Browsing by Subject "Perceptions"
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Item Open Access A Ripe Future? Coastal Climate Perceptions and Adaptations among the Long Island Wine Industry(2017-04-28) Hall, EmilyCoastal climates have distinctive effects on the growth, quality, and quantity produced of wine grapes. A changing coastal climate could alter these interactions and impact regional wine style and variety. There is a need to understand how growers and wine makers are perceiving and responding to climate change to inform future adaptation strategies. To explore this topic, those in the wine industry on the Eastern End of Long Island, NY were interviewed regarding their perception of 1) how the maritime climate affects viticulture, 2) how that interaction has changed/may change in the future, 3) how they will adapt, and 4) how viticulture affects the local environment. The maritime climate has the perceived effects of moderating land temperature, inducing humidity, and featuring unpredictable weather such as hurricanes and coastal storms. Most respondents believe that the maritime climate has changed over time, allowing for higher quality wine but also greater environmental risk. Industry professionals don’t see extensive adaptation methods as necessary yet, but do seek to utilize sustainable and vigilant vineyard practices to enhance resilience in times of greater risk and uncertainty.Item Open Access Atong Kabakhawan: Making Participation Meaningful in Community-Based Mangrove Restoration in Negros Oriental, Philippines(2019-04-19) Siegelman, BenCommunity-based management has a long history in the Philippines, where local participation has been a central concern of coastal conservation. Participation, however, is poorly defined and assessments are rarely based on the perceptions of participants themselves. Building on applied anthropology and participatory research techniques, I studied participation through an ethnography of community-based mangrove restoration projects in Negros Oriental, Philippines. Ethnographic research revealed the values, goals, and perceptions of local participants while situating these findings within their broader social context. I use Bisaya language as a guide for analysis, examining key phrases to show how local meanings impact mangrove participation in unexpected ways. From these findings, I make recommendations for applying ethnographic insights to project activities and develop a perception-based monitoring tool to assess participant engagement.Item Open Access Social, Economic, and Spatial Perceptions of Gray Seal (Halichoerus grypus) Interactions with Commercial Fisheries in Cape Cod, MA(2014-04-22) Gruber, ChaseAfter more than 40 years of protection via the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the gray seal (Halichoerus grypus) population of the northwest Atlantic has increased considerably. Over the same period, commercial fisheries have boomed, and recently busted, in productivity and profitability. Although commercial fishermen will admit to overfishing, many believe the current abundance of gray seals prevents exploited fish stocks from recovering. In this study, commercial fishermen in Cape Cod were surveyed to assess their perceptions of the local gray seal population and economic costs associated with gray seal interactions. Additionally, a quantitative overlap analysis was performed to examine the extent to which commercial fishing and gray seal behaviors overlap in space and time. Results from the survey showed that 1) commercial fishermen are most concerned with the impacts of gray seals on local marine ecology than impacts on individual fishing operations; 2) both perceptions and impacts of gray seals could fluctuate seasonally; 3) gray seals could pose serious financial threats to commercial fishermen; 4) commercial fishermen would be willing to assist in data collection on the gray seal population; and 5) commercial fishermen believe that gray seals should be managed in the best interest of fisheries and ecosystem health. Results from the spatial overlap analysis corroborate survey results, and indicate potential for overlap between gray seal and fisheries to be greater in summer months than winter months. Overall, this study provides insights for understanding the views held by commercial fishermen, a key stakeholder group involved in this issue, which should be considered when weighing options for mitigating interactions between gray seals and commercial fisheries in Cape Cod.Item Open Access They’re There, Now What?: The Identities, Behaviors, and Perceptions of Black Judges(2016) Means, Taneisha NicolePrior to the Civil Rights Movement, fewer than 50 Black judges had been elected or appointed to the judiciary. As of August 2015, there are over 1,000 Black state and federal judges. As the number of black judges has increased, one question arises: have American courts been altered purely by this substantial increase? One expectation—and, at times, a prediction—behind the increased descriptive representation of Black judges is that their mere presence would alter the judiciary. It was supposed that these judges would substantively represent Black interests in the decisions they made. In other words, it was suspected, and predicted, that Blacks in the judiciary would enhance equality and justice by being aware of, responsive to, and advocating for African Americans. This theory about the likely role of Black judges derives from theoretical work on political representation and racial group consciousness, and empirical studies of Black elite behavior in other political institutions.
Despite such predictions, there is no corresponding scholarly consensus regarding whether Black judges possess a racial group consciousness and have racially distinctive judicial behavior. Therefore, the theory undergirding the demand for increased diversification, as a means to transform the judiciary, remains unsubstantiated. This is precisely where this project, “They’re There, Now What?: The Identities, Behavior, and Perceptions of Black Judges,” seeks to intervene in and explore, if not settle, the matter of whether black judges possess a racial group consciousness and exhibit racially-distinctive judicial behavior. It addresses a set of interrelated questions relevant to understanding whether we can view Black judges as representatives in ways that are similar to how we view other Black political officials. I examine these questions using a multi-method approach. For my analyses, I draw on diverse materials: the published biographies of every Black judge appointed to the federal bench, a survey experiment with a nationally-representative adult sample, and semi-structured interviews with 30 Black judges.
This research, which engages with scholarship on representation, group consciousness, judicial behavior, and candidate perceptions, offers new insights into the lives, perceptions, and behavior of Black judges, as well as the manifestations of Black substantive representation in the judiciary. My dissertation argues that, despite the general reluctance to use the term “representation” when referring to judges, we can consider Black judges as representatives. Black judges behave as substantive representatives by (1) sharing and understanding the experience, history, and perspectives of Black Americans, (2) challenging language, persons, policies, and laws they feel negatively affect, or violate the rights and liberties of, African Americans, (3) respecting African American litigants, and (4) ensuring the rights of African Americans are protected and the needs of black Americans are being met.
Only through research that considers the perspectives, identities, perceptions, and behavior of Black judges will we arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of the importance of racial diversity in the courts. As this project finds, a link between descriptive representation and substantive representation can, and frequently does exist within the judicial context. Such a link is significant given that Blacks’ liberty and justice through the American legal system continues to be subject to those who exercise judicial power. This dissertation has implications for the discourse surrounding the need for increased descriptive and substantive representation of Blacks in the judiciary, and the factors that affect representation in the justice system.
Item Open Access Understanding Patients’ Needs and Healthcare Seeking Behavior in Rural Southern India: The Comparison of Providers through Patients’ Perceptions and Cost Issues(2016) Shan, LanheThis study explores patients’ needs in rural Thanjavur, southern India through understanding how people with diabetes choose providers and perceive care-seeking experience. To measure perception, the study surveyed people regarding six common barriers to care-seeking behavior, selected from both literature and local expert interview. Ninety-one percent of the sampled population goes to public or private allopathic providers out of the six presented providers. The low socioeconomic group and people with more complications or comorbidities are more likely to go to private allopathic providers. What is more, there is no difference between public and private allopathic providers in patients’ perception of care except for perceived cost. Positive perceptions in both providers are very common except for perceptions in blood-sugar management, distance to facilities, and cost of care. Sixty-six percent of patients perceived their blood-sugar control to fluctuate or have no change versus improved control. Twenty-seven percent of patients perceived the distance to facilities as unreasonable, and sixty-two percent of patients perceived the cost as high for them. The results suggest that cost may affect low socioeconomic people’s choice of care significantly. However, for people in middle and higher socioeconomic groups, cost does not appear to be a major factor. For qualitative text analyses, physician’s behavior and reputation emerge as themes, which require further studies.
Item Open Access Values and Perceptions of Shellfish Mariculture in Coastal North Carolina(2018-04-27) Roberts, WhitneyDeclining wild fish populations and an upward demand for seafood contribute to a growing interest in marine aquaculture as a source of fresh, local seafood. This study assessed the values and perceptions associated with the marine shellfish aquaculture industry in coastal North Carolina and perceived impacts of its changes in key areas of historical conflict. It also examines newly emerging concerns associated with the shellfish mariculture industry that have not been documented since a recent uptick in lease applications. Using stakeholder interviews and analysis of relevant news media sources, this study found that key values associated with the shellfish mariculture industry include clean water, tradition/heritage, preference for locally sourced seafood, state pride, job stability, independence, and product quality. Stakeholders and news media sources emphasized clean water as the highest environmental priority and voiced a need for better water quality management. However, impact perceptions varied in that some viewed and discussed greater impacts to the producer, such as price drops and market flooding, while others focused primarily on impacts to consumers, such as health and product quality. The findings also show that discussions about shellfish mariculture vary in their level of ability to differentiate between the types, methods, technologies, and species grown, or in their ability to properly communicate this differentiation. Stakeholders and news media cited higher production yields and enhanced water quality as overall benefits from shellfish mariculture, but different methods of growth, such as off-bottom vs. on-bottom, will likely have different benefits and adverse impacts. Thus, further research should incorporate more detailed analyses of public perceptions through quantitative surveys, and policy makers should compare the economic, social, and environmental impacts of different types of mariculture methods to determine the appropriate percentage of leases for each that maximizes both ecosystem services and production.