Laurie Thorp

The Effect of Invitation Design on Web Survey Response Rates

Web surveys present methodological challenges including lower response rates as compared to other survey methods. The literature on invitations to participate in web surveys builds on previous research suggesting that advance letters are cost-effective means for increasing response rates in mail surveys and interviewer-administered surveys. The efficacy and appropriateness of design elements of invitations to participate in a web survey is not yet well understood. This research reports results of a full-factorial experiment (n = 15,652) of five design elements of web survey invitations—invitation mode, subject line, location of URL link, length of the invitation text, and survey time/effort estimate. There were significant effects of different design elements on response rates. The results suggest that some design elements of invitations may have similar effects across subsets of populations, while others may have different effects on different subsets of potential respondents.

An Environmental Pedagogy of Care: Emotion, Relationships, and Experience in Higher Education Ethics Learning.

Field philosophy is interdisciplinary experiential environmental humanities learning. It grows from a community-focused conception of environmental ethics and place-based environmental education, and it aims to help students develop an awareness of the role of environmental ethics in environmental issues, as well as cultivate an empathetic environmental ethic that might enable them to participate in environmental problem solving. The emotional, cognitive, and physical relationships with people, place, and ideas at the core of field philosophy necessitate a pedagogy that attends to affective learning objectives and relationship building. A shared focus connects literature in experiential education, educational psychology research on emotional engagement, and the ethic of care. A synthesis of this literature grounds an environmental pedagogy of care with meaningful potential for field philosophy.

Embracing the learning paradigm to foster systems thinking

Purpose – Michigan State University developed an undergraduate, academic specialization in sustainability based on the learning paradigm. The purpose of this paper is to share initial findings on assessment of systems thinking competency.Design/methodology/approach – The 15‐week course served 14 mostly third and fourth‐year students. Assessment of learning arose through one short answer exam, one interactive small group dialogue exam, homework assignments, completion of an online community engagement tutorial, and completion of a final reflective project (either in a group or individual).Findings – The range of assessments enabled the authors to provide “frequent and ongoing feedback,” “a long time horizon for learning,” and “stable communities of practice.” Students had multiple opportunities to demonstrate their learning progress in a variety of forms and contexts across multiple intelligences.Research limitations/implications – Despite attempts to actively promote the kind of frequent and authentic ass...

Mental models research to inform community outreach for a campus recycling program

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a better understanding of the state of knowledge of students and faculty on the Michigan State University (MSU) campus; identify relevant gaps in knowledge and misconceptions about recycling; and provide recommendations regarding how these gaps and misconceptions may be addressed through education and outreach.Design/methodology/approach – Using mental models analysis, the current state of knowledge possessed by students and faculty was compared with a comprehensive inventory of on‐campus recycling procedures and opportunities.Findings – By combining data from individual mental models elicited from students and faculty members, an overall mental model that depicted the frequency with which subjects understood MSU‐specific recycling concepts was developed. This composite model, and the accompanying statistical analysis, revealed important gaps – on part of both students and faculty – in understanding for several key recycling concepts that are relevant to e...

Exploring the middle ground between environmental protection and economic growth.

Public preference concerning the environment and the economy typically has been characterized as either pro-environmental protection or pro-economic development. Researchers and policymakers increasingly suggest that environmental protection and economic growth are not mutually exclusive. However, use of dichotomous-choice policy preference questions persists. This note empirically examines an alternative response format for the typical dichotomous-choice environmental/economic policy preference question and explores respondents’ stated policy preferences in light of their support for recycling. We find that most respondents do not view environmental protection and economic development policy goals to be mutually exclusive. Most respondents view economic growth and environmental protection as compatible suggesting a more heterogeneous view of the environment–economic relationship than oft reported. Hence excluding a middle response choice to the standard environment/economic policy preference question may add measurement error, increase item nonresponse, and fail to account for the views of respondents who view these goals as complementary.

Sociocultural and institutional contexts of social cash transfer programs: Lessons from stakeholders’ attitudes and experiences in Ghana

As conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs spread in African countries, there is a need for well-designed programs that reflect their economic, institutional, political, and sociocultural circumstances. Using both qualitative and quantitative data analysis, this article examines the perspectives of beneficiaries, program managers, and community leaders regarding Ghana’s CCT program. It addresses sociocultural attitudes toward poverty, perceptions of CCT as a poverty reduction strategy, and experiences with CCT implementation. Findings indicate favorable views of CCT but little support for giving money to the poor as a long-term poverty-alleviation strategy. Ghana’s CCT program is seen as fair and popular, but current payment levels are viewed as inadequate, impractical, and unreliable.

Food System Field Experience: STEM Identity and Change Agency for Undergraduate Sustainability Learners

Background: Experiential STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) learning increases STEM identity and belongingness in STEM communities. Experiential food systems education affects change agency and intention to effect change. But little work explores experiential STEM learning in field-based contexts. Purpose: Our project describes curricular and co-curricular experiential learning implemented programmatically, a novel context; these field-based interventions affect STEM identity and change agency, both largely unstudied experiential education outcomes. Methodology/Approach: Introductory sustainability studies students complete 1 hr/week on field-based teams (e.g., raising bees, growing produce). Many extend participation as a co-curricular activity. We gave 2015 introductory students (N = 62) a pre–post survey to explore STEM identity and change agency. We also collected 2016 co-curricular Pig Team learning reflections (N = 10). Findings/Conclusions: Survey: A paired t test was run on numeric responses using R (v. 3.4.2). Significant (p < .0055) gains were found for all questions. Reflections: We conducted an emergent qualitative content analysis, identifying four STEM identity– and change agency–related categories. Implications: A programmatic commitment to experiential learning through paired curricular and co-curricular activities can have meaningful impacts on STEM identity and change agency, facilitating student ability to act purposefully on behalf of sustainability.

A Vignette from Michigan State University’s Student Organic Farm

Laurie Thorp explores the liminal space between vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets when she describes caring for pigs as ultimately “killed yes, but no, not killable,” in an account that stimulates the kinds of reflection Heldke calls for.