Dissertation Research: The Nature Conservancy, Science, and the People of Adams County

本论文的研究项目是一个国际性的、以科学为基础的保护组织(自然保护协会)与俄亥俄州南部一个农村县的人民之间的关系的研究。长春社已经在这个地区建立了一个保护区，但更重要的是试图让当地居民参加一个全县范围的评估和规划计划。这项研究解决了知识社会学和公共争论中的科学社会学中的重要理论和实践问题，也借鉴了小城镇、组织和场所的社会学理论。该项目的具体研究问题是：(1)对于亚当斯县居民和长春社来说，考虑到人类社区和自然环境，县的不同含义是什么，他们在未来有什么不同的利益？(2)长春社如何使其对县的定义与县居民保持一致？长春社采用的策略是什么？这些策略是如何被抵制的？为了回答这些问题，该项目包括三个部分：(A)在县进行人种学观察，因为社区保护协会试图启动一个全县范围的评估和规划进程；(B)对约30名社区保护协会工作人员和县居民的访谈和口述历史进行录音和分析；(C)收集和分析来自社区保护协会的文件和数据，收集和分析与该县有关的资料(来自图书馆、报纸、县和乡村记录和组织)。这项跨学科研究之所以意义重大，首先是因为它首次将科学技术研究和社区研究结合在一起。对于科学和技术研究，该项目旨在扩大公众争论中的科学理论，而在社会学中，这项调查也将增加对小城镇、组织和场所的理论理解。这项研究也具有现实意义。这个农村县正在发生的变化正在全国范围内复制，这项研究可以帮助社区和保护组织决定应对这种变化及其后果的最佳行动方案。此外，保护协会的发展，特别是其新的参与式保护方法，被忽视了。这些发现可以帮助保护协会、其支持者、其他保护团体、相关社区和感兴趣的其他人更好地理解新方法，评估它，并根据他们的目标采取行动。最后，这项研究可以应用于更大的问题，即平衡当地居民的知识和利益，以及对像长春社这样的组织的专家科学的需求。这项研究有助于评估科学知识如何最好地成为民主决策的一部分。

This dissertation research project is a study of the relations between an international, science-based conservation organization (The Nature Conservancy) and the people of a rural county in southern Ohio. The Conservancy has established a preserve in this area, but more importantly is attempting to enroll the local residents in a program of county-wide assessment and planning. The study addresses important theoretical and practical issues in the sociology of knowledge and of science in public controversies, drawing as well on sociological theory of small towns, organizations, and place. The specific research questions of the project are: (1) For the Adams County residents and for the Conservancy, what are the different meanings of the county and what are their different interests in its future, taking into account both the human community and natural environment (2) How does the Conservancy bring its definition of the county into alignment with the county residents? What are the strategies employed by the Conservancy and how are these resisted? To answer these questions, the project consists of three elements: (a) ethnographic observation in the county as the Conservancy attempts to institute a process of county-wide assessment and planning; (b) tape-recording and analysis of interviews and oral histories with approximately 30 Conservancy staff and county residents; (c) the collection and analysis of documents and data from the Conservancy, from collections relevant to the county (from libraries, newspapers, county and village records, and organizations). This interdisciplinary study is significant first because it brings science and technology studies and community studies together for the first time. For science and technology studies, the project aims to enlarge upon theories of science in public controversies, while in sociology this investigation will add as well to the theoretical understanding of small towns, organizations, and place. This investigation has practical significance as well. The changes taking place in this rural county are being duplicated nationwide, and this study can help communities and conservation groups decide on the best course of action to take in grappling with this change and its consequences. In addition, the growth of the Conservancy and in particular its new participatory conservation approach has been overlooked. These findings can help the Conservancy, its supporters, other conservation groups, the involved communities, and interested others to better understand the new approach, assess it, and take action in accord with their goals. Finally, this research can be applied to the larger problem of balancing the knowledge and interests of local residents with the need for expert science from an organization like the Conservancy. This study can help in evaluating how scientific knowledge can best be part of democratic decision-making.