As the 2023 summer came to an end eastern Canada was in the midst of another hurricane season. By then, three storms had barreled up the Atlantic coast, with post-tropical storm Lee hitting the region directly. These storms followed several months of unsettled weather, resulting in Nova Scotia being marred by wildfires, excessive rain, unusual […]
Information Science Public Lecture on Open Science
As increasing attention is being paid to implementing Open Science globally, the Environmental Information: Use and Influence research program is pleased to co-sponsor the upcoming Information Science Public Lecture on this subject. Co-sponsored by the Dalhousie University Office of the Vice President-Research and Innovation, the Dalhousie University Libraries, the Faculties of Arts and Social […]
Discovery of the 1984 Canadian Society of Environmental Biology Report — Decision-Making: The Role of Environmental Information
Serendipitous discoveries often fuel breakthroughs or important insights in research in the natural, health, and social sciences. This is true in the field of “grey literature,” particularly its use and influence, which has been a running theme of the Environmental Information: Use and Influence (EIUI) research program since its inception. Excellent reports are produced but […]
New Paper: Measuring Engagement with Shark Research in Science, News and Social Media, and Policy: A Bibliometric Analysis
What does research say about the shark species that navigate oceans all over the world? Is it critical to protect them? Does relevant scientific knowledge make its way to policymakers and journalists alike? In a study published on 13 September 2023 in Marine Policy, an internationally renowned journal dealing with marine affairs, we analyzed the […]
Making Connections: The 2023 Coastal Zone Canada Conference
“Connecting with the coast” was an apt theme for the biennial Coastal Zone Canada (CZC) conference held in Victoria, British Columbia on 11-15 June 2023. Officially endorsed by the UN Ocean Decade and attended by about 500 registrants, the conference offered many opportunities for coastal, professional, and personal connections. Over four days of concurrent sessions […]
The Impact of Public Consultations on Decision-Making: A Necessary Source of Information
As governments are faced with solving increasingly complex social issues, recognition is growing that research-based information alone cannot resolve these issues. Public consultation is a vital source of information to understand citizen and stakeholder interests better and incorporate diverse considerations into policy development. Along with these benefits, public consultation involves many challenges. It is a […]
Measuring the Use and Influence of Research-Based Information: Finding Meaning in Complexity
While research-based information can be transmitted in a variety of ways, such as through publications or conference presentations, the question of whether such information is being used by or influencing policymakers themselves remains. The resulting interest in evaluation of both the use and influence of research is driven by two groups: decision makers, who are […]
Enablers and Barriers: Communicating Scientific Information to the Public
We live in an information age, where reams of new data are available on every matter of scientific inquiry. But these advances have only created challenges for communicators of scientific information. Scientists scour raw data and transform them into new information and knowledge but employing this knowledge to produce behavioural change in the voting, eating, […]
The Role of News and Social Media in Influencing Information and Policy
News media and social media have emerged as two tools for providing the public with greater access to information, current events, and relevant issues. While this development has created the prospect of a more informed public, it has also provided the opportunity for news media and other media platforms to influence information and the political […]
What is “Evidence” in Evidence-Based Policy? Brief Discussion of Selected Recent Literature
In today’s post-pandemic world where evidence-based decision making has gained extensive public prominence, understanding how evidence is defined helps to explain why reference is frequently made about its use in many and diverse settings and why evidence can be contested. In this blog post, we summarize and integrate the key findings of six recent academic […]