ASC2020 - 16-19 Feb, Melbourne

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Communication practices of government organisations for environmental health risks from chemical pollution: A scoping review

Government organisations play a critical role in communicating risks and health protective actions in response to environmental hazards. Globally, exposure of the public to environmental hazards, such as chemical pollution, causes significant adverse health outcomes. Effective communication can reduce the public’s exposure to these hazards, minimising the health and psychological impacts.

While a large number of studies have investigated how to improve risk communication, there appears to be comparatively limited research focusing on the practices of those communicating risk, such as government organisations, compared to the wealth of research focusing on those receiving the messages. This is a significant gap considering the important role communicators play in encouraging the public to respond to environmental hazards. There is no doubt that audience-focused research is important. However, to improve the effectiveness of communication efforts there is also the need to better understand the communicators and gain insights into communication practices, decision-making and organisational factors influencing communication efforts.

As a first step to address this gap, a scoping review was undertaken to identify the existing research looking at the practice of risk communication by government organisations. Peer-reviewed papers investigating communicators, or individuals assisting with communicating, from government organisations were included. The review focused on communication relating to chemical pollution, but also considered general environmental health communication. Analysis the reviewed papers identified key factors influencing government organisations’ communications of risks. This presentation will outline the results of the scoping review and highlight potential areas for future studies.

Session

Communication Strategies to Mitigate Risk

Presenters

Madeleine Thomas, PhD Student, Monash University & Environment Protection Authority Victoria

 

When: In sessionWednesday 19th February, 1:50pm-2:35pm

Where: Room G01, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

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Selecting the right tool for the job: communication technologies for dispersed multinational scientific teams

Research in developing countries often involves teams of scientists from developing and developed countries, who use information and communication technologies (ICTs) to communicate between dispersed team members. These scientists come from different cultures and language groups and live in varying economic and political environments.

I investigated the utility and useability of nine ICTs, including social media, email and websites used by teams of agricultural scientists from Lao PDR and Australia, using an intercultural heuristic evaluation tool, or I-CHET. I found that asynchronous ICTs such as email were preferred by non-native English speakers, while synchronous media such as instant messaging and Skype presented considerable problems between team members from different cultures and language groups.

Most ICTs evaluated in the study demonstrated little consideration for non-native English speakers and for inexperienced ICTs users. However, all evaluated ICTs demonstrated the ability to transmit information and encourage communication between information users in scientific collaborations.

The I-CHET assessment tool highlights the ongoing need for a ‘toolbox’ of communication ICTs for research collaborations that can be adapted to suit the cultural and professional needs of multinational teams, worldwide.

Session

Communication Delivery Methods

Presenter

Wesley Ward, Researcher, Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University

 

When: In session Wednesday 19th February, 11:00am–12:50pm

Where: Room G01, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag:

 

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Effective communication of uncertainty for hazards and risk: identifying decision-relevant information

Disaster risk management requires effective communication of complex technical information: in pre-event planning and mitigation, in response activities and during recovery processes. These range from technical risk assessments to impact projections, and simulations of the outcomes of recovery and adaptation decisions.

Each relies on a suite of numerical models, from models of the hazard (e.g., tsunami) to economic projections of decision impacts. Many novel processes exist to communicate these models to both the public and decision makers in policy and practice settings.

However, how we communicate the uncertainty inherent to these models remains a challenge. Non-communication of uncertainties is problematic: interdependencies between event characteristics over time create evolving uncertainties that can eclipse any simulated outcome uncertainties.

We review the literature covering the many challenges of communicating uncertainty, and present the findings of a metasynthesis literature review for effective communication of model uncertainties. Themes identified include:

  1. clear typologies to identify and communicate uncertainties,
  2. effective engagement with users to identify uncertainties to focus on and when,
  3. managing ensembles, confidence, bias, consensus and dissensus,
  4. methods for communicating uncertainties., e.g., maps, graphs, time, and
  5. the lack of evaluation of many approaches currently in use.

We propose communicators move from a one-way dissemination of advice, towards two-way and participatory approaches that identify decision-relevant uncertainty and data information needs pre-event, via a shared uncertainty management scheme. This will help identify what communication efforts should focus on during a crisis, and thus enhance situation awareness and data sharing throughout the disaster cycle.

Session

Communication Strategies to Mitigate Risk

Presenting author:

Emma Hudson-Doyle, Senior Lecturer, Joint Centre for Disaster Research, Massey University (New Zealand)

Co-authors:

Douglas Paton, Professor, College of Health and Human Sciences, Charles Darwin University
David Johnston, Professor, Senior Scientist, GNS Science (New Zealand’s Geological Survey), Massey University (New Zealand)
Richard Smith, Director, Resilience to Nature’s Challenges, GNS Science (New Zealand)

 

When: In session Wednesday 19th February,1:50pm-2:35pm

Where: Room G01, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag:

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Breaking Business as Usual: Using creativity to imagine purpose and practice in the Radical Decade

We’re about to enter the Radical Decade. What will your story be?

We’re in a climate emergency. Teenagers are gluing themselves to bridges to protest systemic inaction. Protests and demonstrations are breaking out around the world. Yet thirty years after James Hansen’s testimony to US Congress, our civilisational supertanker plows on with emissions-as-usual. We’ve missed our opportunity to make incremental change, so the coming decade will need to be radical.

This experiential workshop will break down all of your assumptions about the role of science communication and ask you to back-cast your story around a very different future. When you look back in years to come, what story will you tell about the role you played in the radical decade? Combining creativity, improvisation, complexity and systems thinking, we’ll challenge you to radically reorient your own approach to science communication.

We’ll give you the tools to jump into the unknown, lean-in to risk and use creativity to thrive in a time of great uncertainty. You’ll leave with new possibilities that will help you re-imagine and re-shape the role you want to play in what will be humanity’s critical decade.

 

What will participants gain from attending your session?

Participants will be challenged to deeply interrogate their own assumptions and practice in order to find new ways to engage with audiences with creativity, empathy, courage and imagination. They will gain:

  • Increased awareness of structural, cultural and personal assumptions that constrain practice
  • The opportunity to reimagine their role in a decade that will require transformational change
  • Practice in using creativity and improvisation activities to spark empathy and imagination, lean-in to risk, learn to jump and embrace uncertainty
  • Strategies for rethinking the fundamentals of their work, drawn from very different domains of knowledge and practice
  • An opportunity to identify specific actions and methods to challenge, rethink and improve their practice on an ongoing basis

Session Producer/ Workshop facilitator

Vicki Kyriakakis, Storyteller, Improviser & Marketing Strategist, Monash Sustainable Development Institute

David Robertson, Connector, Science Communicator & Educator, Monash Sustainable Development Institute

 

When: Wednesday 19th February, 9:30am-10:30am & 11:00am-12:00 noon

Where: Room G31, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton

Hashtag: TBC

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Taking action – changing the way we communicate air quality data that affects peoples health

Victorians want to know how air quality affects their health. Particularly when there is an emergency nearby. EPA’s previous website that was used to communicate this information was designed by scientists, not the public. User research showed that the information was too confusing to understand. Using this user research, we designed a new website that does it’s best to balance scientific accuracy with user accessibility.

Delivering a radical shift to ‘community first’ has been a long process with multiple government and community stakeholders. I’ve had a lot of tough conversations with our scientists that revolve around “but what value does this give to the community member? You want it, but what about community?”

Come and see how two different systems compare when designed with two different users in mind.

 

What will participants gain from attending your presentation?

Attendees will get an understanding of how social research gets turned into a solution that works for the public

Presenter

Emma Saville, Science Communications Advisor, EPA Victoria

 

When: Wednesday 19th February, 12:05pm-12:50pm
Where: Room G31, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

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Supercomputer Communication – A Website Redesign Case-Study

In 2019, Australia’s peak supercomputing organisation, the National Computational Infrastructure, redeveloped its website in anticipation of significant public and government attention. This presentation will provide a case study for how careful decision-making, attention to context and audience, and communication instincts helped produce a refreshed and functional website suited to a high-profile digital science infrastructure facility.

 

What will participants gain from attending your presentation?

This presentation aims to give a concrete insight into the process of developing, designing and managing a website redevelopment for a scientific organisation.

 

Presenter

Adam Huttner-Koros, Communications Officer, National Computational Infrastructure

 

When: In session Wednesday 19th February, 1:50pm-2:35pm
Where: Room G02, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

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Is it working? Development and testing of a National Evaluation Guide for STEM gender equity projects

The Government supports and invests in a range of gender equity in STEM initiatives intended to that boost the participation of girls and women in STEM education and careers. Evaluation is imperative to gauge whether initiatives are achieving their intended outcomes and to shape future interventions [1]. However, evaluation is often neglected [2] due in part to lack of resources and perceived expertise to evaluate projects in a professional and accountable manner [3].

The Office of the Women in STEM is developing a National Evaluation Guide to provide a standardised framework for rigorous evaluation of funded gender equity programs across Australia. The National Evaluation Guide will be piloted with the Women in STEM and Entrepreneurship (WISE) grants program in 2020 to evaluate project impacts and outcomes. This paper will provide an overview of the National Evaluation Guide and discuss the implementation of the pilot project with WISE in 2020.

[1] Australian Academy of Science. Women in STEM Decadal Plan. 2019

[2] Coordination Committee on Science and Technology. Audit of Science Education and Awareness Initiatives Delivered by CCST Member Organisations in 2006/07 Financial Year, Results and Recommendations. Canberra. 2008.

[3] Salmon, R. A., & Roop, H. A. Bridging the gap between science communication practice and theory. Polar Record, 1-14. 2019.

 

Presenter
Isabelle Kingsley, Research Associate, Office of the Women in STEM | University of New South Wales

 

When: Monday 17th February, 2:00-3:30
Where: Room G02, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

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Taking ‘A load off our minds’ through ‘airing our dirty laundry’: an installation for participation and dialogue

When: TBC
Where: TBC
Hashtag: TBC

The New Zealand Association of Scientists conference 2019 focused on ‘Changing the Culture of Science’, with keynotes covering equity, diversity and inclusion. Acknowledging the potentially difficult content, conference curator Kate Hannah sought a creative and ‘kind’ activity as a counterbalance. Our response was A load off your mind: a playful installation to elicit dialogue and participation. Its form was a low-fi cardboard laundromat: a place to congregate and share thoughts about scientific culture: what it is, what it could be, and personal experiences that have shaped it. NZAS was the first iteration of this experimental engagement device for collective reflexivity, which has since had a second spin at an art gallery (where the culture of design was ‘rinsed’) and subsequently at AAHPSSS, where the NZAS responses were used as further prompts to explore the culture of both science and the disciplines attending the conference. Next week, it gets another spin at SCANZ, where we will be using it to probe the ethics of science communication.

Why a laundromat? The catalyst was the idea of ‘airing and rinsing’ issues, and pertinent puns flowed: taking ‘a load’ off our minds; being ‘pressed’ into action; ‘cleaning up’ our acts; getting ‘all in a lather’ over vexing issues; ironing things out; perhaps ‘agitating’… These metaphors’ humorous simplicity belie the serious possibility of a laundromat as a transformative ‘third place’ or ‘third space’. After all, laundromats are ordinary and familiar, but in a sense shaped by nostalgia and popular culture more than first-hand experience, so their role – people know them as a place to undertake a somewhat intimate ritual in public, in a space where there is shared purpose – can be adopted and moulded as an engagement vehicle.

A Load off your mind uses ‘cultural probes’ as projective techniques, with paper garments sheets containing design prompts that feel straightforward, but attempt to elicit the articulation of motivations, attitudes and biases or ‘thoughts, hopes, and fears’[1] without specifically asking for them. Garments can be placed in a washing machine for cathartic symbolic cleaning, then pegged out on the line to share. This design-led approach seeks informal qualitative responses (drawings, statements, stories)[2]. In this context, the laundrette format is exploratory, not confirmatory and is not seeking specific data, rather it allows autonomy for participants to shape their own engagement.

Inspired by Maja Horst’s ‘make an intervention and see what happens’[3] approach, and conducted as an iterative human-centred design practice, we extend the offer for ASC to host the next cycle of the A load off your mind laundromat. This can be used to present and extend SCANZ’s work on the ethics of our field, or could be tailored to pose questions related to the ASC conference theme, and can be further illustrated with a presentation to take you on a spin through A load off your mind’s history, giving a wash-up of what we’ve learnt so far.

[1] Boucher, A., Gaver, B., Kerridge, T., Michael, M., Ovalle, L., Plummer-Fernandez, M., & Wilkie, A. (2018). Energy Babble. Retrieved from https://www.matteringpress.org/books/energy-babblehttps://doi.org/10.1145/1015530.1015555

[2] Gaver, W. W., Boucher, A., Pennington, S., & Walker, B. (2004). Cultural Probes and the Value of Uncertainty. Interactions, 11(5), 53–56. https://doi.org/10.1145/1015530.1015555

[3]  Horst, M., & Michael, M. (2011). On the Shoulders of Idiots: Re-thinking Science Communication as ‘Event’. Science as Culture, 20(3), 283–306. https://doi.org/10.1080/09505431.2010.524199

Presenter
Jo Bailey, Senior Lecturer and PhD candidate, Wellington School of Design, Massey University / Centre for Science in Society, Victoria University of Wellington

makinggood.design

Co-authors

Rhian Salmon, Kate Hannah, Rebecca Priestley

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Changing environmental behaviours, using ABC’s War on Waste as a case study

The first season of ABC’s War on Waste led to an immediate funding boost of $1.2 million dollars to organisations that rescue food, Responsible Cafes increased from 400 registered cafes to 1,400 almost overnight, and KeepCup reported a 400% increase in sales the week after War on Waste aired.

So how did the series do it?

One of the most interesting findings of the ABC’s 2018 War on Waste survey found that millennials—those aged between 18 and 34—produce more waste in their households compared to all other generations. This survey was one of Australia’s largest ever studies on waste behaviour change and was completed by 36,722 participants around the country.

Millennials were more likely to have thrown out rotting food, thrown food scraps into the general waste, placed recyclables in the general waste and purchased fruit and vegetables in plastic bags or trays. Yet when it came to using BYO coffee cups instead of disposable and non-recyclable coffee cups, millennials outperformed all other generations.

So why, out of all the environmental behaviours in War on Waste, was the BYO coffee cup adopted more than others? And how exactly did the War on Waste provoke this change in behaviour in millennials?

We asked Melbourne millennials their thoughts in a one-hour focus group.

Engaging storytelling, non-preachy tones, gentle learning curve, a joint-learning experience with the host, relatable contexts, targeting consumers, businesses and government and step-by-step guides on how to change behaviour, all played a key role.

But one of the main findings was that these preferences aren’t unique to Melbourne millennials—other generations make decisions in the same ways. Findings demonstrate overall consistencies with existing theories about edutainment interventions and cognitive processing.

We’ve put together some practical tips to help waste education practitioners engage communities in waste issues, using War on Waste as a case study.

Learn about new insights on:
-striking the right tone in a waste education campaign
-choosing pro-environmental behaviours that are most likely to be adopted -inspiring change on issues perceived to be too overwhelming
-the psychology on how we make decisions

Entertainment-Education (edutainment) interventions are communication strategies that have a predetermined educational or persuasive outcome, and aim to motivate and inspire social change.

 

What will participants gain from attending your presentation?
Attendees will learn about new insights and practical tips on how to engage communities on complex topics, and learn the latest on edutainment communication research. The presentation will outline a practical step-by-step framework that attendees can take home on how to create a communication campaign that will lead to social change.

Specifically the audience will learn about insights on:
-striking the right tone in a waste education campaign
-choosing pro-environmental behaviours that are most likely to be adopted -inspiring change on issues perceived to be too overwhelming
-the psychology on how we make decisions

 

Presenters

Rachael Vorwerk, Communications Consultant and RMIT Research Assistant, Self-employed and RMIT

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachael-vorwerk/

When: Monday 17th February, 2:00-3:30
Where: Room G02, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton
Hashtag: TBC

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Sustainable Stand Up: Cultivating laughter to save humanity

All too often conversations about sustainability become negative and accusatory, and alienate the very people we need to connect with. In this session we’ll talk about Sustainable StandUp, a different way to approach communication, using a highly compassionate form of comedy.

Belina Raffy teaches stand up and improv practices to sustainability champions (environmental and social) to help them to talk about important and scary ideas in delightful ways that bring people in, instead of frightening them away.

Based in Berlin, Belina has now run Sustainable Stand Up courses and shows over 33 times across 10 countries and has also written a book Using Improv to Save the World (and me) .

The talk will feature some excerpts of live comedy from Melbourne-based Sustainable Stand Up teacher and comedian, Tejopala Rawls.

 

What will the audience get out of it?

Insights on a new way to approach difficult conversations, a smile and some optimism!

 

Structure
A live cross to Belina Raffy in Berlin, and some examples of comedy from Tejopala Rawls, along with a discussion of how he develops material and some audience Q&A.

 

Producer

Phil Dooley, Phil Up On Science, and Sustainable Stand Up teacher, Canberra

 

Presenter

Belina Raffy, Empress, Maffick Ltd and Founder, Sustainable Stand Up

 

Presenter/Performer

Tejopala Rawls, Activist and stand up comedian

 

When: Monday 17th February, 12:00pm-1:00pm

Where: Room G21, Learning and Teaching Building, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton

Hashtag: TBC

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Acknowledgements

© 2020 Australian Science Communicators

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