Journals at the University of Arizona
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Reinterpreting energy poverty in Zimbabwe: a scalar perspective
No full textUnequal access to electricity has negatively impacted rural households in Zimbabwe. Energy poverty and its impact cannot be understood only at rural household level, but involve the local community, the government, the nature of the state and international relations. The state, non-state and political actors operate across scales and have relational interactions that help to explain inequality in access to energy. Through a qualitative study of Buhera District, Ward 24 and its scalar political ecology, I explain inequalities of access through actor roles and differential power, also finding that patriarchal gender relations play a critical role in socially producing scale in the household. Scalar relations determine policy decisions that are felt by households denied access to electricity
El patrimonio biocultural maya-yucateco desde la perspectiva de la ecología política: el caso del huerto familiar en Chimay
No full textEl manejo tradicional de los sistemas productivos (SP) característico de las comunidades maya–yucatecas, como el huerto familiar y la milpa, se fundamenta en una racionalidad ecologista de diversificación del aprovechamiento de los recursos del entorno natural, permitiendo la subsistencia y reproducción social de las comunidades por milenios. Actualmente, factores externos como los programas productivos emanados de políticas públicas, inciden en el patrimonio biocultural de los pueblos originarios, en deterioro de la sinergia entre la sociedad y la naturaleza. El presente artículo sintetiza, a través de un enfoque etnográfico cualitativo, el perfil de la comunidad de Chimay en Yucatán y la incidencia de la implementación del Programa Productivo Social Familiar del Traspatio (PPSFT) sobre el manejo tradicional del huerto, desde un enfoque de la ecología política con apoyo de la teoría de control cultural. Los hallazgos señalan que, a pesar de que los beneficiarios han adoptado ciertos elementos introducidos por el programa, existen elementos impuestos y enajenados en la implementación del PPSFT—como el formato de los talleres y la dependencia en el programa para la adquisición de semillas—que inciden sobre las prácticas, los saberes y en el tejido social de la comunidad. El estudio identifica una ambivalencia en la implementación del programa, donde determinados elementos externos importados con el programa, deterioran ciertos valores tradicionales, favoreciendo una racionalidad economicista, que propicia una relación asistencialista y de dependencia entre los beneficiarios y el Estado. Por otro lado, el programa fomenta la apropiación y el uso de nuevas técnicas que contribuyen a maximizar la producción del huerto familiar. El panorama se presenta complejo y se hace necesario entonces reflexionar y considerar las implicaciones de los programas socio-productivos, desde un enfoque holístico y multidisciplinario.Palabras claves: Patrimonio biocultural, huerto familiar, solar, control cultural, sistemas productivo
Theorizing power in political ecology: the 'where' of power in resource governance projects
No full textPower and politics have been central topics from the early days of Political Ecology. There are different and sometimes conflicting conceptualizations of power in this field that portray power alternatively as a resource, personal attribute or relation. The aim of this article is to contribute to theorizations of power by probing contesting views regarding its role in societal change and by presenting a specific conceptualization of power, one which draws on political ecology and sociotechnical approaches in science and technology studies. We review how power has been conceptualized in the political ecology field and identify three trends that shaped current discussions. We then develop our conceptual discussion and ask explicitly where power emerges in processes of resource governance projects. We identify four locations that we illustrate empirically through an example of rural electrification in Tanzania that aimed at catalyzing social and economic development by providing renewable energy-based electricity services. Our analysis supports the argument that power is relational and productive, and it draws on science and technology studies to bring to the fore the critical role of non-human elements in co-constitution of society – technology – nature. This leads us to see the exercise of power as having contradictory and ambiguous effects. We conclude that by exploring the tension between human agency and constitutive power, we keep the politics alive throughout the analysis and are able to show why intentional choices and actions really matter for how resource governance projects play out in everyday life
Altered ontologies of the seascape: local knowledge, environmental change and conservation in Kihnu, Estonia
No full textThis article explores the roots and paths of changing discourses about the natural environment and marine resources in the seascape of Kihnu, Estonia. The ontology of the seascape is never static, being subjected to constant transformation, as local experiences and understandings collide with external influences, regulations and constraints. By focusing on the indeterminacies of agency, and human encounters and environmental events, I show how Soviet pasts and perceptions, shifting scientific paradigms and practices, the dynamics of local-global articulations, and unforeseen transformation in the marine environment have progressively contributed to new understandings of the seascape, seals and other marine resources. These changing perceptions fundamentally challenge previously-held notions that humans and nature belong together. A traditional seal hunt had endured in the Baltic Sea for centuries, but the decline of the seal population in the 1970s was widely understood as anthropogenic, related to overfishing, large scale seal hunts and pollution. While most Baltic Sea coastal waters have remained closed to any type of seal hunting for more than 40 years, many fishers and marine scientists agree that grey seal population has recovered and some Baltic Sea countries have lifted the ban on hunting grey seal. While the seal hunt and meat used to have great cultural importance, there was also commercial value in seal skin and fat for many coastal communities. Several representatives of fishery-dependent coastal communities in Estonia now publicly express a view that seals now compete with fishers. Consequently the seal has lost its cultural importance and is considered as an intruder to Kihnu cultural space. I argue that making sense of the concerns and uncertainties that presently surround the question of knowing about and managing marine ecosystems, requires paying close attention to the ways in which access to the seascape and its resources have been enforced and altered over time.Key Words: Estonia; small-scale fisheries; seascape approach; ontology; local knowledg
Chi-square and F Ratio: Which should be used when?
No full textApproximations for Chi-square and F distributions can both be computed to provide a p-value, or probability of Type I error, to evaluate statistical significance. Although Chi-square has been used traditionally for tests of count data and nominal or categorical criterion variables (such as contingency tables) and F ratios for tests of non-nominal or continuous criterion variables (such as regression and analysis of variance), we demonstrate that either statistic can be applied in both situations. We used data simulation studies to examine when one statistic may be more accurate than the other for estimating Type I error rates across different types of analysis (count data/contingencies, dichotomous, and non-nominal) and across sample sizes (Ns) ranging from 20 to 160 (using 25,000 replications for simulating p-value derived from either Chi-squares or F-ratios). Our results showed that those derived from F ratios were generally closer to nominal Type I error rates than those derived from Chi-squares. The p-values derived from F ratios were more consistent for contingency table count data than those derived from Chi-squares. The smaller than 100 the N was, the more discrepant p-values derived from Chi-squares were from the nominal p-value. Only when the N was greater than 80 did the p-values from Chi-square tests become as accurate as those derived from F ratios in reproducing the nominal p-values. Thus, there was no evidence of any need for special treatment of dichotomous dependent variables. The most accurate and/or consistent p's were derived from F ratios. We conclude that Chi-square should be replaced generally with the F ratio as the statistic of choice and that the Chi-square test should only be taught as history
In Social Network Analysis, Which Centrality Index Should I Use?: Theoretical Differences and Empirical Similarities among Top Centralities
No full textThis research examines four frequently used centrality indices—degree, closeness, betweenness, and eigenvectors—to understand the extent to which their clear theoretical distinctions are reflected in differences in empirical performance. Even for stylized networks in which one centrality index may seem more relevant than the others, the four indices are frequently highly correlated. This result can be interpreted as good news: it does not diminish the conceptual distinctions, yet it suggests the indices are rather robust, yielding similar information about actors’ positions in networks, which can be reassuring given their widespread use by applied network analysts who may not appreciate the theoretically distinct origins and definitions. This research also compares computational speed across the centrality indices as another practical element that may help determine the choice of centrality index