A Study of the Cultural Models of Pfiesteria Piscicida

这笔小额赠款用于探索性研究，以研究导致切萨皮克湾东岸若干河流中鱼类受损和死亡的Pfiesteria Piscicida病的文化模型。来自马里兰大学的人类学家研究人员将采访各种利益相关者，包括农民、水工和环保主义者，以评估他们对疾病和问题解决方案的理解。将确定模型共享的程度，并将评估促进不同群体之间对话的可能性。方法将包括对每个利益相关者群体的30-50人进行访谈，使用各种认知人类学技术来确定文化领域。将对数据进行共识分析，以评估模型的公共性质。将使用焦点小组来争取答复者的协助，以解释数据分析的结果。这项研究将支持生态问题文化分析的发展，这是很重要的，因为这些问题涉及地方、区域和全球利益相关者群体。在更具体的层面上，这项研究将有助于寻求理解环境问题文化模型的构建的理论和方法，并解释不同群体对同一环境问题的共识水平。这些知识将有助于政府官员和相关团体相互沟通，解决他们的分歧。

This small grant for exploratory research studies the cultural models of the disease Pfiesteria Piscicida, which caused lesioned and dead fish in a number of rivers of the eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. The anthropologist researchers, from the University of Maryland, will interview various sets of stakeholders including farmers, watermen, and environmentalists, to assess their understanding of the disease and of solutions to the problem. The degree to which the models are shared will be determined, and the possibility of facilitating dialogue between the diverse groups will be assessed. Methods will include interviews with 30-50 persons per stakeholder group, using a variety of cognitive anthropology techniques to identify cultural domains. A consensus analysis will be performed on the data to assess the communal nature of the models. Focus groups will be used to enlist the assistance of the respondents in interpreting the results of the data analysis. The study will support the development of cultural analysis in ecological problems, which is important because these problems involve local, regional and global stakeholder groups. At a more specific level the research will contribute to theory and methods that seek to understand the construction of cultural models of environmental problems, and account for the level of consensus among diverse groups for the same environmental problem. This knowledge will help public officials as well as involved groups communicate with each other to resolve their differences.