Words Matter A thought provoking opine which asks scientists if we’re being too careful with our words? The authors discuss how the use of euphemisms to describe environmental challenges, scientific results, and interpretation/recommendations undermines conservation objectives, specifically of changing human behaviors. They also challenge scientists to understand how we internalize euphemisms to justify our work…
Tag: SciComm
Marsupial misconceptions: weird mammals, placentas and pouches
I’ve now been living in Australia for almost 18 years, and I’m an unashamed convert to #TeamMarsupial. Marsupials are fascinating animals in both evolutionary and ecological terms, but at times I am surprised by how poorly-understood they are. I’ve been thinking of writing a post to address some recurring marsupial misconceptions for a while. When I saw…
A Year of Science Selfies – Stephanie
When hearing about the #365scienceselfies challenge, I was immediately on board. I love selfies and was very willing to use this excuse to take more. I loved the idea – showing other people what scientists do on a daily basis and “humanizing” us (scientists – they’re just like us!). I was also up for the challenge of coming…
A Year of Science Selfies- Anna
At this time last year I was quite uncomfortable about the idea of participating in #365scienceselfies, but still, I agreed to give it a go. I thought it was worth exploring as a different kind of science communication, to show what scientists look like and what we do. I never once thought I’d actually reach the nominal…
A Year of Science Selfies- Emily
When the WildlifeSNPits team first started discussing whether to participate in the #365scienceselfies challenge, I really didn’t want to do it. I was uncomfortable that my face would be all over the Internet (more than it already is). But it also sounded like an opportunity to learn something new about myself, so I agreed to the…
When Science meets Parliament
Last week I had the privilege of spending two days at the 16th “Science meets Parliament”. It was an eye opening experience and I’ve learnt a lot… but let me explain… Science meets Parliament is an annual event run by Science and Technology Australia (STA), the peak body representing Australian science and technology. It includes…
Too Much Gloom in Scicomm? Or… Let’s Celebrate Conservation Successes!
A couple of weeks ago, Stephanie asked if there is too much I in scicomm? This week, I’m asking whether there is too much doom and gloom in scicomm – or at least in scicomm related to wildlife conservation? Two things have led me to this post. In December, Emily asked me for my thoughts on new…
Too Much I in Scicomm?
A couple of weeks ago, I came across the following tweet: Guilty as charged! By trade, I am a scientist, but for fun/professional growth/genuine interest in spreading the message of science, I also consider myself a science communicator. I agree with @LadyNaturalist that a lot of science communicators do talk, tweet, and Instagram about themselves….
#365scienceselfies Challenge
We showed you what a day of science looks like for each of us (Anna, Emily, & Stephanie), but what does a whole year look like? We’re about to find out as we’ve each decided to do the #365scienceselfies challenge! That’s right, a selfie every day. Our January 1, 2016 pictures are below, but to…
What We’re Reading- Dec 17, 2015
Twitter on Blast Two opinions came out this week lamenting the over use of Twitter at scientific meetings. Specifically, Conservation Bytes and Small Pond Science note they feel the quality of scientific meetings has decreased with increasing electronic use, including tweeting. There’s really a lot to think about in these two posts. For sure, the…
What We’re Reading: Dec 11, 2015
Looking Into the Past Cetacean Style Add whale baleen (the structures that facilitate filter feeding in the Mysticeti family*) to the list of biological structures that provide time series of data. Researchers can analyze both stress and reproductive hormone levels along the length of baleen, thereby providing a multi-year physiological profile of an animal. It’s…
What We’re Reading: Nov 6, 2015
Conservation Tourism is not Necessarily Good for Animal Welfare Tourists often have opportunities to interact with animals, from visiting zoos and aquariums, to more exotic interactions such as swimming with dolphins, feeding tigers, and riding elephants. This new paper (open) compared animal welfare across a diverse set of wildlife attractions with tourist satisfaction with the…
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