Toss Gascoigne

Australian National University | ANU · Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science

The Covid-19 pandemic escalated demand for scientific explanations and guidance, creating opportunities for scientists to become publicly visible. In this study, we compared characteristics of visible scientists during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic (January to December 2020) across 16 countries. We find that the scientists who became visi...

Participatory science communication featured in several sessions and individual papers at the 2021 online conference of the Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) Network. This coverage recognises the drive away from linear communication to more participatory forms of science communication. In this special edition we present practice...

That science communication applies to both a field of practices and a field of research on those practices seems obvious enough. The very title of the 2020 book, Communicating science. A global perspective—part of an attempt to provide an overview of the way modern science communication has developed over the past 40 or so years, in 39 different co...

Twelve researchers from 11 countries used autoethnographic techniques, keeping diaries over 10 weeks of the COVID-19 crisis, to observe and reflect on changes in the role and cultural authority of science during important stages of viral activity and government action in their respective countries. We followed arguments, discussions and ideas gener...

Modern science communication has emerged in the twentieth century as a field of study, a body of practice and a profession—and it is a practice with deep historical roots. We have seen the birth of interactive science centres, the first university actions in teaching and conducting research, and a sharp growth in employment of science communicators...

Modern science communication has emerged as a field of study, a body of practice and a profession. In the last 60 years, we have seen the birth of interactive science centres, university courses, the first research into science communication, and a growth in employment by research institutions, universities, museums, science centres and industry. N...

Science communication has emerged as a new field over the last 50 years, and its progress has been marked by a rise in jobs, training courses, research, associations, conferences and publications. This paper describes science communication internationally and the trends and challenges it faces, before looking at the national level. We have document...

Modern science communication has emerged over the last 60 years as a field of study, a body of practice and a profession. This period has seen the birth of interactive science centres, the first university courses to teach the theory and practice of science communication, the first university departments conducting research into science communicati...

The strength of science communication in Australia has until now been in practice rather than theory, driven by a demand for practical solutions to problems. Science communicators are resourceful in devising solutions, either adapting international experience to suit local circumstances or inventing their own. The theoretical study of science commu...

The present comment examines to what extent science communication has attained the status of an academic discipline and a distinct research field, as opposed to the common view that science communication is merely a sub-discipline of media studies, sociology of science or history of science. Against this background, the authors of this comment char...

The Australian national election at the end of 2007 replaced a decade-long conservative government with a new, socially progressive government by a comfortable nationwide margin. This election has been widely reported as hinging on the progressive party's ability to successfully communicate about global climate change issues, and has even been hera...

The practice of scientists acting as advocates in their own political cause is a relatively recent one around the world. The primary cause of their advocacy is their desire to maintain or increase funding. Despite a natural reluctance to undertake lobbying activities, science has learned that it must engage with policymakers if it wishes to maintai...

Science communication, as a multidisciplinary field, has developed remarkably in recent years. It is now a distinct and exceedingly dynamic science that melds theoretical approaches with practical experience. Formerly well-established theoretical models now seem out of step with the social reality of the sciences, and the previously clear-cut delin...

There are barriers existing between the cultures and worlds of scientists and journalists. This can affect the good communication of science in the media. One method for overcoming this is through media skills training of scientists. This paper describes a successful method for training scientists developed over the past 12 years in Australia and s...

Australia has a problem when it comes to the relationship between science and members of Parliament. Few Parliamentarians understand the possibilities of science. They do not understand the limitations of science, or the long time scales it can take to develop an idea into something that will benefit the community. Nor do our scientists understand...

Australia has a problem when it comes to the relationship between science and members of Parliament. Few Parliamentarians understand the possibilities of science. They do not understand the limitations of science, or the long time scales it can take to develop an idea into something that will benefit the community. Nor do our scientists understand...

The Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS) sponsored, on August 20–21, 2001, its third “Science Meets Parliament Day.” This is an event that brings scientists and technologists to Canberra, Australia's capital, for one‐on‐one meetings with federal politicians. The event is shamelessly modeled on the U.S. Congression...

Most countries have national programs to increase the public awareness and understanding of science. The assumption behind these programs is that a scientifically literate population will ultimately lead to a healthy and economically prosperous country. How do we know if these programs achieve their aims? Are they evaluated, and if so, what methods...

This article examines the factors that encourage or discourage scientists to communicate their work through the media. A survey of Australian scientists found that they believed that media coverage of their work had significant benefits but that their research organizations offered them little support and often greeted their efforts with indifferen...

This paper considers the trends and current realities of science journalism in Australia. It also examines the role that science journalism is playing in setting the agenda for media coverage of science and technology in Australia, and the influence of that coverage in developing an informed public willing to be involved in science debates. Surveys...