Local Residents (local + resident)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Humanities and Social Sciences


Selected Abstracts


Process evaluation of an out-patient detoxification service

DRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 6 2005
Dr CLAUDIA SANNIBALE
Abstract This paper describes the process evaluation of an out-patient detoxification service (ODS) established by Drug Health Services (DHS) to increase the supervised withdrawal options for substance users in a Sydney metropolitan Area Health Service. The ODS aimed to provide a safe and effective supervised withdrawal to substance users who were at low risk of severe withdrawal, engage those with severe dependence in further treatment and increase the involvement of general practitioners (GPs) in the medical care of ODS clients. During its first 10 months of operation, the ODS received 199 inquiries, assessed 82 individuals and admitted 76 clients for detoxification. Withdrawal treatment proceeded without complications and within the expected time frames. Fifty-four clients completed withdrawal, 10 ceased treatment, 10 remained in treatment without completing withdrawal and two were transferred elsewhere. Clients who injected substances (mainly heroin) daily at admission, compared to others, were less likely to complete withdrawal and more likely to use a range of non-prescribed substances during withdrawal. One-fifth of clients went on to further treatment with DHS, attending at least once. Overall, the ODS met its goals, providing a safe and effective supervised withdrawal to local residents, especially women, young people and those withdrawing from benzodiazepines who had significant substance dependence, impairment and previous alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment. Non-injecting substance users benefited most from the ODS in terms of withdrawal completion and ongoing treatment. The level of GP involvement in the conjoint care of ODS clients remained constant over time. The development and expansion of the ODS are discussed. [source]


Geographical Imaginations of ,New Asia-Singapore'

GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2004
T.C. Chang
Abstract ,Geographical imaginations' constitute an important aspect in geographic research, enriching our understanding of places and societies as well as the contested meanings people have towards spaces. The marketing and development of tourist destinations offers a fertile ground for the exercise of geographical imagination. This paper explores how tourism marketing distils the essence of a place, and ,imagines' an identity that is attractive to tourists and residents alike. Such spatial identities, however, are seldom hegemonic and are often highly contested. Using the case of the ,New Asia-Singapore' (NAS) campaign launched by the Singapore Tourism Board, we explore the geographical imaginations involved in tourism marketing, and its consequent effects on people and place. Specifically we discuss the role and rationale of tourism planners in formulating the NAS campaign; the actions of tourism entrepreneurs in creating NAS commodities; and the reactions from tourists and local residents towards the NAS images. We argue that the nexus of policy intent, entrepreneurial actions and popular opinions yields invaluable insights into the highly contested processes of tourism development and identity formation. [source]


CELLULAR TOWER PROLIFERATION IN THE UNITED STATES

GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW, Issue 1 2002
THOMAS A. WIKLE
ABSTRACT. Since the early 1980s the growing popularity of cellular communication has wrought dramatic landscape changes on the American scene through an invasion of thousands of cellular telephone towers. Objections raised to new tower construction by local residents, interest groups, and regulatory boards range from visual impacts to perceived health risks. This essay traces the origins of wireless telephony, its proliferation across the United States, and the visual impacts associated with tower construction. Three stages in the geographical expansion of wireless networks are identified. [source]


The Impact of Public School Attributes on Home Sale Prices in California

GROWTH AND CHANGE, Issue 3 2000
David E. Clark
The quality of public schools is often cited as an important attribute which distinguishes a community. Indeed, a recent public opinion poll conducted by the California Public Education Partnership indicates that residents rank improvements in public education higher than such high profile issues as environmental quality and crime reduction. In order to explore the role of educational quality in determining residential property values, a hedonic housing price model is used on a large sample of homes which sold within Fresno County in California over the period 1990-1994. After controlling for a wide range of housing characteristics and neighborhood features, the findings indicate that the school district does significantly influence the real sale price. Then the relative importance of inputs into the production of educational services is investigated as compared to output measures of productivity. These findings suggest that both input and output measures are important. However, elasticity estimates of input measures tend to be higher than those of output measures, with the average class size by far the strongest influence. There is some evidence to suggest that the benefits of additional teachers likely outweigh the costs. Finally, the findings suggest that attributes of schools are more highly valued by local residents than either crime or environmental quality measures within the community. [source]


HIV, AIDS and human services: exploring public attitudes in West Hollywood, California

HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 2 2000
Robin M. Law
Abstract The provision of human services associated with HIV and AIDS has been a controversial issue in Western countries, given the degree of stigma attached to AIDS, and the high level of public concern about the possibility of contracting HIV. Previous research on attitudes to controversial human services has identified some key characteristics associated with negative attitudes and resistant ,not-in-my-backyard' behaviour. Attitudes towards HIV- and AIDS-related services may be affected by other factors as well; in particular, they may be related to self-identified sexual orientation, given the role of HIV and AIDS in the emergence of a strong gay political identity. However, little research has yet been conducted to explore how knowledge and attitudes towards these services in particular localities are associated with a range of characteristics of local residents, including sensitive information such as sexual orientation and household HIV status, and how these might contribute to the creation of more accepting environments. This paper provides an analysis of a 1994 city-wide survey conducted in West Hollywood, California. This small city has a large and politically-organized gay and lesbian population, as well as significant numbers of residents in other, diverse social groupings, and has experienced high levels of HIV infection and AIDS relative to the surrounding Los Angeles County. Although issues of HIV and AIDS service provision have been well publicized in the city, residents may be expected to hold rather different sets of knowledge about and attitudes to these services, depending on their personal characteristics. Analysis of the survey data reveals that a large proportion of residents of West Hollywood rated HIV and AIDS services as very important, but there were interesting differences among groups. Most notably, variation in knowledge of services and attitudes to services (rating of importance) was particularly associated with age and language, but was less affected by sexual orientation and household HIV status. [source]


,Taking off the suit': engaging the community in primary health care decision-making

HEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 1 2006
Elizabeth Anderson MSc RGN
Abstract Objective, To explore the process of public involvement in planning primary health care. Background, Recent policy in the UK promotes public involvement in planning health but there have been difficulties in engaging communities in the process. Surveys of health service organizations have found that there has been a failure to adapt to new approaches. It has become important to understand why this has occurred if policy initiatives to encourage involvement are to succeed. Design, Qualitative study. Data collected through individual interviews and focus groups. Setting, Two new primary healthcare developments in deprived areas in Bristol and Weston-Super-Mare. Participants, Thirty-six professionals and 23 local residents in Bristol; six professionals and three local residents in Weston-Super-Mare. Results, Three themes were identified: process, partnership and power. The main findings were that exceptional people with a shared commitment to public involvement were necessary to motivate others and develop partnerships. Local people were drawn into the process and with increased confidence became powerful advocates for their community. Creative and varied methods to involve the public were important in achieving balance between professionals and lay people. However, conflicts over practical decisions arose from a lack of clarity over who had power to influence decisions. Conclusion, Most of the participants were enthusiastic about their experience of public involvement in planning primary health care. Features crucial to sustainable involvement included a commitment from leaders within statutory agencies, support over a long period to build the confidence of local people, willingness to use informal approaches that are in tune with local culture, and a recognition of the concerns of both service users and providers. [source]


Immigration as Local Politics: Re-Bordering Immigration and Multiculturalism through Deterrence and Incapacitation

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2009
LIETTE GILBERT
Small town governments in North America have, in recent years, posed the most aggressive challenge to national immigration policy and multiculturalism. Immigration-related municipal ordinances were introduced by local officials to defend the rights of local residents from the adverse effects of (unauthorized) immigration. Municipal measures proposed to control im/migrants not only present a constitutional challenge to the federal pre-emption in matters of immigration law (which ineptitude they purport to redress), they expand on what Didier Bigo called a ,governmentality of unease', where migration is increasingly rationalized as a security problem. Municipal measures are re-bordering the inclusion/exclusion of (unauthorized) migrants by expanding the territorial and political rationality of immigration control from the border to the interior, and by imposing and dispersing new mechanisms of control into the everyday spaces and practices of im/migrants regarded as ,illegal' and undesirable. This article examines two immigration-related municipal measures (Hazleton, PA and Hérouxville, QC) which impose a logic of immigration control and identity protection through deterrence and incapacitation strategies, and thus erode civil rights of im/migrants. Résumé Certaines petites municipalités nord-américaines ont récemment bousculé les politiques d'immigration nationales et le multiculturalisme. Les autorités locales en question ont fait voter des arrêtés municipaux liés à l'immigration afin de défendre les droits de leurs concitoyens contre les perceptions néfastes de l'immigration (irrégulière). Tout en représentant un défi constitutionnel à l'égard de la préemption fédérale en matière de législation sur l'immigration (dont l'inadéquation est censée être corrigée), les propositions municipales de contrôler les (im)migrants prolongent ce que Didier Bigo a appelé une ,gouvernementalité du malaise' qui voit de plus en plus la migration comme un problème de sécurité. Les mesures municipales redessinent les limites de l'inclusion-exclusion des migrants (irréguliers) en amenant, de la frontière jusqu'à l'intérieur, la logique territoriale et politique propre au contrôle de l'immigration, tout en imposant et en diffusant de nouveaux mécanismes de contrôle dans les pratiques et espaces quotidiens des (im)migrants jugés ,illégaux' et indésirables. L'article étudie deux mesures municipales liées à l'immigration (à Hazleton en Pennsylvanie et à Hérouxville au Québec), lesquelles dictent une logique de contrôle de l'immigration et de protection identitaire au travers de stratégies de dissuasion et de création d'incapacités; ce faisant, ces dispositions amoindrissent les droits civils des (im)migrants. [source]


Human,gelada baboon conflict in and around the Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia

AFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2009
Mesele Yihune
Abstract The degree of conflict between gelada baboons and local communities in and around the Simien Mountains National Park was investigated and possible solutions for the existing problems are suggested. The study was carried out from September, 2005 to March, 2006 by means of questionnaire survey, direct observations on crop damage by gelada baboon and using faecal dropping analysis. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and responses were compared using chi-squared test and one-way ANOVA. Logistic regression model was used to determine factors that caused crop damage. The average annual crop loss by gelada baboon per household was 117 ± 10 kg. There was a positive correlation (r = 0.43, P < 0.001) between the type of crop grown and the type of crop damaged. Among the respondents, 47.3% reported serious loss of barley by gelada baboons. Analysis from the faecal droppings showed that 18% of the samples constituted barley although the extent of damage varied from village to village. Among the respondents, 60.3% cultivated only barley because of the cold weather and the type of soil in the study area. Distance from the Park and the frequency of crop damage were negatively correlated (,0.57, P < 0.001). Although farmers utilized various methods to protect their farms against gelada baboons, the most prominent method was direct watching (48.3%). To minimize the existing problems, local residents and the Park authorities should work together to identify alternative crops and land-use patterns that might not attract gelada baboons. Résumé Nous avons étudié l'importance des conflits entre les babouins geladas et les communautés locales dans et autour du Parc National des Simien Mountains, et nous suggérons d'éventuelles solutions pour les régler. L'étude a eu lieu de septembre 2005 à mars 2006, sous la forme d'une enquête par questionnaire, d'observations directes des dommages causés aux cultures par les geladas et d'analyses des excréments. Les données furent analysées au moyen de statistiques descriptives, et les réponses furent comparées par un test en ,² et une ANOVA à une voie. Un modèle de régression logistique fut utilisé pour déterminer les facteurs qui causent les dommages aux récoltes. La perte annuelle moyenne attribuée aux babouins était de 117 ± par ménage. Il y avait une corrélation positive (r = 0.43, P < 0.001) entre le type de culture pratiqué et celui qui était endommagé. 47.3% des participants à l'enquête ont rapporté de graves pertes d'orge à cause des babouins geladas. L'analyse des excréments a révélé que 18% des échantillons étaient composés d'orge mais la gravité des dommages variait d'un village à l'autre. 60.3% des participants ne cultivaient que de l'orge en raison du climat froid et du type de sol dans la zone étudiée. La distance par rapport au parc et la fréquence des dommages étaient négativement liées (,0.57, P < 0.001). Bien que les fermiers utilisent plusieurs méthodes pour protéger leurs fermes contre les geladas, la plus importante était de les surveiller directement (48.3%). Afin de minimiser les problèmes actuels, les résidants et les autorités du parc devraient travailler ensemble pour identifier des cultures alternatives et des schémas d'utilisation des sols qui puissent ne plus attirer les babouins. [source]


Justice and local community change: Towards a substantive theory of justice

JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2002
Neil M. Drew
Justice is a core principle in community psychology, yet has been the subject of relatively little systematic research. In the social psychological literature on the other hand there is a long tradition of research on justice in social life. In this article the potential benefits of integrating the social justice aspirations of community psychology and the conceptualizations of procedural and distributive justice from social psychology are discussed in the context of planned community change. The benefits of exploring justice in this way are illustrated with reference to a research project examining public perceptions of the fairness of roadside tree lopping. Although the issue may appear trivial, it was seen by the local residents as important. The results support the development, application, and utility of a social community psychology of justice to issues of community change. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Evaluation of the Personal Dental Services (Wave 1) for Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham Primary Care Trusts , Part 2: Retrospective analyses of treatment and other dental record data

JOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 3 2005
Helen Best BDS MDS PhD
Abstract Aim/Objective, The purpose of the study was to undertake analyses of treatment data for the Personal Dental Services (PDS) of Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham Primary Care Trusts and relate the analyses to the PDS goals of supporting practitioners deliver appropriate quality dental care and ensuring that appropriate quality safety net services are available for all residents. Method, Analyses of treatment data provided by the Dental Practice Board were undertaken for the post-PDS period (February 1999,March 2003, based on data availability). Analyses of the clinic notes for 1500 patients were also undertaken for the 1 year pre-PDS period (October 1997,September 1998) and post-introduction of the PDS (October 1998,June 2003). Two sets of analyses were undertaken to evaluate trends in treatment claims for the Dental Practice Board data, absolute numbers of each type of treatment claimed each month and change in numbers of types of treatments claimed over time. The clinic notes were used to undertake post-PDS, pre-PDS comparisons of the number of treatment items and grouped treatment item categories undertaken and the number of courses and percentages of private treatment items provided. The following sociodemographic characteristics of the patients were also analysed, age, gender, exemption ,status ,and ,attendance ,status. Results, Overall it was identified that the percentage reduction in the number of treatment items undertaken was 13% (95% CI ,19%, ,7%), post- as compared to the pre-PDS introduction period. On an annual basis it was identified that the percentage reduction in the number of treatment items undertaken per year per patient post-PDS was 4% (95% CI ,6%, ,2%). There were significant variations in the impact of the PDS on the number of treatment items undertaken for different types of patients. A limited number of treatment types changed significantly post- as compared to pre-PDS. The proportion of exempt patients treated did not increase ,post-PDS. Conclusions, It is possible that a less, invasive style of dental treatment was provided during the course of the PDS, however, there was only limited evidence to indicate that dentists practice style changed based on types of treatment categories provided. The PDS provided a limited safety net service for local residents. In setting program goals the nature of quality dental practice requires definition and evaluation should be undertaken on a prospective basis. [source]


Biological and Cultural Anthropology of a Changing Tropical Forest: A Fruitful Collaboration across Subfields

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 2 2006
REBECCA HARDIN
In this article, we integrate approaches from biological and cultural anthropology to describe changing relationships between humans and animals in the Dzanga-Ndoki Park and Dzanga-Sangha Dense Forest Reserve (RDS), Central African Republic (CAR). Recent decades have seen a rapid proliferation of human activities, with striking tensions between logging and conservation economies. Our data suggest that certain animals and humans initially adapted successfully to these forest uses, and that local residents have crafted culturally rich new ways of living in the forest. However, our longitudinal data indicate animal declines and expanding frontiers of increasingly intensive human use. These trends are altering previous territorial arrangements and coming to undermine today's remarkably rich spectrum of human,animal encounters there. Our combined approach offers an alternative to increasingly distinct method and theory between anthropology's subfields. We sketch a research agenda for integrated anthropological attention to environmental change, especially to transformations in human,animal interactions and entanglements. [source]


Intimate encounters: the embodied transnationalism of backpackers and independent travellers

POPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE (PREVIOUSLY:-INT JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY), Issue 1 2010
Fiona Allon
Abstract This paper examines some of the tensions between local government authorities, residents, and backpackers occurring in a group of Sydney coastal suburbs that are the host destinations for large numbers of young independent travellers. Drawing on the concepts of ,intimacy' and ,encounter', it focuses on the kinds of embodied encounters occurring when the transnational networks of these travellers become overlaid on, and in conflict with, the patterns of occupancy and governance of relatively settled and established residential communities. These exchanges not only include the mix of experiences of local residents living side by side this group of transnational visitors, but also the interactions established among the travellers themselves. These involve new and novel relations of social and physical community formation, sexual practices, patterns of drug and alcohol consumption, as well as instances of danger, discomfort, and violence. The range and intensity of these kinds of encounters, as well as the problems frequently associated with them, appear to be increasing primarily because backpackers not only travel through but also dwell in place. One of the more neglected results of this phenomenon, is, as we suggest in this paper, a range of new encounters that are ,intimate' not only in the obvious sense of a meeting of diverse and physically proximate bodies. Employing the notion of ,cultural intimacy', we suggest that such encounters can also be said to arouse sensitivities associated with the often cherished and taken-for-granted fixities of home, place, and entitlement, for ,visitor' and ,host' alike. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


European Nature Conservation and Restoration Policy,Problems and Perspectives

RESTORATION ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
Jozef Keulartz
Abstract The implementation of Natura 2000 has met with considerable resistance from farmers, fishermen, foresters, and other local residents in most European Union Member States. In response to the rural protest, the majority of governments have gradually abandoned their centralist, top-down approach and increasingly switched over to methods of participatory and interactive policy-making. However, this "democratisation" of European nature conservation policy is not without its problems and pitfalls. The inclusion of an ever-growing group of stakeholders with different and often diverging interests, ideas, views, and values will more often than not lead to conflicts over the future of nature and the landscape. The causes and consequences of these conflicts need to be examined to improve the policy process. [source]


Winning back more than words?

THE CANADIAN GEOGRAPHER/LE GEOGRAPHE CANADIEN, Issue 1 2005
Power, discourse, quarrying on the Niagara Escarpment
This paper explores the controversy and public hearing on the proposed extension of the largest limestone quarry in Canada, operated by Dufferin Aggregates at Milton, Ontario. The quarry constitutes an important source of construction material for the nearby Greater Toronto Area. However, the quarry is protected by the provincial Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act and located inside the UNESCO-designated Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve. The proposal has therefore attracted considerable opposition from the public institution charged with its protection, the Niagara Escarpment Commission, as well as environmental groups and local residents. To make sense of the tensions, conflicts and outcome of the Dufferin case, we consult and apply several critical literatures. We see the conflict as part of a transformation of the countryside from a space of production to a space of consumption, where there is a shift in emphasis from resource extractive to scenic and ecological landscape values, and the displacement of productive classes, farmers and workers, in favour of a service class of professionals and retirees. Within this transformation, we identify a ,power geometry' of actor networks of different coalition groups that form allegiances and engage in struggles at different geographic scales. These actor networks operate within the set frames of a dominant development discourse and a popular environmentalist discourse that both include and exclude other ways of seeing and managing the escarpment. Cet article examine la controverse et l'audience publique sur l'aggrandissement projetée de la plus vaste carrière de calcaire au Canada, operée par Dufferin Aggregates à Milton, Ontario. La carrière constitue une source importante de matériaux de construction pour la région métropolitaine de Toronto. Toutefois, cette carrière est non seulement protégée par la loi du développement et de l'aménagment de l'Escarpement du Niagara, mais elle est également située dans la Réserve Biosphère désignée par l'UNESCO. Cette proposition d'aggrandissement de la carrière a donc suscité l'opposition de la Commission de l'Escarpement du Niagara, institution publique désignée pour la protection, ainsi que de certains groupes environnementaux et résidents locaux. Afin d'examiner les tensions, conflits et résultat du cas de la carrière Dufferin, nous avons consulté et appliqué plusieurs littératures critiques. Nous considérons d'abord ce conflit comme faisant partie de la transformation de la campagne d'un site de production en un site de consommation, où l'emphase passe de l'extraction d'une resource à la revalorisation aesthétique et écologique du paysage, accompagnée par le déplacement des classes productives, agriculteurs et ouvriers, en faveur de la classe de services professionnels et retraités. Émergeant de cette transformation, nous identifions une ,géométrie de pouvoir , des réseaux d'acteurs issus de différentes coalitions formant des allégeances et s'engageant dans des formes de résistances à différentes échelles géographiques. Ces réseaux d'acteurs opèrent dans les paramètres d'un discours dominant de développement et d'un discours populaire d'environnementalisme qui tout à la fois inclus et exclus d'autres façons de voir et de gérer l'escarpement. [source]


First record of tool use by wild populations of the yellow-breasted capuchin monkey (Cebus xanthosternos) and new records for the bearded capuchin (Cebus libidinosus)

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2009
Gustavo Rodrigues Canale
Abstract Reports on use of stones as hammers and anvils to open hard nuts by wild capuchin monkeys are scarce and limited to Cebus libidinosus. Here, we report for the first time data on tool use,stones as hammer and anvils to open nuts,in wild C. xanthosternos and a description of new tool using sites for C. libidinosus. Our records were made by visiting anvil sites and by information obtained from local residents. We surveyed three different biomes: Caatinga (dry forest and thorn scrub), Cerrado (Brazilian bush savannah), and Atlantic forest (wet forest), all records of tool use were from Caatinga or transitional areas between habitats. The behavior is suggested to be routinely performed and widespread among several populations. The fruits of six plant species in different localities were opened with hammer stones by C. xanthosternos. Hammer stones were of similar weigh as those described in other studies of C. libidinosus. Conditions found in Caatinga, such as a more frequent use of the ground by the monkeys and/or food scarcity, may play an important role in the acquisition of nut-cracking behavior. The absence of more reports of nut cracking and other forms of tool use in other species of wild Cebus is likely to result from a lack of surveys in very dry and food limited habitats or intrinsic characteristics of other Cebus species. Am. J. Primatol. 71:366,372, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Does Corporate Headquarters Location Matter for Stock Returns?

THE JOURNAL OF FINANCE, Issue 4 2006
CHRISTO PIRINSKY
ABSTRACT We document strong comovement in the stock returns of firms headquartered in the same geographic area. Moreover, stocks of companies that change their headquarters location experience a decrease in their comovement with stocks from the old location and an increase in their comovement with stocks from the new location. The local comovement of stock returns is not explained by economic fundamentals and is stronger for smaller firms with more individual investors and in regions with less financially sophisticated residents. We argue that price formation in equity markets has a significant geographic component linked to the trading patterns of local residents. [source]


Using Oral History Techniques in A NOAA Fisheries Service (NMFS) Education and Outreach Project: Preserving Local Fisheries Knowledge, Linking Generations, and Improving Environmental Literacy

ANNALS OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL PRACTICE, Issue 1 2007
Susan Abbott-Jamieson
Oral historical interviews are a core activity in a successful outreach and education project piloted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in two Maine high schools between 2003 and 2005. Through interviews with local fishermen and others in fishing-related industries, Local Fisheries Knowledge (LFK) Pilot Project students have explored the connections between fisheries, the marine environment, their communities, and their own lives, while documenting and preserving the knowledge and experiences of local residents for future generations. This article describes the pilot project's use of oral history methods, and discusses the project's role in three agency interest areas: (1) public outreach, (2) education, and (3) documenting fishing communities' lifeways and local fisheries knowledge. [source]


Illegitimate Killers: The Symbolic Ecology and Cultural Politics of Coyote-Hunting Tournaments in Addison County, Vermont

ANTHROPOLOGY & HUMANISM, Issue 2 2009
Marc A. BoglioliArticle first published online: 6 NOV 200
SUMMARY Although I have conducted ethnographic research on hunting in central Vermont since 1996, one important issue has remained conspicuously absent from my field notes: organized hunting protest. That all changed one cold February day in 2005 as protesters from a home-grown animal rights group stood along a country road in Whiting, Vermont, to voice their opposition to the first annual Howlin' Hills Coyote Hunt. This coyote-hunting tournament was characterized by a broad assortment of local residents,including hunters,as a morally corrupt departure from traditional hunting ethics and from that day forward Addison County has been caught up in a social drama that may forever change the face of hunting in Vermont. As deep philosophical differences were revealed between not only hunters and antihunters, but between hunters themselves, a small window opened for a more general moral critique of hunting. Drawing on testimony from hunters, animal rights activists, Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel, and my own experiences at coyote tournaments, I explain the perspectives of the various actors in this drama as they struggle to define the meaning and ethical place of hunting in the 21st century. [Keywords: human,animal relations, symbolic ecology, hunting, rural America, coyotes] [source]


Public Spaces for National Commemoration: The Case of Emlotheni Memorial, Port Elizabeth

ANTHROPOLOGY & HUMANISM, Issue 1 2003
Birthe Rytter Hansen
This article examines how commemorative projects try to deal with the past in the present in order to make possible the imagination of a united South African nation. It looks at how one commemorative site, Emlotheni Memorial, was intended to act as part of the larger nation-building project in South Africa. Taking up issues of ancestral belief, social space, and recognition, this article examines how residents experienced the memorial as exclusive rather than inclusive. The article argues that the memorial site, rather than providing an opportunity for local residents and other South Africans to participate in building a shared history and identity, instead ended up reproducing the segregated past of South Africa. [source]


Work on the Edge: Enterprise and Employment between City and Countryside

ANTHROPOLOGY OF WORK REVIEW, Issue 3-4 2002
Robyn Eversole
An interest in the microenterprise finance movement's proposals to increase income and employment in poor local economies led to this study of a Latin American barrio marginal in miniature. The article explores the main income-generating activities of Upper Barrio Japón residents and their adult children, and their use of the plentiful microenterprise finance services on offer in the city of Sucre, Bolivia. The article concludes that microenterprise, often at very small scale, is an important economic strategy for many local residents, but that casual labour and long-distance migration is often more important for young people. Local microenterprises cross urban, suburban and rural markets, but tend to focus on small scale activity: rustic production and retail commerce. Children study, but are entering a very circumscribed range of occupations, with little representation in the professions or skilled trades. Finally, local people use microenterprise finance services, but only sparingly; the ingredients for economic transformation would appear to be elsewhere. [source]


Zones of Exclusion: Offshore Extraction, the Contestation of Space and Physical Displacement in the Nigerian Delta and the Mexican Gulf

ANTIPODE, Issue 3 2009
Anna Zalik
Abstract:, This article examines two aid interventions that manifest the merging of community development/relief and industrial security policy in the petroleum offshore of the Nigerian Niger Delta and the Mexican Gulf. In the Nigerian case, the article considers the crisis in the Warri region of Delta State in 2003, the subsequent evacuation of local residents, and the surrounding context of oil-related violence. Simmering since the 1990s, the 2003 Warri conflict displaced thousands due to competing community claims to territory that "hosts" oil installations, Shell and Chevron primarily. In Mexico, the analysis centers on the implementation of 2003 Mexican security legislation, prompted by International Maritime Organization post 9/11 security policy, that amplifies the "Zone of Exclusion" around offshore installations. To offset the loss of livelihoods resulting from the "exclusion zone", Mexican state agencies offered financing to support the conversion of the displaced small-scale fishers to fish farming. The varying forms of displacement prompted by these two "liberating" interventions reflect the socio-historical specificity of territorial relations in the Nigerian and Mexican extractive regimes. These relations constitute divergent extractive settings which have come to play contrasting roles in the global political economy of oil, one highly volatile, the other relatively stable. [source]


Population growth and mass mortality of an estuarine fish, Acanthopagrus butcheri, unlawfully introduced into an inland lake

AQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue 1 2009
Kimberley Smith
Abstract 1.In 2006, two periods of hypoxia resulted in the death of approximately 35 tonnes of black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri) in Lake Indoon, a small inland lake in Western Australia. 2.Acanthopagrus butcheri was the first fish species to be recorded in this lake, along with the mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) which was also observed during sampling in 2006. Acanthopagrus butcheri appears to have been introduced to Lake Indoon between 1998 and 2003 and formed a self-sustaining population. It is believed to have been deliberately introduced for the purpose of creating a recreational fishery, despite the existence of substantial penalties for illegal translocation of fish in Western Australia. 3.Recent human-induced environmental changes, including rising groundwater and salinization, have probably aided the establishment of both species in Lake Indoon. The importance of salinity to recruitment success by A. butcheri was indicated by the presence of only two age classes in 2006, with estimated recruitment dates coinciding with the years of highest recorded salinity in the lake. 4.The ,fish kills' provided an opportunity to examine aspects of A. butcheri biology in a relatively low salinity environment which is atypical for this estuarine species. In particular, the recruitment period in Lake Indoon was delayed until autumn/winter, rather than spring/summer as seen in other populations. Biological responses in Lake Indoon have implications for natural populations living in estuaries with modified salinity regimes. 5.The ecological, social and economic impacts potentially arising from the introduction of fish to Lake Indoon, which is an important migratory bird habitat and a recreational amenity for local residents and tourists, illustrate the complexities of fish translocation and the need for rigorous assessment before stocking to identify potential costs and benefits. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


The value of conserving whales: the impacts of cetacean-related tourism on the economy of rural West Scotland

AQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue 5 2003
E.C.M. Parsons
Abstract 1.During the tourist season of 2000, interview surveys were conducted with those involved in whale-watching in West Scotland. The groups included in the study were boat operators (32), visitor-centre managers (8), tourists on whale-watching trips (324), general tourists to West Scotland (673) and local residents (189). The latter two groups were interviewed for comparison of responses of those engaged in whale-watching against the views of the local community and tourists in general. From the data provided by these interviews, estimates for the economic value of this specialist sector of the Scottish tourism industry were calculated. 2.Extrapolating from the surveys, in the year 2000, an estimated total of approximately 242 000 tourists were involved in cetacean-related tourism activities in West Scotland. 3.In 2000, 59 full-time and one part-time jobs were estimated to be created as the direct result of cetacean-related tourism, with 38% of these positions being seasonal. 4.Cetacean-related tourism was estimated to account for 2.5% of the total income from tourism in the region. In remote coastal areas, cetacean-related tourism may account for as much as 12% of the area's total tourism income. 5.The direct economic income (i.e. expenditure on excursion tickets) from cetacean tourism activities was estimated to be £1.77 million per annum. 6.A 23% of surveyed whale watchers visited West Scotland specifically to go on whale-watching trips. The associated expenditure (accommodation, travel, food, etc.) from tourists being brought to rural West Scotland solely due to the presence of whales represented £5.1 million in additional tourism income for the region. 7.In addition to the above tourists, 16% of surveyed whale watchers stayed in West Scotland an extra night as a result of going on a whale-watching trip; thus generating a further £0.9 million of additional associated expenditure (extra accommodation, food, etc.). 8.The total gross income generated (directly and indirectly) by cetacean-related tourism in rural West Scotland was estimated at £7.8 million. 9.In comparison with established whale-watching industries (in countries such as the USA, Canada and New Zealand) the total expenditure by tourists on whale watching in West Scotland is low. However, cetacean tourism in West Scotland is still a relatively young industry and still developing. 10.The value of the non-consumptive utilization of cetaceans (i.e. whale-watching) to rural, coastal communities in West Scotland was three times greater than the value of the consumptive utilization of cetaceans (i.e. commercial whaling) for rural, coastal communities in Norway. 11.This study demonstrates that live cetaceans in Scotland can provide notable financial benefits and, therefore, their conservation has an economic value. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Tropical Storm Gamma and the Mosquitia of eastern Honduras: a little-known story from the 2005 hurricane season

AREA, Issue 4 2009
David M Cochran Jr
The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was unprecedented in terms of storm activity in the United States, Mexico, Central America and Caribbean. Given the impacts of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Honduran Mosquitia sparked little attention despite being hit by two hurricanes and a tropical storm in 2005. This article recounts the history of these storms in the Afro-Caribbean community of Batalla, drawing from public weather advisories and testimony of local residents obtained through participatory research. We contextualise this local history with results from the first paleotempestological study undertaken in the Mosquitia to shed light on long-term risk of catastrophic storms in the region and to demonstrate the value of integrating these two research approaches. Our findings contribute to recent ethnographic research on hazards by describing how a coastal people understand and respond to tropical cyclones and how landscape change influences the vulnerability of a coastal area. Although residents have not witnessed a storm as intense as those documented in the paleotempestological record, their knowledge and perceptions show how tropical cyclones can be disasters while leaving behind no sedimentary records. The paleotempestological evidence, however, reminds us that catastrophic hurricanes have struck the Mosquitia in the past and will do so again in the future. Understanding the interactions between contemporary human perceptions and responses and long-term hurricane risk provides insight for emergency managers and local stakeholders to better prepare for such a catastrophic event. [source]


Strength of Habitat and Landscape Metrics in Predicting Golden-Headed Lion Tamarin Presence or Absence in Forest Patches in Southern Bahia, Brazil

BIOTROPICA, Issue 3 2010
Becky E. Raboy
ABSTRACT We investigated the effects of forest fragmentation on golden-headed lion tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) by qualitatively and quantitatively characterizing the landscape throughout the species range, conducting surveys, and exploring predictive models of presence and absence. We identified 784 forest patches that varied in size, shape, core area, habitat composition, elevation, and distance to neighboring patches and towns. We conducted 284 interviews with local residents and 133 playback experiments in 98 patches. Results indicated a reduction in the western portions of the former species range. We tested whether L. chrysomelas presence or absence was related to the aforementioned fragmentation indices using Monte Carlo logistic regression techniques. The analysis yielded a majority of iterations with a one-term final model of which Core Area Index (percent of total area that is core) was the only significant type. Model concordance ranged between 65 and 90 percent. Area was highlighted for its potential predictive ability. Although final models for area lacked significance, their failure to reach significance was marginal and we discuss potential confounding factors weakening the term's predictive ability. We conclude that lower Core Area Index scores are useful indicators of forest patches at risk for not supporting L. chrysomelas. Taken together, our analyses of the landscape, survey results, and logistic regression modeling indicated that the L. chrysomelas metapopulation is facing substantial threat. The limited vagility of lion tamarins in nonforest matrix may lead to increasingly smaller and inbred populations subject to significant impact from edge effects and small population size. Local extinction is imminent in many forest patches in the L. chrysomelas range. Abstract in Portuguese is available at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/loi/btp [source]


A Place Where I Can Let My Hair Down: from social club to cultural center in an urban Indian community

CITY & SOCIETY, Issue 1 2001
Deborah Davis Jackson
The "Riverton" Indian Center was established in the 1950s as large numbers of Native Americans migrated to the city from reservations around the Great Lakes and beyond, and underwent significant changes throughout the second half of the twentieth century. These changes, and the conflicts that resulted from them, were shaped by far larger political,economic and cultural forces: on the one hand, River ton's economy, along with the economies of many midsized cities in the Great Lakes region,was undergoing rapid deindustrialization with devastating consequences to local residents, including American Indians; on the other hand, social and cultural changes in the U.S., starting in the 1960s, made Native Americans,or at least a romanticized image of Native Americans,increasingly popular with non-Natives. These forces converged to create the three distinct phases in the Riverton Indian Center's history, each associated with a particular age cohort,a trajectory that might well be typical of deindustrializing cities in the Great Lakes region. [American Indians; community and identity; deindistrialivng cities; Upper Great Lakes region] [source]