Understanding ethnic differences in perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours: a study of domestic water use in Sydney

Abstract

There is growing realisation among environmental and social studies researchers that people's decision‐making about water use conforms to their internal norms and beliefs, which are developed in social and cultural contexts. Little research, however, has addressed the possible impacts that ethnic and cultural diversity may have on domestic water use and management. This paper presents the results of a study conducted in Sydney, with specific reference to questionnaire findings. Among respondents from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, significant differences were observed in terms of perceptions, specific knowledge, attitudes, and self‐reported behaviours in relation to water use and conservation. The disparities identified were not masking socio‐demographic and economic characteristics but were the result of a series of constructs closely tied to ethnicity, including cultural value, environmental experience, language preference, and information access. As a factor explaining variation in the engagement of pro‐conservation behaviour, ethnic status was found to be more useful than some socio‐economic factors. The study highlights the importance of including ethnicity and cultural sensitivity issues in the decision‐making process of environmental management.

Do monetary and non-monetary incentives influence environmental attitudes and behavior? Evidence from an experimental analysis

“…The paper concludes that water and other environmental related policies need to take into account society's diversity. A similar study exploring water use behavior in Sydney, confirms that consideration of socio-demographic factors are more important than economic factors in resource conservation (Yan et al, 2018). Another study on electricity pricing in managing electricity demand shows that the acceptance of different pricing rules depends on individual characteristics (Yoshida et al, 2017).…”

“…A review of literature indicates that household water consumption is influenced by a range of socio-economic and demographic factors (see, Yan et al, 2018;Jayarathna et al, 2017;Arbues et al, 2016;Fox et al, 2009) and hence we chose to include other determinants of water consumption. Some obvious determinants are the number of people residing in the household (Beal et al, 2013), education (Comerford, 2014) and income (Baki et al, 2018;Fox et al, 2009).…”

Living in a foreign country: the meaning of place of origin and gender for risk perceptions, experiences, and behaviors

“…However, many studies have indicated what we previously pointed out regarding the white male effect, that ethnic minorities and people with a foreign background rate risks as higher and/or are more vulnerable to particular risks and risk behaviors (Macias 2016). Many also point out that studies concerning migrants' risk perceptions specifically and those concerning vulnerability to various risk in general are scarce (Yong et al 2017;Yan, McManus, and Duncan 2018). Few have considered inequality or discrimination in the analysis and as a way to better understand how migrants experience and perceive risks, although migrants often are considered vulnerable to risks because of limited economic, social, and language resources.…”

Influences of Building Characteristics and Attitudes on Water Conservation Behavior of Rural Residents

“…Studies in China also show that older adults are usually willing to take more active measures to save water mainly because they have a stronger sense of saving than the young [24]. The water consumption of residents of different races or faiths is also quite different [25], and that of collectivist families is relatively lower than that of other families [26]. Females are the main users of domestic water; thus, their behavior largely represents that of the whole family.…”