Communicating forest management science and practices through visualized and animated media approaches to community presentations: An exploration and assessment

Abstract

Natural-resource managers have used a variety of computer-mediated presentation methods to communicate management practices to diverse publics. We explored the effects of visualizing and animating predictions from mathematical models in computerized presentations explaining forest succession (forest growth and change through time), fire behavior, and management options. In an experimental design using purposive samples, rural-mountain, town, and student groups gained substantial information from both the visualized, animated presentation and the nonvisualized, nonanimated presentation. Mountain residents gained significantly more information from the visualized and animated presentation than from the nonvisualized and nonanimated presentation.

Citation

Zimmerman, Donald E.; Akerelrea, Carol; Smith, Jane Kapler; O''Keefe, Garrett J. 2006. Communicating forest management science and practices through visualized and animated media approaches to community presentations: An exploration and assessment. Science Communication. 27(4): 514-539.