Centre for Science Communication
Recent Deposits
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Using ArcGIS Story Map to Communicate an Emotive Topic: Responsible Cat Ownership in New Zealand
This thesis examines how the general New Zealand public can be engaged with the controversial idea of responsible cat ownership by using ArcGIS Story Map as a tool. Cat management is a vital part of achieving New Zealand’s ... -
Perceptions of Wildlife in New Zealand And Persuasive Documentary Filmmaking Techniques
Understanding the current knowledge and perceptions of your audience is important when creating persuasive communication. The aim of the creative component of this thesis, a 25-minute film, is to encourage responsible cat ... -
The Icing on the Communication: Text or Video?
Learning is lifelong, life-wide and life-deep (Tal & Dierking, 2014) and whilst science is everywhere, opportunities for scientific learning are missed every day. However, when it comes to learning, the learner must be ... -
Perception of Three Agricultural Applications of Genetic Engineering
Global food security is a challenge that must be faced in the next few decades, food production must increase whilst maintaining or, ideally, improving environmental sustainability of agriculture for food. Genetically ... -
SciArt and Environmental Restoration: The role of intentionality in audience engagement
Science and art share a long history of interaction, and their practitioners contribute to wide-ranging collaborative projects. Interactions between these disciplines have demonstrated the value of using art to communicate ... -
New Zealanders' Perceptions of Green-Lipped Mussels and Sustainability
We need to change the way we eat. Compounded by issues such as land-use intensification, the impacts of climate change and the overfishing of the ocean, our ability to feed an evergrowing population is becoming compromised. ... -
The Effects of Accents on Conservation Attitudes Towards Native Species
This thesis aims to answer the question of whether people are more likely to want to conserve a flagship national species after hearing a distressing message about that species from someone with an associated accent, as ... -
Source of Expertise Affects Perceived Credibility of an Interview Used in a Medical Documentary
This thesis is composed of two integrated components: a creative project and original academic research. The creative component is a 25-minute medical documentary called Fairy Steps. Fairy Steps follows a 4-year-old girl ... -
Using Esri Story Map ArcGIS to Support Community-led Natural Resource Managment
This thesis investigates a potential platform for communities and environmental management groups to compile and communicate their environmental data. With natural resource management shifting from government-led to ... -
Framing Entertainment and Wild Gorillas: Effects on Public Perception and Endangered Status A Conceptual Review
Schroepfer, Rosati, Chartrand, and Hare (2011) found that the use of chimpanzees in entertainment leads people to believe that they are not endangered and that they would make suitable pets. As gorillas have also featured ... -
Putting Meaning in Naturalism: The Role of Science Films and Support for Evolution
Only 19% of Americans believe that human beings evolved over millions of years and that this occurred without any divine creator, according to recent Gallup polls (Swift, 2017). Despite overwhelming supportive evidence for ... -
Activism, Science and the Infinite Game: Exploring the relationship between science and environmental activism
According to James Carse, humanity plays two types of games. We play games that are finite and games that are infinite. As human activity alters the biosphere, ecosystems are collapsing, biodiversity is declining, and the ... -
How do homeopathy users perceive homeopathy?
Life expectancy has steadily increased over the last two centuries due to improvements in living standards, education, science and medicine. However, instead of basing health decisions on the best scientific evidence ... -
Crowdsourcing vs. Citizen Science: A matter of terminology?
Businesses have sought to create real dialogue with their customers and gain new insights from them through this dialogue. Outsourcing some of their processes to their consumer base is one way they can form a stronger ... -
Travelling towards 2050: Climate change, storytelling and the future of travel
Climate change is a serious threat that is expected to have grave consequences for humans and ecosystems. Current travel (both daily commuting and holiday tourism) is a significant contributor to climate change. Therefore, ... -
Taipōrutu, Taonga Tuku Iho. Articulating a Mātauranga Māori ‘Sense of Place’.
Māori (the indigenous people of New Zealand) cultural values in relation to resource management within New Zealand, are often co-joined with a preservation framework. The practical implication of this, places identity as ... -
Marine Noise Pollution and Cetaceans: Making the Intangible Tangible through Participatory Sci-Art Exhibition
This thesis examines how to communicate the concept of marine noise pollution and its effect on cetaceans to the general public. Tackling a largely unknown and intangible subject, it investigates how to make these effects ... -
Communicating conservation with detection dogs
Public support and awareness is essential to effectively address conservation issues such as biodiversity decline in New Zealand. There is a need to develop approaches for enhancing public awareness and attracting new ... -
Science communication in risk management at a high-incidence location for suicide
It has been suggested that the role of robust scientific evidence in quality policy development is essential, but can vary on the basis of policy type and setting. These hypotheses and others were explored in a unique local ... -
Perspectives on gaps in communication with breast cancer patients in New Zealand
The world of breast cancer is pink, female-centric and aimed at an older, post-menopausal demographic. Whilst it is fitting that health campaigns be aimed at the majority of patients registering with the disease, these ...