ASC2020 - 16-19 Feb, Melbourne

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Do common names influence willingness to conserve threatened species?

Words matter and how we name things can have a particularly large influence on how others perceive them. Previous research has demonstrated that animal common names can influence willingness to conserve species (Karaffa et al. 2012), and may even impact their conservation support and threat status. We use experimental surveys to test the influence of five different “common name frames” on perceived conservation importance, willingness to donate, and willingness to volunteer. We also test whether these responses are mediated by information seeking and processing variables in the audience – problem recognition, constraint recognition, level of involvement – to disentangle how each name change influences perceptions and intended behaviour. This work could inform strategic name changes of species common names to improve perceptions, support and ultimately conservation success.

 

Presenter

Emily Gregg, PhD Candidate, RMIT University

 

When: Monday 17th February, 2:00-3:30
Where: Room G03, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

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Bringing Science into the Home

InquiBox designs and delivers science and maths activity boxes for children aged 7-12 years old so that they learn through play. Every box includes 4-6 activities, and we use a combination of DIY projects, experiments and games, and explore a different STEAM topic every month. We deliver the boxes directly to the home and create a tactile learning environment away from screens.

 

Presenter

Sarah Bradley, Science Communicator, InquiBox

 

When: Tuesday 18th February, 2:00pm-3:30pm
Where: Room G01, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

 

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Social implications of knee-jerk prescribing practices in response to opioid science communications in Australian and the USA

The phrase “opioid epidemic” has become commonplace in recent years. In Australia and the USA, one-sided science communication addressed to medical practitioners about public health statistics has resulted in unintended social implications for chronic pain sufferers.

This communication has since been recanted by the authors in both countries, but has led to unintended and avoidable knee-jerk responses by both doctors and policy-makers, including doctors abandoning their patients, patients enduring rapid opioid withdrawal (which has significantly higher risk of death than opioid overdose), state legislation, and even suicides. This case study explores how this happened, and what we can learn for the future.

Presenter

S. Jade Barclay, Medical Writer, PhD Candidate, The University of Sydney

 

When: Wednesday 19th February, 2:40pm-3:25pm
Where: Room G01, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

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Zantac headlines are a greater health risk than Zantac tablets

Zantac (Ranitidine) has recently been recalled due to a probable carcinogen found in slightly higher than expected levels in a batch of the product. This recall is a voluntary act of social responsibility by the company, however the mainstream media and social media representations have incited panic with sensationalised headlines like “FDA says heartburn drug Zantac could cause cancer.”

The literature shows that patients don’t discern risk well when it comes to comparing medical treatments and evaluating healthcare options. Patients are meant to give informed consent about the treatments they receive, but they are at the mercy of their providing physicians and the media to get science information about the risks and benefits of their proposed treatments. These kinds of communication tactics and incomplete representation of science information in the media contribute to medical distrust, confusion, and panic that prevent good healthcare decision-making.

 

Presenter

S. Jade Barclay

 

When: Wednesday 19th February, 2:40pm-3:25pm
Where: Room G01, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

 

 

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Towards Citizen Art/Science – How Unique Partnerships Can Increase Scientific Engagement

Would you be brave enough to track your exposure to air pollution and become part of an artwork? Or would you want to experience the air quality of global cities within a single exhibition space? Science Gallery Melbourne and Environment Protection Authority Victoria established a partnership to address these questions as part of Science Gallery’s season DISPOSABLE.

The experience from our partnership revealed a promising opportunity for ‘citizen art/science projects’ that enable members of the public to participate in scientific practice by engaging with artistic exhibits. Is this the new model to help answer urgent, wicked problems?

In this presentation we discuss the motivations behind our partnership, the projects we collaborated on, and we illustrate the impact of joining forces with government agencies, academia and the cultural sector. Driven by a collective goal to increase scientific literacy, we have identified how these partnerships also benefit civic engagement, academic practice, cultural exposure and policy-making.

 

What will participants gain from attending your session?

Participants will gain first-hand knowledge of the exciting partnership between EPA, SGM and The University of Melbourne. Our talk will be light and accessible, and will unpack how we established our partnership, its driving forces, and the significant opportunities that we believe exist for citizen art/science projects as society participates in seeking answers to urgent, wicked problems.

Presenters

Niels Wouter, Head of Research and Emerging Practice, Research Fellow, Science Gallery Melbourne

Laura Boland, Program Coordinator – Applied Science, Environment Protection Authority Victoria

Geraldine Davis, Program Coordinator – Citizen Science, Environment Protection Authority Victoria

 

When: Wednesday 19th February, 12:05pm-12:50pm
Where: Room G21, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

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The Trees Speak, and people listen

Boorna Waanginy: The Trees Speak was the opening event for Perth Festival 2019. A free, immersive light and sound installation, the show was updated and remounted following a successful season in 2017. Using cutting edge technology and a collaborative team of artists, scientists and Indigenous Elders, Boorna Waanginy tells the story of south-western WA’s unique biodiversity and explores the parallels between Indigenous knowledge and western science.

In 2019, the show involved thousands of school children, included a practical component to help people take on-ground action to help biodiversity, doubled its audience to over 200,000 and had rave reviews around the world.

Can art change the conversation around conservation and how do we convert the conversation into action?

 

Presenter

Mandy Bamford, Ecologist and Science Communicator, Bamford Consulting Ecologists

 

When: Monday 17th February, 2:00-3:30
Where: Room G03, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

 

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Communicating effectively during an emergency response: Townsville Floods, 2019

In late January and early February 2019, an intense and slow-moving monsoonal low over northern Queensland caused record-breaking rainfall and disastrous flooding. Townsville was particularly badly affected, receiving more than its average annual rainfall in less than a week.

The Townsville floods were a devastating event. The floods brought danger and destruction and tested both the communities and the agencies that seek to protect them. The Bureau mounted a massive effort with the express purpose of saving lives.

Presenters

Clare Mullen, Communication Adviser, Bureau of Meteorology, Australia

Raveena Carroll-Kenney, Daniel Barty, Rob Clancy

 

When: Wednesday 19th February, 12:05pm-12:50pm
Where: Room G31, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

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Selling science communication: how to convince an organisation that science communication really matters

Are you a science communication pioneer? Or do you want to be? Are you the first person in your organisation with ‘science communication’ in your job description? Or perhaps the only science communicator in a sea of non-communicating scientists? Or maybe you’re the only ‘science-y’ communications person in a mainstream marketing department?

Sometimes it’s tough to convince the people you work with that: a) science communication is a thing, and b) it’s a thing worth doing well. In this presentation, we’ll tell you about our experiences of being science communicators in a government agency. We’ll talk about our ups and downs, and share how we have convinced (almost) everyone that science communication really does matter.

 

Presenter

Catherine Healy, Science Communication Advisor, Environment Protection Authority Victoria

 

When: Tuesday 18th February, 11:15am-12:15pm

Where: Room G21, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

 

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The value of social media for scientists: what do students think?

When: Tuesday 13th November, 4:00pm – 5:30pm
Where: Theatre, Level 2 down the stairs to the right of the registration/foyer area
Hashtag: #T12

Twitter is widely considered a useful and effective communication tool among scientists. I explored the perceptions of 472 research-active science students regarding the potential role that social media in general, and specifically Twitter, could play in scientists’ professional lives.

I initially asked students (pre-survey) whether they currently used Twitter and asked for their responses to statements including: ‘Social media plays an important role in the professional life of a scientist’, ‘Social media is a valid way to communicate about science with other scientists’ and ‘Having a professional presence on social media can help my science career’. A month after a class focused on the value of Twitter and other social media to scientists, I asked students to respond to the same statements (post-survey) and also established how many of them had begun using Twitter.

All results were similar across all years (2014 – 2018). Initially, most students used social media personally, but not professionally, and less than a third were Twitter users. Most students perceived social media to be a valid way of communicating about science with lay audiences; few believed this to be true for communicating among scientists.

At the time of the post-survey, half the class used social media both professionally and personally and roughly 80% answered that they were Twitter users. The proportion of students who believed that social media was a valid way to communicate about science with scientific audiences had also increased. Students were also more inclined to agree with the statement that social media plays an important role in the professional life of a scientist.

A one-hour session outlining the value of Twitter to scientists was sufficient to encourage many students to start using Twitter and appeared to contribute to more students seeing a role for social media in the professional life of a scientist.

Session

Evidence-based scicom: Research exploring new and social media

Presenter

Jen Martin, Educator and radio personality, The University of Melbourne

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Evidence-based scicom: Research exploring knowledge, beliefs and perceptions

When: Tuesday 13th November, 2:00pm – 3:30pm
Where: Theatre, Level 2 down the stairs to the right of the registration/foyer area
Hashtag: #T8

When we look around, science communication is everywhere. You see it in museums, in television documentaries, in newspapers, on the radio, in science magazines, social media and the growth in citizen science. But how do we know whether any given effort in communicating science among public audiences is effective? And by which aims and objectives are those efforts measured?

This session will feature research case studies exploring knowledge, beliefs and perceptions and provide insights to improve science communication practice and impact evaluation.

The session is structured into five 15-minute talks and will wrap-up with a 15-minute Q&A for delegates questions and comments.

The session will include the following talks:

Session Producer

Isabelle Kingsley, PhD candidate, Science Communication, University of New South Wales

Session Chair

Dr Carol Oliver, Senior Research Fellow, University of New South Wales

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Questions? Please contact Kali on asc2020@asc.asn.au.

Acknowledgements

© 2020 Australian Science Communicators

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