[ASC-list] TRUST -- Recommend someone for a panel on 'trust' for NSW ASC

[William Rifkin]

Science communication colleagues,

My arm is being twisted to offer a NSW chapter session on 'TRUST' ... trust me.  

The request was stimulated by my brief presentation on this topic at the ASC conference in Canberra.  After much harassing by Phil Dooley, I have agreed to organise a session to occur here in Sydney in the next couple of months.  

The session will feature a panel to discuss conceptual aspects of trust.  The aim is to inform science communicators like ourselves on insights from relevant disciplines.  Who should be on this panel?  

Note -- I am not looking for someone with opinions based on experience.  That will be the job of members of the audience.  

I am looking for research-based insights that resonate with systematic observation.  So, recommend someone who is engaged in research on doctor-patient communication, or communication in the courtroom, or marketing, or philosophy.  Make sure that they are 'good talent', knowledgeable but also have a great way of expressing sophisticated concepts in an accessible and compelling manner (just like you and me).  

This session will also address a framework that I outlined in Canberra on how people decide whom to regard as a trustworthy scientific expert when they need to make a decision.  The framework is based on a collection of concepts from linguistics, sociology, anthropology, organisational behaviour, adult learning, and studies of marketing.  The framework is a key element in a workshop that I co-developed -- 'Experts 101:  "survival training" for engineer, scientists, and planners faced with contentious issues' (which have been credentialed by the International Association for Public Participation [IAP2]).   

Reply with your suggestions to this listserv, or reply to me directly -- willrifkin at unsw.edu.au.  

Thank you in advance for your input.  


Will 

William D Rifkin, PhD
Director, Science Communication Program
Faculty of Science, BSB-BABS
UNSW, Sydney, NSW  2052 AUSTRALIA

willrifkin at unsw.edu.au
+61 2 9385 2748  
+61 2 9385 1530 fax  

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