Discovering the influence of social, political, and biological/environmental characteristics of states over the characteristics of their shellfish sanitation programs.

摘要

Shellfish sanitation programs are science-based systems under which control or intervention actions are implemented toward the goal of minimizing shellfish borne disease. These systems are theoretically influenced by the system of knowledge covering general truths and the operation of general laws involving the biological, chemical and physical hazards to humans through the ingestion of molluscan shellfish as defined through scientific methods. The effect of this knowledge is not isolated but exists in conjunction with the external efforts to guide or influence governmental policy and the interactions relating to human society. These external effects hold an equal or greater potential to impact the nature, breadth and scope of shellfish sanitation programs than the system of knowledge that deals with the interactions of living organisms and their vital processes. In this realm it is hypothesized that the biological/environmental characteristics of the external environment have a greater effect upon the characteristics of shellfish sanitation program than do the social and political characteristics of the external environment.; In order to discover the effect that society, politics and the biological/environmental attributes of the external environment have upon shellfish sanitation programs the specific elements of the social, political and biological/environmental environment and shellfish sanitation programs were identified. An examination of how shellfish sanitation program managers in producing states envision the effects of these various elements social, political and biological/environmental characteristics of the external environment in relation to the different elements of shellfish sanitation programs was performed. These characteristics of the external environment in which shellfish sanitation programs function are qualified by these shellfish program managers through a survey instrument administered to all 22 shellfish producing states. All 22 state shellfish sanitation program managers returned the completed surveys.; The study findings indicate that, in the view of shellfish sanitation program managers from producing states, biological/environmental and social characteristics of the states surveyed have equal influence over the characteristics of their shellfish sanitation programs. The political characteristics of states have just slightly less influence in the view of shellfish sanitation program managers than do the social and biological/environmental characteristics. This limited variation in the influence of external environment characteristics may be due to the fact the most shellfish sanitation program policy is set at the national level through the National Shellfish Sanitation Program development at the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference.