Faculty of Science

SCIE1103 Science, Society and Communication

2014
Semester 1
Crawley Campus, Albany Campus

Unit Coordinator
Assoc. Prof. Patrick Finnegan

Contact details
Patrick.Finnegan@uwa.edu.au
Room 1.027, North Wing, Agriculture Complex
Office hours: Tuesday 13.00 14.00
or by appointment

SCIE1103 Science, Society and Communication

Unit Outcomes
Students who complete this unit will have:
An understanding of the philosophy of science, the scientific method, the history of
science and its significance
An appreciation for the complexity of some of the challenges facing society, and how
science plays a role in solving these problems
Skills to find information and critically assess its reliability and rigour
Skills to present orally and in writing in a concise, precise and intelligible manner that
is appropriate for the target audience
Skills to handle, explore and analyse raw and modified data and prepare for
presentation in text, tables or figures
An enthusiasm and curiosity for science and its broadcast through good
communication
A willingness to discuss controversial or difficult subjects in a mature, analytical and
logical manner
Content
Many big problems face human societies now and will continue to do so into the future.
Science plays a major role in finding solutions for these problems. In this unit, students
practise basic scientific methodologies of data handling, hypothesis testing, teamwork and
communicating of scientific results.
The unit teaches through four modules. It begins with an overview of the history of the
western philosophy of science, followed by discussion on the viewpoint of indigenous
Australian culture to place, environment and time, which leads onto overviews on two current
big-picture issues facing humanity and therefore science conservation of natural resources
for an expanding population and food security for an ever more hungry world. Students will
learn how to view problems from the perspective of practising scientists, as communicated by
scientists themselves. Thus, another focus of this unit is on the communication of science,
both orally and in writing. In this way, the unit provides a foundation on how to communicate
science confidently, a skill that is transferable to all other future units, as well as to postuniversity life.

SCIE1103 Unit Synopsis

SCIE1103 is a first semester, level one complementary unit that introduces students to the
interplay between science and society, and seeks to develop skills in the effective oral and
written communication of science.
Science is a skill set, a collection of tools that allows observations to be made and rationalised
and problems to be solved. Civilisation has developed around technological advances. In
early times, these advances were slow and random. In more recent times, our technological
advances have been rapid and targeted. The change in more recent times is all because of the
advancement of scientific thought and investigation as a branch of philosophy and through
advances in communication. With a focus on some of the big issues facing the world today,
SCIE1103 gives students an opportunity to improve critical thinking skills and develop an
awareness of the complexities of modern society as a backdrop to learning to communicate
effectively.
The unit is made up of four three-week modules. Each module focuses on a specific theme:
The history of science and philosophy, the contributions of indigenous knowledge to the
modern world, food security for a hungry world and natural resources for an expanding
population. Lectures for this unit will be given by practicing scientists in fields as diverse as
communications, animal science, agronomy, marine science, geology, and ecology. These
lectures introduce subject matter that will be used as the basis for the tutorials. There are six
marked assessments administered through tutorials, providing opportunities for students to
exercise and develop their communication skills.

2014 SCIE1103 Summary and Timetable

Wk

Mon

24 Feb

3 Mar

10 Mar

17 Mar

24 Mar

30 Mar

7 Apr

14 Apr
Good
Friday

Tutorial

Wednesday Lecture(s)
Module 1: Science Communication
Introduction to unit
Patrick Finnegan
Why science communication?
SCIE1103 Teaching Team
Scientific papers (MS Word)
Patrick Finnegan
What is science
communication?
Information gathering
Patrick Finnegan
Thinking in Words
David Lindsay
Writing a scientific
paper
In-text referencing
Patrick Finnegan
Module 2: Indigenous Knowledge
The use of audio /
Using End-Note
visual media as a
Clint Bracknell
communication tool
Cultural sensitivity
through awareness
and communication

Len Collard
Aileen Walsh

No tutorials

Study Break

Four minute
presentations: Food
Security

Willie Erskine

28 Apr

5 May

11

12 May

Value

CARS1000 due
SCoReS: Scientific
Writing Styles due

P/F

Installing EndNote
MS Word 1 due
Paragraph writing

-P/F

Written paragraphs due

INDG1000 due
Indigenous Knwl essay
200-word article

10%
P/F

SCoReS: Figures &

Graphs due
MS Word 2 due
SCoReS: Collecting
Evidence due
200-word article due
Article assessment
SCoReS: Deliver Your
Presentation due
Powerpoint 1 due
Article assessment due

Audio / visual media

Patrick Finnegan
addressing
Indigenous
Patrick Finnegan
knowledge
PROSH morning
Indigenous Knowledge
Patrick Finnegan
only
essay due
Communicating
Food Security essay
science to the wider
Steve Hopper
4-min. presentation 1
community
Module 3: Food Security for a Hungry World
Keys to the Presentation
Communicating Food
Powerpoint 2 due
Palace Patrick Finnegan
Security issues to an
informed audience
Kadambot Siddique

21 Apr

10

Assignments

Patrick Finnegan

4-min. presentation 2
4-min. present. 1 due

Four minute
Steve Powles
MS Excel 1 due
presentations: Food
Patrick Finnegan
Security (contd)
Module 4: Natural Resources for an Expanding Population
Communicating
science through
social media

12

19 May

Four minute
presentation: Natural
Resource Mgmt

13

26 May

Four minute presents:

Natural Res. Mgmt
(contd)

Geoff Batt
Jessica Meeuwig
David Coates
Ethics in Science
Patrick Finnegan
No lecture
No lecture

P/F

P/F
P/F
P/F
P/F

P/F
P/F
P/F
20%

P/F

10%
P/F

Food Security essay

due
MS Excel 2 due

35%
P/F

4-min. presentation 2
due
MS Excel 3 due

15%
P/F

Integration and
engagement mark

10%

SCIE1103 Weekly Timetable 2014 (Crawley)

Mon

Tue

09.00

ENCM
113

10.00

Yongjuan

11.00
12.00

ENCM
113
Jenny

13.00
14.00

17.00

ENCM
109
Hilary

ENCM
113
Maggie

BOBI
214
Joyce

ENCM
113
Maggie

Margaret

BOBI
214
Oded
BOBI
214
Oded

Thu

Fri

ENCM
113
Maggie

ENCM
109

ENCM
109
Hilary

15.00
16.00

OLDP
G09
Adam

Wed

ENCM
113
Adam

Lecture
Lecture

OLDP
G09
Shanta

ENCM
109
Joe
ENCM
109
Joe

Tutors
meeting

ENCM
105
Sonja

18.00

Students attend TWO 45-min lectures per week. Lectures will be recorded on LMS. Lectures
are at 14.00 and 15.00 Wednesdays in the Octagon Lecture Theatre.
Students will attend ONE 2-hour tutorial per week. Tutorials will not be recorded on LMS.
Attendance is compulsory. More than one unexcused absence from the tutorial sessions will
result in a failing mark for the unit.

SCIE1103 Staff
Unit Coordinator
Associate Professor Patrick Finnegan
School of Plant Biology
Room 1.027, North Wing, Agriculture complex
Email: patrick.finnegan@uwa.edu.au
Tutors
Shanta Barley: shanta.barley@googlemail.com
Adam Cross: Adam.Cross@bgpa.wa.gov.au
Hilary Harrop-Archibald: 20878429@student.uwa.edu.au
Yongjuan Guan: 21004548@student.uwa.edu.au
Sonja Jacob: sonja.jakob@uwa.edu.au
Oded Keynan: odedkeynan@yahoo.com
Jenny Nguyen: 21274548@student.uwa.edu.au
Karen Nicoll: karen.nicoll@uwa.edu.au
Joyce Ong: 21288072@student.uwa.edu.au
Joe Steer: 20252861@student.uwa.edu.au
Maggie Triska: triskm01@student.uwa.edu.au
Margaret Uloth: ulothm@hotmail.com
Guest lecturers
Associate Prof Geoff Batt, Centre for Petroleum Geoscience and CO2 Sequestration, School
of Earth and Environment, UWA
Assistant Prof Clint Bracknell, School of Indigenous Studies, UWA
Winthrop Prof Len Collard, ARC Research Fellow Indigenous, School of Indigenous Studies,
UWA
Dr David Coates, Senior Principal Research Scientist and Program Leader, Flora Conservation
and Herbarium Program, Department of Parks and Wildlife
Winthrop Prof Willie Erskine, Director, Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture,
School of Plant Biology, UWA
Winthrop Prof Steve Hopper, Centre of Excellence in Natural Resource Management and
School of Plant Biology, UWA
Emeritus Prof David Lindsay, School of Animal Biology, UWA
Winthrop Prof Jessica Meeuwig, Director, Centre for Marine Futures, Faculty of Science,
UWA
Winthrop Prof Stephen Powles, Director, Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative, School of
Plant Biology, UWA
Winthrop Prof Kadambot Siddique, Hackett Professor of Agriculture and Director, The
Institute of Agriculture, UWA
Assistant Prof Aileen Walsh, School of Indigenous Studies, UWA

Unit Timetable
There are two 45-minute lectures each week in the Octagon Lecture Theatre on
Wednesdays starting at 14.00 and 15.00. All lectures will be recorded on the Echo system and
will be available for download within a few hours, via the unit LMS page
http://www.lms.uwa.edu.au. Attendance at the lectures is strongly recommended, as
assignments will be made for the tutorials in the following week.
Tutorial attendance is compulsory. Assignments will be issued, discussed and evaluated
during these sessions.
Students will attend one two-hour tutorial held weekly in the following locations:
Monday
11.00 Old Pharmacology Rm G.09
11.00 Engineering Civil & Mechanical Rm 1.13
12.00 Botany Seminar Room (2.14 Botany Building)
12.00 Engineering Civil & Mechanical Rm 1.09
14.00 Engineering Civil & Mechanical Rm 1.09
16.00 Engineering Civil & Mechanical Rm 1.13
Tuesday
9.00 Engineering Civil & Mechanical Rm 1.13
11.00 Engineering Civil & Mechanical Rm 1.09
14.00 Botany Seminar Room (2.14 Botany Building)
14.00 Engineering Civil & Mechanical Rm 1.13
16.00 Botany Seminar Room (2.14 Botany Building)
Thursday
9.00 Engineering Civil & Mechanical Rm 1.13
11.00 Engineering Civil & Mechanical Rm 1.13
11.00 Old Pharmacology Rm G.09
13.00 Engineering Civil & Mechanical Rm 1.09
15.00 Engineering Civil & Mechanical Rm 1.09
16.00 Engineering Civil & Mechanical Rm 1.05

Tutorial sessions will be allocated by the On-Line Class Registration (OLCR) system.
Students should sign up to attend two weekly lectures and one tutorial. Thus, SCIE1103 will
occupy a total of 4 contact hours per week in your timetable. The OLCR website is
http://www.olcr.uwa.edu.au
Students are reminded that the annual UWA Guild charity fundraiser, Prosh will be held on
the morning of Wednesday 9 April and ANZAC Day is on Friday 25 April. Lectures will be
held as scheduled on the day of Prosh.

Recommended reading for SCIE1103

Required websites
INDG1000 Indigenous Studies Essentials
Available through your LMS page
CARS1000 Communication and Research Skills (CARS)
Available through your LMS page
Science Communication and Research Skills (SCoReS)
http://www.science.uwa.edu.au/students/scores
The Mayfield Handbook of Scientific and Technical Writing, McGraw-Hill
http://www.mhhe.com/mayfieldpub/tsw/home.htm
Language and Learning On-line, Monash University
http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/index.xml
Valuable hints and instruction on writing. The information under General Writing and
Scientific Writing are particularly relevant and helpful.
Highly recommended text
Scientific Writing = Thinking in Words by David Lindsay. Available in the UWA
library, but students are strongly encouraged to acquire their own copy through the Co-Op
Bookstore.

Assessments for SCIE1103

More than one unexcused absence from the assigned tutorial session will result in a failing
mark for the unit.
Quizzes (P/F): Successful completion of many components of SCIE1103 is assessed by a
short pass / fail quiz or exercise. The quizzes are available on LMS and can be done at your
convenience. You must score 100% on each quiz before you can pass the module and you
must pass every quiz before passing the unit. You may take each quiz up to five times. The
quizzes are open book, so you can use whatever notes you like when taking the quiz. You may
also read the quiz before doing the component. In this way, you will know what you are
looking for as you read through the module.
200-Word Article (P/F): Students will write an article on the value of science communication
that is appropriate for a generally interested audience that might subscribe to a popular
scientific publication such as New Scientist. The article is to be no longer than 200 words.
Two printed copies of the articles must be submitted during your tutorial in week 5 for
anonymous assessment by two peer reviewers.
Assessment 1 (10%): Two 100-word paragraphs describing two modes of science
communication will be submitted for marking during your tutorial in week 3. The topics and
content of the paragraphs will be assigned during tutorial in week 2.
Assessment 2 (20%): Students will choose and write an essay on one of a selection of topics
related to Indigenous Knowledge. The essay must be no shorter than 700 words and no longer
than 750 words. It is due during your tutorial in week 7. The target audience is the informed
audience of SCIE1103 students. The essay must be targeted at a level that avoids unnecessary
repetition of the information given in the lectures. This assessment will serve as a learning
opportunity for report writing, and provide valuable experience for later assessments,
including a more substantial, fully referenced report. The point is to become familiar with
constructing and supporting an argument and the importance of the key features of an essay.
Students are expected to demonstrate a solid grasp of argument formulation, including a clear
and logical statement of the argument, introduction to the issue, evidence to support the
argument, good use of concluding paragraphs and basic principles of citations and references.
Assessment 3 (10%): Students will prepare and present orally a 4-minute PowerPoint
presentation dealing with an issue surrounding Food Security in a Hungry World. Students are
expected to show confidence in public speaking, an ability to find information from reputable
sources, engage with the audience effectively, and to use visual aids such as MS PowerPoint.
The presentation will be done during your tutorial session during week 9. It will be marked on
qualities of oral presentation, audience engagement by the speaker, slide quality and
relevance. The presentation will also be peer assessed.
Assessment 4 (15%): Building on the experience from assessment 3, students will prepare
and present orally a 4-minute powerpoint presentation containing no more than three slides
dealing with an issue surrounding Natural Resources for an Expanding Population. The
presentation will be done during your tutorial session in week 12. It will be marked on the
same qualities highlighted during assessment 3. This presentation will also be peer assessed.

Assessment 5 (35%): Students will write a report of no less than 2250 words and no more
than 2500 words on a topic selected from a number of issues relating Natural Resources for
an Expanding Population. This report offers more opportunity to delve deeper into an issue,
explore multiple arguments, compare and contrast various lines of evidence. The assessment
is due during your tutorial session in week 11. It is expected that students will demonstrate the
ability to formulate a sound argument, with supporting evidence, appropriately referenced
using in-text citations and an appropriately formatted bibliography. Report writing is a
valuable skill to have, as almost every scientific line of work will require the writing of
comprehensive, well-researched reports of some form.
Assessment 6 (10%): You will be assessed each week for ability to integrate knowledge
gained from the lectures into the discussions within the tutorials. This mark will be assigned
by your demonstrator at the end of the semester.
All written assessments should be in double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman and have a 3
cm margin on all four sides, allowing space for your tutor to make comments. Assignments 3
and 6 require in-text citations and a bibliography. EndNote is highly recommended for this
task. Use of EndNote is not compulsory, but you will soon work out how much harder writing
an essay is without it. Any internationally recognised citation system (numbered or authoryear) may be used, but you must be consistent. Ask your tutor for advice on End Note and intext citations.
For all assessments, a late penalty of 5% per day will be applied to the total value of the
assessment.

Academic Conduct Essentials (ACE) and Plagiarism

All students are required to complete the compulsory ACE short course online. You will find a
link on your Online Learning Management System (LMS) page. Complete this module as
early as possible to gain the maximum benefit for your study.
UWA has a zero tolerance policy on plagiarism. The universitys policy on Academic
Conduct, including plagiarism, can be read in full at
http://www.teachingandlearning.uwa.edu.au/staff/policies/conduct. Any assessments or
written materials that contain ideas or concepts that were proposed by other authors must cite
the original text. Paraphrasing another authors content is plagiarism if the original text is not
cited. Tutors will check your assignments for any evidence of plagiarism.

Submission of Written Assignments

All assignments submitted for assessment must have an assignment cover sheet. Cover sheets
will be provided by your tutor, and are also available at:
http://www.science.uwa.edu.au/students/assignments-exams/assignments. You are also
required to sign the plagiarism declaration.

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On-line Learning Management System

Information about this unit, links to the unit outline and additional reading material can be
found on UWAs Learning Management System (LMS). Log in using your student ID and
password at https://www.lms.uwa.edu.au/login.php. By clicking on the SCIE1103 link you
will get the latest updates on seminars and tutorials, as well as other helpful material on how
to improve your science communication skills.
Once in LMS, students will be able to complete three short compulsory online courses;
CARS1000 (Communication and Research Skills), ACE (Academic Conduct Essentials) and
ISE (Indigenous Study Essentials). All three courses must be completed by the 30th of
April or you may be ineligible to complete your degree. All three are assessed by an on-line
quiz which you may take as many times as you like. For any questions about the LMS, please
contact servicedesk@uwa.edu.au.

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