Category: Third Monday – vic skeptics

At January 18th’s  Skeptics Cafe, Dr David Vaux, (Senior Principal Research Fellow at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research) drew attention to a number of examples of lack of integrity by the authors of mainstream scientific research papers, including the manufacturing of data. These articles had been published in peak academic journals and had escaped their editorial processes. He attributed this largely to a lack of an Office of Research Integrity of the kind that exists in other countries. Dr Vaux’s talk caused concern among some of his listeners for the status of Australian research. Statements in 2004 (see Nature Article Feb 2004 )by the then opposition Senator Kim Carr, were supportive of such an oversight body. Senator Carr is now Federal Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research but his government seems to have no immediate plans to proceed. If you wish to send a letter to your local MP in support of the enhancement of standards of research integrity in Australia, please click letter to MP to view and download an example. Contact details for Federal MPs can be found here: http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/memlist.pdf
Ken

Take Your Partners for the Sixth Annual Vic Skeptics Trivia Extravaganza

La Notte Restaurant
140 Lygon Street Carlton
Monday 17th May 2010
at the special time of 7.30 pm .

or join us for the traditional Third Monday meal at 6pm.
Previous Trivia Nights have been among our most popular events; – this year, get your team organised early , and if you’re having a meal at the restaurant before the Trivia, please arrive and order early.
If you can’t come equipped with a ready-made team, don’t stay home and mope! We can organise consortia of suitable intellects on the evening.
This year even the prizes are more trivial!
A donation is requested from each participant.
Ken

R J Francey, 2009

• Resigned in 2004 after 31 years in CSIRO, during which he was promoted to Chief Research Scientist level.
• Has had advisory roles in Europe , including 5 years on the Advisory Board of the new Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena (East Germany), 8 years with the European Commission CarboEurope Program, and currently as the Senior Advising Scientist on IMECC (Infrastructure for the Measurement of the European Carbon Cycle).
• BSc Hons and PhD at University of Tasmania, with PhD Thesis title “Cosmic X-Ray Surveys“. Continued X-ray astronomy for 4 Years at Simon Fraser University Canada as a PostDoc / Research Associate.
• Joined CSIRO to carry out Micrometeorology research (heat and moisture fluxes from land and sea surfaces). View More Roger Francey

Preview of talk by Dr David Vaux, January 18th 2010
Science is the least imperfect way of obtaining new knowledge, but it is inevitable that errors will enter the scientific literature, due to the statistical nature of data, incompetence/sloppiness, or deliberate falsification or fabrication of results. In this talk, I’ll provide some evidence that indicates the size of the problem, give some examples of each type of error, and provide some tips on how they might be spotted by the skeptical reader.
Dr David Vaux

Monday July 20 Dr Andrew Prentice. A Celebration of the International Year of Astronomy and the 40th Anniversary of the Landing on the Moon. Abstract for Dr Prentice’s Talk

On July 20th 1969, at 20 h 17 m GMT, the lunar module ‘Eagle” of the NASA Apollo 11 space mission touched down at the edge of the Sea of Tranquillity on the Moon. And about 6 and a half hour later, Neil Armstrong descended the ladder from the module and became the first person ever to set foot on the grey-powdery lunar surface.
We all remember Neil’s famous first words as he took that first step: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind“. It is extraordinary that after a lapse of 40 years, since the last manned lunar landing, by Apollo 17 in December 1972, that no one else has been back to the Moon. Was it all just a hoax? Definitely not! The speaker has made 20 visits to the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena CA, and got to meet several of the scientists and View More Abstract for Dr Prentice's Talk

A Short Biography

Ian Robinson is President of the Rationalist Society of Australia and for a number of years edited the Australian Rationalist. He worked for more than twenty years as a senior curriculum officer, researcher and professional development officer with the Victorian Education Department and wrote their basic curriculum document, The Primary School Curriculum: A Guide for Victoria Schools (1979). Before that he was a Tutor in Philosophy at the University of Melbourne and then Lecturer in Education at Coburg Teachers’ College. He has a long list of educational publications. He was Buckley in the cabaret group “Buckley, Hope and Nun” performing at the Flying Trapeze Cafe and elsewhere. He has acted in and directed a number of plays including at La Mama and the Pram Factory. His one-act play “The Fountain of Love” won the 2006 National Playwright Competition; his fantasy story “The Crypt of Fleeting Hope” was published by Penguin; and he wrote the chapter on Bruce Doull in Footy’s Greatest Players. He is married to Logie-winning actress and artist Maggie Millar. He currently teaches Story Structure, Scriptwriting and Myths & Symbols at Chisholm Institute.
March, 2009

2008

Kylie Paterson talks about Teaching Evolution in a Catholic School. 17th of November
( = events organised by or with other groups)

21 January	Skeptics Cafe Speaker: Max Wallace The Purple Economy
around 12 February	VARIOUS DARWIN DAY CELEBRATIONS Darwin Day Suggestions
18 February	Skeptics Cafe Speaker: Dr Krissy Wilson Anomalistic Psychology; The Science of Self-Deception
17 March	Skeptics Cafe CULTS Panel
21 April	Skeptics Cafe Speaker: Nicholas J Johnson The Honest Con Man
19 May	Skeptics Cafe ”Fourth Annual Skeptics Trivia Extravaganza”
16 June	Skeptics Cafe Video Night
21 July	Skeptics Cafe Speaker: Stephen Mayne: The Governance of Australian Companies
18 August	Skeptics Cafe Speaker from ACCC Internet Scams
15 September	Skeptics Cafe Forum on Active Skepticism
20 October	Skeptics Cafe Presenter: Wal Parker: The Expert at the Card Table and Martin Gardner
17 November	Skeptics Cafe Presenter: Kylie Paterson: Teaching Evolution in a Catholic School.
15 December	Skeptics Cafe Social Evening