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

通过水力压裂开发页岩气的迅速兴起，正在以重大而不均衡的方式重塑美国的农村地区。该项目将分析水力压裂的引入如何重塑农业景观中的人与环境的互动，因为农民正在决定是否允许在他们的土地上开发页岩气。通过这种方式，该项目回应了对水力压裂热潮对美国农民土地所有者的影响进行科学研究的迫切需求。这项研究将对农民如何在国家级页岩气开发政策、土地赠与大学扩招计划和环境知识的生产方面扮演环保公民的角色产生新的见解。这项研究结合了政治生态、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描述，并通过确定代表不同水力压裂方向的农民-土地所有者之间的趋同领域，为建立共识奠定基础。博士生将与当地的土地赠与学院合作，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来分析农民对水力压裂的看法。中心研究问题是：在水力压裂和农业生产的交汇点，人与环境的关系是如何重新配置的？这项研究将以宾夕法尼亚州和纽约州的双子层地区为例，研究不同的州级政策可能如何影响人们对水力压裂的看法。博士生将使用Q方法，一种统计分析主观观点的方法，来确定农民如何在他们的土地上经历水力压裂。Q方法的使用还将确定可用于在水力压裂辩论中在不同利益攸关方之间建立共识的趋同领域。这些发现将通过访谈补充，以便在解释Q方法研究结果时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互动的形成方式。这些发现将通过突出关于水力压裂的对立观点之间的潜在共识领域，向当地利益相关者、土地赠与学院和政策制定者提供信息。

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.