Understanding Context in Learning?centred Approaches to Climate Change Communication

Communication on climate change research has long been dominated by top?down delivery of information aimed at informing on future climate scenarios and climate?related events. However, emphasis in this field is slowly shifting to more process?oriented approaches to communication, and the need to integrate learning is receiving increasing attention. This article argues that despite the challenges in shifting research communication on climate change into a more dialogical and learning?oriented model of practice, the realities faced by communities impacted on the ground make this shift imperative. Drawing on recent research, we consider how the context in which initiatives seek to engage in research communication will and should influence what is possible and what is desirable through these new approaches. We reflect on how efforts to understand context in one particular case served to shape a communication strategy from its outset, and note the opportunities and challenges revealed through this process. We then conclude by highlighting how climate change has reinforced arguments in favour of a focus of inclusive learning processes in communication for development

Baseline Data: Evaluation of the Condom Normalization Campaign - 2007

The main objective of this baseline survey (2007) was to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and practices of the target audiences with regard to condom perceptions and use in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra in India. This baseline study was conducted prior to the start of condom normalization campaign

Endline Data: Evaluation of the Condom Normalization Campaign Survey - 2009

The main objective of this endline survey was to evaluate the impact of the normalization campaign on knowledge, attitudes and practices of the target audiences with regard to condom perceptions and use in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra in India. Specifically, the research sought to determine if the campaign was successful in: (a) encouraging target audiences to discuss and seek information on condoms freely; (b) reducing the shame and embarrassment related to purchase and use of condoms; (c) positioning condom users as smart and responsible men; (d) encouraging men with non-regular partners to use condoms consistently

Radio sound and social realism: In the terrain of drama for development production

This article explores the use of sound in the context of two BBC World Service development-focused social realist radio drama productions in Afghanistan (New Home, New Life) and Nepal (Sweet Tales of the Sarangi). It examines the various ‘sound strategies' employed to enhance the realist aspirations of the productions, while examining the ‘creative labour’ employed in crafting discrete ‘acoustic environments' or ‘soundscapes'. It argues that sound helps to index narrative, but in doing so suggests that too specific a rendering of sound environment may confound the abilities of listeners to construct a satisfying sense of place and therein affect any sense of social realism derived.Andrew Skus

Linking Community, Radio, and Action Research on Climate Change: Reflections on a Systemic Approach

This article reflects upon the opportunities and challenges of using Participatory Action Research (PAR) with community radio broadcasters in southern Ghana to investigate the impacts of climate change. Through a detailed outline of the methodological approach employed in this initiative as well as the findings that it produced, we consider how action research might serve to reveal the power relations, systemic drivers of vulnerability, and opportunities for sustainable action for social change related to climate impacts. As co?facilitators of this process based in a Northern research institution, we reflect upon the challenges, limitations and benefits of the approach used in order to identify potential areas for improvement and to understand how the dynamics of this partnership shaped collaboration. We also discuss how employing a systemic approach to action research helped to provide insights into the interactions between the physical and environmental impacts of climate change and related systems such as land tenure and agricultural production. A systemic approach to PAR, we argue, lends itself especially well to analysis of climate change adaptation and resilience, both of which are embedded within complex systems of institutions, assets, individuals and structures, and therefore not appropriate for narrow or one?dimensional analyses. Finally, we consider the specific contributions and challenges that engaging community radio as a research partner may offer to investigations on climate change

Minding the Gap? The Media and the Realisation of SDG 13 in Kenya

The media in Africa have a role to play in the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by building awareness, setting the public agenda, and influencing and holding to account political leaders. In this chapter, we examine the problematic context of a commercialised and privatised media system playing a significant role in debates about development and in development education and advocacy—topics which are not necessarily profitable. Media can play a role as public information channels, engagement platforms, watchdogs and advocates for policy improvement—all crucial to the successful implementation of the SDGs—but media do not necessarily fulfil these obligations. With advances in technology, the power of the media to open new opportunities to drive social change and to transform development in Africa is unsurpassed. We explore how the contemporary political economy of Kenyan media challenges or supports such objectives. We also examine how information gaps concerning SDG goals, such as climate information in rural communities, pose a challenge to the realisation of the SDGs. We conduct an investigation into the form of analysis of media coverage of climate change and action in Kenya, but draw primarily from existing research concerning Kenyan media. Our findings show that the Kenyan media are ill-equipped to specifically support SDG 13 on climate change and action in the country

Believing is seeing: laypeople's views of future socio-economic and climate change in England and in Italy

Cross-cultural studies are particularly relevant in the context of climate change, given its pervasive character and the growing demand for climate change mitigation at both global and local levels. This paper reports on findings from comparative cross-cultural mixed-methods research eliciting perceptions of the future among citizens in Norwich (UK) and Rome (Italy). The paper explores how individuals at the two locations interpret socio-economic and climate scenarios, and how they relate environmental change to human behavior. Attitude segmentation was found to be similar in both localities. Although most participants in both locations realized the benefits of a future centered on sustainable resource use and societal welfare, individuals' attitudes and considerations about the future were not largely influenced by the scenarios. Discussions revealed that the credibility of the projections depended on individuals' prior beliefs and their trust in the science portrayed