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The Use of Frames Analysis in Evaluating Capacity‐Building in Local Coastal Programs in Louisiana *
Author(s) -
NorrisRaynbird Carla
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
rural sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.083
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1549-0831
pISSN - 0036-0112
DOI - 10.1526/003601108783575862
Subject(s) - framing (construction) , respondent , frame analysis , jury , geography , political science , engineering , sociology , content analysis , law , civil engineering , social science
A bstract Frames theory has been widely used to explain the dynamics of group processes and decision‐making. Some researchers have applied frames theory to policy adoption and implementation. Following from this, my research applies frames analysis to a regulatory program in coastal Louisiana. The data derive from a pre‐Hurricane Katrina study of the effectiveness of Louisiana's Coastal Resources Program in building coastal zone management (CZM) capacity among local decision‐makers. In this paper, I examine the potential influence of three independent variables (Local Coastal Program development, type of respondent, and frequency of coastal zone management interaction) on the level of agreement with regulator frame ideology. The frames analysis shows that parishes with Local Coastal Programs (LCPs) have a significantly stronger presence of regulator framing than do parishes without LCPs. Among the three types of decision‐makers (CZM administrators/staff, CZM advisory panel members and parish council or police jury) regulator frame agreement is particularly strong among advisory panel members, while agreement with regulator frames is lowest among parish council or police jury officials. Respondents reporting more CZM interaction exhibit higher levels of regulator frame agreement. OLS regression shows that the conditions of having an LCP, or being a panel member and having greater frequency of CZM interactions significantly increase the likelihood of regulator framing. These findings demonstrate the importance of the LCP process in the shaping of frames congruent with lead agency ideology.