ECREA - Science and Environment Communication Section

The Communication Researcher's Role(s) in Science and Environmental Communication - June 6 2013 - Uppsala, Sweden

Mathieu JAHNICH — 2013-04-21T16:37:30Z

Pre-IECA conference : International workshop organised by the Science and Environment Communication Section, ECREA (http://www.ecrea.eu/divisions/section/id/16 and http://www.scienv-com.eu/spip.php ?article100) and Department of Culture and Media Studies, Umeå University, Sweden (http://www.kultmed.umu.se/ecrea-sec).

Where : Clarion Hotel Gillet, Dagarbrunnsgatan 23, Uppsala, Sweden. (For directions see : http://www.clarionhotelgillet.com/directions.aspx)

When : 6 June 2013 from 9.00-15.20

REGISTRATION AND PAYMENT : Each participant (presenter and others) is asked to register before the workshop since there are limited spaces available and we need to pre-book the lunch bag (which in turn will be paid (100 SEK) directly at the conference venue). There is no workshop fee for participants. If you plan to participate send an email to Annika Egan Sjölander at (annika.egansjolander@kultmed.umu.se) before 17 of May with information about your name/affiliation and possible restrictions regarding food alternatives.

CONTENT : The purpose of this workshop is to focus on the role of the communication researcher in science and environmental projects. This type of (self)reflection is a much needed, yet on the whole overlooked or at least not sufficiently acknowledged activity among our research community. And this even if the position(s) of communication researchers often are complex and contradictory. Many science-related projects for example suggest that the main problem (for instance regarding implementation of new technologies), is that the public is uninformed and needs education. The role of the communication researcher therefore becomes to tackle the 'deficit'. Such approach can, in turn, be problematic seen from a democratic perspective where everybody's view is equally valid or at least seen as legitimate. In environmentally related projects, on the other hand, communication researchers are themselves often motivated by a will to change or to improve actual situations (for people and the environment), if not to solve practical problems. Sometimes the work involves initiating communication campaigns to raise awareness about an urgent environmental issue or attempts to influence people's behaviour, for example. But how to decide what the best way forward is and how do you combine the analytical task with practical work to solve the very same problem ? How can the identities of communication scholars as researchers and as advocates be reconciled ? What kinds of ethical and value-related questions do different roles raise ? And lastly, to what extent can we expect potential transformative impacts from the specific perspectives, research questions and methods we start from in the framing of our research projects ?

In this workshop we want to gather communication researchers with different experiences from the field of science and environmental communication and discuss their different role(s) in projects. We hope to create a space for dialogue, (self)reflection and learning among the participants and to offer an opportunity to deepen the understanding of these vital issues.

ESSACHESS – Journal for Communication Studies is excited to announce the launch of the Call for Papers for its July 2014 issue on Environment and communication

Mathieu JAHNICH — 2013-02-20T18:37:59Z

Coordination : Pieter LEROY, Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands and Marie-Gabrielle SURAUD, CERTOP, Paul Sabatier University of Toulouse 3, France

ESSACHESS, peer-reviewed and published two times per year (july 23th and december 23th), is covered in ProQuest CSA, Ebsco, Index Copernicus, CEEOL, Gale, Ulrich's Periodicals Director, J-Gate, SSRN, and DOAJ databases.

Over the last 40 years, scientific research on environmental issues has become a well-established field worldwide. These environmental issues, on the one hand, have provoked a series of novel questions in a variety of scientific disciplines. Simultaneously, they have led to a series of controversies over political, technological, economic and related issues with and between public authorities, industries and civil society. Communication is a quintessential part of these questioning and debating, and a precondition for scientific, societal and political responses to environmental challenges at large.

This special issue envisages a better understanding of ‘communication' on environmental issues. We would like to pay attention to the specific features of communication over environmental issues, to its role in the controversies about them, to their mediatisation, to their role in public and political debates, and in negotiation and policy making. What role does ‘communication' play in all this ? What forms and functions does it take ? What are the implications thereof when it comes to societal and political action ? And under what conditions can communication contribute to the gradual institutionalisation of these environmental responses ?

Making the environmental issue into a challenge for collective action affects every single societal sphere : the world of science and technology as well as the associative world of citizens, communities and non-governmental associations ; the sphere of public authorities as well as market representatives ; employers as well as employees, and farmers as well as banks ; agencies at local as well as at global level. Within each of these spheres and between them, ‘environment' not only has become a discourse, it also created new discursive spaces for concern and mobilisation, it contributed to novel platforms for debate and decision making, resulting into new practices and new standards. While one has to study their mechanisms and effects in more detail, environmental concern in general made citizens to adopt new daily practices - and to conquer other practices -, market agencies developed their ‘social responsibility' and sustainability standards - either con amore or as green washing -, while public authorities engaged in the development and implementation of environmental policies. In comparable ways, ‘the environment' informs certain technological options, while challenging others. And above all, communication over the environment created novel ways for these spheres to interact, through a variety of multi-actor and multi-sector arrangements, covering a series of environmental topics, and ranging from the local to the global.

In brief, we regard ‘communication' to be the link between discourse and action, between discourse and institution, and - under conditions still to be more precisely unravelled and understood - as a motor for societal change.

Within this approach, we call for contributions that could cover four complementary perspectives.

First : the emergence of environmental issues or particular sub-issues thereof, such as GMOs, the nuclear, climate change, biodiversity and others. What are the factors that drive and further their mediatisation and their politicisation, and what are the factors that block or hinder these processes ? What is the role of scientific information in this emergence of environmental issues, and what role does citizen science or societal expertise play ? How get these different sources of information articulated into different discourses and problem definitions ? And how then do the latter enter in confrontation and debate, and eventually result in negotiation and collective decision making ?

Second : the institutionalization of environmental discourses. When concern and mobilisation over environmental issues results in successful agenda-setting, these discourses institutionalise into concrete practices, into new ways of interaction, into novel strategies of intervention, either within or among public authorities, market agencies and civil society representatives. What processes do generate successful institutionalisation ? What hinders it ? To what extent and through what mechanisms this institutionalisation then actually affects the day to day practices of public authorities, of market enterprises, of citizens and the interactions between these stakeholders ? Is ‘environmentalism' indeed a catalyst of institutional change ? And how does, within and beyond the well-known mechanisms of ‘implementation', institutionalisation at one level of governance trigger institutionalisation at other levels ?

Third : co-operative arrangements for negotiation and decision-making on environmental issues. As stated above, ‘environmentalism' has led to the set up of a whole series of new ways of interaction, negotiation and decision-making. While initially environmental impact statements, risk assessments and cost-benefit analyses reflected a technocratic discourse, they all adopted, albeit in various ways, a ‘participatory' variant. Moreover, environmental issues induced the coming into being of new arena's and platforms for negotiation and decision-making, their stakes ranging from the location of hazardous activities at local level up to the gradual institutionalisation of some global environmental governance. The recent ‘Grenelle de l'environnement' in France reflects a trend that encompasses a whole bunch of participatory and interactive initiatives, including the IPCC and, more recently, IPBES. While some of these platforms link the public, the economic and the societal sphere, others relate science to policy, and still others can be regarded as private governance initiatives. Here again, questions arise as to what extent these newly institutionalised arrangements echo certain discourses while, in turn, they facilitate some definitions of the problem and might hinder other forms of communication.

Fourth : the role of sensitizing events and crises. Under normal circumstances, communication, also environmental communication tends to be business as usual. Yet the very character of environmental communication changes dramatically when sensitizing events occur, let alone in times of crisis. While the first pictures of ‘planet Earth'- the blue marble - created such a sensitizing moment in the late 1960s, creating sensitizing moments seems part of any environmental communication strategy, with logo's and icons - from the panda to the ice bear – in a prominent role. Yet environmental catastrophes and crises in particular, such as Seveso, Erika, Chernobyl, AZF and Fukushima, do generate specific patterns of communication. Parts of these communications regard the people and the region directly affected, while other parts regard the amplification and multiplication of the scientific, moral and political messages that (should) go with this particular crisis. Sensitizing events and crises, therefore, make environmental communication more visible, yet it remains to be seen what their long term impact is, whether they give rise to the institutionalisation of new practices and new rules. And, of course, while public media and social media do play a role in whatever environmental communication, their role is even more accentuated under conditions of crises. The latter raises questions as to how they take up their ‘societal responsibility', be it here and now or in a wider frame of time and space.

Important Deadlines

— July 15, 2013 : submission of the proposition of article in the form of a summary of 400-500 words. The proposal must include a list of recent references ;
— September 30, 2013 : acceptance of the proposal ;
— February 15, 2014 : full paper submission ;
— May 30, 2014 : full paper acceptance.

Papers should be between 6,000-10,000 words in length. Papers can be submitted in English or French. The abstracts should be in English and French, max. 200-250 words followed by 5 keywords. Please provide the full names, affiliations, and e-mail addresses of all authors, indicating the contact author. Papers, and any queries, should be sent to :

essachess@gmail.com

Authors of the accepted papers will be notified by e-mail.

CALL FOR PAPERS - The Communication Researcher's Role(s) in Science and Environmental Communication

Mathieu JAHNICH — 2013-01-25T18:55:39Z

Pre-IECA conference : International workshop organised by the Science and Environment Communication Section, ECREA (http://www.ecrea.eu/divisions/section/id/16 and http://www.scienv-com.eu) and Department of Culture and Media Studies, Umeå University, Sweden (http://www.kultmed.umu.se).

Where : Uppsala, Sweden When : 6 June 2013

The purpose of this workshop is to focus on the role of the communication researcher in science and environmental projects. This type of (self)reflection is a much needed, yet on the whole overlooked or at least not sufficiently acknowledged activity among our research community. And this even if the position(s) of communication researchers often are complex and contradictory. Many science-related projects for example suggest that the main problem (for instance regarding implementation of new technologies), is that the public is uninformed and needs education. The role of the communication researcher therefore becomes to tackle the 'deficit'. Such approach can, in turn, be problematic seen from a democratic perspective where everybody's view is equally valid or at least seen as legitimate. In environmentally related projects, on the other hand, communication researchers are themselves often motivated by a will to change or to improve actual situations (for people and the environment), if not to solve practical problems. Sometimes the work involves initiating communication campaigns to raise awareness about an urgent environmental issue or attempts to influence people's behaviour, for example. But how to decide what the best way forward is and how do you combine the analytical task with practical work to solve the very same problem ? How can the identities of communication scholars as researchers and as advocates be reconciled ? What kinds of ethical and value-related questions do different roles raise ? And lastly, to what extent can we expect potential transformative impacts from the specific perspectives, research questions and methods we start from in the framing of our research projects ?

Please send a 200 word abstract to Annika Egan Sjölander, Anabela Carvalho and Pieter Maeseele by 8 February 2013. Notification of acceptance will be made by 14 February 2013.

Climate Change Communication & the Internet : workshop at the University of Leicester

Mathieu JAHNICH — 2012-11-27T08:27:51Z

Climate Change Communication& the Internet : Challenges and Opportunities for Research

Contact person for expressions of interest : Dr Nelya Koteyko (nk158@leicester.ac.uk)

The University of Leicester's Department of Media and Communication will be hosting MECCSA Climate Change Network workshop on 12 April 2013.

The new communicative landscape shaped by the Internet and mobile technologies has had profound implications for communication research on climate change and environment.

It has opened up new areas for studying public engagement with science within the context of contemporary audiences as active co-producers of media content. The emergence of tools that enable searching, aggregating, and analysing online data allows communication researchers to examine the dynamics of climate change-related debates with an unprecedented breadth and scale. At the same time, however, these developments have brought new challenges for the study of (1) content, context and influence of climate change representations and (2) the role of different stakeholders from science, politics, and the economy in these online debates. Multiple web-based channels and platforms often make it difficult to assess how and by whom the online content is accessed, used, and co-produced. Although there are software packages that can quickly process patterns across the universe of Big Data, the de-contextualised nature of results remains a key problem.

This event will bring together leading scholars in the fields of media studies, science communication, information science, and computer-mediated communication to critically explore these issues. The international workshop will focus on some of the key challenges in researching Internet-based communication on climate change and climate politics, and the ways in which different methodological perspectives can be further developed to examine the use of online and social media by various stakeholders.

We invite scholarly contributions on the following topics, other aspects of the overall theme are also welcome :
— Environmental activism online
— Methodological approaches for studying user-generated content on climate change and environment
— Citizen journalism and climate change
— Social media discourses and framing of scientific uncertainty, risk, and expertise
— The role of Internet use in public engagement with climate change

Confirmed speakers :

— Professor Brigitte Nerlich, Institute for Science and Society (School of Sociology and Social Policy), University of Nottingham
— Prof. Dr. Mike S. Schäfer, Head of the Research Group "Media Constructions of Climate Change", University of Hamburg
— Dr Bernie Hogan, Research Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford
— Dr Richard Holliman, Senior Lecturer in Science Communication, Department of Environment, Earth and Ecosystems, the Open University

The event will be held at : Department of Media and Communication, Bankfield House, 132 New Walk, Leicester, LE1 7JA from 10am to 16.30 pm.

For further information and call for papers see http://www.meccsa.org.uk/events/climate-change-communication-the-internet-challenges-and-opportunities-for-research

Abstract submission :

Submit a maximum 300 words abstract as a Word document file to Nelya Koteyko nk158@leicester.ac.uk. The deadline for abstract submission is 15 January 2013. Please include a title, author(s) names, affiliations, contact address and e-mail.

Important Dates : Registration opens 10 January 2013 ; Registration closes 1 March 2013. Deadline for abstract submission : 15 January, 2013. Notification of acceptance : 15 February 2013. Workshop : 12 April 2013.

Fees : Participant fee : £20 for staff, £12 for post-graduate students (the fee covers buffet lunch and refreshments)

Registration : Information about the registration will be available by 20 December 2012 at The University of Leicester http://shop.le.ac.uk

Citizen Voices : Performing Public Participation in Science and Environment Communication

Mathieu JAHNICH — 2012-11-13T21:27:10Z

Citizen Voices : Performing Public Participation in Science and Environment Communication, edited by Louise Phillips, Anabela Carvalho and Julie Doyle, has been published by Intellect.

How is 'participation' ascribed meaning and practised in science and environment communication ? And how are citizen voices articulated, invoked, heard, marginalized or silenced in those processes ? Citizen Voices takes its starting point in the so-called dialogic or participatory turn in scientific and environmental governance in which practices claiming to be based on principles of participation, dialogue and citizen involvement have proliferated. The book goes beyond the buzzword of 'participation' in order to give empirically rich, theoretically informed and critical accounts of how citizen participation is understood and enacted in mass mediation and public engagement practices. A diverse series of studies across Europe and the US are presented, providing readers with empirical insights into the articulation of citizen voices in different national, cultural and institutional contexts. Building bridges across media and communication studies, science and technology studies, environmental studies and urban planning studies, Citizen Voices also offers a range of different theories and research methodologies which foreground the role of communication processes in scientific and environmental governance.

More information from the Intellect book webpage.

Citizen Voices is part of the ECREA Book Series.

Call for Papers - Communicating Climate Change - A pre-conference to ECC 2012, Istanbul, 23 October

Mathieu JAHNICH — 2012-03-26T12:24:34Z

Pre-Conference : Communicating Climate Change III - The Audience Perspective (Changing Climate, Changing Media & Changing Audiences)

Plato College of Higher Education, Istanbul 23 October 2012

Event organized by the Institute of Journalism and Communication Studies, University of Hamburg (Team : Prof. Dr. Irene Neverla, Dr. Monika Taddicken & Shameem Mahmud), hosted by the Plato College of Higher Education and organized in collaboration with the ECREA thematic sections Audience and Reception Studies, and Science and Environment Communication.

Call for Papers

Over the past two decades global climate change has emerged as one of the most intensely researched and discussed environmental and socio-political issues. Like other disciplines, scholars from social and behavioural sciences have spent a large amount of time and resources to understand public perception, attitude and behaviour regarding climate change and related issues. Multiple communication initiatives have been undertaken by governments and non-governmental organizations with the expectation of increasing public awareness, enhancing understanding, and motivating people for actions towards mitigation and/or adaptation. At the same time, we have witnessed unprecedented media coverage of the issue across the world. Broadly speaking, all these factors have contributed to increasing public awareness and understanding about climate change.

Nevertheless, it is still unclear what roles the media play in relation to audiences' meaning-making and actions with respect to climate change. Do audiences draw on media representations of climate change problems and solutions in tackling risks of climate change ? Are political actions on climate change shaped by media coverage ? No easy answer is available. Research findings vary considerably between cultures, context, time, media coverage, and types of climatic risks, along with other factors. In recent years, the situation has become more complicated as the definition of audiences is going through a transformation in a new communicative landscape, which is largely shaped by the Internet and mobile technologies. Contemporary audiences are defined as active users or producers of media contents instead of the ‘passive' consumers of the past. They have more channels to access and more platforms to express ideas and views transcending barriers of time and space. At the same time, in the developing world we have seen a paradigmatic change in communication systems in recent years triggered by the immense growth of broadcast and print media as well as the introduction of new media. Recent studies of climate change coverage in developing countries have also shown a trend of increased coverage of the issue. But little is known about how such coverage relates to people's understandings and actions in developing countries, which often are more vulnerable with respect to the effects of climate change.

It is against this background of changing communicative landscapes that we propose to re-examine climate change from the perspective of audiences and media/audience relations in both western and non-western countries. We expect that this conference will bring scholars from different scientific disciplines and geographical locations together for a critical assessment of existing knowledge of relations between climate change, communication and audiences.

We invite scholarly contributions on the following topics, but other aspects of the overall conference theme are also welcome :

Methodological approaches for studying audiences in relation to climate change within the changing communicative landscape
Climate change, communication and media : what influences public perceptions and behaviour ?
Changing climate, changing media and changing audiences
Public understanding of climate change in western and non-western countries
Scientific uncertainty, risk and audience views on climate change
Climate change, media and politics

Submission of paper proposals Submit a maximum of 500 words abstract of your research paper as a Word document file to the e-mail address ccc3@uni-hamburg.de The last date for proposal submission is 30 April 2012. Please include a paper title, author(s) names, affiliations, contact address and e-mail. All paper proposals are subject to a double-blind peer review process. The language of the pre-conference is English.

Important Dates Abstract submission opens : 26 March 2012 Deadline for abstract submission : 30 April 2012 Notification of acceptance/rejection : 15 June 2012 Deadline for submission of full papers : 15 September 2012 Pre-Conference : 23 October 2012

Registration for the pre-conference Further information about the registration will be available by Friday 30 March 2012 at the pre-conference page http://www.ecrea2012istanbul.eu/pre-conference/communicating-climate-change-three.html

Pre-conference location Plato College of Higher Education Ayvansaray Caddesi No 33 Balat, Istanbul

Plato College of Higher Education has campuses in Balat and in Taksim. Both campuses are located in areas of Istanbul which stand out in terms of their cultural and social richness. Plato College of Higher Education is spreading its roots and becoming more institutionalised in the “street campus” which it is developing in one of the oldest areas of settlement of the historical peninsula : Balat.

Participants can easily reach all central locations of Istanbul by public transportation which runs from just outside the entrance of the campus. Beyoglu/Taksim, which is Istanbul's most dynamic location in terms of the cultural, arts and entertainment scene, is only 10 minutes away from the Balat Campus.

Accommodation For a selection of recommended hotels in the central area of Taksim Square, please visit http://www.ecrea2012istanbul.eu/accommodation.html

Transport The pre-conference organisers will provide free shuttle service to and from the pre-conference venue to the main transport hub of Taksim Square.

Further information If you have any questions regarding your abstract submission, registration or any other issues related to the pre-conference, please contact Shameem Mahmud at shameem.mahmud@uni-hamburg.de

or visit the pre-conference page at http://www.ecrea2012istanbul.eu/pre-conference/communicating-climate-change-three.html

ECREA 2012 conference in Istanbul

Anabela — 2012-02-10T13:09:25Z

ECREA 2012, the 4th European Communication Conference, will take place in Istanbul from 24 to 27 October. You can submit an abstract for a presentation in the Science and Environment Communication Section until 28 February.

Science and Environment Communication CFP :

The 21st century faces unprecedented challenges in the environment and science fields. The Science and Environment Communication section seeks to foster a strong and dynamic research network and welcomes work that crosses a range of disciplinary and methodological boundaries. Examples of topic areas include - but are far from restricted to : media representations of science and the environment ; political and commercial discourse on the environment ; dialogic, participatory approaches to the communication of research-based knowledge ; communication, democracy and research governance ; public engagement with science and the environment.

For details (including how to submit), please see below for the general call for papers.

ECREA 2012 - 4th European Communication Conference Istanbul Bilgi University Istanbul, Turkey, 24-27 October 2012

Hosted by the Turkish Communication Research Association (ILAD)

The European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) and the Turkish Communication Research Association (ILAD), together with Istanbul Bilgi University, welcome the submission of abstracts for presentation at the 4th European Communication Conference to be held in Istanbul, Turkey from 24 to 27 October 2012.

The general theme of the conference is ‘Social Media-Global Voices'. The organisers call for proposals in all fields of communication and media studies, but particularly invite conceptual, empirical, and methodological proposals on social media and global communication phenomena and/or on comparative research.

ECREA is pleased to accept proposals for individual papers, panels as well as poster presentations. All proposals must be submitted through the conference website www.ecrea2012istanbul.eu and will be reviewed by the 17 ECREA thematic sections. The descriptions of the sections are listed further below in this message.

Abstracts should be written in English and contain a clear outline of the argument, the theoretical framework, and, where applicable, methodology and results. The preferred length of the individual abstracts is between 400 and 500 words (the maximum is 500 words). Panel proposals —which should consist of five individual contributions—, combine a panel abstract with five individual abstracts, each of which are between 400 and 500 words.

Participants may submit more than one proposal, but only one paper or poster by the same first author might be accepted. First authors can still be second (or third, etc.) author of other papers or posters, and can still act as chair or respondent of a panel.

All proposals should be submitted through the conference website from 1 December 2011 to 28 February 2012. Early submission is strongly encouraged. Please note that this submission deadline will not be extended.

Timeline 1 December 2011 : Online submission system open 28 February 2012 : Deadline for online submission 30 April 2012 : Notification of the acceptance 15 August 2012 : End of early bird registration fee 1 October 2012 : Deadline for online registration

Visualising Science and Environment

Mathieu JAHNICH — 2011-10-12T06:49:00Z

Symposium organised by the Science and Environment Communication Section, ECREA, in association with the Media Research Group, Faculty of Arts, University of Brighton, UK

Venue : University of Brighton, UK, 17-18 November 2011

Registration is now open for the ‘Visualising Science and Environment Symposium' organised by the Science and Environment Communication Section, ECREA, in association with Media Research Group, Faculty of Arts, University of Brighton, UK

Registration and details at : http://arts.brighton.ac.uk/study/media-studies/news/visualising-science-and-environment-symposium

Fee : Waged £60, unwaged/student £30 Further information from Julie Doyle : j.doyle@brighton.ac.uk

Symposium organisers : Julie Doyle, Anabela Carvalho and Louise Phillips, Science and Environment Communication Section, ECREA

PROGRAMME

Thursday 17 November 2011

9.30 Registration and Refreshments

10.00 Welcome address

Keynote - 'Imag(in)ing climate change : Exploring (creative) collaborations' Julie Doyle, University of Brighton, UK

11.00 Panel 1 – Visualising science : discourses of conflict and resolution

'Imagining “a greener, cleaner future” or a return to “the world of Quatermass” ? The role of the visual in biomass power struggles' Lucy Brown, University of Strathclyde, UK

'Geoengineering : Verbal and visual images of promotion and protest' Brigitte Nerlich, University of Nottingham, UK

'The use of visual and social media in conflicting land management processes' Georgina Maffey, Mark Reed and Sera Irvine, University of Aberdeen, UK

'Imagined nanotechnological futures as esoteric and exoteric discourses : Nanomission™'s mission' Mark Erickson, University of Brighton, UK

12.30 Lunch

1.30 Panel 2 - Conversations/collaborations between art and science

'Between method and ornament : scientific visualisations in contemporary art' Tomáš Dvo ?ák, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Czech Republic

'Small worlds' Elaine Duigenan, London, UK

'MS : The big knit' Hannah Hope, British Society for Immunology, Helen Featherstone, University of the West of England, and Alison Thomson, Artist in Residence, Barts and the London NHS Trust, UK'

'From science to art' Jon Heras, Equinox Graphics Ltd, UK

3.00 Refreshments

3.15 Panel 3 – Gendered politics of science and environment

'“Twinkle, twinkle, eco-star” : Green celebrity culture in contemporary China' Xinghua Li, Babson College, USA

'Ken dumps Barbie : The politics of communication in Greenpeace vs Mattel 2011' - Jenny Alexander, Bournemouth University, UK

'Hubble's mother : A star is born' Emma Bell, University of Brighton, UK

4.45 Panel 4 - Visual literacies of ecology and sustainability

'Design for a changing climate : Embedding scientific discourse in the process of architectural design' Kirsty Sutherland, University of Brighton, UK

'The graphic design of science and environment communication : The “Indústria e Ambiente” contribution' Jorge M L Brandão Pereira and Carla Santos Silva, Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave (IPCA), Portugal

'The visual communication of ecological literacy' Jody Boehnert, University of Brighton, UK

'Visual cultures of ecological research' Astrid Schwarz and Angela Krewani, University of Technology Darmstadt, Germany, University of Marburg, Germany

6.15 Drinks reception and book launch – sponsored by Faculty of Arts, University of Brighton and IECA (International Environmental Communication Association).

Book Launch – Julie Doyle, Mediating Climate Change (Ashgate 2011) and Claire Molloy, Popular Media and Animals (Palgrave Macmillan 2011)

8.00 Optional Dinner

Friday 18 November 2011

9.30 Panel 5 - Visualising climate change

'Image matters : Climate change imagery in the US, UK and Australian Mass Media' Saffron O'Neill, University of Melbourne, Australia (via skype)

'Picturing resilience : Analysis of newspaper images of Brisbane floods 2011' Anne Leitch and Erin Bohensky, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia

'Climate change associations : Mental imagery, iconic representations, and emotions' Zoe Leviston and Jennifer Price, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia

'Potentials and challenges of visualisation-supported communication on climate change' Victoria Wibeck and Tina Neset, Linköping University, Sweden

‘Which images matter ? Exploring Indonesian decision-makers' perceptions of future change' Erin Bohensky, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia

11.00 Refreshments

11.15 Panel 6 - Practicing Science, Environment and Art

'Teaching art and science together' Lisa Austin, Maine, USA

'Singing Sand' Joe Duffy, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

'The artistic appropriation of scientific methods of visualisation and nature' Hugo Fortes, University of São Paulo, Brazil

'Integrating Science and Art to promote environmental support' Darlene Farris-Labar, East Stroudsburg University, USA

12.45 Lunch

1.30 Panel 7 - Imaging animals, environment and science

'Avatar, animals and ecology : Visualising the tensions' Claire Molloy, University of Brighton, UK

'Whale wars : Image event, reality television or visual surveillance' Anita Howarth, Kingston University, UK

'Visualising the unseeable : Bubble chamber photographs and visual construction in particle physics' Mircea Sava, University of Bucharest, Romania, POSDRU 107/1.5/S/80765

'Visualising and communicating global atmospheric phenomena : A visual history of the Antarctic ozone hole' Sebastian Grevsmühl, Centre Alexandre Koyré, France

3.00 Refreshments

3.15 Panel 9 - Mass mediation of science and environment

'Broadcasting climate change : State vs. media' Marianna Poberezhskaya, University of Nottingham, UK

'Climate change in our Backyard' Amanda Katili Niode, Indonesia

'Visualising science in German television broadcasts' Anna –Maria Volpers, University of Münster, Germany

Looking somewhat sciencey : Science's trust function in commercial advertising' Alice Ruddigkeit and Matthias Kohring, University of Mannheim, Germany

4.45 Roundtable discussion and closing remarks

5.15 Finish

Science and Environment Communication Section, ECREA, in association with Media Research Group, Faculty of Arts, University of Brighton, UK.

Kindly supported by IECA (International Environmental Communication Association)

Communicate 2011 - The UK's conference for environmental communicators

Mathieu JAHNICH — 2011-09-07T20:24:49Z

Join us at Communicate 2011 "Nature, People and Economics" November 2 + 3, 2011. Central Bristol.

Communicate is the annual conference for environmental communicators bringing together a mix of NGO¹s, media professionals, business/CSR, academics and policy makers. Get informed and get involved with the crucial current and upcoming debates in the sector, and get direct feedback on your own communication campaigns. Organisations across the field contribute to the content - and Communicate stays ahead of the curve.

Join us this year for a special focus on :

The new models of communication including a keynote by Robin Ince from BBC Radio 4's Infinite Monkey Cage on using comedy to make a difference
Reconnecting Nature and Economics debated by experts from all fields including Futerra, Juliet Davenport of Good Energy, Coca-Cola, RSPB, New Economics Foundation.
An overview of the Natural Environment White Paper, and a chance to influence the future third sector and policy cooperation of the ³Living with Environmental Change' programme.
Communicating difficult issues led by Aubrey Manning and Mark Lynas
The Psychology of Persuasion with international guests Zoos Victoria presenting their world leading campaign that forever changed the perspective of zoo visitors in Australia.

We look forward to welcoming you to Bristol this November. For further information please contact Ben Connor, Communicate Project Manager, at ben@bnhc.org.uk.

CFP IJSD special issue : "Sustainability Tales, Fictions and Other Stories from the Movie Industry"

Mathieu JAHNICH — 2011-08-17T13:30:12Z

Call for papers : Special Issue on "Sustainability Tales, Fictions and Other Stories from the Movie Industry"

Submission of abstract (500 words) : 30 October, 2011

Environmental issues have inspired good storytelling in both big and small budget movies during the last decades. Box office numbers account for millions of viewers for feature films such as An Inconvenient Truth, March of the Penguins, The 11 th Hour, The Age of Stupid, Erin Brockovich, etc., and smaller budget movies with great impact such as The Big Ask, featured at COP15 (2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference) in Copenhagen, or The Story of Stuff.

Many of these movies were viewed by millions of people in movie theatres, at home, etc., but they are also used in organised contexts such as educational settings, NGO's environmental campaigns and even by politicians who engage in environmental sustainability debates. We argue that movies and other forms of popular culture need to be interrogated in regard to their role in communicating scientific issues to their audiences, their role in raising awareness of and initiating debates about sustainability issues, as well as their role in developing agency and collective action concerning the sustainability stories they tell. These intriguing issues are relevant to those engaged in movie script writing, storytelling and public engagement in sustainability conversations.

This special issue seeks contributions aimed at exploring the role of movies in conversations about sustainability, but also at unveiling and critically discussing what narratives are framing the sustainability discourses told by the movies' stories.

Subject Coverage :

Examples of questions that could be addressed include but are not limited to :
— What are the implicit sustainability narratives behind the sustainability tales told by the movies ?
— What is the intentionality of media choices in portraying sustainability ideas in movies, including responsibility and other sustainability principles (imagery, soundtrack, etc.) ?
— How are futures (including utopias and dystopias) represented and discussed in sustainability movies ?
— What is the role of sustainability movies in forming public opinions and perceptions about the issues they portray ?
— What are the social, cultural and psychological conditions through which the public engage with and attach meaning to representations of sustainability issues in movies ?
— What are the roles of movies in developing agency and responsibility towards environmental issues ?
— What is the importance of people and institutions involved in the movie-making process (e.g. producers, directors, narrators, actors) in forming opinions about and fostering engagement with sustainability issues ?
— What are the effects of movie genre (e.g. science-fiction, documentary, “docudrama”, cartoons, drama) on the public's engagement with a movie's message ?

Important Dates :

Submission of abstract (500 words) : 30 October, 2011

Notification of acceptance : 15 November, 2011

Full papers due : 15 February, 2012

Peer review results : 30 May, 2012

Final paper due : 15 July, 2012

All papers must be submitted online. To submit a paper, please go to : http://www.inderscience.com/mapper.php ?id=35&jid=25

For further information please use the link : http://www.inderscience.com/browse/callpaper.php ?callID=1690