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Worldview differences of natural resources between Spain and Costa Rica:
A content analysis of on-line newspapers
Worldview differences of natural resources
between Spain and Costa Rica:
A content analysis of on-line newspapers
Lorena Corbin
email: [log in to unmask]
Until May 8, 1998:
Buchanan Hall, 7159
Ames, IA 50013-0003
(515) 296-3960
After May 8, 1998:
1560, Fitchville Avenue
San Jose, CA 95126
(408) 998-0904
Abstract
The study analyzed the environmental content of two large circulation
on-line newspapers, one from a developing country (Costa Rica) and one from a
developed country (Spain). Olsen, Lodwick and Dunlap (1992) developed a
paradigmatic model which presents the differences between the dominant worldview
and the post-industrial worldview. Based on this, it was expected that the Costa
Rican paper would emphasize the exploitation of natural resources (dominant),
while the Spanish paper would emphasize environmental protection
(post-industrial).
Worldview differences of natural resources
between Spain and Costa Rica:
A content analysis of on-line newspapers
Ever since scientists have used the media spotlight to warn about the
deleterious effects of an enormous number of species becoming extinct and the
consequent decrease in the genetic pool, people the world over have come to
realize that the exploitation of natural resources is a problem that needs to be
addressed. The public, in fact, has reason to worry because the loss of natural
resources due to intensive exploitation has repercussions not only on the
planet's intricate "web of life", but also will have profound economic impact.
If overlooked, the problem will eventually lead to a loss of resources for
different economic sectors.
Interest in environmental problems has been fluctuating over the years in
Western countries. Meanwhile, one can only speculate how the topic has been
revealed in the developing world since there is an absence of studies that
examined the rise and fall of issues in these nations. Do people in the
so-called "Third World" consider this an important issue at all? Do the "First
World" media dedicate more time and space to the environmental concerns than the
media in developing countries?
Problem statement
Most research relating the influence of media with individuals' attitudes
about the environment has been done in Western countries, and has suggested the
emergence of postmaterialist values in these regions. Once basic needs are taken
care of, humans can meditate about matters that do not seem to be of basic
concern, such as the environment (Maslow, 1954; Inglehart, 1990). This suggests
that until developing countries achieve a better life standard for their
populations, they will not be concerned about the health of the environment.
That the developing world, struggling with issues of survival and
preoccupied with how basic and fundamental human needs can be met, looks at
environmental concerns as a non-issue, is an assumption that two different
survey studies do not support. The Health of the Planet report (Dunlap, Gallup &
Gallup, 1993) reveals that out of a total of 24 countries, the 12 developing
countries were very concerned about the environment:
"Environmental problems are salient and important issues in both
wealthy and poor nations, and residents of poor nations express as
much concern about environmental quality as do those living in wealthy
nations" (Dunlap et al., 1993, p. 36).
The survey done by Louis Harris and Associates (1989) also comes up with
the conclusion that environmental values are high among citizens of developing
countries.
Objectives of the study
This research is looking at how the media cover stories about natural
resources. The method that was used was a content analysis that compared two
on-line newspapers, adapting for this purpose two worldview models that were
developed by Olsen, Lodwick and Dunlap (1992). The authors point out the
emergence of the post-industrial paradigm in modern societies, which advocates a
more sustainable use of natural resources. Meanwhile, the dominant western
worldview considers that the present exploitation of natural resources will not
pose a problem for the future generations, even if the world population
maintains the same growth rate.
To examine whether the values of the post-industrial paradigm are appearing
only in media of developed societies, it is necessary to compare a medium from a
so-called 'modern' country with one medium from a developing country. El Pa!s,
the national newspaper of Spain, and La Naci"n, the national newspaper of Costa
Rica, are the two on-line media that have been selected. The comparison between
the newspapers is most easily accomplished if there are no language barriers.
Characteristics of Costa Rica and Spain
Costa Rica is considered to be a developing country. Its abundance of
wildlife species and national parks, as well as the promotion of ecotourism can
be seen as restraints to the exploitation of natural resources such as, for
example, farming, raising cattle, or mining operations. These restraints can
also be viewed in the opposite way, that the exploitation of natural resources
can impede the full protection of certain natural environments of a country. And
the fact that in 23 years almost 30 per cent of the forest has disappeared
(Sittenfeld & Villers, 1993) makes this a very serious threat. The magnitude of
this loss motivated the creation of INBio (National Institute of Biodiversity)
in 1989. This private, non-profit organization collects information about the
nation's biodiversity as a way to promote its conservation and sustainable
economic development.
Spain, on the other hand, also has a concern related to tourism, although
traditionally this tourism has marketed sunny beaches. Nevertheless, national
parks do exist in Spain and they occupy 8.4 per cent of the total territory.
These protected areas are increasingly attracting visitors that are not
interested just in sunny weather. Interestingly, not all the landscapes of the
different Spanish national parks evoke the same feelings toward conservation. A
survey conducted among visitors of the Do$ana National Park in the south of
Spain showed how the flat landscape with patches of water characteristic of this
park was not the most preferred among the respondents. "(T)he majority of the
population prefers mountain landscapes, luxuriant vegetation and different
manifestations of water (waterfalls, lakes, rivers) while arid and/or flat
landscapes are rejected" (M#gica & Vicente De Lucio, 1996).
Costa Rica: society and democracy
The "Switzerland of Central America", the only country in the region
without an army (abolished in 1949), the most democratic country in Latin
America. These are a few of the stereotypes for which this small Central
American nation is known outside its borders. It is the second smallest country
of Central America (after El Salvador), with 51,200 square kilometers (19,965
square miles).
Costa Rica is a culturally homogeneous nation, with a commonly shared
religion, Roman Catholicism, the Spanish language, and Hispanic American culture
(Biesanz, Biesanz & Biesanz, 1982, Hall 1985). Costa Rica, as many other
developing countries, has an economy which depends on the export of two
agricultural commodities: coffee and bananas, which bring in over half of Costa
Rica's foreign profits (Ameringer, 1982; Hall, 1985). The emphasis in producing
for an export market has condemned the country to have to import grain, fruit
and vegetables that could have been produced in the areas where coffee and
bananas are grown (Hall, 1985). Another consequence is the lack of a
manufacturing industry, which leads to the necessity of more imports (Hall,
1985).
This dependence on one or two products has exposed Costa Rica to the risks
of economic crisis, due to the impossibility of controlling the prices of the
commodities in the international markets. This situation also puts the Costa
Rican welfare state in jeopardy (Ameringer, 1982).
La Naci"n
La Naci"n was founded in 1947 by ANFE (acronym in Spanish for National
Association of Enterprise Federations). According to the Editor and Publisher
Yearbook (1997), La Naci"n has a yearly circulation of 113,219 issues, and is
followed closely by Diario Extra (Table 1).
Table 1. Circulation of major Costa Rican daily newspapers.
Newspapers
Date founded
Circulation per year
La Prensa Libre
1889
56,000
La Naci"n
1946
113,219
La Rep#blica
1950
67,500
Diario Extra
1978
100,000
El Heraldo
1994
10,000
Source: Editor and Publisher Yearbook, 1997.
Mass media are in private hands in Costa Rica. The government does not
intervene in the content of the messages, whether it is information or opinion
(Fonseca, 1976, p.40). The mass media firms serve a double purpose: as a public
service as well as an enterprise. La Naci"n has changed from a disproportionate
use of public and governmental information to cover more information about
barrios, intermediate organizations, human problems, and publish columns about
popular matters. The emphasis on economic news was also changed, to be able to
cover social and cultural topics. (Fonseca, 1976, p. 42).
In 1994, Costa Rica had 260 radio receivers per 1,000 inhabitants; 142
television receivers (sets) per 1,000 inhabitants (UNESCO, 1997); and 130
telephone lines[1] per 1,000 inhabitants (UN, 1997).
Spain: mastering passion with business
The extension of the Spanish peninsula is ten times bigger (500,000 square
kilometers) than the Costa Rican isthmus. Many of what were once the usual
customs in dealing with business or official matters, such as vuelva usted
ma$ana (come back tomorrow), and the siesta times, have been relegated to small
towns. The main cities in the country have been groomed in appearance and in
manners to keep up with business and administration policies in the European
Union.
After a three-year civil war, Spain was under Francisco Franco's
dictatorship from 1939 until 1975. The country was so impoverished due to the
war that Franco's initial response was to expand the industrial network without
any foreign trade (Schubert, 1990). In 1959, however, the Economic Stabilization
Plan put a stop to the autarkic policy. The 1960s were a period in which the
Spanish economy took off at a rate of 6.6 per cent of yearly growth. Spain was
transformed from an agricultural economy to an industrial one, in which the car
company SEAT, created in 1950, went from producing 36,000 vehicles per year
without any exports, to produce 700,000, of which more than a fifth were
exported. Three important factors helped to achieve this miracle: "foreign
investment, tourism and emigration" (Shubert, 1990, p.208).
Tourism quickly rouse from 6 million visitors in 1960 to 42 million in
1982. In 1997, Spain became the second country, after the US, in ranking of
income due to tourism (Burgos, January 26, 1998) making tourism Spain's most
important industry.
Spain became a full member of the European Common Market in January 1986,
and since then it has tried to excel in industrial, manufacturing and farming
activities, as well as in the tertiary sector of the economy. However,
structural economic difficulties have kept Spain from reducing its high
unemployment level below 20 per cent (Portugal & Zamora, January 26, 1998).
As in Costa Rica, agriculture is an important industry for Spain, with the
difference that it is diversified with crops of cereals, olives, grapes, fruits
and citric fruits, potatoes, and vegetables. However, agricultural products no
longer account for a big percentage of the total exports, with 9 per cent in
1994 (UN, 1997).
Other indicators that can give insight to the social and economic situation
of Spain are statistics about access to communication appliances in the
population. Figures of radio receivers per 1,000 inhabitants are not very
different from those found in Costa Rica, but television receivers and telephone
lines per 1,000 inhabitants do differ. There are 312 radio receivers per 1,000
inhabitants; 402 television receivers per 1,000 inhabitants, as opposed to 142
in Costa Rica; and 371 telephone lines per 1,000 inhabitants, compared to 130 in
Costa Rica[2] (UNESCO, 1997; UN, 1997).
El Pa!s
El Pa!s is a relatively young medium. However, it has been a strong one
ever since its creation in May, 1976. Its foundation, in the midst of the
Spanish political transition, was endorsed by many businessmen, intellectuals,
and politicians who were supporting the establishment of democracy in the
country. The first director of the newspaper, Juan Luis Cebri n, is of the
opinion that "because El Pa!s was the first national daily that appeared after
the death of Franco, and thanks to the intellectual and social support with
which it was born, it was destined to play a specific role in the transition
from the very beginning" (Cebri n, 1987, p. 99). Quite early on, El Pa!s
overtook in circulation figures those of the other major Spanish newspapers
(Table 2), and became the most sold both in daily and Sunday circulation.
Table 2. Average daily and Sunday circulation of major Spanish daily
newspapers, in thousands.
Years
El Pa!s
La Vanguardia
ABC
Diario 16
El Peri"dico
Ya
D[3]
S
D
S
D
S
D
S
D
S
D
S
1975-76
-
-
220
287
186
398
-
-
-
-
168
253
1976-77
129
144
206
273
157
341
-
-
-
-
140
221
1977-78
128
181
196
266
136
290
59
-
-
-
124
198
1978-79
146
203
186
255
124
269
47
-
53
-
122
199
1979-80
184
263
188
268
131
290
51
-
72
-
118
195
1980-81
234
357
193
281
136
300
84
-
99
-
112
184
1982
296
471
196
303
127
283
125
-
112
155
110
169
1982-83
340
553
192
303
146
302
130
-
127
160
105
159
1984
347
583
194
308
157
300
128
180
128
161
96
145
1985
348
613
191
NA
219
342
130
192
137
184
88
132
1986
360
682
195
313
235
405
135
193
151
235
80
112
1987
373
758
195
316
247
415
137
183
154
246
75
104
Source: Cebri n, 1989.
Environmental symbology
Within both developed and developing nations, one can only guess that there
are sectors that will be active advocates of the environment at any given time,
while others will just be perennially apathetic to it. Indeed, different sectors
of the population will assign different meanings and understandings to the same
reality.
Differences in cultures will determine how populations view their
relationship with nature, and how important they think nature and the
environment are to them. This is a social constructionist perspective, where
what is emphasized is a certain view of reality, not reality in itself. As
Greider and Garkovich (1971) put it, "every landscape is a symbolic environment"
(p.1), and every person will understand that landscape according to those
symbols and cultural backgrounds.
It does not take long for one to realize that environmental problems derive
from how human beings interact with nature. Some sociologists argue that
environmental problems have arisen due to a commonly held belief that man should
have dominion over nature (Bodain, 1993; Warren, 1993). Western civilization,
historically, has perceived nature as something outside of humans, something
dangerous, something that should be dominated. Nature exists to serve society,
and apart from that function it has no meaning.
It has been suggested that this relationship between human beings and
nature has its roots in Christianity. Lynn White (1967) was the first proponent
of the idea that the Christian doctrines not only set the basis for the
detachment of man from nature "but also insisted that it is God's will that man
exploit nature for his proper ends" (p. 1205). Respect toward nature
disappeared, as humans did not consider themselves part of the natural
environment: "We are superior to nature, contemptuous of it, willing to use it
for our slightest whim" (p. 1206). The perception that humans have about
themselves and about the environment is not only explained by a set of beliefs
and values, but also by a certain social, economic, political and historical
context (Burgess, Harrison & Malteny, 1991, p. 499).
The differences in social constructions could not only be found across
cultural and national borders. One nation can have several groups within it that
will interpret their immediate surroundings in different ways (a good example is
found in Bultena & Taves, 1961). The importance of discerning the different
meanings different groups have with respect to the environment is key in
understanding which groups perceive certain environmental situations as
problematic and the degree of importance they attach to these environmental
concerns.
Legitimizing role of the media
The constructivist approach recognizes the importance of looking at
different cultures as well as "how different publics negotiate and interpret the
environmental meanings offered by media coverage" (Hansen, 1991, p. 446). What
is important to stress here is the fact that these social meanings have their
supporters, some with more power than others.
Social movements are born from the differences within a system and lead to
potential social change. This change may be confirmed if, in the first place,
the social movement is tolerated by the system (Olien, Tichenor & Donohue,
1989). The conflicts that arise from the social movement evoke questions of
power allocation. The way the media respond to this situation does not quite
correspond with the myth of a "watchdog" function. Instead, the media have the
role of controlling the conflict, and hence, the social movement or movements
that are behind it. Consequently, the emergence of a social movement that
challenges the system will hardly receive coverage "until the movement has been
legitimized in the system" (Olien et al., 1989, p. 149). In this situation,
there will always be groups happy with the coverage they receive from the press,
while other less established groups will view the media as less helpful and
attentive. This is true for environmental issues as well.
To figure out which groups are the most established ones, a look at who the
claimers of the different positions are, and what legitimacy they attain from
the media, is necessary (Hannigan, 1995). Their view of reality will differ from
other less established groups. Furthermore, if only the well established groups
have access to the media, the views of the less established groups may be,
partially or completely, ignored (Neuzil & Kovarik, 1996).
Environmental paradigms
The messages transmitted by the media also carry with them the values and
beliefs of the journalists themselves. This does not necessarily mean that
ideological positions will influence the tone of the stories. However, inherent
values will enter the reporting of events in what Gans (1979) calls "reality
judgments". Journalists, as human beings, make assumptions about reality and
develop concepts to understand it. This is an unconscious process and because it
is commonly shared by professionals in the field, it is usually taken for
granted. It is seen as the 'truth' unless the issue becomes controversial, then
journalists become aware that it is an opinion. As a result, the reality
judgments "may be abandoned, moderated, or transformed into stands" (Gans, 1979,
p.199).
Worldviews are also a very pervasive factor of how individuals will view
their reality, without realizing that there are other ways of thinking. It is
necessary, however, to keep in mind that one worldview can, and does, encompass
several cultural approaches inherent to different social groups.
Olsen, Lodwick and Dunlap (1992) define worldview as the 'mental lenses'
with which we see the reality that surrounds us. Most members of society hold
the same worldview, as it is "normally learned through socialization and social
interaction, and is constantly being reinforced by the culture of our society
throughout our lifetime" (Olsen et al., 1992, p. 13). According to the authors,
worldviews are comprised of beliefs and the social values that are linked to
them. Although they did not mention it, one can assume that the mass media play
a crucial role in the development and construction of such worldviews.
Olsen et al. developed a list of components that exist in the dominant
western worldview in comparison with what they consider an emerging
post-industrial worldview in modern societies. Table 3 lists the value
components of these worldviews. However, the paradigms encompass many other
elements, which are fully explained in the coding procedure.
Table 3. Paradigm components
Post-Industrial Worldview
Dominant Western Worldview
Human development
Material accomplishments
Social effectiveness
Economic efficiency
Valuative rationality
Instrumental rationality
Human scale is better
Bigger is better
Qualitative goals
Quantitative goals
Cultural heterogeneity
Cultural homogeneity
Future-oriented
Present-oriented
Source: Olsen, Lodwick & Dunlap, 1992, p. 8
Hypotheses
Based on the foregoing literature, the following hypotheses were
formulated:
H.1a - The components present in the post-industrial worldview will appear more
frequently in the stories about natural resource use that El Pa!s publishes,
while
H.1b - the components present in the dominant western worldview will appear more
frequently in the stories about natural resources that La Naci"n publishes.
H.2a - Stories whose claimers are private owners of land, or governmental
agencies will present more components from the dominant western worldview than
stories whose claimers are intergovernmental agencies, international
environmental NGOs, or local or indigenous NGOs.
H.2b - Stories whose claimers are intergovernmental agencies, international
environmental NGOs, or local or indigenous NGOs will present more components
from the post-industrial worldview than stories whose claimers are owners or
governmental agencies.
Methodology
The on-line versions of La Naci"n and El Pa!s were selected to be analyzed
because both of them are the leading papers in Costa Rica and Spain,
respectively, and can be considered as representative of the issues being raised
and/or considered important in each country. The sampling period was two
complete months, August and September of 1997, during which stories and
editorial cartoons that touched on any of the topics described below were
selected. This yielded a total of 708 stories and one editorial cartoon. The
following guidelines constituted the basis for selection. The stories covered
issues about:
- Natural resources, which is defined as materials supplied by nature used
to answer human needs. Included were stories about the exploitation of basic
products such as water, coal, petrol and the development of the primary sector,
which encompasses the agricultural and livestock industries. Stories of
economic, political and social interest about natural resources were selected.
However, stories strictly about labor concerns in these sectors were not
included.
- National parks.
- Extinction of species (animals and plants).
- Extinction of ecosystems.
The coding procedure
The content analysis for this research was performed taking both the
manifest and the latent content into consideration. However, no inferences were
made beyond what was actually present in each story. The main step to ensure
reliability was having a sample of stories coded by three Spanish-speaking
coders. A second intercoder reliability test was needed, and it achieved Scott's
pi values close to 80 per cent of agreement not due to chance, and a composite
reliability score of .92. Once the coding scheme was refined all the stories
were coded by the author.
The main problem in this study was the difficulty in coding the stories
according to the set of arguments that distinguish the post-industrial worldview
from the dominant western worldview. The initial plan was to assign each natural
resource story to either a post-industrial or dominant paradigm model and
classify each story component in the same way. However, initial examination
showed that many stories did not contain a number of the classification themes,
and so could not be coded. The final strategy was to code each component only if
it was present.
For the scope of this article, two independent variables are considered.
First of all, the newspaper in which the stories appeared. If the story was
published in La Naci"n's web site, it was coded 1; if published in the web site
of El Pa!s, it was coded 2.
The main claimer of the story refers to the point of view that gets the
most coverage of all the actors that are considered for the purpose of this
study: was the private owners, coded 1; governmental agencies, 2;
intergovernmental agencies, 3; international non-governmental organizations, 4;
and indigenous or local NGOs or communities, 5.
The dependent variables which comprise the post-industrial and the dominant
western worldviews were modifications of Olsen et al.'s original conceptions. Of
their eight original categories, seven are most relevant to this study. These
are: environmental, technological, work, economic, political, interpersonal, and
value components. Each one of the categories includes several elements, listed
in Table 4, the presence of which in each story was identified using a binary
code:
- 0 if the element selected does not appear and
- 1 if the element selected does appear.
To better explain how the elements were coded as 0s or 1s, especially
taking into consideration that the latent content was also examined, selected
examples and further explanation is provided (for more detailed information see
Corbin, 1998). In the case of whether the story implies or mentions that "humans
are part of the earth's ecosystem and must live within nature", here is an
example that was considered to be present, and coded 1.
The u'wa people Du'wa refers to the people who thinkD, a very
religious community, say that their God, Sira, asked them to look
after that land, under which the heart of the universe is hiding.
(se2_p1)
Table 4. Worldview elements of both models.
Post-industrial worldview
Dominant western worldview
Environmental components
Humans are part of nature
Humans control nature
Nature is valuable in itself
Nature is only valuable if it gives resources
Natural resources are limited
Natural resources are ample
World population must be controlled
Size of world population will not affect NR
Technological components
Most adequate technology
Most advanced technology
There's always a need to assess the use of technology
NR will not decrease because of use of more and more technology
For every solved problem technology creates new ones
Technology solves most problems
Work components
Creation of jobs that will not hinder NR
Creation of jobs is more important than depletion of NR
There is no need for job specialization nor division of labor
There is a need for job specialization and division of labor
Economic components
Exploitation of NR for human needs
Exploitation of NR to maximize profits
There should be limits to economic growth due to ecological concerns
The story mentions "no limits" to economic growth
Defense of voluntary simplicity
Defense of maximizing consumption and personal income
Political components
Role of decentralized government
Role of centralized government
Decisions should be / are made by citizens based on valuative concerns
Decisions should be / are made by experts based on factual knowledge
Authority is / should be non-hierarchical and participatory
Authority is / should be hierarchically structured
Interpersonal components
Community activity or initiative
Individual activity or initiative
Organizational components
Town is positively viewed
City is positively viewed
Value components
Human development
Material accomplishment
Well-being of human society
Cost / benefit of any human activity
Human scale is better
Bigger is better
Values, traditions of other cultures
Values, traditions of one culture
Concern about future state of NR
Concern only about present state of NR
To fully understand this post-industrial element as well as its opposite
from the dominant paradigm, another example is provided, this time to illustrate
the presence of "humans can control nature and exploit it for their needs." This
would include even the delimitation of areas in nature designated to be
protected, such as national parks .
Two internal reports of the Environmental Ministry, dated in
April and May, respectively, sustain that hunting in the Picos de
Europa National Park is illegal, unless the beats are justified for
sanitary reasons or excessive population of the species that inhabit
the park.(se23_p3)
In some cases, one same passage of a story illustrates both seemingly
opposing elements. The content of the next example was coded 1 both for
"ownership of natural resources is operated to serve human needs" and "ownership
of natural resources is operated on the basis of maximizing profits."
After decades of deforestation, Central Americans have now
turned their eyes to the rain forest, which could become a source of
wealth as well as a provider of beautiful scenery for the 30 million
inhabitants of the region. (se21_n6) (original in English).
'Beautiful scenery' is considered to fulfill a human need, however the rain
forest is also considered as a 'source of wealth'.
In the political category, the item "decisions should be made
by experts, based on factual knowledge", was coded as being present
for the following paragraph.
The civil servant said that every year the northwestern areas
suffer from droughts, but the farmers, even though they know about it,
sow between May and September, and always loose their crops. Now, she
added, the experts from the Agriculture Ministry and the Nicaraguan
Institute of Agricultural Techniques (INTA) are recommending them to
only sow between September and November, known here as the last
sowing. (ag15_n6)
To make the value category clearer one example was selected. The next
paragraph illustrates what is meant by "human development".
The mystical experience of communion with nature is one of the
most wonderful feelings that the park can provide, and that is only
possible in silence and solitude, not in the noise of engines or
shouting of the big groups. Those who are looking for that spiritual
good will always be willing to pay the price for the physical effort
of walking by foot the steep paths.(se10-p3)
In this example, it is clear that "human development" refers to the amount
of personal satisfaction that an individual gains through different activities,
but not in any way related to the amount of possessions.
Analysis
Frequencies of the variables
From a total of 709 stories, 521 articles were selected from La Naci"n
(73.5 per cent), while only 188 stories from El Pa!s were considered relevant to
this study. The reasons for this extreme difference lie in the fact that La
Naci"n's web site offered each day more stories than the web site of El Pa!s.
However, it is also necessary to point out that in relative terms, La Naci"n
also offered a higher percentage of stories dealing with issues pertinent to
this study.
Table 5. Proportion of articles selected
Newspaper
Total stories August
Selected stories August
Total stories September
Selected stories September
Total % stories selected
El Pa!s
2,563
87 (3.39 %)
3,212
102 (3.17 %)
3.27 %
La Naci"n
3,894
280 (7.20 %)
3,715
239 (6.40 %)
6.80 %
As is seen in Table 5, in both newspapers the overall percentage of stories
dealing with natural resources is less than 7 per cent, which suggests that this
is not a main issue for either one of the on-line media, who dedicate a higher
number of stories to other topics. Despite the fact that the sample size is
relatively big, it is important to keep in mind the low representation that
these stories have in the bulk of news that each media publishes.
The main claimer in a majority of stories (62.9 per cent) was the
governmental agencies. The private owners and the indigenous-local NGOs share
the second position with a 14.5 per cent each. The intergovernmental agencies
appeared as the main claimer of the story in 6.5 per cent of the articles,
while the international NGOs only appeared in 11 stories (1.7 per cent).
Nevertheless, in 46 stories it was not feasible to assign a main claimer, as not
enough information was provided, or in some cases there were no identifiable
actors in the whole story.
Dependent variables
Several of the elements that are included in the paradigms were not
mentioned in the stories very often. This means that both in the dominant
paradigm and in the post-industrial paradigm, the corresponding items were coded
0. It is interesting that only certain themes are being raised by these two
newspapers, while other ones have been disregarded and set aside. As is seen in
Table 6, the themes that appear most often are the environmental category (with
the exception of the population elements), the political and the economic
categories. On the other hand, the technological, interpersonal, organizational
and work issues do not appear often in the stories selected. The value category
is divided, as some elements have a high presence while others have a low
presence. It seems, though, that basically economic and political themes, as
well as a few environmental and value elements, are the ones that emerge the
most.
Table 6. Presence of worldview items in the selected stories
Post-industrial worldview
Dominant western worldview
Environmental components
Humans are part of nature
X
XXXXXXX
Humans control nature
Nature is valuable in itself
XX
XXXXXX
Nature is only valuable if it gives resources
Natural resources are limited
X
X
Natural resources are ample
World population must be controlled
*
Size of world population will not affect NR
Technological components
Most adequate technology
X
X
Most advanced technology
There's always a need to assess the use of technology
X
*
NR will not decrease because of use of more and more technology
For every solved problem technology creates new ones
*
*
Technology solves most problems
Work components
Creation of jobs that will not hinder NR
*
*
Creation of jobs is more important than depletion of NR
There is no need for job specialization nor division of labor
*
*
There is a need for job specialization and division of labor
Economic components
Exploitation of NR for human needs
XXX
XXXXX
Exploitation of NR to maximize profits
There should be limits to economic growth due to ecological concerns
X
*
The story mentions "no limits" to economic growth
Defense of voluntary simplicity
*
*
Defense of maximizing consumption and personal income
Political components
Role of decentralized government
X
XXXXXX
Role of centralized government
Decisions should be / are made by citizens based on valuative concerns
X
XXXXXX
Decisions should be / are made by experts based on factual knowledge
Authority is / should be non-hierarchical and participatory
XX
X
Authority is / should be hierarchically structured
Interpersonal components
Community activity or initiative
X
*
Individual activity or initiative
Table 6. (Continue)
Post-industrial worldview
Dominant western worldview
Organizational components
Town is positively viewed
*
*
City is positively viewed
Value components
Human development
*
XXXXXX
Material accomplishment
Well-being of human society
XXXXX
XXXXX
Cost / benefit of any human activity
Human scale is better
*
X
Bigger is better
Values, traditions of other cultures
*
*
Values, traditions of one culture
Concern about future state of NR
XXXX
XX
Concern only about present state of NR
To be able to test which of the two paradigms was most prevalent in the
stories selected, scores of the elements were computed. A score consists of a
measurement of added items, whether the items measure the same thing or not, or
whether all items head in the same direction or not. This is different from a
scale, in which a reliability test would ensure that all items do indeed measure
the same thing. The decision to compute scores versus scales lies in the fact
that it is assumed that most stories will have a combination of both paradigms.
The first step was to create a score for each category in which there would
be the dominant versus the post-industrial score, and afterwards an overall
score for both paradigms that would include all the categories under the
dominant paradigm, on one hand, and all the categories of the post-industrial
paradigm, on the other hand.
The main difference between the two overall scores, which can be seen more
clearly in Figures 1 and 2, is the almost normal distribution of the dominant
score, versus the skewed distribution of the post-industrial score. This is
explained by the great amount of stories (168) that do not contain any element
of the post-industrial paradigm, which represent 23.7 per cent of the sample.
The next 35.1 per cent are stories that contain 1 or 2 post-industrial elements.
In other words, almost 60 per cent of the stories present 2 or fewer elements of
the post-industrial paradigm.
Figure 1. Distribution of the dominant worldview score
Figure 2. Distribution of the post-industrial worldview score
Hypotheses testing
H 1a - The components present in the post-industrial worldview will appear more
frequently in the stories about natural resource use that El Pa!s publishes,
while
H 1b - The components present in the dominant western worldview will appear more
frequently in the stories about natural resources that La Naci"n publishes.
As is seen in Table 7, hypothesis 1a is supported since El Pa!s presents a
higher number of post-industrial components. The mean difference of the
post-industrial score is -0.9702, and this is significant at the 0.001 level.
Meanwhile, the mean difference between both newspapers for the dominant score is
-0.1232, which is not significant at the 0.05 level (one-tailed test). Thus,
hypothesis 1b is rejected.
Table 7. T-test for mean differences between both newspapers in overall
scores
Overall scores
La Naci"n mean
El Pa!s mean
Mean differences
T-value
p-value
Dominant
5.9194
6.0426
-0.1232
-.53
.296
Post-industrial
2.4607
3.4309
-0.9702
-3.71
.000
In addition to the analysis using overall scores, each category was
examined to see whether they follow the same pattern, using as well one-tailed
tests. As Table 8 indicates, there are only three categorical scores that follow
the same trend as the overall score: the environmental, the technological and
the value categories. The scores that measured the economic, interpersonal,
organizational and work categories did not yield a significant difference for
either of the two paradigms. The interesting finding is that for the political
score, the mean difference between the two newspapers was significant for both
paradigms. However, not as hypothesized since El Pa!s scored higher in the
dominant as well as in the post-industrial paradigms.
Table 8. T-test for mean differences between both newspapers in categorical
scores
Categorical scores
La Naci"n mean
El Pa!s mean
Mean differences
T-value
p-value
deconom[4]
0.5067
0.5479
-0.0412
-.73
.233
peconom
0.5125
0.5532
-0.0407
.68
.247
denviron
1.4760
1.4043
0.0717
1.05
.147
penviron
0.3109
0.5745
-0.2636
-3.66
.000
ditrper
0.0403
0.0372
0.0031
.19
.426
pitrper
0.1459
0.1383
0.0076
.25
.400
dorganiz
0.0000
0.0106
-0.0106
-1.42
.079
porganiz
0.0115
0.0160
-0.0045
-.47
.321
dpolit
1.3493
1.6170
-0.3204
-3.42
.000
ppolit
0.4568
0.6809
-0.2241
-3.43
.000
dtechnol
0.1766
0.1436
0.0330
.70
.243
ptechnol
0.2668
0.5213
-0.2545
-3.60
.000
dvalue
1.3913
1.3032
0.0881
.85
.198
pvalue
0.7486
0.9415
-0.1929
-2.70
.003
dwork
0.9789
0.9787
0.0002
.01
.494
pwork
0.0077
0.0053
0.0024
.25
.403
The results suggest that El Pa!s is presenting more often than La Naci"n
ideas of the post-industrial worldview, but the dominant worldview is just as
prevalent in both newspapers. The post-industrial worldview is not taking the
place of the dominant worldview in El Pa!s.
H.2a - Stories whose claimers are private owners or governmental agencies will
present more components from the dominant western worldview than stories whose
main claimer is intergovernmental agencies, international environmental NGOs, or
local or indigenous NGOs.
H.2b - Stories whose claimers are intergovernmental agencies, international
environmental NGOs, or local or indigenous NGOs will present more components
from the post-industrial worldview than stories whose main claimers are private
owners or governmental agencies.
The results in Table 9 indicate significant differences between the main
claimer groups for both overall scores. The owner and government group scored
higher in the dominant score than the NGO and agency group, with a mean
difference of 1.6766. On the other hand, the NGO and agency group achieved a
higher score in the post-industrial score than the owner/government group, with
a mean difference of -2.6292. Both mean differences are significant at the 0.01
level, which means that both hypothesis 2a and hypothesis 2b are supported.
Table 9. T-test for mean differences between main claimers in overall scores
Overall scores
Owner/gov mean
NGO/agency mean
Mean differences
T-value
p-value
Dominant
6.5166
4.8400
1.6766
7.83
.000
Post-industrial
2.0175
4.6467
-2.6292
-10.43
.000
A more in-depth analysis of the different categories indicates that a
majority of the categorical scores follow the same pattern as the overall
scores, and that there is no major opposite tendency (Table 10). The economic,
environmental, political, technological, and value scores present significant
differences between the claimer groups, and all of them indicate that the owner
and government group scores higher on the dominant paradigm, while the NGO and
agency group scores higher on the post-industrial paradigm. The interpersonal
category follows the same tendency showing a high post-industrial score for the
NGO/agency group (significant at the 0.001 level). However, even though the
owner and government group is higher on the dominant paradigm for the
interpersonal category the significance level is only 0.07.
Table 10. T-test for mean differences between main claimers for categorical
scores
Categorical scores
Owner/gov mean
NGO/agency mean
Mean differences
T-value
p-value
deconom
0.6335
0.2200
0.4135
8.66
.000
peconom
0.4288
0.7933
-0.3645
-6.51
.000
denviron
1.5283
1.3600
0.1683
2.27
.011
penviron
0.2398
0.5867
-0.3469
-4.48
.000
ditrper
0.0409
0.0200
0.0209
1.45
.074
pitrper
0.0682
0.4333
-0.3651
-8.67
.000
dorganiz
0.0039
0.0000
0.0039
.77
.222
porganiz
0.0078
0.0200
-0.0122
-1.01
.157
dpolit
1.5906
1.2067
0.3839
5.15
.000
ppolit
0.3684
1.1467
-0.7783
-9.79
.000
dtechnol
0.1969
0.1000
0.0969
2.25
.012
ptechnol
0.2768
0.4733
-0.1965
-2.62
.005
dvalue
1.5497
0.9400
0.6097
6.20
.000
pvalue
0.6179
1.2333
-0.6154
-8.74
.000
dwork
0.9727
0.9933
-0.0206
-2.10
.018
pwork
0.0097
0.0000
0.0097
.90
.183
The score composed of the work elements shows an interesting unexpected
result, with the NGO/agency group scoring higher on the dominant paradigm. The
post-industrial paradigm presents no significant difference between the
claimers. The organizational category is the only one in which there is no
significant difference between the claimers. In general, this last set of
hypotheses is supported by the results of the t-tests.
Discussion
Olsen et al. (1992) suggested that the post-industrial paradigm is an
emerging set of beliefs and values which is starting to coexist with the
dominant western worldview. The authors also mentioned that this new worldview
is predominantly taking place in the modern industrialized societies. Even
though this study cannot make a generalization in that sense, it does show that
out of the two on-line newspapers the Spanish daily El Pa!s did present a higher
amount of post-industrial themes than the Costa Rican daily La Naci"n.
The outcome for the dominant western worldview was different than expected
between both newspapers. Results indicate that the dominant paradigm is equally
prevalent in both papers. This is evidence that the beliefs and values related
to the more capitalistic and money-driven worldview are widespread in these two
media. Very possibly, this can be related also to the fact that if the
post-industrial paradigm is an emerging one, most of the values and beliefs that
get reported on, will still get portrayed through the dominant paradigm's
"mental lenses".
It is important to indicate the well-defined differences between the main
claimers of the stories, as well as an unbalanced amount of stories in both
groups. Leading were the stories whose main claimer was governmental agencies,
which along with those of private owners accounted for 77.4 per cent of the
sample. This result seems to be in line with Neuzil and Kovarik (1996) who
suggested that if only the well established groups have access to the media, the
views of the less established groups may be ignored. The scope of this study
cannot determine which actors have greater access to the two newspapers
selected. Nevertheless, it has identified which actors are getting more
coverage, and those certainly seem to be well-established groups.
As was hypothesized, the dominant worldview appears more often in those
stories whose main claimers are governmental agencies or private owners, while
the post-industrial conception of the world is present more frequently in
stories whose main claimers are NGOs or intergovernmental agencies. These groups
maintain a certain position towards the exploitation of natural resources
according, not only to a set of beliefs and values, but also to certain social,
economic, political and historical context (Burgess et al., 1991).
Conclusion
It is found that only certain themes are crucial factors in determining the
belonging to a certain worldview. Olsen et al. (1992) assumed that the most
important theme in which the emergence of a new paradigm would occur would be
the ecological realm, but they did not believe "that a paradigm change in that
realm is necessarily Dat least at the present timeD carrying over into other
realms of life such as economic and political systems, organizational
structures, or interpersonal interaction" (Olsen et al., p.8). This study cannot
disregard the importance that some of these areas have in discerning between the
paradigms. Nevertheless, it appears that the interpersonal, organizational and
work categories do not help in that task.
It is possible to assume that the emergence of post-industrial ideas will
be limited to certain areas of life, as for example environmental concerns and
economic systems, while in other realms the post-industrial paradigm will hardly
appear. This study cannot prove whether the post-industrial worldview is in fact
emerging and shifting the dominant paradigm out of place. Rather, the findings
suggest another possibility. The post-industrial themes may very well appear in
certain affairs but without ever defeating the dominant paradigm. Furthermore,
it will lead to a coexistence in which the dominant western worldview will
maintain its position, while the post-industrial approach to the world will also
exist but to a lower degree.
It is important to relate this situation to the advocates of each
worldview. In the case of the sample studied, the articles in which private
owners or sources from any governmental offices are the main claimers tend to
show a higher number of themes from the dominant western worldview. On the other
hand, stories that covered to a wider extent the point of view of NGOs or
intergovernmental agencies had more elements from the nature-concerned and
humanistic post-industrial worldview.
Certainly, governmental agencies and private owners will maintain a
capitalistic-oriented philosophy which is the most appropriate to their needs
and goals. The other actors identified in this study (NGOs and intergovernmental
agencies) consider that nature concerns as well as human needs and values are
more important than money making. However, they have a low representation in the
sample studied, and possibly their views will not be adopted by the majority of
the population. This alone suggests that the dominant western worldview will
remain as the main way of thinking.
Overall, Olsen et al.'s model of two contrasting paradigms is effective in
identifying themes that depart from the general philosophy of success and
happiness in life related to competitiveness and the strive for lucrative
businesses. They are also accurate in assuming that the post-industrial
worldview is appearing only in some very specific realms of life and not in
every aspect. However, the post-industrial worldview may never overthrow the
dominant worldview. Rather, it may just be a phase of concern about the
environment and the way human beings behave in relation to it.
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Web addresses of the two on-line newspapers
El Pa!s: http://www.elpais.es
La Naci"n: http://www.nacion.co.cr
[1] UN definition for telephone line: it connects the subscriber's terminal
equipment to the public switched network and has a dedicated port in the
telephone exchange equipment.
[2] Data from 1994.
[3] For each newspaper, first column is daily circulation and second column is
Sunday circulation.
[4] The first letter of each categorical score identifies whether it represents
the dominant worldview (d) or the post-industrial worldview (p).