Enhancing climate change communication: strategies for profiling and targeting Australian interpretive communities

Abstracthis research aimed to provide practical information about how to design communications on climate change adaptation and target these to the Australian population.   This was achieved by: (1) identifying and increasing awareness of different climate change audiences in Australia, and (2) evaluating how each audience responds to different types of climate change messages. Phase 1 of the study used audience segmentation analysis to identify the main climate change interpretive communities within Australia; that is, groups of Australians who share similar views and understandings about climate change.   A nationwide sample consisting of 3,096 Australian residents (aged 15 to 108 years, 47% male and 53% female) completed an online survey assessing a broad range of psychological and behavioural factors related to climate change.   Latent profile analysis applied to the psychological variables suggested that this Australian sample consists of five distinct interpretive communities: Alarmed (26%), Concerned (39%), Uncertain (14%), Doubtful (12%), and Dismissive (9%). Validation analyses revealed that these groups differed in terms of how they responded to perceived climate change threats, and also in their support for particular climate change mitigation and adaptation policies.   Phase 2 of the project examined how Australian interpretive communities respond to climate change adaptation messages and identified the specific message attributes that drive these responses. 1,031 Australian residents (aged 18 to 66 years, 49.8% male, 50.2% female) completed an online survey assessing a similar set of psychological and behavioural responses to climate change to those assessed in Phase 1.   Respondents subsequently viewed six climate change adaptation messages that were randomly allocated from a pool of 60 messages sourced from the internet.   Messages were pre-coded on 10 communication cues (e.g., language complexity, normative influence), and respondents rated them on four judgement dimensions: perceived threat, perceived efficacy, fear control (message rejection), and danger control (message acceptance).   Latent profile analysis applied to the psychological variables identified three climate change interpretive communities in this sample: Alarmed (34.4%), Uncommitted (45.2%), and Dismissive (20.3%).   Judgement analysis methodology (Cooksey, 1996) found that the three interpretive communities based their threat and efficacy evaluations on unique combinations of communication cues, and that high perceived threat and high perceived efficacy were related to message acceptance for all communities.   Effective messages for Dismissive respondents used simple language and did not emphasise descriptive social norms.   Uncommitted audience members responded positively to messages that focused on preventing losses and had a strong emotional component.   Alarmed respondents preferred messages that focused on local issues and had a collectivist frame. Providing specific adaptation advice in messages was found to be effective for all communities. The results largely support the Extended Parallel Processing Model of risk communication (Witte, 1992), and suggest that message attributes should be adjusted to effectively communicate with different climate change interpretive communities within Australia.Please cite this report as:Hine, D, Phillips, W, Reser, J, Cooksey, R, Marks, A, Nunn, P, Watt, S, Ellul, M 2013 Enhancing climate change communication: Strategies for profiling and targeting Australian interpretive communities, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast, pp. 95.his research aimed to provide practical information about how to design communications on climate change adaptation and target these to the Australian population.   This was achieved by: (1) identifying and increasing awareness of different climate change audiences in Australia, and (2) evaluating how each audience responds to different types of climate change messages. Phase 1 of the study used audience segmentation analysis to identify the main climate change interpretive communities within Australia; that is, groups of Australians who share similar views and understandings about climate change.   A nationwide sample consisting of 3,096 Australian residents (aged 15 to 108 years, 47% male and 53% female) completed an online survey assessing a broad range of psychological and behavioural factors related to climate change.   Latent profile analysis applied to the psychological variables suggested that this Australian sample consists of five distinct interpretive communities: Alarmed (26%), Concerned (39%), Uncertain (14%), Doubtful (12%), and Dismissive (9%). Validation analyses revealed that these groups differed in terms of how they responded to perceived climate change threats, and also in their support for particular climate change mitigation and adaptation policies.   Phase 2 of the project examined how Australian interpretive communities respond to climate change adaptation messages and identified the specific message attributes that drive these responses. 1,031 Australian residents (aged 18 to 66 years, 49.8% male, 50.2% female) completed an online survey assessing a similar set of psychological and behavioural responses to climate change to those assessed in Phase 1.   Respondents subsequently viewed six climate change adaptation messages that were randomly allocated from a pool of 60 messages sourced from the internet.   Messages were pre-coded on 10 communication cues (e.g., language complexity, normative influence), and respondents rated them on four judgement dimensions: perceived threat, perceived efficacy, fear control (message rejection), and danger control (message acceptance).   Latent profile analysis applied to the psychological variables identified three climate change interpretive communities in this sample: Alarmed (34.4%), Uncommitted (45.2%), and Dismissive (20.3%).   Judgement analysis methodology (Cooksey, 1996) found that the three interpretive communities based their threat and efficacy evaluations on unique combinations of communication cues, and that high perceived threat and high perceived efficacy were related to message acceptance for all communities.   Effective messages for Dismissive respondents used simple language and did not emphasise descriptive social norms.   Uncommitted audience members responded positively to messages that focused on preventing losses and had a strong emotional component.   Alarmed respondents preferred messages that focused on local issues and had a collectivist frame. Providing specific adaptation advice in messages was found to be effective for all communities. The results largely support the Extended Parallel Processing Model of risk communication (Witte, 1992), and suggest that message attributes should be adjusted to effectively communicate with different climate change interpretive communities within Australia

Issues and Options for the Multilateral Regulation of GM Foods

As genetically modified food commodities have entered markets in recent years, domestic regulators have attempted to manage consumer, environmental and citizen concerns about these new products. One result has been incomplete and at times inconsistent domestic regulation, which has created international conflicts about market access. A number of international institutions have attempted in recent years to bridge the gulf between exporters and importers. This paper reviews recent international developments and offers options for different strategies for reducing the current tensions in international markets.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Physical Condition and Reproductive Success of White-Tailed Deer at Fort Chaffee, AR: A Five-Year Study

A baseline study conducted in 1991 demonstrated that the resident white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) population at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas was in poor condition, with below average reproductive success, body weight, and antler size, and above average parasite load compared to other regional deer populations. Consequently, a management program was initiated in 1991 which included: (1) neutralizing acidic soils, (2) prescribed burning, (3) planting supplemental food plots, and (4) liberalizing the harvest of female adults from the population. The purpose of this study was to monitor changes in the health and reproductive success of the herd as this program was implemented. I evaluated the physical condition of 2,627 hunter-harvested deer brought to hunter check stations between 1991 and 1995. Reproductive rates, timing of reproduction, disease prevalence and physical condition of the herd were estimated. Condition indices (blood serum parameters, tail fat, kidney fat index, body weight, abomasal parasite counts, ovulation rates and antler measurements) were used to estimate the fitness level of the herd. The number of permits issued yearly to hunters ranged from 2,370 to 3,617. A strong correlation was found between the number of permits issued and the success rate of hunters, suggesting that high hunter density may force the deer to move more, enhancing success rates. Proportions of harvested deer in each age class changed little over the 5- year period. Adult females comprised the largest class, ranging from 34 to 39% of the harvest each year. Screening for 7 common disease agents was done. It suggests that the percentage of the herd that carried antibodies for these diseases changed little from 1991 to 1995. A small percentage of deer tested positive for exposure to parainfluenza, epizootic hemorrhagic disease, and leptospira. No other disease antibodies were detected. Average dressed weights for female adults and yearlings were consistent over the 5-year period, while male yearlings showed a significant increase in body weight. Antlered males showed a significant increase in antler beam diameter. Blood serum parameters suggested an increase in dietary energy and protein over the 5-year period. In addition, kidney fat indexes (KFI) increased significantly from 1991 to 1995 in female adults, and abomasal parasite counts (APC) decreased significantly during this period. The proportion of fawns breeding increased from 1991 to 1995

A Local Christology in a Postmodern Culture and its Representation in Forming a New Eucharistic Prayer for the Anglican Church of Canada

Abstract This thesis is generated in response to the significant decline in membership of the Anglican Church of Canada in the latter half of the twentieth century. Based on a reflexive understanding of the interaction of theology and culture, it proposes a local Christology in response to the local (post-modern) culture of the Anglican Church of Canada and Canadian society, as a way to strengthen the proclamation of Christ in contemporary cultures. The development of the notion of culture is explored, particularly utilizing the work of Kathryn Tanner. Building on the work of Clifford Geertz in describing cultures, a semiotic approach based on Robert Schreiter’s work on local cultures is used to establish the premise that all theology is contextual and that culture and theology dynamically interact in a reflexive relationship. In the context of theology being expressed through liturgical texts, the notion of inculturation is introduced and some contemporary examples offered. The typology of H. Richard Niebuhr is used as a contemporary starting point to examine the interaction of Christ and culture, and the description of Christ as the transformer of culture is utilized. This understanding is then examined in light of the culture of the Anglican Church of Canada and the Eucharistic Prayer texts are explored for evidence of being in a reflexive relationship with that culture. Using the work of Hans Frei, a Christology is developed which is congruent with the need to express the person and work of Christ within a cultural frame. The Christologies of the existing contemporary Eucharistic Prayers of the Anglican Church of Canada are examined in light of Roger Haight’s criteria for building local Christologies. The ‘Frei-inspired’ narrative Christology is employed and new Eucharistic Prayer texts are proposed for the Anglican Church of Canada in response to its local culture

Electron imaging of dielectrics under simultaneous electron-ion irradiation

We demonstrate that if charging caused by electron irradiation of an insulator is controlled by a defocused flux of soft-landing positive ions, secondary electron (SE) images can contain contrast due to lateral variations in (i) changes in the SE yield caused by subsurface trapped charge and (ii) the SE-ion recombination rate. Both contrast mechanisms can provide information on microscopic variations in dielectric properties. We present a model of SE contrast formation that accounts for localized charging and the effects of gas ions on the SE emission process, emitted electrons above the sample surface, and subsurface trapped charge. The model explains the ion flux dependence of charge-induced SE contrast, an increase in the sensitivity to surface contrast observed in SE images of charged dielectrics, and yields procedures for identification of contrast produced by localized sample charging. © 2002 American Institute of Physics. © 2002 American Institute of Physics