Guest Speakers
Pascal Haegeli is an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, where he holds the NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Avalanche Risk Management. He manages a team of ten graduate students with whom he conducts applied research at the interface between the natural and social sciences to help recreationists and avalanche professionals make better decisions when travelling in avalanche terrain.
How to make avalanche bulletins more effective? Lessons from studying user practices
While it is well established in the risk communication field that an in-depth understanding of the target audience is critical for effective communication, research on avalanche bulletin users has so far been limited. Over the past three winters, the avalanche research team at Simon Fraser University has conducted a series of qualitative and quantitative studies to better understand backcountry users’ avalanche bulletin perceptions, skills, and practices. This presentation will summarize the main results of this research and discuss opportunities for enhancing the effectiveness of avalanche bulletins by linking them to avalanche awareness education.