title: A systematic review of approaches for modelling current and future impacts of extreme rainfall events using green infrastructure

authors: Reu Junqueira, Juliana

abstract: A range of modelling approaches has been developed to assess how green infrastructure could mitigate the effects of extreme rainfall events. This paper seeks to develop this agenda by reviewing how these modelling approaches incorporate, consider, and appraise information of value to land-use planning, policy, and practice to better understand why their implementation is infrequent and to help develop a research agenda. Our findings indicate that the information generated by current GI modelling approaches are not well integrated into the demands of land-use planning, and may more reflect the information availability than useability. We find that modelling outputs do not tend to generate the type of high resolution information covering the appropriate spatial and temporal scales that is needed to best support planning decisions. There are also gaps in the assessment of future climate risks, such as increased rainfall intensity, and how this links to future pressures, such as escalating urban growth and development demands, and the interaction between the two areas. The paper concludes that to increase the implementation of green infrastructure, modelling researchers should work more closely with decision-makers to better link data on the effects of GI to the politics involved in their implementation in planning decisions, particularly how trade-offs occur over different scales and times, and between sectors.

text: A systematic review of approaches for modelling current and future impacts of extreme rainfall events using green infrastructure A range of modelling approaches has been developed to assess how green infrastructure could mitigate the effects of extreme rainfall events. This paper seeks to develop this agenda by reviewing how these modelling approaches incorporate, consider, and appraise information of value to land-use planning, policy, and practice to better understand why their implementation is infrequent and to help develop a research agenda. Our findings indicate that the information generated by current GI modelling approaches are not well integrated into the demands of land-use planning, and may more reflect the information availability than useability. We find that modelling outputs do not tend to generate the type of high resolution information covering the appropriate spatial and temporal scales that is needed to best support planning decisions. There are also gaps in the assessment of future climate risks, such as increased rainfall intensity, and how this links to future pressures, such as escalating urban growth and development demands, and the interaction between the two areas. The paper concludes that to increase the implementation of green infrastructure, modelling researchers should work more closely with decision-makers to better link data on the effects of GI to the politics involved in their implementation in planning decisions, particularly how trade-offs occur over different scales and times, and between sectors.

year: 2020

title: Using the theory of planned behaviour to predict intentions to reduce the environmental impact of travel

authors: Reddy, Siddhart

abstract: The use of private cars is responsible for a large amount of the world’s CO2 emissions
and the amount of pollution produced by the aviation industry is also growing at an alarming 
rate. Thus, it is important to understand the factors that can lead to pro-environmental 
behaviours (PEB), such as choosing more environmentally friendly options for air and car 
travel. I explored whether the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) variables of
environmental attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control (PBC) 
predicted individuals’ willingness to change their travel behaviour. A sample of 327 
participants from New Zealand and the United States of America completed an online 
questionnaire measuring TPB variables for low-, medium- and high-cost behaviours which 
were defined as short, medium, and long trips by both car and plane. I hypothesised that, in 
line with the A-B-C model, the TBP variables would be most predictive of intentions to 
reduce the environmental impact of medium-cost behaviours, rather than low- or high-cost 
behaviours. Attitudes, subjective norms, and PBC almost always significantly predicted
behavioural intention for the NZ sample, whilst only subjective norms and PBC were 
significant predictors for the USA sample, however, there was no support for the low-cost 
hypothesis or A-B-C model. Findings may influence and inform interventions and policy 
aimed at behavioural change in different contexts and that it may be beneficial for 
interventions to be tailored to specific populations based upon the strength of correlating 
variables.

text: Using the theory of planned behaviour to predict intentions to reduce the environmental impact of travel The use of private cars is responsible for a large amount of the world’s CO2 emissions
and the amount of pollution produced by the aviation industry is also growing at an alarming 
rate. Thus, it is important to understand the factors that can lead to pro-environmental 
behaviours (PEB), such as choosing more environmentally friendly options for air and car 
travel. I explored whether the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) variables of
environmental attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control (PBC) 
predicted individuals’ willingness to change their travel behaviour. A sample of 327 
participants from New Zealand and the United States of America completed an online 
questionnaire measuring TPB variables for low-, medium- and high-cost behaviours which 
were defined as short, medium, and long trips by both car and plane. I hypothesised that, in 
line with the A-B-C model, the TBP variables would be most predictive of intentions to 
reduce the environmental impact of medium-cost behaviours, rather than low- or high-cost 
behaviours. Attitudes, subjective norms, and PBC almost always significantly predicted
behavioural intention for the NZ sample, whilst only subjective norms and PBC were 
significant predictors for the USA sample, however, there was no support for the low-cost 
hypothesis or A-B-C model. Findings may influence and inform interventions and policy 
aimed at behavioural change in different contexts and that it may be beneficial for 
interventions to be tailored to specific populations based upon the strength of correlating 
variables.

year: 2024

title: Visitors' satisfaction with heritage sites in New Zealand: Causes and complexities, clusters and causes

authors: Trinh, Thi Thu

subjects: Heritage Tourism

abstract: The thesis presents findings from a survey of over 1,000 visitors at three New Zealand heritage sites. These sites were Te Puia, the Rotorua Bathhouse Museum and the Rangiriri Battlefield Interpretation Centre. All three represent a key period in New Zealand’s history from the period of approximately 1840 to 1900, but in the case of Te Puia there is also a continuing contemporary cultural importance. This last site, located in Rotorua, was founded as the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute and was established to perpetuate Maori tradition skills in areas such as carving and weaving. Its location was in part determined by the volcanic nature of the valley, long inhabited by members of Te Arawa tribal people. The site has a strong connection with tourism as Te Arawa have entertained tourists from the mid-nineteenth century in the volcanic area. The site therefore represents a tourism site from the perspective of history, culture and natural heritage. The Bathhouse Museum represents a period of late colonial architecture while the third site, the Rangiriri Battlefield is based on the remnants of the Pa (Maori fortifications) that was the site of a battle between the colonial government forces and the Maori Kingi movement on November 23rd 1840.

The motive for the research was to provide a profile of visitors for the respective sites and their management, and then to assess to what degree socio-demographics might be explanatory variables in determining future visitation. The core theories being employed revolved around concepts of levels of interest in heritage and historic sites, the intellectual search for knowledge, and the degree to which people became involved in the activity of heritage site visitation. The work was driven by the finding that only about 11 per cent of visits to cultural tourism sites were ‘purposeful’ tourists as defined by McKercher and Du Cros (2002). Being purposeful implies having specific degrees of interest, of becoming involved and possibly seeking meanings that implied senses of identity. That is, self-awareness accrued from having a better understanding of the past as a means of knowing about the present. This conceptualisation implies use of the theories of involvement, benefits and self-awareness, and the managerial aspects of interpretation.  Normally such an approach has been seen by many researchers as a determinant of satisfaction, but in this thesis satisfaction is not seen as simply an end to a process. Rather, this thesis argues that to be satisfied entails not only cognitive and affective components, but also the conative. That conative component can include making recommendations to others, making visits to other heritage sites, or joining organisations associated with heritage sites such as the New Zealand Historic Place Trust. These form key themes in the literature review.

Unfortunately, while these premises emerged from the literature review and informed the hypotheses that are later described in the thesis, they were not wholly supported by the data. It is suggested that one reason for this, from a statistical perspective, was that measures used were subject to multi-collinearity and auto-correlation – put simply, many of the variables are not independent from each other. For example, it is suggested that satisfaction is actually enhanced by subsequently being able to make recommendations to friends and others; that the act of making a recommendation enhances one’s own self in both the eyes of that friend or through an enhanced self- perception of being helpful, and thus auto-correlation may exist between these variables.

This realisation thus leads, in the conclusions of Chapter Eight, to new suggestions for potential future researchers concerning ways of looking at the nature of involvement that draw on distinctions between situational and enduring involvement. Finally, it also needs to be noted that tourists are not lay historians, but are the makers of their holidays, and hence the debate is contextualised within the act of being on holiday, which itself is a period of escape and relaxation for many. Hence the relationships being examined in this thesis are complex, interactive and yet rewarding to untangle.

text: Visitors' satisfaction with heritage sites in New Zealand: Causes and complexities, clusters and causes The thesis presents findings from a survey of over 1,000 visitors at three New Zealand heritage sites. These sites were Te Puia, the Rotorua Bathhouse Museum and the Rangiriri Battlefield Interpretation Centre. All three represent a key period in New Zealand’s history from the period of approximately 1840 to 1900, but in the case of Te Puia there is also a continuing contemporary cultural importance. This last site, located in Rotorua, was founded as the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute and was established to perpetuate Maori tradition skills in areas such as carving and weaving. Its location was in part determined by the volcanic nature of the valley, long inhabited by members of Te Arawa tribal people. The site has a strong connection with tourism as Te Arawa have entertained tourists from the mid-nineteenth century in the volcanic area. The site therefore represents a tourism site from the perspective of history, culture and natural heritage. The Bathhouse Museum represents a period of late colonial architecture while the third site, the Rangiriri Battlefield is based on the remnants of the Pa (Maori fortifications) that was the site of a battle between the colonial government forces and the Maori Kingi movement on November 23rd 1840.

The motive for the research was to provide a profile of visitors for the respective sites and their management, and then to assess to what degree socio-demographics might be explanatory variables in determining future visitation. The core theories being employed revolved around concepts of levels of interest in heritage and historic sites, the intellectual search for knowledge, and the degree to which people became involved in the activity of heritage site visitation. The work was driven by the finding that only about 11 per cent of visits to cultural tourism sites were ‘purposeful’ tourists as defined by McKercher and Du Cros (2002). Being purposeful implies having specific degrees of interest, of becoming involved and possibly seeking meanings that implied senses of identity. That is, self-awareness accrued from having a better understanding of the past as a means of knowing about the present. This conceptualisation implies use of the theories of involvement, benefits and self-awareness, and the managerial aspects of interpretation.  Normally such an approach has been seen by many researchers as a determinant of satisfaction, but in this thesis satisfaction is not seen as simply an end to a process. Rather, this thesis argues that to be satisfied entails not only cognitive and affective components, but also the conative. That conative component can include making recommendations to others, making visits to other heritage sites, or joining organisations associated with heritage sites such as the New Zealand Historic Place Trust. These form key themes in the literature review.

Unfortunately, while these premises emerged from the literature review and informed the hypotheses that are later described in the thesis, they were not wholly supported by the data. It is suggested that one reason for this, from a statistical perspective, was that measures used were subject to multi-collinearity and auto-correlation – put simply, many of the variables are not independent from each other. For example, it is suggested that satisfaction is actually enhanced by subsequently being able to make recommendations to friends and others; that the act of making a recommendation enhances one’s own self in both the eyes of that friend or through an enhanced self- perception of being helpful, and thus auto-correlation may exist between these variables.

This realisation thus leads, in the conclusions of Chapter Eight, to new suggestions for potential future researchers concerning ways of looking at the nature of involvement that draw on distinctions between situational and enduring involvement. Finally, it also needs to be noted that tourists are not lay historians, but are the makers of their holidays, and hence the debate is contextualised within the act of being on holiday, which itself is a period of escape and relaxation for many. Hence the relationships being examined in this thesis are complex, interactive and yet rewarding to untangle.

year: 2013