Strategies for communicating systems models
Strategies for communicating systems models
Sustainable environmental policies are rooted in knowledge and assumptions that decision-making authorities hold regarding specific social–ecological settings. These decision makers are increasingly informed by systems models. Diverse audiences for environmental science and sustainability policies magnify the importance of clear model communication. This essay offers a summary of best communication practices for situations in which bridging modelers' and non-modelers' conceptions of a given system—their respective mental models—is a principal challenge. Synthesizing social research from technical communication, educational psychology, and science communication disciplines, we discuss common areas of confusion in comprehending and explaining complex information, and present strategies model developers can use to ensure their model presentations are understandable and meaningful to audiences. We argue that accessible and socially adoptable explanations benefit from modelers listening to target audiences and anticipating how and why audiences may fail to understand aspects of a model.
70-76
Hall, Damon M.
a3ad7394-37d7-4930-8d77-df8676631443
Lazarus, Eli
642a3cdb-0d25-48b1-8ab8-8d1d72daca6e
Swannack, Todd M.
d6f1a257-bfd7-40be-a147-a1a6ac64bda7
May 2014
Hall, Damon M.
a3ad7394-37d7-4930-8d77-df8676631443
Lazarus, Eli
642a3cdb-0d25-48b1-8ab8-8d1d72daca6e
Swannack, Todd M.
d6f1a257-bfd7-40be-a147-a1a6ac64bda7
Hall, Damon M., Lazarus, Eli and Swannack, Todd M.
(2014)
Strategies for communicating systems models.
Environmental Modelling & Software, 55, .
(doi:10.1016/j.envsoft.2014.01.007).
Abstract
Sustainable environmental policies are rooted in knowledge and assumptions that decision-making authorities hold regarding specific social–ecological settings. These decision makers are increasingly informed by systems models. Diverse audiences for environmental science and sustainability policies magnify the importance of clear model communication. This essay offers a summary of best communication practices for situations in which bridging modelers' and non-modelers' conceptions of a given system—their respective mental models—is a principal challenge. Synthesizing social research from technical communication, educational psychology, and science communication disciplines, we discuss common areas of confusion in comprehending and explaining complex information, and present strategies model developers can use to ensure their model presentations are understandable and meaningful to audiences. We argue that accessible and socially adoptable explanations benefit from modelers listening to target audiences and anticipating how and why audiences may fail to understand aspects of a model.
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Accepted/In Press date: 2 January 2014
e-pub ahead of print date: 5 February 2014
Published date: May 2014
Organisations:
Earth Surface Dynamics
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Local EPrints ID: 400719
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/400719
ISSN: 1364-8152
PURE UUID: 54c5c900-db46-4f8d-bb3a-b3d0303e77ef
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Date deposited: 23 Sep 2016 14:16
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:57
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Author:
Damon M. Hall
Author:
Todd M. Swannack
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