Fostering understanding and support for environmental and climate issues requires a foundational understanding of how environmental discourse interacts with the public. Animated films exist as a medium in which environmental messaging is distributed to the public with the goal of inducing behavioral change in an audience. The goal of this paper is to link the messaging of such films with audience feedback. This will be accomplished by analyzing the impact of two environmentally focused animated films, The LoraxTomorrow, produced in Hollywood (United States) and Dhallywood (Bangladesh), respectively, and by using environmental humanities discourse analysis to examine how people responded to these films on social media websites. The first part of the article is the analysis of selected social media pages to understand the impact of these two films on contemporary environmental discourse, and the second part comprises an analysis of the environmental narrative of the films. I selected these two films for four reasons: (i) they are both environmental educational and pedagogical tools, (ii) they use environmental storytelling, (iii) they both address sustainability, and (iv) they may have influenced some discourse on environmental issues on social media. The study demonstrates that environmentally driven animated films can affect and shape the discourse of their audiences. This study also demonstrates how narratives from films such as The LoraxTomorrow
toolkit
Translation of geoscience research into tangible changes, such as modified decisions, processes, or policy, in the wider world is an important yet notably difficult process. Illustratively, university-based scientists and professionals work on different timescales, seek different insights, and may have a substantial cognitive distance between them. The work on Co-RISK reported in this paper is motivated by an ongoing need for mechanisms to aid this translation process. Co-RISK is an accessible (i.e. open access, paper based, zero cost) toolkit for use by stakeholder groups within workshops. Co-RISK has been developed to aid the co-creation of collaborative inter-organisational projects to translate risk-related science into modified actions. It is shaped to avoid adding to a proliferation in increasingly complex frameworks for assessing natural hazard risk and is given a robust basis by incorporating paradox theory from organisation studies, which deal with navigating the genuine tensions between industry and research organisations that stem from their differing roles. Specifically designed to ameliorate the organisational paradox, a Co-RISK workshop draws up “maps” including key stakeholders (e.g. regulator, insurer, university) and their positionality (e.g. barriers, concerns, motivations) and identifies exactly
According to a 2019 United Nations report, of all the known species, up to 1 million face extinction globally. Despite being considered a pressing global risk with several international efforts to protect and to restore, biodiversity loss and the degradation of ecosystems continue at an alarming rate. In December 2022, the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) saw the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, where four overarching international goals for biodiversity and 23 targets were set. While this is a positive step towards addressing the drivers of biodiversity loss, we will need not just public and political will but also more effective methods to integrate and use scientific information to reach the goals and targets outlined. To facilitate this, scientists and research institutions need to establish alternative and new approaches to transform the way science is conducted, communicated, and integrated into the policymaking process. This will require the scientific community to become proficient at working in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams, establishing connectivity across scientific disciplines and engaging in the policymaking process to ensure that the best available scientific evidence is not only comprehensible to decision-makers but also timely and relevant. This commentary details how scientists can embrace transformative change within and outside of their own communities to increase the impact of their research and help reach global targets that benefit society.
The Rock Garden is a new on-campus field skills training resource at Ghent University that was developed to increase the accessibility of geological field skills training and to provide students with more opportunities for such training. Developing specific field skills is integral to geoscience education and is typically concentrated into whole-day or longer field courses. These field courses have exceptional educational value, as they draw together multiple strands of classroom theory and practical laboratory learning. However, field courses are expensive and time-intensive to run, and they can present physical, financial, and cultural barriers to accessing geoscience education. Moreover, the relative infrequency of field courses over a degree programme means that key skills go unused for long intervals and that students can lose confidence in their application of these skills. To tackle the inaccessibility of field skills training, made more pronounced in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we built the Rock Garden: an artificial geological mapping training area that emulates a real-world mapping exercise in Belgium. We have integrated the Rock Garden into our geological mapping training courses and have used it to partially mitigate the disadvantages related to COVID-19 travel restrictions. Using the Rock Garden as a refresher exercise before a real-world geological mapping exercise increased students' confidence in their field skills, and students whose education was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic produced work of a similar quality to students from pre-pandemic cohorts. Developing a campus-based resource makes field training locally accessible, giving students more opportunities to practise their field skills and, consequently, more confidence in their abilities.
Climate change and water security are among the grand challenges of the 21st century, but literacy on these matters among high-school students is often unsystematic and/or detached from the real world. This study aims to introduce the educational objectives, methods, and early results of “Water and Us”, a three-module initiative that can contribute to advancing water education in a warming climate by focusing on the natural and anthropogenic water cycle, climate change, and emerging water conflicts. The method of Water and Us revolves around storytelling to aid understanding and generate new knowledge, learning by doing, a flipped-classroom environment, and a constant link to examples from the real world (such as ongoing droughts across the world or seeds of conflict regarding transnational river basins). Water and Us was established in 2021–2022 and, during that school year, involved ≥200≥40 h of proof-of-concept events confirmed the effectiveness of this approach with respect to conveying the essential elements of the natural and anthropogenic water cycle, the most commonly recurring concepts related to climate change and water as well as the possible conflicts and solutions related to water scarcity in a warming climate. The Water and Us team remains interested in networking with colleagues and potential recipients to upscale and further develop this work.
This review article is a written contribution to accompany the 2023 Katia and Maurice Krafft Award from the European Geosciences Union. Through a consideration of my own practice and that of the wider literature, I explore how creative approaches (primarily poetry and games) can enhance the diversification of geosciences and facilitate broader engagement in its research and governance. I propose a spectrum for geoscience communication, spanning from dissemination to participation, and contend that effective communication demands a creative approach, considering the requirements of diverse audiences. I offer practical recommendations and tactics for successful geoscience communication, including audience awareness, transparency, and engagement with varied communities. This article emphasises the significance of fostering increased recognition for science communication within geosciences and promoting wider engagement in its research and governance. It delivers valuable insights for researchers, educators, communicators, and policymakers interested in enhancing their communication skills and connecting with diverse audiences in the geoscience domain.
Spatial thinking represents an ongoing challenge in geoscience education, but concrete manipulatives can bridge this gap by illustrating abstract concepts. In an undergraduate optical mineralogy lab session, TotBlocks were used to illustrate how crystal structures influence properties such as cleavage and pleochroism. More abstracted properties, e.g., extinction angles, were increasingly difficult to illustrate using this tool.
Geoscience communicators must think carefully about how uncertainty is represented and how users may interpret these representations. Doing so will help communicate risk more effectively, which can elicit appropriate responses. Communication of uncertainty is not just a geosciences problem; recently, communication of uncertainty has come to the forefront over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the lessons learned from communication during the pandemic can be adopted across geosciences as well. To test interpretations of environmental forecasts with uncertainty, a decision task survey was administered to 65 participants who saw different hypothetical forecast representations common to presentations of environmental data and forecasts: deterministic, spaghetti plot with and without a median line, fan plot with and without a median line, and box plot with and without a median line. While participants completed the survey, their eye movements were monitored with eye-tracking software. Participants' eye movements were anchored to the median line, not focusing on possible extreme values to the same extent as when no median line was present. Additionally, participants largely correctly interpreted extreme values from the spaghetti and fan plots, but misinterpreted extreme values from the box plot, perhaps because participants spent little time fixating on the key. These results suggest that anchoring lines, such as median lines, should only be used where users should be guided to particular values and where extreme values are not as important in data interpretation. Additionally, fan or spaghetti plots should be considered instead of box plots to reduce misinterpretation of extreme values. Further study on the role of expertise and the change in eye movements across the graph area and key is explored in more detail in the companion paper to this study (Williams et al., 2023; hereafter Part 2).
As the ability to make predictions regarding uncertainty information representing natural hazards increases, an important question for those designing and communicating hazard forecasts is how visualizations of uncertainty influence understanding amongst the intended, potentially varied, target audiences. End-users have a wide range of differing expertise and backgrounds, possibly influencing the decision-making process they undertake for a given forecast presentation. Our previous, Part 1 study (Mulder et al., 2023) examined how the presentation of uncertainty information influenced end-user decision making. Here, we shift the focus to examine the decisions and reactions of participants with differing areas of expertise (meteorology, psychology, and graphic-communication students) when presented with varied hypothetical forecast representations (boxplot, fan plot, or spaghetti plot with and without median lines) using the same eye-tracking methods and experiments. Participants made decisions about a fictional scenario involving the choices between ships of different sizes in the face of varying ice thickness forecasts. Eye movements to the graph area and key and how they changed over time (early, intermediate, and later viewing periods) were examined. More fixations (maintained gaze on one location) and more fixation time were spent on the graph and key during early and intermediate periods of viewing, particularly for boxplots and fan plots. The inclusion of median lines led to less fixations being made on all graph types during early and intermediate viewing periods. No difference in eye movement behaviour was found due to expertise; however, those with greater expertise were more accurate in their decisions, particularly during more difficult scenarios. Where scientific producers seek to draw users to the central estimate, an anchoring line can significantly reduce cognitive load, leading both experts and non-experts to make more rational decisions. When asking users to consider extreme scenarios or uncertainty, different prior expertise can lead to significantly different cognitive loads for processing information, with an impact on one's ability to make appropriate decisions.
The communication of uncertainty is not only a challenge when soil information has been produced but also in the planning stage. When planning a survey of soil properties it is necessary to make decisions about the sampling density. Sampling density determines both the quality of predictions and the cost of fieldwork. In this study, we considered four ways in which the relationship between sample density and the uncertainty of predictions can be related, based on prior information about the variability of the target quantity. These were offset correlation, prediction intervals, conditional probabilities of the interpretation errors and implicit loss functions. Offset correlation is a measure of the consistency of kriging predictions made from sample grids with the same spacing but different origins. Prediction intervals and conditional probabilities are based on the prediction distribution of the variable of interest. All four of these methods were investigated using the information on soil pH and Se concentration in grain in Malawi. They were presented to a group of stakeholders, who were asked to use them in turn to select a sampling density. Their responses were evaluated and they were then asked to rank the methods based on their effectiveness, in their experience, and in terms of finding a level of uncertainty that they were able to tolerate when deciding about a sampling grid spacing. Our results show that the approach that stakeholders favoured was offset correlation, and some approaches were not well understood (conditional probability and implicit loss function). During feedback sessions, the stakeholders highlighted that they were more familiar with the concept of correlation, with a closed interval of [0,1] and this explains the more consistent responses under this method. The offset correlation will likely be more useful to stakeholders, with little or no statistical background, who are unable to express their requirements of information quality based on other measures of uncertainty.
Satellite-based earth observation sensors are increasingly able to monitor geophysical signals related to natural hazards, and many groups are working on rapid data acquisition, processing, and dissemination to data users with a wide range of expertise and goals. A particular challenge in the meaningful dissemination of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data to non-expert users is its unique differential data structure and sometimes low signal-to-noise ratio. In this study, we evaluate the online dissemination of ground deformation measurements from InSAR through Twitter, alongside the provision of open-access InSAR data from the Centre for Observation and Modelling of Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tectonics (COMET) Looking Into Continents from Space with Synthetic Aperture Radar (LiCSAR) processing system. Our aim is to evaluate (1) who interacts with disseminated InSAR data, (2) how the data are used, and (3) to discuss strategies for meaningful communication and dissemination of open InSAR data. We found that the InSAR Twitter community was primarily composed of non-scientists (62 %), although this grouping included earth observation experts in applications such as commercial industries. Twitter activity was primarily associated with natural hazard response, specifically following earthquakes and volcanic activity, where users disseminated InSAR measurements of ground deformation, often using wrapped and unwrapped interferograms. For earthquake events, Sentinel-1 data were acquired, processed, and tweeted within 4.7±2.8 d (the shortest was 1 d). Open-access Sentinel-1 data dominated the InSAR tweets and were applied to volcanic and earthquake events in the most engaged-with (retweeted) content. Open-access InSAR data provided by LiCSAR were widely accessed, including automatically processed and tweeted interferograms and interactive event pages revealing ground deformation following earthquake events. The further work required to integrate dissemination of InSAR data into longer-term disaster risk-reduction strategies is highly specific, to both hazard type and international community of practice, as well as to local political setting and civil protection mandates. Notably, communication of uncertainties and processing methodologies are still lacking. We conclude by outlining the future direction of COMET LiCSAR products to maximize their useability.
The first part of this article gives an overview of influential comics and graphic novels on paleontological themes from the last 12 decades. Through different forms of representation and narration, both clichés and the latest findings from paleontological research are presented in comics in an entertaining way for a broad audience. As a result, comics are often chroniclers of 20th century scientific history and contemporary paleoart.
The second part of this article deals with the development of the bilingual graphic novel EUROPASAURUS – Life on Jurassic Islands, which communicates knowledge from universities and museums to the public. This non-verbal comic presents the results of a paleontological research project on a Late Jurassic terrestrial biota from northern Germany in both a scientifically accurate and an easily understandable way, based on the way of life of various organisms and their habitats. Insights into the creative process, the perception of the book by the public, and ideas on how to raise public awareness of such a project are discussed.Art–science partnerships offer valuable opportunities to enhance inclusive engagement with research through collaborative creative practice. Here, we present two case studies of interdisciplinary approaches to contextualising environmental science for wider audiences. We synthesise lessons learnt from these case studies and associated stakeholders to provide advice for conducting successful art–science collaborations that help to broaden interactions with environmental geoscience research.
Improving the quality of education in universities can play a prominent role in the development of countries. The purpose of this study is to develop a methodology for assessing the quality of education in Water Resources Engineering, one of the sub-disciplines of Civil Engineering, based on Klein's learning model and using the hybrid fuzzy-AHP-TOPSIS method. Four out of the top ten universities in Iran, including Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT), Shiraz University (SU), and Khajeh Nasir al-Din Toosi University of Technology (KUT) are considered as case studies. First, the weight coefficients were determined by surveying the students in the fuzzy environment using the AHP method, and then these coefficients were transferred to the TOPSIS environment. Finally, the relative closeness of universities (CC) as a performance evaluation criterion in the form of CC (IUST) = 0.54, CC (AUT) = 0.49, CC (SU) = 0.45, and CC (KUT) = 0.39 were obtained. The sensitivity analysis was performed based on the number and type of Klein's qualitative criteria on the model, and Fourier series expansion curves were used to observe the exact behavior of the model and better compare the results. This model of evaluation can have a considerable influence on the education methods improvement in Civil Engineering departments and related fields.
Across the Midwest region of the United States, agriculturalists make decisions on a variety of timescales, ranging from daily to weekly, monthly, and seasonally. Ever-improving forecasts and decision support tools could assist the decision-making process, particularly in the context of a changing and increasingly variable climate. To be usable, however, the information produced by these forecasts and tools should be salient, credible, legitimate, and iterative – qualities which are achieved through deliberate co-production with stakeholders. This study uses a document analysis approach to explore the climate information needs and priorities of stakeholders in the U.S. Corn Belt. Through the analysis of 50 documents, we find that stakeholders are primarily concerned with practical and tactical decision-making, including from whom they obtain their information, the application of information to agricultural, water, and risk management, and desired economic outcomes. The information that stakeholders desire is less focused on social issues, environmental issues, or long-term climate resilience. These results can inform the development of future decision support tools, identify known gaps in climate information services to reduce stakeholder fatigue, and serve as an example to scientists trying to understand stakeholder needs in other regions and specialties.