Meteorologists and Sociologists: Unite!
A year and a half ago, I was introduced to a group of meteorologists, sociologists, policy makers, emergency managers, and others whose goal was to help integrate sociological issues into meteorology and vice versa. Since my days at NCSU, I've been interested on all of the non-meteorological factors that contribute to how people ingest weather information and how the interaction of all of these issues plays out.
For example, during the major tornado outbreak of May 3, 1999, more than three dozen people were killed -- but none were between the ages of 2 and 18, despite the fact that large numbers of kids were at home alone during the storms. I have my theories on why that is, but it's not necessarily what you would expect.
In any event, this group of folks -- called Weather And Society - Integrated Studies holds a workshop every so often, including one this August in Colorado. Since it's still a research project in and of itself, it is federally funded, meaning the two dozen or so participants who are selected have their expenses covered. I was able to successfully pitch this to my boss, and with that blessing in hand, I turned in my application materials this afternoon.
Among the required materials is a one-page statement of interest, outlining why i'm interested in attending the workshop, what I hope to get out of it, and what kind of perspective I can bring to the discussion. It was one of the more difficult things I've ever had to write, and I'm not sure I'm 100% in love with the wording in places, but I hope it will get the job done nonetheless:
“Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”
Statement of Interest
WAS*IS Workshop - Summer 2008
In their recent article in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Demuth et al. wrote:
...disasters like Hurricane Katrina serve as stark reminders that even well forecasted events can have devastating effects on society. Many have noted that the ultimate purpose of weather forecast information is to help users make informed decisions, yet much remains to be done to translate weather forecast information to societal benefits…
The question of how best to fulfill this purpose has been the focus of nearly my entire professional life as a broadcast meteorologist and as a provider of data services to broadcasters. Even as a student, I was tackling these questions while pursuing an elective minor in Science, Technology, and Society. Today, my chosen career places me squarely where the rubber of weather forecasting meets the road of societal impacts, and the question of how to “translate weather forecast information to societal benefits” is never far from view.
To be successful in enabling users of forecast information to make informed decisions, I believe forecasters must present that information in a relatable and understandable way. In other words, we must be understood. The first step in being understood is to seek to understand the factors that affect how users comprehend and react to the forecast:
A couple of folks who have been to previous workshops have suggested I'd be a good fit for this kind of thing. Hopefully, the folks running the workshop think so, too.
I'll find out in late April whether I have been accepted.
For example, during the major tornado outbreak of May 3, 1999, more than three dozen people were killed -- but none were between the ages of 2 and 18, despite the fact that large numbers of kids were at home alone during the storms. I have my theories on why that is, but it's not necessarily what you would expect.
In any event, this group of folks -- called Weather And Society - Integrated Studies holds a workshop every so often, including one this August in Colorado. Since it's still a research project in and of itself, it is federally funded, meaning the two dozen or so participants who are selected have their expenses covered. I was able to successfully pitch this to my boss, and with that blessing in hand, I turned in my application materials this afternoon.
Among the required materials is a one-page statement of interest, outlining why i'm interested in attending the workshop, what I hope to get out of it, and what kind of perspective I can bring to the discussion. It was one of the more difficult things I've ever had to write, and I'm not sure I'm 100% in love with the wording in places, but I hope it will get the job done nonetheless:
“Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”
Statement of Interest
WAS*IS Workshop - Summer 2008
In their recent article in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Demuth et al. wrote:
...disasters like Hurricane Katrina serve as stark reminders that even well forecasted events can have devastating effects on society. Many have noted that the ultimate purpose of weather forecast information is to help users make informed decisions, yet much remains to be done to translate weather forecast information to societal benefits…
The question of how best to fulfill this purpose has been the focus of nearly my entire professional life as a broadcast meteorologist and as a provider of data services to broadcasters. Even as a student, I was tackling these questions while pursuing an elective minor in Science, Technology, and Society. Today, my chosen career places me squarely where the rubber of weather forecasting meets the road of societal impacts, and the question of how to “translate weather forecast information to societal benefits” is never far from view.
To be successful in enabling users of forecast information to make informed decisions, I believe forecasters must present that information in a relatable and understandable way. In other words, we must be understood. The first step in being understood is to seek to understand the factors that affect how users comprehend and react to the forecast:
- Forecast Factors. Until the state of the science affords us a perfect understanding of the atmosphere, every forecast will involve some amount of uncertainty. Communicating this uncertainty has included many techniques; however, the public’s ability to properly interpret the impact of that uncertainty has been hotly debated in recent years. Moreover, our imperfect understanding of the atmosphere can result in forecast variability. For the forecast’s users, this can lead to everything from simple confusion about the forecast to frustration with the forecaster and outright dismissal of the forecast and the risks involved.
- Human Factors. How do the consumers of forecast information live? How do they receive and interpret forecast information? How they are likely to respond to a given forecast? This is difficult enough when there is only one user; however, when there are hundreds, thousands, or even millions of users, this understanding is harder to come by.
- Complicating Factors. Even a perfect forecast perfectly communicated and perfectly understood can result on chaos if other factors, such as infrastructure, are not prepared for or capable of handing the reaction from the users.
A couple of folks who have been to previous workshops have suggested I'd be a good fit for this kind of thing. Hopefully, the folks running the workshop think so, too.
I'll find out in late April whether I have been accepted.