Barriers perceived to engaging with climate change among the UK public and their policy implications

This paper reports on the barriers that members of the UK public perceive to engaging with climate change. It draws upon three mixed-method studies, with an emphasis on the qualitative data which offer an in-depth insight into how people make sense of climate change. The paper defines engagement as an individual's state, comprising three elements: cognitive, affective and behavioural. A number of common barriers emerge from the three studies, which operate broadly at ‘individual’ and ‘social’ levels. These major constraints to individual engagement with climate change have implications for achieving significant reductions in greenhouse gases in the UK. We argue that targeted and tailored information provision should be supported by wider structural change to enable citizens and communities to reduce their carbon dependency. Policy implications for effective engagement are discussed.     

县域旅游规划中居民旅游感知研究--以安徽庐江县为例

社区居民是推动地方旅游业发展的重要力量。国外旅游规划中一直非常重视社区参与,而我国旅游规划仍重在资源导向、市场导向及形象导向,忽视了居民感知调查与分析。由于县域旅游发展中所涉及到的居民利益问题尤为复杂,编制旅游发展规划时更应充分考虑与尊重当地居民的旅游发展意愿。文章以安徽庐江县为例,构建了县域居民旅游感知因素研究框架,通过问卷调查探讨了居民旅游感知分析对县域旅游发展规划的作用及意义,旨在提出一种新的规划思路,丰富旅游规划的理论与方法。     

Baselines of acceptability and generational change on the Mactaquac hydroelectric dam headpond (New Brunswick,Canada)

Hydroelectricity is an old yet reliable form of renewable energy, with acknowledged social and ecological impacts. A tension currently exists between such concerns and energy needs, with dam construction and removal ongoing around the world. It is critical to better understand the implications of both on local citizens. We performed map elicitation interviews with 20 locals around the prematurely-aging Mactaquac Dam and headpond, in New Brunswick, Canada, to understand if and how they came to accept the dam landscape, and what they want for its future. A Baselines of Acceptability conceptual framework was developed to guide the interpretation. Respondents demonstrated attachment to the dam-in-place landscape, even those initially disadvantaged by its construction, and a preference for keeping the headpond intact. Despite this demonstrated adaptability, the paper calls for improved transparency, scope and justice in energy landscape decision-making, as well as further testing of the framework with different demographics, infrastructure case studies and over time.     

A gender analysis of quality of life in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

While many community initiatives have attempted to assess the nature and determinants of their citizens’ quality of life (QOL), these initiatives have produced little about whether the key determinants of life quality differ by gender. Using both quantitative and qualitative data from a recent QOL research project in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, this study explores whether factors that predict poor QOL are similar for women and men. The study also examines whether the nature of these gender differences varies across low, medium and high socio-economic status locales. Results showed that men and women were very similar in: (1) their QOL ratings, (2) reports of deterioration in neighborhood QOL, and (3) rating particular aspects of their neighborhood. Few gender differences were also found when analyzing data referring to place characteristics and social cohesion. Multivariate analysis revealed further similarities: (1) being divorced/widowed was a significant predictor of poor QOL, and (2) a negative view of community security issues was associated with deterioration in perceived neighborhood quality of life. For women, however, other variables were important predictors of QOL: being middle aged, being single, and having a poor opinion of the overall quality of their neighborhood. Qualitative analysis revealed that while men and women shared concern about general areas such as safety and neighborhood supports, their perceptions of the details around these issues differed. The multi-method results suggest that urban policy actions should include a gendered discussion of common QOL issues.     

To land or not to land: How do stakeholders perceive the zero discard policy in European small-scale fisheries?

The landing obligation recently adopted by the European Union's (EU) Common Fisheries Policy aims to eradicate discards in EU fisheries. The objective of this paper is to investigate the potential social and economic impacts of the discard ban in European small-scale fisheries (SSF) and the critical factors for its successful implementation. An exhaustive systematic literature review and a stakeholder consultation were carried out in order to (i) collect detailed information about current knowledge on discards in EU SSF and gauge stakeholder perceptions about potential impacts of the discard ban in European SSF, (ii) examine the capacity of the SSF industry to implement the discard ban, and (iii) explore the limits and feasibility of implementing such a measure.The results of this study show that little attention has been given by the scientific community to discards in EU SSF. Indeed, the systematic literature review shows that this problem is relatively unexplored in the EU. In addition, the effectiveness of a discard ban in industrial fisheries is still unclear, mainly because discard data are not systematically collected by fisheries authorities. Stakeholders mostly perceive that the new landing obligation was developed with industrial fisheries in mind and that compliance with the landing obligation in EU SSF will be difficult to achieve without high economic costs, such as those related to the handling and storage of unwanted fish on board.     

The geography of crime fear: A pilot study exploring event-based perceptions of risk using mobile technology

The current pilot study explores whether mobile technology can be leveraged in survey research to gather meaningful context-dependent data on fear of crime and risk perception formation. A series of Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMAs) were administered to students enrolled at an Australian University (N = 20), using a smartphone application. Analysis of data collected from participants in their everyday activity spaces a) show strong internal consistency among multiple measures of crime fear; b) indicate that perceptual measures of social cohesion are significant predictors of victimisation worry; and c) support most hypothesised associations between concepts contained in contemporary models of crime fear. Unfortunately, some aspects of the pilot study design could not be implemented as planned, which have implications for future research. Specifically, we found that triggering participant's surveys based on their location (rather than time), produced data that was not conducive to robust place-based analysis. In spite of this limitation, we offer alternative means of measuring the effects of place on fear of crime using mobile devices.     

基于旅游影响感知的丽江古城居民类型划分

快速的旅游发展对旅游地居民产生了一定的影响。利用实证研究和统计分析的方法，作者对世界遗产地丽江古城居民就旅游影响的感知与态度进行了实地调查，采用快速聚类法将旅游地居民被调查居民被分为一定程度的憎恨者、积极的支持者和谨慎的支持者三种类型。居民中年长者、本地出生者多为一定程度的憎恨者；与旅游联系少、对旅游业依赖小的居民多为一定程度的憎恨者和谨慎的支持者；而在职的、与旅游业联系紧密、依赖大的居民多为积极的支持者。     

主社区居民对旅游效应的感知研究--以敦煌市为例

文章以敦煌市为例,进行了主社区居民对旅游效应的感知实证研究。结果表明,目前正处于“成熟巩固阶段”的敦煌旅游地．其居民对旅游积极效应的感知明显强于对消极效应的感知,且对经济效应的感知强于对社会文化和环境效应的感知;敦煌市已形成了较为鲜明的热爱者、现实主义者、谨慎的热爱者、顾虑者和憎恨者等5类群体。与国内其它案例研究的比较结果,在一定程度上验证了居民感知会随着旅游地生命周期阶段的演变而呈现阶段性变化的特征。     

The role of personal experiences in Norwegian perceptions of climate change

ABSTRACT

It is commonly assumed that personal experiences of a changing climate will influence people’s attitudes to the extent that they will be more likely to acknowledge anthropogenic climate change as a real threat and therefore be more willing to accept both mitigation and adaptation efforts. In the article, the authors examine how survey participants’ personal experiences of extreme events and climate-related changes in the natural environment influenced their perceptions of climate change. Using data from a nationally representative survey conducted in Norway in 2015 and the results of logistic regressions, the authors find that individual observations of changes in nature were linked to higher levels of concern with regard to climate change, as well as to attitudes that were more positive towards personal mitigation and adaption efforts. Somewhat counter-intuitively, they also find that participants who had personally experienced a natural hazard event were less concerned about climate change compared with participants without such experiences. The authors conclude that personal experience of the consequences of climate change may in some cases have a limited effect on enhancing people’s concerns about climate change.     

Understanding socio-ecological drivers of spatial allocation choice in a multi-species artisanal fishery: A Bayesian network modeling approach

Effective management of artisanal fisheries requires understanding fishers, their behaviors, and the drivers that underpin their choices. Behavioral drivers are critical links in understanding the interactions between social and ecological systems and can help inform effective management approaches. A Bayesian Belief Network modeling approach was used to investigate a diverse range of qualitative and quantitative social and ecological drivers of spatial location choice in a multi-species artisanal dive fishery in Costa Rica. Empirical and observer data used to populate the BBN showed the influence of economic factors, environmental conditions as well as social interactions on the decision-making process of spatial location choice. Good governance scenarios represented by Responsible Fisheries Marine Areas Management were analyzed for both hookah and free diving methods to assess the effects of responsible fishing on the fishers and the fishery. Model based-scenario analysis suggests that management interventions should consider the fisher's potential behavioral responses in the context of environmental variability, dependence on cultural assets, and food security. The results show that there is a need to understand fisher's decisions based on broad socio-ecological system understanding and consider the environmental outcomes alongside food security and the cultural significance of different marine species to fishing communities.