For more information, contact: 
Dr. David Ruskin or Dr. Rita Sharma
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
University of Guam
Tel: (671) 735-2747
Email: arc@triton.uog.edu

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Communicating the urgency of climate change to be keynote topic at UOG’s Annual Research Conference

Exploring how to better communicate the urgency of climate change will be the topic of Kirill O. Thompson’s keynote address at the 41st Annual Research Conference being hosted this Friday by the University of Guam’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. His message will be one of 50 other presentations on research projects related to the strength, well-being, and independent rights of the Pacific nations under the conference theme “Building Strength and Sovereignty in the Pacific.” The conference is free of charge and open to the public.

Thompson is a retired professor specializing in Chinese philosophy from National Taiwan University who has been actively involved with research groups on Confucian thought and culture as well as humanities for the environment.

“It is difficult to get our heads around the problem of climate change because it is so large and all-embracing,” Thompson said. “It is also difficult because special interest groups and their supporters use the media to obscure the facts, downplay the issues, and keep people in the dark about climate change and its urgency.”

In his speech titled “Facing Climate Change: Changing Hearts and Minds,” Thompson will bring philosophy to the climate change discussion related to communicating the message in a way that grips people’s sense of responsibility and inclines them to change their mindset, outlook, and lifestyle.

The CLASS Annual Research Conference is a multidisciplinary forum for intellectual engagement and discussions, featuring research presentations by local, regional, and global scholars, scientists, visual artists, performing artists, and students.

Other presentations will include:

* “Developing CHamoru Language Infrastructure: Goggue Yan Chachalani Mo’na I Fino’-ta” by Robert Underwood, Ed.D., and David Ruskin, Ph.D. * “Making Local Sense of a Global Tragedy: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic in Guam” by Anne Perez Hattori, Ph.D. * “Vaping on Guam: The Trend and its Link to Respiratory Issues” by Mackenzie Urbano * “Climate Data in the 1800s: Research in the Spanish Records” by Carlos Madrid, Ph.D. * “The significance of the Asia-Pacific fish weir cultural landscape” by William Jeffery, Ph.D.

The Annual Research Conference will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, March 6, in the Humanities and Social Sciences building on the UOG campus. No registration is needed to attend.

The event will conclude with an art show at the Isla Center for the Arts, located in House #11 in Dean’s Circle on the UOG campus, exhibiting works by students, faculty, and community artists.

For more information on the conference and the full schedule, visit https://url.uog.edu/uogarc.

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