Climate change is a global problem that will have local impacts on regions and municipalities. Many parts of Canada are already experiencing severe weather events such as extreme levels of rainfall, severe flooding, and increased frequency of storms. Local planning officials have the capacity to respond to climate change through mitigation and adaptation strategies, but before asking the question of whether any action is being taken on the local level, there needs to be an understanding of how local planning officials view climate change and whether the issue reaches policy attention. For the general public, literature tells us that most people perceive climate change to be a temporally and geographically distant issue. This absence of personal relevance renders that people fail to take responsive action. Some authors have also noted that there is an absence of municipal action on climate change because it is also not viewed as a local concern. At the same time, climate change is but one of the many issues that municipal councils must consider and address on a daily basis, often leaving the matter to be pushed aside, in place of other more pressing issues. The main objectives of this thesis were to understand how local planning officials view climate change, assess whether climate change is recognized as an issue requiring policy attention, and perform a policy review to assess the current state of local action in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. In total, 21 professionals working in the Region took part in the study, and came from a diverse range of backgrounds including planning, environment, emergency management, public health and economic development, among others. With respect to the main research question, ???what is the relationship between climate change risk perceptions and implementation of climate-related policies???, this study found there to be four guiding frameworks. These were 1) the need for collaboration: perceptions indicated a need, while policy demonstrated feasibility; 2) the need for leadership: perceptions suggested that leadership is critical, but somewhat limited in practice, while policy suggested it already exists; 3) the need for integration of climate change in the planning context and other planning issues: perceptions suggested disconnect, while policy also suggested disconnect; and 4) the need for presenting climate change as a local issue: perceptions demonstrated a need, while policy can provide the supporting document.

Given the important role that trust plays in acceptance of water management schemes, the current research investigated the characteristics and determinants of trust by developing a social-psychological model of trust in the area of water management and reuse. The research advanced a theoretical understanding of trust by using social identity theory and the relational model of trust as a framework and providing a systematic examination of the relationships between the variables in the hypothesised trust model. The proposed trust model was tested across three potentially different perceived risk contexts; low, medium and high. Analysis through path modelling provided strong support for the hypothesised model. In all three contexts trust in the water authority was a significant predictor of acceptance of the water management scheme, and risk perceptions mediated the relationship between trust and acceptance. In other words higher levels of trust in the authority were associated with lower perceptions of risk, which were in turn associated with higher levels of acceptance. In Study 4, which was set in the high perceived risk context of the proposed indirect potable reuse scheme in Toowoomba, perceptions of risk had the strongest direct effect on acceptance of the scheme, and the trust, risk and acceptance relationship was stronger than it was in the other studies. The relational variables of procedural fairness, identification with one’s community, ingroup membership of the water authority and a social bond (shared values) with the water authority were all found to impact on trust, either directly or indirectly. In addition, the instrumental variable of the credibility of the authority (measured as technical competence and a lack of vested interests) was found to have a significant impact on trust. Taken together, the results provide support for social identity theory and the relational model of trust as a framework for understanding trust in authorities. The results are also consistent with literature that suggests that the relational and instrumental models of trust are not incompatible (e.g., Edwards & Kidd, 2003; Tyler & Kramer, 1996). The findings from this research program clearly have a practical application for improving acceptance of water management schemes. The combined results demonstrate the importance of trust in the water authority in reducing perceived risk and thus increasing acceptance of schemes. The results highlight the need for water authorities and policy makers to build public trust through procedural fairness, building a sense of the water authority as a member of the community, and through demonstrating technical competence and concern for the interests of the public.

Given the important role that trust plays in acceptance of water management schemes, the current research investigated the characteristics and determinants of trust by developing a social-psychological model of trust in the area of water management and reuse. The research advanced a theoretical understanding of trust by using social identity theory and the relational model of trust as a framework and providing a systematic examination of the relationships between the variables in the hypothesised trust model. The proposed trust model was tested across three potentially different perceived risk contexts; low, medium and high. Analysis through path modelling provided strong support for the hypothesised model. In all three contexts trust in the water authority was a significant predictor of acceptance of the water management scheme, and risk perceptions mediated the relationship between trust and acceptance. In other words higher levels of trust in the authority were associated with lower perceptions of risk, which were in turn associated with higher levels of acceptance. In Study 4, which was set in the high perceived risk context of the proposed indirect potable reuse scheme in Toowoomba, perceptions of risk had the strongest direct effect on acceptance of the scheme, and the trust, risk and acceptance relationship was stronger than it was in the other studies. The relational variables of procedural fairness, identification with one’s community, ingroup membership of the water authority and a social bond (shared values) with the water authority were all found to impact on trust, either directly or indirectly. In addition, the instrumental variable of the credibility of the authority (measured as technical competence and a lack of vested interests) was found to have a significant impact on trust. Taken together, the results provide support for social identity theory and the relational model of trust as a framework for understanding trust in authorities. The results are also consistent with literature that suggests that the relational and instrumental models of trust are not incompatible (e.g., Edwards & Kidd, 2003; Tyler & Kramer, 1996). The findings from this research program clearly have a practical application for improving acceptance of water management schemes. The combined results demonstrate the importance of trust in the water authority in reducing perceived risk and thus increasing acceptance of schemes. The results highlight the need for water authorities and policy makers to build public trust through procedural fairness, building a sense of the water authority as a member of the community, and through demonstrating technical competence and concern for the interests of the public.

Given the important role that trust plays in acceptance of water management schemes, the current research investigated the characteristics and determinants of trust by developing a social-psychological model of trust in the area of water management and reuse. The research advanced a theoretical understanding of trust by using social identity theory and the relational model of trust as a framework and providing a systematic examination of the relationships between the variables in the hypothesised trust model. The proposed trust model was tested across three potentially different perceived risk contexts; low, medium and high. Analysis through path modelling provided strong support for the hypothesised model. In all three contexts trust in the water authority was a significant predictor of acceptance of the water management scheme, and risk perceptions mediated the relationship between trust and acceptance. In other words higher levels of trust in the authority were associated with lower perceptions of risk, which were in turn associated with higher levels of acceptance. In Study 4, which was set in the high perceived risk context of the proposed indirect potable reuse scheme in Toowoomba, perceptions of risk had the strongest direct effect on acceptance of the scheme, and the trust, risk and acceptance relationship was stronger than it was in the other studies. The relational variables of procedural fairness, identification with one’s community, ingroup membership of the water authority and a social bond (shared values) with the water authority were all found to impact on trust, either directly or indirectly. In addition, the instrumental variable of the credibility of the authority (measured as technical competence and a lack of vested interests) was found to have a significant impact on trust. Taken together, the results provide support for social identity theory and the relational model of trust as a framework for understanding trust in authorities. The results are also consistent with literature that suggests that the relational and instrumental models of trust are not incompatible (e.g., Edwards & Kidd, 2003; Tyler & Kramer, 1996). The findings from this research program clearly have a practical application for improving acceptance of water management schemes. The combined results demonstrate the importance of trust in the water authority in reducing perceived risk and thus increasing acceptance of schemes. The results highlight the need for water authorities and policy makers to build public trust through procedural fairness, building a sense of the water authority as a member of the community, and through demonstrating technical competence and concern for the interests of the public.

In renal transplantation, immunosuppressants are prescribed to patients to prevent graft loss. Although the extent of adherence required for such treatment to prevent graft loss has not been determined, it is thought to be high. Despite this, research suggests adherence rates for renal transplant recipients to be only between 50% and 95%. Considering the impact of graft loss on the renal patient, the national healthcare budget and on the limited resource of donor organs, it is important to identify and understand factors that contribute to nonadherence, and thereafter to address those that are most influential. This thesis seeks to understand adherence of renal transplant recipients, and to identify the cognitive and behavioural factors influencing this behaviour. To achieve this, three main activities were performed, a literature review, an interview study and a questionnaire study, the methods and findings of which are presented following an overview of two social cognition models, used in two of the activities, and renal disease. The first activity, a comprehensive literature review, identified 55 research articles that explored factors influencing adherence of renal transplant recipients to immunosuppressant drug therapy. It included original research studies published between 1980 and 2009, and was updated in 2011. The findings were categorised into the five dimensional framework suggested by the World Health Organisation: patient- related factors; socio-economic factors; condition-related factors; therapy-related factors; and healthcare team and system-related factors. Secondly, a semi-structured interview study with 27 renal transplant recipients was conducted. The study explored their attitude towards and behaviours related to taking immunosuppressants. The interview schedule was informed by the health belief model, and framework analysis of the data identified five key themes. These were: satisfaction with renal replacement therapy; the importance of taking immunosuppressants; perception of side effects and risks; responding to side effects and risks; and 'compliance is routine'. Finally, a questionnaire was developed using the theory of planned behaviour and the findings of the previous two activities. Its purpose was to determine the predictors of renal transplant recipients' self-reported adherence and to explain their adherence. A logistic regression model of 528 survey responses suggested respondents were more likely to be highly adherent if they, in descending order of influence: had well- established habits; were unemployed; had a better prospective memory; were a shorter time post-transplantation; had higher levels of anticipated affect; and lower levels of perceived behavioural control. The thesis concludes with discussing the findings of the studies, their strengths and limitations, and their implications for practice and future research. The findings of this thesis suggest unintentional nonadherence to prevail and encourage the development of interventions which promote habit formation and maintenance.

xv, 173 p. : ill. (some col.) A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Economists typically assume that individuals behave in accordance with rational choice theory. In practice, however, individual behavior can deviate from the predictions of models founded upon basic economic theory. The extent to which these deviations are important to individual decision-making in environmental economics, and thus to the development of sound environmental policies, is not fully understood. The objective in this dissertation research is to investigate potential deviations from rational choice behavior in some environmental economics contexts and to identify their relevance to environmental policy. Chapter I uses a stated-preference survey for the valuation of environmental health-risk reductions in which respondents rate the subjective difficulty of each key choice they are asked to consider. Existing literature identifies many potential categories of biases in the empirically estimated valuation of non-market goods in stated-preference research. One potential source of bias stems from the "objective complexity" of the choice scenario. I find that existing objective measures of choice set complexity do not fully explain subjective choice difficulty ratings in this valuation survey. Instead, subjective difficulty appears to result from the interplay among objective complexity, preferences, and cognitive resource constraints. In Chapter II, I consider the possible consequences of choice difficulty from the standpoint of neuroeconomics. Within the scope of neuroeconomics, one can identify some neurobiological correlates of economic decision-making activity. I study the apparent effects of choice difficulty on the neurobiological encoding of individuals' value assessments. Information from this study provides a neurological basis for deviations from simple economic theory based on conventional models of rational choice. Chapter III examines risk perceptions that may influence individuals' decisions to migrate within the U.S. to reduce potential health and economic risks related to climate change. My analysis treats historical patterns of migration among counties as a function of varying spatial and temporal patterns in tornado activity, along with other spatially and temporally delineated variables intended to capture the evolution of subjective perceptions of these tornado risks. Results suggest that the perception of risk from extreme weather events can have a small but statistically discernible effect on migration behavior across sociodemographic groups for both out-migrants and in-migrants. / Committee in charge: Trudy Cameron, Chairperson, Economics; William Harbaugh, Member, Economics; Jason Lindo, Member, Economics; Ulrich Mayr, Outside Member, Psychology

Functional foods constitute a growing focus for research, product development and consumer interest in recent years. This study investigated the factors that affect willingness to pay for high fibre food on the market as well as respondents’ attitude towards the purchase of these products. The results indicated that those consumers in the high income group were more health conscious than their low income counterparts and willing to pay for high fibre products. The results showed that health risk perceptions as well as regulatory programmes affected consumers’ willingness to pay. The results also showed that at low percentage prices consumers were willing to pay for high fibre products. Gender and marital status did not seem to have an influence on willingness to buy for any of the selected products. Findings of the study could encourage food manufacturers to carry on with developments of functional foods since willingness to pay increased with increase in income. / Agriculture, Animal Health and Human Ecology

Southern Vancouver Island, situated on Canada’s West Coast, is exposed to many natural and human-made threats due to its physical geography and demography. Perceptions of these disaster risks and of seismic hazard, in particular, were surveyed through locally-administered questionnaires conducted with 105 members of the general public and 13 emergency managers living and working on southern Vancouver Island, specifically in the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) and the Capital Regional District (CRD). Perhaps the greatest risk to the region, and that, which is perceived by both the general public and practitioners as the greatest risk, is low frequency, high consequence earthquake events. The region is exposed to earthquakes from many sources, but has not experienced a damaging quake in several decades, begging questions as to whether residents consider earthquake a prominent threat and whether they have an accurate appreciation for the earthquake hazard (likelihood) in the region. While researchers have scientifically quantified the earthquake hazard in the region for over 50 years, only in the past 10 years has this hazard information been presented in a format that is comprehensible by the general public. In order for individuals and communities to make informed decisions, this information must ultimately reach the public and be interpretable and actionable. This research describes and analyzes disaster risk and seismic hazard perception on Southern Vancouver Island, and identifies whether there are gaps in communication between the scientists who create the knowledge, the emergency managers who disseminate the information, and the general public who ultimately needs to act on the information to increase their resilience. Results reveal that earthquakes are perceived as the highest disaster risk among both the general public and emergency managers on southern Vancouver Island, and that a large majority of participants know that their community is at risk from an earthquake. In addition, while emergency managers consider mostly natural threats to be significant risks, the general public more commonly identify human-made intentional threats as significant risks. The study also found that gender and location influence how individuals prefer to receive hazard information. In addition, household income and time spent living on Vancouver Island are key variables for how likely members of the general public are to be prepared. Findings suggest that while both emergency managers and the general public overestimate the earthquake hazard on southern Vancouver Island, on average emergency managers perceive the earthquake hazard to be greater than the general public does. Interestingly, general public respondents in the CVRD perceive seismic hazard to be higher than respondents in the CRD, while the calculated hazard is actually higher in the CRD. In addition, emergency managers underestimate residents’ perceptions of earthquake hazard. In other words, they feel that the public underestimates the hazard when actually both emergency managers and the general public overestimate it. These misperceptions have implications for future seismic hazard and disaster risk communication. Prior to this study, disaster risk perception has not been explored in detail in this region, and while limitations to this research are outlined, the study provides a useful descriptive analysis and baseline information for emergency managers and academic researchers to build upon. The findings of this research have specific relevance for emergency managers to inform their public education and outreach efforts around preparation, response and resilience to disasters on southern Vancouver Island. / Graduate / 2018-09-08

This research provides the first experimental investigation of the ways in which ideological and relational motives influence interpersonal risk communication. Drawing on the literatures in social and cognitive psychology, risk communication, and environmental decision making, this research examined whether individuals expressing concerns about tradeoffs between climate change adaptation and prevention were less likely to share climate change information with others if the information discussed adaptation policies. Participants were presented with an article about climate change framed as either relating to adaptation or prevention. Their willingness to share the article with others was measured, as well as their appraisals of how they thought others would respond to the message (e.g., increase or decrease their environmental behavior) and how others would evaluate oneself for sharing the message. Concerns about tradeoffs and sensitivity to social rejection were measured prior to the experimental procedure. Results yielded partial support for the hypotheses, with concern about tradeoffs negatively influencing attitudes toward sharing of the adaptation-related article. Hypothesized interaction effects with concerns about social rejection were not supported. Exploratory analyses revealed that the perception that others in one’s social network holds similar or dissimilar views to oneself about climate change emerged as an important moderator of the effects of concern about tradeoffs on sharing intentions. Limitations and future directions for research on interpersonal risk communication are discussed.

High school pupils operate in a macro (country-specific), meso (school-specific) and micro (personal) context and their information needs are always experienced in a context - sometimes as imposed school assignments or else self-generated, e.g. as everyday life information needs. Pupils source their information through various information channels and there is sometimes a perceived risk to acting on incorrect information. Compared to adults in information-intensive professions, researchers have found that pupils tend to be unconcerned about the credibility of information. Based on a literature survey, a trust model was compiled from a number of other models and adapted to serve as an information channel credibility model portraying the pupil in context with his/her perception of information channel credibility. The model was used as a framework for a study on high school pupils’ perceptions of information channel credibility and factors influencing their perceptions. The study was guided by the following research problem: How can school pupils’ perceptions of information channel credibility inform school-based interventions? In order to find answers, the following sub-questions were addressed: • What has been reported on perceptions of information credibility and information channel credibility, with specific reference to school pupils, students and adults, as well as professionals in information-intensive environments? • How can trust models guide a study of pupils’ perceptions of information channel credibility? • What factors influence school pupils’ perceptions of information channel credibility? • What school-based interventions could be recommended to address the shortcomings in the perceptions of pupils that can prepare them to meet the information requirements of adulthood? A self-administered print questionnaire was used in May 2015 to survey the perceptions of 548 South African high school pupils from three different schools covering the range of the socio-economic spectrum from wealthy through to pupils from poor, unemployed home environments. The study was conducted with grade 8 and grade 12 pupils (entry and exit grades for South African high schools) from a city in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the principals of the three schools. The results are reported as descriptive statistics supported with inferential statistics and qualitative analysis where relevant. The findings are that pupils’ perceptions of information channel credibility are affected by the perceived risk of acting on incorrect information, their previous experience and the context (i.e. type of information need, whether the need is imposed or self-generated and pupil demographics) in which the information need occurs. Pupils used a level of metacognition with regard to information channel credibility. The model proved useful to guide data collection that can guide school-based interventions. It holds potential to be further adapted to actually reflect school-based interventions. School-based interventions are suggested to encourage responsible assessment of information channel credibility, including the simulation of risk by means of mark allocation for metacognition about information channel credibility, intentional exposure of pupils to a wide range of information needs and exposure to highly credible as well as less credible information channels. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Information Science / PhD / Unrestricted