Influence of Location on Ecology Views

Influence of Location on Ecology Views City, rural and Costal backgrounds: Does Location Influence our outlook on ecology? Rebecca Anne Chesser Summary Conservation has gradually gone from being an issue to a select few, to now a global phenomenon. The widespread harmful aspects of human activity on the biophysical environment have reached catastrophic levels. The amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere is already above the threshold that can potentially cause dangerous climate change. â€Å"We are already at risk, its not next year or next decade, its now. Report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Although the damage up until now is largely irreversible, conservation is the key to limiting any further damage to the global environment. If these issues are not urgently addressed the list of animals on the endangered species list will exponentially increase at an alarming rate. The future welfare of the planet, flora and fauna depends on how the world responds to the current global crisis. Human beings are guilty of robbing the world of its natural resources, impacting ecosystems and habitats o f wild animals. Re-education of how we manage the earth and its resources, and the animals and planets which live in it, is vital for future generations. With this in mind, this study will look to see if location, either urban, rural or coastal, has a direct effect on one’s knowledge and understanding of the natural world around them, and whether or not this impacts their attitudes towards conservation and animal welfare issues. This will hopefully make way for future research in order to raise awareness of what communities are more likely to be lax about environmental issues, and could benefit from more information/conservation schemes to improve the world in which we inhabit. Research Background Much of the previous research in this area has focused largely on cross-cultural studies, which observed the relation between how people conceptualise nature and how they act in it. â€Å"Tragedy of the commons† is a theory proposed by Garrett Hardin, according to which individuals, acting independently and rationally according to each ones self-interest, behave contrary to the whole groups long-term best interests by depleting some common resource (Hardin, 1968). The concept is often cited in connection with sustainable development, meshing economic growth and environmental protection, as well as in the debate over global warming. Commons can include the atmosphere, oceans, rivers, fish stocks, national parks and any other shared resource. The tragedy of the commons occurs when individuals neglect the well-being of society in the pursuit of personal gain and thus it is this attitude, which varies largely across cultures, which has become one of the most central, yet diverse, problems in environmental welfare decision making. A number of researchers have however noted many examples in which commons have been and are being successfully managed (Atran, 1986; Berkes, Feeny, McCay, Acheson, 1989; Deitz, Ostrom, Stern, 2003; Ostrom, 1999). Key factors in these successes include a closed-access system and having social institutions in place to monitor use and punish overusers. This again shows that depending on the measures in a particular location, the outcome of people’s attitudes towards conservation and ecology can be influenced. Lo ´pez, et al, (1997) found that US undergraduates and Itza’ Maya of Guatemala showed a different pattern of responding on a category-based inductive reasoning task involving mammals, indicating a clear difference in knowledge and understanding the essential nature and underlying properties of animals ranging across two very different cultures. In a two part study carried out Schultz, results showed that participants instructed to take the perspective of an animal being harmed by pollution scored significantly higher in biospheric environmental concerns than participants instructed to remain objective (Schultz 2000). This implies that concern for environmental issues is fundamentally linked to the degree to which people view themselves as part of the natural environment. This implies a potential link between location and knowledge of nature, and levels of concern for both environmental and animal welfare which is what this future investigation aims to distinguish. Hypothesis In relation to the previous research carried out, which illustrated that there is a link between location and understanding the essential nature and underlying properties of plants and animals, it will be expected that [1] urban dwellers will have less experience of country, shore and sea life and will therefore have a lesser knowledge of the essential nature- and the underlying properties of both plants and animals, meaning they will score less than country and coastal dwellers on the knowledge of nature section of the questionnaire. [2] This will therefore lead to urban dwellers being less enthusiastic about conservation issues, due to rural/coastal dwellers witnessing, first hand, the effects of environmental issues damaging their surrounding areas more obviously than in less green urban areas- (oil covered birds, woodlands destroyed etc). [3] Urban dwellers will also be less passionate regarding issues to do with the treatment of animals, due to reduced contact with them, and mor e physical distance from many animals, compared to living in the countryside or coastally, meaning they will also score less on both attitudes towards conservation of the environment and attitudes towards the treatment of animals sections. The null hypothesis would be that participant’s location does not directly impact their knowledge of the essential nature and underlying properties of plants and animals, nor does it directly influence their attitudes towards conservation and animal welfare. Method Equipment Participants will be briefed and a consent form will be completed online. Participants will then be asked to fill in an online questionnaire which should take no longer than half an hour to complete. The software platform for this online questionnaire will be TypeForm. Participants Participants will most likely be both male and female university and college students around the age of 18-25, with varying races and socio-economically backgrounds. Participants will be mostly self-selected to participate; having chosen this study to fulfil a research participation requirement scheme (STREP) enforced By Heriot Watt University. The questionnaire may also be sent to several other students at different university and college campuses in and around Edinburgh. Data Collection Data will be collected using an online survey. The questionnaire will be organised to ensure that questions are grouped into 4 categories. Participants will receive a score for each section- [1] Location of the participant- including previous locations, location preferences, how often they visit coastal/country areas if they arent coastal or country dwellers etc [2] Attitudes towards conservation of the planet- such as recycling, which environmental issues they are concerned with, how green they consider their lifestyle to be etc [3] Attitudes towards how animals are treated- views on vegetarianism, hunting, animal testing, free range, animals as pets, animals in captivity etc [4] *Still developing a way in which I can assess participants knowledge of essential nature- and the underlying properties of both plants and animalsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹* Variables Due to this study being observational, no manipulation of variables has occurred. The predictor variable for this study will be location of the participants, and the three outcome variables will be [1] knowledge of the essential nature and underlying properties of plants and animals, [2] attitudes towards conservation, [3] attitudes towards animal welfare. Measures No ‘scales’ or ‘measures’ exist for either the predictor variable nor the outcome variables of this study, therefore the questionnaire will be tailored to attain sufficient information from each section to allow a score to be allocated to each participant for each of the four sections. Each section will have between ten and fifteen questions. Firstly the questions will be assessing the location of the participant- most importantly whether they consider themselves to live in an urban, country, coastal or suburban area. Also included in this section will be questions to do with the length of time the participant has lived in Great Britain, how often the participant engages with the outdoors, if they have any access to parks or country walks nearby, if they have a job that involves working outdoors for extended periods of time, and also basic factors such as gender, age and ethnicity. Secondly, questions will be asked about attitudes towards energy conservation . This encompasses recycling, travel, lifestyle choices etc, which all could be seen to negatively impact global warming and conservation. Thirdly, questions about attitudes towards the value of animals will be asked- dietary choices, opinions on animal testing, hunting sports and keeping animals in captivity. The fourth element of the questionnaire is going to be a picture match (similar to that previously conducted in â€Å"Cultural Dià ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â€š ¬erences in Children’s Ecological Reasoning and Psychological Closeness to Nature: Evidence from Menominee and European American Children† (Unswortha et al). TypeForm Software allows a picture match, so 4 pictures will be presented, two will be matched somehow- ie. Same diet, both give birth to live young, both live underground, both young are called ‘kits’ etc, the participant scores 1 point for every pair correctly selected. There will be other multiple choice questions in this section to further assess the participant’s knowledge and understanding of nature, animals, plants and the planet. Again, the point scoring will continue- 1 point for every correct answer. For all questions there will also be an option to pass on the question, this will be in place to minimise participants randomly guessing, or cheati ng in order to avoid feeling embarrassed by selecting the wrong answers. Sections will be scored using a point system: for example one question could be â€Å"Which do you use more- bath or shower†- due to a shower conserving water, if this answer was selected the participant would receive 2 points, if they selected bath they would receive 1 point and so on. Participants will end up with 4 scores- one for location, one for conservation, one for animal treatment and one for knowledge of nature. ie. Rural participant may score 32 out of a possible 50 for conservation, whereas an urban participant may only score 19. Procedure Participants who chose to take part in this study by either signing up on the STREP system or through email, will be sent a brief if the study and a consent form. The brief will outline what the study will entail and stated that the participants will remain anonymous, with the exception of providing information regarding their age and sex, and will explain that participants have the option to withdraw from the study and ask for the data t not be used at any point. Once the consent form is signed, the participants will be asked to complete the online questionnaire. The participants will then be given a debriefing and, if applicable, be awarded their STREP credits. Analysis The data will be analysed using SPSS. (***Unsure which tests to use***) Limitations There could be many problems and limitations to this study. With time and funds restrained sample size will be limited and not representative of the entire population raising questions of the validity and ability to generalise the findings of the study. Many of the students asked to fill out the question may answer the questions untruthfully or may ‘skip’ some questions, and some may drop out the study leading to missing data. References Atran, S. (1986). Hamula [patrican] organisation and masha’a [commons]  tenure in Palestine. Man, 21, 271–295 Atran, S., Medin, D. L. and Ross, N. (2005). The cultural mind: environmental decision making and cultural modeling within and across populations. Psychological Review 112, 744-776. Bailenson, J. N., Shum, M., Atran, S., Medin, D. L. and Coley, J. D. (2002). A bird’s eye view:  biological categorization and reasoning within and across cultures. Cognition 84, 1-53. Berkes, F., Feeny, D., McCay, B., Acheson, J. (1989, July 13). The  benefit of the commons. Nature, 340, 91–93. Dietz, T., Ostrom, E., Stern, P. (2003, December 12). The struggle to  govern the commons. Science, 302, 1907–1912. Gelman, S. A. (2003). The Essential Child. New York: Oxford University Press. Lo ´pez, A., Atran, S., Coley, J., Medin, D. (1997). The tree of life: universal and cultural features of folkbiological taxonomies and inductions. Cognitive Psychology, 32, 251–295 Ostrom, E. (1999). Coping with tragedies of the commons. Annual Review  of Political Science, 2, 493–535 Schultz, W. P. (2000). Empathizing with nature: The eà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ects of perspective taking on concern for environmental issues. Journal of Social Issues 56, 391-406. Walker, S. J. (1999). Culture, domain specificity and conceptual change: Natural kind and artefact  concepts. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 17, 203-219. SCHOOL OF LIFE SCIENCES ETHICS COMMITTEE Application Form (click on the grey boxes to insert text) Section A: Project Overview Project Title: City, rural and Costal backgrounds: Does Location Influence our outlook on ecology? 2. Approval sought: Full approval Re-Submission In principle Contact Information 3. Responsible Staff Member: a) Name: Thusha Rajendran b) Telephone: +44 (0)131 451 3456 4. Investigator (if different from Responsible Staff Member): a) Name: b) Telephone: c) Email: 5. Duration of Proposed Project: February 2014 6. Anticipated Start Date: February 2014 7. Does the proposed research involve human participants or living animals in any way? Yes No Note. Involvement of human participants includes obtaining information from people through methods such as experiments, observation, surveys or interview, or any use of previously obtained personal data, or any use of human tissue samples. If your answer to Question 7 is ‘yes’ complete the rest of the form; if it is ‘no’, simply sign the declaration at the end of the form. 8. Please provide a brief summary of the proposed study (if possible, in less than 300 words. Include an overview of the design, variables, and other ethically-pertinent considerations). Feel free to attach a document if convenient. Section B: Administration Section C: Ethical Considerations Section D: Further Information Regarding Ethical Considerations If you responded ’No’ to any questions in section B, or ‘Yes’ to any questions in Section C, please provide further information, indicating how you would address this issue. Please be as comprehensive as possible, as this will speed the process for the referees and may avoid the need to contact you for further information or clarification.

gay people Essay -- essays research papers

The topic I picked is Homosexual people should have the right and the freedom like what straight people have in this world. I think this topic is very controversial because in the U.S. Most homosexual people especially males, get discriminated because of what they feel: having attractiveness to their same sex. Most people in the U.S. are str8 and most people think that being gay or lesbian is wrong and it is not right to show it off and be proud of it. Another point why this topic is very controversial is when gay people marry each other. Many people believe and many religions believe it is very wrong to marry the same sex person. For example in the Roman Catholic followings. The church is totally against gay and lesbian relationships, because it if you do follow the gay and lesbian side its considered a big sin because in the teachings of GOD and Jesus you have to be with the opposite sex so you can make life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 2 perspectives that are drawn on this topic is that the 1st perspective is that you see the topic as very reasonable. For instance you do agree with the topic and you do want to follow what it says. The 2nd perspective is that you disagree with the topic and say that gay and lesbians should have the rights or as much freedom as straight people because they are â€Å"different† than most people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The side that I want to represent is the one that I am with the perspective that sees that gay and lesbians should have the freedom to do whatever they want and with whom ever they want.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To me I am not gay myself, and I do not have any problems with these kinds of people. As long as they do not touch I’m cool with them. The reason I support the 1st perspective is because in this country the U.S. it is a free country and you can do whatever you want that is not crime committed or have to do anything that kills other people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Homosexual people do not have the freedom, yet they still fight for their right to be homosexual. People around the U.S. are against the homosexual concept. What I do not understand is why do you have to be against this gay and lesbian concept in the 1st place? 1st of all what to do homosexuals have to do in your life; they do not interfere into you personal life. So why do you have to discriminate and make fun of the peo... ...ot see the side of whom they are inside, but they only see what they are.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A lot of people judge each other by a different number of things. But the most discrimination next to racism is homosexuality. The reason a lot of people think it is wrong because they think it is sick and it is not normal for other people to see homosexuals kissing or engaging in sexual intercourse.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Overall Homosexuals have it hard in the U.S. but not only here but around the world, some countries or religions kill people if they are gay. What I think about that is that I think it’s very wrong and people do not realize that being gay is very hard, and they can’t be put in their shoes to see how it is. The whole problem is that people of different aspects or view have been discriminated because of what they believe in and what they want to act in. So what I want to say is that homosexuals should have the same equal rights and the same amount of freedom as straight people because in this world it does not matter who, what you are, but it does matter how you contribute to this world and how people make it a better place.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Substantial Problems on Industrialization

At the turn of the century, a spirit of reform known as progressivism took hold of many American people. Less a united movement than a loose gathering of casual and improbable alliances, progressivism targeted the massive problems of an urban, industrialized nation. In spite of resistance, progressives were able to redefine government†s role in American life, make a serious run for the White House, and ratify such lasting reforms. In the nightfall of the 1800†³s, many citizens could see that existing efforts to solve the substantial problems of industrialization were failing. The 1880†³s and 1890†³s were filled with lively debates about how to reform society. The ideas of journalists Henry George and Edward Bellamy were among the most popular. In 1879 Henry George had written a book Progress and Poverty in an effort to explain why an advanced civilization seemed to increase rather than eliminate poverty. George proposed to solve this problem by ending taxes on improvements on land, such as housing and cultivation. George proposed just a single tax – on the value of land itself. Such a tax would make a speculation in land less attractive by increasing the cost of holding land without using it. In 1888 newspaper editor Edward Bellamy published a novel called Looking Backward. Incorporated into the novel was the story of a man being hypnotized and waking up in the year 2000. All of the harsh working conditions, social class set backs, and political corruption that existed in 1887 no longer existed. The reason for such a change was that government had nationalized the great trusts and organized industrial management. Socialists, unionists, and city government reformers also had many followers. Progressives realized that the nation†s free enterprise system often could be unfair, but they did not want to lose the high standard of living and personal liberty it had given them, and they deeply feared the violence of revolution. Thus, progressives were faced with the question of how to preserve what was good about the United States while reforming the bad. In order to protect vulnerable citizens, progressives accepted an increased level of government control over areas once considered private, such as housing and healthcare. Florence Kelley became a leader in the search for answers. She soon became a resident in Jane Addams† Hull House in Chicago. Largely through her efforts, in 1893 Illinois passed a law prohibiting child labor, limiting working hours for women, and regulating sweatshop conditions. In 1954 Supreme Court justice Felix Frankfurter said that Florence Kelley â€Å"had probably the largest share in shaping the social history of the United States during the first thirty years of this century. † Driven by the mounting tide of public demand, an inundation of progressive reform programs flowed through local, state, and federal legislatures. Targets for the proposed reforms included politics, society, and the economy. Some reform mayors led movements for city – supported welfare services. Hazen Pingree provided public baths, parks, and, to combat the 1893 depression, a work relief program. â€Å"Golden Rule† Jones opened playgrounds and free kindergartens and built lodging houses for the homeless. â€Å"Nobody has the right to rule anybody else,† he once said. He thought all people would be good if social conditions were good. Progressive governors and state legislators also were active. Governors Robert LaFollette in Wisconsin and Hiram Johnson in California introduced reforms to make government more efficient and responsive to voters. Progressivism appeared at the federal level in labor and industrial relations, in the regulation of business and commerce. By the time Theodore Roosevelt completed his second term in 1909, the government had filed forty – two antitrust actions. The beef trust, Standard Oil, and the American Tobacco Company were either broken up or forced to reorganize. Roosevelt was not antibusiness. He did not wish to destroy trusts he deemed â€Å"good,† or not harmful to the public, he just felt they should be supervised and controlled. The progressive era also gave way to they sixteenth and seventeenth amendments. The sixteenth amendment allowed government to raise more revenue from wealthy people†s income and less from tariffs that hurt the working poor. The seventeenth amendment took the election of senators out of the hands of legislature; voters were thus allowed to play a more direct role in government. By the mid – 1910†³s, progressives could take pride in the many changes they had helped bring about, such as redefining the role of government in business and politics. Some reformers included Henry George, Edward Bellamy, Florence Kelley, and the nation separated as local, state, and federal. The beginning of the war in Europe brought about the end of the progressive era in 1914, by the end of 1916 the reform period of the United States had sputtered out.

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