1. Development status
In the last few weeks we have introduced self-registration for participants. This allows you to create a permanent SCIARA user account through which we can assign them to simulation runs.
We also automated the execution of the simulation-internal elections for the increase of the CO2 tax and thereby created the basis for further automated votes. Furthermore, several simulations at the same time are possible now. All these developments bring us much closer to our goal of making the SCIARA app available to a wider audience.
2. Scientific survey as part of DBU project
SCIARA started a development phase in September under the title “Promotion of Sustainability Awareness”. The project is funded by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU).
We conducted the kick-off together with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and Dr. Keith Smith (ETH Zurich).
In this development phase, Dr. Alexandra Hüttel (PIK), who was hired specifically for this project, is researching the extent to which participation in SCIARA simulations alters climate change awareness and actual personal behaviour.
First, however, she is conducting interviews with people who are not yet familiar with SCIARA. The aim of this survey is to find out what average people expect of climate mitigation measure and what consequences they would fear from climate change. With this information we want to prioritise the further development of the SCIARA app.
3. Simulation run in Russia
On the initiative of the German Embassy in Moscow, the German-Russian Chamber of Foreign Trade organised a SCIARA simulation in Moscow with the Goethe-Institut. Students from HSE University Moscow took part as part of the German-Russian Year and had a lively discussion. The students showed very great interest.
A surprising finding for all participants was that waste separation has the least impact. This reveals a regional difference in the initial assessment at the beginning of the simulation as to which measures have a positive influence on the climate. In the simulations carried out in Germany so far, meat consumption was often considered to be the decisive factor, which shows the potential for promoting climate change awareness.
SCIARA will carry out many more simulation runs in Russia this year as part of the cooperation with the German Embassy in Moscow. In the meantime, we have also created a Russian-language version of the app especially for this purpose.
Our simulations in Germany will also continue to take place. We thank you for your valuable feedback.
4. Kick Off Citizen Scientists
Last week, our team of Citizen Scientists met for the first time and initially got to know each other. In the next few weeks, the team will organise itself and set its first goals.
The purpose of Citizen Science at SCIARA is to involve the community in the scientific and conceptual work in order to make it more diverse and varied. In this way, a bridge is created between the public and science.We are very much looking forward to the scientific collaboration and are excited about the first findings!
5. Social Media
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