Doctoral Dissertation Research: Discourses About Wildfire in New Jersey and New South Wales

Clark University, Worcester MA

Investigators

Abstract

Over the past half-century, the United States and Australia have experienced the emergence of the urban-wildland interface as a new landscape type. The urban-wildland interface consists of areas where residential settlement has encroached on forests and other "wild" lands. Increasing numbers of people are at risk from major fires in these zones, as evidenced by major fires that threatened thousands of residents in southern California and near Canberra in 2003. Cooperation from the public is essential to fire management because of the importance of activities like clearing brush and changing roofing materials that must be done on private property. Substantial disagreement reigns regarding the goals that fire policy should pursue, however, especially with respect to the basic question: Should ecosystems be sacrificed to improve human safety? This doctoral dissertation research project will investigate how members of the public think about wildfire, their perceptions of the risk, and the implications of those views for wildfire management. The doctoral candidate will test the influential "cultural theory of risk," which holds that the basic form of social interaction used by people leads the same four basic perspectives to arise in all environmental management controversies. This project will focus on residents in urban-wildland interface zones in two case study areas, the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey and the outer suburbs of Sydney, Australia. These are comparably fire-prone regions experiencing rapid settlement growth, but the U.S. and Australia have had very different histories of thinking about fire. The two cases will allow the student to make cross-cultural comparisons, investigating whether the same perspectives dominate the public debate in both locations. To explore these issues, the student will use the Q method and a mail survey. Q is a method that allows the participant to construct a representation of their worldview by sorting a set of 40-60 cards bearing statements about an issue. The results of multiple people's Q sorts can be compared using factor analysis software to identify distinct schools of thought. Approximately 10 to 15 individuals in each of four towns in each of the two study sites (yielding a total sample of 80 to 120 people) will complete Q sorts. A survey will be sent to a random sample of 400 residents in each of the case study areas in order to broaden the results of the Q to a larger sample. The survey also will investigate the effect of demographic and social factors, such as length of residence in the area and amount of involvement in community activities, on people's views of wildfire. This study will help researchers understand how conflicting views of an issue arise, what the major questions at stake in the debate over wildfire management are, and whether there are important differences in public views between the U.S. and Australia. It will test general theories (particularly the "cultural theory of risk") that predict a certain set of salient worldviews will dominate environmental management debates. This research also will contribute directly to shaping wildfire policy by helping residents of the urban-wildland interface and fire-management officials understand each other's viewpoints. With this knowledge, they will be better able to select management techniques that will be desirable and effective in promoting human safety and protecting the environment. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.