Geoffrey J. Syme

Evaluation of Public Involvement in Water Resources Planning: A Researcher-Practitioner Dialogue.

This article identifies evaluation ofdecisions incorporating public involvement as an area where views might differ according to the role of the stakeholder. The two authors have had extensive interaction in a wide variety of public involvement programs related to water resources, but from the differing perspectives of research and practice. Because of increasing public interest in quality public involvement programs, evaluation has a high priority for both authors. Based on theory and experience, six general criteria that are seen by both researcher and practitioner as requirements for adequate evaluation are presented in the context of a brief case study.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DRINKING WATER QUALITY : AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

Perceptions of drinking water quality were measured for residents at four locations in Western Australia. The total dissolved solid levels for the locations varied. Four scales of drinking water satisfaction were measured: acceptability of water quality; water quality risk judgment; perception of neighborhood water quality; and attitudes toward fluoride as an additive. Responses to each of these scales did not appear to be highly related to total dissolved solids. The relationship between attitudes toward water quality and a variety of psychological, attitudinal, experiential, and demographic variables was investigated. It was found that responses to the acceptability of water quality and water quality risk judgment scales related to perceived credibility of societal institutions and feelings of control over water quality and environmental problems. For the remaining two scales few significant correlations were found. The results support those who advocate localized information and involvement campaigns on drinking water quality issues.

Planning attitudes, lay philosophies, and water allocation: A preliminary analysis and research agenda

Despite the important societal consequences of water policy, community attitudes toward planning, ethics, and equity for allocation of water have received little research attention. This preliminary research was conducted to assess the range and structure of planning attitudes and equity and ethical considerations which might be relevant to the general publics evaluation of water allocation systems. The relationship of these to priorities for water allocation were also examined. The results showed a complex structure for planning attitudes. There were also generalized but clearly defined community approaches to water allocation. A number of significant relationships between planning attitudes and philosophies of allocation were shown. Planning attitudes also related to priorities for water allocation. In practical terms the research provides some preliminary, ethically based evaluative criteria which could be applied to allocation decision-making systems. Theoretical research possibilities are also outlined.

Predicting Public Involvement in Urban Water Management and Planning

A longitudinal study was conducted to assess the level of demand and the motivations for participating in urban water planning in three Australian cities. Three hundred and sixty people were interviewed in each city in relation to their attitudes toward water issues, their beliefs about representation, and their interests in personal involvement in water planning. At a later date respondents were invited to attend a workshop. Fifteen percent of those invited attended the workshops in each city. There was a relationship between intentions to participate and actual involvement. Unlike earlier studies there was no relationship between education, income, age, and participation. The major predictors of participation were perceived levels of desirable power for the water authority and intrinsic interest in particular water issues. The article concludes that there is a potentially strong demand for involvement in water-related planning and that there is a need to ensure that involvement is planned with methods appropriate to all sectors of the community.

Factors Motivating Community Participation in Regional Water-Allocation Planning: A Test of an Expectancy-Value Model

The attitudinal determinants of intention to participate in planning for water allocation were assessed among residents of Jandakot, Western Australia. An expectancy-value attitudinal model was developed to assess the relationship between intention to participate and (a) attitudes towards the process of public involvement, (b) subjective norms, and (c) attitudes towards possible outcomes of involvement. It was hypothesised that other attitudinal variables associated with intention to participate would be mediated through these variables. The model was tested against alternative explanatory variables including centrality, self efficacy, political efficacy, and moral norms. Regression analyses indicated that behavioural intention was best predicted by centrality, attitudes towards the process, and subjective norms. Thus the model was not wholly supported. The results are discussed in terms of the development of the theory of centrality and the roles of process and outcome in the evaluation of regional versus neighbourhood public-involvement programs.

Motivation for Reported Involvement in Local Wetland Preservation The Roles of Knowledge, Disposition, Problem Assessment, and Arousal

A structural equation model explaining motivation for involvement in local wetland issues was developed and tested. Wetland preservation was used as an example of an ongoing environmental problem in a typical urban neighborhood. The roles of knowledge and disposition in determining an individuals reported activity were hypothesized to be mediated through intermediary variables. The two intermediary variables nominated were derived from the literature on hazard coping, which has been largely ignored by attitudinal research on individual conservation behavior. These intermediary variables were defined as emotive arousal and cognitive problem assessment. The influence of knowledge was hypothesized to be mediated by both arousal and assessment. Disposition was thought to be mediated by arousal alone. In contrast to activism after floods, a positive rather than negative relationship between arousal and reported activity was predicted. The model was supported by the responses of residents after viewing slides of local wetlands. Implications for further research are examined.

Combining willingness to pay and social indicator methodology in valuing public services: an example from agricultural protection.

Abstract Farmers in Western Australia valued the services of the Agricultural Protection Boards services. This government organisation controls the spread of weeds and pests. Valuations were obtained by asking willingness to pay (WTP) and subjective social indicator (SSI) questions. Despite the burgeoning literature for both methodologies there has been little comparison of the two approaches. It was found that the WTP valuations and those provided by responses to the SSI questions were poorly correlated. Individual differences in valuation were examined by dividing the farmers into four groups on the basis of the median responses to each valuation. The comparisons between the groups demonstrated a number of issues relating to the interpretation of judgements when a service is being underprovided and problems in interpreting low WTP values. Problems in the interpretation of the SSI are also discussed. The implications of the findings for future valuations of public services are discussed.