Performance of Ontario's Benthos Biomonitoring Network: impacts on participants' social capital, environmental action, and problem-solving ability

• Published in: Environments Vol. 34; no. 1; pp. 37 - 53
• Main Authors: Jones, F. Chris, Baird, Donald, Bowman, Michelle, Cameron, Graham, Craig, Brian, Cutler, Brad, Diamond, Joshua, Dmytrow, Nicole, Nicol, Martha, Parker, Jim, Pascoe, Tim, Vaughan, Hague, Whitelaw, Graham
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Waterloo Wilfrid Laurier University - Environments 01.08.2006; Wilfrid Laurier University, Geography and Environmental Studies
• Subjects: Aquatic ecosystems; Benthic zone; Benthos; Environmental aspects; Environmental monitoring; Invertebrates; Problem solving; Questionnaires; Social capital; Social networks; Ontario; Ontario Canada; Canada; Canada, Ontario
• ISSN: 0711-6780

We used dummy variables to code nominal-scale categorical variables, which allowed us to investigate relationships between predictor and response variables (e.g., Zar 1984). Some categorical descriptor variables were re-coded as ordinal variables. This was done, for example, for question 37 ([Chris Jones] 2005), to which participants were asked to select from a series of categories any that described their involvement in the OBBN: "Reader," "Correspondent," "Uncertified participant," "Certified participant," "Reference-site sampler," "Test-site Sampler," "Research collaborator," "Certified trainer," "Technical Advisory Committee member," and "Data user." To code these ordinally, Reader and Correspondent were combined into a single category and given a value of 1 ; Uncertified participant was assigned a value of 2; Certified participant was assigned a value of 3; and Certified trainer and Technical Advisory Committee member were combined into a single category and given a value of 4. Where respondents selected more than one category, the assigned code reflected the highest ordinal class selected (e.g., had both "Reader" and "Certified participant" been selected, the response would have been coded as a 3). Once all variables were coded, we graphically summarized data for each variable to show the distribution of responses. Ontario Benthos Biomonitoring Network participants with different levels of experience returned completed Questionnaires, including those who considered themselves marginally involved "readers" (20 respondents) or "correspondents" (24 respondents), more involved "certified participants" (19 respondents), or very involved "certified trainers" (7 respondents) or "Technical Advisory Committee members" (6 respondents).3 The number of months for which participants reported having known about the OBBN exhibited a nearly even distribution (categories were 0-6 months, 7-12 months, 13-18 months, 19-24 months, 2530 months, and 31 months or more; mode was 25-30, and included 10 of 38 responses). To a similar question querying duration of involvement, 33% of respondents selected the "0-6 months" category, and 38% selected the "25-30 months" or "31" months" categories (n=39). Eighty-nine percent of participants (n=37) indicated having participated in 1-3 OBBN events (including meetings, teleconferences, courses and presentations), although a small number of participants who had attended more than 25 such events were also represented. Questions about OBBN members' socio-economic status and demography revealed an approximately even mix of 58% men and 42% women among respondents. The distribution of ages was skewed, with the mode occurring between 20 and 39 years-of-age (accounting for 66% of respondents), and with no respondents less than 20 years-of-age. All respondents reported having earned at least a college diploma, and the most common response regarding the highest level of education achieved (accounting for 45% of those polled) was "university undergraduate degree" (n=38). The most common vocational affiliation reported was with conservation authorities, Ontario's quasi-governmental watershed-management agencies (32% of respondents), although all other affiliations (e.g., private sector, government, academic, education, and non-governmental or non-profit) were represented among respondents (n=38). Similar to that of reported ages, the distribution of participants' on-the-job experience was skewed, the commonest response being less than three years (44% of responses; n=38), with sequentially declining representation of respondents in categories up to 20^sup +^ years' experience (categories were "<3 years," "3-5 years," "6-10 years," "11-20 years," and ">20 years"). The number of years that participants have been residing in their present community had a more even distribution, the mode (accounting for 32% of responses) situated at the "<3 years" category (n=38; categories were the same as for on-the-job experience, see above). Participants' annual household incomes had an approximately normal distribution (categories were "<$25,000," "$25,000-40,000," "$40,001-70,000," "$70,001-100,000," and ">$100,000"), the mode, accounting for 53% of responses, was "$40,001-70,000"(n=30).