Investigating saltwater anglers\u27 value orientations, beliefs and attitudes related to marine protected areas

Marine protected areas (MPAs) have received much attention recently as an innovative approach to restoring and protecting valued ocean resources. The acceptability of MPAs in the U.S. will depend, to a large extent, on society\u27s perceptions regarding the relevant costs and benefits of such areas. In order to incorporate social impact information into marine resource management decisions, it is necessary to study the values, beliefs and attitudes of affected stakeholders. The cognitive hierarchy model provides a theoretical framework for understanding relationships among these cognitions. According to this model, value orientations and beliefs can directly influence attitudes toward a particular attitude object. This study utilized the cognitive hierarchy model to investigate relationships among saltwater anglers\u27 value orientations, beliefs and attitudes connected with MPAs. The moderating effects of recreation specialization and MPA knowledge on these relationships were also explored. Data were collected using a mail survey sent to a representative sample of private boat saltwater anglers in the Northeast United States. Attitudes were measured for four types of hypothetical MPAs ranging from least to most restrictive on saltwater anglers. Three value orientations (biocentric/anthropocentric, general marine resource values, and open access/ocean zoning) and three higher order beliefs (health of the oceans, impact of recreational fishing, and long-term effect of recreational catch reductions on fishing quality) were measured. Ocean zoning/open access value orientation and beliefs about the ocean\u27s health were the best predictors of MPA attitudes. As hypothesized, anglers with ocean zoning value orientations hold more favorable attitudes towards marine protected areas than do anglers with open access value orientations. Similarly, anglers who believe that the oceans are in poor health hold more favorable attitudes towards marine protected areas than do anglers who believe the oceans are relatively healthy. Recreation specialization and MPA knowledge were not found to have a moderating effect for most cognitive relationships tested. However, for highly specialized anglers, the variable measuring beliefs about the impact of recreational fishing on the marine environment was significantly correlated with attitudes towards the MPA alternative allowing only “catch and release” recreational fishing. Implications of these results for marine resource policy and management are discussed

Three-year Results of the Prospective Evaluation of Radial Keratotomy (PERK) Study

The Prospective Evaluation of Radial Keratotomy (PERK) study is a nine-center clinical trial of a standardized technique of radial keratotomy in 435 patients who had simple myopia with a preoperative refractive error between −2.00 and −8.00 diopters (D). The authors report results for one eye of each patient. The surgical technique consisted of eight incisions using a diamond micrometer knife with the blade length determined by intraoperative ultrasonic pachymetry and the diameter of the central clear zone determined by the preoperative refractive error. At 3 years after surgery, 58% of eyes had refractive error within 1.00 D of emmetropia; 26% were undercorrected and 16% were overcorrected by more than 1.00 D. Uncorrected visual acuity was 20/40 or better in 76% of eyes. The operation was more effective in eyes with a preoperative refractive error between −2.00 and −4.37 D. Between 1 and 3 years after surgery, the refractive error changed by 1.00 D or more in 12% of eyes, indicating a lack of stability in some eyes. In the 435 eyes, there was a small number of complications including six eyes that lost two or three lines of best-corrected acuity, 16 that experienced vascularization of the incisions, 2 that had delayed bacterial keratitis, and 4 that had recurrent epithelial erosions

Results of the Prospective Evaluation of Radial Keratotomy (PERK) Study One Year After Surgery

The Prospective Evaluation of Radial Keratotomy (PERK) study is a nine-center, self-controlled clinical trial of a standardized technique of radial keratotomy in 435 patients who had physiologic myopia with a preoperative refraction between −2.00 and −8.00 diopters. The surgical technique consisted of eight incisions using a diamond micrometer knife with blade length determined by intraoperative ultrasonic pachymetry and the diameter of central clear zone determined by preoperative refraction. At one year after surgery, myopia was reduced in all eyes; 60% were within ±1.00 diopter of emmetropia; 30% were undercorrected and 10% were overcorrected by more than 1.00 diopter (range of refraction, −4.25 to +3.38 D). Uncorrected visual acuity was 20/40 or better in 78% of eyes. The operation was most effective in eyes with a refraction between −2.00 and −4.25 diopters. Thirteen percent of patients lost one or two Snellen lines of best corrected visual acuity. However, all but three eyes could be corrected to 20/20. Ten percent of patients increased astigmatism more than 1.00 diopter. Disabling glare was not detected with a clinical glare tester, but three patients reduced their driving at night because of glare. Between six months and one year, the refraction changed by >0.50 diopters in 19% of eyes