[DIALOGnews] DIALOG and DISCCRS News 03/31/05

Weiler, C. Susan weilercs at whitman.edu
Thu Mar 31 15:51:03 CST 2005


DIALOG and Disccrs News
03/31/2005
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

RESOURCES
Communicating Urgency, Facilitating Social Change  
http://www.isse.ucar.edu/communication
Resources for Earth Science and Geography http://webs.cmich.edu/resgi
New Interdisciplinary Journal, Ecological Complexity  
http://www.environmental-expert.com/magazine/elsevier/ecocom/
SCIENCE NEWS
Stanford Team Isolates Fish Gene  
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/03/25/ 
MNGMPBUKV81.DT
Report on Global Ecosystems Calls for Radical Changes  
http://snipurl.com/dqnp
Fish Farms Tied in Study to Imperiling Wild Salmon  
http://snipurl.com/dqnz
SUMMER PROGRAMS, COURSES, INTERNSHIPS, MEETINGS
Volunteer for ORION Executive Steering Committee  
http://www.orionprogram.org/
JOBS
Postdoctoral positions on Red Tide Blooms, Florida Gulf Coast University
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Resources
Communicating Urgency, Facilitating Social Change
New Strategies for Climate Change.
    Workshop Report by Susi Moser and Lisa Dilling. Actions aimed at  
reducing the pace and impacts of climate change are now occurring at a  
variety of scales in the public and private sectors – mostly in  
enclaves of progressive businesses, organizations, states and  
communities. Yet, evidence shows that traditional means of  
communicating climate change continue to be largely ineffective at  
reaching the broader public and stimulating behavioral/personal,  
organizational/ institutional change at a broader scale. While a large  
majority of Americans now know and are concerned about climate change,  
most do not feel a sense of urgency to act on the problem.
    •  Why – if people know about climate change – is there no sense of  
urgency?
    •  How have communicators of climate change succeeded or failed in  
conveying the challenge of climate change?
    •  Can better communication of climate change lead to more concerted  
societal response to the problem, and if so, what and how should  
communicators talk about climate change?
    •  What other factors hinder or facilitate societal response and  
social change?
    With sponsorship from the MacArthur Foundation, Susanne Moser (NCAR)  
and Lisa Dilling (University of Colorado-Boulder) organized an  
exciting, interdisciplinary workshop at the nexus of climate change,  
risk communication, and behavior and social change. The Workshop was  
held 8-11 June, 2004, National Center for Atmospheric Research,  
Boulder, Colorado.
    The main goal of the workshop was to provide a forum for exchange  
and discussion among previously largely separate areas of expertise  
pertaining to climate change communication and social/behavior change.  
The workshop brought together over 40 academics and practitioners to  
develop a solid foundation for a research and action agenda. A first  
synthesis article was published in the December, 2004 issue of  
Environment (see  
http://www.isse.ucar.edu/communication/publications.htm).  Susi and  
Lisa are now co-editors of an anthology on the state of knowledge at  
this interdisciplinary intersection. Many of the workshop participants  
are contributing to the book.
    For further information on the workshop, project, publications, and  
the forthcoming edited volume, see  
http://www.isse.ucar.edu/communication or contact Susi at  
smoser at ucar.edu or Lisa at ldilling at cires.colorado.edu.
******************
Resources for Earth Science and Geography
    Instruction at http://webs.cmich.edu/resgi .
    This site has links organized around the sequence of topics  
typically taught in an introductory earth science or physical geography  
class. Links are also available for a variety of animations,  
environmental science, earth science/geography education, career  
opportunities, and more. The sites selected are based on image quality,  
ease with which lesson plans can be developed, organization,  
authenticity, scope, and format. Please contact Mark Francek,  
Mark.Francek at cmich.edu to add a new subscriber, remove a subscriber, or  
suggest a site to be listed.
********************
New Interdisciplinary Journal, Ecological Complexity
    Ecological Complexity, a new international journal published by  
Elsevier Press, was launched last year. Its purpose is to disseminate  
information and significant contributions on the most interdisciplinary  
or multi-disciplinary research, complex systems approaches and  
quantitative modeling applications dealing with coupled human and  
natural systems, and theoretical ecology. For more information, see  
http://www.environmental-expert.com/magazine/elsevier/ecocom/
***************************************************
Science News
Check out this section both for news tidbits, and for
examples of how to communicate science to a non-scientist audience
Stanford Team Isolates Fish Gene
from San Francisco Chronicle
    Consider the rapid evolution of the armor-plated threespine  
stickleback, a curious little fish that Stanford biologist David M.  
Kingsley is setting out to study once more in its local home patch just  
below the Friant Dam on the San Joaquin River near Fresno.
    Kingsley and his team of graduate students and lab colleagues will  
haul their traps to the river Monday and don their hip waders for  
another round of collecting in a path-breaking research project that is  
revealing how evolution can rapidly alter the structure of living  
organisms -- even one gene at a time.
    Kingsley is a developmental biologist and a Howard Hughes Medical  
Institute investigator at Stanford's medical school, and he and his  
colleagues are publishing a major report on their latest discovery in  
stickleback genetics today in the journal Science. But they're already  
set to move on, seeking still more discoveries.  
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/03/25/ 
MNGMPBUKV81.DT
*******************
Report on Global Ecosystems Calls for Radical Changes
The Washington Post (Registration Required) via Sigma Xi Science in the  
News Many of the world's ecosystems are in danger and might not support  
future generations unless radical measures are implemented to protect  
and revive them, according to the most comprehensive analysis ever  
conducted of how the world's oceans, dry lands, forests and species  
interact and depend on one another.
    The new report collates research from many specific locales to  
create the first global snapshot of ecosystems. More than 1,300 authors  
from 95 countries participated in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment,  
whose results are being made public today by the United Nations and by  
several private and public organizations.
    "Only by understanding the environment and how it works, can we make  
the necessary decisions to protect it," said U.N. Secretary General  
Kofi Annan in a statement marking the report's release. "Only by  
valuing all our precious natural and human resources, can we hope to  
build a sustainable future." http://snipurl.com/dqnp
********************
Fish Farms Tied in Study to Imperiling Wild Salmon
 From The New York Times (Registration Required) via Sigma Xi Science in  
the News
    Fisheries experts have known for some time that farm-raised salmon  
can be vulnerable to infestations of parasites called sea lice, but  
there has been disagreement about the extent to which the parasites  
spread to wild fish, especially in the waters off British Columbia and  
the Pacific Northwest.
    Now Canadian researchers suggest that fish farms are such prodigious  
producers of parasites that juvenile fish become very heavily infested  
just by swimming near them. In fact, their model suggests, the young  
fish are so heavily affected that they may turn into secondary sources  
of infestation for other wild fish out at sea.
    The new findings, by Martin Krkosek and Mark A. Lewis of the  
University of Alberta and John P. Volpe, a former colleague there who  
is now at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, are described  
in the current issue of Proceedings of the Royal Society B, a British  
journal. http://snipurl.com/dqnz
***************************************************
Summer Programs, Courses, Internships, Meetings
Volunteer for ORION Executive Steering Committee
    NSF seeks volunteers to serve on the Education and Public Awareness  
Committee of the Ocean Research Interactive Observatory Networks  
(ORION) Executive Steering Committee.  See  
http://www.orionprogram.org/. If interested, please contact Susan Cook  
(scook at coreocean.org).

***************************************************
Jobs for PhDs
http://www.higheredjobs.com/about/
Postdoctoral positions on Red Tide Blooms, Florida Gulf Coast University
    The Biotechnology Program at Florida Gulf Coast University invites  
applications for 1-2 postdoctoral positions in the area of initiation  
and control of Red Tide Blooms.  We are looking for applicants with  
skills in plant/algal molecular biology and biochemistry. We are  
seeking self-starters with broad research interests to join a growing  
cross-disciplinary biotechnology program with active collaborations  
with other institutions and the private sector. The postdoctoral  
experiences will also provide opportunities for mentoring of  
undergraduate research and participation in team-taught undergraduate  
courses in biotechnology. The Biotechnology Program has 24 faculty with  
broad interests (see Biotechnology web site:  
http://www.fgcu.edu/cas/biotech). A new Core Research Facility with  
state-of-the-art molecular biology, analytical chemistry and  
computational chemistry facilities has been established for the  
Program. Applicants must have received their PhD from an accredited  
institution in the position discipline or related discipline and have  
evidence of successful research activities (refereed publications).  
Initial appointments will be for one year with the opportunity for  
renewal upon satisfactory performance. All applications should include:
    1) A brief letter indicating interest in the red tide positions.
    2) A current Curriculum Vitae
    3) Contact information for three references
    Electronic submission of applications to ralberte at fgcu.edu is  
preferred. Mail submissions should be addressed to Randall S. Alberte,  
Director of Biotechnology, Florida Gulf Coast University, 10501 FGCU  
Blvd South, Fort Myers, FL 33965. Review of applications will begin on  
15 April 2005. Florida Gulf Coast University is an Affirmative  
Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Women and minorities are encouraged  
to apply.
    Randall S. Alberte, Allan D. Shapiro, Biotechnology Program, Florida  
Gulf Coast University

**************************************************
This newsletter has been developed by C. Susan Weiler to distribute  
information of potential interest to recent PhDs engaged in  
interdisciplinary aquatic science or climate-change research, and to  
build an international sense of community among recent grads. It  
provides an international forum for the exchange of information and  
opinions regarding research, professional and social issues. The views  
and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the funding  
agencies or sponsoring societies. Dr. Weiler reserves the right to edit  
or reject material submitted to the list.
        Please submit announcements of interest to recent PhDs to  
phd at whitman.edu.  Send a short message in the body of an e-mail  
message, and link to any appropriate websites. Do not send attachments.
        Moving? Send address changes to dialog at whitman.edu or  
disccrs at whitman.edu


**********
C. Susan Weiler, Ph.D.          
Office for Earth System Studies    Tel:   509-527-5948          
Whitman College                          Fax:  509-527-5961
Walla Walla, WA 99362
    weiler at whitman.edu    
    Programs for Recent PhDs                 http://aslo.org/phd.html
    DIALOG poster        http://www.aslo.org/phd/dialogposter.pdf
    DISCCRS poster       http://www.aslo.org/phd/disccrsposter.pdf 
Workshop Report, Meeting the Needs of Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Graduates  
in a Changing Global Environment
http://marcus.whitman.edu/~weilercs/biocomplexity/              
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