Fisheries governance and information pathways in fisheries management are exceptionally complex. At the same time, large quantities of fisheries information on numerous subjects are available from a wide range of providers for a diversity of users. These points were emphasized in a public lecture at Dalhousie University on 20 September 2013 by Dr. Richard Grainger, […]
Scientific Communication
EIUI Attends NAFO’s Annual Meeting as Official Observer
The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) – a regional, intergovernmental fisheries management body that conducts scientific research, provides advice, and facilitates cooperation among member states on management and conservation of fisheries resources – held its 35th annual meeting in Halifax on 22-27 September 2013. As a recently accredited official Observer, the Environmental Information: Use and […]
Challenges Facing the Altmetrics Movement
Recently, I have written on this blog about the rise of altmetrics: alternative measures of research influence and impact that have the potential to fundamentally transform the academic promotion process and encourage unprecedented levels of scholarly and scientific communication. However, for all their promise, and for all their proponents’ lofty proclamations that altmetrics will “distill […]
Grey Literature Matters — Climate Change Especially Matters
Grey literature takes centre stage in international circles today (27 September 2013) when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) releases the first of three summaries on the state of the world’s climate, specifically written for policy makers. This summary is the first part of the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report, which will culminate in the […]
Information of the Marine Stewardship Council Certification Process and Developing Countries
The way fisheries are managed and how participatory mechanisms are rooted in policy and regulatory systems present implications for information providers, users, and decision-makers (FAO, 2009). Research has shown that the use and influence of fisheries scientific information are shaped and defined by the context in which stakeholders (e.g., fishers, mangers, and policy makers) operate, […]
Richard Grainger to Give Public Lecture in Halifax on How Fisheries Information Influences Policy
Dr. Richard Grainger, recently Chief of Statistics and Information in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, will give a public lecture at Dalhousie University on Friday, 20 September, entitled “How does information influence policy? The role of fishery organizations in policy-making for fisheries.” Date / Time: […]
Altmetrics: New Measures of Influence for the Web 2.0 Age
With the increasing popularity of academic blogging, the emergence of Twitter as a tool for promoting and sharing scholarly resources, and the proliferation of open access journals, there are more ways for researchers to share their discoveries, and more ways for interested parties to learn about and engage with those findings, than ever before. A […]
Information Mobilization in the Science-Policy Interface for Integrated Coastal Management
A recent paper by Bremer and Glavovic (2013) reviews the practice and theory of the science-policy interface in integrated coastal management (ICM). They describe two interpretations of the science-policy interface: the science-based interface and the participatory interface. Advocates of the science-based interface see the inherent uncertainty in science as a lack of available information, warranting […]
Scientific Communication and the Problems of Scale
I love to solve puzzles. It has been a fascination of mine ever since I was a child, and my thoughts were and are consumed by new stratagem to resolve any puzzle placed before me. I am fortunate, I guess, that as time goes on, new and more challenging ones keep emerging. I came to […]
The Difficulty and Necessity of Communicating Scientific Information: The Gardasil Story
The failure thus far of the Canadian government’s efforts to promote Gardasil, a vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV), the leading cause of cervical cancer, carries important lessons for advocates of evidence-based policy-making. The Public Health Agency of Canada’s 2006 approval of Gardasil was the culmination of a policy-making process that prioritizes evidence over political concerns. […]