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Preview: AIBS News
AIBS NewsFrom the pages of BioScience magazine, the online version of our current events column, with discussions of the latest happenings at AIBS in support of our mission.Modified: 2008-10-30T21:18:17Z
Science Policy and the Media: Presentations and Workshops 2008-10-30T21:18:17Z Staffed by professionals with years of experience working with scientists, lawmakers, and opinion shapers, the AIBS Public Policy Office provides public presentations and small-group training programs that help scientists and educators become effective advocates for science. A one-hour talk exploring...Staffed by professionals with years of experience working with scientists, lawmakers, and opinion shapers, the AIBS Public Policy Office provides public presentations and small-group training programs that help scientists and educators become effective advocates for science. A one-hour talk exploring a current science policy issue is usually available on relatively short notice. Themes for these talks include the politics and policy of evolution education, federal funding trends for scientific research and development, and an overview of ongoing science policy issues. These one-hour presentations provide the basic information required to understand the debate surrounding an issue, along with practical steps on how to engage in the public policy discourse. The AIBS Public Policy Office also offers two-hour, interactive workshops for AIBS member organizations, academic departments, or similar organizations. These workshops afford participants the opportunity to interact with the instructor and others in the course. Participants learn basic skills and gain knowledge that will help them work productively with policymakers, administrators, news reporters, or the public. Depending on the interests and composition of the sponsoring organization, these workshops may be programmed to include a mix of advocacy and media training. Participants receive a tool kit of quick reference materials (e.g., a congressional directory and the AIBS publication Communicating Science: A Primer for Working with the Media). The AIBS Public Policy Office periodically offers training courses of a half-day or longer that cover a mix of science and education policy issues as well as media relations. The cost for a one-hour talk on a science policy issue is $1750, plus reimbursement of the speaker’s travel expenses. An optional resource packet may also be purchased. Organizations contributing to the AIBS Public Policy Office at the participant level or higher receive a significant discount. A two-hour workshop on science policy or media relations is $3000 plus travel expenses for the instructor and a per participant fee for the materials (approximately $30 to $45 per-participant). Organizations contributing to the AIBS Public Policy Office at the Participant level or higher receive a significant discount. Estimates are available upon request for courses that run a half day or longer. For more information, please contact AIBS at publicpolicy@aibs.org.
University of California Press to Provide Publishing Services to AIBS for BioScience 2008-10-29T16:56:05Z AIBS has contracted with the University of California (UC) Press to provide the following publishing services for BioScience, beginning with the January 2009 issue: Marketing, management, and fulfillment of print and online subscriptions for libraries and consortia worldwide Rights, permissions,...AIBS has contracted with the University of California (UC) Press to provide the following publishing services for BioScience, beginning with the January 2009 issue:
AIBS retains full ownership, editorial control, page design and layout control, and approval of pricing for BioScience. AIBS continues to manage its individual members’ subscriptions itself; procedures for AIBS members to access BioScience online via the AIBS Web site have not changed. Staffing levels at the BioScience editorial office in Washington, DC, remain unaltered. In addition, UC Press will work with BioOne to ensure ongoing access by libraries to the online version of BioScience as part of the BioOne collection, a full-text, online package of essential biological science research journals. BioScience will also be available for purchase as a stand alone, online journal through UC Press and its online hosting platform, Caliber, beginning with the first issue of volume 59 in January 2009. “AIBS is delighted to be a part of this innovative collaboration among nonprofit organizations that will allow AIBS to publish BioScience with the expertise, resources, and worldwide reach that UC Press and BioOne each bring to the table,” AIBS Executive Director Richard O’Grady said. “Our mutual goal is the broadest possible dissemination and accessibility of BioScience content in a sustainable manner. We look forward to the success of this venture.” Susan Skomal, executive director and chief operating officer of BioOne, said: “AIBS is a founding organization of BioOne, and produces one of the collection’s stellar journals. The fact that UC Press is able and willing to accommodate the needs of both organizations will enhance our joint commitment to provide concrete benefits for the entire community of bioscience students and researchers.” UC Press is proud to be working with both AIBS and BioOne to enable a broad range of access to BioScience, said Rebecca Simon, associate director of UC Press and director of the Journals and Digital Publishing Division. “Such collaborations between nonprofit, mission-driven organizations help assure not only affordable access for libraries but sustainable models for the scholarly publishing community.” For more information about BioScience at UC Press and BioOne, please visit www.ucpressjournals.com or www.bioone.org. For more information about AIBS, please visit www.aibs.org.
Recent Executive Director’s Blog Entries Online at http://blogs.aibs.org/richardogrady/ 2008-10-29T16:46:16Z Biologists: Help us help you become more effective advocates for biology McCain and Obama have replied to science questions—now let’s have a discussion Presidential representatives to debate health and energy issues Obama replies to ScienceDebate2008 questions Lake monster devours science...
Recent Articles Online at www.actionbioscience.com 2008-10-29T16:43:09Z Recent Blog Entries on “Technology: An Educational Issue?” [Note: The ActionBioscience.org blog can be accessed through the “Educator Resources” menu.] BEN: Digital Biology Eduation Library Effective PowerPoint...Recent Blog Entries on “Technology: An Educational Issue?”
Recent Education Reports Online at www.aibs.org 2008-10-29T16:41:18Z Evolution Symposium and Educator Workshop at NABT 2008 Call for proposals from NCEAS Feedback requested on the NABT’s guidelines for four-year undergraduate biology programs Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education ASA-CSSA-SSSA’s Students in Agronomy, Soils, and Environmental Sciences...
AIBS Board Elections Under Way; Polls Close 10 October 2008-09-15T19:11:50Z Ballots for the AIBS Board elections have been mailed; members can also vote online at www.aibs.org/vote. At the end of 2008, the following positions become vacant on the 13-person AIBS Board of Directors: (a) president-elect and (b) one board seat...Ballots for the AIBS Board elections have been mailed; members can also vote online at www.aibs.org/vote. At the end of 2008, the following positions become vacant on the 13-person AIBS Board of Directors: (a) president-elect and (b) one board seat from the AIBS membership-at-large. (Board elections by the Council of AIBS Member Societies and Organizations are also under way at this time through a separate ballot.) The president-elect serves a one-year term and automatically succeeds to a one-year term as president, then a one-year term as immediate past-president. Board members serve three-year terms. The Nominating Committee has prepared the following slate, listed alphabetically by category, for your attention and consideration. All terms start on 1 January 2009. President-Elect
Board member elected by the membership-at-large
Board member elected from the Council
To cast your vote, please go to the online ballot at www.aibs.org/vote and sign in with your last name and six-digit AIBS membership number (as it appears on your AIBS membership card and on the BioScience mailing label; for assistance, contact AIBS at admin@aibs.org, 703-790-1745 or 800-992-2427). A paper ballot has also been mailed to all members; if you prefer to use that ballot, please complete it and mail it to AIBS. The polls close on 10 October 2008. AIBS thanks all of the candidates for their dedication and willingness to run for these voluntary positions. Biographical sketches and election statements are included with the online and paper ballots.
Free Videos Online: AIBS 2008 Annual Meeting Lectures 2008-09-16T16:40:34Z The AIBS Media Library contains plenary lectures by some of the world’s most eminent biologists recorded at AIBS annual meetings from 2000 onward. The free recordings offer synchronized video, audio, slides, transcripts, and MP3 podcast files of most presentations. The...The AIBS Media Library contains plenary lectures by some of the world’s most eminent biologists recorded at AIBS annual meetings from 2000 onward. The free recordings offer synchronized video, audio, slides, transcripts, and MP3 podcast files of most presentations. The 2008 AIBS annual meeting addresses on “Climate, Environment, and Infectious Diseases” are now online at www.aibs.org/media-library. New content
Panel session
AIBS to Cosponsor the Fifth Annual Evolution Symposium 2008-09-15T18:46:21Z AIBS and the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) are cosponsoring the fifth annual evolution symposium, organized by AIBS Immediate Past-President Douglas J. Futuyma. The theme for the symposium is “Illuminating Biology: The Evolutionary Perspective.” It will take place on Thursday,...AIBS and the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) are cosponsoring the fifth annual evolution symposium, organized by AIBS Immediate Past-President Douglas J. Futuyma. The theme for the symposium is “Illuminating Biology: The Evolutionary Perspective.” It will take place on Thursday, 16 October, at the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) Professional Development Conference in Memphis, Tennessee. The speakers will address the question of how an evolutionary perspective can contribute to and deepen understanding in specific biological disciplines. The speakers will be Joram Piatigorsky, of the National Eye Institute, National Institues of Health; Robert Blankenship, of Washington University in St. Louis; Patricia Wittkopp, of the University of Michigan; and Georg Striedtr, of the University of California, Irvine. In addition to the symposium, NESCent is organizing an education workshop that will take place the following morning on Friday, 17 October. Conference registration is required to attend the symposium and workshop. Visit the NABT Web site for information on conference registration: www.nabt2008.org. For details about the symposium and workshop schedule, visit the AIBS Web site: www.aibs.org/special-symposia.
Graduate Student Policy Fellow Joins PPO for Fall 2008-09-15T18:40:19Z This fall, the American Society of Mammalogists has teamed with AIBS to offer a mammalogy graduate student the opportunity to gain firsthand exposure to how science policy is developed in Washington, DC. This is the fourth consecutive year the two...This fall, the American Society of Mammalogists has teamed with AIBS to offer a mammalogy graduate student the opportunity to gain firsthand exposure to how science policy is developed in Washington, DC. This is the fourth consecutive year the two organizations have offered this unique learning opportunity. The 2008 fellow is Sarah Smiley. A master’s student in the Department of Biology at the University of South Florida, Smiley studies the distribution and genetics of the golden mouse (Ochrotomys muttalli) in Florida. Before graduate school, Smiley received her bachelor’s degree in 2004 from Florida State University with dual degrees in biological science and environmental studies. Smiley has research experience working with a wide range of taxa, from loggerhead sea turtles to flying squirrels and migrating songbirds. During her fellowship, she hopes to “use her time to gain a general overview of the policy-making process and insight into how basic scientific research plays into the development of public policies,” particularly in the areas of biodiversity, climate change, and science education. For more information about the AIBS Graduate Student Science Policy Fellowship Program and other policy training opportunities for scientists and students, please visit www.aibs.org/public-policy.
ActionBioscience.org Expands Resource Options for Educators 2008-09-15T18:36:59Z ActionBioscience.org, the AIBS education resource, has created a section on its Web site devoted exclusively to educators (www.actionbioscience.org/educators/educator-resources.html). The “Educator Resources” menu offers an expanded array of resources from AIBS: Peer-reviewed articles on issues in bioscience education Lessons written by...ActionBioscience.org, the AIBS education resource, has created a section on its Web site devoted exclusively to educators (www.actionbioscience.org/educators/educator-resources.html). The “Educator Resources” menu offers an expanded array of resources from AIBS:
The resources fall into two categories: some are suitable for classroom activities, and the others support professional development. In addition to the menu options, educators will find links to BioSciEdNet (or BEN), which is the biology education pathway of the National Digital Library, the AIBS Bookstore, and the biology job classifieds in BioScience. The educator resources section is designed to help educators find all AIBS resources without having to browse several Web sites.
NEON at ESA 2008-09-15T18:51:56Z Representatives of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) spent a busy week at the Ecological Society of America Conference in Milwaukee, 4–8 August 2008. NEON Chief Executive Officer David Schimel, Board Chair James A. MacMahon, and Chief of Science Michael...Representatives of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) spent a busy week at the Ecological Society of America Conference in Milwaukee, 4–8 August 2008. NEON Chief Executive Officer David Schimel, Board Chair James A. MacMahon, and Chief of Science Michael Keller joined the National Science Foundation’s Assistant Director of the Biological Directorate James Collins at a Town Hall meeting to update the community on NEON developments. MacMahon opened the session with an overview of both NEON the project and NEON, Inc., the nonprofit corporation that manages the project. He outlined the development of NEON, Inc., into an organization that could in the future manage research initiatives in addition to the NEON project. MacMahon also described the evolution of the NEON Board of Directors and discussed the first NEON annual meeting of member representatives, scheduled for October 2008. Schimel presented an overview of observatory design and offered details of all NEON monitoring systems. He stressed that the network is designed to be open to new measurements and experiments proposed by the community as the project develops, and stressed that NEON will make usable information available to a variety of audiences, not merely archive data for specialists. Schimel also described NEON’s cyberinfrastructure, partnerships with federal agencies, and emphasis on collaboration, education, and outreach. Keller briefed attendees further on the national design of the network, recent site visit activities, and the outlook for deploying instruments. He noted a number of next steps: development of the domain scientific community, refinement of a site strategy for deployment of relocatable instruments, and the planned launch of domain wikis at the NEON Web site (www.neoninc.org). Collins described the National Science Foundation’s role in NEON oversight, compliance, and funding. He announced that the opening of new horizons in the science of large-scale biology is a long-term investment for the foundation. “Life put Earth under new management,” Collins said, emphasizing that science, education, and the management of the life sciences are all in transition. He discussed the key challenges of climate change and energy systems and underscored the importance of NEON’s contributions. The speakers then answered numerous questions from the audience. On the last day of the conference, Schimel cohosted a symposium with the Ecological Society of America, “Toward Ecological Forecasting: Applications of Model-Data Fusion Techniques,” which focused on the evolving agenda for ecological research in the data-rich NEON era of the next three decades. Schimel’s own presentation was titled “A Conceptual Framework for Ecological Forecasting Using Data Assimilation.” NEON staff unveiled their recently redesigned exhibit at the conference. In addition to media and outreach staff, scientists from the NEON office in Boulder, Colorado, were available to update conference-goers on project developments. In advance of the November Preliminary Design Review of NEON by the National Science Foundation, NEON, Inc., is finalizing its construction-ready design and execution plan, including the location of all facilities, designs of sensors and supporting infrastructure, definition of required data processing, and the concept of how the facility will operate once commissioned.
Recent Articles Online at www.actionbioscience.org 2008-09-15T19:13:19Z Original article “Tackling Climate Change Issues in the Classroom,” by Michael J. Dougherty, director of education at the American Society of Human Genetics Spanish translations of previously posted articles “Los Osos Polares y el Cambio Climático” [Polar Bears and Climate...Original article
Spanish translations of previously posted articles
Nothing Fishy: AIBS and NSC Alliance Take Ichthyologists to Congress 2008-09-17T16:24:28Z Robert Gropp (left), Mark Henry Sabaj Pérez, Representative Dennis Kucinich (D–OH), and John Sullivan discuss findings from the National Science Foundation–funded All Catfish Species Inventory research project. Photograph: Cristina Sabaj Perez. On 25 June 2008, the Coalition for National...
CNSF is an alliance of more than 100 organizations united by a concern for the future vitality of the national science, mathematics, and engineering enterprise. The coalition supports the goal of increasing the national investment in the research and education programs of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in response to the unprecedented scientific, technological, and economic opportunities facing the United States. The 2008 reception drew a large crowd, which included members of Congress and their staffs and a number of top NSF officials, including Director Arden L. Bement Jr., Deputy Director Kathie L. Olsen, and Assistant Director for Biology James Collins. In addition to cosponsoring the exhibition and reception, AIBS teamed with the NSC Alliance to sponsor an exhibit. The AIBS–NSC Alliance exhibit showcased the vitally important role the NSF Biological Sciences Directorate plays in supporting natural science collections–based research and fundamental biodiversity research. The exhibit, presented by John Sullivan and Mark Henry Sabaj Pérez from the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, showcased the NSF-funded All Catfish Species Inventory (ACSI). The ACSI research effort also includes principal investigators at the University of Florida, Auburn University, and Cornell University. The $4.68 million effort has involved 422 participants in 53 countries. The ACSI research is one of seven large-scale projects funded by the NSF’s Planetary Biodiversity Inventories Program, which seeks to empower international teams of scientists and institutions to assemble a comprehensive framework for understanding Earth’s biodiversity through worldwide, species-level inventories of major groups of organisms. Before the exhibit and reception, Sullivan and Perez met with staff from the offices of Senator Bob Casey (D–PA) and Representative Robert Brady (D–PA). These meetings, arranged by the AIBS Public Policy Office, allowed congressional staff to learn about NSF–funded research being conducted in their state. The meetings were also an important opportunity to remind members of Congress that the NSF is centrally important to the nation’s biological research enterprise—providing more than 65 percent of the federal funding for fundamental environmental biology research.
Bad Science Education Sanctioned in Louisiana 2008-08-13T20:01:14Z In recent months, lawmakers in Louisiana have attempted to pass legislation that, according to science education experts, would create a foothold for local teachers to include pseudoscience in the science classroom. The latest challenge to quality science education in Louisiana...In recent months, lawmakers in Louisiana have attempted to pass legislation that, according to science education experts, would create a foothold for local teachers to include pseudoscience in the science classroom. The latest challenge to quality science education in Louisiana came in the form of SB 733, the misleadingly named “Louisiana Science Education Act.” Throughout the spring and early summer, local science advocates and national organizations worked aggressively to defeat SB 733, which was initially introduced in the Louisiana State Senate by Ben Nevers, a Democrat and long-time advocate for creationism and “teaching the controversy.” The legislation, which was supported by conservative activist organizations such as the Louisiana Family Forum and the Seattle-based Discovery Institute, moved through the legislature with relative ease. In June, AIBS sent a letter to the Speaker of the Louisiana House and to each member of the chamber urging them to oppose SB 733. The American Association for the Advancement of Science similarly expressed its opposition to the measure in a commentary in the Shreveport Times. Despite these efforts, in addition to the grassroots campaign of the newly formed Louisiana Coalition for Science and Louisiana-based scientists and expressions of concern from conservative writers and religious liberty organizations, the legislation was sent to the governor. In a last-ditch effort, AIBS and seven member societies sent a letter to Governor Bobby Jindal, a Republican, asking that he veto the legislation. The joint statement is online at www.aibs.org/position-statements. Many scientists hoped that Governor Jindal, who received undergraduate degrees in biology and public policy from Brown University, would veto the legislation. Many also thought that since Governor Jindal served as the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, he might recognize the folly of signing legislation that would weaken the academic preparedness of Louisiana students wishing to pursue careers in the health and medical sciences. Unfortunately, neither of these experiences informed his decision, and he signed SB 733 on 27 June 2008. Although SB 733 signals Louisiana’s willingness to place politics above education and is an endorsement of bad science education, analysis of the final measure indicates that teachers are not free to simply introduce any “supplemental materials” and “alternative explanations” to accepted scientific knowledge. Supplemental materials must be approved by the state board of education; however, as legal experts with various groups have warned, if nonapproved materials or religious content is introduced into science classrooms, legal action will follow.
AIBS Comments on American Academy of Arts and Sciences White Paper 2008-08-21T20:33:32Z In June, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences released a White Paper titled “Advancing Research in Science and Engineering: Investing in Early Career Scientists and High-Risk, High-Reward Research.” With the release of the White Paper, the Academy has helped...In June, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences released a White Paper titled “Advancing Research in Science and Engineering: Investing in Early Career Scientists and High-Risk, High-Reward Research.” With the release of the White Paper, the Academy has helped trigger important discussions about the actions required to reinvigorate the US scientific research enterprise. AIBS comments on the final draft of the report can be found online at www.aibs.org/position-statements. A copy of the White Paper is available at www.amacad.org/ARISE.
NEON Receives New NSF Funding 2008-08-13T19:53:15Z The Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and representatives of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) have completed two Cooperative Support Agreements that will fund the design and development of the NEON project as it prepares for its final...The Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and representatives of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) have completed two Cooperative Support Agreements that will fund the design and development of the NEON project as it prepares for its final NSF review. To complete the NEON construction-ready design and execution plan, $20.7 million will be used for organizational and project management support. A separate agreement for $3.8 million will support completion of the construction-ready design for NEON cyberinfrastructure. NEON is a continental-scale ecological observation platform for understanding and forecasting the impacts of climate change, land-use change, and invasive species on ecology. The NEON science mission is to identify and understand critical continental-scale environmental drivers and ecological responses. The network will support a range of long-term ecological research activities and enhance the capacity of scientists to forecast future states of ecological systems affected by the changing environment. “New ways of observing provide powerful new ways of understanding the world,” said NEON Chief Executive Officer David Schimel. “Just as new sensors have revolutionized medicine, astronomy, and geology, NEON will provide a whole new window on ecological systems.” Design and deployment. Observatory design partitions the United States into 20 ecoclimatic domains using a statistical analysis of ecoclimatic state variables such as vegetation, landforms, climate, and ecosystem performance. Each domain hosts one fully instrumented NEON Candidate Core Site located in a wildland area. Each candidate site will act as a detector in the national observatory, sensing a portion of the domain, much as a single detector in a digital camera detects information from a portion of the scene being photographed, while the whole megapixel array creates an image. NEON will consist of distributed sensor networks and experiments linked by advanced cyberinfrastructure to record ecological data for an estimated 30 years. The observatory will collect data using a complex array of instruments deployed within the 20 carefully selected sites across the continental United States and Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. The new NSF funds provide essential support for NEON, Inc., to finish the design and construction plan for the network. Collectively, the domains represent US ecological and climate variability at the continental scale. Additional relocatable and mobile instruments, as well as airborne observation and land-use analysis capacity, will extend the reach of NEON standardized measurements and increase the usefulness of observatory data to researchers, educators, and policymakers. “This award will support a team of world-class scientists, engineers, and software developers to complete a detailed, construction-ready blueprint for the implementation of NEON candidate sites, installation of sensors, data acquisition and management software, and the software environment for production of high-level data products and ecological forecasts,” Schimel said. “When this design is complete, NEON, Inc. will be ready to build and commission the network on behalf of NSF and the scientific community.” Experiments. Two NEON experiments are also planned. The aquatic experiment (STREON) will consist of a suite of instruments deployed in small streams in selected NEON domains. It will focus on aquatic nutrients, simplification of food webs, and extreme events such as drought and floods. STREON will also sample water chemistry, whole stream metabolism, algae, microbes, and fish. The NEON Global Change Experiment currently under development will consist of a rain-in/rain-out manipulation of climate variables, such as temperature and carbon dioxide. It will also focus on manipulations and investigations of both vegetation and water balance. “During the next year’s intensive design and engineering phase, NEON, Inc. will collaborate extensively with the scientific community to ensure that, as the final design decisions, trade-offs, and options are considered, we make the right decisions to maximize the science return on investment from the network,” said NEON Board Chair James A. MacMahon. Education and outreach. The new NSF funding will enable NEON to rapidly hire additional scientific staff and key senior leaders, including a chief of education and outreach. NEON education and outreach will focus on preparing society and the scientific community to use observatory data, information, and forecasts. Data collected throughout the network will become a resource for broadening public understanding of ecological issues. Decisionmakers will use NEON data to address important environmental issues, such as the spread of invasive species and infectious diseases, and the impacts of a warmer, drier climate in the western United States on water supply and on the frequency and intensity of wildfires. Students and nonscientists will learn about ecology through user-friendly NEON Web portals. By demystifying science and making it accessible to a variety of audiences, NEON is expected to transform the way people think about their environment and to enhance their knowledge of ecosystems. Citizen scientists will have opportunities to contribute data to the network. NEON education programs will also enable the next generation of scientists to work effectively with continental-scale data, attain new levels of collaboration with their peers, and better communicate ecological science to the public. Cyberinfrastructure. The nation’s current research infrastructure provides glimpses of large-scale, long-term phenomena, but it was not designed to capture them systematically. NEON sensors and cyberinfrastructure will deliver an integrated data resource focused on important US environmental drivers of ecological change: biotic (biodiversity, invasive species, and diseases); abiotic (geochemistry, hydrology, climate change); and social (economics, land use, and land cover). A portion of the new NSF funding will support NEON field testing of its sensor networks and cyberinfrastructure—an important step toward delivering the 600 billion annual measurements the observatory will need to create the first continental-scale perspectives of complex ecological change. For more information about NEON cyberinfrastructure, design, and deployment, and a list of candidate core sites, visit www.neoninc.org.
Recent Education Reports Online at www.aibs.org 2008-08-13T19:49:17Z Results of a survey on plant pathology education in America: Current status and future challenges New assessment database to support research on undergraduate STEM education New BioClub for students Call for examples: Evolution across the Curriculum project AIBS and NESCent...
Recent Articles Online at www.actionbioscience.org 2008-08-13T19:40:18Z Original interviews “Computer Games in Teaching Science,” with Eric Klopfer, director of the MIT Scheller Teacher Education Program “Why Is Dengue Fever on the Rise?” with Duane Gubler, professor and chair of Tropical Medicine, University of Hawaii...Original interviews
SWS Members Attend AIBS Policy, Media Workshops 2008-06-30T22:03:41Z As part of the recent annual meeting of the Society for Wetland Scientists (SWS) in Washington, DC, the AIBS Public Policy Office conducted two workshops for meeting participants. The SWS is an AIBS member society and participant-level contributor to the...As part of the recent annual meeting of the Society for Wetland Scientists (SWS) in Washington, DC, the AIBS Public Policy Office conducted two workshops for meeting participants. The SWS is an AIBS member society and participant-level contributor to the AIBS Public Policy Office. Megan Kelhart, AIBS senior public policy associate, conducted a 90-minute workshop titled “Congress 101.” The session provided participants with a nuts-and-bolts understanding of congressional structure and function relative to science policy, including environmental policy and funding for research. Additionally, participants engaged in hands-on activities designed to provide scientists with the basic tools necessary to successfully meet with a member of Congress. Holly Menninger, AIBS senior public affairs associate, conducted a “Communicating Science to the Media” workshop. The program, which builds on the popular AIBS publication Communicating Science: A Primer for Working with the Media, helped participants better understand how to prepare for interviews with news reporters. The AIBS Public Policy Office staff welcomes the opportunity to provide similar workshops for other member societies or interested organizations. Please contact AIBS Director of Public Policy Robert Gropp (e-mail: rgropp@ aibs.org) for more information. Copies of Communicating Science: A Primer for Working with the Media may be ordered from the AIBS online bookstore at www.aibs.org/bookstore.
AIBS Opposes Antiscience Legislation in Louisiana 2008-07-01T14:23:03Z On 3 June 2008, AIBS leant its voice to the chorus of scientific and educational organizations opposing passage of Louisiana Senate Bill (SB) 733, the so-called Louisiana Science Education Act. The measure, introduced by state Senator Ben Nevers, a Democrat,...On 3 June 2008, AIBS leant its voice to the chorus of scientific and educational organizations opposing passage of Louisiana Senate Bill (SB) 733, the so-called Louisiana Science Education Act. The measure, introduced by state Senator Ben Nevers, a Democrat, would negatively affect science education in Louisiana. Nevers, an established proponent of teaching creationism/intelligent design, represents the part of the state that includes the Ouachita Parish School Board, which sought a congressional earmark from US Senator David Vitter (R–LA) in 2007. The earmark would have provided $100,000 in federal funds to the district to “pay for a report suggesting ‘improvements’ in science education in Louisiana, the development and distribution of educational materials and an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Ouachita Parish School Board’s 2006 policy that opened the door to biblically inspired teachings in science classes” (Bill Walsh, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 23 September 2007). The attempt to secure the earmark was unsuccessful, in part because of strong opposition from AIBS and several AIBS member societies. SB 733 is the most recent attempt to redefine science in the state of Louisiana, and this time, the antiscience campaign is advancing unchecked. Various state newspapers have warned the state legislature to avoid the folly of other localities, such as Dover, Pennsylvania, which incurred expensive legal fees and international ridicule as they sought—unsuccessfully—to defend antiscience education policies. Scientists from across Louisiana have also been working to defeat this measure, and national scientific organizations have warned state legislators of the negative impact the passage of the measure would have on the state. The AIBS letter sent to Louisiana House Speaker Jim Turner is posted at www.aibs.org/position-statements. Additionally, evolution education resources are available from AIBS at www.aibs.org/public-policy/teaching_evolution.html. |
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