ECREA16-Abstract

576

Friday, November 11

1 8 : 0 0 – 1 9 : 3 0

PP 472

Germany’s Four Engaged Online Users in Science 2.0: A Typology and Structural Equation Model on Online Engagement, Knowledge

and Attitudes Towards Climate Change

M. Taddicken

, A. Reif

Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institute of Social Sciences, Braunschweig, Germany

Scientific arguments and findings are of growing importance in all dimensions of our everyday lives. Thus, a greater public understanding of and engage‑

ment with science are essential (e.g. Bodmer, 1985; Irwin, 2001). However, scientific processes and topics are often complex, uncertain, tentative and

contradictious (author1) – and therefore not easy for laypeople to understand. The media is a crucial factor in the public perception of science. The Internet

especially is not only a massive source for scientific information, but also empowers laypeople to discuss scientific issues by commenting, rating and shar‑

ing online content. Therefore, the participatory web gives users opportunities for a better understanding and active involvement in scientific processes.

Furthermore, the participatory actions of engaged users in the online discourse on science-related information might affect other (not necessarily active)

users. Numerous empirical studies analysed how media affects people’s attitudes and knowledge about the scientific topic climate change. However, most

of them only found minor significant correlations. Olausson (2011) argues that the complexity of media effects are oversimplified, others call for a focus on

individual differences (Falk, Storksdieck, & Dierking, 2007). The application of segmentation approaches to build typologies might contemplate the media

users’ heterogeneity. Focusing on climate change, the best-known work – the Global Warming’s Six Americas study (Leiserowitz et al., 2013) – detected

six significantly differing groups within the American population on attitudes with variations in media use (German follow-up study: Metag, Füchslin, &

Schäfer, 2015). However, research focusing on engaged online users is scarce. Do engaged online users know more about the topic? Do they doubt the (in

Germanmass media overestimated) certainty of consequences and anthropogenity or are they concerned activists?This research investigated engaged (and

not-engaged) online users with a representative German online-survey (n=1,463). Different user segments on climate change attitudes, knowledge and

online engagement are identified by hierarchical cluster analyses. (For further analyses of the complexity of variables, a media effects model will be tested

by SEM.) The results reveal only a few online participants (n=177). Interest is the main driver of online engagement and is the distinguishing variable for

two of the four groups of engaged users especially. Firstly, participating experts, are the most active users (regularly using all forms of online participation

e.g. commenting on blogs) and know most about scientific processes in climate sciences. They are assumed to be involved in sciences by profession or

interest. Secondly, less active unknowing are uninterested and have the lowest level of climate change knowledge. Despite that, they comment and share

content on SNSs and thus become involved through their peers. Surprisingly, no distinct group of sceptical participants was identified. Those who are most

doubtful about anthropogenity are the most passive groups. This study provides information about online media users who have the potential to affect

the discourse and thereby other users’ attitudes and knowledge and about how online engagement is connected to knowledge and attitudes towards

climate change, which can be helpful to address certain online users by topic-related online campaigns.

PP 473

The Role of Climate Visualization in Climate Change Communication – An Audience Perspective

A.G. Ballantyne

1,2

Aarhus University, Department of Business Development and Technology, Herning, Denmark

Linköping University, Department of Thematic Studies - Environmental Change, Linköping, Sweden

Climate change communication is a rapidly expanding research field with an increasing focus on the communication of research-based knowledge to and

with lay or non-expert audiences. Characterised as a‘wicked problem’, climate change communication involves an array of challenges in terms of complexi‑

ty, the abstract and uncertain nature of climate science, controversy and divergent voices, stakes, and discourses, and perceptions of climate change as a dis‑

tant phenomenon in time and space. Such challenges make it difficult for lay audiences to make sense of and relate to climate change. Climate visualization

has been highlighted as a potential means to address said challenges and increase public engagement with climate change, by creating (interactive) visual

representations of climate change through digital platforms, such as web applications or dome presentations. However, little is known about how climate

visualization affects understandings and interpretations of climate change among various target audiences, including lay people. This paper synthesises

findings from three independent, audience- and case specific studies, focusing on how targeted audiences make sense of climate visualization through dif‑

ferent digital platforms. More specifically, the three studies encompass 1) young people’s interpretations and reflections on climate visualization presented

in a digital dome theatre movie, 2) homeowners’interpretations of and interactions with a web-based visualization platform, and 3) citizens’interpretations

of climate messages as negotiated in a decision arena, which integrates interactive visualisation and participatory research to enable a non-hierarchical

discussion among participants. The three studies share the common characteristics that the visualization tools are designed with a specific target group in

mind and they seek to involve users in climate-related issues, however, they differ in terms of form, i.e. degree of interactivity. Through focus group inter‑

views as a primary methodology and with the specific challenges of climate change communication in mind, we analyse interactions between the climate

visualization and users, specifically focusing on how users make sense of and co-construct climate messages.