Rivers are revered worldwide for their ecologic,scenic,and recreational value.The capacity to communicate effectively among human groups with vested interest in rivers hinges on understanding the nature of human perce...Rivers are revered worldwide for their ecologic,scenic,and recreational value.The capacity to communicate effectively among human groups with vested interest in rivers hinges on understanding the nature of human perceptions of water quality and the extent to which they vary intraculturally.Recognizing the intersection between measured water quality and the characteristics of rivers that influence human perceptions facilitates potential for better communication across disciplines and among stakeholders.We conducted interviews and a pile-sort task with water quality experts and nonexperts.Our analysis suggested human evaluation of water quality is guided by culturally constructed criteria,regardless of respondent expertise,experience,or demographics.Cluster analysis results implied that measured physical and chemical parameters of rivers were directly related to the visible attributes used in human judgments.We suggest that,regardless of variability among individual stakeholders,observable characteristics may be the foundation for a common understanding of water quality in rivers.展开更多
基金supported in part by the U.S.Geological Survey 104B Program and the Arkansas Water Resources Center(project#2014AR351B)by a research grant awarded by The Geological Society of America.
文摘Rivers are revered worldwide for their ecologic,scenic,and recreational value.The capacity to communicate effectively among human groups with vested interest in rivers hinges on understanding the nature of human perceptions of water quality and the extent to which they vary intraculturally.Recognizing the intersection between measured water quality and the characteristics of rivers that influence human perceptions facilitates potential for better communication across disciplines and among stakeholders.We conducted interviews and a pile-sort task with water quality experts and nonexperts.Our analysis suggested human evaluation of water quality is guided by culturally constructed criteria,regardless of respondent expertise,experience,or demographics.Cluster analysis results implied that measured physical and chemical parameters of rivers were directly related to the visible attributes used in human judgments.We suggest that,regardless of variability among individual stakeholders,observable characteristics may be the foundation for a common understanding of water quality in rivers.
