Linda S Prokopy
Biographic Data
| ID | 211132 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Linda S Prokopy |
| GIVEN NAMES | Linda S |
| FAMILY NAME | Prokopy |
| SIGNATURE | PROKOPY L S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Purdue University West Lafayette |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7076-0046 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 59 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 244 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 59 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Generative AI text-to-image for community participation in landscape planning
Generative AI text-to-image tools are increasingly used for community engagement. • We propose a new approach of integrating generative AI text-to-image tools in the process of participatory design. • We compromise the pace of translating participatory discussions into images, balancing between real-time approaches and extended periods. • This approach involves using ‘controlled imperfect’ generative images. • We collect keywords during the parti…
The need for proactive environmental planning in local government: Examining challenges and pathways forward in Indiana
Many factors, including regulations, community values, and economic and environmental considerations, influence environmental planning decisions. Across the nation, local elected and appointed boards and commissions are responsible for planning and land use regulations. However, few studies have focused on environmental planning through comprehensive and parks and recreation plans. Using Indiana communities as a case study, this research highligh…
Safer to plant corn and beans”? Navigating the challenges and opportunities of agricultural diversification in the U.S. Corn Belt
Agricultural diversification in the Midwestern Corn Belt has the potential to improve socioeconomic and environmental outcomes by buffering farmers from environmental and economic shocks and improving soil, water, and air quality. However, complex barriers related to agricultural markets, individual behavior, social norms, and government policy constrain diversification in this region. This study examines farmer perspectives regarding the challen…
Bridging systems thinking mindsets and farm management: The role of agricultural conservation planning in farmers’ adoption of conservation practices
The Use of Q Methodology as a Participatory Tool in Natural Resources Management
Policymakers, practitioners, and governing bodies increasingly recognize the critical role stakeholder engagement plays in successful environmental planning and decision-making. Although stakeholder engagement can improve project outcomes, identifying best practices for stakeholder engagement that apply to diverse topics and settings can be a challenge. Informed by our experience using Q methodology (QM) in five stakeholder meetings in agricultur…
How does co-produced research influence adaptive capacity? Lessons from a cross-case comparison
An Inventory and Assessment of Sample Sources for Survey Research with Agricultural Producers in the U.S
Researchers need probability samples to collect representative survey data about the behaviors and attitudes of agricultural producers they study in relation to the natural resources that they manage, yet obtaining accurate and complete sampling frames is challenging. We extract data from a publication database to identify the most commonly used sampling frame sources in survey research of agricultural producers in the U.S., finding that governme…
Understanding the relationship between land tenure and conservation behavior: Recommendations for social science research
Do scientists have a responsibility to provide climate change expertise to mitigation and adaptation strategies? Perspectives from climate professionals
Although the scientific community has reached a consensus that anthropogenic climate change is a severe and pressing issue, climate change remains a contentious debate with the United States public. Through a survey ( N = 273), we explored climate professionals’ perspectives on their role and responsibility to promote climate change adaptation/mitigation strategies related to agroecosystems. They believed that climate professionals have a social …
Scaling up co-produced climate-driven decision support tools for agriculture
Maladaptive learning in Peru’s integrated water resources management
Examining intensity of conservation practice adoption: Evidence from cover crop use on U.S. Midwest farms
Growing interest in sustainability of food production has put pressure on producers to examine their production practices. In particular, farmers’ use of conservation practices is receiving increasing attention. Previous studies evaluating conservation practice adoption have routinely treated adoption as dichotomous – a farm has either adopted a practice or not. However, for many practices, adoption is more accurately measured in terms of intensi…
Outsourcing governance in Peru’s integrated water resources management
Participatory water governance has become highly influential around the world as a means for managing water resources. Scholars and practitioners advocate for the inclusion of previously marginalized communities in water resources management through the devolution of power, responsibility, and participation. Where community institutions are weak or missing, experts recommend strengthening or re-building them to enable inclusive decision-making ov…
How do Indigenous and local knowledge systems respond to climate change
Popovici, R., A. G. de L. Moraes, Z. Ma, L. Zanotti, K. A. Cherkauer, A. E. Erwin, K. E. Mazer, E. F. Bocardo Delgado, J. P. Pinto Cáceres, P. Ranjan, and L. S. Prokopy. 2021. How do Indigenous and local knowledge systems respond to climate change? Ecology and Society 26(3):27. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-12481-260327
Overview of Featured Collection on a Bibliometric Analysis of Environmental and Resource Sociology
Society and Natural Resources (SNR) has been a premier outlet for multiple social science disciplines to publish their research since its creation in 1988. While many other journals focus on one pa
The urgency of transforming the Midwestern U.S. landscape into more than corn and soybean
The role of systems thinking in cover crop adoption: Implications for conservation communication
Adoption of agricultural conservation practices in the United States: Evidence from 35 years of quantitative literature
This is a comprehensive review of all published, quantitative studies focused on adoption of agricultural conservation practices in the United States between 1982 and 2017. This review finds that, taken as a whole, few independent variables have a consistent statistically significant relationship with adoption. Analyses showed that variables positively associated with adoption include the farmer self-identifying primarily as stewardship motivated…
What’s the draw: Illustrating the impacts of cartoons versus photographs on attitudes and behavioral intentions for wildlife conservation
Changing attitudes and behaviors of a targeted audience are common ambitions of outreach campaigns. Anthropomorphized images are used to promote and facilitate conservation and environmental messaging. To evaluate their effectiveness as a messaging tactic, Indiana adults were surveyed to examine if attitudes and behavioral intentions (BIs) differed due to image type (cartoon vs. photograph) for three non-charismatic wildlife species. Wildlife man…
Wildlife value orientations and their relationships with mid-size predator management
Wildlife managers can use wildlife value orientations (WVOs) to help predict public acceptance of management actions. However, WVOs may only be effective if they have high predictive value and research on small and non-charismatic wildlife has indicated this is not universally true. In this paper, we report the findings of a survey (n= 376) that evaluated the predictive value of WVOs (domination and mutualism) for six mid-size predator species ac…
Communication, Partnerships, and the Role of Social Science: Conservation Delivery in a Brave New World
The Saginaw Bay Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) in Michigan is an innovative conservation effort organized to address water quality impairments involving a unique collaboration between conservation organizations, agronomists, universities, commodity groups, and agribusinesses. We track the evolution and adaptation of the Saginaw Bay RCPP, and the collaboration among the traditional and nontraditional conservation partners. Our re…
Synthesizing Conservation Motivations and Barriers: What Have We Learned from Qualitative Studies of Farmers’ Behaviors in the United States
Since 2011, qualitative studies examining adoption of conservation practices and programs (CPPs) have burgeoned. This article presents a systematic review of all U.S.-based qualitative investigations into CPP adoption since 1996. We found three themes are discussed primarily as motivating adoption: farmer characteristics, environmental awareness, and trust in information sources. Four themes are discussed primarily as barriers to adoption: farm m…
Role of Ethics in Conducting and Publishing Research
Crop advisers as conservation intermediaries: Perceptions and policy implications for relying on nontraditional partners to increase U.S. farmers’ adoption of soil and water conservation practices
Federal agricultural land use policies in the United States aimed at protecting soil health and water quality typically rely on persuading individual farmers to voluntarily adopt conservation practices. An expanding body of literature suggests that private sector intermediaries, such as crop advisers, are increasingly trusted sources of information for farmers about conservation practices and thus may be persuasive actors in the conservation-adop…
Effect of Monetary Incentives on Mail Survey Response Rates for Midwestern Farmers
Response rates to mail-based surveys have declined in recent decades, and survey response rates for farmers tend to be low overall. Maintaining high response rates is necessary to prevent non-response bias. Historically, incentives have been an effective tool to increase response rates with general populations. However, the effect of incentives on farmers has not been well tested. In this study, we experimentally manipulated the use of a $2 incen…
The influence of perceptions of practice characteristics: An examination of agricultural best management practice adoption in two Indiana watersheds
The multi-dimensional nature of environmental attitudes among farmers in Indiana: Implications for conservation adoption
The relationship between participation and project outcomes: Evidence from rural water supply projects in India
Synthesizing Conservation Motivations and Barriers: What Have We Learned from Qualitative Studies of Farmers’ Behaviors in the United States
Since 2011, qualitative studies examining adoption of conservation practices and programs (CPPs) have burgeoned. This article presents a systematic review of all U.S.-based qualitative investigations into CPP adoption since 1996. We found three themes are discussed primarily as motivating adoption: farmer characteristics, environmental awareness, and trust in information sources. Four themes are discussed primarily as barriers to adoption: farm m…
It's Who You Know: Social Capital, Social Networks, and Watershed Groups
Social capital, usually conceptualized as trusting relationships among members of a group, is often discussed as playing an important role in watershed groups. This study is grounded in the social networks conceptualization of social capital and seeks to identify how access to social resources aids in achieving watershed group outcomes. Three comparative cases along a rural–urban continuum in the Midwest were studied using qualitative in-depth in…
Farmers’ views of the environment: The influence of competing attitude frames on landscape conservation efforts
Tracking urban sprawl: Using spatial data to inform farmland preservation policy
A Typology of Catalyst Events for Collaborative Watershed Management in the United States
While much has been written about the benefits of collaborative watershed management to address nonpoint source pollution and other water quality concerns in the United States, few scholars have addressed the catalytic nature of events that generate these collective action responses. Further, because equivalent catalyst events in different communities do not always lead to collective action, it is critical to understand the interaction between a …
The urgency of transforming the Midwestern U.S. landscape into more than corn and soybean
Effect of Monetary Incentives on Mail Survey Response Rates for Midwestern Farmers
Response rates to mail-based surveys have declined in recent decades, and survey response rates for farmers tend to be low overall. Maintaining high response rates is necessary to prevent non-response bias. Historically, incentives have been an effective tool to increase response rates with general populations. However, the effect of incentives on farmers has not been well tested. In this study, we experimentally manipulated the use of a $2 incen…
Out-of-state, out of mind? Non-operating farmland owners and conservation decision making
Social Indicator Variations Across Watersheds: Implications for Developing Outreach and Technical Assistance Programs
Current policy regarding nonpoint source pollution reduction in the United States involves encouraging voluntary adoption of Best Management Practices. Supporting the voluntary adoption of any practice requires the right combination of education, outreach, assistance, and incentives. Developing this combination necessitates an understanding of the target audience. The Social Indicators Planning and Evaluation System (SIPES) was developed to captu…
Motivating factors and facilitating conditions explaining women's participation in co-management of Sri Lankan forests
Understanding the relationship between land tenure and conservation behavior: Recommendations for social science research
Examining intensity of conservation practice adoption: Evidence from cover crop use on U.S. Midwest farms
Growing interest in sustainability of food production has put pressure on producers to examine their production practices. In particular, farmers’ use of conservation practices is receiving increasing attention. Previous studies evaluating conservation practice adoption have routinely treated adoption as dichotomous – a farm has either adopted a practice or not. However, for many practices, adoption is more accurately measured in terms of intensi…
Measuring farmer conservation behaviors: Challenges and best practices
Do advisors perceive climate change as an agricultural risk? An in-depth examination of Midwestern U.S. Ag advisors’ views on drought, climate change, and risk management
One federal policy, four different policy contexts: An examination of agri-environmental policy implementation in the Midwestern United States
Ethical Concerns in Researching Collaborative Natural Resource Management
Using three cases of watershed management in the Midwest as illustrations, this article argues that existing ethical guidelines for researching collaborative natural resource management are not always sufficient. While most researchers are monitored by institutional review boards, there are still numerous decisions that the researcher can make in the course of conducting research that can cause unintentional harm to the researched individuals and…
Bridging systems thinking mindsets and farm management: The role of agricultural conservation planning in farmers’ adoption of conservation practices
Outsourcing governance in Peru’s integrated water resources management
Participatory water governance has become highly influential around the world as a means for managing water resources. Scholars and practitioners advocate for the inclusion of previously marginalized communities in water resources management through the devolution of power, responsibility, and participation. Where community institutions are weak or missing, experts recommend strengthening or re-building them to enable inclusive decision-making ov…
How do Indigenous and local knowledge systems respond to climate change
Popovici, R., A. G. de L. Moraes, Z. Ma, L. Zanotti, K. A. Cherkauer, A. E. Erwin, K. E. Mazer, E. F. Bocardo Delgado, J. P. Pinto Cáceres, P. Ranjan, and L. S. Prokopy. 2021. How do Indigenous and local knowledge systems respond to climate change? Ecology and Society 26(3):27. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-12481-260327
Crop advisers as conservation intermediaries: Perceptions and policy implications for relying on nontraditional partners to increase U.S. farmers’ adoption of soil and water conservation practices
Federal agricultural land use policies in the United States aimed at protecting soil health and water quality typically rely on persuading individual farmers to voluntarily adopt conservation practices. An expanding body of literature suggests that private sector intermediaries, such as crop advisers, are increasingly trusted sources of information for farmers about conservation practices and thus may be persuasive actors in the conservation-adop…
Assessing Conservation Adoption Decision Criteria Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process: Case Studies from Three Midwestern Watersheds
Land use changes from natural ecosystems to industrial agriculture have impacted water quality and wildlife populations in the Mississippi River basin. Government programs providing technical assistance and monetary incentives have not resulted in adequate adoption rates of conservation practices. While there has been a plethora of research examining the factors associated with conservation adoption, significantly less is understood about the rel…
Lessons Learned in Developing Social Indicators for Regional Water Quality Management
This article outlines a process for developing social indicators for regional resource management programs. Insights and lessons are drawn from experience developing indicators for the social dimensions of water quality programs addressing non-point-source pollution. The project driving these insights originated with a charge from regional leaders of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) water quality program to a project team comprised of…
The relationship between participation and project outcomes: Evidence from rural water supply projects in India
Evaluating the Role of Postconstruction Support in Sustaining Drinking Water Projects Evidence from Peru
This article assesses the impact of postconstruction support (PCS) on the sustainability of participatory, demand-driven rural water projects in the Cuzco region of Peru. This study evaluates ninety-nine villages from two water supply schemes— projects built under a social investment fund program and those built under a nongovernmental program funded by the Swiss government. Overall, the study finds that the projects are performing very well. Mul…
Determinants of agricultural best management practice adoption: Evidence from the literature
This article reviews 25 years of literature focused on the adoption of agricultural best management practices (BMPs) in the United States to examine general trends in the categories of capacity, awareness, attitudes and farm characteristics. The study uses a vote count methodology and counts every instance of positive, negative and insignificant relationships in 55 studies. Education levels, capital, income, farm size, access to information, posi…
Ethical Concerns in Researching Collaborative Natural Resource Management
Using three cases of watershed management in the Midwest as illustrations, this article argues that existing ethical guidelines for researching collaborative natural resource management are not always sufficient. While most researchers are monitored by institutional review boards, there are still numerous decisions that the researcher can make in the course of conducting research that can cause unintentional harm to the researched individuals and…
Determinants and Benefits of Household Level Participation in Rural Drinking Water Projects in India
Using data from households in 45 villages in rural India, this paper finds that wealth, literacy, household and village size are often determinants of two measures of participation in community-based development projects: meeting attendance and capital cost contributions. Using propensity score matching, this study concludes that participation leads to benefits for the households that participate although these benefits are strongest in regions w…
Motivating factors and facilitating conditions explaining women's participation in co-management of Sri Lankan forests
Lessons Learned in Developing Social Indicators for Regional Water Quality Management
This article outlines a process for developing social indicators for regional resource management programs. Insights and lessons are drawn from experience developing indicators for the social dimensions of water quality programs addressing non-point-source pollution. The project driving these insights originated with a charge from regional leaders of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) water quality program to a project team comprised of…
Tracking urban sprawl: Using spatial data to inform farmland preservation policy
It's Who You Know: Social Capital, Social Networks, and Watershed Groups
Social capital, usually conceptualized as trusting relationships among members of a group, is often discussed as playing an important role in watershed groups. This study is grounded in the social networks conceptualization of social capital and seeks to identify how access to social resources aids in achieving watershed group outcomes. Three comparative cases along a rural–urban continuum in the Midwest were studied using qualitative in-depth in…
The multi-dimensional nature of environmental attitudes among farmers in Indiana: Implications for conservation adoption
The influence of perceptions of practice characteristics: An examination of agricultural best management practice adoption in two Indiana watersheds
Climate change beliefs, concerns, and attitudes toward adaptation and mitigation among farmers in the Midwestern United States
Agricultural Advisors: A Receptive Audience for Weather and Climate Information
As the climate in the midwestern United States becomes increasingly variable because of global climate change, it is critical to provide tools to the agricultural community to ensure adaptability and profitability of agricultural cropping systems. When used by farmers and their advisors, agricultural decision support tools can reduce uncertainty and risks in the planning, operation, and management decisions of the farm enterprise. Agricultural ad…
Comparing Random Sample Q and R Methods for Understanding Natural Resource Attitudes
This study collects data on community views of the Wabash River in north-central Indiana using 36 representative statements. The statements were incorporated into two different formats: (1) a standard survey, or Likert-type, instrument and (2) a Q-methodology instrument for mailed distribution to two separate random samples of community residents, which allowed for comparing the results of these methodologies. The data were analyzed using factor …
Unrealized Potential: A Review of Perceptions and Use of Weather and Climate Information in Agricultural Decision Making
This article reviews research on agricultural decision makers’ use and perceptions of weather and climate information and decision support tools (DSTs) conducted in the United States, Australia, and Canada over the past 30 years. Forty–seven relevant articles, with locations as diverse as Australian rangelands and the southeastern United States, ranging in focus from corn to cattle, were identified. NVivo 9 software was used to code research meth…
Conserving the Eastern Hellbender Salamander
Through a mail survey of 541 residents and riparian landowners in the area surrounding the Blue River watershed of southern Indiana, we examined perceptions and intended behaviors toward the eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis), an aquatic salamander experiencing drastic population declines due to anthropogenic causes. While anecdotal reports attribute hellbender mortality and removal to anglers and pet collectors, only…
A Typology of Catalyst Events for Collaborative Watershed Management in the United States
While much has been written about the benefits of collaborative watershed management to address nonpoint source pollution and other water quality concerns in the United States, few scholars have addressed the catalytic nature of events that generate these collective action responses. Further, because equivalent catalyst events in different communities do not always lead to collective action, it is critical to understand the interaction between a …
Farmers’ views of the environment: The influence of competing attitude frames on landscape conservation efforts
One federal policy, four different policy contexts: An examination of agri-environmental policy implementation in the Midwestern United States
Agricultural Advisors as Climate Information Intermediaries: Exploring Differences in Capacity to Communicate Climate
Although agricultural production faces chronic stress associated with extreme precipitation events, high temperatures, drought, and shifts in climate conditions, adoption of climate information into agricultural decision making has been relatively limited. Agricultural advisors have been shown to play important roles as information intermediaries between scientists and farmers, brokering, translating, and adding value to agronomic and economic in…
The climate change consensus extends beyond climate scientists
The existence of anthropogenic climate change remains a public controversy despite the consensus among climate scientists. The controversy may be fed by the existence of scientists from other disciplines publicly casting doubt on the validity of climate science. The extent to which non-climate scientists are skeptical of climate science has not been studied via direct survey. Here we report on a survey of biophysical scientists across disciplines…
The Role of Value Orientations and Experience on Attitudes Toward a Well-Liked Threatened Reptile
Eastern box turtles (Terrepene carolina carolina) are often negatively impacted by anthropogenic activities, such as mortality caused by vehicles or agricultural equipment. However, studies investigating human perceptions of a particular species are often directed toward charismatic megafauna or polarizing species, such as wolves. Given the worldwide decline of reptiles and box turtles’ high potential for human-caused mortality, there is a need t…
Social Indicator Variations Across Watersheds: Implications for Developing Outreach and Technical Assistance Programs
Current policy regarding nonpoint source pollution reduction in the United States involves encouraging voluntary adoption of Best Management Practices. Supporting the voluntary adoption of any practice requires the right combination of education, outreach, assistance, and incentives. Developing this combination necessitates an understanding of the target audience. The Social Indicators Planning and Evaluation System (SIPES) was developed to captu…
Distinguishing ambivalence from indifference: A study of attitudes toward land trusts among members and nonmembers
The effects of extreme drought on climate change beliefs, risk perceptions, and adaptation attitudes
Geography (47 works) · Business (43 works) · Economics (42 works) · Environmental resource management (42 works) · Environmental planning (31 works) · Political science (29 works) · Agriculture (22 works) · Sociology (19 works) · Agricultural Innovations and Practices (18 works) · Computer Science (18 works)