Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Transoptic Landscape Analysis: Multidimensional Landscapes Of A Multinational Wales, Mark Rhodes

Michigan Tech Publications

In this article I propose a novel extension to landscape analysis through multidimensional understandings, including—yet reaching beyond—tangible and into more-than-representational understandings of landscape. This "transoptic" approach to landscape, breaking away from strictly searching for visual representations of culture, allows for sonic, experiential, and emotional layers of meaning embedded in landscapes to emerge from their plural cultural and historical contexts. Memory, and the production and experience of that memory in the landscape, benefit from this transoptic understanding. Utilizing memory work, which includes both memory production and consumption, in Wales as a case study, I employ a transoptic landscape analysis to approach …

An Empirical Study On The Types Of Consumers And Their Preferences For E-Waste Recycling With A Points System, Hua Zhong, Shan Zhou, Zhiyao Zhao, Hao Zhang, Jing Nie, Palizhati Simayi

Michigan Tech Publications

Improper disposal of electronical waste (e-waste) causes harm to both public health and the environment, and how to effectively recycle and reduce electronical waste has become a common concern around the world. This study focuses on the design of the points system to encourage consumer participation in e-waste recycling programs. Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model, a semi-experimental design method was applied to influence consumer cognition and behavioral intention through information provision in survey design. Two surveys were conducted in two years apart to understand the temporal trend of consumer types and their preferences for the design …

Advancing The Scholarship And Practice Of Stakeholder Engagement In Working Landscapes: A Co-Produced Research Agenda, Weston M. Eaton, Morey Burnham, Tahnee Robertson, J. G. Arbuckle, Kathryn J. Brasier, Mark E. Burbach, Sarah P. Church, Georgia Hart-Fredeluces, Douglas Jackson-Smith, Grace Wildermuth, Katherine N. Canfield, S. Carolina Córdova, Casey D. Chatelain, Lara B. Fowler, Mennatullah Mohamed Zein El Abdeen Hendawy, Christine J. Kirchhoff, Marisa K. Manheim, Rubén O. Martinez, Anne Mook, Cristina A. Mullin, A. Laurie Murrah-Hanson, Christiana O. Onabola, Lauren E. Parker, Elizabeth A. Redd, Chelsea Schelly, Michael L. Schoon, W. Adam Sigler, Emily Smit, Tiff Van Huysen, Michelle R. Worosz, Carrie Eberly

Michigan Tech Publications

Participatory approaches to science and decision making, including stakeholder engagement, are increasingly common for managing complex socio-ecological challenges in working landscapes. However, critical questions about stakeholder engagement in this space remain. These include normative, political, and ethical questions concerning who participates, who benefits and loses, what good can be accomplished, and for what, whom, and by who. First, opportunities for addressing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion interests through engagement, while implied in key conceptual frameworks, remain underexplored in scholarly work and collaborative practice alike. A second line of inquiry relates to research–practice gaps. While both the practice of doing engagement …

Emergent Regional Collaborative Governance In Rural Local Food Systems Development, Hongmei Lu, Angie Carter

Michigan Tech Publications

This research analyzes the emergent collaborative governance of local food systems (LFS) development in a six-county region of Michigan’s Western Upper Peninsula, a post-industrial mining region with a long history of local food provisioning. We contribute to scholarship on rural food systems by framing LFS development as a social good, benefiting placemaking and long-term economic development. We use a community-based research case study and policy analysis to identify policy-related gaps, including LFS’ low legitimacy, goal divergence among different jurisdictions, and lack of regional leadership. LFS development may present ways for rural communities to foster placemaking and economic development; however, we …

Do Agrivoltaics Improve Public Support For Solar? A Survey On Perceptions, Preferences, And Priorities, Alexis Pascaris, Chelsea Schelly, Mark Rouleau, Joshua Pearce

Michigan Tech Publications

Agrivoltaic systems integrate agricultural production with solar photovoltaic electricity generation. Given the proven technical, economic, and environmental co-benefits provided by agrivoltaic systems, increased proliferation is anticipated, which necessitates accounting for the nuances of community resistance to solar development on farmland and identifying pathways for mitigation. Minimizing siting conflict and addressing agricultural communities’ concerns will be key in continued deployment of agrivoltaics, as localized acceptance of solar is a critical determinant of project success. This survey study assessed if public support for solar development increases when energy and agricultural production are combined in an agrivoltaic system. Results show that 81.8% of …

Towards Codes Of Practice For Navigating The Academic Peer Review Process, Benjamin K. Sovacool, Jonn Axsen, Laurence L. Delina, Hilary Schaffer Boudet, Varun Rai, Roman Sidortsov, Sefa Awaworyi Churchill, Kirsten E.H. Jenkins, Ray Galvin

Michigan Tech Publications

Peer review is the bedrock of modern academic research and its lasting contributions to science and society. And yet, reviewers can submit “poor” peer review reports, authors can blatantly ignore referee advice, and editors can contravene and undermine the peer review process itself. In this paper, we, the Editors of Energy Research & Social Science (ER&SS), seek to establish peer review codes of practice for the general energy and social science research community. We include suggestions for three of the most important roles: peer reviewers or referees, editors, and authors. We base our 33 recommendations on a collective 60 years …

Enacting Boundaries Or Building Bridges? Language And Engagement In Food-Energy-Water Systems Science, Valoree Gagnon, Chelsea Schelly, William Lytle, Andrew Kliskey, Virginia H. Dale, Anna Maria Marshall, Luis F. Rodriguez, Paula Williams, Michael Waasegiizhig Price, Elizabeth A. Redd, Margaret A. Noodin

Michigan Tech Publications

Scientific study of issues at the nexus of food–energy–water systems (FEWS) requires grappling with multifaceted, “wicked” problems. FEWS involve interactions occurring directly and indirectly across complex and overlapping spatial and temporal scales; they are also imbued with diverse and sometimes conflicting meanings for the human and more-than-human beings that live within them. In this paper, we consider the role of language in the dynamics of boundary work, recognizing that the language often used in stakeholder and community engagement intended to address FEWS science and decision-making constructs boundaries and limits diverse and inclusive participation. In contrast, some language systems provide opportunities …

Oil Palm Crop: State And Gaps Of Research And Technological Development At Global Scale, Latin America And Mexico, Luz Del Carmen Lagunes-Espinoza, César Jesús Vazquez-Navarrete, Joaquín Alberto Rincón-Ramirez, Kathleen Halvorsen

Michigan Tech Publications

Oil palm plantations face important challenges in terms of balancing agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability. This research synthesis aims to answer key questions regarding the state and knowledge gaps of oil palm (OP) research and technological development (R&D) at a global scale, in Latin America and in Mexico, using all Web of Science® databases and agriculture categories and time spans between 1960 and 2018. Three thousand nine hundred and forty-eight publications were analysed. The research themes started with the generation of agronomic knowledge in 1960. Since 1963, studies in Latin America have focused on yield improvement; since 2010, topics related …

Life Cycle Assessment Of Pasture-Based Agrivoltaic Systems: Emissions And Energy Use Of Integrated Rabbit Production, Alexis Pascaris, Robert Handler, Chelsea Schelly, Joshua Pearce

Michigan Tech Publications

Agrivoltaic systems, which deliberately maximize the utility of a single parcel of land for both solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity production and agriculture, have been demonstrated as a viable technology that can ameliorate competing land uses and meet growing energy and food demands efficiently. The goal of this study is to assess the environmental impacts of a novel pasture-based agrivoltaic concept: co-farming rabbits and solar PV. A life cycle assessment (LCA) quantified the impacts of 1) the integrated agrivoltaic concept in comparison to conventional practices including 2) separate rabbit farming and PV production and 3) separate rabbit farming and conventional electricity …

Mapping Historical Archaeology And Industrial Heritage: The Historical Spatial Data Infrastructure, Daniel Trepal, Don Lafreniere, Timothy Stone

Michigan Tech Publications

While a vibrant and growing research literature exists on the value of GIS to archaeology in general, the application of geospatial digital data to the subfield of historical archaeology is less well developed, especially in North America. This is particularly true for the era of industrialization, where the archaeological record is accompanied by a comparatively rich historical record. Historical and industrial archaeology are fundamentally bound up in the interplay between material and historical data, and it is in enhancing the dialogue between these two evidentiary bodies that interdisciplinary geospatial approaches are most fruitful to these subdisciplines. Drawing on recent discussions …

The Future Of Wildlife Conservation Funding: What Options Do U.S. College Students Support?, Lincoln R. Larson, Markus Nils Peterson, Richard Von Furstenberg, Victoria R. Vayer, Kangjae Jerry Lee, Daniel Y. Choi, Matt Kelly, Richelle Winkler, Et. Al

Michigan Tech Publications

Insufficient funding is a major impediment to conservation efforts around the world. In the United States, a decline in hunting participation threatens sustainability of the “user-pay, public benefit” model that has supported wildlife conservation for nearly 100 years, forcing wildlife management agencies to contemplate alternative funding strategies. We investigated support for potential funding options among diverse college students, a rapidly expanding and politically active voting bloc with a potentially powerful influence on the future of conservation. From 2018 to 2020, we surveyed 17,203 undergraduate students at public universities across 22 states. Students preferred innovative approaches to conservation funding, with 72% …

Differential Privacy And The Accuracy Of County-Level Net Migration Estimates, Richelle Winkler, Jaclyn L. Butler, Katherine J. Curtis, David Egan-Robertson

Michigan Tech Publications

Each decade since the 1950s, demographers have generated high-quality net migration estimates by age, sex, and race for US counties using decennial census data as starting and ending populations. The estimates have been downloaded tens of thousands of times and widely used for planning, diverse applications, and research. Census 2020 should allow the series to extend through the 2010–2020 decade. The accuracy of new estimates, however, could be challenged by differentially private (DP) disclosure avoidance techniques in Census 2020 data products. This research brief estimates the impact of DP implementation on the accuracy of county-level net migration estimates. Using differentially …

U.S. Potential Of Sustainable Backyard Distributed Animal And Plant Protein Production During And After Pandemics, Theresa K. Meyer, Alexis Pascaris, David Denkenberger, Joshua M. Pearce

Michigan Tech Publications

To safeguard against meat supply shortages during pandemics or other catastrophes, this study analyzed the potential to provide the average household’s entire protein consumption using either soybean production or distributed meat production at the household level in the U.S. with: (1) pasture-fed rabbits, (2) pellet and hay-fed rabbits, or (3) pellet-fed chickens. Only using the average backyard resources, soybean cultivation can provide 80-160% of household protein and 0- 50% of a household’s protein needs can be provided by pasture-fed rabbits using only the yard grass as feed. If external supplementation of feed is available, raising 52 chickens while also harvesting …

Humans And Other Pollinators In The Oil Palm Plantation Complex, Jonathan Robins

Michigan Tech Publications

No abstract provided.

Birds And Bioenergy Within The Americas: A Cross‐National, Social–Ecological Study Of Ecosystem Service Tradeoffs, Jessie L. Knowlton, Kathleen E. Halvorsen, David J. Flaspohler, Christopher R. Webster, Jesse Abrams, Sara M. Almeida, Stefan L. Arriaga‐Weiss, Brad Barnett, Maíra R. Cardoso, Pablo V. Cerqueira, Diana Córdoba, Marcos Persio Dantas‐Santos, Jennifer L. Dunn, Amarella Eastmond, Gina M. Jarvi, Julian A. Licata, Ena Mata‐Zayas, Rodrigo Medeiros, M. Azahara Mesa‐Jurado, Lízbeth Yamily Moo‐Culebro, Cassandra Moseley, Erik Nielsen, Colin Phifer, Erin Pischke, Chelsea Schelly, Theresa Selfa, Chelsea A. Silva, Tatiana Souza, Sam R. Sweitz

Michigan Tech Publications

Although renewable energy holds great promise in mitigating climate change, there are socioeconomic and ecological tradeoffs related to each form of renewable energy. Forest‐related bioenergy is especially controversial, because tree plantations often replace land that could be used to grow food crops and can have negative impacts on biodiversity. In this study, we examined public perceptions and ecosystem service tradeoffs between the provisioning services associated with cover types associated with bioenergy crop (feedstock) production and forest habitat‐related supporting services for birds, which themselves provide cultural and regulating services. We combined a social survey‐based assessment of local values and perceptions with …

Understanding Socio-Technological Systems Change Through An Indigenous Community-Based Participatory Framework, Marie Schaefer, Laura Schmitt Olabisi, Kristin Arola, Christie M. Poitra, Elise Matz, Marika Seigel, Chelsea Schelly, Adewale Aremu Adesanya, Doug Bessette

Michigan Tech Publications

Moving toward a sustainable global society requires substantial change in both social and technological systems. This sustainability is dependent not only on addressing the environmental impacts of current social and technological systems, but also on addressing the social, economic and political harms that continue to be perpetuated through systematic forms of oppression and the exclusion of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities. To adequately identify and address these harms, we argue that scientists, practitioners, and communities need a transdis-ciplinary framework that integrates multiple types of knowledge, in particular, Indigenous and experiential knowledge. Indigenous knowledge systems embrace relationality and …

Thinking Big And Thinking Small: A Conceptual Framework For Best Practices In Community And Stakeholder Engagement In Food, Energy, And Water Systems, Andrew Kliskey, Paula Williams, David L. Griffith, Virginia H. Dale, Chelsea Schelly, Anna Maria Marshall, Valoree Gagnon, Weston M. Eaton, Kristin Floress

Michigan Tech Publications

Community and stakeholder engagement is increasingly recognized as essential to science at the nexus of food, energy, and water systems (FEWS) to address complex issues surrounding food and energy production and water provision for society. Yet no comprehensive framework exists for supporting best practices in community and stakeholder engagement for FEWS. A review and meta‐synthesis were undertaken of a broad range of existing models, frameworks, and toolkits for community and stakeholder engagement. A framework is proposed that comprises situational awareness of the FEWS place or problem, creation of a suitable culture for engagement, focus on power‐sharing in the engagement process, …

Applying A Relationally And Socially Embedded Decision Framework To Solar Photovoltaic Adoption: A Conceptual Exploration, Chelsea Schelly, Don Lee, Elise Matz, Joshua M. Pearce

Michigan Tech Publications

Solar photovoltaic (PV) energy technology can play a key role in decreasing the amount of carbon emissions associated with electrical energy production, while also providing an economically justifiable alternative to fossil fuel production. Solar energy technology is also extremely flexible in terms of the size and siting of technological development. Large scale PV farms, however, require access to large tracts of land, which can create community-scale conflict over siting solar energy development projects. While previous scholarship offers frameworks for understanding the mechanisms at play in socio-technological system transitions, including the renewable energy transition, those frameworks fail to center community priorities, …

Can Michigan’S Upper Peninsula Achieve Justice In Transitioning To 100% Renewable Electricity? Survey Of Public Perceptions In Sociotechnical Change, Adewale Aremu Adesanya

Michigan Tech Publications

The cost of energy in the Western Upper Peninsula (WUP), a rural and northern part of the state of Michigan, is among the highest in the United States. This situation has resulted in hardship for WUP residents due to exorbitant electricity bills. While interest in renewable electricity (RE) has increased in the region, the unanswered questions are what factors would make WUP residents more or less supportive of a transition to 100% RE, and how does the support for a 100% RE transition differ between counties in the WUP? This research analyzed factors that would make residents more or less …

A First Investigation Of Agriculture Sector Perspectives On The Opportunities And Barriers For Agrivoltaics, Alexis Pascaris, Chelsea Schelly, Joshua M. Pearce

Michigan Tech Publications

Agrivoltaic systems are a strategic and innovative approach to combine solar photovoltaic (PV)-based renewable energy generation with agricultural production. Recognizing the fundamental importance of farmer adoption in the successful diffusion of the agrivoltaic innovation, this study investigates agriculture sector experts’ perceptions on the opportunities and barriers to dual land-use systems. Using in-depth, semistructured interviews, this study conducts a first study to identify challenges to farmer adoption of agrivoltaics and address them by responding to societal concerns. Results indicate that participants see potential benefits for themselves in combined solar and agriculture technology. The identified barriers to adoption of agrivoltaics, however, include: …

Ratepayer Perspectives On Mid- To Large-Scale Solar Development On Long Island, Ny: Lessons For Reducing Siting Conflict Through Supported Development Types, Chelsea Schelly, Emily Prehoda, Jessica Price, Aimee Delach, Rupak Thapaliya

Michigan Tech Publications

The state of New York has ambitious mandates for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing renewable energy generation. Solar energy will play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the electric energy sector. Concerns over solar installations’ impacts to host communities and the environment have led to growing conflicts over solar energy siting on Long Island, in other parts of New York, and throughout the US. Understanding community members’ perspectives is critical for reducing conflict. Solar energy can be deployed more quickly and at lower cost if projects are structured to address the concerns and meet the needs …

Covid-19: Effective Policymaking Depends On Trust In Experts, Politicians, And The Public, Paul Cairney, Adam Wellstead

Michigan Tech Publications

In a crisis, almost-instant choices about who to trust or distrust could make a difference between life and death. Trust is necessary for cooperation, coordination, social order, and to reduce the need for coercive state imposition. During a pandemic, people need to trust experts to help them understand and respond to the problem, governments to coordinate policy instruments and make choices about levels of coercion, and citizens as they cooperate to minimize infection. We compare these general requirements with specific developments in the UK and US, identifying: the variable reliance by elected politicians on scientific experts, worrying levels of distrust …

Enrollment Decision-Making By Students In Forestry And Related Natural Resource Degree Programmes Globally, T. L. Bal, M. D. Rouleau, T. L. Sharik, A. M. Wellstead

Michigan Tech Publications

A survey of 396 undergraduate and graduate students from 51 countries on 5 continents currently enrolled in Forestry or Related Natural Resource (FRNR) degree programmes was conducted of attendees to the International Union of Forest Research Organizations' (IUFRO) conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, 2014. These perspectives come from some of the most active students in their respective fields. We explored the motivating reasons for enrolling in their current FRNR programme, and conversely why they may have been hesitant to do so. Results indicate that enjoyment of nature was the most important factor on average driving the decision to enroll, …

U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emission Bottlenecks: Prioritization Of Targets For Climate Liability, Alexis Pascaris, Joshua M. Pearce

Michigan Tech Publications

Due to market failures that allow uncompensated negative externalities from burning fossil fuels, there has been a growing call for climate change-related litigation targeting polluting companies. To determine the most intensive carbon dioxide (CO₂)-emitting facilities in order prioritize liability for climate lawsuits, and risk mitigation strategies for identified companies as well as their insurers and investors, two methods are compared: (1) the conventional point-source method and (2) the proposed bottleneck method, which considers all emissions that a facility enables rather than only what it emits. Results indicate that the top ten CO₂ emission bottlenecks in the U.S. …

Paul Robeson, Carnival, And The 2018 National Eisteddfod, Mark Rhodes

Michigan Tech Publications

No abstract provided.

The North-South Policy Divide In Transnational Healthcare: A Comparative Review Of Policy Research On Medical Tourism In Source And Destination Countries., Altaf Virani, Adam Wellstead, Michael Howlett

Michigan Tech Publications

Medical tourism occupies different spaces within national policy frameworks depending on which side of the transnational paradigm countries belong to, and how they seek to leverage it towards their developmental goals. This article draws attention to this policy divide in transnational healthcare through a comparative bibliometric review of policy research on medical tourism in select source (Canada, United States and United Kingdom) and destination countries (Mexico, India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore), using a systematic search of the Web of Science (WoS) database and review of grey literature. We assess cross-national differences in policy and policy research on medical tourism against …

American Influences At The National Eisteddfod, Mark Rhodes

Michigan Tech Publications

No abstract provided.

Examining The Key Drivers Of Residential Solar Adoption In Upstate New York, Chelsea Schelly, James C. Letzelter

Michigan Tech Publications

This research examines the decision factors influencing adoption of residential solar electric power systems in upstate New York. New York has a goal to provide 100% of electric energy in the State through renewable resources, which includes solar electricity, by 2030. Thus, identifying the most important decision factors may be useful in understanding potential means of promoting solar technology adoption. Through an online survey of homeowners in upstate New York who have installed residential solar systems, the research examined the importance of decision factors influencing the decision to adopt and how factors have changed over time. The research finds that …

Exporting Consumption: Lifestyle Migration And Energy Use, Richelle Winkler, David Matarrita-Cascante

Michigan Tech Publications

This paper examines how international population movements from highly developed to less developed countries spread environmentally-impactful consumption habits around the world. Lifestyle migration, a phenomenon whereby relatively privileged migrants move in search of a more fulfilling life, is increasingly common around the world and serves as an optimal example for studying the spread of unsustainable consumption. We wonder whether lifestyle migrants take high consumption lifestyles typical in their countries of origin to their destination places and whether their presence in destination communities increases consumption among natives as well. This study investigates these relationships based on the case of Costa Rica, …

Where Is The Policy? A Bibliometric Analysis Of The State Of Policy Research On Medical Tourism., Altaf Virani, Adam Wellstead, Michael Howlett

Michigan Tech Publications

Background: It is imperative that researchers studying medical tourism connect their work with policy, so that its real-world challenges can be better understood, and more effectively addressed. This article gauges the scope and evolution of

Methods: A Boolean search of the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection was performed to identify policy-related publications on medical tourism. We analyzed the results using bibliometrics and a data visualization software called

Results: Our findings suggest that only a small proportion of medical tourism research explicitly addresses policy issues or applies policy paradigms in their study approach. Field-specialized journals serving practitioners publish less research …