My research program focuses on understanding the social bases of environmental attitudes and beliefs, public perceptions of science and scientists, and analyzing inter-organizational relationships among public and private sector actors engaged in environmental management. I have conducted applied sociological research and developed methods for integrating social, natural, and physical science data to support policy-making and natural resource management in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), and the USDA Rural Development Program. I was a principal investigator on the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded New England Sustainability Consortium Project that investigated how social and institutional factors affect scientific engagement in coastal management in New England. I am interested in exploring how public perceptions of science and scientific practice influence policy debates such as those related to climate change, ocean and fisheries management, and global health pandemics. Current projects include investigating how access to scientific information and scientists’ engagement influence beliefs and attitudes about aquaculture development in Maine and an international collaboration with colleagues in Brazil and Ecuador studying water management and the social and economic implications of climate change for communities and the environment in the Amazon Basin. Prior to coming to UNH, I was a postdoctoral fellow at the NOAA Coastal Services Center and NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center and a USAID Population and Environment Fellow working with Pathfinder International in Salvador, Brazil. More recently, I was a Fulbright Scholar at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina in Florianópolis, Brazil in 2014-2015.
Courses Taught
- IA 701: Exploring Intl Challenges
- SOC 400: Introductory Sociology
- SOC 665: Environmental Sociology
- SOC 693: Global Social Change
- SOC 730/830: Communities & the Environment
- SOC 799H: Senior Honors Thesis
- SOC 999: Doctoral Research
Research Interests
- Applied Sociology
- Coastal Environment
- Environmental Planning/Policy
- Ethics/Values in Science and Technology
- Globalization
- International Affairs
- International Planning/Policy
- International political economy
- International/Global Development
- Marine Environment
- Natural Resources Management
- Organizational, environmental, science and technology
- Social Change
- Sociology
- Sociology of Science
- Environmental sociology
Selected Publications
Malloy, J. T., Ashcraft, C. M., Kirshen, P., Safford, T. G., Aytur, S. A., & Rogers, S. H. (n.d.). Implementing just climate adaptation policy: An analysis of recognition, framing, and advocacy coalitions in Boston, U.S.A.. Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, 4. doi:10.3389/frsc.2022.928230
Whitmore, E. H., Safford, T. G., & Hamilton, L. C. (2022). What does the public think about farming seafood? Modeling predictors of social support for aquaculture development in the U.S.. Ocean & Coastal Management, 226, 106279. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2022.106279
Safford, T. G., Whitmore, E. H., & Hamilton, L. C. (2021). Scientists, presidents, and pandemics-comparing the science-politics nexus during the Zika virus and COVID-19 outbreaks. SOCIAL SCIENCE QUARTERLY, 102(6), 2482-2498. doi:10.1111/ssqu.13084
Hamilton, L. C., & Safford, T. G. (2021). Elite Cues and the Rapid Decline in Trust in Science Agencies on COVID-19. SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES, 64(5), 988-1011. doi:10.1177/07311214211022391
Safford, T., & Polette, M. (2021). Data or Misconceptions? Understanding the Role of Economic Expertise in the Development of Sustainable Marine Aquaculture in Santa Catarina, Brazil. In S. R. C. Seixas, & J. L. M. Hoefel (Eds.), Environmental Sustainability Sustainable Development Goals and Human Rights. London: CRC Press. Retrieved from https://www.routledge.com/
Safford, T. G., Whitmore, E. H., & Hamilton, L. C. (2021). Follow the scientists? How beliefs about the practice of science shaped COVID-19 views. JCOM-JOURNAL OF SCIENCE COMMUNICATION, 20(7). doi:10.22323/2.20070203
Safford, T. G., Whitmore, E. H., & Hamilton, L. C. (2020). Questioning scientific practice: linking beliefs about scientists, science agencies, and climate change. ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY, 6(2), 194-206. doi:10.1080/23251042.2019.1696008
Safford, T. G., Vieira, P. F., & Polette, M. (2019). Scientific engagement and the development of marine aquaculture in Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT, 178. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2019.104840
Safford, T. G., Hamilton, L., & Whitmore, E. (2017). The Zika Virus Threat: How Concerns about Scientists May Undermine Efforts to Combat the Pandemic. (Iss. 49, pp. 1-6). Durham, NH: Carsey School of Public Policy. Retrieved from https://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1298&context=carsey
Hamilton, L. C., Wake, C. P., Hartter, J., Safford, T. G., & Puchlopek, A. J. (2016). Flood Realities, Perceptions and the Depth of Divisions on Climate. SOCIOLOGY-THE JOURNAL OF THE BRITISH SOCIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, 50(5), 913-933. doi:10.1177/0038038516648547
Norman, K. C., Safford, T. G., Feist, B. E., & Henly, M. (2016). At the Confluence of Data Streams: Mapping Paired Social and Biophysical Landscapes on the Puget Sound's Edge. COASTAL MANAGEMENT, 44(5), 427-440. doi:10.1080/08920753.2016.1208038
Safford, T. G., Henly, M., Ulrich-Schad, J. D., & Perkins, K. (2014). Charting a Future Course for Development: Natural Resources, Conservation, and Community Character in Coastal Alaska.. Journal of Rural and Community Development, 9(3), 22-41. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/
Safford, T. G., Norman, K. C., Henly, M., Mills, K. E., & Levin, P. S. (2014). Environmental Awareness and Public Support for Protecting and Restoring Puget Sound. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, 53(4), 757-768. doi:10.1007/s00267-014-0236-8
Safford, T. G., Ulrich, J. D., & Hamilton, L. C. (2012). Public perceptions of the response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill: Personal experiences, information sources, and social context. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, 113, 31-39. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.08.022