Young children are actors usually excluded from political decisions and also from many science communication projects. Participatory science communication models can help to connect their everyday life with both local policies and science-related content. Using visual methodologies for engagement, we aimed at understanding what preschool children prefer in the city landscape. Results show how young children envision a "better city" and how that construction might defy current scientific knowledge. It further illustrates how science communication can be used to co-produce new knowledge, contributing to the debate about people's needs and perceptions related to science-based options.
Climate change poses numerous challenges to the environment and the survival of species, humans included. But in spite of the scientific consensus related to the influence of human activities on environmental imbalance, and the recent civic mobilization demanding political action to address climate change, there is still some resistance on the public opinion about the real impacts of the current climate crisis. Science communication can be a powerful ally to raise awareness on these issues. "Coats for snow" is an activity to help communicating the impacts of climate change and foster new dialogues on the topic. It was designed as a "consultative science communication" activity, inspired by the "AEIOU vowel analogy" of science communication. As such, to facilitate Interest and Understanding, we tell a story inspired on ongoing research, studying how species adapted to cold environments with winter snow can be affected by increasing global temperature and consequent decrease of snow cover. To promote engagement and Enjoyment, we use a game that allows the active participation of the public. To contribute to informed Opinions and behavioural changes, we include a before-and-after debate, where different aspects of climate change can be addressed. The activity was tested with children aged 9-10 years old after a guided visit to a Natural History Museum Gallery. It proved to be an attractive strategy, encouraging highly interactive discussions around climate change and its impact on biodiversity. However, even though climate change is widely mentioned in the media and many school students are adhering to climate strikes worldwide, almost all children that participated in the activity declared that they have never heard of it. This led us to conclude that efforts to communicate and engage the public with climate change issues should include younger children. Results from the "coats for snow" activity show that it is possible.
[EN]: About 21 thousands years ago the Iberian Peninsula was very cold and most of Europe was even covered by snow! This was at the end of the Pleistocene, the geologic epoch from the Quaternary period that predated the current, the Holocene. And it was during this epoch that most of the planet suffered many glacial events and that's why the Quaternary is also known as the glacial period. The modern glacial period, because previously there were another four! One of the major consequences of these climatic oscillations was changes in the geographic distribution and genetic variability of species, especially those that inhabited regions most affected by glaciations. But why are we talking about Quaternary, Pleistocene, Iberian Peninsula, Europe and snow? Because we will be talking about hares! ; [PT]: Há cerca de 21 mil anos a Península Ibérica estava muito gelada e grande parte da Europa estava mesmo coberta de neve! Estávamos no final do Pleistoceno, a época geológica do período Quaternário que antecedeu a actual, o Holoceno. E foi durante esta época que uma grande parte do planeta viveu muitos eventos glaciares e é por isso que o Quaternário é também conhecido como o período glaciar. Período glaciar moderno, porque houve outros quatro! Uma das grandes consequências destas oscilações climáticas foi a alteração da distribuição geográfica e variabilidade genética das espécies, principalmente daquelas que viviam nas regiões mais afectadas pelas glaciações. Mas porque estamos a falar em Quaternário, Pleistoceno, Península Ibérica, Europa e neve? Porque vamos falar de lebres! ; [ES]: Hace cerca de 21 mil años la Península Ibérica estaba helada y gran parte de Europa estaba también cubierta de nieve. Estábamos al final del Pleistoceno, la época geológica del Cuaternario que antecedió la actual, el Holoceno. Fue durante esta época cuando una gran parte del planeta vivió numerosos eventos glaciares y por eso es que también se conoce al Cuaternario como el periodo glacial. ¡Periodo glacial moderno, porque hubo otros cuatro! Una de las grandes consecuencias de estas oscilaciones climáticas fue la alteración de la distribución geográfica y variabilidad genética de las especies, principalmente de aquellas que vivían en las regiones más afectadas por las glaciaciones. Pero, ¿por qué estamos hablando del Cuaternario, Pleistoceno, Península Ibérica, Europa y nieve? ¡Porque vamos a hablar de liebres! ; The edition of this book was financed by EcoMito (EXPL/AAGMAA/1082/2013), research project from the Operational Program Human Potential - National Strategic Reference Framework (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano, POPH - Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional, QREN) from the European Social Fund and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Portuguese Government. ; R. Campos and J. Melo-Ferreira are post-doctoral (SFRH/BPD/64365/2009) and auxiliary researchers (IF/00033/2014), respectively, from the Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, FCT), financed by QREN-POPH, the European Social Fund and the Portuguese Ministry for Education and Science. P. Acevedo has a contract financed by the Spanish Ministry of the Economy and Competiveness (MINECO) and by the University of Castilla-La Mancha, under the program Ramon y Cajal (RYC-2012-11970). ; Peer Reviewed
Purpose: The aim of this article is to analyze the relationship between food safety and personal values in light of consumer behavior theory. Method: In this theoretical essay, this relationship is examined through a discussion on how consumers' subjective perceptions are influenced by their personal values in various contexts involving food safety. Findings: The debate addresses social, cultural, economic and environmental factors, considering that values are shaped through the interaction of these variables. By outlining their positioning strategies based on segments of values that are relevant to consumers, organizations are more likely to evoke favorable attitudes towards product acquisition. This includes considering external factors because they shape the formation of personal values and thus influence individuals' choices related to food and their perception of food safety. Originality: This work enriches the theory of personal values in the field of consumer behavior related to food safety by exploring the complex interplay between personal, cultural and market values. Considering personal values as a central element, the analysis presented provides insights for the development of more targeted marketing actions, effective public policies and food supply chain management approaches that meet consumers' expectations in terms of food safety.
Abstract Schools are inseparable from communities, and learning should empower students and the community to think and act on issues that affect them. In the semiarid Brazilian Caatinga, snake bites are a health issue. Negative beliefs and poor knowledge about snakes seed harmful attitudes, leading to high frequencies of snake bites and problems to conservation of these animals. Thus, we question whether the development of scientific and environmental education content using teaching strategies that valued the prior knowledge of local communities and context-related information could help to overcome beliefs and reduce accidents. The evaluation of this content showed positive changes in the perception of snakes and in the acquisition of new knowledge about these animals, and of prevention and post-bite actions, indicating that the adopted strategy supports science learning, contributing to both public health and conservation of snakes.
A proposta do presente caso de ensino foi investigar o novo modelo de negócio adotado pela Marluvas Calçados Profissionais, uma das maiores empresas de Equipamento de Proteção Individual (EPI) da América Latina. Ainda, identificou o epicentro de inovação que norteou o processo de adoção da microfibra M Micro em substituição ao couro. Como base teórica, utilizou-se a metodologia do Business Model Generation de Alexander Osterwalder e Yves Pigneur (2011). Os dados foram coletados por meio de entrevista pessoal com os gestores. Em suma, o modelo de negócio da Marluvas estrutura-se na oferta de um calçado que obedeça as normas técnicas e apresente adicionais de conforto e design, sendo esta atividade a principal fonte de receitas. O relacionamento é do tipo "business-to-business" e conta com forte presença de distribuidores. Quanto aos custos, destacam-se mão de obra e matéria-prima. O setor financeiro da Marluvas foi o epicentro de inovação para a implementação da microfibra M Micro. Concluiu-se que a adoção da M Micro conciliou oportunidade de novos designs, maior segurança e adequação aos padrões internacionais de EPI, ampliando a capacidade de planejamento de longo prazo, dada a sua a menor oscilação de preços em relação ao couro.
