Well-designed and facilitated participatory learning processes focussing on stakeholder discussions can lead to significant learning, skill development and decision-making outcomes in industries such as agriculture. Virtual World machinima, which simulate farmer discussions, have significant potential as an alternative information delivery method in agriculture extension environments, where funding and policy support is declining and access to high speed internet is increasing globally. This research trials and evaluates a Second Life machinima designed as a discussion support tool for the Australian sugar industry.

1. Trialling Second Life machinima to
promote discussion and support
learning in the Australian sugar
industry: Stakeholder responses are
encouraging…
CreateWorld 2014, Brisbane
Ms Joanne Doyle

2. Today’s session…

3. Australian climate

Highest level of year-to-year rainfall variability
globally

4. Decision-making under uncertainty

Increasing demands on science to provide
information for complex decision making to
manage climate and related risk

How can science best support complex
decision making?

5. Collaborative Research Network
(USQ Project 3)

Investigating the impact of a web-based,
‘discussion-support’, agricultural-climate
information system on Australian farmers’
operational decision making
to enhance farm management decisionmaking around climate risk
 to support sustainable (resilient)
agricultural systems and rural communities


Collaboration: USQ ACSC & ADFI, ANU, UniSA,
CANEGROWERS, Top Dingo

6. Better support for on-farm
decision-making
Farming systems
science
Seasonal forecast
modelling
Informed decision making and improved
climate risk management

7. Project objective
Targeted
climate
information
OUTCOMES
Improved
climate
knowledge
Improved
decisionmaking
Discussion
Forum
Virtual
scenarios
Interactive
predictive
models
Improved
climate risk
management
IMPACT
Social
Economic
Environmental

8. Research impact is…

…the demonstrable contribution that
research makes to the economy,
society, culture, national security,
public policy or services, health, the
environment, or quality of life, beyond
contributions to academia.
Source: ARC, 2012

9. Second Life




A virtual world
User-created content and virtual marketplace
Avatars can be customised and manipulated
Machinima can be created
screen capture software (eg FRAPS) to
create machinima
 recorded soundtracks


10. Real World
Virtual World
Machinima
Avatars
Courtesy: Neil Cliffe

11. Sweet success in 2013

12. Evaluation process
2012
Workshop
Evaluations from 13
workshops
(207 participants)
2013
17 semi-structured
Interviews to
evaluate
prototype machinima
2014
Deliver 6 workshops with
machinima exposure.
Pre and post workshop
surveys
Workshop group output
Semi-structured interviews

13. Early results
Characters:
very accurate; good cross
section; too clean,
shiny and young
Key messages:
planning; too basic;
discussion of decisions;
seasonal forecasting
and probabilities
First impressions:
typical farmer conversation; realistic
scenario; choppy graphics; well put
together; starts people thinking about
risk; prefer real actors
Quotes: Farmers,
Extension Officers &
Industry Organisation
Setting:
looked like a cane farm;
standard shed meeting;
appropriate for audience
Appeal in conveying messages:
good for prompting and helping discussion;
good medium to get message across; useful
for other topics; very innovative
Mean rating of value (1 = low value; 10 = high value): Farmers: 6.9 (N = 7); Extension Officers: 7.2 (N = 6); Canegrowers Org: 6.4 (N = 4)
Courtesy: Mr Neil Cliffe, Australian Centre for Sustainable Catchments, University of Southern Queensland

14. Key outcomes to date




Machinima: a useful tool to support discussions
around climate risk
Audio: scripts appropriately targeted to
discussion topics
Visual: avatar ‘look’ was extremely important
Technical challenge: seamless link between
climate forecasts and discussions
Looking ahead…
Creation of further machinima:
Irrigation, Fertiliser, Verandah

15. Acknowledgement

This project is supported through the Australian
Government’s Collaborative Research Networks
(CRN) program.

’Digital Futures’ is the CRN research theme for
the University of Southern Queensland

16. Acknowledgement

Team members:
PhD candidate: Neil Cliffe (ACSC, USQ)
Research Fellow: Kate Reardon-Smith (ACSC, USQ)
ACSC (USQ) researchers: Roger Stone, Shahbaz Mushtaq, Torben
Marcussen, Tek Maraseni
ADFI (USQ) researchers: Helen Farley, Joanne Doyle, Neil Martin

Research collaborators:
Janette Lindesay (ANU), Adam Loch (UniSA), Jeff Coutts (USQ Adjunct)

Research partners:
Noel Jacobson and Amanda Hassett (Top Dingo),
Matt Kealley (CANEGROWERS)

17. Thank you