A crucial component of the present-day understanding of media is the extent that traditional and modern forms have become interconnected with many other aspects of our lives. Referred to as a media ecology, Lester and Foxwell-Norton (2020) note that media has expanded beyond its traditional boundaries to become inseparable from our social lives and is […]
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The Significance of Information in Impact Assessments: A New Paper Co-Authored by EIUI Researcher Ian Stewart
The current crisis unfolding in eastern Europe on Ukrainian soil has brought renewed media attention to the international geo-political stage of the importance of energy infrastructure. How energy is produced, processed, transported, and ultimately consumed plays a dominant role in shaping our world. So does the choice of that energy source. In the context of […]
Enablers and Barriers to Communicating Research-Based Information in Public Policy Contexts
Pressing concerns about protecting human and environmental well-being from climate change illustrates the need for public policy decisions to reflect scientific knowledge. Policy and decision-makers, local communities, and citizens depend on research-based information to make evidence-informed decisions. If scientific communities fail to engage with external audiences using appropriate methods of communication, the policy sphere is […]
What is Evidence?
What constitutes evidence varies with decision makers and decision processes. For example, in some contexts, evidence is viewed as the results of research obtained through data collection and analysis. In policy making contexts, however, evidence used in decision-making processes should adopt a holistic approach that identifies multiple streams of knowledge and efficiently synthesizes information to […]
Navigating Towards an Effective Science-Policy Interface
Science and scientific knowledge are utilized in everyday operations of society and policy (van den Hove, 2007). Moreover, scientific knowledge provided by scientists and scientific organizations directly impacts our society through its relationships with decision-making at various government levels (van den Hove, 2007). However, the different needs, expectations, and even language used by those involved […]
A tribute to Professor Edward O. Wilson, Harvard University
Image (E.O. Wilson, Wikipedia, Creative Commons License) Dr. E. O. (Ed) Wilson, one of America’s most recognized and influential biologists in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, sadly passed away during the Christmas holidays at the age of 92, after a long and highly productive career and retirement. His many papers and books, on topics […]
Controlling Global Climate Change at COP 26: Moving from Science-Policy Discussions to Meaningful and Timely Action
Image credit: North Cornwall (UK) coastline, P. G. Wells photo. The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) will meet in Glasgow, Scotland, from 31 October to 12 November 2021 to move the climate change agenda forward from where it left off in Paris in 2015. COP 26 follows a large number […]
New EIUI Paper – Understanding the Role of Information in Marine Policy Development
As world-wide attention continues to focus on serious environmental stresses, including biodiversity loss, e.g., the recently concluded meeting of IUCN World Conservation Congress in Marseille, France; food security, e.g., the UN Food Systems Summit, 23 September 2021; and the impact of climate change, e.g., the upcoming UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of […]
Science-Policy Interface Books EIUI Team Members are Reading This Summer
In the midst of the daily publication of new journal papers that warrant attention, books are often set aside for reading. Much like many other busy researchers, EIUI team members find time during the summer to catch up. Because the science-policy interface arena is very active globally, the line-up of new books in this field […]
News Media and Public Policy Decisions: What Can Public Discourse Tell Us about Community Views on Open Net-Pen Salmon Aquaculture in Nova Scotia?
The news media can be very influential in decision-making processes. Traditional news media are widely used sources for information consumption and they have the means and reach to inform and shape public opinion. Although the news media are often open to political, social, and cultural biases and might not paint the entire picture on […]