Doctoral Dissertation Research: Scarcity and Cooperation? A Social Network Analysis of Two Chilika Lake Communities in Orissa, India

人口压力和资源稀缺导致环境安全理论家认为，迅速的社会变化可能会引发地方一级的不稳定和冲突。 本论文研究的文化人类学家从格鲁吉亚大学，将探讨如何在奇利卡湖虾养殖的存在-在奥里萨邦，印度沿海泻湖-与当地种姓制度内的资源和社会变革的变化。 通过探索和比较社交网络在水产养殖和非水产养殖部门的湖泊，本论文的研究将着眼于种姓关系，以测试的论文，资源稀缺可能会导致更大的合作，在地方一级。 资源稀缺可能会鼓励合作，因为在扩大社区资源基础方面存在着既得利益和竞争优势。社区渔场最近和历史上的变化将通过基于地理信息系统的参与性绘图活动来模拟。 加上现有的人口普查数据，预计这将表明该湖水产养殖部门的资源基础正在萎缩。 社交网络数据将使用正式和非正式的访谈技术收集。还将采用照片启发和专门的计算机软件来模拟和比较湖区两个地区基于种姓和次种姓的个人网络。 不同种姓的成员在湖的水产养殖部门之间的社会互动的增加将证明种姓禁令的侵蚀和存在的增加cooperation.The更广泛的影响，这项研究是，通过测试的概念，人类引起的环境稀缺必然会导致冲突，它将提供一个模型，为决策者，以确定可能是社会分割和冲突易发地区。 此外，该项目还在物质上促进了年轻社会科学家的教育。

Population pressures and resource scarcity have led environmental security theorists to argue that rapid social change may trigger instability and conflict at the local level. This dissertation research by a cultural anthropologist from the University of Georgia, will explore how the presence of shrimp aquaculture in Chilika Lake - a coastal lagoon in Orissa, India - is associated with changes in access to resources and social changes within the local caste system. By exploring and comparing social networks in aquaculture and non-aquaculture sectors of the lake, this dissertation research will look at caste relations to test the thesis that resource scarcity may lead to greater cooperation at the local level. Resource scarcity may encourage cooperation because of the vested interest and competitive advantage that exists in expanding a community's resource base. Recent and historical changes in community fishing grounds will be modeled through participatory mapping exercises based on a Geographic Information System (GIS). Together with available census data, this is expected to demonstrate a shrinking resource base in the aquaculture sector of the lake. Social network data will be collected using formal and informal interviewing techniques. Photo-elicitation and specialized computer software will also be employed to model and compare personal networks based on caste and subcaste in both sectors of the lake. An increase in social interaction between members of different castes in the aquaculture sector of the lake will demonstrate the erosion of caste prohibitions and the existence of increased cooperation.The broader impact of this research is that by testing the notion that human-induced environmental scarcity necessarily leads to conflict, it will provide a model for policymakers to identify areas that may be socially segmented and conflict-prone. In addition the project materially advances the education of a young social scientist.