Not just a pretty picture: Scientific fact visualisation styles, preferences, confidence and recall

Visuals are often used to enhance learning of scientific information. The recent emergence and popularity of comic-style instruction books for adults, such as the ‘manga guide to …’, shows the possibility of comic style visualisations for the communication of science with adults. This study investigates whether the addition and style of visual accompaniment of scientific information, as used in comic books, influences immediate and short-term fact recall in an adult audience. Participants ( n = 310 aged 18–79, 52% identified as female) were presented 20 general science facts in one of five styles: (1) text alone, (2) photo with text caption, (3) cartoon with text caption, (4) photo with explanatory agent and a speech bubble, (5) cartoon with explanatory agent and a speech bubble. Immediate recall, and confidence in that recall, was tested following a brief distractor. Participants indicated their preferred presentation style, and short-term recall was tested by a final quiz of all 20 facts. Overall, the most preferred presentation style was cartoon with explanatory agent and text in a speech bubble (26% preferred). There was no single most effective presentation style; there was no significant difference in immediate recall, short term recall or confidence in answers depending on whether the fact was presented as text, photo or cartoon, or the presence or absence of an explanatory agent. However, immediate recall was significantly better when preference was met ( p < 0.02). We found that the style of visual accompaniment of scientific information in accordance with the ‘manga guide to…’ format influenced immediate, but not short-term, fact recall in an adult audience when written English literacy, scientific literacy and non-verbal intelligence were taken into account. Short term recall of scientific facts may best be served by presenting facts in multiple styles, or enquiring about and then meeting participant preference for visual accompaniment.

Advance 2 Not a pretty picture Psychosocial disability in Australia

<a>This paper describes the impact of psychosocial disabilities in Australia on vocational achievements. The report is based on the official statistics on <i>Disability Ageing and Carers</i> by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The major findings in relation to persons with a psychosocial disability are: (a) only 32% are in the labour force; (b) the proportion who are unemployed is 1.7 times that for those with no disability; (c) employment is reduced more than twice for those with some other disability; (d) larger proportions are working part-time than full-time; (e) there is some underlying impact on the types of occupations; (f) the median income is much less ($400 gross per week) than for other disabilities ($575.00 gross per week) or even no disability ($950.00 gross per week)</a><a></a> ; and (g) the workplace is by far the highest source of unfair treatment with 46,500 instances in the previous 12 months. It was concluded that most persons with a psychosocial disability do not participate in the labour market. When they do, they suffer higher levels of unemployment. When they get a job, it is more likely to be part-time. When they are employed substantial numbers face discrimination and restrictions.

Advance 2 Not a pretty picture Psychosocial disability in Australia

<a>This paper describes the impact of psychosocial disabilities in Australia on vocational achievements. The report is based on the official statistics on <i>Disability Ageing and Carers</i> by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The major findings in relation to persons with a psychosocial disability are: (a) only 32% are in the labour force; (b) the proportion who are unemployed is 1.7 times that for those with no disability; (c) employment is reduced more than twice for those with some other disability; (d) larger proportions are working part-time than full-time; (e) there is some underlying impact on the types of occupations; (f) the median income is much less ($400 gross per week) than for other disabilities ($575.00 gross per week) or even no disability ($950.00 gross per week)</a><a></a> ; and (g) the workplace is by far the highest source of unfair treatment with 46,500 instances in the previous 12 months. It was concluded that most persons with a psychosocial disability do not participate in the labour market. When they do, they suffer higher levels of unemployment. When they get a job, it is more likely to be part-time. When they are employed substantial numbers face discrimination and restrictions.

Israelis, Palestinians, and Americans: More Politics, Please, Less Process

Once upon a time, the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was a solution, a pretty picture of the future that good-hearted and moderate people could imagine as providing enough justice and satisfaction to both sides as to be achievable by bargaining in good faith and with support from the international community. It remains a pretty picture of the future, but no longer an outcome that anyone knows how to achieve. A pretty picture of the future without a plan for getting there is just that a picture not a solution. Indeed, it has been years, perhaps decades, since the success of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians became so utterly implausible that efforts to conduct or encourage them ceased to matter, except for the political cover that making such efforts could give to politicians and diplomats primarily interested in other things.