Towards Insect-Friendly Road Lighting-A Transdisciplinary Multi-Stakeholder Approach Involving Citizen Scientists

Simple Summary

Road lighting is a service provided at night, mainly to ensure the secure and safe passage of humans. However, lighting at night can have adverse effects on insects or ecosystems, which are not yet considered in planning. Here, we introduce a comprehensive approach for the design and implementation of a novel insect-friendly road luminaire. The lighting design provides an optimized radiation geometry that avoids emissions at the trajectory height of insects, reduces the attraction of insects and the fragmentation of their habitats, and at the same time provides adequate night-time illumination in residential areas. The effects of the new design on insect behavior and night sky brightness will be evaluated two years before and two years after the change of the road luminaires and additionally in a direct comparison, as some luminaires of the old design will remain as controls. Citizen scientists are involved in the identification of insects and the measurement of night sky brightness. A broad public engagement program also highlights discussions about the competing interests of different stakeholders in lighting design, explicitly including the effects of illumination on insect fauna and biodiversity.

Abstract

(1) The project “Tatort Streetlight” implements an insect-friendly road light design in a four year before–after, control–impact (BACI) approach involving citizen scientists. It will broaden the stakeholder interests from solely anthropogenic perspectives to include the welfare of insects and ecosystems. Motivated by the detrimental impacts of road lighting systems on insects, the project aims to find solutions to reduce the insect attraction and habitat fragmentation resulting from roadway illumination. (2) The citizen science approach invites stakeholders to take part and join forces for the development of a sustainable and environmentally friendly road lighting solution. Here, we describe the project strategy, stakeholder participation and motivation, and how the effects of the alternative road luminaire and lighting design can be evaluated. (3) The study compares the changes in (a) insect behavior, (b) night sky brightness, and (c) stakeholder participation and awareness. For this purpose, different experimental areas and stakeholders in four communities in Germany are identified. (4) The project transfers knowledge of adverse effects of improperly managed road illumination and interacts with various stakeholders to develop a new road lighting system that will consider the well-being of street users, local residents, and insects.

Urban Lighting Research Transdisciplinary Framework-A Collaborative Process with Lighting Professionals

Over the past decades, lighting professionals have influenced the experience of the night by brightly illuminating streets, buildings, skylines, and landscapes 24/7. When this became the accepted norm, a dual perspective on night-time was shaped and the visual enjoyment of visitors after dusk was prioritized over natural nightscapes (nocturnal landscapes). During this time, researchers of artificial light at night (ALAN) observed and reported a gradual increase in unnatural brightness and a shift in color of the night-time environment. As a consequence, ALAN has been identified as a relevant pollutant of aquatic and terrestrial habitats, and an environmental stressor, which may adversely affect a wide range of organisms, from micro-organisms to humans. Unfortunately, lighting professionals and ALAN researchers usually attempt to solve today's sustainable urban lighting problems distinctive to their fields of study, without a dialogue between research and practice. Therefore, in order to translate research knowledge as an applicable solution for the lighting practice and to minimize the impact on the environment, a collaborative framework involving a transdisciplinary process with lighting professionals is crucial to potentially bring the practice, research, production, decision-making, and planning closer to each other. This paper presents a framework to help reduce the existing gap of knowledge, because appropriate lighting applications depend upon it. Access to less light polluted nightscapes in urban environments is just as important as access to unpolluted water, food, and air. This call for action towards sustainable urban lighting should be included in future lighting policies to solve the urgent environmental and health challenges facing our world.

Longitudinal development of medical students' communication skills in interpreted encounters

OBJECTIVE

Describe longitudinal skill development of medical students for the interpreted encounter.

METHOD

Two successive classes of students (n=92 and 100) participated in standardized clinical stations testing general communication skills and skills for working with interpreters at the end of their second year and after completing clinical clerkships during their third year. Performance was rated by standardized patients, interpreters and students using validated scales.

ANALYSIS

Analysis of individual matched paired data was performed for each scale item using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Pairwise correlation was used to compare global scores of the standardized patient and standardized interpreter with student self-ratings.

RESULTS

Over one year students' (n=124-168) performance worsened in behaviors for 'managing the encounter' (per interpreters' ratings) or remained unchanged (per patients' ratings). By patients' ratings, performance scores in general communication remained high. Students rated themselves as significantly improved in five of eight skills for working with interpreters despite a lack of external evidence of improvement from patient or interpreter. Students showed a trend toward underestimating their own global skills at baseline and overestimating them in comparison with the interpreters' global ratings.

DISCUSSION

Students' general communication skills remained excellent over one year of training but some skills for working with interpreters worsened. Over time students showed a pattern of overrating their own skills compared with trained observers. Faculty who teach students should focus on specific behaviors that are most likely to decay without reinforcement and practice.