1. The Importance of “Problem Definition”: Ideas for discussion Rebecca E. Morss (NCAR)

2. R. E. MorssWAS*IS Workshop13 July 2007 The words you use to talk about a problem or issue affect … Which alternative “solutions” you consider and which you believe is the best solution How you communicate about the issue The extent to which others agree the issue or topic is a “problem” worth addressing Therefore, it can be valuable to think about how problems are defined and issues are discussed Why problem definition?

3. R. E. MorssWAS*IS Workshop13 July 2007 - Earth observations benefit weather forecasts Therefore … more observations will improve forecasts - Weather forecasts benefit society Therefore … better forecasts will enhance societal benefit … and more observations will enhance societal benefit Corollary: In order to benefit society, we need better forecasts, and thus more observations

4. R. E. MorssWAS*IS Workshop13 July 2007 False alarms lead people to ignore future warnings. Therefore … the National Weather Service should lower its warning false alarm rate. Under what circumstances? What is a false alarm? Which warnings? Which people? What is meant by ignoring warnings? What happens when people ignore warnings? What did people do before the false alarms? How is false alarm rate defined? What is it now? How much should it be lowered?

5. R. E. MorssWAS*IS Workshop13 July 2007 Studying (or considering) weather and society in an integrated way is important. To whom is this important? Why? In what depth does weather-society integration need to be studied / considered? How? By who? What does integrated mean? And so on...

6. Questions and Discussion