ASC2018 - 11-15 Nov, Sydney

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Students Blogging Science: A Case Study that Measures the Effectiveness of Communicating Science to Public Audiences

When: Wednesday 14th November, 8:45am – 9:45am
Where: L3, Level 2 to the left of the registration/foyer area, down the hallway and through the doors on the right
Hashtag: #W5

ASC2018 asks, “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 case study answers these questions by examining the effectiveness of view stats from student blogs that were created as part of an assignment in a first-year university science communication paper. In 2017 the Royal Society of New Zealand (RSNZ) published a discussion paper that asks public audiences to consider the medical, legal, ethical, cultural implications of gene-editing healthcare technologies in New Zealand relevant to four given case scenarios (sickle cell anaemia, breast and ovarian cancer, cardiovascular disease, improving athletic performance). Students were required to write a series of blog posts targeted to public audiences in response to the RSNZ discussion paper. In post #2, students were prompted to communicate their position on one of the discussion paper case scenarios while addressing one or more of the four considerations. After publishing their posts for public view, many students noted significant high/low percentages in their blog view stats from audiences located both locally in New Zealand and internationally. The blog view stats are the focus of this case study, which help gauge and measure where public interests lie regarding new media platforms as an accessible means to science communication.

Session

Case studies: Education

Presenter

Susan Rauch, Lecturer, professional writing (science and technology), Massey University, School of English and Media Studies

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Kickstart Science

When: Wednesday 14th November, 8:45am – 9:45am
Where: L3, Level 2 to the left of the registration/foyer area, down the hallway and through the doors on the right
Hashtag: #W5

The Kickstart Science workshops are aimed at HSC Science students and teachers and are designed to meet the demand expressed by teachers in response to previous and upcoming changes to the HSC Science syllabus. Parts of the syllabus requires equipment or expertise in areas that many schools may not be able to provide. Kickstart workshops give HSC students a chance to do experiments and demonstrations of key ideas in the syllabus that are difficult to do in the classroom.

Kickstart Science makes HSC Physics accessible for students and teachers. The experiments and demonstrations have covered aspects of the core and optional HSC Physics syllabus all in the setting of real teaching laboratories. Classes spend two and half hours going through our experiments in small groups. Each group has its own casual academic tutor and covers many dot points of the syllabus in depth. Worksheets are provided for all students and teachers.

The case study will introduce the Kickstart Science outreach program from the University of Sydney Faculty of Science, including how it is run and how it has changed in its history. We will cover some of the unique aspects of Kickstart Science including justification of how it is designed, reporting on how it is received by students and teachers and how it is held within the faculty of Science. We will also include challenges and future work.

Session

Case studies: Education

Presenter

Tom Gordon, Senior Science Communicator, University of Sydney, Faculty of Science

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Elevating science communication through social science

When: Wednesday 14th November, 11:55am – 1:25pm
Where: Theatre, Level 2 down the stairs to the right of the registration/foyer area
Hashtag: #W10

Effective communication and engagement is key to achieving impact from science. This session highlights how harnessing social science research can improve science communication. Three case studies from Australia’s lead science agency, CSIRO, will demonstrate how social scientists are collaborating with science communication practitioners to elevate science communication and engagement with target audiences. Strategies include formulating engaging key messages, identifying appropriate channels/platforms, and using language and tone to meet communication objectives.

Session Producer/Presenter

Dr Tsuey Cham, Communication & Stakeholder Manager, CSIRO GISERA

Melina Gillespie, Communication Advisor, CSIRO Energy

Session Producer/Chair

Helen Beringen, Communication Manager, CSIRO Land and Water

Presenters

Dr Nadine Marshall, Environmental Social Scientist, CSIRO Land & Water

Dr Andrea Walton, Social Scientist, CSIRO Land & Water

Dr Elisha Frederiks, Senior Research Scientist, CSIRO Land & Water

Amy Edwards, Communication Advisor, CSIRO Land & Water

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A comparison of two techniques for visualising antibiotic dispensing over time: the run chart versus Nightingale’s rose diagram

When: Wednesday 14th November, 2:40pm – 3:40pm
Where: L2, Level 2 to the left of the registration/foyer area, down the hallway and through the doors on the right
Hashtag: #W17

Background
Data visualisation is the broadly-applicable science of communicating information via graphical representations. The conventional technique for visualising drug dispensing over time is the run chart – a graph of data over time measured in a line. An alternative to the run chart is Nightingale’s rose diagram[1], which shows areas in a circle over time measured in a clockwise direction. No known studies have used Nightingale’s rose diagram to visualise drug dispensing temporally. Antibiotic use fluctuates with the seasons and, in modern society, is closely monitored over time because overuse enables infectious disease-causing bacteria to develop antibiotic resistance. In modern public health, it is important to visualise antibiotic use in a way that is understandable to health professionals, researchers, government officials, and the generally public. This study aimed to compare two techniques for visualising antibiotic dispensing over time: the run chart and Nightingale’s rose diagram.

Methods
Dispensing data were sourced from Pharmaceutical Benefits Schedule Item Reports[2]. For each month in 2017, data were extracted on number of systemic antibiotic (Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical 5 code J01[3]) prescriptions dispensed in Australia under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme or the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Antibiotic dispensing over time was visualised by producing run charts in Microsoft Excel 2013[4] and Nightingale’s rose diagrams in AnyChart[5], with stratification by drug class. These data visualisations were compared visually and with respect to elements ranked in order of decreasingly accurate perceptions of absolute quantity[6-8]: 1. position (common scale); 2. position (non-aligned scale); 3. length/direction/angle/slope; 4. area; 5. volume/density/curvature; 6. shading/colour saturation/colour hue.

Results
In the run charts and Nightingale rose diagrams, antibiotic dispensing increased from the lowest levels in January and February (the Australian summer) to peaks in August (the Australian winter). The investigator observed that Nightingale’s rose diagrams were eye catching and accentuated the seasonal component of the data. With regard to the accuracy of perceptions of absolute quantity, the run chart attained the highest score of 1 for position (common scale) whereas Nightingale’s rose diagrams scored lower: 3 for length and 4 for area.

Conclusions
When one is visualising antibiotic dispensing over time, choosing Nightingale’s rose diagram over the run chart gives accentuated seasonality but less accurate perception of absolute quantity. These two data visualisation techniques may complement one another. If one were to present these plots together or incorporate the run chart’s numeric scale into Nightingale’s rose diagram, then there could be improved communication of information on antibiotic use (or overuse) to health professionals, researchers, government officials, and the general public.

References
1. Magnello ME. Victorian statistical graphics and the iconography of Florence Nightingale’s polar area graph. British Society for the History of Mathematics Bulletin. 2012; 27: 13-37.

2. Australian Government Department of Human Services. Pharmaceutical Benefits Schedule Item Reports. Available at: http://medicarestatistics.humanservices.gov.au/statistics/pbs_item.jsp [Accessed 8 August 2018].

3. World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology. ATC/DDD Index 2018. Available at: http://www.whocc.no/atc_ddd_index/ [Available at: 12 August 2018].

4. Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA, USA.

5. AnyChart, St. Augustine, FL, USA.

6. Cleveland WS and McGill R. Graphical perception: Theory, experimentation, and application to the development of graphical methods. Journal of the American Statistical Association. 1984; 79(387): 531–554.

7. Cleveland WS and McGill R. Graphical perception and graphical methods for analyzing scientific data. Science. 1985; 229(4716): 828–833.

8. Shah P and Miyake A. The Cambridge handbook of visuospatial thinking. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2005.

Session

Case studies: Visualising science

Presenter

Michael Leach, Adjunct Research Associate, School of Rural Health, Monash University

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Bridging the Gap between Science Communication Theory and Practice

When: Wednesday 14th November, 8:45am – 9:45am
Where: Theatrette, Level 2 behind the registration/foyer area
Hashtag: #W2

Internationally, science communication scholars and practitioners have been discussing the need to bridge theory with practice for mutual benefits. This session will bring together leading science communication scholars and practitioners  to discuss with the audience critical questions such as:

  • Who are the theoreticians and practitioners?
  • Are there really barriers between theory and practice, or is this a myth?
  • If there are barriers, how might these be overcome?
  • What examples are there of theory and practice connecting?
  • What are the future opportunities for scholars and practitioners to work together?

Session Chair

Jennifer Metcalfe, Director, Econnect Communication

Presenters

Dr Michelle Riedlinger, Associate Professor, University of Fraser Valley, Canada

Mr Toss Gascoigne, Visiting Fellow, The Australian National University

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Pixcells: when digital art meets science

When: Wednesday 14th November, 2:40pm – 3:40pm
Where: L2, Level 2 to the left of the registration/foyer area, down the hallway and through the doors on the right
Hashtag: #W17

We are exceedingly good at extracting information through visual processing. Studies have shown that the brain can identify images seen for as little as 13 milliseconds – a rate of more than 75 images per second. As science communicators, the image is a powerful and universally accessible form of knowledge transfer. As the complexity of scientific understanding unfolds, visual science communication will play an increasingly important role in education, policy and public engagement, and will no doubt inspire the scientists of the future. This presentation highlights the value of science-trained artists and where to find them locally.

Session

Case studies: Visualising science

Presenter

Andrew Lilja, Techincal Director and Co-founder, SquareCell

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Designing methodologies with impact

When: Wednesday 14th November, 2:40pm – 3:40pm

Different approaches and processes can be implemented as part of a research project – but the best approach is the one that will get you the most accurate assessment! This workshop will address best practice approaches to designing research programs that combine scientific rigour with practical efficiency. We will look at the philosophy underpinning different approaches and how and when different techniques should be used.

Presenter

Clifford Lewis, Lecturer, Charles Sturt University

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Science storytelling and detective work in Museums

When: Wednesday 14th November, 11:55am – 1:25pm
Where: L1, Level 2 to the left of the registration/foyer area, down the hallway and through the doors on the right
Hashtag: #W12

Join MAAS curators in a participatory workshop and behind-the-scenes tour.

Experience being a curator, learn about object investigation and how to extract science stories from material culture. Deepen your understanding of the role that objects and museum collections play in understanding who we are and what we value.

Then join the curators of science, innovation and technology on a tour of the extraordinary wonderland of the Museum’s underground collection store.

Please note: There is one flight of stairs to access the Collection Store.

Session Producer, Presenter

Tilly Boleyn, Curator, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences

Presenter

Matthew Connell, Principal Curator, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences

Nina Earl, Science and Technology Curator, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences

Angelique Hutchison, Curator, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences

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The art of science communication

When: All conference
Where: Foyer, Level 2, the conference registration/foyer area
Turbine Hall, Level 1 next to the Experimentations exhibit (Tuesday 13th November, 6:00pm – 9:00pm only)
Hashtag: #SciArt

Science communicators often turn to the creative arts in their visual science communication projects. Whether many of these works would be called art is highly contested. On the other hand, many could easily be called works of design. So how do these different fields interact in their science-related visual displays? This exhibition explores works that range across visual communication, design, and art, teasing at the boundaries of these fields and considering how they play into the field of science communication.

To be mounted in the public space throughout the ASC 2018 conference, the exhibition will invite inspection, reflection, and comparison of works that are aesthetically interesting and intellectually challenging. Static visual works will be shown as physical prints in the conference foyer while video and screen based works will show in the Turbine Hall during the main evening event.

Curator

David Harris, Lecturer (sessional), Queensland College of Art, Griffith University

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Developing a breadth of skills by Learning through Play: the Six Bricks program

When: Wednesday 14th November, 3:45pm – 4:15pm
Where: Theatre, Level 2 down the stairs to the right of the registration/foyer area
Hashtag: #W18

Six Bricks is a simple yet powerful program for learning using just six LEGO® DUPLO® bricks. It was developed in South Africa in 2013 as a means of providing children and their educators from less advantaged backgrounds with daily physical activities with which to improve their perceptual, pre-numeracy and pre-literacy development.

Six Bricks is a concept owned by the LEGO Foundation, used in some of their projects, and while it is not commercially available, there are great lessons to be learned.

There are well over 250 short exercises that can affect reasoning, literacy, numeracy and perceptual skills, and not just in children, but anyone at any age and from any background. From schools to corporate team-building, from playful learning to serious science communication, the Six Bricks program is demonstrably effective.

During the ASC2018 conference I will lead a ‘hands-on’ Six Bricks demonstration that involves curiosity, collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking and a can-do attitude, the “6Cs” of 21st century STEM skills.

Six Bricks is an example of a cost-effective program that is readily understood and simple to train others to implement. Delegates should come away with fresh ideas and the confidence to apply Learning Through Play methodology in their own work.

This session is supported by PlayFutures www.playfutures.net

Further information:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/725765130822588/

https://www.legofoundation.com/en/learn-how/knowledge-base/six-bricks/

Session Producer/Presenter

Adam Selinger, Executive Director, Children’s Discovery Museum Ltd

Australian Science Communicators

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Questions? Please contact Kali on asc2018@asc.asn.au.

Acknowledgements

© 2018 Australian Science Communicators

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