A Shift in Values

Quantitative indicators of change for non-commodity resource management were examined, to assess whether the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service has been changing its on-the-ground management practices to give more emphasis to non-commodity resources. Specifically, data on recreation management and on wildlife and fish habitat management were analyzed to determine whether any shifts in the agency's management priorities had occurred. All data examined indicate that the Forest Service has been increasing its activities in non-commodity resource management over historic levels. When viewed in context with other recent studies suggesting that the Forest Service is moving away from traditional commodity production, the results of this study provide evidence that a significant shift has occurred, or presently is occurring, in Forest Service management practices.     

Navigating the Methodological Landscape in Spatial Analysis: A Comment on “A Route Map for Successful Applications of Geographically-Weighted Regression”

The development of “route maps” for spatial analytical methods is a pursuit with important ramifications. Comber et al. propose a route map to guide applications of geographically weighted regression consisting of a three-step primary pathway and a series of secondary arterials. This comment first highlights some concerns about the underlying “map” (i.e., experimental setup and assumptions) and then with the proposed “route” (i.e., core decisions and evaluation criteria). It closes by suggesting a more general focus on identifying modeling issues with the highest impact and facilitating consensus-building, which could improve the future production of route maps for navigating the methodological landscape in spatial analysis.     

Taking perspective of the stories we tell about transgender rights: The narrative policy framework

Our project uses the narrative policy framework (NPF) to explore narrative effects on attitudes about transgender rights. The framework focuses on the stories that are told about public policy. As opposed to conceptualizing communications as informational, NPF suggests that getting lost in the story is primary for attitude change. We also incorporate a perspective taking exercise to examine its effects on individual attitudes. Using an experiment on 1784 American adults, we found that individuals who received the inclusive transgender policy narrative by either watching or reading the narrative held views more supportive of transgender rights, with the effect greater for watching than reading. Those who experienced greater narrative transportation, being more lost in the story, reported more supportive attitudes. We further find that those with traits that lead them to become more imaginatively involved in stories occasionally are more greatly affected by watching policy narratives than those who are less imaginatively involved. However, perspective taking did not influence attitudes and weakened the treatment effects of the narratives. Our findings suggest stories can affect policy attitudes and beliefs, which may be conceptually distinct from traditional framing-based accounts and implies distinctive causal mechanisms that result in attitude change.     

"A More Perfect Union": Ableman v. Booth and the Culmination of Federal Sovereignty

The discourse over federal versus state jurisdiction was ingrained into American politics at the nation's inception. It has been the premise of our most historically significant rivalries—between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay, and Daniel Webster and Robert Hayne. Though this debate remains a contentious topic in contemporary political discourse, the U.S. Supreme Court settled the legal controversy on the eve of America's bloodiest conflagration. Unanimously, the Court ruled that the federal union was of greater importance than the authority of the individual states. The 1859 Ableman v. Booth ¹ decision was wrought from moral controversy, legal precedent, and political necessity, coupled with the full force of law, and has endured as a compelling pronouncement on the need for continuity and stability in uncertain times.     

The Shaping of San Livelihood Strategies: Government Policy and Popular Values

The importance of understanding the livelihood strategies of poor people has received a fresh impetus over the last few years with the emphasis by many Western donors on poverty reduction. This article examines the livelihood strategies of San people in three villages on the northern peripheries of the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Their economic marginalization is compounded by their ethnic background; a stigma that also marginalizes them politically and socially. The analysis presented here not only challenges stereotypes commonly associated with San by demonstrating the interconnectedness of different means of ‘looking for life’, but it also brings to the fore the importance of considering institutional factors that regulate livelihood strategies. The article focuses on some of the unexpected consequences of the wider policy environment, and on how the values associated with different ways of life affect material subsistence strategies. These are particularly pronounced for people with a heritage of hunting and gathering living in a society that regards such practices as ‘backward’.