CPAS current research projects

CPAS research students have a very diverse range of backgrounds and research interests:

Communicating sports science to the grass roots: past endeavours, current perceptions, and future challenges
Angela Calder's research revolves around science communication for Australian sports coaches with particular emphasis on how sport science is delivered to community coaches.

Heroes in Science - public images, inspirations and impacts
Bobby Cerini is interested in science heroes - how they are constructed in the public imagination and the impacts they have on attitudes, beliefs and actions.

Science and the Spirit of Truth
James Clarke's research involves demonstrating how the answers to humanity's fundamental existential questions and science's fundamental origin questions arise from the principle of self-consistency, prime numbers and the integer structures and processes of nature.

What's in it for me? An Investigation into the Relationship Between Communication and Commercialisation in Science
Gjemma Derrick is investigating how the commercialisation of research affects the way scientists communicate.

From invention to innovation: commercialisation of publicly-funded research
Eleanor Flening is investigating the communication barriers to commercialising publicly-funded research in Australia. 

Communicating the Value Proposition and Significance of ICT Innovation both to Private Citizens and to the Business Community.
Eleanor Gates-Stuart is researching new techniques for effective communication of ICT Innovation across a variety of delivery channels and media. Specifically, her project addresses visual representations of science and technology.

Open Sesame: Addressing the barriers to the uptake of open access scholarly communication in Australia
Danny Kingsley's research investigates the transition of scientific academic publishing to Open Access format, with a particular focus on Australia. She is concentrating on science, technical and medical publishing.

Science Communication Capacity Building Needs for Pacific NGOs – a response to the new strategic direction for UNESCO
Lawrie Kirk's research aims at identifying the science communication capacity building needs of Pacific NGOs.

Indigenous issues in visual documentaries
Suzanne Ingram's research looks at the complex links between indigenous health, stakeholder representativeness and presentation of health issues in visual documentaries.

Science teaching self-efficacy: An examination of the effects of science centre styled professional development intervention in primary school teachers
Merryn McKinnon is investigating the effect of science-based professional development for primary school teachers on the teachers' subsequent attitudes towards teaching science.

Models of Time: a comparative study using film
Guy Micklethwait is looking at how the physics, philosophy and psychology of time used by filmmakers differ from the movie-going public's understanding of time.

Visualising Science: The Use of Interactive Multimedia in the Communication of Science
Brenda Moon is investigating use of new media and infographics in communicating science. In particular she is looking at the use of 3D images and alternative user interfaces to interact with them.

Classification and the Construction of Biological Knowledge
Lindy Orthia is researching the ways that a classificatory way of thinking - seeing the world as a series of bounded objects belonging to an orderly set of categories - has constructed knowledge in western biology.

Designing science communication for a world in transition
Dick Osborn is considering the processes and contents of communication between scientists and decision-makers in managing transition to sustainable development.

Practice and Possibilities in Korean Science Centres
Junghye Park is investigating public perceptions of Korean science centres and comparisons with those in Australia.

Linking Science Teachers' Knowledge for Professional Empowerment
Sean Perera is investigating the effectiveness of communication models used in the CPAS Science Teacher Professional Development Workshops.

The design of Pictorial Assembly Instructions: researching and communicating knowledge in human-technology interaction design practice
Peter Schumacher's research is concerned with designing and evaluating effective cross-cultural pictorial communication. His case study examines instructions for the assembly of a wheelchair in kit form, specially designed for disadvantaged communities.

Scientists & Science Communication: An Australian Survey
Suzette Searle is conducting a national survey to describe scientists and their science communication in Australia.

Involving the Public in Prioritising Research
Cobi Smith is investigating public participation in research funding decisions and how deliberative democracy could improve science policy.

Longitudinal Study: Climate Change Communication and Intersect with Policy (1987-2001)
Maria Taylor is synthesizing key research findings regarding public awareness/science communication with a body of evidence detailing barriers to the public understanding of environmental science with a focus on climate change.

Global Approaches to Local Issues: UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme - a Multilateral Instrument for Natural Resource Management
Hans Dencker Thulstrup is examining the relationship between the global objectives of a United Nations protected area and research network programme and the perception of the programme among scientists, local communities and authorities at its participating sites.

Maralinga: testing times for Australian media
Liz Tynan is taking a case study of the media coverage of the British nuclear tests at Maralinga, both during and long after they took place. She hopes to elucidate how the rise of science journalism in this country has made possible a stronger fourth estate role for Australian media.

See also the past research work that has been done at CPAS.

Find out about doing your own  research work at CPAS.