesia for two years and has kept up her membership with ASC over this time.

We talked about our communication experiences; how communication is something that research agencies are often struggling to structure, resource and evaluate effectively to address research and societal outcomes; and the increasing focus on communicating online.

She told me how important the network of ASC is to her.

“As an Australian who works abroad in science communication, my ASC membership has been really valuable in connecting me to all the latest advancements, events and hot topics going on at home,” said Michelle.

It’s great to hear from members all over the place about what they value. Recently I, with the Executive, reworked some of the pages on our website including the Membership Benefits page, based on what members and Branches tell us. I welcome your comments on this.

And in addition, you’ll see in another Scope article that we are inviting stories of where ASC has had an impact in your life. Let us know. Bizarrity encouraged of course!

The Curiosity Show hits the internet

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Thank you to Curiosity Show host Prof. Rob Morrison for taking the time to answer our questions about the launch of the show online.

Many Australian’s hold fond memories of mornings on the couch, watching The Curiosity Show… and after a 23 year hiatus, they have returned to thrill a new generation of eager Australians!

The Curiosity Show has hit the web, with all the classic segments – including favourites like Make-and-Do, Nature and Puzzles – now available on youtube. You can also connect with the show on their website, facebook and twitter.

Prof. Rob Morrison, Curiosity show host, said that originally the show was designed to deal with science and technology, without overtly teaching it. He says, “we did this by using things like natural history segments, lots of making and doing, and things like art and music segments.

“Making and Doing meant things like mousetrap racing cars, battery-powered hovercraft, pill-bottle torches, and mousetrap paddlewheelers, where children had to deal with power sources, gearing, and power-weight ratios without their ever being called that.  We also showed the objects that we made working so they knew what to expect if they got their versions right.

“We used things like art and music for similar reasons. For example,  making your own PVC panpipes or PVC recorder involved science and technology in working out the length of pipe to get the right pitch, and exploring the proportions of paintings, seashells, and flower centres brought in golden proportions and Fibonacci numbers without overtly teaching those as maths.

“We did lots of tricks and puzzles, too. You can deal with a great deal of maths when you dress it up as magic, and children who would run a mile from a maths segment are quite happy to learn how to do a trick that might baffle a parent or two.”

Prof Morrison, and fellow Curiosity Show host Deane Hutton, have enlisted the help of digital media agency Enabled Solutions to aid in the process of uploading the segments to the internet. By doing this, the show can benefit from not only their expertise in cross-platform digital media, but also their links to a number of educational services.

The wide variety of segments and projects available mean that there are a number of opportunities for teachers from all different areas to expose their children to hands-on learning experiences – while giving children an appreciation of the role of science in all aspects of the world around them.

“There are lots of art, language, maths segments which touch on science and technology (e.g. origin of “knots” and “log” which come from sailing ships; origin of sayings like “red herring” and riddles like “which came first, chicken or egg?” These all have science in their explanations.

“We were aiming at upper primary levels, where crossover in the curriculum is very much to be encouraged so that the artificial divisions imposed by curriculum areas are not introduced too soon for children to see how science connects to everything.

“Some art segments use maths (Golden mean) while others, such as simple lithography, work because of the ability of water to repel oil, and that allows limestone printing. This joint mix of science within other areas is important.  Other segments, such as those in the “Make and Do” playlist, offer things to build or do that are more overtly science or technology, but good fun to play with as well.

“We also had a series, and there are some of these segments in there, called “CURIO” in which we show some ancient or obscure bit of technology, ask kids to guess what it is and then explain it. It is a window into technology of the past (old mining devices, ship’s candle-holder, miner’s spider etc).

“We strongly believed, and still do, that children obtain a huge amount of incidental learning by making and doing things. It is worrying to see so much of childhood now involves not hands and fingers making things that work, but two thumbs to control a virtual, X-Box world.”

A new climate in Canberra

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Thanks to Brigid Mullane for this opinion piece for Scope.

Since Tony Abbott announced his new cabinet in September, much has been made of the absence of the word ‘science’ in any minister’s title.

Ian Macfarlane is now Minister for Industry, which includes responsibility for the CSIRO. In the previous government, Kim Carr was Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. So, could the change be mainly a expression of Tony Abbott’s stated preference for short titles, rather than a sidelining of science?

The government has disbanded the Climate Commission, seeing no need for a dedicated body to review local and worldwide climate research, and explain it to the government and the people of Australia. It must have great confidence in its Direct Action policies as a way to deal with climate change.

The new Minister for the Environment, Greg Hunt, expressed this confidence in an interview with the ABC, where he also affirmed his government’s acceptance of climate science and the existing (5% by 2020) emissions targets for Australia, and its in-principle support for ratifying the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol. He noted that research by the Bureau of Meteorology and the CSIRO was available to the government, so he is not averse to climate research as such.

At the same time, the government is moving to shut down the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and the Climate Change Authority, as promised during its campaign. This will require legislation, which the government might find difficult to get through the Senate, whether the existing one, or the new one in July next year. The uncertainty is disruptive, particularly for the CEFC and its clients.

The Senate might also oppose the planned carbon-tax repeal bill, but this could present an opportunity for some negotiation. One part of the Direct Action plan is an Emissions Reduction Fund to buy emissions abatements. This has something in common with emissions trading schemes, in that it seeks to use market mechanisms to reduce lowest-cost emissions first.  Perhaps some compromise bill could be devised, that would be acceptable to the House and the Senate.

Apart from climate science, there was not much talk about science during the campaign. Science in education is the province of the new Minister for Education, Christopher Pyne, who has not made any announcements about this. Meanwhile, the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority continues its work on a national curriculum.

And on the subject of education, some people seem to think that political conservatives are generally anti-science, a view expressed by a recent ABC website contributor. In a personal-attack-style piece on the new government he advised, “don’t be at all surprised to see a push for ‘intelligent design’ to be included in school curriculums”.  This kind of hyperbolic speculation might say more about the ABC’s editorial policy, than about government science policy.

A more rational assessment would suggest that there will be disruption, perhaps for months, to activities meant to deal with climate change, as the new government seeks to replace existing programs with its own. In other areas, there is no evidence so far that the role of science in informing government policy will change very much. Of course, there are many other Abbott policies that could mean big changes if enacted, but that topic is outside the scope of Scope.

President’s update – #ASC14

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Thanks to Claire Harris for the update!

Quick ASC14 stats and facts

  • Over 120 abstract and session submissions
  • 1 conference dinner
  • 1 breakfast hosted by New Zealand Science Communicators
  • Earlybird registrations open until next month
  • Submissions from New Zealand, South Africa and Japan
  • ASC conferences have been run since 1996
  • We will have four streams (in four rooms) of conference activities over the three days

The program committee (Claire Harris, James Hutson, Nancy Longnecker, Kali Madden, Jesse Shore) has been very busy reviewing all the submissions that have come in. We have been very impressed with the ideas and way that people have embraced the theme of Insight, Impact, Innovation.

Many proposals pick up on the hot topics in science communication, with speakers coming from a range of disciplinary backgrounds including communication, research, journalism, policy and business.

The conference will feature a poster session for the first time as well as a spectacular Sci-Art exhibition; social events including a conference dinner featuring a special dignitary and the Unsung Hero of Science Communication Award and a breakfast event with our New Zealand counterparts. Importantly, this is your chance to network with a diverse group of people.

Many of you would know that ASC conferences have been run since 1996. I would love to find out who has been to the most ASC conferences or if attending a past conference has resulted in something of significance for you. Did you meet your current employer? Did you meet your current wife?…

Let us know, comment below!

Event review: Nerd Nite Sydney

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Thanks to Nolanne Chang for this event review.

“Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!”

“Maths, Maths, Maths!”

That’s the sound of Simon Pampena revving up the crowd at this month’s Sydney Nerd Nite. Simon was the first of three guest speakers on the night, with subjects ranging from comedic science to a treatise against traditional lecture methods, to a review of the current thoughts by leading scientists on PTSD. Last month at Nerd Nite Sydney, topics included why we root for Michael Corleone in the Godfather, an obscure treatise on French philosopher-driven films, and a discussion of what makes a good film review, by local critics. Over time, the topics have ranged from the prosaic to the downright crazy, and from the humanities to the sciences.

Nerd Nite Sydney was co-founded by Justine Rodgers and Jessica Grisham, both academics at UNSW. Justine had just come back from studying at the University of Oxford in England and missed the intellectual atmosphere. She wanted an environment where discussions that would normally only be had between academics could be conducted with a broader audience. Stumbling upon the US organisation of Nerd Nite, she wondered if a similar event could be hosted in Sydney – they put her in touch with Jess, who had also expressed interest. Thus, Nerd Nite Sydney was born.

The event is held at Café Lounge in Surry Hills on the first Wednesday of every month. For the first few months around 40 to 50 people turned up; and now, one and a half years later, there are online ticket sales and the venue often reaches maximum capacity (120). This is something to be justifiably proud of, as it goes against the anti-intellectual stereotype often portrayed of Australians. Curiously, the audience seems to have a large age range, and, glancing around the room it’s noticeable that not everyone attending is an academic or the type of person that would normally attend a lecture. This is partially why Café Lounge was chosen – it’s a relaxed, “non-threatening” atmosphere where the audience members can buy bar food and drinks (I can personally vouch for the excellent chips). There’s a small stage and a screen – though not all presenters even use slide decks, preferring to interact more directly with their audience.

On the other hand, the atmosphere presented by the current location, would be harder to accomplish in a larger venue, which would be desired to accommodate their expanding crowd. Occasionally, the group behind Nerd Nite spins off special events, such as organizing a Stand-Up Comedy night at the Ultimo Science Festival (two years in a row now) or Nerd Gala, a night when they brought back several of the most popular Nerd Nite speakers. In addition to their monthly speakers’ night, they are also now trying to expand the role of their Facebook page, to reach their audience much more frequently. Posts on this page include interesting science tidbits, updates on what past speakers are up to, and teasers about the next month’s program.

If you’re interested in learning more about Nerd Nite Sydney – check out their page on Facebook. The event is held the first Wednesday of every month at Café Lounge in Surry Hills – the next event is October 2nd.

Event review: Simon McKeon Big Picture Seminar

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Thanks to Maia Sauren for the run down of the Big Picture Seminar.

The problem with research, say hospital CEOs, is that no one is held accountable for it. If the Australian government followed the recommendations of the McKeon review, that might not be the case. The Strategic Review of Health and Medical Research 2013, chaired by Simon McKeon, highlights that the majority of the 1998 Wills Review recommendations were successfully implemented, and delivered a substantial positive impact on the sector.

Hospital CEOs begin each fiscal year with a nice line item for research, but there’s no KPI that holds them to it. Over the year, amounts are slowly shaved off for urgent and accountable matters; if reducing surgery waiting times is on the public’s mind, then that’s where the money goes.

In terms of bang for buck, Australia does pretty well. Our life expectancy is 82 years, a good 3 years above that of the US, at half their per capita cost. While total investment in HMR is not known, it was estimated to be over $6bn in 2012. In 2009-2010, government expenditure on health care amounted to 4% of government expenditure, estimated to rise to an unsustainable 7% in 2049. Just by addressing healthcare-associated infections by translating research into policies, Australian healthcare costs could drop by up to $1–2bn p.a.

The catchphrase of the McKeon review recommendations is “embed research into the health system”. This includes optimising investments, tying health outcomes to research recommendations, translating existing and new research into practices and policies, monitoring and evaluating outcomes, and supporting research commercialisation. To support this, the McKeon review recommends helping drive philanthropic investment in health and medical research, similar to overseas models.

So what can you do, as a science communicator? Bang the drum.

The summary report has clear, specific, strategic recommendations, supported by facts and figures, clear visualisations, and case studies. Ensure policymakers know the about it. Highlight the economic value of streamlined investments, of commercialising research outcomes, of priority driven research. Ensure people in decision making capacities have the facts.

The full 300-page McKeon Report and the summary version are available online at http://www.mckeonreview.org.au

ASC 2014 conference update

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Register now for the ASC2014 conference (2 to 5 February 2014, Brisbane)

Thank you to Claire Harris for providing us with the conference update. This article was published in ASC’s newsletter Scope (August edition).

ASC 2014 conference activities are in full swing with only 2 weeks left until all session proposals and abstracts are due.

What you submit is going to shape the entire three days…

Why do we do this you might ask? Because the ASC conference philosophy is to facilitate a conference that is for you and in many areas, by you. Indeed the Conference Organising and Program Committees have been, for many months, digesting feedback from past conferences and from recent events, discussions on the ASC-list, conversations we’ve had with you face to face or by email…

We all have our thinking caps on about responding to and actioning the feedback and ideas. Part of this, though, can only be achieved with you, our members and supporters of the science communication community. For you are all champions and agents of change. So here’s your chance to make a difference to the conference program!

To answer a couple of questions we’ve had about the way that the conference programming will be done and how the more-traditional research stream is being handled this year, we want to provide some more here.

Firstly, we know many of you live and breathe a mix of research/theory and practice in your jobs and science communication interest, while others sometimes struggle to keep on top of all that’s going on. This is why, put simply, we’re aiming to integrate research and practice across the program; to help bridge perceived or real gaps between these two areas. We believe this type of approach has the potential to make our conference more valuable for our diverse community. We hope we come some way to achieving this integration in our program! Your advice and feedback will assist with this process.

We have also had calls for more case studies and real life stories, good and bad and everything in between, from practitioners. There are so many people doing interesting things that we don’t often get to hear about. And we’ve had requests for more time for research questions and answers, more research embedded in the main program, and a poster session.

In addition, a conference proceedings has long been on the wish list.For the first time we are in a position to offer all speakers and session producers the opportunity to submit abstracts and, if they want to, papers for conference proceedings. So the knowledge and experience of presenters can live on into the future.

More information is available at our conference website and if you have any conference session ideas or special events you want to run by the program committee (or need some assistance in developing), please email program.committee@asc.asn.au.

Registrations are open. Sponsors are welcome.