Sustainability science graduate students as boundary spanners

Graduate training in sustainability science (SS) focuses on interdisciplinary research, stakeholder-researcher partnerships, and creating solutions from knowledge. But becoming a sustainability scientist also requires specialized training that addresses the complex boundaries implicit in sustainability science approaches to solving social-ecological system challenges. Using boundary spanning as a framework, we use a case study of the Sustainability Solutions Initiative (SSI) at the University of Maine to explicate key elements for graduate education training in SS. We used a mixed-methods approach, including a quantitative survey and autoethnographic reflection, to analyze our experiences as SSI doctoral students. Through this research, we identified four essential SS boundaries that build on core sustainability competencies which need to be addressed in SS graduate programs, including: disciplines within academia, students and their advisors, researchers and stakeholders, and place-based and generalizable research. We identified key elements of training necessary to help students understand and navigate these boundaries using core competencies. We then offer six best practice recommendations to provide a basis for a SS education framework. Our reflections are intended for academic leaders in SS who are training new scientists to solve complex sustainability challenges. Our experiences as a cohort of doctoral students with diverse academic and professional backgrounds provide a unique opportunity to reflect not only on the challenges of SS but also on the specific needs of students and programs striving to provide solutions

Communication Audit: Oakridge Air

23 pagesOakridge Air serves the communities of Oakridge and Westfir and promotes healthy air quality through individual and community resources. Oakridge Air, which is funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, has five program areas: home heating upgrades, community firewood, school education, cleaner indoor air, and code enforcement. Oakridge Air uses several communication strategies to engage community members in these programs. This audit provides an overview of Oakridge Air’s communication engagement and messaging strategy, focusing on messaging from 2021-2022, to provide strategic communication recommendations for future work. This audit focuses primarily on the Oakridge Air Communication Plan and messaging templates, community newsletters, text messaging service, Oakridge Air’s Facebook page, and Oakridge Air’s website. The newsletters and text messaging service have been essential and valued communication tools with substantial engagement growth spurred by major wildfire smoke events in 2022. The Facebook page and website are likely one of the first channels community members use to begin engaging with Oakridge Air. The communication plan and messaging templates provide internal guidance for message design and delivery. Given the increased engagement with Oakridge Air, there is an opportunity to leverage the positive experience and community-supported impact of these communication efforts to motivate more understanding of air quality and wildfire smoke effects along with short and long-term actions to mitigate risk and impacts

Addressing the Complexities of Boundary Work in Sustainability Science through Communication

Sustainability science seeks to identify and implement workable solutions to complex problems. This transdisciplinary approach advances a commitment to work across boundaries that occur among individuals, disciplines, and institutions to build capacities for informed and innovative decision making in the face of uncertainty and change. The concept of boundary work and related discussions of boundary objects and organizations are important, expanding focal areas within sustainability science. While communication is described as central to boundary work, insights from the field of communication have largely yet to inform theorizing about boundaries within sustainability science. In this paper, we highlight three communication perspectives, namely media studies, collaboration and partnerships, and systems theories, which are particularly relevant for understanding how boundaries form, the social context in which boundary work occurs, and informed strategies for enhanced boundary spanning and management. We use three case studies to illustrate how communication theories and methods provide dynamic and strategic lenses within transdisciplinary processes to enable collaborators to build capacity for change, sustain critical and reflective inquiry, and approach difference as generative in collective efforts to produce sustainability

The Social Dynamics of Turbine Tourism and Recreation: Introducing a mixed-method approach to the study of the First U.S. Offshore Wind Farm

Understanding the complex dynamics that influence energy transitions requires mixed methods and collaborations among researchers, resource managers, and communities. This essay details how an interdisciplinary team of researchers used a mixed-method approach to study the social dimensions of tourism and recreation as they relate to the first offshore wind farm in the United States, the Block Island Wind Farm. Although impacts to tourism from wind energy systems are widely cited as a concern by communities and policymakers, little work has sought to define what constitutes tourism and recreation impacts or provided empirical evidence of impacts from operating projects. Researchers adopted an iterative approach to research that combined discrete studies using media content analysis, ethnographic participant observation, and stakeholder focus groups, to understand the social effects of the wind farm on the tourism and recreation experience and the quality of life in Block Island and coastal Rhode Island. We detail key insights from our experimentation with an iterative mixed-method approach at Block Island and offer lessons for future studies using collaborative approaches to understand both the tangible and the intangible social dynamics of energy system transitions

Moving Toward Inclusion: Participant Responses to the Inclusive SciComm Symposium

This study shares key findings from evaluation research for Inclusive SciComm: A Symposium on Advancing Inclusive Public Engagement with Science. The symposium, organized by the University of Rhode Island\u27s Metcalf Institute for Marine & Environmental Reporting with support from partner organizations, took place on September 28 and 29, 2018 at the University of Rhode Island. Pre- and post-symposium surveys showed that after attending the symposium, participants reported higher levels of knowledge about and confidence in implementing inclusive approaches to science communication. Participants also exhibited three types of response orientations: emotion, knowledge, and action

OAKRIDGE CEDAR CREEK FIRE 2022 INTERNAL AFTER ACTION REPORT

11 pagesAn After Action Review workshop was facilitated on Monday, December 5, 2022 for City of Oakridge, Lane County staff, and Oakridge community members who participated in the emergency responses in Oakridge for wildfire evacuation and hazardous air quality related to the Cedar Creek Fire (see timeline for details). Oakridge had 37 days from August-October 2022 when air quality was unhealthy for sensitive groups (AQI of 101-150). In an effort to learn from this unprecedented and extended event, Southern Willamette Forest Collaboratives partnered with researchers at the University of Oregon to conduct this internal After Action Review. The review consisted of one workshop that lasted 2 hours and was broken up into two sessions: 1) evacuation and 2) smoke and air quality. For evacuation, participants noted that several components of the evacuation went well, primarily related to communication timing and modes, early planning, and the use of public resources (e.g., buses). Key areas for evacuation improvement include staffing capacity, establishing an Emergency Operation Center (EOC), and improving communication and emergency planning for multiple scenarios (with and without electricity or external funding and support). For smoke and air quality, participants noted the success of the air purifier distribution program, the installation of Purple Air sensors, a field trip for school children, and strong communication about cleaner air spaces. The key areas for improvement include communication and emergency planning for multiple scenarios, streamlining (and improving the accessibility of) the purifier screening criteria and resource availability, and providing additional support for schools. The remainder of this report is divided into: 1) summarized/overall recommendations from both events; 2) Evacuation Timeline; 3) Smoke Response Timeline; and 4) more information from the discussions from each session and the resulting recommendations

Using Student Learning Outcomes to Evaluate Orientation Programs

This article examines student learning outcomes of the new student orientation program at Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA). The stdy describes differences in pre-orientation and post-orientation surveys that were completed via SFA's orientation website using the Student Voice higher education assessment platform. Participants were prospective freshmen students who planned to attend SFA during Fall 2009. The pre-orientation survey was completed by 834 students, and the post-orientation survey was completed by 331 students. Results indicated that students increased their knowledge and understanding of SFA's academic policies, requirements, and services. Limitations and recommendations for future implications are noted in the study

Correlation between the Hypoosmotic SwellingT and DNA Fragmentation Assessed by the TUNEL Assay in Asthenozoospermia

Objective: To study the correlation between the hypoosmotic swelling test (HOST) and DNA fragmentation in asthenozoospermia assessed by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase‐mediated deoxyuridine triphosphatebiotin nick end‐labeling (TUNEL) assay. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 27 semen samples obtained from infertile men with asthenozoospermia. Both HOST and TUNEL assay were performed for each sample. The sperm swelling pattern and positive apoptosis staining of individual spermatozoa were evaluated. HOST and TUNEL scores, and the proportion of positive staining in each grade were calculated in each sample. Results: The results showed a negative correlation between HOST and TUNEL scores (r = -0.428, P = 0.026). Sperm swelling grade A had a higher incidence of positive apoptosis staining when compared with other grades (P < 0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in positive apoptotic staining between other grades; nevertheless, sperm swelling grade D tended to have a lower incidence of positive apoptosis staining. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, HOST may be used as an optional test to identify DNA-intact spermatozoa whereby sperm with a grade D swelling pattern should be selected preferentially for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), whereas sperm with a grade A swelling pattern should be avoided for ICSI