Display Full Text | Download Full Text
4.80 MB PDF file

Degree

Master of Technical and Scientific Communication, Miami University, English, 2011.

Abstract

This report describes my internship with Chesapeake EcoCheck, a science communication program located in Maryland. Through discussions about EcoCheck, its parent organizations, my overall role as an intern, and a major internship project, I provide a context for EcoCheck’s pursuit of science literacy. Generally understood as “any specialized knowledge with a claim on the public’s attention and understanding,” science literacy is an objective feature of EcoCheck’s products because it intends to enable the informed engagement of resource managers and the general public in scientific issues. (Paisley, 1998, p. 72) EcoCheck’s use of visual communication displays (VCDs) provides the basis for a visual science literacy that not only reduces the scientific complexity of a message but also encourages civic responses to that message. In particular, I explore the revelatory function of conceptual diagrams—i.e., how they help interpret, complete, and broaden existing knowledge sets—in core products such as report cards.

Subject Headings

Technical Communication

Keywords

science communication; science literacy; visual science literacy; visual communication displays; conceptual diagrams

Committee / Advisors

Jean Lutz, PhD (Committee Chair)
Paul Anderson, PhD (Committee Member)
Mark Boardman, PhD (Committee Member)

Pages

49p.

Document number: miami1302484732
Permalink: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1302484732

This ETD has been downloaded 116 times (through March 2013)