Existential threat and compliance with pro-environmental norms

Recent research on the effects of personal threat suggests that perceived threat might enhance pro-environmental behavior when pro-environmental norms are in focus. In three experiments we found support for the latter assumption, showing that mortality salience and salience of pro-environmental norms interacted in predicting pro-environmental attitudes and information search (Study 1), sustainable behavior in a forest management game (Study 2), as well as pro-environmental intentions and behavior (Study 3). Specifically, mortality salience increased pro-environmental conduct only when pro-environmental norms were salient. Moreover, norm salience only had an effect on pro-environmental attitudes and behavior when the threat of personal mortality was salient. We discuss the implications of these results for both terror management theory and the promotion of pro-environmental behaviors.     

The connectedness to nature scale: A measure of individuals’ feeling in community with nature

Five studies assessed the validity and reliability of the connectedness to nature scale (CNS), a new measure of individuals’ trait levels of feeling emotionally connected to the natural world. Data from two community and three college samples demonstrated that the CNS has good psychometric properties, correlates with related variables (the new environmental paradigm scale, identity as an environmentalist), and is uncorrelated with potential confounds (verbal ability, social desirability). This paper supports ecopsychologists’ contention that connection to nature is an important predictor of ecological behavior and subjective well-being. It also extends social psychological research on self–other overlap, perspective taking, and altruistic behavior to the overlap between self and nature. The CNS promises to be a useful empirical tool for research on the relationship between humans and the natural world.     

Vitalizing effects of being outdoors and in nature

Five studies utilizing survey, experimental, and diary methods assessed the effects of being outdoors on subjective vitality. In Study 1, we used a vignette method to examine whether being outdoors was associated with vitality, above and beyond the influences of physical activity and social interactions. Study 2 explored the effects of being outdoors on vitality through an experimental design contrasting indoor and outdoor walks. In Study 3, participants were exposed to photographic scenes of either nature or buildings. Results showed that only the nature scenes enhanced subjective vitality. Studies 4 and 5 used a diary methodology to examine within-person variations in subjective energy as a function of being outdoors, again controlling for physical and social activity. Being outdoors was associated with greater vitality, a relation that was mediated by the presence of natural elements. Limitations of these studies are discussed, as well as their implications for research on energy and vitalization.     

The connectedness to nature scale: A measure of emotional connection to nature?

Mayer and Frantz (2004) proposed that their connectedness to nature scale (CNS) provides a measure of people's emotional connection to nature. After reanalyzing data from their article, collecting and analyzing our own data, and conducting a content analysis of CNS scale items, we conclude that the CNS does not measure an emotional connection to nature. Although results from our Study 1 and Study 2 support Mayer and Frantz's conclusion that the CNS measures one predominant factor, we suggest that factor measures cognitive beliefs and not emotional connections. Results from our Studies 3 and 4 suggest that the self-referential, less negatively toned wording of CNS items may account for differences in correlations, between the CNS and environmentalism (a measure of environmental identity) and between the New Ecological Paradigm Scale (a measure of environmental beliefs) and environmentalism, reported by Mayer and Frantz. In Study 5, we suggest that correlation differences reported by Mayer and Frantz may also be attributable to method variance, as opposed to content differences between the CNS and the New Ecological Paradigm scale. We provide recommendations for revising the CNS to focus on beliefs about their connection to nature.     

The environmentalist who cried drought: Reactions to repeated warnings about depleting resources under conditions of uncertainty

Three studies examined the impact of warnings about depleting resources. In Study 1, participants played 16 trials of a 5-person resource dilemma game with complete resource uncertainty. After trial 12, participants were told they were close to depleting the resource, and thereafter received no additional warnings. Size of harvests dropped after the warning, but rebounded within 3 trials to pre-warning levels, a pattern stronger under low harvesting variability. In Study 2, participants received warnings after trials 12 and 16 of a 22-trial game. Again, harvesting dropped after the first warning, but rebounded to pre-warning levels within 3 trials, a pattern stronger under a short-term vs. a long-term warning. Harvesting was unaffected by the second warning. In Study 3, when participants received no feedback about others' harvests, harvesting dropped after both warnings, and was lower among those led to believe the resource would last a short number of trials.     

旅游新景区开发的利益相关者博弈分析——以平顶山清水河景区为例

以博弈均衡理论为基础,以平顶山市清水河景区为案例,通过对"人系统"中各利益相关者的实地调研和走访,从博弈论的角度探讨了各利益相关者之间的博弈行为及其博弈均衡。研究表明,只有顾全各利益相关者的利益追求和利益最优化,保证多方利益的协调才是旅游新景区开发的最佳途径,从而为旅游新景区开发提出了一种新的分析方法。     

THE ROLE OF CITIZEN ADVISORY GROUPS IN WATER RESOURCES PLANNING1

ABSTRACT: This paper presents the significant conclusions of research conducted over a four-year period, the purpose of which was to analyze the operation of three citizen advisory groups established in conjunction with Level B Studies of the New England River Basins Commission. The three Studies were the Long Island Sound Study, the Southeastern New England Study, and the Supplemental Flood Management Study of the Connecticut River Basin Program. The research examined the criteria and procedures used for selection of members, the relevant personal characteristics of the members, the procedures employed for carrying out their responsibilities, and the relative importance of group functions as perceived by both citizen advisors and professional study participants. The impact of these factors upon the effectiveness of citizen advisory groups as a strategy of public participation is evaluated. The paper includes recommendations, derived from the research, for the use of planning agencies seeking to maximize the effectiveness of citizen advisory groups.     

Lessons from Developing Methods to Study the Relationship of Energy and Water Savings to Housing Conditions and Resident Health

Energy- and water-saving have been promoted as ways of saving money while there has been controversy about the effects (if any) of such measures on resident health. In public housing in the US, energy saving has taken the form of Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPC) that pay for renovations out of future savings. In an attempt to test feasibility and pilot research methods we conducted a study of the relationship between gas and water use, exterior heat sensor locations, and basement ventilation with indices developed from resident-reported living conditions and health symptoms in a single housing development. The data sources that we had available to us were not ideal. In particular, we were unable to obtain water use data that coincided in time with our health survey data. Also, we did not have enough surveys in buildings with high water or gas use and had to pool those buildings with other buildings for analysis. Nevertheless, we found several associations between our measures of energy use and resident reports of health symptoms. The associations that we found were generally in the direction that energy and water savings were associated with fewer symptoms and fewer environmental problems. There is a need for studies that obtain better input data but that generally follow the approach we developed.     

Lessons from Developing Methods to Study the Relationship of Energy and Water Savings to Housing Conditions and Resident Health

Abstract

Energy- and water-saving have been promoted as ways of saving money while there has been controversy about the effects (if any) of such measures on resident health. In public housing in the US, energy saving has taken the form of Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPC) that pay for renovations out of future savings. In an attempt to test feasibility and pilot research methods we conducted a study of the relationship between gas and water use, exterior heat sensor locations, and basement ventilation with indices developed from resident-reported living conditions and health symptoms in a single housing development. The data sources that we had available to us were not ideal. In particular, we were unable to obtain water use data that coincided in time with our health survey data. Also, we did not have enough surveys in buildings with high water or gas use and had to pool those buildings with other buildings for analysis. Nevertheless, we found several associations between our measures of energy use and resident reports of health symptoms. The associations that we found were generally in the direction that energy and water savings were associated with fewer symptoms and fewer environmental problems. There is a need for studies that obtain better input data but that generally follow the approach we developed.     

Building a model of commitment to the natural environment to predict ecological behavior and willingness to sacrifice

We examined the connection between individuals’ relationships with the natural environment and their environmental behaviors with a focus on commitment to the environment, defined as psychological attachment and long-term orientation to the natural world. Commitment is theorized to emerge from structural interdependence with the environment and to lead to pro-environmental behaviors. Close relationships research has identified three key antecedents to commitment (satisfaction, alternatives, and investments). We developed environment-specific measures of these constructs, and factor analysis verified three distinct factors. A path analysis revealed that satisfaction with the environment and investments in the environment, but not alternatives to the environment, predicted commitment to the environment. Moreover, commitment mediated the effects of satisfaction and investments on general ecological behavior and willingness to sacrifice for the environment. In regression analyses, commitment predicted general ecological behavior and willingness to sacrifice for the environment, even when controlling for ecological worldview, inclusion of nature in the self, connectedness to nature, and environmental identity. Individuals who are satisfied with and invested in the natural world are likely to be committed to the environment and act with the well-being of the environment in mind.     

基于博弈分析的旅游购物市场转型升级研究

针对目前旅游购物市场存在的诸多问题,学者们提出了很多的措施,但对哪一种措施更有效却缺乏研究.以博弈论作为研究工具,通过在信息不完全状况下对旅游购物市场进行博弈分析,找出了其均衡解,得出了在信息不完全的状况下,旅游购物市场上必然会充斥大量劣质品的结论.再运用博弈论方法对旅游购物市场的两种转型升级策略进行了分析,探讨了在这两种转型升级策略下,旅游购物市场条件得到不同的改善.建议加强市场监督措施,使其更易于实施,效率更高;建立广泛的多部门综合执法的网络;鼓励大众监督.     

Connectedness to nature,place attachment and conservation behaviour: Testing connectedness theory among farmers

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between pro-environmental behaviour and two forms of emotional association: attachment to place and connectedness to nature. This relationship is explored in the context of farmers' management of native vegetation on their properties. A postal survey was conducted to measure the extent to which farmers felt connected to nature and to their property. The survey also measured vegetation management behaviours and associated valued outcomes. A total of 141 farmers in northwest Victoria, Australia, completed the survey. Results showed that vegetation protection behaviours increased with connectedness to nature (CNS), although CNS accounted for only a modest amount of the variation in behaviour. Place attachment was not related to management behaviours. Further analysis suggested that the relationship between CNS and management behaviour was mediated by importance given to environmental benefits of vegetation management. The findings lend weight to studies showing a relationship between CNS and more simple conservation behaviours (e.g. recycling). The findings are also consistent with frameworks suggesting that emotional association with nature leads to an expanded sense of self and greater valuing of non-human species, and so to pro-environment behaviour. This demonstrates the importance of using a range of instrumental and more affective strategies to promote conservation behaviours.     

The multifunctionality of urban farming: perceived benefits for neighbourhood improvement

Urban farming – a type of urban agriculture focused on entrepreneurial food production – serves multiple functions in neighbourhoods; yet these are not well delineated. Expectations for urban farming often centre on traditional measures of economic development, potentially overlooking other benefits. Through a qualitative case study conducted in Baltimore, Maryland, we sought to understand community perceptions regarding the ways in which urban farms can benefit cities. Interviews with residents, neighbourhood leaders, and urban farmers in three residential neighbourhoods with urban farms revealed the pathways by which community members view farms as improving neighbourhoods. Benefits stemmed from four primary changes urban farms made to study neighbourhoods: creation of public projects welcoming involvement, physical improvement of degraded space, production of local food, and creation of new businesses. These changes led to multiple perceived benefits including increased social connectedness, a transformed physical landscape, improved neighbourhood reputation, increased access to fresh produce, and educational, youth development, and employment opportunities. Our findings demonstrate the importance of a multifunctional paradigm that accounts for social and educational functions in assessing the value of urban farming and bring empirical evidence to the concept of multifunctional agriculture. Urban farms with strong social aims may appear to contribute little to economic development if measured using traditional indicators of success such as job creation or fiscal impacts, but provide numerous other benefits for community development.     

Spatial Differentiation of Landscape Values in the Murray River Region of Victoria, Australia

This research advances the understanding of the location of perceived landscape values through a statistically based approach to spatial analysis of value densities. Survey data were obtained from a sample of people living in and using the Murray River region, Australia, where declining environmental quality prompted a reevaluation of its conservation status. When densities of 12 perceived landscape values were mapped using geographic information systems (GIS), valued places clustered along the entire river bank and in associated National/State Parks and reserves. While simple density mapping revealed high value densities in various locations, it did not indicate what density of a landscape value could be regarded as a statistically significant hotspot or distinguish whether overlapping areas of high density for different values indicate identical or adjacent locations. A spatial statistic Getis–Ord Gi* was used to indicate statistically significant spatial clusters of high value densities or “hotspots”. Of 251 hotspots, 40% were for single non-use values, primarily spiritual, therapeutic or intrinsic. Four hotspots had 11 landscape values. Two, lacking economic value, were located in ecologically important river red gum forests and two, lacking wilderness value, were near the major towns of Echuca-Moama and Albury-Wodonga. Hotspots for eight values showed statistically significant associations with another value. There were high associations between learning and heritage values while economic and biological diversity values showed moderate associations with several other direct and indirect use values. This approach may improve confidence in the interpretation of spatial analysis of landscape values by enhancing understanding of value relationships.     

The use (and abuse) of the new environmental paradigm scale over the last 30 years: A meta-analysis

This paper reports a meta-analysis of studies using the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) Scale over the last 30 years. A review of 69 studies from 36 countries (including 58,279 participants from 139 samples) shows that there is considerable variation in the way the NEP Scale is used, particularly with regards to the number of items used and the number of points on the Likert scale employed. Results from weighted regression analyses reveals that variations in sample type and scale length have a significant effect on NEP scores. In particular, environmentalist and white-collar samples scored significantly higher on the NEP Scale than nationally or regionally representative samples, while blue-collar samples scored significantly lower; and participants scored higher on 6-item versions of the scale than on the revised 15-item version, and lower on versions of the scale containing 5, 7, 8 or 10 items. Implications of this research for the comparability of previous studies using the NEP Scale are discussed and guidelines for future research are presented.     

Effects of Fish Stocking on Ecosystem Services: An Overview and Case Study Using the Stockholm Archipelago

In this article, we focus on documented and possible effects of fish stocking in terms of ecosystem services. The increasing use of fish stocking between 1970 and 2000 in the semiurban setting of Stockholm archipelago, Sweden, is used as case study. The objective is to analyze this management practice from an ecosystem perspective, accounting for both the ecological and social context of releasing fish. The results show that enhancements of four native species (Salmo S. trutta, Salmo salar, Stizostedion lucioperca, and Anguilla anguilla) have dominated over new introductions of one nonnative species. (Oncorhynchus mykiss). The major objective has been to increase fish catches for local resource users. Involved stakeholders include three management agencies, one hydropower company, and several local sport fishing associations. Documented effects focus on recapture and production rates. However, our analysis suggests that additional positive or negative effects on biodiversity, food web dynamics, mobile links, or ecological information may also result, with possible consequences for the long-term provision of food, game, and aesthetic values. We conclude that a more adaptive and cooperative management approach could benefit from a deeper analysis of where, when, and what species is released, by whom, which stakeholders that use the fish and those ecosystem services the fish generate, and of the role of formal and informal institutions for monitoring and evaluating the success of releasing fish.     

Collective guilt mediates the effect of beliefs about global warming on willingness to engage in mitigation behavior

The present research examines whether collective guilt for an ingroup's collective greenhouse gas emissions mediates the effects of beliefs about the causes and effects of global warming on willingness to engage in mitigation behavior. In Study 1, we manipulate the causes and effects of global warming and then measure collective guilt. Results demonstrate that collective guilt for Americans' greenhouse gas emissions is stronger when participants believe that global warming is caused by humans and will have minor effects. Study 2 employs the same manipulations and then measures collective guilt and collective anxiety, as well as willingness to conserve energy and pay green taxes. This study replicates the effect from Study 1 and rules out collective anxiety as a plausible alternative mediator. Collective guilt for Americans' greenhouse emissions was the only reliable mediator of the effect of beliefs about global warming on willingness to engage in mitigation behaviors. The importance of collective guilt as a tool for promoting global warming mitigation is discussed.     

Learning in participatory environmental governance – its antecedents and effects. Findings from a case survey meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

Theory on participatory and collaborative governance maintains that learning is essential to achieve good environmental outcomes. Empirical research has mostly produced individual case studies, and reliable evidence on both antecedents and environmental outcomes of learning remains sparse. Given conceptual ambiguities in the literature, we define governance-related learning in a threefold way: learning as deliberation; as knowledge- and capacity-building; and as informing environmental outputs. We develop nine propositions that explain learning through factors characterizing governance process and context, and three propositions explaining environmental outcomes of learning. We test these propositions drawing on the ‘SCAPE’ database of 307 published case studies of environmental decision-making, using multiple regression models. Results show that learning in all three modes is explained to some extent by a combination of process- and context-related factors. Most factors matter for learning, but with stark differences across the three modes of learning, thus demonstrating the relevance of this differentiated approach. Learning modes build on one another: Deliberation is seen to explain both capacity building and informed outputs, while informed outputs are also explained by capacity building. Contrary to our expectations, none of the learning variables was found to significantly affect environmental outcomes when considered alongside the process- and context-related variables.     

Ecolabeled paper towels: consumer valuation and expenditure analysis

Ecolabeled paper towels are manufactured using post-consumer recycled material and sold in markets using a recycle logo. Environmentally conscious consumers purchase these paper towels and thereby contribute to improving environmental quality. In this paper, we estimate the implicit value placed by consumers on ecolabeled paper towels using a hedonic price function and conduct an expenditure analysis using Heckman's selection model. Using the data set from the Internet-based grocery stores called as Peapod we find that some consumers recognize ecolabels on paper towels and place a substantial, positive price premium on them. The expenditure analysis indicates that for the preferred functional form, the demand for ecolabeled paper towels is inelastic for environmentally conscious consumers. The simulated results from the selection model indicate that a small subsidy for ecolabeled paper towels will not substantially change consumers' purchase decisions.