Perception and Conflict in Conservation: The Rashomon Effect

BioScience ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip S Levin ◽  
Steven A Gray ◽  
Christian Möllmann ◽  
Adrian C Stier
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Inclusive Process ◽  
Environmental Conflicts ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Absence Of Evidence ◽  
Epistemic Pluralism

Abstract Conflict is a common feature in conservation and resource management. Environmental conflicts are frequently attributed to differences in values; however, variability in the perception of facts, rooted in social and cultural differences also underlies conflicts. Such differences in perception have been termed the Rashomon effect after the Kurosawa film. In the present article, we explore a conservation Rashomon effect—a phenomenon that results from a combination of differences in perspective, plausible alternative perspectives of a conservation issue, and the absence of evidence to elevate one perspective above others. As a remedy to the Rashomon effect, policy-makers have turned to scientists as honest brokers who share a common environmental reality. We evaluate this supposition and suggest that scientists, themselves, display Rashomon effects. We suggest that Rashomon effects can be reduced by acknowledging the plurality of reality, embracing epistemic pluralism, and prioritizing an inclusive process of resource management.

Water Resources Management in the Semi-Arid Central Valley of California

1987 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 97-106
Author(s):  
J. J. Vasconcelos
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Ground Water ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Central Valley ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Ground Water Resource ◽  
Semi Arid

Hater resource managers in semi-arid regions are faced with some unique problems. The wide variations in precipitation and stream flows in semi-arid regions increase man's dependence on the ground water resource for an ample and reliable supply of water. Proper management of the ground water resource is absolutely essential to the economic well being of semi-arid regions. Historians have discovered the remains of vanished advanced civilizations based on irrigated agriculture which were ignorant of the importance of proper ground water resource management. In the United States a great deal of effort is presently being expended in the study and control of toxic discharges to the ground water resource. What many public policy makers fail to understand is that the potential loss to society resulting from the mineralization of the ground water resource is potentially much greater than the loss caused by toxic wastes discharges, particularly in developing countries. Appropriations for ground water resource management studies in developed countries such as the United States are presently much less than those for toxic wastes management and should be increased. It is the reponsibility of the water resource professional to emphasize to public policy makers the importance of ground water resource management. Applications of ground water resource management models in the semi-arid Central Valley of California are presented. The results demonstrate the need for proper ground water resource management practices in semi-arid regions and the use of ground water management models as a valuable tool for the water resource manager.

Doing Business Abroad: The Problem of Training for Cultural Differences in Communication

1983 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-347
Author(s):  
John P. Daniels ◽  
Hugh M. Shane ◽  
Jerry L. Wall
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Host Country ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Effective Communication ◽  
Sociological Factors ◽  
Efficient Management ◽  
Doing Business ◽  
Foreign Culture ◽  
Time Space

Effective communication is essential for efficient management. Yet, the problem of communication is exacerbated when the manager is required to function in a foreign culture. Communication in a foreign country is often complicated by such cultural influences as the importance of time, space, relationships, and numerous other subtle psychological and sociological factors. Merely learning the language of a host country is not sufficient to effectively conduct business abroad. To be truly effective, a manager must not only understand the language of the host country but must also “have a feel” for its culture. The present article suggests that managers preparing for overseas assignments be familiarized not only with the language of the host country but also with the psychological and sociological norms inherent in that particular culture.

scholarly journals The "narcissism of minor differences" theory: Can it explain ethnic conflict?

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pål Kolstø
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Present Article ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
Sigmund Freud ◽  
Individual Psychology ◽  
Ethnic Conflicts ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Philosophy Of Culture ◽  
Narcissism Of Minor Differences

In many ethnic conflicts and civil wars in the 20th century the cultural differences between the warring groups were very small. The bloody conflicts between Serbs, Croatians, and Bosnians during the breakup of Yugoslavia are a case in point. This observation has led some commentators to conclude that a lack of objective cultural markers between groups may itself be conducive to violence: When the members of two groups are difficult to tell apart, violence is inserted in order to create identity boundaries between them. One particular version of this theory goes under the name ?narcissism of minor differences?. This expression goes back to Sigmund Freud, who applied it both to individual psychology and in his philosophy of culture. The notion has been largely ignored by practicing psychotherapists, but over the last decades, however, it has been discovered by journalists and social scientists and applied to cases of collective rather than individual violence. The present article examines some of the articles and books that expound the ?the narcissism of minor differences?-concept in order to assess the explanatory strength and weaknesses of this theory. .

Ordinary women and men: superintendents and Jews in the Budapest yellow-star houses in 1944–1945

Urban History ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-91
Author(s):  
MÁTÉ RIGÓ
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Apartment Buildings ◽  
The Holocaust ◽  
Nazi Persecution ◽  
Micro Level

ABSTRACT:The present article investigates how everyday people shaped the outcome of discriminatory measures during the Nazi persecution of Budapest Jews, primarily by looking into micro-level social interactions between superintendents and confined Jews during ghettoization in the Hungarian capital (1944). I argue that besides a multiplicity of relevant political, social and military reasons determining the fate of Budapest Jews, the urban specificity of the Holocaust also needs to be taken into account, given that location and access to urban space enabled different personal strategies to contest or aggravate anti-Semitic persecution. Especially older, nineteenth-century apartment buildings fostered the autonomy of superintendents, who could act independently of various authorities, exploiting certain Jews while aiding others. The article demonstrates how many superintendents made use of this power effectively as the successive regimes toughened their anti-Semitic policies. In addition, the investigation of individual motives and the micro levels of segregation and discrimination highlight major differences between and within apartment buildings, despite the supposedly homogeneous discrimination against Jews envisaged by Nazi policy makers.

scholarly journals Macroeconomic Uncertainty and Empirical Research Results of its Quantitative Measurement in Georgia

Ekonomika ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-74
Author(s):  
David Kbiladze ◽  
Shorena Metreveli ◽  
Tamar Kbiladze
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Economic Policy ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Quantitative Evaluation ◽  
Quantitative Measurement ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Macroeconomic Uncertainty ◽  
Definition Of

The present article describes the approaches and definition of the concept of uncertainty proposed by its authors, a quantitative evaluation of uncertainty, and materials of the empirical study used to explore the said issues on the example of macroeconomics of Georgia. We hope that the views given in the article will be useful for developing countries, particularly for the economic policy-makers in the post-communist states, as well as for the academic and scientific circles engaged in the studies of the above-listed issues.

scholarly journals Educação Ambiental crítica ou conservadora? Elementos para uma reflexão crítica acerca do projeto ECOA

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-121
Author(s):  
Tauan Sousa ◽  
Horácio Antunes de Sant'Ana Júnior
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Education ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Rural Area ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Environmental Conflicts ◽  
Education Project ◽  
Local Populations ◽  
Bibliographical Survey

O presente artigo propõe a reflexão acerca de um projeto de Educação Ambiental realizado por um empreendimento siderúrgico na Zona Rural do município de São Luís-MA. A partir de levantamento bibliográfico e de páginas eletrônicas e de entrevistas com moradores "atendidos” pelo projeto, busca caracterizar tal projeto dentro dos marcos teóricos da contemporânea reflexão acerca da Educação Ambiental: ou seria movido por uma educação ambiental caracterizada como conservadora ou por uma educação ambiental crítica. A pesquisa conclui que o referido projeto compõe o primeiro grupo e, dentro do quadro de conflitos ambientais existentes nesta região, não contribui para o fortalecimento do processo de resistência das populações locais. Critical or conservative environmental education? Elements for a critical reflection on the ECOA project The present article proposes the reflection about an Environmental Education project carried out by a steel enterprise in the Rural Area of the municipality of São Luís-MA. From a bibliographical survey and electronic pages and interviews with residents "attended" by the project, it seeks to characterize such a project within the theoretical frameworks of the contemporary reflection on Environmental Education: or it would be moved by an environmental education characterized as conservative or by an education The study concludes that this project is the first group and, within the framework of environmental conflicts in this region, does not contribute to the strengthening of the resistance process of the local populations. Keywords: Critic Environmental Education, Conservative Environmental Education, ECOA, Resex de Tauá-Mirim.

scholarly journals Multi-stakeholder platforms: integrating society in water resource management?

2005 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 4-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeroen Warner
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Social Learning ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Real Life ◽  
International Water ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

Multi-Stakeholder Platforms are a currently popular concept in the international water world. It is however not a very well defined phenomenon. The present article unpacks the concept, proposes to see platforms as networks, and identifies two ´schools of thought´: social learning and negotiation. It attempts a preliminary typology of platforms encountered in real life, in which the Comités de Bacia in Brazil, for all their shortcomings, come out as a relatively influential type. In closing, the article then identifies reasons for non-participation, suggesting that it is an inevitable corollary of organised participation.

PRIORITIES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: PERSPECTIVES, DECISION-MAKING, AND EMPATHY

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Afton Nelson ◽  
Kristijan Civljak ◽  
Heather Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Response Distribution ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Subjective Reports

The rapid and ongoing evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in reactionary decision-making and emphasized discord arising from uncertainty. Given that countries have dealt with the pandemic quite differently thus far, it was relevant to explore the undertones of decision-making, as well as the perspectives of the individuals who are affected. The study aimed to investigate the role of confidence and decision-making in pandemic behaviors as well as related pandemic perspectives. The present article discusses findings concerning pandemic-specific decision-making, the influence of empathy on decision-making, and qualitative reports from respondents. The analyzed sample included 561 respondents divided into three cultural groups based on response distribution, geography, and general cultural categorizations (e.g., Western vs. non-Western). The findings revealed insights into the decision-making of pandemic consequences, as well as a lack of cross-cultural differences within the sample. Subjective reports highlighted key themes including trust in science, prevention and preparedness, and suggested next steps from the respondents’ perspectives. These findings from across the globe call for further investigation into cross-cultural decision-making in the pandemic.

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