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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Cnh: Fine-Scale Dynamics Of Human Adaptation In Coupled Natural And Social Systems: An Integrated Computational Approach Applied To Three Fisheries, James A. Wilson, James Acheson, Robert Steneck, Yong Chen, Teresa R. Johnson Dec 2014

Cnh: Fine-Scale Dynamics Of Human Adaptation In Coupled Natural And Social Systems: An Integrated Computational Approach Applied To Three Fisheries, James A. Wilson, James Acheson, Robert Steneck, Yong Chen, Teresa R. Johnson

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The purpose of this project is to gain a better understanding of the way competition between individual fishermen lead to the emergence of private incentives and informal social arrangements that are (or are not) consistent with conservation of the resource. These informal arrangements and incentives are important because they help us understand the extent to which private interests might strengthen or weaken on-going resource management and, consequently, the sustainability of coupled human and natural systems. The broad hypothesis driving the study is that the informal social structure that emerges from competitive interactions among fishermen reflects the particular circumstances of the …


Trading Fat For Forests: On Palm Oil, Tropical Forest Conservation, And Rational Consumption, Cindy Isenhour Nov 2014

Trading Fat For Forests: On Palm Oil, Tropical Forest Conservation, And Rational Consumption, Cindy Isenhour

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

The longstanding butter vs margarine debate has recently become more complex as the links between margarine, industrial palm oil plantations, and tropical deforestation are made increasingly clear. Yet despite calls for consumers to get informed and take responsibility for tropical deforestation by boycotting margarine or purchasing buttery spreads made with sustainably-sourced palm oil, research in multiple contexts demonstrates that even the most aware, engaged, and rational consumers run into significant barriers when trying to reduce their environmental impacts. This paper supplements important critiques of neoliberal conservation at the site of extraction or intended conservation (Carrier and West 2009; Igoe and …


Silence Is The Loudest Sound, Emma Christian Oct 2014

Silence Is The Loudest Sound, Emma Christian

Honors College

Rhinoceros poaching is an act of killing a rhinoceros in order to take its horn, which is then used for human consumption or for cultural traditions. Both the Asian and the African rhinoceros are targets because of the demand from China, Vietnam, Yemen, and other countries around the world. Traditional Chinese Medicine practice is the main demand for rhinoceros horn and this demand in rhinoceros horn has caused an increase in the black market. Conservation of the rhinoceros is decreasing primarily because the price of rhinoceros horn is more than double the average household income in South Africa, thus making …


Interdisciplinarity And Actionable Science: Exploring The Generative Potential In Difference, Bridie Mcgreavy, Linda Silka, Laura Lindenfeld May 2014

Interdisciplinarity And Actionable Science: Exploring The Generative Potential In Difference, Bridie Mcgreavy, Linda Silka, Laura Lindenfeld

Publications

Community practice and actionable science share a commitment to solving complex problems to promote sustainability. Collective abilities to address these types of problems rely on interdisciplinary collaborations that also offer unique challenges. In this case study of a statewide interdisciplinary setting, we focus on key methodological differences related to problem identification, stakeholder involvement, competing research paradigms, and orientations towards communication. We argue the generative potential in interdisciplinarity is enhanced through sustained effort and attention to difference; acceptance of the ethical responsibility to reflect critically on power in shared decision making spaces; and strategic interventions to continually promote and improve learning.


The Complementary Niches Of Anthropocentric And Biocentric Conservationists, Malcolm L. Hunter Jr., Kent H. Redford, David Lindenmayer Apr 2014

The Complementary Niches Of Anthropocentric And Biocentric Conservationists, Malcolm L. Hunter Jr., Kent H. Redford, David Lindenmayer

Publications

A divergence of values has become apparent in recent debates between conservationists who focus on ecosystem services that can improve human well-being and those who focus on avoiding the extinction of species. These divergent points of view fall along a continuum from anthropocentric to biocentric values, but most conservationists are relatively closer to each other than to the ends of the spectrum. We have some concerns with both positions but emphasize that conservation for both people and all other species will be most effective if conservationists focus on articulating the values they all share, being respectful of divergent values, and …


Entertaining Our Way To Engagement? Climate Change Films And Sustainable Development Values, Laura Lindenfeld, Bridie Mcgreavy Jan 2014

Entertaining Our Way To Engagement? Climate Change Films And Sustainable Development Values, Laura Lindenfeld, Bridie Mcgreavy

Publications

How we communicate about climate change shapes our response tothe most complex and challenging issue society currently faces. In this paper,we conduct a discursive analysis and ideological critique of stereotypicalrepresentations in three climate change films: The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy (2008) and An Inconvenient Truth (2006).We argue that these films situate their treatment of climate change in anarrative context that reiterates troubling stereotypes about race/ethnicity,gender, and sexuality. These representations do not align with key sustainabledevelopment goals such as equity, freedom, and shared responsibility. Ouressay demonstrates how the stories we consume about climate change as weentertain …