Evaluating software in environmental conflict resolution : the role of MarineMap in coastal planning and decision making in California
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Environmental managers and planners have become increasingly enthusiastic about the potential of collaborative technology such as decision support tools (DSTs) to improve environmental decision-making processes. Discussions about technology, however, rarely recognize the range of ways software can influence users' thinking and social dynamics in decision-making processes, in part because there are few empirical studies of processes that integrated technology tools. This mixed-methods study—which draws on data from approximately 60 semi-structured interviews, an online survey, the applications' log files, and videotaped meeting archives—examines how the geospatial DST MarineMap influenced participants' experiences during the implementation of California's Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA), producing a network of marine protected areas (MPAs) along the California Coast. More broadly, it argues for the importance of empirically observing how tools functioned and provides suggestions for evaluating software in environmental decision making. Overall, this research suggests that software should not be considered an objective source of information, but an active shaper of process dynamics. Implications include the need to evaluate tools as well as processes and the need for those implementing decision making processes to pay attention to the role software is playing.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2014 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Cravens, Amanda Emily |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (Stanford University) |
| Primary advisor | Ardoin, Nicole M. (Nicole Michele) |
| Primary advisor | Martinez, Janet K |
| Thesis advisor | Ardoin, Nicole M. (Nicole Michele) |
| Thesis advisor | Martinez, Janet K |
| Thesis advisor | Caldwell, Margaret R |
| Thesis advisor | White, Richard, 1947- |
| Advisor | Caldwell, Margaret R |
| Advisor | White, Richard, 1947- |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Amanda Emily Cravens. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2014. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2014 by Amanda Emily Cravens
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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