Electricity in the marketplace: Reconfiguring the consumption of essential resources

This paper critically examines how privatisation and liberalisation of electricity provision is reconstructing energy consumption practices. The paper discusses the commercial restructuring of the electricity industry in the UK over the last four years, illustrating how a reconfiguration of production and consumption interests is transforming the utility marketplace: differentiating the value of resource units, distinguishing between infrastructure suppliers and stratifying utility customers. This process is shown to be resulting in differential forms of service provision as utility companies actively engage with more lucrative customers, presenting opportunities for environmental innovation, while disengaging from unprofitable customers and heightening social polarisation.     

Sexual Violence and HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Intimate Link

Abstract

This paper critically examines how privatisation and liberalisation of electricity provision is reconstructing energy consumption practices. The paper discusses the commercial restructuring of the electricity industry in the UK over the last four years, illustrating how a reconfiguration of production and consumption interests is transforming the utility marketplace: differentiating the value of resource units, distinguishing between infrastructure suppliers and stratifying utility customers. This process is shown to be resulting in differential forms of service provision as utility companies actively engage with more lucrative customers, presenting opportunities for environmental innovation, while disengaging from unprofitable customers and heightening social polarisation.     

Perceptions of the security and attractiveness of urban parking lots

This study concerns design features of urban parking lots which can increase the perception of such areas as both safe and attractive. College students evaluated the attractiveness and perceived security associated with 180 scenes of parking lots adjacent to commercial and multi-family residential structures in Atlanta and Athens, Georgia, U.S.A. High intergroup correlations (r > 0·90) indicated the reliability of evaluations of both perceived features. Regressions of physical features on perceived security ratings and attractiveness ratings yielded highly predictive models (R² = 0·76 and 0·80, respectively). For both sets of ratings a Maintenance and Design factor accounted for the most variance. Although attractiveness ratings were higher as the total amount of vegetation increased in a scene, security was in general rated higher only when vegetation was well maintained and appeared to be installed as part of a landscape design. Attractiveness was generally higher for multi-family residential scenes than for commercial scenes. Perceived security was higher for frontal views of structures, especially when entrances were proximate to the viewer. Research implications are discussed in terms of the impact of natural features in urban areas for increasing attractiveness and reducing fear of crime.     

Methodological convergence as an issue within environmental cognition research

Two perspectives in the analysis of pointing and mapping tasks as the measure of representations of the large-scale environment are examined. These two perspectives are: (1) an individual difference approach; and (2) a cognitive representational approach. Convergence between methods assessing the same geographical/spatial knowledge is necessary as evidence for the existence of unified cognitive-spatial representations of the environment.Three sets of analyses interrelate performance on pointing and mapping tasks. In the first analysis, a confirmatory factor analytic model is applied to short tests of pointing and mapping accuracy to determine whether one or two factors are needed to account for covariation between the tests. In the second analysis, covariation among errors in pointing and mapping of specific locations is partitioned into general and specific method factors using the Schmid-Leiman procedure. In the third analysis, pointing errors for identical locations within the mapping and pointing tasks are directly compared on the basis of directional errors.The three analyses indicate that: (1) tests of pointing and mapping measure highly related abilities; (2) the targets used in pointing and mapping tasks are of differential importance in identifying general and specific method factors; and (3) there is little or no direct correspondence between directional errors made in pointing tasks and those occurring in mapping tasks for the same locations.When results of the three analyses are examined in relationship to criteria for convergence of pointing and mapping tasks, little evidence is found to suggest that directional errors in these tasks arise from a unified mental representation of the geographical environment. However, substantial predictable individual differences are apparent for both tasks.     

Employee reactivity and adaptation to observation on the job

In the course of studying police dispatchers, five observers recorded the reactions of the employees (N = 37) to their presence throughout the work shift on three separate occasions. Four major research questions were considered: (a) extent of reaction, (b) relationship between interactions with the observer and changes in employees' work activities, (c) independence of verbal and nonverbal behavioral reactions, and (d) adaptation. On average, subjects or other employees initiated 10 interactions per hour with observers. These interactions were classified as subject-initiated (a) verbal, content related to research procedures; (b) verbal, non-research-related in content; (c) nonverbal only or (d) other employee-initiated verbal comment. Interaction with the observer was not related to the amount of work the subject did. Subjects' nonverbal and verbal responses were unrelated to each other as well as to the verbal responses of other employees. A priori expectations concerning adaptation to observation were tested with a 3 × 3 (segment by day) repeated-measures factorial design. Significant adaptation (P < 0·01) occurred within and between days in subjects' comments about research procedures and all comments from other employees. However, other behaviors showed with no evidence of adaptation or actual increases. The implications of these findings for measuring reactivity and deciding when adaptation has occurred are discussed.     

Service quality evaluation in the context of a technology laboratory

The intent of this research is to investigate how the customers of a technological control laboratory for civil construction materials perceived the quality of the services delivered by the lab, specifically in regard to the service of concrete compression testing. The popular SERVQUAL scale, a multidimensional instrument used to capture customer expectations and perceptions, was used as a model for the application of a survey. Exploratory factor analyses were employed to evaluate customers’ perceptions and experiences of service quality in regard to the dimensions and accompanying attributes of the SERVQUAL scale. Twenty attributes, which were grouped within five dimensions (Reliability, Assurance, Tangibles, Responsiveness, and Empathy), were identified, explaining 80.417% of the variance between customer expectations and perceptions and characterizing these dimensions on a modified SERVQUAL scale. Analysis of the results allowed us to identify discrepancies in perceived service quality compared with customers’ expectations. Most of the identified gaps between expectations and perceptions resulted in negative values.     

An Experiment in Making Water Affordable: Philadelphia’s Tiered Assistance Program (TAP)

The ability to pay for water and wastewater services is a growing issue in the developed world. To this point in time, utilities have helped customers grappling with affordability issues using different types of customer assistance programs (CAPs). Income‐based billing approaches differ from CAPs in that bills are structured so as to be affordable for customers at the outset. Recently, the City of Philadelphia implemented an innovative program to work towards resolving the affordability problem in their city using income‐based billing. This tiered assistance program or TAP structures bills for water, wastewater, and stormwater services to program enrollees’ income. Given the innovative nature of the program, this paper describes the rollout of TAP and assesses the impact of the program on customers and utility revenues. The paper closes with a critical assessment of TAP and considerations for utilities evaluating the implementation of similar programs.     

Continuous improvement at EG&G: The waste reduction pays (WARP) initiative

EG&G is a Fortune 200 company with annual sales of $2.7 billion. It designs and manufactures laboratory and field-test instruments and electronic and mechanical components for commercial customers. EG&G provides systems engineering, precision component manufacturing, and test-site operating and management services to many government agencies and laboratories. It employs 34,000 people worldwide. Recognizing the need to improve its business practices as they related to environmental excellence, EG&G initiated policies, procedures, and programs to establish itself as an environmentally responsible company. Waste reduction was designated priority number one in EGG's environmental program. Our major customers are also making waste reduction a high visibility program. For example, on August 3, 1993, the president signed Executive Order 12856 making pollution prevention at federal facilities a goal of this administration. This article describes the EG&G Waste Reduction Pays (WARP) program, developed for use by all its operating entities, and why it is a model program to implement Executive Order 12856. It also depicts how the implementation of the program at federal facilities differs, in some respects, from that at other EG&G operating units.     

Territoriality,defensible space and residential burglary: An environmental analysis

Previous research on territoriality suggests that territorial intrusion is associated with particular territorial demarcations. In the present study the use of territorial displays involving symbolic barriers, actual barriers, detectability, traces and social climate is related to the territorial intrusion of residential burglary. The five classes of territorial displays were assessed for a total of 306 burglarized houses on burglarized blocks, non-burglarized houses on burglarized blocks, and non-burglarized houses on non-burglarized blocks. After the data were reduced through factor analysis, multiple regression analysis revealed that burglarized houses differed from non-burglarized houses on non-burglarized blocks on four of the five classes of territorial displays. In general, burglarized houses had salient public territorial qualities: cues of openness and unoccupied appearance. In contrast, the non-burglarized houses had salient secondary or primary territorial qualities: territorial markers communicating privacy and individuality. In addition, non-burglarized houses had greater visual contact with neighboring houses.     

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF WATER CONSUMPTION1

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of influence of various factors on municipal water consumption in Illinois. For the collection of basic data, questionnaires were sent to all public water works of incorporated towns. The questionnaire was designed to obtain information on factors which may have any effect on water use. The effects of the different parameters on water consumption were based on several correlation and regression combinations of predictands and predictors. It was found that in the Chicago region the percent of services and water used for commercial and industrial purposes and the age of the water works were the most important parameters influencing water consumption (gallons per capita per day) when pumpage is metered at the water works as well as at the customers. For the State, excluding the Chicago region, percent of public water use, persons per service, population and commercial and industrial water use were the most important parameters. It has been recommended that similar statistical analysis be conducted periodically to establish a trend or law of change from the influencing parameters.     

Community opinion concerning airport noise-abatement alternatives

In the present study we examined (1) community opinion of airport noise-abating alternatives and (2) the influence of perceived control on attitudes concerning noise-abatement policies and annoyance toward aircraft noise. We proposed that residents who perceive themselves as having little control over aircraft noise exposure would express higher levels of annoyance than residents who believe they have some degree of control. Furthermore, residents with low levels of perceived control would be less favorable toward proposed noise-abatement alternatives. Survey results collected from 239 households within the 65 CNEL contour of a community airport in Southern California support these hypotheses. Findings indicate strong public support for noise abatement and strong opposition to land-use alternatives. In addition, residents' perceptions of control in the airport planning and management process are significantly related to their annoyance with noise and their opinions about noise management policies.     

Privacy-seeking behavior in an elementary classroom

This study observed privacy-seeking behavior in an elementary classroom, investigated individual differences in privacy seeking, and compared preferences for private spaces varying in degree of enclosure. Four privacy booths were placed in a fourth-grade classroom. A ticket system was used to assess booth use. Information on personality and background variables was obtained with self-report, peer, teacher, and parent questionnaires. After an initial period of enthusiasm, overall booth use declined sharply. However, analysis revealed substantial individual variation in booth use that remained consistent throughout the study. For boys, booth use was significantly correlated with teachers' ratings of sociability, aggressiveness, and distractibility. For girls, a significant positive relationship was found between privacy seeking at home and in school. Self-reported desire for privacy was uncorrelated with actual privacy-seeking behavior in the classroom. No significant differences in the use of the various booths were found, although self-reported preferences clearly favored the booth that allowed visual access to the rest of the classroom when desired.     

Circuit riding for managing small community sewage systems

Providing wastewater treatment services for small communities can be expensive, so many communities have chosen part-time or inadequately trained operators. This can result in neglect and poor plant performance. Indiana County, Pennsylvania, in the USA, has established an authority to provide operation and maintenance through a circuit riding arrangement. Two operators travel to eight plants five days a week. This has resulted in more consistent operation and maintenance at affordable rates. Homeowners pay $12.60–$18.00 and commercial customers pay $25–$150 a month. Even with regular attention, these small plants are not able to meet their effluent requirements at all times.     

我国潜在顾客对城市美食的偏好与影响因素研究--基于网络关注度视角

通过收集网络关注度等数据,利用赫芬达尔—赫希曼指数、皮尔逊相关系数、多元回归分析等方法分析了我国31个省份潜在顾客对10个典型城市美食的偏好与影响因素。结果发现:①同一性别、年龄和地区的潜在顾客对不同城市美食偏好程度均不同,男性潜在顾客对美食的偏好程度略高于女性潜在顾客,美食的潜在顾客以中青年为主。②不同性别、年龄和地区的潜在顾客对同一城市美食的偏好也存在明显差异。③人们对美食的偏好程度与可支配收入之间存在正相关关系,与空间距离之间存在负相关关系。④地域文化、宗教信仰、气候等因素也会对潜在顾客的美食偏好产生影响。     

Educational issues, school settings, and environmental psychology

This paper reviews selected research on classroom and school environments, using a framework that views schools from three perspectives—as places for learning, as places for socialization and as places for psychological development. Studies are included that deal with the impact of noise and classroom design on learning; the relationship between seating position, achievement and status; spatial cognition; the classroom environment and sex role stereotyping; privacy; and density. The need for classrooms to enhance children's feelings of competence, security and self-esteem is also stressed. The goal of the paper is to point out ways in which environmental psychologists can contribute to the improvement of the educational system and to the quality of life in schools.     

Attitudes to nuclear energy: Beliefs,values and false consensus

Attitudinal differences regarding the use of nuclear energy were investigated. Results obtained in a random sample drawn from the population of four communities in The Netherlands within 30 miles of a nuclear power plant showed a strong relationship between subjects' attitudes towards nuclear energy and their perceptions of the possible consequences of nuclear energy. ‘Pro’- and ‘con’-subjects showed marked differences in the importance attached to the different possible consequences and their endorsement of the salience of more general social issues. Results provide support for the view that individuals perceive a false consensus with respect to the relative prevalence of similar attitudes among other people. Finally, subjects' perceptions of others with similar or opposing attitudes towards the issue of nuclear energy showed marked differences in evaluation especially for the extreme attitude groups.     

Classifying hazardous events

Classification is an information management technique that helps achieve the goals of scientific and applied research by simplifying and ordering complex and varied observations. This paper is intended as a guide to the use and application of classifications of hazardous events. Proposed classifications are reviewed and evaluated in terms of their purposes, methods, supportive evidence and the scientific and applied goals of classification. The review is structured according to the metaphor of the natural life history of a hazard that distinguishes three stages of human-environment interaction: (a) hazard causes, (b) physical and psychosocial characteristics of hazards, and (c) individual and aggregate responses to hazards. The life history perspective has the advantage of being multidimensional and transactional. The structure highlights the relationship between proposed classifications, identifies needed areas of conceptual and empirical development, and provides a general guideline for the selection and use of classifications for hazard management.     

The prediction of scenic beauty from landscape content and composition

Two studies were conducted to examine distance classes of vegetation (foreground, middleground and background) and scene composition (presence of vegetation in left, center or right section of the image) as predictors of perceived scenic beauty. In study one, 41 students rated 63 landscape scenes with regard to scenic beauty. The Scenic Beauty Estimation Method was used to derive interval scale beauty values (SBEs). For each landscape image, areal measures of vegetation in each distance class and for each vertical section were taken and used as predictors. Presence of haze, clouds and human impacts were also recorded. Among the most important contributors to scenic beauty were amount of center middleground vegetation, and center background vegetation. Left foreground vegetation and right foreground vegetation were found to have significant and opposing regression weight signs—negative for the left and positive for the right. Study two was conducted to determine whether these opposing regression weight signs for foreground vegetation were due to a perceptual right-left bias or to some specific content in the image itself. In the second study, the photographic slides used to present landscape scenes to subjects were reversed so that the content which was previously on the right was now left, and vice versa. Thirty-nine students rated the reversed slides with regard to their scenic beauty. The signs of the regression weights in study two shifted such that left foreground was now positively valued and right foreground was negatively valued. This finding suggests that viewers are sensitive to foreground content and its placement in the image, and not simply to one side of the field of vision.     

Residential mobility and personal well-being

This research examines the relationship between personal mobility rate (number of lifetime moves/respondent's age) and health status. A contextual analysis is proposed in which the health consequences of relocation depend not only on the immediate circumstances surrounding a move, but also on the broader context of the individual's residential history, current life situation, and aspirations for the future. Two hundred and forty-two adult employees completed an initial survey of lifetime residential history, current residential desirability, employment experience, and perceived housing options for the future. Three months later, a panel group of 121 respondents completed a follow-up survey of emotional and physical well-being. Frequent relocation was directly associated with a greater number of illness-related symptoms, but the impact of mobility rate was largely mediated by psychological factors. Health problems were more prevalent among high-mobility individuals characterized by low rather than high levels of environmental exploratory tendency; among low-mobility persons reporting low versus high levels of residential choice and congruence; and among low residential-quality individuals who perceived future residential options to be unavailable rather than available.