| This dissertation is a three part examination into the cultural influences on stakeholder involvement in participatory environmental decision-making processes, including public participation GIS (PPGIS), in the context of agricultural watershed management. The dissertation consists of three papers addressing theoretical and empirical questions that contribute to understanding how culture influences the design of public participation processes and affects the involvement of representative stakeholders in adaptive management more broadly. I discuss and develop an innovative theoretical framework called Grid/Group theory that investigates the production of culture in society and reveals different participation preferences deriving from four distinct cultural groups. In the final two chapters, using statistical methods and a GIS aided-focus group, I provide empirical evidence of differences in participation preferences among farmer cultural groups, and diverse understandings of environmental and economic impacts of bioenergy crop development. Results suggest a practical need to integrate participation preferences in adaptive management strategies, particularly regarding farmer involvement, while Grid/Group theory provides a unifying framework for interpreting participants' beliefs and values throughout a PPGIS process.;Key words: Public participation, Public participation GIS, cultural theory, adaptive management, stakeholders, farmers, central Illinois. |
