Doctoral Dissertation Research: Environmental Subject Formation at the Intersection of Hydraulic Fracturing and Agricultural Production: A Critical Q Study of the Twin Tiers Region

通过水力压裂技术开发页岩气的迅速崛起，正在以一种重大而不均衡的方式重塑美国农村地区。当农民决定是否允许在他们的土地上开发页岩气时，该项目将分析水力压裂的引入如何重塑农业景观中人类与环境的相互作用。通过这种方式，该项目回应了美国迫切需要对水力压裂热潮对农民土地所有者的影响进行科学研究的需求。这项研究将对农民如何在国家级页岩气开发政策、土地授予大学推广计划和环境知识生产方面作为环境公民产生新的见解。该研究结合了政治生态学、科学技术研究和Q方法，将超越对页岩气开发复杂实践的简单表述，并通过确定代表水力压裂不同方向的农民和土地所有者之间的共同点，为建立共识奠定基础。这位博士生将与当地的赠地学院合作，在地区农业会议上分享研究成果，并在页岩气开发辩论中与不同的利益相关者分享研究成果。该项目采用混合方法分析农民对水力压裂的看法。研究的核心问题是：在水力压裂和农业生产的交叉点，人类与环境的关系是如何被重新配置的？该研究将以宾夕法尼亚州和纽约州的双子层地区为例，研究不同的州一级政策如何影响人们对水力压裂的看法。这位博士生将使用Q方法论，一种统计分析主观观点的方法，来确定农民在他们的土地上如何经历水力压裂。Q方法的使用还将确定可用于在水力压裂辩论中不同利益相关者之间建立共识的趋同领域。在解释Q方法研究的结果时，这些发现将辅以访谈，以提供更深入和详细的信息。此外，博士生将使用批判性话语分析来研究社会背景如何影响人与环境相互作用的形成方式。这些研究结果将为当地利益相关者、土地授予学院和政策制定者提供信息，突出了水力压裂对立观点之间的潜在共识领域。

The rapid rise of shale gas development via hydraulic fracturing is reshaping rural regions of the United States in significant and uneven ways. This project will analyze how human-environment interactions within agricultural landscapes are being reshaped by the introduction of hydraulic fracturing, as farmers decide whether or not to permit shale gas development on their land. In this way, the project responds to a pressing need for scientific research on the impacts of the hydraulic fracturing boom on farmer-landowners in the US. The study will produce new insights about how farmers act as environmental citizens in relation to state-level shale gas development policy, land grant college extension programs, and the production of environmental knowledge. Working at the interface of political ecology, science and technology studies and Q methodology, the study will move beyond simplistic representations of the complex practices of shale gas development and lay the groundwork for building consensus by identifying areas of convergence between farmer-landowners representing different orientations to hydraulic fracturing. The doctoral student will work with local land grant colleges to share the research findings at regional agricultural conferences and with diverse stakeholders in the shale gas development debate.This project employs a mixed methods approach to analyze farmer perceptions of hydraulic fracturing. The central research question asks: How are human-environment relationships being reconfigured at the intersection of hydraulic fracturing and agricultural production? The research will examine the Twin Tiers region of Pennsylvania and New York as a case study to examine how divergent state-level policies may impact perceptions of hydraulic fracturing. The doctoral student will use Q methodology, a method of statistically analyzing subjective viewpoints, to identify how farmers experience hydraulic fracturing on their land. The use of Q methodology will also identify areas of convergence that may be used to build consensus among diverse stakeholders in the hydraulic fracturing debate. These findings will be supplemented with interviews to provider greater depth and detail while interpreting the results of the Q method study. Additionally, the doctoral student will use critical discourse analysis to examine how social contexts impact the ways in which human-environment interactions are shaped. These findings will inform local stakeholders, land grant colleges, and policy makers by highlighting potential areas of consensus between opposing viewpoints on hydraulic fracturing.