The role of perceived effectiveness of policy measures in predicting recycling behaviour in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a compact and ‘land-hungry’ city where recycling has become an important measure for treating waste and reducing the demand on the limited landfills. The objectives of this paper are to extend the model of recycling attitude and behaviour to explain the relationship between perceived policy effectiveness and recycling behaviour. Previous studies on recycling attitude and behaviour had widely adopted the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the norm activation model (NAM), and drawn policy implications from them. Nevertheless, little research has been conducted to investigate the role of perceived effectiveness of policy measures in predicting recycling behaviour. To address this, a model that integrates the TPB and NAM was proposed in this study, and a street survey was conducted to investigate the case. The results illustrate that recycling intention is influenced by subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, moral norms, and awareness of consequences, as well as a newly proposed construct, namely perceived policy effectiveness. The study proved self-reported recycling behaviour (direct behaviour) and support for policy measures (indirect behaviour) are influenced by recycling intention. All in all the Government should provide more recycling bins, guidelines on recycling activities, and should accent what it has been doing to facilitate and encourage recycling.     

EFFECTS OF IMPLEMENTATION INTENTIONS ON THE ACTUAL PERFORMANCE OF NEW ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY BEHAVIOURS — RESULTS OF TWO FIELD EXPERIMENTS

In the context of two environmentally related behaviours (using a new bus route and shopping in a bio-shop) the implications of Gollwitzer's concept of implementation intention for Ajzenz's theory of planned behaviour are studied. Results of both studies supported the assumption that furnishing a goal intention with an additional implementation intention significantly increases the likelihood of actually performing the intended new behaviour. In the second study, the implementation intention intervention is combined with receiving a small vs higher monetary incentive. Receiving the higher incentive has similar behavioural effects to forming an implementation intention, whereas combining both interventions does not result in a stronger behavioural reaction. These results indicate that the behavioural effect of a higher monetary incentive might relay a similar volitional process to that of the implementation intention. Furthermore, in both studies there is some empirical evidence that both interventions suppress the impact of competitive habits.     

Theory of planned behaviour, identity and intentions to engage in environmental activism

This study incorporated identity constructs into the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to investigate intentions to engage in environmental activism. First year students and participants of a students of sustainability conference (n=169) were administered a questionnaire survey that measured standard TPB constructs as well as environmental group membership and self-identity as an environmental activist. Consistent with predictions, environmental group membership and self-identity were positive predictors of intentions. Thus, greater involvement in environmental groups and a stronger sense of the self as an environmental activist were associated with stronger intentions to engage in environmental activism. There was also evidence that self-identity was a stronger predictor of intentions for participants with low rather than high environmental group membership. In accordance with the standard TPB model, participants with more positive attitudes toward and a greater sense of normative support for environmental activism also had greater intentions to engage in the behaviour. The implications for groups seeking to harness support for activities to protect the environment are discussed.     

Towards sustainable consumption: Predicting the impact of social‐psychological factors on energy conservation intentions in Northern Cyprus

The incessant demand and consumption of energy services among individuals’ is increasing throughout the world. Individuals’ electricity consumption in Northern Cyprus has risen considerably. However, the demand for electrical energy services on the island is heavily reliant on imported fossil fuels. Burning fossil fuels has adverse effects on its environment. Therefore, sustainable energy consumption is required and individuals are targeted for energy conservation to reduce electricity consumption. Against this background, using the Structural Equation Modeling approach, this research incorporates social‐psychological factors; personal norms, positive and negative emotions into the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) model to assess the relationships among the variables, explain their impact on consumers’ electricity conservation intentions and enhance the explanatory power of the model. Data was conveniently obtained from a quantitative sample of 400 electricity consumers. The results indicate that negative emotions have the strongest significant influence on intentions, but personal norms have the least effect on intentions to save electricity. Furthermore, the study revealed that our expanded TPB model can provide improved explanatory power more than the original TPB. Policy implications, limitations and future research are discussed.     

Mass communication and pro-environmental behaviour: waste recycling in Hong Kong

Treatment of domestic waste has been one of the major environmental problems in Hong Kong. The Government has a stated policy to advocate the minimization of waste disposal through the encouragement of waste reduction, re-use and recycling. The current study applies Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour to predict behavioural intention and actual behaviour of voluntary use of waste recycling receptacles. A systematic random sample of 173 household members in a public housing estate were interviewed. The results indicated that attitude was the major factor in predicting behavioural intention, followed by behavioural control and social norms. Attitude, subjective norm and perceived control together explained 44% of the variance of behavioural intention. Perception of mass media as a major source of subjective norm was first introduced and tested. Mass communication stood out as one of the major sources of influence in establishment of subjective norms. The study has the implication that more publicity messages should be put on the mass media to promote green behaviours.     

旅游综合体开发——一种旅游房地产全新开发模式研究

随着产业结构升级,旅游结构从原有的单一旅游经济模式向多元化的、集合式的、综合性的旅游模式发展,产生了以旅游资源与土地为基础,以旅游休闲功能为主导,结合大型旅游休闲项目、高品质服务的配套设施、互动发展的休闲旅游地产等多功能的、集合式的土地利用模式及产业聚集模式。在观察和归纳大量这类开发实例的基础上定义了旅游综合体开发这一房地产全新开发模式的概念,分析了该模式的表现特征,总结性地提出开发的理论模式及应用模式,并在此基础上归纳出开发的战略措施。     

Engaging with the natural environment: The role of affective connection and identity

Research has shown pro-environmental behaviour to be positively associated with the strength of emotional connection towards the natural environment. The present study (N=199) investigated the predictive utility of an extended model of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) [ Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behaviour. Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179–211] for people's intentions to engage with the natural environment. It was hypothesised that both affective connection and identification with the natural environment would contribute significantly to the prediction of people's intentions. A secondary hypothesis was that participants who had grown up in rural areas would report more positive orientations towards engaging with the natural environment than would urban participants. The research found that affective connection was a significant independent predictor of intentions to engage with the natural environment. Environmental identity was only a significant predictor in the absence of affective connection in the regression model. As predicted, rural and urban participants differed significantly along the measured variables.     

The influence of place attachment, and moral and normative concerns on the conservation of native vegetation: A test of two behavioural models

This study examines the influence of place attachment, values, beliefs and personal norms about environmental action on the conservation of native vegetation in two primary production settings in South Australia. We use regression and multiple mediation analyses to test a base model of pro-environmental behaviour which includes variables from value-belief-norm (VBN) theory and then compare it to an expanded model which includes the same variables and five dimensions of place attachment. The expanded model including place attachment explained up to twice the amount of variance in native vegetation planting than the base model when controlling for all variables preceding behaviour, but the overall explanatory power was low (<22%). Place attachment had a stronger influence on the antecedents of behaviour compared with the behaviour itself, particularly nature bonding which was a significant moderate predictor of both personal norms and awareness of consequences in the two study regions. We assert that place attachment has statistically significant direct and indirect effects on variables included in VBN theory. Future studies may reveal stronger effects in settings where there are fewer resource and monetary costs associated with pro-environmental behaviour.     

基于进化博弈的生态建筑项目开发商群体行为研究

以进化博弈理论为基础,构建了开发商群体在生态建筑项目开发决策中的动态博弈模型,打破了经典博弈理论中参与人完全理性的不合理假定.模型充分讨论了政府激励措施对开发商行为的影响,其结果较好地解释了因信息不对称造成的我国生态建筑项目“市场失灵”现象,为合理引导开发商进行生态建筑项目建设提供了决策依据.     

Potential Applicability of Persuasive Communication to Light-Glow Reduction Efforts: A Case Study of Marine Turtle Conservation

Artificial lighting along coastlines poses a significant threat to marine turtles due to the importance of light for their natural orientation at the nesting beach. Effective lighting management requires widespread support and participation, yet engaging the public with light reduction initiatives is difficult because benefits associated with artificial lighting are deeply entrenched within modern society. We present a case study from Queensland, Australia, where an active light-glow reduction campaign has been in place since 2008 to protect nesting turtles. Semi-structured questionnaires explored community beliefs about reducing light and evaluated the potential for using persuasive communication techniques based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to increase engagement with light reduction. Respondents (n = 352) had moderate to strong intentions to reduce light. TPB variables explained a significant proportion of variance in intention (multiple regression: R ² = 0.54–0.69, P < 0.001), but adding a personal norm variable improved the model (R ² = 0.73–0.79, P < 0.001). Significant differences in belief strength between campaign compliers and non-compliers suggest that targeting the beliefs reducing light leads to “increased protection of local turtles” (P < 0.01) and/or “benefits to the local economy” (P < 0.05), in combination with an appeal to personal norms, would produce the strongest persuasion potential for future communications. Selective legislation and commitment strategies may be further useful strategies to increase community light reduction. As artificial light continues to gain attention as a pollutant, our methods and findings will be of interest to anyone needing to manage public artificial lighting.     

General vs. domain specific recycling behaviour—Applying a multilevel comprehensive action determination model to recycling in Norwegian student homes

This paper reports the results of a multilevel structure equation model predicting general and fraction specific self-reported recycling behaviour. The model was tested on a sample of 697 undergraduate students from four Norwegian universities who each reported their degree of participation in the local recycling schemes for paper/cardboard, glass, metal, and plastic. It was demonstrated that variance in recycling behaviour can be divided into a smaller general part that is relatively stable across waste fractions and a specific part that depends on the respective fraction. General recycling behaviour is well predicted by intentions to recycle and recycling habits, whereas perceived behavioural control is to a large extend fraction specific and influences the fraction specific recycling. Perceived behavioural control mediates the influence of the recycling scheme type, distance to recycling containers, and transport mode used to reach the recycling containers.     

基于改进PSR模型的济南市生态安全评价研究

阐述了生态安全与生态健康、生态服务功能、生态风险等概念之间的逻辑联系，指出生态安全是其中的核心内容。考察一个城市的生态安全问题可从纵横向进行分析，尝试从纵向来讨论一个城市的生态安全问题。以济南市为例，采用改进的PSR模型构建济南市生态安全评价指标体系，以及采用层次分析法、熵权法相结合的复合数学模型确定指标权重，计算出2000—2005年的济南市生态安全评价综合指数。结果显示，2000年以来济南市生态安全评价综合指数呈稳定上升的状态，但上升的加速度很小。预测分析了济南市短期生态安全状况，提出了实现济南市生态系统安全的建议。     

度假“自由行”产品的经营风险及其规避

度假＂自由行＂不同于传统的包价旅游,它是一种游客自主选择游览活动的出行方式。这种个性化的旅游方式代表了市场需求的方向,也成为众多旅行社服务商的主打产品,发展前景广阔。但与之相伴的游览安全隐患也大大增加了旅行社的经营风险,影响了＂自由行＂产品的健康发展,不利于旅游经营方式创新。在分析＂自由行＂概念和特征的基础上,深入阐述了度假＂自由行＂产品的经营风险,提出了控制风险的策略。     

日本野漆树在红壤侵蚀区的栽培管理

介绍了日本野漆树的生长习性、栽培历史及现状,并针对红壤侵蚀区的生态环境特点,分析和探讨了其适宜的栽培与管理技术及综合利用价值。     

Valuing river characteristics using combined site choice and participation travel cost models

This paper presents new welfare measures for marginal changes in river quality in selected English rivers. The river quality indicators used include chemical, biological and habitat-level attributes. Economic values for recreational use of three types of river-upland, lowland and chalk-are presented. A survey of anglers was carried out and using these data, two travel cost models were estimated, one to predict the numbers of trips and the other to predict angling site choice. These models were then linked to estimate the welfare associated with marginal changes in river quality using the participation levels as estimated in the trip prediction model. The model results showed that higher flow rates, biological quality and nutrient pollution levels affect site choice and influence the likelihood of a fishing trip. Consumer surplus values per trip for a 10% change in river attributes range from pound 0.04 to pound 3.93 ( pound 2001) depending on the attribute.     

A Multi-scale Spatial Analysis of Native and Exotic Plant Species Richness Within a Mixed-Disturbance Oak Savanna Landscape

Impacts of human land use pose an increasing threat to global biodiversity. Resource managers must respond rapidly to this threat by assessing existing natural areas and prioritizing conservation actions across multiple spatial scales. Plant species richness is a useful measure of biodiversity but typically can only be evaluated on small portions of a given landscape. Modeling relationships between spatial heterogeneity and species richness may allow conservation planners to make predictions of species richness patterns within unsampled areas. We utilized a combination of field data, remotely sensed data, and landscape pattern metrics to develop models of native and exotic plant species richness at two spatial extents (60- and 120-m windows) and at four ecological levels for northwestern Ohio’s Oak Openings region. Multiple regression models explained 37–77 % of the variation in plant species richness. These models consistently explained more variation in exotic richness than in native richness. Exotic richness was better explained at the 120-m extent while native richness was better explained at the 60-m extent. Land cover composition of the surrounding landscape was an important component of all models. We found that percentage of human-modified land cover (negatively correlated with native richness and positively correlated with exotic richness) was a particularly useful predictor of plant species richness and that human-caused disturbances exert a strong influence on species richness patterns within a mixed-disturbance oak savanna landscape. Our results emphasize the importance of using a multi-scale approach to examine the complex relationships between spatial heterogeneity and plant species richness.     

关于建立许家峪生态农业示范村的可行性研究

生态农业示范村建设是进行综合生态农业示范体系研究的基础,也是神态农业经营理念和技术推广的重要途径。因此,地理、交通、自然和人文环境的选择,生产经营模式的确定对生态农业经营效益和示范影响效果至关重要。本文通过对许家峪村的现状和作为冀东生态农业示范村的优势和存在问题以及适宜的经营模式进行了剖析和阐述。     

Urban land use,mobility and theory of science: exploring the potential for critical realism in empirical research

Academic discussion where the adequacy of positions within theory of science is illustrated by means of examples from empirical research studies seems to be an area of neglect. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to such a debate, using examples from investigations into the relationship between urban structure and travel behaviour. The main research question of these investigations was whether, and to what extent, urban structural conditions are influencing residents' transportation activity. In other words, is there a causal relationship between urban structure and travel behaviour? Furthermore, we asked whether results from studies of the relationship between land use and transport can provide a basis for predictions about the likely consequences of alternative land-use strategies. The methodology and empirical findings of the studies are discussed in the light of the theory of science position labelled ‘critical realism’, in an attempt to relate theory of science to empirical research, but also in order to contribute to the discussion of the usefulness of this specific approach. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Regional and Local Scale Modeling of Stream Temperatures and Spatio-Temporal Variation in Thermal Sensitivities

Understanding variation in stream thermal regimes becomes increasingly important as the climate changes and aquatic biota approach their thermal limits. We used data from paired air and water temperature loggers to develop region-scale and stream-specific models of average daily water temperature and to explore thermal sensitivities, the slopes of air–water temperature regressions, of mostly forested streams across Maryland, USA. The region-scale stream temperature model explained nearly 90 % of the variation (root mean square error = 0.957 °C), with the mostly flat coastal plain streams having significantly higher thermal sensitivities than the steeper highlands streams with piedmont streams intermediate. Model R ² for stream-specific models was positively related to a stream’s thermal sensitivity. Both the regional and the stream-specific air–water temperature regression models benefited from including mean daily discharge from regional gaging stations, but the degree of improvement declined as a stream’s thermal sensitivity increased. Although catchment size had no relationship to thermal sensitivity, steeper streams or those with greater amounts of forest in their upstream watershed were less thermally sensitive. The subset of streams with three or more summers of temperature data exhibited a wide range of annual variation in thermal sensitivity at a site, with the variation not attributable to discharge, precipitation patterns, or physical attributes of streams or their watersheds. Our findings are a useful starting point to better understand patterns in stream thermal regimes. However, a more spatially and temporally comprehensive monitoring network should increase understanding of stream temperature variation and its controls as climatic patterns change.