Equity in STEM has been a long time in coming. While we’ve made progress, casual comments like the one made by Prof. Shrinivas Kulkarni from CalTech continue. During an interview with NPR, Prof. Kulkarni, a professor of astronomy and planetary science, said that, “Many scientists, I think, secretly are what I call ‘boys with toys.”Continue reading “#GirlsWithToys: Using social media to deal with casual sexism”
Tag Archives: communication
Everyone’s an expert on Ebola
Just a short post today to make mention of an article in the Weekend Australia Inquirer section which dealt with Ebola in a surprisingly tasteful manner (if we by pass the title ‘death and danger on the seething front line of Ebola’). Jamie Walker, associate editor of the section, reported on developments in Ebola throughContinue reading “Everyone’s an expert on Ebola”
Talking about experts
An expert is qualified to give opinions based on their in depth involvement, but it doesn’t make them the last word on a subject. It just gives their opinion more weight than someone without their specific knowledge.
Science with a bang: Making explosive claims about Mt. Fuji
A month ago, international headlines said that Japan’s iconic volcano – Mt Fuji – was in a critical state. The headlines originated with this a press release and interviews with the lead author from a study on seismic activities in Japan’s crust, Doctor Frolent Brenguier. Dr. Brenguier made some very interesting statements about Mt. Fuji.Continue reading “Science with a bang: Making explosive claims about Mt. Fuji”
Sexy science: what’s with all the hype?
In the last week or so, as I’ve been looking into controversial science, I’ve come across a recurring theme of concern that ‘big’ journals (like Nature and Science) are damaging science. Someone who provides a good synopsis of this problem is Randy Schekman, a cell biologist and Nobel prize winner, who is firmly of the opinionContinue reading “Sexy science: what’s with all the hype?”
Let’s talk about sharks
This week is Shark Week and it just so happens that yesterday I visited Underwater World in Mooloolaba, Queensland to see some of these powerful creatures. We all know about sharks, right? The big horrific creature in Jaws. The predator lying in wait for innocent swimmers. Well, as it turns out, that’s not quite right.Continue reading “Let’s talk about sharks”
Let’s talk about communicating science
On March 18, Professor Ian Chubb (Chief Scientist of Australia since 2011) addressed the National Press Club as part of a two day ‘Science Meets Parliament‘ event. The group that runs this event (Science and Technology Australia) have three very specific aims: to encourage scientific dialogue between industry, government, and the science and technology community, toContinue reading “Let’s talk about communicating science”
It’s all in the story
Have you ever reached the middle of a joke and realised that you’re missing some important information? It happens to everyone (truly, it does) but at the time it’s disheartening. You’ve lost your key message and the attention of your audience. Stories are integral to a brand: they promote connection with your audience and theyContinue reading “It’s all in the story”
Social Media in a Crisis
An excellent article here details the effective way that the start-up company Buffer dealt with a crisis. When hackers interrupted their normal services, Buffer staff used Twitter, Facebook, and their blog to communicate with their users and assure them that appropriate measures were being taken to deal with the problem. By mitigating outrage with anContinue reading “Social Media in a Crisis”
How do we talk about complex issues?
Talking about complex issues requires breaking them down into manageable chunks. It’s all very well to announce that climate change is a problem, that our budget has been increased to $500 billion, or that oil is an unsustainable fuel source, but to generate understanding we need to be able to connect big statements to ourContinue reading “How do we talk about complex issues?”
hype.science 