Browsing by Subject "Risk perception"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Communicating risk and increasing civic engagement in water protection in Minnesota
    (2019-07) Kreiter, Amelia
    Forty percent of Minnesota lakes and rivers are classified as “impaired bodies.” The extent of water problems is far-reaching; each of Minnesota’s 87 counties has an impaired river, lake, or stream. Despite the magnitude of Minnesota’s water problems, water protection and restoration initiatives primarily have been agency-driven and technology-centered. Though new programs are touting a more collaborative watershed management approach, true civic engagement is needed to identify and solve water issues that span multiple jurisdictions and land uses. Engaging residents in water protection increases the success of a project, builds trust between residents and local agencies, and sets future projects up for greater public support. Despite all these benefits, the question of how to get residents involved in water management persists. Minnesotans value clean water and water provides multiple cultural services on which residents depend. Given these water values and benefits, how do residents perceive water in the state? Do perceptions of water quality and beliefs about water problems influence civic engagement in water? Using an integrated model of the Risk Information Seeking and Processing framework and Norm Activation Theory, I analyze data collected through a statewide survey of Minnesota residents to determine the influence of perceptions of water risk, experience with water, perceived information sufficiency, self-efficacy, socio-demographics, and social and personal norms on civic engagement in water. The integrated model explained 24% of variance in civic engagement in Minnesota residents, with information sufficiency and relevant water experience being the strongest predictors. This suggests that residents may need a stronger personal connection to water issues to get involved in protection efforts. Study findings will help to inform future outreach and risk communication strategies to develop pro-environmental behaviors in Minnesota residents.
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    Evaluation of Workforce Perceptions as a Means to Identify and Mitigate the Causes of Musculoskeletal Disorders
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation Research Services Section, 2010-01) Loushine, Todd William
    An analysis of workers’ compensation data showed that five job classifications accounted for over 93% of all cases. This analysis also showed that 48% of the cases resulted in sprains and strains, and 70% of those cases were caused by over-exertion and/or awkward work postures. Based on these findings, a research proposal was created to investigate worker perceptions of potential musculoskeletal injury factors and possible corrective actions. Fifty randomly-selected Mn/DOT transportation generalists and mechanics from District 1 were interviewed via telephone. Interviews were voice recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by shortening and separating responses. Each of the six questions produced between fifteen to twenty-one response categories and total response counts between 63-to-123. The most frequently cited safety concern was exposure to public traffic on road projects; followed by heavy or awkward lifting, “rushing” to get a job done and exposure to typical construction site hazards. Overall, workers felt management and co-workers were committed to safety on the job. Possible safety improvements revolved around: general awareness, watching out for each other, planning ahead, taking time to do the job right, and proper use of personal protective equipment. Most of the workers interviewed indicated interest in participating and promoting a workplace wellness program to improve their health and fitness. Efforts to reduce musculoskeletal injuries need to incorporate the concerns and ideas of workers, building off of what was learned in this study.
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    Predicting Local and State-Level Water Risk Perceptions in Minnesota
    (2020-01) Peplinski, Jaren
    Risk perception research in the field of natural resources science and management has come a long way since the publication of “Perception of Risk” by Paul Slovic in 1987, and some scientists have started attempting to predict risk perceptions. At the time of this writing, 40 percent of assessed waters in Minnesota are reported as impaired. However, resident water risk perceptions are not aligned with technical risk assessments conducted by water experts. To better understand the mechanisms that drive heightened or lowered water risk perceptions, a mail survey was distributed to Minnesota residents across the state. The questionnaire asked residents about their values, perceived community capacity to manage water problems, and perceived awareness of water quality issues in their local area to develop a model predicting perceptions of water risk at two levels: local and statewide. In the survey, an adaptation of the values constructs created by Steg et al. (2014) was employed, and several new value constructs were created for this survey. The multivariate regression model developed was moderately effective, explaining about a third of the variance in water risk perceptions for both local and statewide levels. Consistent with previous research in Minnesota, this study has found gaps between technical assessments of risks to water in Minnesota and public perceptions of this risk. The exploratory nature of this risk perception research suggests that future investigation into the predictors of water risk perceptions should examine the reliability of the measures used in this study.