The musical response to fishery policy: New England and Newfoundland
Abstract
This project found that the long-standing musical tradition and persistence of rural isolation in Newfoundland, coupled with limited opportunities for involvement in the policy process, explained a more widespread use of music as a reaction to policy than was observed in New England. In New England, the earlier development beyond rural outports, coupled with greater opportunity for involvement in the policy process helped explain a less widespread use of music as a policy reaction. ^ The content analysis and rank-ordering of base values by frequency in each sample resulted in the finding that across the musical samples, the three most frequently occurring base values, wealth, well-being, and tradition were the same. Disparity occurred with the value “community”. It was concluded that in New England, community is less easily defined—entering into the policy process as an issue itself. In Newfoundland, discourse on community usually refers to a small rural village or outport. The analysis of legal and regulatory documents resulted in the finding that in both the United States and Canada, rectitude is the most frequently occurring base value. This points to the fact that even in situations of resource scarcity, in which satisfying all stakeholders is almost impossible, the governments seek to hold themselves to ethical standards in fisheries decision-making. The different policy making processes in the United States and Canada—based on regional councils and ministerial discretion respectively—make this commitment difficult where public involvement is concerned. ^ The innovative method employed by this project allows us to ask new questions about fishery or any natural resource policy. The method, through reducing samples related to different groups to differing frequency rank-orders of the same set of values, allows for examination of the prioritizing of these values between stakeholder groups. We are then able to ask questions about what the similarities and differences between these value priorities mean for the making of fisheries policy. Additionally, the examination of values allows for analysis of cultural products such as music, which can serve as important and relatively untapped sources of popular policy response. ^
Subject Area
History, Canadian|History, United States|Music|Environmental Studies|History, Modern|Sociology, Public and Social Welfare|Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture
Recommended Citation
Alison Elena Glassie,
"The musical response to fishery policy: New England and Newfoundland"
(2012).
Dissertations and Master's Theses (Campus Access).
Paper AAI1501408.
http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/dissertations/AAI1501408