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<br />1.2 <br /> <br />Basic Approach <br /> <br />0322 <br />part <br /> <br />The concept of conducting "social assessments" as a <br /> <br />of an overall Environmental Impact Study is new. In <br /> <br />earlier times the major concerns regarding a water development <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />project's impacts were usually expressed in terms of results <br /> <br />(e.g., acre feet of water for irrigation) and engineering <br /> <br />requirements associated with the site characteristics and <br /> <br />"' <br /> <br />output requirements. <br /> <br />Subsequently, economic analysis became <br /> <br />a major concern; did the benefits when related to the costs <br /> <br />yield a positive ratio; i.e., did the return on investment <br /> <br />warrant project go-ahead? Not surprisingly, when interest <br /> <br />first was paid to the idea of social impact assessment, <br /> <br />there were efforts made to subsume such matters under eco- <br /> <br />nomic concepts; this was familiar territory in the otherwise <br /> <br />uncharted area. <br /> <br />Before setting forth a conceptual framework <br /> <br />for social assessment it is useful to review some of the <br /> <br />shortcomings of such "transfer" of economic concerns to the <br /> <br />social assessment question. <br /> <br />Perhaps the most common tendency is to treat human <br /> <br />well being solely in economic and demographic terms: <br /> <br />i.e. , <br /> <br />human social improvement is taken to occur when income levels <br /> <br />increase, unemployment declines. or some desired patterns <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />of population density, birth rate and other demographic <br /> <br />conditions prevail. <br /> <br />Indications of improvements in these <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />indicators are taken to be adequate proxies for improvements <br /> <br />in social. psychological and/or cultural impacts of public <br /> <br />programs. <br /> <br />11 <br />