David Uzzell

Place Identification, Social Cohesion, and Enviornmental Sustainability

In the study reported in this article the roles of social cohesion, residential satisfaction, and place identification are examined for their effect on place-related social identity and its consequential impact on attitudes to environmental sustainability. Two neighborhoods in Guildford, Surrey, England were selected on the basis of their social histories, housing types, and socioeconomic composition. Ninety residents in each neighborhood were sampled. Research methods included cognitive mapping and a questionnaire survey. A structural equation model was used to analyze the covariances between the different factors. The results show clear differences between the two neighborhoods in terms of residential satisfaction, with only some differences in terms of identification and social cohesion and sustainability. Conclusions are drawn that suggest an important relationship between identity and sustainability behavior that is suggestive for future research.

Affective Appraisals of the Daily Commute Comparing Perceptions of Drivers, Cyclists, Walkers, and Users of Public Transport

To date, most research on travel behavior has been limited to studying utilitarian appraisals of car users and users of public transport. Studies on affective experiences are usually limited to commuter stress. A survey among university employees revealed that in support of previous research, car commuters find their journey more stressful than other mode users. The main sources of this stress are delays and other road users. Users of public transport also “complain” about delays; however, this results in stress as well as boredom. Walking and cycling journeys are the most relaxing and exciting and therefore seem the most optimum form of travel from an affective perspective. The affective appraisals of the daily commute are related to instrumental aspects, such as journey time, but also to general attitudes toward various travel modes. These findings have implications for sustainable transport policy initiatives that aim to persuade people to abandon their car.

Attitudes, norms, identity and environmental behaviour: using an expanded theory of planned behaviour to predict participation in a kerbside recycling programme

In an effort to contribute to greater understanding of norms and identity in the theory of planned behaviour, an extended model was used to predict residential kerbside recycling, with self-identity, personal norms, neighbourhood identification, and injunctive and descriptive social norms as additional predictors. Data from a field study (N=527) using questionnaire measures of predictor variables and an observational measure of recycling behaviour supported the theory. Intentions predicted behaviour, while attitudes, perceived control, and the personal norm predicted intention to recycle. The interaction between neighbourhood identification and injunctive social norms in turn predicted personal norms. Self-identity and the descriptive social norm significantly added to the original theory in predicting intentions as well as behaviour directly. A replication survey on the self-reported recycling behaviours of a random residential sample (N=264) supported the model obtained previously. These findings offer a useful extension of the theory of planned behaviour and some practicable suggestions for pro-recycling interventions. It may be productive to appeal to self-identity by making people feel like recyclers, and to stimulate both injunctive and descriptive norms in the neighbourhood.

Education for Environmental Action in the Community: New Roles and Relationships.

Abstract This paper will begin with a critical overview of environmental education as it is currently taught and practised, drawing on empirical data as well as structural and theoretical arguments. Five principal shortcomings are suggested: environmental education is invariably based on a teaching and learning model which is top‐down and centre to periphery; environmental education does not lead to action competence; environmental education lacks authenticity; the track record of demonstrable success in changing the attitudes and values of children to the environment is questionable; the social, cultural and political context must facilitate participation and change. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of four models of the relationship between schools and the local community.

An alternative structuralist approach to the psychology of tourism marketing.

Abstract The paper begins with a brief discussion of the way in which traditional psychology would approach the subject of decoding the myths and meanings which package holiday companies seek to communicate through their holiday brochures. This approach is contrasted with an analysis using semiotic techniques. The approach is essentially a cognitive one in which it is suggested that holiday companies attempt to attract holidaymakers not through the overt and superficial attributes of holiday destinations as portrayed in the brochure photographs, but by providing the reader with a range of cultural tools with which fantasy, meaning, and identity can be created and constructed. The holidaymaker becomes an active participant in the creation and maintenance of ideology and myth.

Transformative environmental education: a collective rehearsal for reality

This paper puts forward an alternative view on sustainable development, arguing that the separation between the economy, the environment and the social in the Brundtland model obscures the societal character of the economy, the economic bases of the social, and the fact that the environment is a societal product. We differentiate between strong and weak sustainability, arguing that the threat of environmental degradation can only be addressed at the level of the relations of production, consumption and political relations. Building on this perspective, we advocate a form of transformative environmental education which engages learners and teachers in a process of self‐reflective transformation. We illustrate this through two examples: action competence and Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed.

The influence of biological sex, sexuality and gender role on interpersonal distance

This research reports on a conceptually and methodologically innovative study, which sought to measure the influence of gender on interpersonal distance. In so doing, we argue for an important distinction to be made between biological sex, gender role, and sexuality. To date, however, progress in the study of interpersonal distance (IPD) has been inhibited by poor operational definitions and inadequate measurement methodologies. For our own investigation, we innovated on methodology by devising the digital video-recording IPD method (DiVRID) that records interpersonal spatial relationships using high quality digital video equipment. The findings highlighted not only the validity of our innovative method of investigation, but also that a more sophisticated conceptualization of the impact of gender on IPD is warranted than can be accounted for by biological sex differences. In this study, we found that gender role accounts for more of the variation in IPD than the conventionally reported gender variable, sex.

Frameworks for risk communication and disease management: the case of Lyme disease and countryside users.

Management of zoonotic disease is necessary if countryside users are to gain benefit rather than suffer harm from their activities, and to avoid disproportionate reaction to novel threats. We introduce a conceptual framework based on the pressure–state–response model with five broad responses to disease incidence. Influencing public behaviour is one response and requires risk communication based on an integration of knowledge about the disease with an understanding of how publics respond to precautionary advice. A second framework emphasizes how risk communication involves more than information provision and should address dimensions including points-of-intervention over time, place and audience. The frameworks are developed by reference to tick-borne Lyme borreliosis (also known as Lyme disease), for which informed precautionary behaviour is particularly relevant. Interventions to influence behaviour can be directed by knowledge of spatial and temporal variation of tick abundance, what constitutes risky behaviour, how people respond to information of varying content, and an understanding of the social practices related to countryside use. The frameworks clarify the response options and help identify who is responsible for risk communication. These aspects are not consistently understood, and may result in an underestimation of the role of land-based organizations in facilitating appropriate precautionary behaviour.

Creating place identity through heritage interpretation

Abstract One of the principal functions of heritage interpretation is to enhance the visitors sense of place and place identity. If this is to occur, the interpretation should be planned and designed with that outcome in mind. The research reported in this paper was an empirical study which, drawing on social identity theory, attempted to assess the effectiveness of a museum in contributing to visitors’ sense of place and awareness of a towns heritage. The results show that Guildford Museum was successful in this respect. However, only certain aspects of the museum displays were responsible for this effect, in particular those displays concentrating on the people and activities of the town, rather than the built heritage. The case is made for a more theory‐driven approach to research in heritage interpretation, which can suggest prescriptive roles and functions for museums and heritage sites. Heritage has been cast in the role of both saviour and sinner – saviour for spearheading the introduction of reg...

Values and sustainable lifestyles

With ever-increasing concerns about the consequences of climate change, households are an important focus for change. There is increasing pressure on households to change lifestyles and adopt behaviours that require less energy and natural resources. At the same time, retailers and producers of consumer goods aim to persuade people to consume more through commercial advertisements. Social science research examining sustainable behaviours often fails to examine the relative influence of both environmental concern and materialism simultaneously. Moreover, most of this research focuses on explaining or promoting behaviours with pro-environmental intent, thereby ignoring many consumer behaviours that may have a significant environmental impact. This article aims to address some of these shortcomings by examining the relationships between materialistic and environmental values and different consumer behaviours. Survey data from 194 individuals from 99 households were analysed. The findings show that quite a number of people express both relatively high levels of environmental concern and relatively high levels of materialism simultaneously. Moreover, materialism and environmental concern appear to be related to different types of behaviours. This raises important questions for the promotion of sustainable lifestyles, which may need to address not only environmental concerns but also materialistic concerns.