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The Power of Place: A Qualitative Evaluation of Stream Monitoring Data Usage by Decision-Makers in Dane County, Wisconsin

Has years of citizen-based nutrient sampling and baseline water quality monitoring efforts only had a "trivial" impact on natural resource management decisions? This thesis will explore this and other findings from a qualitative evaluation of the Rock River Coalition (RRC) citizen-based stream monitoring project in Dane County, Wisconsin, USA. These findings are the culmination of 47 semi-structured interviews with decision-makers from seven client-identified categories and participant observations of board meetings and other watershed groups. Interview questions focused on current strategies of data design and dissemination with the goal of constructing a clearer picture of existing data usage by Dane County decision-makers. In the wider picture of citizen science and community-based research, this case study aims to highlight barriers to data use and potential solutions. The results of this case study were understood through four key frames: (1) Bourdieu's concept of symbolic capital, (2) Barzilai‐Nahon's theory of network gatekeeping, (3) Newman et al.'s framework for leveraging the power of place, and (4) a Foucauldian approach to the production of scientific knowledge. The findings of this study highlight the presence of gatekeeping mechanisms within the scientific field as well as government institutions, problematize the practice of placemaking, assert there is untapped symbolic capital to be wielded by citizen scientists, and trace the "innovation" of volunteer water monitoring data in Dane County.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc1505147
Date05 1900
CreatorsSemlow, Andrea R.
ContributorsHenry, Lisa, Dunstan, Adam, Bell, Karen
PublisherUniversity of North Texas
Source SetsUniversity of North Texas
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis or Dissertation
Formatviii, 116 pages, Text
RightsUse restricted to UNT Community, Semlow, Andrea R., Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved.

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