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Weerstand tegen Windmolens - De invloed van burgerparticipatie en psychologische afstand op perceived fairness en het ontwikkelen van weerstand

Krens, Jeske (2011) Weerstand tegen Windmolens - De invloed van burgerparticipatie en psychologische afstand op perceived fairness en het ontwikkelen van weerstand.

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Abstract:When introducing new initiatives for siting wind farms, local resistance against those plans is common. Different studies have sought for ways to explain this resistance. Some of them focus on the role of perceived fairness concerning the outcome and the decision making process, and state that perceived unfairness can lead to severe resistance against new environmental plans. This study focuses on the relationship between perceived fairness and resistance and looks for ways to establish perceived fairness by letting citizens participate in the decision making process concerning a new wind farm in their environment. Participation in decision making is a strategy that is already used in environmental planning, but the effectiveness of this strategy was never empirically supported. This study focuses on different forms of participation to see which form is most effective in increasing perceived fairness and reducing resistance. These forms differ in the psychological distance at the moment of participation. It was expected that a small psychological distance (face-to-face participation) would lead to more perceived fairness and less resistance, than participating by computer, which causes more psychological distance. An online experimental study with 186 participants shows that these expectations are partly true. Participation in decision making leads to more perceived fairness and less resistance, but this was only the case when participants were participating by using a computer system. Face-to-face participation did not lead to higher levels of perceived fairness and did not reduce resistance. These findings support theories that argue that participation and fairness play an important role in developing resistance against spatial planning decisions. This study supports the notion that public participation in decision making is beneficial when plans for a new wind farm are released. Computer-mediated participation is preferred.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:05 communication studies
Programme:Communication Studies MSc (60713)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/61272
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