THE RELATIONSHIP OF ECOCENTRIC AND ANTHROPOCENTRIC MOTIVES TO ATTITUDES TOWARD LARGE CARNIVORES

Groups involved in the livestock vs large carnivore conflict hold widely divergent attitudes toward carnivores, yet they all endorse general ecocentric values. The hypothesis that contrasting motives for the endorsement of ecocentric values may mediate between the general values and attitudes toward carnivores was evaluated in a survey among sheep farmers, wildlife managers, and research biologists in Norway. Results showed positive associations between anthropocentrism and negative attitudes toward carnivores, and between ecocentrism and positive attitudes toward carnivores for all three groups. Farmers, relative to the other groups, scored lowest on the ecocentric and highest on the anthropocentric subscales, as operationalized by Thompson and Barton (1994). This result may be interpreted within a cognitive hierarchy model where environmental beliefs may transform general ecocentric values into negative or positive attitudes toward one specific environmental category.     

Stockholm Recommendation 96: Viable in the Dominican Republic

Summary The Dominican Republic and other Caribbean countries face serious challenges to their natural resource base. In recent years the government of the Dominican Republic has taken major steps toward the development and implementation of a comprehensive plan for national natural resources management. This plan is called Plan Sierra. An important component of this plan is the outline of actions for carrying out an environmental education programme within the country. This demonstrates a commitment to fulfill Recommendation No. 96 of the Stockholm Conference in a way that could become a model for other Latin American nations. Clinton L. Shepard is Assistant Professor in the Division of Environmental Education, School of Natural Resources, The Ohio State University. Dr Shepard holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from the University of Kentucky and graduate degrees from The Ohio State University in Natural Resources/Environmental Education and Education-Foundations and Research. He has worked as an interpreter and Environmental Education Coordinator for the State of Ohio Department of Natural Resources, a research associate for ERIC—Science, Math, and Environmental Education Clearinghouse, and College instructor in interpretive methods, environmental education methodology, resident outdoor programming, and natural resources development. He is also involved in international research and development, especially in the Caribbean Basin. Robert E. Roth is Chairman/Professor in the Division of Environmental Education, School of Natural Resources, The Ohio State University. Dr Roth received a Bachelor's degree in Wildlife Management, a Bachelor's degree in Secondary Science Education, a Master's degree in Conservation Education from The Ohio State University, and his Ph.D. in Environmental Education from The University of Wisconsin. he came to OSU in 1969 and since that time has designed and institutionalized the only academic unit in the US that offers both well developed undergraduate and graduate programmes in Environmental Communications, Education and Interpretation and has published over 40 works in the field. He has been instrumental in implementing a growing international environmental education research and development emphasis in the wider Caribbean, he continues as an Executive Editor of theJournal of Environmental Education.     

Environmental education research news

Summary Note Most of the citations above were selected from three sources:Current Index to Journals in Education, the ERIC system's monthly compilation of citations of literature reported in educational and education-related journals;Resources in Education, ERIC's monthly compilation of abstracts of non-journal educational literature; andDissertation Abstracts International, a monthly compilation of abstracts of doctoral dissertations reported by universities in the United States and Canada and published by University Microfilms International (UMI). Papers from journals are referenced in the normal manner, with notation of reprint availability from UMI as appropriate. Papers cited inResources in Education are referenced by ED numbers, and may be located in ERIC microfiche collections or ordered from ERIC Document Reproduction Service. Papers cited inDissertation Abstracts International are referenced by volume, number, and page; copies may be secured from UMI in most cases. The selections were chosen as representative and reflective of the varieties of environmental education research currently reported in the literature. No selection bias was intended, other than for the purpose of providing a representative variety. In most cases, abstracts printed inCurrent Index to Journals in Education, Resources in Education, orDissertation Abstracts International were used in preparing these notes. Compiled by John F. Disinger, Professor of Environmental Education, School of Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA; also Associate Director, Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education (SMEAC).     

The impact of direct and indirect experiences on the development of environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behavior

This study employed a mixed-methods design to examine the relationship between nature experience type (e.g., direct and indirect) and learning outcomes (e.g., environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behavior) associated with an environmental education, international immersion program for adolescents. Longitudinal data from 108 participant and 49 comparison group members were analyzed to test the study’s hypotheses. Additionally, qualitative data were analyzed using grounded theory methodology to assess participants’ perceptions of these processes. The findings indicate that environmental knowledge increased more than environmental attitudes during the indirect portion of the program (i.e., preparatory program) whereas the direct portion (i.e., international workshop) produced similar levels of knowledge and attitude growth. Further, while attitudes were more strongly associated with behavior during the indirect component of the program, the strength of the relationships between attitudes and behavior, and knowledge and behavior were similar during the direct portion of the experience. A synthesis of the findings suggests that the program’s direct experiences catalyzed environmental knowledge into a stronger motivating force than it had been during the indirect experiences. The qualitative findings also provide insights into the characteristics of direct experiences. These findings offer important insights for both theory and practice related to the use of direct and indirect nature experiences to develop environmental knowledge, attitude, and behaviors.     

A cross-national perspective on youth environmental attitudes

The environmental attitudes of young people are a growing topic of interest for social scientists. Most research that aims to explain differences in (youth) environmental attitudes focuses on the individual as the level of measurement. There is, however, a growing body of evidence that illustrates that the context within which that individual operates can contribute to their environmental attitudes. Based on the PISA 2006 data, and while controlling for individual characteristics, we tested Inglehart’s ‘objective problems, subjective values’ hypothesis. This hypothesis divides the contextual influences on environmental attitudes into (1) objective problems in the individual’s natural environment and (2) subjective values linked to post-materialistic goals in life. We analyzed both the individual and the country level simultaneously, controlling for compositional effects, by performing a multilevel analysis on the 2006 PISA data for youth environmental attitudes (398,750 15 year olds from 56 countries). At the individual level, the results are generally consistent with the literature; at the contextual level, the stage of development of a country (as a proxy for post-materialistic values) is shown to be unrelated to environmental attitudes. Both natural riches of a country and its environmental problems are shown to positively influence the environmental attitudes of that country’s youth. These results are discussed in relation to the ‘objective problems, subjective values’ hypothesis. The results also point towards the necessity of simultaneously assessing the effect of individual- and contextual-level characteristics on environmental attitudes.     

Influence of academic education on the perception of wood in watercourses

Human perception of in-channel wood can influence decision-making about wood reintroduction in watercourses for restoration purposes. A questionnaire survey was conducted among first-year and advanced Polish students and professionals involved in the management and protection of watercourses in Poland. The purpose was to assess their perception of river scenes with and without wood in terms of naturalness, aesthetics, danger and need for improvement. Generally, students perceived riverscapes with wood to be less aesthetic, more dangerous and needing more improvement than riverscapes without wood. However, many aspects of the riverscape perception are subject to changes as the student progresses in studying. The culturally conditioned, negative perception of in-channel wood is reduced during the education of geography and biology students but enhanced in the course of water engineering studies. The improved perception of watercourses containing wood was most pronounced for the advanced geography students from a university in which some tutors conducted research on in-channel wood and could have transferred knowledge about and positive attitudes toward wood to their students. A comparison of the riverscape evaluation by biology students and national park managers indicates that education in the discipline facilitates understanding of the environmental significance of in-channel wood although its effects are highly insufficient to form the positive attitude toward wood-containing watercourses typical of the managers. In turn, the education of water engineering students about in-channel wood apparently dominantly emphasizes threats caused by its presence in watercourses, so that the students' highly negative attitude toward wood needs to be significantly moderated when the graduates begin working as water authority managers.     

Environmental education research news

This report was by John F. Disinger, Professor of Natural Resources, and Jennifer L. Tomsen, Graduate Teaching Associate in Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 43210–1085, USA.     

The hazards of risk management

Summary Increasing application of the concept of risk raises several policy and management issues for environmental managers. Functionally, risk can be structured as risk assessment, risk management and risk communication. Each of these functional areas have complex technical issues associated with them that are often unfamiliar to the public.Dr Donald W. Floyd is an Assistant Professor in the School of Natural Resources at The Ohio State University. He specialises in natural resource/environmental policy, with an emphasis on conflict resolution.     

Environmental education research notes (USA)

Conclusion Selections reported above were chosen as representative and reflective of the varieties of environmental education research currently reported in the literature. They were picked for this paper somewhat arbitrarily, from among more than 70 surviving an initial screening. No selection bias was intended, other than for the purpose of providing a representative variety. In most cases, abstracts printed in theCurrent Index to Journals in Education, Resources in Education, orDissertation Abstracts International were used in preparing these notes.These notes have been compiled by John F. Disinger, Professor of Environmental Education, School of Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA; he is also Associate Director, Education Resources Information Centre (ERIC) Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education (SMEAC). This contribution by Professor Disinger is in response to the editorial, Invitation to Promote Research Cooperation (The Environmentalist, 1 (3) 177–178.     

Determinants of Individual Attitudes Toward Animal Welfare-Friendly Food Products

Animal welfare involves societal and human values, ethical concerns and moral considerations since it incorporates the belief of what is right or what is wrong in animal treatment and care. This paper aims to ascertain whether the different dimensions of individual attitudes toward animal welfare in food choices may be characterized by general human values, as identified by Schwartz. For this purpose, an EU-wide survey was carried out, covering almost 2500 nationally representative individuals from five European countries. Compared with the previous literature this study shows a twofold novelty: (1) it develops a general framework to link individual enduring beliefs and attitudes toward animal welfare attributes in food choices; (2) the framework is analyzed within a broad-based cross-country study. Our empirical results prove that human values related to self-transcendence are strongly associated to overall animal welfare attitudes and especially to those explicitly related to food choices, while values related to the spheres of self-enhancement and conservatism are significantly associated to less sensitive attitudes to animal welfare. Moreover, our results appear to indicate that a determinant of animal welfarism in food choices is potentially associated to individual concerns regarding food safety issues.     

The drivers of greenhouse gas emissions: What do we learn from local case studies?

Abstract

What can local case studies contribute to our understanding of the processes underlying the growth in greenhouse gas emissions? Since much abatement and mitigation are local in character, it is important that policy makers identify the mix of local, national and international processes that contribute to changes in greenhouse gas emissions. Drawing upon the results of case studies in Kansas, North Carolina and Ohio, how patterns of emissions in local areas can be connected analytically to the driving forces of environmental change is demonstrated. Emissions at the local level are empirically associated with the same set of trends found at national and international scale, namely, changes in population, affluence‐consumption and technology.     

Knowledge and beliefs regarding agricultural pesticides in rural Guatemala

Throughout Central America, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Zamorano Pan-American Agricultural School support a Safe Pesticide Use program. In 1993, a study of results was carried out among farmers and housewives in eastern Guatemala. Aspects of the methodology included: (1) participation of extension workers in all aspects of the study; (2) small, region-focused samples (eight cells, 30 interviews per cell); (3) comparison to control groups of untrained farmers and housewives; (4) a traditional questionnaire for studying acquisition of specific knowledge; and (5) a flexible instrument for building a cognitive map of knowledge and beliefs regarding pesticides. The cognitive map is a step toward applying modern psychocultural scaling, an approach already well developed for medicine and public health, to environmental problems. Positive results detected include progress at learning the meaning of colors on containers that denote toxicity and where to store pesticides. Pesticide application problems detected were mention by farmers of highly toxic, restricted pesticides as appropriate for most pest problems and of insecticides as the correct solution to fungus problems, and the widespread belief that correct pesticide dosage depends on number of pests seen rather than on land or foliage surface. Health-related problems detected were admission by a vast majority of housewives that they apply highly toxic pesticides to combat children's head-lice; low awareness that pesticides cause health problems more serious than nausea, dizziness, and headaches; and a common belief that lemonade and coffee are effective medicines for pesticide poisoning.     

Youth environmental attitudes in Australia and Brunei: implications for education

This paper explores similarities and differences in the knowledge, beliefs and actions that comprise the environmental attitudes of senior secondary school students in Australia and Brunei. Utilising data from a wider international study in Asia and the Pacific (Yencken et al. , 2000), the paper uses findings from these two countries to illustrate the pervasiveness of global environmental concerns over local cultural influences in the construction of youth environmental attitudes in Australia and Brunei. Thus, young people in these countries, as they do in all parts of the Asia-Pacific region, have very similar levels of environmental awareness and knowledge, sources of environmental, beliefs, systems or world views about the environment, and levels of perceived control over environmental trends. They also have a shared desire for schools to do more in the area of environmental education. The paper concludes that much more effort needs to be made in certain areas. The first is to encourage teachers and others who have influence over young people to develop their own knowledge and skills to be able to teach environmental education effectively. The second is in the area of curriculum and pedagogical reform so that young people explore the many possible ways in which current systems can change to support sustainability, in which current lifestyles reflect these systems, and in which their own actions can contribute to a sustainable future.     

Using ISO 14000 for improved organizational learning and environmental management

Since the adoption of ISO 14001, companies have examined the standard and considered certification. Although the framework is useful and enhancing environmental management systems is beneficial, the adoption of ISO 14001 alone will not provide maximum company benefits. Companies must strive for an improvement in environmental performance and financial performance that can be accomplished only through significant changes in corporate culture, structure, and systems. By developing core capabilities such as skills and knowledge, physical technical systems, managerial systems, and values and norms, companies can develop organizational learning to increase sustainable competitive advantage. This article examines how the ISO 14000 series of standards can be used to improve organizational learning and environmental management.     

Exploring Values,Context and Perceptions in Contingent Valuation Studies: The CV Market Stall Technique and Willingness to Pay for Wildlife Conservation

Public preferences for conservation and environmental management may be identified in willingness to pay (WTP) studies. Normally part of a contingent valuation exercise, WTP studies elicit monetary estimates of non-market economic goods. This paper describes a new approach to WTP, the CV Market Stall, a technique that adds a discursive, qualitative dimension to contingent valuation. It is suggested that the CV Market Stall technique is a good method for exploring attitudes and responses to environmental project proposals. The flexible format, with an emphasis upon information provision, discussion and learning would also allow contingent valuation to be extended to much more complex and uncertain environmental issues.     

Effects of winter manure application in Ohio on the quality of surface runoff

Winter application of manure poses environmental risks. Seven continuous corn, instrumented watersheds (approximately 1 ha each) at the USDA-ARS North Appalachian Experimental Watershed research station near Coshocton, Ohio were used to evaluate the environmental impacts of winter manure application when using some of the Ohio Natural Resources Conservation Service recommendations. For 3 yr on frozen, sometimes snow-covered, ground in January or February, two watersheds received turkey litter, two received liquid swine manure, and three were control plots that received N fertilizer at planting (not manure). Manure was applied at an N rate for corn; the target level was 180 kg N ha(-1) with a 30-m setback from the application area to the bottom of each watershed. Four grassed plots (61 x 12 m) were used for beef slurry application (9.1 Mg ha(-1) wet weight); two plots had 61 x 12 m grassed filter areas below them, and two plots had 30 x 12 m filter areas. There were two control plots. Nutrient concentrations were sometimes high, especially in runoff soon after application. However, most events with high concentrations occurred with low flow volumes; therefore, transport was minimal. Applying manure at the N rate for crop needs resulted in excess application of P. Elevated P losses contributed to a greater potential of detrimental environmental impacts with P than with N. Filter strips reduced nutrient concentrations and transport, but the data were too limited to compare the effectiveness of the 30- and 61-m filter strips. Winter application of manure is not ideal, but by following prescribed guidelines, detrimental environmental impacts can be reduced.     

Demand and supply considerations for evaluating a new distance education program in natural resources planning and management in North America

Summary This paper describes the demand and supply information requirements to determine whether a curriculum for a new program, Natural Resources Planning and Management (NRPM), should be developed by Athabasca University (AU). Demand considerations assist in determining forecasted job opportunities and student needs. Supply considerations, including the type and location of existing natural resource programs and their student enrollment levels, assist in determining the enrollment level, the type of degree program, and that the student profile of AU's NRPM graduates will be high, particularly in western Canada. AU has, therefore, been advised to offer an undergraduate bachelor's degree in NRPM. This paper also serves as a model, for organizing demand and supply information for any new university or college program.Fred Curtis, is Professor and Co-ordinator of Regional Systems Engineering, at the University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. His teaching and research areas include environmental and behavioural systems engineering. His recent publications focus on environmental impact assessment procedures, environmental mediation, natural resources planning and management, energy conservation and land use planning and distance education.     

Using Canonical Correlation Analysis to Identify Environmental Attitude Groups: Considerations for National Forest Planning in the Southwestern U.S.

As public land management agencies pursue region-specific resource management plans, with meaningful consideration of public attitudes and values, there is a need to characterize the complex mix of environmental attitudes in a diverse population. The contribution of this investigation is to make use of a unique household, mail/internet survey data set collected in 2007 in the Southwestern United States (Region 3 of the U.S. Forest Service). With over 5,800 survey responses to a set of 25 Public Land Value statements, canonical correlation analysis is able to identify 7 statistically distinct environmental attitudinal groups. We also examine the effect of expected changes in regional demographics on overall environmental attitudes, which may help guide in the development of socially acceptable long-term forest management policies. Results show significant support for conservationist management policies and passive environmental values, as well as a greater role for stakeholder groups in generating consensus for current and future forest management policies.     

The need to integrate values into environmental curricula

Many environmental problems are controversial because of conflicting values people hold and because there is not a consensus as to which values should have precedence over others. If environmental managers are to make ethical decisions that reflect environmental values, they must have full understanding of such values and types of ethics and principles of moral reasoning to use in the decision-making process. Unfortunately, integration of values into environmental curricula has often not been explicit or comprehensive. One result is that university-trained environmental managers do not possess the knowledge, skills, and methods necessary for more ethically based decisions. An analysis of attitudes about integrating values and/or ethics into environmental curricula and approaches to do so yields the conclusion that environmental programs should more fully include teaching about values and ethics so that environmental managers can make more ethically sound decisions.