Showing papers in "Society & Natural Resources in 2019"
TL;DR: This article used mail surveys for social science research and found that properly conducted, they can gather representative data about a population that provides important generalizations about that popula cation about that population.
Abstract: Mail surveys have long been a staple of social science research. Properly conducted, they can gather representative data about a population that provides important generalizations about that popula...
153 citations
TL;DR: This paper presented a systematic review of all U.S.-based qualitative studies examining adoption of conservation practices and programs (CPPs) and found that the majority of them focused on conservation practices.
Abstract: Since 2011, qualitative studies examining adoption of conservation practices and programs (CPPs) have burgeoned. This article presents a systematic review of all U.S.-based qualitative inve...
115 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that between 2011-2014, 24 percent of residents offered a negative opinion of non-profit organizations in urban and community forestry (UCF) initiatives, and sometimes city residents resist their efforts.
Abstract: Non-profit organizations are key actors in urban and community forestry (UCF) initiatives, and sometimes city residents resist their efforts. Between 2011-2014, 24 percent of residents offered a st...
53 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined whether an ecological worldview, operationalized by the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale, serves as the source of coherence of environmental concern and found that the NEP is the most powerful predictor of EC.
Abstract: This study examines whether an ecological worldview—operationalized by the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Scale--serves as the source of coherence of Environmental Concern (EC). Using data on four samples from the 1992 Gallup “Health of the Planet” Survey and the 2003 and 2010 Chinese General Social Surveys, we found that in all samples not only is the NEP the most powerful predictor of EC, but it also mediates the effects of socio-demographic variables on EC as hypothesized. The results confirm that the NEP is the source of coherence of EC, making it a meaningful construct.
52 citations
TL;DR: This article examined how gender and sexual relationships influence farmers' practices and livelihoods, and found that 97% of U.S. farms are family-owned, but little research examines how gender-and sexual relationships affect farmers.
Abstract: Although 97% of U.S. farms are “family-owned,” little research examines how gender and sexual relationships – inherent in familial dynamics – influence farmers’ practices and livelihoods. Gender an...
46 citations
TL;DR: The sense of place (SOP) conceptual framework offers theoretical and empirical evidence that links peoples' multifaceted connections to place(s) to their engagement in pro-environmental and conserv...
Abstract: The sense of place (SOP) conceptual framework offers theoretical and empirical evidence that links peoples’ multifaceted connections to place(s) to their engagement in pro-environmental and conserv...
37 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that MPAs are not always always placed such that they can maximize impact on conservation and livelihoods, and that they may not always be optimal.
Abstract: Marine protected areas (MPAs) are among the most widely accepted methods of marine management. MPAs are not, however, always placed such that they can maximize impact on conservation and livelihood...
34 citations
TL;DR: It is found that CS reviewers need to be motivated to provide appropriate feedback to improve CS data, commit to reviewing practice that is respected by citizens, and ensure the information published is credible and be reviewed by a supportive and accountable network of fellow reviewers.
Abstract: Citizen science (CS) information requires systematic review that incorporates a range of interests and concerns. Yet, there has been little research on what might constitute reviewing best practice...
29 citations
TL;DR: This article explored women's on-farm roles, as well as rural conceptualizations of gender that infrequently had the farmer title in the US, but have infrequently held the title in other countries.
Abstract: Women in the US have farmed for centuries, but have infrequently had the farmer title. Rural sociologists have explored women’s on-farm roles, as well as rural conceptualizations of gender that inf...
29 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors build on the legacies of women farmers and farmers of color creating peer networks to support the alternative sector of U.S. agriculture, even within the alternative sectors.
Abstract: Heteropatriarchy underpins contemporary U.S. agriculture, even within the alternative sector. This paper builds on the legacies of women farmers and farmers of color creating peer networks to circu...
28 citations
TL;DR: For example, women own or co-own approximately half of the farmland in Iowa, United States, yet researchers are only beginning to study these landowners' social relationships in relation to their land as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Women own or co-own approximately half of the farmland in Iowa, United States, yet researchers are only beginning to study these landowners’ social relationships in relation to their land. This stu...
TL;DR: Despite decades of scientific research, stakeholder negotiations, and policy proposals, management of the Klamath River in southern Oregon and northern California remains hotly contested as discussed by the authors, and the management of this river remains a hot topic.
Abstract: Despite decades of scientific research, stakeholder negotiations, and policy proposals, management of the Klamath River in southern Oregon and northern California remains hotly contested. This rese...
TL;DR: This article reported that maintaining high response rates is necessary to prevent non-respo...response rates to mail-based surveys have declined in recent decades, and survey response rates for farmers tend to be low overall.
Abstract: Response rates to mail-based surveys have declined in recent decades, and survey response rates for farmers tend to be low overall. Maintaining high response rates is necessary to prevent non-respo...
TL;DR: Futures research is a transdisciplinary field of inquiry that uses a variety of methods to explore possible, plausible, and preferable futures as mentioned in this paper. But many social scientists and natural resource professionals are unaware of these methods and most have never heard of futures research as a distinct field of study.
Abstract: Futures research is a transdisciplinary field of inquiry that uses a variety of methods to explore possible, plausible, and preferable futures. The goal is to develop foresight—insight into how and why the future could be different than today—to improve policy, planning, and decision making. Scores of futures research methods have been developed or adapted from other disciplines, beginning with pioneering work in the US military and RAND Corporation in the 1950s and 1960s. But many social scientists and natural resource professionals are unaware of these methods and most have never heard of futures research as a distinct field of study. This paper presents a framework for categorizing futures research methods, reviews selected methods, and provides examples of their application to natural resource and environmental issues.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors use the concept of social affordances as an addition to economic benefits to understand the experiences, perceptions, power relations and meanings of local actors on trophy hunting and its main players.
Abstract: In the global neoliberal ecological discourse, trophy hunting proponents often articulate the economic benefits it creates for local communities, especially through jobs and meat. Trophy hunting revenues are also crucial to support the overall operational costs of community-based natural resource management (CBNRM). The aim of this paper is to show that this rather simplified dominant discourse, based only on “benefits”, sells short the local realities of the Khwe and Ju/’hoansi Bushmen (San) in the Bwabwata National Park and the Nyae Nyae Conservancy, Namibia, respectively. Building on Gibson, I use the concept of “social affordances” as an addition to economic benefits. This leads me to argue for an expansion of the debate beyond the limits of economic benefits to the human domain, to better understand the multiple experiences, perceptions, power relations and meanings (for good and ill) of local actors on trophy hunting and its main players.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors build on the idea that farmers' voluntary adoption of nutrient and soil best management practices has important consequences for many environmental outcomes including water quality, and understand what drives farmers to adopt these practices.
Abstract: Understanding what drives farmers’ voluntary adoption of nutrient and soil best management practices has important consequences for many environmental outcomes including water quality. We build on ...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors also question if sustainability is still a useful concept and question the influence of Neoliberal influence on natural resources in sustainable development, and also question the usefulness of sustainability.
Abstract: Neoliberalism is frequently blamed for challenges in achieving sustainable development; consequently some also question if sustainability is still a useful concept. Neoliberal influence on natural ...
TL;DR: In this article, a qualitative in-depth synthesis of selected scientific empirical literature is presented, which explores factors affecting action-oriented learning and identifies eight key process-based and contextual factors discussed in this literature.
Abstract: Despite a long-term focus on learning in natural resource management (NRM), it is still debated how learning supports sustainable real-world NRM practices. We offer a qualitative in-depth synthesis of selected scientific empirical literature (N = 53), which explores factors affecting action-oriented learning. We inductively identify eight key process-based and contextual factors discussed in this literature. Three patterns emerge from our results. First, the literature discusses both facilitated participation and self-organized collaboration as dialogical spaces, which bridge interests and support constructive conflict management. Second, the literature suggests practice-based dialogs as those best able to facilitate action and puts a strong emphasis on experimentation. Finally, not emphasized in existing reviews and syntheses, we found multiple evidence about certain contextual factors affecting learning, including social-ecological crises, complexity, and power structures. Our review also points at important knowledge gaps, which can be used to advance the current research agenda about learning and NRM.
TL;DR: Using construal-level theory, the authors proposed a method to manage charismatic wildlife, which can be difficult to manage due to the controversies they generate among stakeholders, which may be rooted in their symbolic meaning.
Abstract: Charismatic wildlife can be difficult to manage due to the controversies they generate among stakeholders, which may be rooted in their symbolic meaning. Using construal-level theory, we co...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe how farmers struggle to afford farmland because competing land uses raise prices higher than what farmers earn, especially in small-scale and sustainable agriculture, and farmers often depend on an intimat...
Abstract: Farmers struggle to afford farmland because competing land uses raise prices higher than what farmers earn, especially in small-scale and sustainable agriculture. Farmers often depend on an intimat...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors introduce arts-based research and poetic analysis, their benefits and criteria for quality, and reflect on the transformative potential of poetic inquiry, together with poetry-based approaches to engagement and science translation, offer a novel set of methods for data generation, analysis, communication, and engagement for natural resource social scientists.
Abstract: Complex and “wicked” natural resource issues often require transdisciplinary research approaches–methods that span boundaries among disciplines and engage multiple sectors of society in the research process. Social-ecological systems approaches acknowledge the complexity of dynamics within and feedbacks between natural and social systems, but have insufficiently incorporated the subjective lived experience, agency, culture and power dynamics of people within these systems. We propose that poetic inquiry, together with poetry-based approaches to engagement and science translation, offers a novel set of methods for data generation, analysis, communication, and engagement for natural resource social scientists. We introduce arts-based research and poetic analysis, their benefits and criteria for quality, and reflect on the transformative potential of poetic inquiry. We present cases of poetic inquiry that disrupted hierarchies and humanized research by centering on the participants’ lived experience, evoking emotion, amplifying participants’ voices, fostering researcher reflexivity, and encouraging collaborative research and public scholarship.
TL;DR: This Commentary reflects on the state of the scholarship on learning for environmental and natural resource policy and governance with recommendations for learning scholarship by focusing on how to collectively engage in ‘learning about learning’.
Abstract: This Commentary reflects on the state of the scholarship on learning for environmental and natural resource policy and governance. How have we been learning about learning? We highlight theoretical and empirical advancements related to learning, as well as areas of divergence between learning theories and frameworks, and underdeveloped knowledge around processes and outcomes. To address these limitations and improve progress in both theory and practice, we offer recommendations for learning scholarship by focusing on how to collectively engage in ‘learning about learning’.
TL;DR: In this article, participatory Internet mapping, social media and smartphones provide new avenues for research in outdoor recreation and tourism, and the potential to reach a greater area of interest is discussed.
Abstract: Digital technologies, including participatory Internet mapping, social media and smartphones, provide new avenues for research in outdoor recreation and tourism. The potential to reach a greater au...
TL;DR: In many resource governance systems, representatives of resource-related organizations gather in forums to discuss and develop solutions to policy problems as discussed by the authors, and these forums often deal with interdepe...
Abstract: In many resource governance systems, representatives of resource-related organizations gather in forums to discuss and develop solutions to policy problems. Forums often deal with interdepe...
TL;DR: Using a social constructionist approach, together with wildlife value orientations and a... as discussed by the authors, Canada's grizzly bears remain a threatened species, with ongoing controversy limiting achievements, and they remain in a state of decline.
Abstract: Alberta, Canada’s grizzly bears remain a threatened species, with ongoing controversy limiting achievements. Using a social constructionist approach, together with wildlife value orientations and a...
TL;DR: This paper found that those located closer to energy development are, on average, more supportive of this development, but case studies in specific locations reveal additional nuance, and they also found that people in these areas tend to be less likely to oppose energy development.
Abstract: Recent research suggests that those located closer to energy development are, on average, more supportive of this development. However, case studies in specific locations reveal additional nuance. ...
TL;DR: In 2007, the Government of Ecuador announced the Yasuni-ITT Initiative as discussed by the authors, a proposal to forego exploiting 20% of its oil reserves located in Yasuni National Park.
Abstract: In 2007, the Government of Ecuador announced the Yasuni-ITT Initiative: a proposal to forego exploiting 20% of its oil reserves located in the Yasuni National Park – home to one of the earth’s most...
TL;DR: This paper assess the impact of producing coal, crude oil, and natural gas on the environment and economy of the U.S. and show that the production and burning of fossil fuels is the primary contributor to CO2 emissions.
Abstract: The production and burning of fossil fuels is the primary contributor to CO2 emissions for the U.S. We assess the impact of producing coal, crude oil, and natural gas on the environment and economi...
TL;DR: In this article, out-migration from rural areas and generational shifts create conditions whereby increasing numbers of private forest owners live at a distance from their forestland. Geographical distance and non-...
Abstract: Out-migration from rural areas and generational shifts create conditions whereby increasing numbers of private forest owners live at a distance from their forestland. Geographical distance and non- ...
TL;DR: In this article, the majority of large lakes on the Tibetan Plateau are expanding due to global climate change and their causes have been investigated by hydrologists and glaciologis...
Abstract: Global climate change is causing the majority of large lakes on the Tibetan Plateau to expand. While these rising lake levels and their causes have been investigated by hydrologists and glaciologis...