Tag: Poster 138

Creating A Language Audit To Avoid Ableism For Bark Organization

Presenter(s): Ege Akinci − Environmental Studies

Faculty Mentor(s): Sarah Wald

Poster 138

Research Area: Humanities

Inclusive language can easily be ignored in most media sources like web pages or Facebook pages and include such words that carry colonialist, racist, sexist or ableist language without intentions. To avoid such language, this project will create a language audit and I will be focusing on ableism and accessibility in language, which is to make sure that the language used is including people with disabilities as this aspect can be easily ignored in writings. Through creating the language audit, I will use different previously created language audits and scholar papers written on ableism and how to avoid ableist language. This language will be created for the Bark-Out’s website and Facebook account. Bark-out’s mission is to transform Mt. Hood National Forest to a place where wildlife can be protected and local communities can have a social, economic and cultural investment in its preservation. Creating a language audit is particularly important to include each and every person in Barks mission, to preserve the natural, social and cultural aspects of Mt. Hood Natural Forest.

Best Practices for Attributing Extreme Weather Events to Climate Change in Media

Presenter(s): Haley Koch

Faculty Mentor(s): Deborah Morrison & Hollie Smith

Poster 138

Session: Social Sciences & Humanities

Occurrences of extreme weather events such as hurricanes, forest fires, and floods are increasing in frequency and severity on a global scale, and climate scientists have proven that these events are exacerbated by the effects of anthropogenic climate change. These events are then represented variably through mass media channels, some which effectively attribute these events to climate change, and some which do not. Studies have shown that improperly attributing the cause of extreme weather events could be incredibly harmful to our environmental future, and must be done correctly in order to avoid significant further damages to our society. In order to participate in the resolution of the disconnect between extreme weather events and climate change, my thesis research has led to the development of a “Code of Best Practices for Attributing Extreme Weather Events to Climate Change,” for media producers and outlets to use to ensure that their content is effectively covering events of extreme weather, and how they relate to anthropogenic climate change. Through a content analysis of sources that have attributed events of extreme weather to climate change in a variety of ways (both effective and ineffective), I have determined criteria that guarantee the effectiveness of communicating climate change attribution. These criteria can be applied to different forms of media and communications in order for a media outlet to ensure that they are accurately and effectively attributing extreme weather events to climate change.