5. EQUIPOS MECÁNICOS
5.3. PROTECCIÓN DE SUPERFICIES MEDIANTE PINTURA
During the 3 month fieldwork period, participant observation as well as a total of 18 semi- structured interviews, a number of informal conversations and 4 focus groups were conducted with residents from the island. 12 of these informants and 2 of the focus groups were approached as a result of their completion of a short, online survey and the remaining 6 interviews and 2 focus groups were conducted as a result of snowball sampling and attendance at public meetings.
To gain access to a broad research population, an online survey was put together and shared online. They survey, to which 219 people responded in total, and 187 responses were complete, was shared with, and by, friends, local associations, NGOs, media outlets, town halls and social movement groups via social media platforms. It consisted of 6 general questions regarding the respondent’s age, sex, place of residence (on the island), the relationship they have with Mallorca (there by birth, migration etc.), the relationship they have with tourism (through work, renting a house etc.) and how much time they spend in nature (a translated version can be found in Appendix .1). In order to get an understanding of the way in which individual respondents perceived environmental change as a result of tourism, they were then asked to indicate, using a 5 point scale, how much they agreed with 14 statements that were taken from the New Ecological Paradigm Scale (NEP Scale) – a survey based metric that was put together by environmental sociologist Riley Dunlap in 1978 to measure individual environmental world-views based upon respondent’s level of agreement or disagreement with fifteen statements (url ix).
In order to anchor the survey in a local context the NEP scale was modified so that rather than focusing on individual environmental world view, the modified questions focused on individual environmental perspectives with regards to tourism in Mallorca. This was done in a bid to explore the differing emic notions of environmental perception with regards to tourism. The final 4 questions in the survey gave the respondent the opportunity to describe a) personal experiences with specific impacts b) how these impacts have changed their environment – built as well as natural c) how these changes have affected them personally and d) how they have responded to these changes. The final question in the survey then asked the respondent to indicate whether they would be willing to discuss their responses in more detail at a later date.
No structured sampling methods were employed with the survey as it was initially put together as a method of gaining access to a broader research population so was open to all residents regardless of their age, sex, religion, time spent living in Mallorca or their ties to tourism. However, due to its unexpected success - it revealed some valuable data in the form of recurrent themes relating to specific environmental impacts, locations and individual experiences - juxtaposed with concerns regarding sampling and bias within the response population, I made the decision to incorporate these findings into interviews, conversations and focus groups in the form of open ended questions and hypothetical scenarios in a bid to
bring out the qualitative nature of the quantitative data.
In order to recognize the shifting behaviors and emotions associated with living under precarious circumstances, I carried out participant observation at a number of public assemblies and meetings. Doing so allowed me to get an understanding of the context in which certain members were inspired to take action which in turn enabled me to understand the underlying tensions that became the driving force behind these movements. In addition, by attending family gatherings, lunches, going for walks, spending time with people, paying attention to group and individual interactions (and reactions) and taking note of passing anecdotes, chance encounters and conversations just as much as data that was collected systematically through interviews, I was able to gain many valuable insights into the dynamics of individual and group values, priorities, opinions and conflicts. This proved to be valuable technique because it allowed me to observe the way in which people’s concerns and wishes were expressed and responded to in different settings. It also allowed me to pick up on individual reactions to specific events or conversations and the often unnoticed subtle responses in the form of body language and facial expressions.
The numerous informal conversations that were conducted generally came as a by- product of participant observation. These conversations allowed me to explore the day to day lives and happenings of my informants as they were happening. They also revealed valuable insights into past events, local histories and changed dynamics. Semi-structured interviews and small focus groups allowed me to focus these informal conversations somewhat so as to get a deeper understanding of specific events or changed circumstances, again this was highly valuable for providing detailed context to individual stories and circumstances.
A lot of consideration was also given to the use of social media platforms and the way in which people used social media as a medium to confront or contribute to specific discussions, particularly with regards to the social movements that I was following. On numerous occasions these groups would post articles, critiques or events on their pages that would ignite, at times heated, discussions in the list of comments which provided a lens through which I could observe the way certain tensions, concerns and priorities were expressed and discussed. During this thesis specific comments will be drawn upon to illustrate generalizable responses to certain events or discussions.