Doctoral Dissertation Research: Subjective estimations, probabilities, and subsistence decision-making in Endeh, Flores Island, Indonesia. Is more information better?

University Of Georgia Research Foundation Inc, Athens GA

Investigators

Abstract

University of Georgia doctoral candidate, Victoria C. Ramenzoni, with the guidance of Dr. Bram Tucker, will undertake research on the effects of increased access to information on subsistence-related decision making. Her research will address the question of how forecasts and estimations of uncertainty in terms of probabilities and covariation rules explain economic behavior including production activities and resource use in artisinal fishing communities. Ramenzoni's research will be carried out in Endeh, Flores Island, Indonesia, where she will collect data to determine the extent to which subjective estimations about uncertainty (covariation inferences and probabilistic representations) explain economic behavior including production activities and resource use. Specific research questions include: 1) How do Endehnese fishermen conceive of ecological processes (physical, atmospheric, and meteorological) affecting fishing stocks and catches? 2) What forms do fishermen's predictions of weather, climatic events, and ecological processes take? 3) How do fishermen's estimations of weather, climate events, ecological processes, and their own productive efficiency influence the time they spend fishing? Data collection methods will include a combination of ethnographic, observational, and experimental tools. Results will be analyzed through multivariate and bivariate statistics, and content analysis techniques. The research is important because it will increase modeling predictability and theoretical power for understanding subsistence behavior. Study findings will illuminate the effects that everyday subsistence decision-making has on economic transitions and conservation initiatives. The research also will provide human behavioral evidence for conservation and governmental programs concerned with managing endangered fisheries and preventing overfishing by conceptualizing people's needs and realities through a culturally sensitive lens. Funding this research supports the education of a graduate student and the training of two undergraduate students from the University of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, fostering international research communication and collaboration.