Category Archives: Members Only

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AGM in Perth, 30 November 2011

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The WA branch of the ASC has agreed to host this year’s National AGM in Perth. The official announcement will be posted soon. We keep the AGM short and to the point, yet provide opportunities for some lively discussion.

The AGM will be followed by David Ellyard presenting his Science Quiz. Around 100 people enjoyed this competitive challenge at last year’s end of year meeting in Adelaide.

Only financial members can attend the AGM and the quiz will be open to all.

See you in Perth in November.

Jesse Shore
National President

Learn the ropes – seeking an Assistant National Treasurer

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David Ellyard is our long serving and excellent National Treasurer. To preserve his corporate knowledge and to plan for the future we will be inviting members to express interest in becoming Assistant National Treasurer. David will teach you the ropes of our financial procedures and build your financial acumen. This will be a good professional development opportunity for the right person.

I will be issuing the invitation soon which will have a list of the duties of the treasurer and which tasks the assistant treasurer can expect to deal with.

Jesse Shore
National President

New Scope editor

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The Executive Committee and I were ecstatic with the response to the recent advertisement for the position of Scope editor. But then we had the agony of deciding between excellent applications from several well qualified candidates. In the end, we went for an unexpected outcome.

I’m pleased to announce that not only do we have a new editor for Scope, but that we have two new editors in a job sharing arrangement. Sally Miles (no relation to Laura), from Sydney, and Silvia Piviali, from Perth, will team up to produce our newsletter.

The Executive is anticipating that this job-share will contribute to building up expertise and experience within the ASC and ease workloads during increasingly busy times.

I look forward to Sally and Silvia introducing themselves to you in their new role.

Jesse Shore

National President

ASC management committees – old and new heads

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Managing the ASC through the National Council and Executive requires the input of diverse voices and levels of experience. A few years ago the ASC wisely decided to add the position of Past-President to the management committees. This is a vital way to keep a person with key corporate knowledge involved in our decision making. Some other roles on the committees are filled by members have offered their services and insights over a number of years. They have worked well with those who have joined the committees more recently. The balance of experience brings benefits to our discussions.

In another article in this issue of Scope I mention that Phil Dooley has resigned from our national committees to take a posting overseas. He is taking with him several years of experience at the branch level and two years at national level.

I know that some other members will be making this their last year of long and distinguished service on national committees. The Executive will seek to fill current and expected upcoming vacancies and I encourage members to consider involvement at the national level. It is advisable that you have participated on a branch or national committee previously. You may have an opportunity to assist a member of the Executive to learn the ropes of their role before going solo.

I’ll send out more news about roles on national committees soon.

Jesse Shore

National President

Many thanks to our departing Scope editor, Laura Miles

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Our tireless editor of Scope, Laura Miles, is leaving the position after three years of service. She is making room in her busy diary for a range of other opportunities which have opened for her.

The National Council thanks Laura for her valuable contributions to the ASC. I add my appreciation for her work with Tim Thwaites, James Hutson, Kali Madden and me to improve our communications and refine our membership strategies. Laura has been a thoughtful voice in many discussions about complex matters.

We will be advertising for the position of Scope editor and I hope we have willing and capable hands being raised to take on this important task.

Laura is of course unique and therefore irreplaceable. Happily the ASC has members with different unique qualities and one of you will have the opportunity to stamp their mould on the position.

I wish Laura all the best in her other endeavours and I expect we will continue to seek her council on a range of issues.

Jesse Shore
National President

Editor, Australian Science Communicators

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Editor, Australian Science Communicators www.asc.asn.au
Location: anywhere in Australia with broadband internet access
Honorarium: $150 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 500 + professional science and technology communicators across Australia and overseas.

The current Editor, Laura Miles, is resigning due to competing board commitments, so ASC is looking for a new Editor effective from the August 2011 issue. Laura 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 in the first two weeks of the month;
  • Listing recent news items or summarising topical stories to keep members apprised of 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 up the month’s material into short ‘teaser’ formats with click-throughs and circulating to the membership on the third Thursday of the month;
  • Responding to feedback from members and non-members; and
  • Liaising with the webmaster, membership officer, web editors and the national president regarding web strategy and policy.

The key selection criteria for this role are:

  • Evidence of an established interest in science communication;
  • Computer and internet literacy, in particular WordPress and Gmail/Google Docs;
  • Excellent time management skills; and
  • Capacity to commit ~10 hours per month to ASC activities.

 

Applications are invited by e-mail no later than 5 pm on 21 July 2011 for the attention of Jesse Shore, ASC National President at: jesse [at] prismaticsciences.com.

Please include a brief CV (two pages maximum) and a statement addressing the selection criteria 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, e-mail Laura at: editor [at ] asc.asn.au

A science communicator’s holiday?

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When planning to travel interstate or territory I encourage members to contact the local branch committees. You might find they are running an event or workshop that meets your interests or that they can provide you an opportunity to present something yourself to share your expertise. You’ll also have some valuable and enjoyable networking and socialising.

 

There are potential taxation benefits and real professional gains in mixing a bit of science communication with a holiday. This is even more so for a business trip. So make use of the branches for fun and profit.

 

This is also a way to make contacts in our non-branch regions. The NT and Tasmania are slowly growing in member numbers but do not yet have local branch committees. The same goes for central and northern Queensland (members in several states suffer the tyranny of distance but especially Queensland folks).

 

If you are heading in those directions, contact Kali Madden <office at asc.asn.au>. Kali can look into putting you in contact with members interested in exchanging science communication perspectives (perhaps over a drink or dinner).

 

Several of the branches have contact details of their committee members on the ASC website. It’s worth an email or two to seek the benefits of networking.

 

Jesse Shore

National President