Includes bibliographical references and index.

Intro; Half Title; Series Information; Title Page; Copyright Page; Table of contents; Figures; Tables; Boxes; Notes on contributors; Introduction: Cultural Models of Nature of primary food producers in communities affected by climate change; The NSF-sponsored research project; Cultural Models Theory; Cultural Models Theory and methodology; Causal models in Cultural Models of Nature; The chapters and the hypothesized Cultural Models of Nature; Relevance of the volume; Appendix; Semi-structured interview; Questions about daily activities; Questions about climate change; Notes; References

1 Vernacular explanations of rainfall variability in highland EthiopiaIntroduction; Study area; Data collection; Data analysis; Perceived variability in the normalcy of the wet season; Perceived effects of rainfall variability; Perceived solutions to rainfall variability; Agricultural responses to rainfall variability; Prayers and mediations as perceived solutions to rainfall variability; Summary and conclusion; Notes; References; 2 Cultural Models of Nature in Tonga (Polynesia); Introduction; Place of research; Cultural Models Theory (CMT) and methodology; Results of the linguistic analyses

Hypothesis about the Cultural Model of Nature in TongaCausality structure of CM of Nature; Results of the free-listing tasks; Conclusion; Appendix 2.1; Semi-structured interview; Questions about daily activities; Questions about climate change; Semi-structured interview translated in Tongan; Questions about daily activities; Questions about climate change; Appendix 2.2; Results of the key words analysis (first 60 for verbs, nouns, and adjectives); Appendix 2.3; Notes; References

3 'Plants are cooking under the soil': Food production, models of Nature, and climate-change perceptions among indigenous peasaIntroduction; Place of research; Assumptions, theories, and methods; Snapshot of basic categories in Nature from key words in interviews; Detailing basic cultural domains from the analysis of free-lists; Analysis of propositions that mention the word 'Nature'; Time, force, plants, and perceptions of climate change; Conclusion and final remarks; Notes; References; 4 Lithuanian farmers in a time of economic and environmental ambiguity; Introduction; A brief history

Fieldwork site and participantsMethods for data collection; Free-list results and analysis; Free-list Task 1: List all the typical tasks you do on a farm; Free-list Task 2: What thoughts come to your mind when you think about Nature?; Free-list Task 3: List all the ways you use Nature; Free-list Task 4: What are the bad things people do to Nature?; Free-list Task 5: What problems do you encounter in farming?; Free-list Task 6: What are the effects of climate change on your farm work and productivity?; Semi-structured interviews; Ethos: Farming is in the blood

Drawing on the ethnographic experience of the contributors, this volume explores the Cultural Models of Nature found in a range of food-producing communities located in climate-change affected areas. These Cultural Models represent specific organizations of the etic categories underlying the concept of Nature (id est plants, animals, the physical environment, the weather, humans, and the supernatural). The adoption of a common methodology across the research projects allowsthe drawing ofmeaningful cross-cultural comparisons between these communities. The research will be of interest to scholars and policymakers actively involved in research and solution-providing in the climate change arena.

Giovanni Bennardo is Presidential Research Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Cognitive Studies Initiative and Environment, Sustainability, and Energy Institute at Northern Illinois University, USA.

Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on April 30, 2019).

Master record variable field(s) change: 050