Browsing by Subject "perceptions"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Land Manager Decision-Making Practices When Establishing Public Fruit-Bearing Plants In Hennepin County Municipalities, Minnesota
    (2021-06) Walhowe, Jared
    Increasingly, public land managers face decisions about using fruit-bearing plants (including fruiting trees, shrubs, and vines) on public lands. While public trees provide many positive ecological, economic, and community health benefits, fruit-bearing perennial plants provide similar benefits and more. Expanded benefits include enhanced pollinator habitat, increased food access, unique educational opportunities, and ways for residents to interact more deeply with public vegetation. Despite the many potential positive influences of fruit-bearing perennial plants, their use and incorporation into public spaces vary among cities, resulting in an uneven and often inequitable distribution of public services. This study aims to better understand public land managers’ decision-making processes by exploring what factors are considered when deciding to plant, or not plant, fruit-bearing perennial vegetation. Specifically, interviewees (n = 12) described what they perceive as the most significant benefits and barriers to establishing fruit-bearing plants in public spaces. Respondents reported using fruit-bearing plants to augment species diversity, community engagement, wildlife habitat, and public education. Barriers cited included limited time and financial resources to manage fruit-bearing plants, lack of specialized training, fears associated with liability, limited public awareness, and competing urban forestry goals. This study contributes to the literature on public land manager decision-making which has not previously focused specifically on fruit-bearing plants. The findings inform vegetation decision-making and urban natural resource planning by outlining key risks and rewards of adopting fruit-bearing plants.
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    Perceptions of Creativity
    (2017-08) Rowles, Chelsea
    This study examines the perceptions of how creative various activities are believed to be. Forty-eight survey items were created modeling Kaufman and Beghetto’s four C model of creativity. Principal factor analysis was conducted to identify factors within each of the four groups. The data analysis indicates that the four C categories are not unifactor and that there may be a number of different influences that affect perceptions of creativity.
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    Perceptions of Invasive Species and Their Control Among the MN Tourism Industry
    (University of Minnesota Tourism Center, 2014) Schneider, Ingrid E.; Qian, Xinyi
    This project sought baseline information on perceptions of invasive species and theie control among the Minnesota tourism industry. The majority of respondents agreed that both invasive plant & aquatic invasives were harmful to Minnesota’s environment, economy & society. Similarly, the majority of respondents indicated all 7 control methods presented in the questionnaire would be effective to control invasive species.
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    A Summary of Select Trends among Minnesota Tourism Perceptions and Spending
    (University of Minnesota Tourism Center, 2015) Schneider, Ingrid; Schlueter, Alex
    Minnesota residents consistently reported tourism as an important part of Minnesota’s economy, while spending and intended spending varied slightly across survey periods. In terms of perceptions regarding tourism, more than nine out of 10 Minnesota residents reported tourism as important to the state’s economy during 2005-2009. Between 2011 and 2014, leisure travel spending habits fluctuated. They dipped in 2011 but increased and have remained stable since then. Following a similar pattern, intended spending on leisure travel in the next 12 months dipped in 2012, but has increased since that time.
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    The Value of Water in the Twin Cities
    (Metropolitan Council, 2024-08) Davenport, Mae; Keeler, Bonnie; Roth, Sarah; Kreiter, Amelia; Rogers, Maggie; Keller, Meredith; Niehoff, Erin; Mohamed, Kowsar; Pradhananga, Amit; Delgado-Ortiz, Giovanni
    This report outlines findings from a four-year research project conducted by University of Minnesota (UMN) researchers in collaboration with the Metropolitan Council (hereafter Council), with funding from the Council’s Community Development and Environmental Services Division. The study area includes the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area seven-county region. In 2019, staff from the Council’s Environmental Services Division engaged with researchers from the UMN Center for Changing Landscapes and Humphrey School of Public Affairs to discuss the Council’s desire to better understand and represent the perspectives of socially and culturally diverse residents and their water relationships. The project’s goals are to uplift the perspectives and experiences of Twin Cities Metro Area residents, especially socially marginalized groups with the aim of representation justice in water policy and planning. Davenport et al. (2023, pg. 289) define representation justice in water as policy, planning, and management in which “people should reasonably expect that the diversity of water relationships and values of community members are fairly deliberated and equitably represented among those in power.” To center representation justice in our science, the UMN team committed to using rigorous and inclusive social science research methodologies to gather and share different narratives of water from and with communities and community leaders across MSP with the goal of better representing communities and influencing water policy, programming, and investments towards water justice. In 2021-2022, UMN researchers conducted a survey of Twin Cities Metro Area residents. Our original study design directed us to survey residents onsite, at community events. However, because of the 2019 COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions, an onsite survey was no longer possible. Instead, we administered a mail survey of residential households in the Twin Cities Metro Area to learn more about residents’ understanding of their water supply, perceived threats or concerns related to water services, familiarity with their water bill and local issues related to water in their communities. A detailed account of Phase I (2020-2022) work is presented in a separate technical report (Roth et al., 2022). This report presents findings from the second phase of social science research conducted as part of the larger two-phase project. This report describes three research activities conducted in Phase II from 2022-2024: • Twin Cities Metropolitan Area Municipal Surveys: A Review of Water Insights • Urban Water Values in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area • Water Policy Co-Development Workshops The report is organized into three sections. Each section reports on an activity and was written by project PIs and co-authors.