The strategic review: where we’re up to

If you’ve kept up with our SCOPE newsletters and other communications activity over the past 9 months, you’d know that the ASC Executive have been running a structured discovery-led strategic review process. This has been the primary purpose of our work in 2022, and we’ve made some significant progress.

We wanted to share an update of […]

Statement on the Russian war

From the Co-Presidents

We are a group of science communicators. Many of us act in roles that require impartial observation and conscientiously unbiased reportage. We therefore typically avoid declarations of support for either side in an ongoing debate. A journalist should not advocate. A public servant should not lobby. A scientist should not express subjective opinions.

Regardless […]

President’s Update

Trust Me, I’m a Science Communicator.

With thanks to Dr Craig Cormick, President, Australian Science Communicators

Let’s start with a quick poll. Who do you think people trust the most?

Scientists?

– sorry. No.

According to a poll conducted by Roy Morgan, nurses topped the trust charts for the 22nd year in a row as the most trusted profession. And they were […]

President’s Update

There is no One Public!
With thanks to Dr Craig Cormick, President, Australian Science Communicators
I think we all know there are two different types of people in the world (those who think you can divide the world into two different types of people, and those who don’t!). But understanding different types of similar people is a very useful […]

Season’s greetings and a free gift for ASC members!

On behalf of the ASC Executive I would like to wish all members a Happy Holiday season, or Seasons Greetings, or Merry Christmas – whichever best accords with your personal beliefs (except if you believe in wearing a tinfoil hat to ward off alien broadcasts – if that’s you we need to have a serious […]

President’s Update

Risk communication – when traditional communications don’t work
With thanks to Dr Craig Cormick, President, Australian Science Communicators
I have been doing a lot of work on risk communications lately – demonstrating to scientists why standing up in front of a community group with the best scientific data sometimes doesn’t mean very much – and I thought it worth […]

President’s Update: Critical Thinking Lessons from the Same Sex Marriage Debate

With thanks to Dr Craig Cormick, President, Australian Science Communicators
Listening to the arguments being made about Same Sex Marriage causes me to ponder how well critical thinking is being used in public debate. Some of the flawed arguments that are being made – predominantly by the No side it has to be said – are similar […]

President’s update: Capturing the feel and wonder of science

With thanks to ASC President Craig Cormick

So sure you can research all you want about a NASA rocket launch and find out data on thrust and payload and the science of rocket flight and so on – but none of that really tells you what a NASA rocket launch FEELS like.
And that goes something like […]

President’s update: Waiting for Science Comms to be rocked to its underpants…

Waiting for Science Comms to be rocked to its underpants…
So some really significant research was released in the last few years – and I have been patiently waiting for science communications globally to be rocked to its underpants.
But nothing has happened.
Let me explain. The first research was conducted by a collaborative effort of over 270 […]

Power tribes

By Craig Cormick
President, Australian Science Communicators
 
There are many people out there who understand that science helps us make sense of the world around us, through discoveries based on analysing data, measuring impacts and drawing conclusions from evidence-based thinking.

I’m sorry, I’ll just start that again.

There are many people out there who see science as a rather […]