In search of how the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico affected the lives of Cedar Key residents, a team of sociologists led by Dr. Brian Mayer has been visiting Gulf Coast communities. Dr. Mayer, of the Department of Sociology, Criminology and Law at the University of Florida, has organized a series of five sessions in which representatives of community components are questioned about how the environmental, economic and mental health of Cedar Key have been damaged by the BP oil spill. During the most recent session six community leaders were interviewed as an interactive group. Previous sessions included clammers, other seafood industry members and realtors.
The current session, otherwise known as a focus group, asked six people identified as community leaders a series of questions that ranged from how Cedar Key functions in the face of difficulty to how future disaster such as the BP oil spill can be responded to. The opinions, recorded for later analysis, will be the basis of a report in which the identities of the participants will be protected. The National Institute of Health has provided funding for the study, as opposed to oil spill responses paid for by BP.
Univ. of Fla. representatives at the focus group session: Paul Monaghan, IFAS; Leslie Sturmer, U.F. Extension Service; Brian Mayer, Sociology Department; Joan Flocks, School of Law.
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Without disclosing individual views or speculating on the results of full analysis of the discussions, the negative impact of the BP oil spill was clear. The damage appears to be blamed on hype by the national news media and lawyers as well as BP. Furthermore, a distinction between natural disasters and man-made disasters was agreed upon. Dr. Mayer said following the session that a report will be made public after transcription of the comments and analysis. He suggested visiting the website Healthy Gulf Coast.org.. In search of how the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico affected the lives of Cedar Key residents, a team of sociologists led by Dr. Brian Mayer has been visiting Gulf Coast communities. Dr. Mayer, of the Department of Sociology, Criminology and Law at the University of Florida, has organized a series of five sessions in which representatives of community components are questioned about how the environmental, economic and mental health of Cedar Key have been damaged by the BP oil spill. During the most recent session six community leaders were interviewed as an interactive group. Previous sessions included clammers, other seafood industry members and realtors.
The current session, otherwise known as a focus group, asked six people identified as community leaders a series of questions that ranged from how Cedar Key functions in the face of difficulty to how future disaster such as the BP oil spill can be responded to. The opinions, recorded for later analysis, will be the basis of a report in which the identities of the participants will be protected. The National Institute of Health has provided funding for the study, as opposed to oil spill responses paid for by BP.
Without disclosing individual views or speculating on the results of full analysis of the discussions, the negative impact of the BP oil spill was clear. The damage appears to be blamed on hype by the national news media and lawyers as well as BP. Furthermore, a distinction between natural disasters and man-made disasters was agreed upon. Dr. Mayer said following the session that a report will be made public after transcription of the comments and analysis. He suggested visiting the website Healthy Gulf Coast.org.. |
