title: Pro-environmental behaviour change for nature: Empirical and theoretical evidence from a field experiment in Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Maris, Robert David Colin

subjects: Environmental economics

abstract: Individual behaviour change is a crucial component of our response to current environmental challenges and over recent years, a growing body of literature has focussed on the drivers and levers of pro-environmental behaviours. However, scholars have noted there is a considerable shortage of behavioural science research that focuses on behaviours that directly impact nature and biodiversity. This is concerning, given the enormous value populations place on nature, the fundamental role nature plays in society and because nature is declining rapidly. 
In this thesis, we focus on understanding volunteering for nature restoration groups, which we show is an under-researched behaviour in the literature. It also has relatively high potential to deliver positive impacts for biodiversity and nature. We start by developing a simple generalisable theoretical model that suggests three main factors may be inhibiting the uptake of volunteering for nature – uncertainty, inaccuracy and high behavioural adjustment costs. We use this model to inform the design and hypotheses for a large field experiment in Aotearoa New Zealand where we aim to answer the following questions:
How can we increase volunteering for nature restoration groups? What are the effects of volunteering for the first-time on future volunteering behaviour? How does volunteering affect other important outcomes of interest, like environmental identity, locus of control beliefs and wellbeing?
Our field experiment has two stages. In stage one, we randomly assign first-time volunteers (those who are not already engaged in nature volunteering) to treatment groups to assess the impact of a nudge, a supermarket voucher incentive and a nudge and incentive combined on volunteering behaviour. We find that a $50 NZD supermarket incentive increases attendance rates at volunteering events and commitment rates to attend volunteering events. On the other hand, an environmentally and socially motivated nudge in isolation has no effect on volunteering behaviour. However, combining the nudge with the voucher incentive enhances the efficacy of either treatment alone, demonstrating that significant positive synergies exist between nudges and incentives in this context. 
In stage two, we show volunteering for the first-time is plausibly randomly assigned, conditional on availability and being offered an incentive. We use this feature to estimate the causal impact of volunteering for the first time on future volunteering behaviour and other outcomes of interest. We find that volunteering for the first time crowds in future volunteering behaviour, generates positive spillovers to other pro-environmental behaviours and strengthens environmental self-identity and locus of control beliefs, which are important pre-cursors to pro-environmental behaviour. Our results show two mechanisms are likely driving these effects. Firstly, volunteering for the first-time provides important information about the benefits of volunteering that are used in future decision-making. Secondly, it strengthens environmental attitudes and identity, which in-turn affect preferences for pro-environmental behaviour. Taken together, our results show that using a financial incentive to help people experiment with volunteering can lead to large positive spillovers and crowding-in effects for future pro-environmental behaviour.

text: Pro-environmental behaviour change for nature: Empirical and theoretical evidence from a field experiment in Aotearoa New Zealand Individual behaviour change is a crucial component of our response to current environmental challenges and over recent years, a growing body of literature has focussed on the drivers and levers of pro-environmental behaviours. However, scholars have noted there is a considerable shortage of behavioural science research that focuses on behaviours that directly impact nature and biodiversity. This is concerning, given the enormous value populations place on nature, the fundamental role nature plays in society and because nature is declining rapidly. 
In this thesis, we focus on understanding volunteering for nature restoration groups, which we show is an under-researched behaviour in the literature. It also has relatively high potential to deliver positive impacts for biodiversity and nature. We start by developing a simple generalisable theoretical model that suggests three main factors may be inhibiting the uptake of volunteering for nature – uncertainty, inaccuracy and high behavioural adjustment costs. We use this model to inform the design and hypotheses for a large field experiment in Aotearoa New Zealand where we aim to answer the following questions:
How can we increase volunteering for nature restoration groups? What are the effects of volunteering for the first-time on future volunteering behaviour? How does volunteering affect other important outcomes of interest, like environmental identity, locus of control beliefs and wellbeing?
Our field experiment has two stages. In stage one, we randomly assign first-time volunteers (those who are not already engaged in nature volunteering) to treatment groups to assess the impact of a nudge, a supermarket voucher incentive and a nudge and incentive combined on volunteering behaviour. We find that a $50 NZD supermarket incentive increases attendance rates at volunteering events and commitment rates to attend volunteering events. On the other hand, an environmentally and socially motivated nudge in isolation has no effect on volunteering behaviour. However, combining the nudge with the voucher incentive enhances the efficacy of either treatment alone, demonstrating that significant positive synergies exist between nudges and incentives in this context. 
In stage two, we show volunteering for the first-time is plausibly randomly assigned, conditional on availability and being offered an incentive. We use this feature to estimate the causal impact of volunteering for the first time on future volunteering behaviour and other outcomes of interest. We find that volunteering for the first time crowds in future volunteering behaviour, generates positive spillovers to other pro-environmental behaviours and strengthens environmental self-identity and locus of control beliefs, which are important pre-cursors to pro-environmental behaviour. Our results show two mechanisms are likely driving these effects. Firstly, volunteering for the first-time provides important information about the benefits of volunteering that are used in future decision-making. Secondly, it strengthens environmental attitudes and identity, which in-turn affect preferences for pro-environmental behaviour. Taken together, our results show that using a financial incentive to help people experiment with volunteering can lead to large positive spillovers and crowding-in effects for future pro-environmental behaviour.

year: 2023

title: Partial maps with domain and range: extending Schein's representation

authors: Jackson, Marcel

subjects: closure semigroup

abstract: The semigroup of all partial maps on a set under the operation of composition admits a number of operations relating to the domain and range of a partial map. Of particular interest are the operations R and L returning the identity on the domain of a map and on the range of a map respectively. Schein [25] gave an axiomatic characterisation of the semigroups with R and L representable as systems of partial maps; the class is a finitely axiomatisable quasivariety closely related to ample semigroups (which were introduced—as type A semigroups—by Fountain, [7]). We provide an account of Schein's result (which until now appears only in Russian) and extend Schein's method to include the binary operations of intersection, of greatest common range restriction, and some unary operations relating to the set of fixed points of a partial map. Unlike the case of semigroups with R and L, a number of the possibilities can be equationally axiomatised.

text: Partial maps with domain and range: extending Schein's representation The semigroup of all partial maps on a set under the operation of composition admits a number of operations relating to the domain and range of a partial map. Of particular interest are the operations R and L returning the identity on the domain of a map and on the range of a map respectively. Schein [25] gave an axiomatic characterisation of the semigroups with R and L representable as systems of partial maps; the class is a finitely axiomatisable quasivariety closely related to ample semigroups (which were introduced—as type A semigroups—by Fountain, [7]). We provide an account of Schein's result (which until now appears only in Russian) and extend Schein's method to include the binary operations of intersection, of greatest common range restriction, and some unary operations relating to the set of fixed points of a partial map. Unlike the case of semigroups with R and L, a number of the possibilities can be equationally axiomatised.

year: 2009

title: The science and practice of Māori astronomy and Matariki

authors: Whaanga, Hēmi

subjects: Indigenous Knowledge

abstract: Ki te iwi Mäori me öna tüpuna, ko ngä hua o te noho tahi, o te äta pänui, o te körero anö hoki me ngä whetü, he mea äta tuitui ki te pütaiao, ki te ahureatanga, ki ngä tikanga aho atua, ki te taiao anö hoki. Ko ngä nekehanga o ngä kähui whetü he mea äta pänui, ka mutu he whakapono, he mätauranga atu anö hoki tö ia iwi, tö ia takiwä puta noa i a Aotearoa nei mö te ao tukupü. Ko te mätauranga whänui mö te kökörangi he mea äta whakatö ki ngä ähuatanga o te päpori Mäori o mua, he mea äta whakaora anö hoki ki ngä körero tuku iho, ki ngä tikanga hauhake whenua, ka mutu i äta whakaurua ki roto i ngä tikanga whakatü whare tupuna. Tau atu, tau mai, whakanuia ai te rewanga ake me te tönga iho o ngä whetü hiahira, ka mutu i kaha whakaatuahia ngä kaupapa katoa o te tuarangi ahakoa pëhea. Mä roto mai i tënei pepa ka körerohia te mätauranga me te pütaiao mätai arorangi e whai iho nei ki a Matariki, ka tahi, ka rua ka wänangahia te whakarauora haeretanga i ngä tikanga tuku iho e hängai nei ki taua kähui whetü me tana pänga nuitanga ki te ahurea o te whenua o näianei, o Aotearoa.

text: The science and practice of Māori astronomy and Matariki Ki te iwi Mäori me öna tüpuna, ko ngä hua o te noho tahi, o te äta pänui, o te körero anö hoki me ngä whetü, he mea äta tuitui ki te pütaiao, ki te ahureatanga, ki ngä tikanga aho atua, ki te taiao anö hoki. Ko ngä nekehanga o ngä kähui whetü he mea äta pänui, ka mutu he whakapono, he mätauranga atu anö hoki tö ia iwi, tö ia takiwä puta noa i a Aotearoa nei mö te ao tukupü. Ko te mätauranga whänui mö te kökörangi he mea äta whakatö ki ngä ähuatanga o te päpori Mäori o mua, he mea äta whakaora anö hoki ki ngä körero tuku iho, ki ngä tikanga hauhake whenua, ka mutu i äta whakaurua ki roto i ngä tikanga whakatü whare tupuna. Tau atu, tau mai, whakanuia ai te rewanga ake me te tönga iho o ngä whetü hiahira, ka mutu i kaha whakaatuahia ngä kaupapa katoa o te tuarangi ahakoa pëhea. Mä roto mai i tënei pepa ka körerohia te mätauranga me te pütaiao mätai arorangi e whai iho nei ki a Matariki, ka tahi, ka rua ka wänangahia te whakarauora haeretanga i ngä tikanga tuku iho e hängai nei ki taua kähui whetü me tana pänga nuitanga ki te ahurea o te whenua o näianei, o Aotearoa.

year: 2020