David Casagrande
Biographic Data
| ID | 223486 |
|---|---|
| NAME | David Casagrande |
| GIVEN NAMES | David |
| FAMILY NAME | Casagrande |
| SIGNATURE | CASAGRANDE D |
| AFFILIATIONS | Lehigh University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2826-0686 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 60 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1999 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Victims of resilience: An evaluation of social vulnerability’s applicability to disaster justice
Background The Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) is one of the most widely used tools for determining how vulnerable populations are to disasters in the United States. We tested the ability of the SVI published by the Centers for Disease Control to predict population recovery within New Orleans census tracts after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. We contextualize our results within the distributive, recognition, and procedural disaster justice framework…
Climate Change and Insurance: Embracing Resilience for Private Market Survival
Private insurance is a major mechanism for managing natural disaster risk in the U.S. Public programs cannot generate sufficient capital to provide adequate protection to homes and businesses. Our literature review indicates that disaster impacts are increasing because of climate change and continuing development in high‐risk areas, which is undermining methods used by private insurance and reinsurance industries to spread risk, including premium…
Transformative potential of managed retreat as climate adaptation
Marcellus Shale as Golden Goose
Shale gas extraction is linked to numerous environmental impacts, including methane migration into aquifers, impacts on surface water quality, airborne contaminants, and habitat disturbance and fragmentation. This chapter focuses on discourse, because it is a formidable political tool. The Marcellus Shale gas industry places Pennsylvania residents in a conundrum analogous to Aesop&s;s fable of the golden goose. The discourse set in motion by the …
ExtrAction: Impacts, Engagements, and Alternative Futures
Ecomyopia in the Anthropocene
The authors apply longue durée and semiotic approaches to a case study of flood management in the American Midwest to critique the suggestion that naming the current geological epoch the ‘Anthropocene’ might encourage global environmental sustainability. It is unlikely that the Anthropocene moniker has the symbolic power to correct ecomyopia, which the authors define as the tendency to not recognize, to ignore, or fail to act on new information t…
Ethnoscientific implications of classification as a socio-cultural process
This chapter focuses on ethnobotany, ethnoecology, and ethnomedicine relevant to the environmental anthropology. It briefly reviews some theoretical foundations of classification within ethnoscience with a focus on ethnobiology. The chapter describes some common methods used to operationalize these theoretical issues, highlights new and exciting methodological developments, and discusses potential future directions of research. Ethnobiologists ge…
Social Networks of Help-Seeking in Different Types of Disaster Responses to the 2008 Mississippi River Floods
We conducted thirty-two interviews and four focus groups in Illinois after extensive flooding in 2008 to determine whether people use social networks in different ways when responding to different types of challenges before, during, and after the flood. Using a grounded theory approach to analyze narratives of interviewees recalling events, we coded sections of text using “social relationship” and “response” as sensitizing concepts. Results showe…
Citizens, Experts, and Anthropologists: Finding Paths in Environmental Policy
The papers in this special section address anthropology's relationship to the creation and implementation of environmental policy. The authors describe anthropologists attempting to flatten hierarchical decision making by acting as cultural brokers who must navigate public advocacy, multidisciplinary research and collaborations with environmental managers, natural resource exploiters, or government agencies. The essay describes how an anthropolog…
Problem and Opportunity: Integrating Anthropology, Ecology, and Policy through Adaptive Experimentation in the Urban U.S. Southwest
Natural resource management agencies and governmental programs that fund research are increasingly calling for interdisciplinary research that integrates biological ecology and the social sciences in a way that can inform policy. One fundamental impediment to collaboration derives from the emphasis that biological scientists place on experimentation, which is generally not considered a viable option for anthropologists. We suggest that anthropolo…
Preferences for Landscape Choice in a Southwestern Desert City
Through outdoor water consumption, residential landscaping behavior affects public policy and the environment in the American Southwest. We propose a decision framework based on cost, ecological constraints, laws, and individual preferences. Controlling for cost, ecological constraints, and laws, we surveyed residents in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, using computer-generated landscape images to examine the effects of environmental attitudes (mea…
Drivers of Spatial Variation in Plant Diversity Across the Central Arizona-Phoenix Ecosystem
We examined how growth of the Phoenix urban landscape has changed spatial patterns in native Sonoran desert plant diversity. Combining data from the U.S. Census with a probability-based field inventory, we used spatial and multivariate statistics to show how plant diversity across the region is influenced by human actions. Spatial variations in plant diversity among sites were best explained by current and former land use, income, housing age, an…
Conceptions of Primary Forest in a Tzeltal Maya Community: Implications for Conservation
Tzeltal Maya of Chiapas, Mexico, recognize and name different stages of forest succession. Ethnobotanical interviews and analyses of free lists indicated that the Tzeltal Maya of Matsab are knowledgeable about what plants and birds are limited to the primary forest, but they do not appear to rely exclusively on this knowledge to distinguish between habitats. Other features such as tree size, humidity, and soil characteristics appear to take prece…
Ethnobiology Lives! Theory, Collaboration, and Possibilities for the Study of Folk Biologies
Medin, Douglas L., and Scott Atran (Eds.). FolkbiologyCambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999. ix + 504 pp. including references, figures, tables, and index. $42.00 paper, $85.00 cloth. Living and conductin
Remarkable Properties of Human Ecosystems
"This paper explores some of the remarkable properties that set human ecosystems apart from nonhuman ecosystems. The identification of these properties provides a framework for bridging the theoretical and methodological divide between biological ecology and human ecology. The unique information-processing capability of humans in ecosystems is central to this framework. We discuss several manifestations of human cognitive and behavioral abilities…
Animals and Plants of the Ancient Maya: A Guide
Animals and Plants of the Ancient Maya is an impressive synthesis of ecological and anthropological information regarding some of the wild plants and animals of cultural significance to the ancient and contemporary Maya.Having myself conducted extensive ethnobiological research among the Maya, I find that the book is meticulously researched and accurate.Schlesinger presents a wealth of information in a format that is both easy to read and enjoyab…
Human Taste and Cognition in Tzeltal Maya Medicinal Plant Use
Results of recent research strongly suggest that people find beneficial phytochemicals by selecting plants to use as medicinals and that taste plays a major role in this process. The research reported here involved an experiment performed with Highland Tzeltal Maya of Chiapas, Mexico to determine if bitterness served as a chemical cue for plants appropriate for treating gastrointestinal versus respiratory illnesses. Eight Tzeltal men and two wome…
Information as Verb: Re-conceptualizing Information for Cognitive and Ecological Models
Current notions of information are inadequate for ecological and cognitive models because they: 1) only account for information gain that results from reducing uncertainty; 2) assume binary logic; 3) fail to account for semantics and pragmatics; and 4) can not account for shared and externalized cognition. A different model of information is presented here, which treats information as a process of state change (i.e., the term is used as a verb), …
Preferences for Landscape Choice in a Southwestern Desert City
Through outdoor water consumption, residential landscaping behavior affects public policy and the environment in the American Southwest. We propose a decision framework based on cost, ecological constraints, laws, and individual preferences. Controlling for cost, ecological constraints, and laws, we surveyed residents in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, using computer-generated landscape images to examine the effects of environmental attitudes (mea…
ExtrAction: Impacts, Engagements, and Alternative Futures
Social Networks of Help-Seeking in Different Types of Disaster Responses to the 2008 Mississippi River Floods
We conducted thirty-two interviews and four focus groups in Illinois after extensive flooding in 2008 to determine whether people use social networks in different ways when responding to different types of challenges before, during, and after the flood. Using a grounded theory approach to analyze narratives of interviewees recalling events, we coded sections of text using “social relationship” and “response” as sensitizing concepts. Results showe…
Human Taste and Cognition in Tzeltal Maya Medicinal Plant Use
Results of recent research strongly suggest that people find beneficial phytochemicals by selecting plants to use as medicinals and that taste plays a major role in this process. The research reported here involved an experiment performed with Highland Tzeltal Maya of Chiapas, Mexico to determine if bitterness served as a chemical cue for plants appropriate for treating gastrointestinal versus respiratory illnesses. Eight Tzeltal men and two wome…
Transformative potential of managed retreat as climate adaptation
Drivers of Spatial Variation in Plant Diversity Across the Central Arizona-Phoenix Ecosystem
We examined how growth of the Phoenix urban landscape has changed spatial patterns in native Sonoran desert plant diversity. Combining data from the U.S. Census with a probability-based field inventory, we used spatial and multivariate statistics to show how plant diversity across the region is influenced by human actions. Spatial variations in plant diversity among sites were best explained by current and former land use, income, housing age, an…
Ecomyopia in the Anthropocene
The authors apply longue durée and semiotic approaches to a case study of flood management in the American Midwest to critique the suggestion that naming the current geological epoch the ‘Anthropocene’ might encourage global environmental sustainability. It is unlikely that the Anthropocene moniker has the symbolic power to correct ecomyopia, which the authors define as the tendency to not recognize, to ignore, or fail to act on new information t…
Problem and Opportunity: Integrating Anthropology, Ecology, and Policy through Adaptive Experimentation in the Urban U.S. Southwest
Natural resource management agencies and governmental programs that fund research are increasingly calling for interdisciplinary research that integrates biological ecology and the social sciences in a way that can inform policy. One fundamental impediment to collaboration derives from the emphasis that biological scientists place on experimentation, which is generally not considered a viable option for anthropologists. We suggest that anthropolo…
Climate Change and Insurance: Embracing Resilience for Private Market Survival
Private insurance is a major mechanism for managing natural disaster risk in the U.S. Public programs cannot generate sufficient capital to provide adequate protection to homes and businesses. Our literature review indicates that disaster impacts are increasing because of climate change and continuing development in high‐risk areas, which is undermining methods used by private insurance and reinsurance industries to spread risk, including premium…
Ethnobiology Lives! Theory, Collaboration, and Possibilities for the Study of Folk Biologies
Medin, Douglas L., and Scott Atran (Eds.). FolkbiologyCambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999. ix + 504 pp. including references, figures, tables, and index. $42.00 paper, $85.00 cloth. Living and conductin
Information as Verb: Re-conceptualizing Information for Cognitive and Ecological Models
Current notions of information are inadequate for ecological and cognitive models because they: 1) only account for information gain that results from reducing uncertainty; 2) assume binary logic; 3) fail to account for semantics and pragmatics; and 4) can not account for shared and externalized cognition. A different model of information is presented here, which treats information as a process of state change (i.e., the term is used as a verb), …
Information as Verb: Re-conceptualizing Information for Cognitive and Ecological Models
Current notions of information are inadequate for ecological and cognitive models because they: 1) only account for information gain that results from reducing uncertainty; 2) assume binary logic; 3) fail to account for semantics and pragmatics; and 4) can not account for shared and externalized cognition. A different model of information is presented here, which treats information as a process of state change (i.e., the term is used as a verb), …
Human Taste and Cognition in Tzeltal Maya Medicinal Plant Use
Results of recent research strongly suggest that people find beneficial phytochemicals by selecting plants to use as medicinals and that taste plays a major role in this process. The research reported here involved an experiment performed with Highland Tzeltal Maya of Chiapas, Mexico to determine if bitterness served as a chemical cue for plants appropriate for treating gastrointestinal versus respiratory illnesses. Eight Tzeltal men and two wome…
Animals and Plants of the Ancient Maya: A Guide
Animals and Plants of the Ancient Maya is an impressive synthesis of ecological and anthropological information regarding some of the wild plants and animals of cultural significance to the ancient and contemporary Maya.Having myself conducted extensive ethnobiological research among the Maya, I find that the book is meticulously researched and accurate.Schlesinger presents a wealth of information in a format that is both easy to read and enjoyab…
Remarkable Properties of Human Ecosystems
"This paper explores some of the remarkable properties that set human ecosystems apart from nonhuman ecosystems. The identification of these properties provides a framework for bridging the theoretical and methodological divide between biological ecology and human ecology. The unique information-processing capability of humans in ecosystems is central to this framework. We discuss several manifestations of human cognitive and behavioral abilities…
Conceptions of Primary Forest in a Tzeltal Maya Community: Implications for Conservation
Tzeltal Maya of Chiapas, Mexico, recognize and name different stages of forest succession. Ethnobotanical interviews and analyses of free lists indicated that the Tzeltal Maya of Matsab are knowledgeable about what plants and birds are limited to the primary forest, but they do not appear to rely exclusively on this knowledge to distinguish between habitats. Other features such as tree size, humidity, and soil characteristics appear to take prece…
Ethnobiology Lives! Theory, Collaboration, and Possibilities for the Study of Folk Biologies
Medin, Douglas L., and Scott Atran (Eds.). FolkbiologyCambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999. ix + 504 pp. including references, figures, tables, and index. $42.00 paper, $85.00 cloth. Living and conductin
Drivers of Spatial Variation in Plant Diversity Across the Central Arizona-Phoenix Ecosystem
We examined how growth of the Phoenix urban landscape has changed spatial patterns in native Sonoran desert plant diversity. Combining data from the U.S. Census with a probability-based field inventory, we used spatial and multivariate statistics to show how plant diversity across the region is influenced by human actions. Spatial variations in plant diversity among sites were best explained by current and former land use, income, housing age, an…
Citizens, Experts, and Anthropologists: Finding Paths in Environmental Policy
The papers in this special section address anthropology's relationship to the creation and implementation of environmental policy. The authors describe anthropologists attempting to flatten hierarchical decision making by acting as cultural brokers who must navigate public advocacy, multidisciplinary research and collaborations with environmental managers, natural resource exploiters, or government agencies. The essay describes how an anthropolog…
Problem and Opportunity: Integrating Anthropology, Ecology, and Policy through Adaptive Experimentation in the Urban U.S. Southwest
Natural resource management agencies and governmental programs that fund research are increasingly calling for interdisciplinary research that integrates biological ecology and the social sciences in a way that can inform policy. One fundamental impediment to collaboration derives from the emphasis that biological scientists place on experimentation, which is generally not considered a viable option for anthropologists. We suggest that anthropolo…
Preferences for Landscape Choice in a Southwestern Desert City
Through outdoor water consumption, residential landscaping behavior affects public policy and the environment in the American Southwest. We propose a decision framework based on cost, ecological constraints, laws, and individual preferences. Controlling for cost, ecological constraints, and laws, we surveyed residents in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, using computer-generated landscape images to examine the effects of environmental attitudes (mea…
Social Networks of Help-Seeking in Different Types of Disaster Responses to the 2008 Mississippi River Floods
We conducted thirty-two interviews and four focus groups in Illinois after extensive flooding in 2008 to determine whether people use social networks in different ways when responding to different types of challenges before, during, and after the flood. Using a grounded theory approach to analyze narratives of interviewees recalling events, we coded sections of text using “social relationship” and “response” as sensitizing concepts. Results showe…
Ethnoscientific implications of classification as a socio-cultural process
This chapter focuses on ethnobotany, ethnoecology, and ethnomedicine relevant to the environmental anthropology. It briefly reviews some theoretical foundations of classification within ethnoscience with a focus on ethnobiology. The chapter describes some common methods used to operationalize these theoretical issues, highlights new and exciting methodological developments, and discusses potential future directions of research. Ethnobiologists ge…
Marcellus Shale as Golden Goose
Shale gas extraction is linked to numerous environmental impacts, including methane migration into aquifers, impacts on surface water quality, airborne contaminants, and habitat disturbance and fragmentation. This chapter focuses on discourse, because it is a formidable political tool. The Marcellus Shale gas industry places Pennsylvania residents in a conundrum analogous to Aesop&s;s fable of the golden goose. The discourse set in motion by the …
ExtrAction: Impacts, Engagements, and Alternative Futures
Ecomyopia in the Anthropocene
The authors apply longue durée and semiotic approaches to a case study of flood management in the American Midwest to critique the suggestion that naming the current geological epoch the ‘Anthropocene’ might encourage global environmental sustainability. It is unlikely that the Anthropocene moniker has the symbolic power to correct ecomyopia, which the authors define as the tendency to not recognize, to ignore, or fail to act on new information t…
Transformative potential of managed retreat as climate adaptation
Victims of resilience: An evaluation of social vulnerability’s applicability to disaster justice
Background The Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) is one of the most widely used tools for determining how vulnerable populations are to disasters in the United States. We tested the ability of the SVI published by the Centers for Disease Control to predict population recovery within New Orleans census tracts after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. We contextualize our results within the distributive, recognition, and procedural disaster justice framework…
Climate Change and Insurance: Embracing Resilience for Private Market Survival
Private insurance is a major mechanism for managing natural disaster risk in the U.S. Public programs cannot generate sufficient capital to provide adequate protection to homes and businesses. Our literature review indicates that disaster impacts are increasing because of climate change and continuing development in high‐risk areas, which is undermining methods used by private insurance and reinsurance industries to spread risk, including premium…
Geography (7 works) · Political science (7 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Biology (5 works) · Ecology (5 works) · Environmental ethics (5 works) · Psychology (5 works) · Computer Science (4 works) · Economics (4 works) · Law (4 works)