Sara Benson, Nelle D’Aversa, and Katie Denman (M.A.M.A 2017) presented their thesis research at the Restore America’s Estuaries – The Coastal Society (RAE-TCS) Our Coasts, Our Future, Our Choice National Summit 2016 in New Orleans on Monday, December 12th, 2016 during the poster session.
Benson presented her thesis research titled “Investigating Rhode Island Town Beach Litter Policies.” Benson presented preliminary findings on how beach managers perceived their trash policies, carry in/carry out or trash receptacles, to be working. This study is looking at the perceived benefits and costs of different policies in order to effectively reduce the amount of marine debris entering the ocean from land based sources.
D’Aversa presented her thesis research entitled: “Perspectives on Emerging Water Quality Monitoring Technologies: Understanding Factors that Affect Technology Adoption in Coastal Management.” Primary findings from interviews conducted with RI coastal managers in order to understand how and why certain technologies are adopted in the field of coastal management were presented at the Summit. Data from the interviews was used to inform a framework of factors that affect technology adoption in coastal management, which is currently being tested through the use of an online survey.
Denman presented her thesis research entitled “Perceptions of Participants in the NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Nomination Process: A Case Study of Mallows Bay-Potomac River.” Denman presented preliminary findings from interviews conducted with key participants that were involved in the NOAA nomination process in order to understand overall perceptions of the nomination process, and more specifically, to identify what characteristics of the nomination process have contributed to the overall quality of the process.
Benson, D’Aversa, and Denman plan to defend their research in Spring 2017.
