Rebecca L. Warner

The impact of knowledge and values on perceptions of environmental risk to the great lakes

Abstract Citizen attitudes concerning the potential hazards of environmental pollution are believed to be influenced by various factors. Some observers focus on the level of education and policy‐relevant knowledge obtaining among the public as predictors of environmental risk perceptions. Others have argued that level of education and knowledge are largely unrelated to risk perceptions. These scholars focus on the symbolic nature of environmental issues and highlight the importance of the underlying influence of political and social value orientations on the perception of environmental risk. This study explores how public perceptions of risk associated with industrial pollution in the Great Lakes are affected by policy‐relevant knowledge and political value orientations. Findings suggest that value orientations are stronger predictors of environmental risk perceptions than knowledge.

Affirmative Action in Times of Fiscal Stress and Changing Value Priorities: The Case of Women in Policing

Public sector affirmative action programs must contend with recent political and economic trends. Given the conservative political environment which de-emphasizes affirmative action, and given the advent of serious fiscal constraints facing many cities, is it reasonable to expect progress in employment of women in nontraditional roles within municipal governments? This article investigates this question using data gathered from reported surveys of over 280 municipal police departments in major American cities over the period 1978 to 1987. Findings suggest that women may have a long and difficult road ahead for improving their representation in municipal policing.

Gender and Agricultural Change: Crop-Livestock Integration in Senegal

In this article we evaluate stabling, a farm technology now being adopted by house holds in southern Senegal. We use data from southern Senegal to analyze the decision to adopt stabling and the impacts of adoption on family members. Our analyses use insights from several frameworks such as bargaining models and the transaction cost approach, models that assume multiple preferences within households and conceptualize decision making as a process related to the social organization of the household. We estimate an empirical adoption model and find that including indicators of household structure and wives characteristics in addition to the variables traditionally used (e.g. household head s characteristics) adds to the models explanatory power. Our analysis of impacts finds that stabling increases demand for family labor and may result in loss of an important income source for women. However, overall it appears stabling has improved family welfare since men share some of the benefits with their families. Women also want to adopt stabling so that they will be better able to provide for their families.In this article we evaluate stabling, a farm technology now being adopted by house holds in southern Senegal. We use data from southern Senegal to analyze the decision to adopt stabling and the impacts of adoption on family members. Our analyses use insights from several frameworks such as bargaining models and the transaction cost approach, models that assume multiple preferences within households and conceptualize decision making as a process related to the social organization of the household. We estimate an empirical adoption model and find that including indicators of household structure and wives characteristics in addition to the variables traditionally used (e.g. household head s characteristics) adds to the models explanatory power. Our analysis of impacts finds that stabling increases demand for family labor and may result in loss of an important income source for women. However, overall it appears stabling has improved family welfare since men share some of the benefits with their families. Wom...

Environmental Value Considerations in Public Attitudes About Alternative Energy Development in Oregon and Washington

The 2013 Pacific Coast Action Plan on Climate and Energy signed by the Governors of California, Oregon, and Washington and the Premier of British Columbia launched a broadly announced public commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through multiple strategies. Those strategies include the development and increased use of renewable energy sources. The initiative recognized that citizens are both a central component in abating greenhouse gas emissions with regard to their energy use behaviors, and are important participants in the public policymaking process at both state and local levels of government. The study reported here examines whether either support or opposition to state government leadership in the development of alternative energy technologies can be explained by environmental values as measured by the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP). The research results are based on mail surveys of randomly selected households conducted throughout Oregon and Washington in late 2009 and early 2010. Findings suggest that younger and more highly educated respondents are significantly more likely than older and less educated respondents to either support or strongly support government policies to promote bioenergy, wind, geothermal, and solar energy. Those respondents with higher NEP scores are also more supportive of government promotion of wind, geothermal, and solar technologies than are those with lower NEP scores. Support for wave energy does not show a statistical correlation with environmental values, maybe a reflection of this technology’s nascent level of development. The paper concludes with a consideration of the implications of these findings for environmental management.

The Inglehart-Flanagan debate over postmaterialist values : some evidence from a Canadian-American case study

This paper presents empirical evidence regarding the disagreement between Ronald Inglehart and Scott Flanagan over the proper conceptualization and measurement of postindustrial values. The empirical findings are derived from a study of two comparable but distinct postindustrial populations. Data utilized to investigate this controversy were gathered by means of mail surveys conducted simultaneously in metropolitan Toronto and Detroit in 1988. Both Ingleharts and Flanagans value indicators were incorporated in the field instrument. Findings support Flanagans contention that Ingleharts postmaterial value measure obscures the multidimensional nature of value change in advanced industrial society. The data also support Flanagan and other critics of Inglehart who suggest that postindustrial society may generate both libertarian and authoritarian value orientations.

Gender Differences in Support for Scientific Involvement in U.S. Environmental Policy

Many studies have documented gender differences in attitudes toward and experiences with science. Compared to men, for example, women are less likely to study science and to pursue careers in science-related fields. Given these findings, should we expect gender differences in support for scientific involvement in U.S. environmental policy? This study empirically examines the relationship of gender to attitudes toward science and preferred roles of scientists in environmental policy among various environmental policy participants. Data collected in 2006 and 2007 from national surveys of four different groups involved in environmental policy and management suggest that social context, including education and occupation, shapes the way that gender matters. Specifically, we find that gender is less important among scientists and managers than among interest groups and the general population regarding attitudes toward science and views about preferred roles of scientists in environmental decision making.

Postmaterialist Values and Support for Feminism Among Canadian and American Women and Men

anada and the United States have moved into the stage of ~ development commonly referred to as &dquo;postindustrial.&dquo; Postindustrial societies are characterized by the economic dominance of the tertiary sector over that of manufacturing, complex nationwide communication networks, a high degree of economic activity based upon an educated workforce employing scientific knowledge and technology, a high level of public mobilization in society, and historically unprecedented societal affluence (Bell 1973; Inglehart 1977). It is argued by some that the advent of postindustrial society has altered individual value structures among citizens (particularly younger persons) such that &dquo;higher order&dquo; needs (e. g. , desire for participation/equality) have supplanted more fundamental subsistence needs (e.g., basic needs, material acquisition) as the motivational sources of much societal behavior (Inglehart 1977; Yankelovich 1981). Value changes entailing greater attention to &dquo;postmaterialist&dquo; needs are thought to have brought about changes in many types of personal attitudes including those related to the status of women in society. In fact, many observers have suggested that the &dquo;second wave of feminism&dquo; was, in great mea-

Are civil servants really public servants? a study of bureaucratic attitudes in the U.S., brazil, and korea

The proper role of civil servants in the development of public policy has been the subject of continuous commentary and debate. In the advanced industrial democracies the operation of increasingly complex programs in government has led many commentators to warn of the danger of “technocracy”-- a condition wherein professional career administrators more fully control the direction of public policy than do elected representatives of the people. Likewise, in less developed nations there is concern over the role of public administrators in the development of policy. The charge of indifference to and disregard for public involvement and sentiment is frequently heard. Using data from a survey conducted in the U.S., Korea and Brazil, this paper examines the extent to which civil servants in each country adhere to a technocratic outlook. We find that although societies that are more economically advanced are less likely to adhere to a technocratic view, there is considerable variation within each research setting...

NGOS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN BULGARIA AND THE USA

This study examines the development of civil society and its ability to facilitate stronger democratic practices in Bulgaria using the USA as a comparison. Using data gathered from surveys of NGOs in 2006, we examine three sets of questions. First, what is the level of NGO organizational capacity? Second, to what degree are NGOs performing their mediating roles? Third, how do NGOs perceive their effectiveness in working with the state and its citizens. Our findings suggest that Bulgarian NGOs face a number of challenges when compared with US NGOs, which affect their ability to engage in civil society activities such as establishing horizontal ties with citizens and other groups.

STEM Women Faculty Struggling for Recognition and Advancement in a “Men’s Club” Culture

Despite having made a number of positive steps to advance diversity and provide support for women scientist in the past ten years, STEM research institutions continue to be an environment where women faculty face a kind of “patriarchal DNA” that treats women scientists as subordinate to men. An environment continues to exist where women faculty often feel unwelcome, and unsatisfied with the rate of their accomplishments. At the time of promotion and tenure women can feel a sense of betrayal as their work is evaluated as being “less than” the work of men. To be successful in a derisive environment, many STEM women faculty report that they have developed coping strategies to adapt to a culture that often excludes them from occupying senior leadership roles, diminishes their accomplishments, and makes them feel remorseful for trying to find a work–life balance.