scholarly journals Demystifying Drought: Strategies to Enhance the Communication of a Complex Hazard

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-43
Author(s):  
Rebecca Ward ◽  
Kirsten Lackstrom ◽  
Corey Davis
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Iterative Process ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Monitoring Process ◽  
User Groups ◽  
Drought Indicators ◽  
Development Evaluation

AbstractDrought is a complex phenomenon that is difficult to characterize and monitor. Accurate and timely communication is necessary to ensure that affected sectors and the public can respond and manage associated risks and impacts. To that end, myriad drought indicators, indices, and other tools have been developed and made available, but understanding and using this information can challenge end users who are unfamiliar with the information or presentation, or for decision makers with expertise in areas outside of climate and drought. This article highlights a project that aimed to improve the usability and dissemination of drought information for North Carolina (NC) audiences by addressing specific needs for a better understanding of how drought is monitored, the climatic and environmental conditions that can cause or worsen drought, and the impacts occurring in NC’s different sectors and sub-regions. Conducted to support NC’s official, statewide drought monitoring process, the project’s methods and results have utility for other geographies and contexts. The project team designed an iterative process to engage users in the development, evaluation, refinement, and distribution of new resources. Featured products include the Weekly Drought Update infographic, which explains the factors used to determine NC’s drought status, and the Short-Range Outlook infographic, a synthesis of National Weather Service forecasts. Effective strategies included using stakeholders’ preferred and existing channels to disseminate products, emphasizing impacts relevant to different user groups (such as agriculture, forestry, water resources) rather than indices, and employing concise narratives and visualizations to translate technical and scientific information.

scholarly journals Teaching Science in Today’s Society: The Case of Particle Physics for Primary Schools

Universe ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 169
Author(s):  
Cristina Lazzeroni ◽  
Sandra Malvezzi ◽  
Andrea Quadri
Keyword(s):  
Particle Physics ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Rapid Changes ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Ongoing Project

The rapid changes in science and technology witnessed in recent decades have significantly contributed to the arousal of the awareness by decision-makers and the public as a whole of the need to strengthen the connection between outreach activities of universities and research institutes and the activities of educational institutions, with a central role played by schools. While the relevance of the problem is nowadays unquestioned, no unique and fully satisfactory solution has been identified. In the present paper we would like to contribute to the discussion on the subject by reporting on an ongoing project aimed to teach Particle Physics in primary schools. We will start from the past and currently planned activities in this project in order to establish a broader framework to describe the conditions for the fruitful interplay between researchers and teachers. We will also emphasize some aspects related to the dissemination of outreach materials by research institutions, in order to promote the access and distribution of scientific information in a way suited to the different age of the target students.

Aligning Expectation and Reality: A Summary of Dispersant Risk Communication Issues

1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 (1) ◽  
pp. 585-590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debra K. Scholz ◽  
Ann Hayward Walker ◽  
Janet H. Kucklick ◽  
Robert G. Pond
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Risk Communication ◽  
Science Studies ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
New Approach ◽  
The Public ◽  
Common Framework ◽  
Solid Foundation ◽  
Good Risk

ABSTRACT The potential and perceived environmental risks associated with dispersant use have been addressed by many scientific studies costing millions of dollars and tens of thousands of research hours. Nevertheless, decision makers still have many diverse and contradictory viewpoints, which can impede their ability to evaluate and reach consensus on the actual risks associated with this countermeasure. In an attempt to resolve the problem in a different way, a new approach was formulated, based on the following hypothesis: The inability to create a solid foundation for dispersant decision support is based not only on limitations to scientific information, but also on the wide differences in the way people understand and interpret this information. In other words, a critical aspect of improved decision making for dispersants is related to good risk communication, not more natural science studies. In 1994, industry initiated a research project to test this hypothesis and define the critical risk communication factors for dispersant decision making. This paper presents a summary of the identified dispersant risk communication issues. Building upon previous papers which described the project methodology and analytical results, this paper presents the risk communication messages which need to be shared with decision makers and the public. This information promotes a technically sound, clear, and common framework for evaluating the ecological risks associated with dispersant use in marine waters.

scholarly journals Genetic Modification and the Public Good

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (S1) ◽  
pp. S68-S79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingo Potrykus
Keyword(s):  
Public Good ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Nutrient Status ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Public Funds ◽  
Golden Rice ◽  
The Public ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations ◽  
The Poor ◽  
European Culture

Genetic engineering (GMO-technology) offers great opportunities to contribute to the public good by improving public health, e.g. by improving the micro-nutrient status of poor populations, cost effectively and – therefore – sustainably. The prime example for such a project from the public domain for public good is ‘Golden Rice’ (www.goldenrice.org). There are exclusive public funds involved (from altruistic organizations), no dependence from industry except for in-kind support and help in acquiring free licenses for humanitarian use. There is no financial reward for anyone involved. The only beneficiaries are the poor in developing countries. Theoretically, when considering the arguments of the anti-GMO lobby, this is an ideal application of GMO-technology. However, Golden Rice is considered a Trojan Horse, which must be prevented under all circumstances. The consequence: millions of avoidable blind and dead children. The author considers those who are responsible for this avoidable suffering of many innocent children (and mothers at childbirth) a crime to humanity. There are those who commit this deliberately and those who are participating passively, such as numerous ‘humanitarian organizations’ and ‘decision makers’ in politics and elsewhere. There is a wealth of scientific information and broad consensus that GMO-technology is at least as safe as any other technology involved in any context with our food or our environment. What we experience here is an example of ‘unreason’ and a perfect example in the context of The March of Unreason. Our ‘enlightenment’ and science-based successful European culture is on the verge of being replaced by unreason-based failure and lack of culture.

scholarly journals Eliciting mental models to understand how different individuals affected by disaster risk understand science, and scientific uncertainty

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Hudson-Doyle ◽  
Sara Harrison ◽  
Stephen Hill ◽  
Matt Williams ◽  
Douglas Paton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Models ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
The Public ◽  
Emergency Managers ◽  
Hazard Response ◽  
Emergency Decision ◽  
Time Frames

<p>Communicating the uncertainty associated with forecasts is crucial to effective crisis response management, but it is particularly challenging when time frames are too short to articulate the complexities of the information. However, not communicating uncertainties is problematic. For technical experts, interdependencies amongst event characteristics over time creates evolving uncertainties that may eclipse those associated with modelled outcomes. For the public and emergency decision-makers, the lack of uncertainty awareness may result in future alternative courses of action not being identified and assessed, reducing the efficacy of decisions and action plans. Furthermore, revealing uncertainty can both increase or decrease the credibility and trustworthiness of the communicator.  Some individuals will devalue a message when uncertainty is communicated, while others may devalue the message when they expect uncertainty and it has <em>not</em> been communicated. If we are to develop effective ways to communicate uncertainty in a crisis, research needs to understand the reasons for these differences. </p><p>Key influences include how perceptions of science, its uncertainty, and the scientific process, act as a lens through which scientific information is interpreted. This lens can warp communicated information, particularly when uncertainty is high: during a crisis, people may not take appropriate safety actions based upon scientific advice if the message contradicts or fails to accommodate, their existing perceptions of the science. Forecasts, warnings, and other communication products must address these existing perceptions if they are to be effective. These perceptions are represented in people’s mental models of how they think the world works, including their model of scientific processes, motivations, beliefs, and values, which vary across disciplines and organizations due to epistemic differences. We will report on the initial findings from a study that  a) identifies the appropriate methodology to elicit mental models of science in the public and professional populations, and b) uses this to explore how mental models of scientific uncertainty are held by the public, emergency managers, scientists, engineers, and key decision-makers involved in hazard response. Our aim is to identify the shared concepts underlying these mental models, so forecast messaging can be effectively crafted to include uncertainty in a way that aligns with  individuals’ mental models. Through this we offer strategies to enhance individual decision-making under uncertainty in ways that develop the trust that the public and decision-makers have in forecasts.</p>

scholarly journals Scientists on Twitter: Preaching to the choir or singing from the rooftops?

FACETS ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 682-694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle M. Côté ◽  
Emily S. Darling
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Educational Organizations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Exponential Increase ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Media Platforms

There have been strong calls for scientists to share their discoveries with society. Some scientists have heeded these calls through social media platforms such as Twitter. Here, we ask whether Twitter allows scientists to promote their findings primarily to other scientists (“inreach”), or whether it can help them reach broader, non-scientific audiences (“outreach”). We analyzed the Twitter followers of more than 100 faculty members in ecology and evolutionary biology and found that their followers are, on average, predominantly (∼55%) other scientists. However, beyond a threshold of ∼1000 followers, the range of follower types became more diverse and included research and educational organizations, media, members of the public with no stated association with science, and a small number of decision-makers. This varied audience was, in turn, followed by more people, resulting in an exponential increase in the social media reach of tweeting academic scientists. Tweeting, therefore, has the potential to disseminate scientific information widely after initial efforts to gain followers. These results should encourage scientists to invest in building a social media presence for scientific outreach.

Occupational Health and the Built Environment: Ethical Issues

2019 ◽  
pp. 717-727
Author(s):  
David B. Resnik
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Shopping Malls ◽  
Safety Standards ◽  
The Public ◽  
Housing Standards

The built environment includes many different types of human-made structures, such as houses, apartments, factories, shopping malls, office buildings, schools, roads, sidewalks, airports, parks, cities, dams, waste sites, sewers, electric power lines, pipelines, suburbs, and cities. This chapter provides an overview of ethical issues related to occupational health and the built environment, including property rights versus public health, distribution of health risks and environmental justice, occupational health and safety standards, and housing standards. To address these issues, decision-makers should have access to scientific information concerning the health impacts of the built and workplace environment and should be aware of the basic values at stake. Affected stakeholders, as well as the public at large, should have meaningful input into government decision-making related to these issues.

Mechanisms Affecting Public Acceptance of Resource Management Policies and Strategies

1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (S2) ◽  
pp. s306-s312 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Ben Peyton
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Public Involvement ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Management Decision ◽  
Management Process ◽  
Value Conflicts ◽  
The Public ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Management Policies

Managing the issues which arise from Great Lakes rehabilitation efforts will involve some expertise in psychology and sociology and in the administration of public involvement processes. The components of issues which must be managed include inadequacies in our science, incomplete and/or conflicting public beliefs, and conflicting public values. Decisions must often be made without the benefit of complete scientific information, and the public is poorly prepared to deal with this limitation. Even when scientific knowledge is adequate, segments of the public may be uninformed and create issues. Most issues result from conflicts between users with differing value priorities in a management decision. Public involvement strategies exist to increase representative and interactive participation by citizens needed to resolve or avoid many issues, but additional strategies must be developed to deal with the difficult dynamics of value conflicts. The response of management agencies should be to implement long-range programs to develop their own expertise in the dynamics of public perceptions, citizen skills to participate in the management process, and more effective strategies for involving citizens in the difficult, value-laden resource management process.

The Scientific Issues Associated with El Niño 1997-1998

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanley A. Changnon
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
General Information ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Seasonal Climate ◽  
The Public

The development of a record large El Niño event and its ensuing major effects on the nation’s weather over an eight-month period created a scientific event of major proportions. Key science-related questions that developed during El Niño 97-98 included: • Who was issuing El Niño -based climate predictions and for what conditions? • What kinds of weather conditions were caused by El Niño ? • What types of impacts were being projected as a result of the El Niño weather? • How accurate and useful were the El Niño -based climate predictions? • How accurate were the oceanic predictions relating to the development, intensification, and dissipation of El Niño 97-98? • Was the record-size event caused by global warming? Answers to such questions define the scientific information transmitted to the public, the scientific community, and decision makers during the event. This assessment focused on the scientific information that appeared during the period from May 1997 to June 1998, but it also included information that appeared a few months after El Niño ended (i.e., into early 1999), since these issuances reflect the thoughts and findings generated by scientists during the event. Topics assessed included: (1) the sources of the scientific information, (2) how the information was interpreted and by whom, (3) the accuracy of what was presented by different sources, and (4) the scientific issues that emerged, some of which involved disagreements and/or caused potential confusion for decision makers and the public. Most of the information assessed herein was extracted from the Internet, newspaper stories, and scientific documents published during the June 1997-June 1998 period. What scientific information relating to El Niño 97-98 was measured? We assessed the presentations of the physical descriptions of El Niño and ENSO and the predictions, the predictions based on El Niño conditions of future seasonal climate conditions as well as the resulting physical and societal impacts, the verifications of the seasonal climate predictions, and other, more general information about El Niño 97-98 that emerged, such as its magnitude in comparison to past El Niño events and its possible relationship to other conditions, such as global warming.

The Road to Iraq

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Idrees Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Iraq War ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Road ◽  
Cohesive Group ◽  
Political Agents

The Road to Iraq is an empirical investigation that explains the causes of the Iraq War, identifies its main agents, and demonstrates how the war was sold to decision makers and by decision makers to the public. It shows how a small but ideologically coherent and socially cohesive group of determined political agents used the contingency of 9/11 to outflank a sceptical foreign policy establishment, military brass and intelligence apparatus and provoked a war that has had disastrous consequences.

The Relevance of Trust

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inmaculada de Melo-Martín ◽  
Kristen Intemann
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Policy Decisions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Epistemic Trust ◽  
Proper Role ◽  
Scientific Institutions ◽  
Public Policy Decisions ◽  
Scientific Phenomena

This chapter offers a brief overview of the importance of epistemic trust and the relevance that scientific institutions and practices have in promoting or undermining warranted public trust. Epistemic trust is crucial for the production of scientific knowledge, the ability of the public to make sense of scientific phenomena, and the development of public policy. Normatively inappropriate dissent is more likely to take hold and erroneously affect people’s beliefs and actions in a context where the trustworthiness of scientists is called into question and where there is an excessive reliance on scientific information when it comes to assessing policy decisions. Thus, finding ways to facilitate and sustain warranted epistemic trust, as well as increasing understanding of the proper role of science in public policy decisions can help mitigate the negative impact of dissenting views.

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