Does interactive visualisation increase stakeholders’ understanding? A case study of Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere, Canterbury, New Zealand
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Date
2013-12
Type
Conference Contribution - published
Fields of Research
Abstract
Visualisation has been used in a number of natural resource management applications with the
aim of enhancing people’s personal understanding of issues but little evaluation of the effectiveness of the
tools developed has been undertaken. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether interactive
visualisation increase stakeholders’ personal understanding of lake values using a case study of Te
Waihora/Lake Ellesmere, in the South Island of New Zealand.
Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere is a broad, shallow lake. It is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the long
narrow sandy Kaitorete Spit. Its unique position allows for it to be opened to the sea periodically to provide
drainage and prevent flooding of surrounding farmlands. There is a lack of agreement among the diverse
stakeholders regarding the appropriate levels at which the lake level should be maintained throughout the
year.
We describe an interactive visualisation tool (ElleVis) which shows the effects of different lake opening
regimes on lake values at Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere. The tool allows users to input different opening
scenarios and visualise the resulting impact on water levels around the lake at various times. It incorporates
historical rainfall data from New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research to deliver
a graphical map display, including a summary table with a ‘traffic light’ status for lake values - birds, fish,
farming and other stakeholder interests at different locations around the lake. The interactive nature of the
ElleVis tool allows the stakeholders to compare Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere under different opening
scenarios using one interactive tool.
A quasi-experimental design was adopted to measure the knowledge of the participants before and after using
the ElleVis tool. Overall, participants’ scores were significantly higher (M = 34.5, SD = 6.549) after using
the ElleVis visualisation tool than before (M=22.5, SD = 7.408) t (13) =5.842, p = .005. Post-study
comments from the participants were analysed to see if there were any patterns or differences with
participants’ experiences or impressions with the use of ElleVis. The results revealed that interactive
visualisation can increase the personal understanding of stakeholders with diverse interests. More widely, the
findings of this study inform discussions about whether visualisation tools might contribute to the
management of “disagreements” in environmental management in situations that involve contested resources
or a multiplicity of interests.
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Copyright © 2013 The Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand Inc. All rights reserved.