Architecture, Building and Planning - Research Publications

Permanent URI for this collection

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
  • Item
  • Item
  • Item
    No Preview Available
    Drinking water from alternative water sources: differences in beliefs, social norms and factors of perceived behavioural control across eight Australian locations
    Dolnicar, S ; Hurlimann, A (IWA PUBLISHING, 2009)
    Australia is facing serious challenges in the management of water in various urban and regional locations. Two popular responses to these challenges are increasing supply through alternative water sources such as recycled and desalinated water. However, significant gaps exist in our knowledge of community attitudes to these alternative sources of water, particularly for potable use. This paper reports results from an Australian study of community attitudes to alternative water sources. Sixty six qualitative interviews were held at eight locations with distinctly different water situations. This paper explores all three antecedents to the behaviour of drinking recycled water and desalinated water as postulated by the Theory of Planned Behaviour: attitudes, social norms and factors of perceived behavioural control. Key results indicate that while people hold both positive and negative beliefs (mostly cost, health and environmental concerns) about water from alternative sources, nearly all of them are willing to drink it if the water crisis were to deteriorate further. People also feel they lack knowledge and state that information from scientists would influence their decision to drink recycled and desalinated water most. Friends and relatives are most influential in preventing people from drinking recycled water. The findings reported in this paper have major implications for water policy, and will be of particular interest to water engineers. The paper raises a provocative question: Is it better to avoid public consultation in introducing water from alternative sources?
  • Item
    No Preview Available
    Understanding behaviour to inform water supply management in developed nations - A review of literature, conceptual model and research agenda
    Hurlimann, A ; Dolnicar, S ; Meyer, P (ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD, 2009-10)
    Water is a scarce resource in many parts of the developed world. Two solutions are possible to address water scarcity: conservation of existing resources, or the further production of water from new sources e.g. through recycling of wastewater or desalination of seawater. However, the main hurdle to implementation of many of these solutions is often viewed as a lack of public willingness to adopt these alternative water behaviours. Research in this area is therefore crucial. Yet, and possibly due to the interdisciplinary nature of such research, there is currently no comprehensive overview of what has been done before. This study fills this gap by (1) choosing a general consumer behaviour perspective as a starting point, (2) developing a conceptual model of research required in the area of water-related public acceptance studies, (3) identifying eight key water-related behaviours which require future research attention, and (4) reviewing which areas of the conceptual model have been investigated in the past by conducting an extensive literature review of water-related social science research. The review established that the majority of work which has been conducted is located at the cross-roads of personal characteristics and behavioural intentions. Significant gaps exist in relation to researching the adoption of a wide range of demand-side water behaviours. This indicates a dominance of supply-side solutions in social-research exploration. The review identifies a number of research needs including: the exploration of actual adoption of water-related behaviours (rather than behavioural intentions); and to widen the scope of water behaviour enquiry to include more demand-side solutions. Given the increasing scarcity of water in many areas of the world, addressing these identified gaps will be of significant importance. Thus our model informs the social-research agenda for water policy.
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    Charting a new course for water - is black water reuse sustainable?
    Hurlimann, A. ; Hes, D. ; Othman, M. ; Grant, T. (IWA Publishing, 2007)
    The world is facing a water crisis, and Australia is no exception. New regimes for the supply, use, and delivery of water are needed to ensure a sustainable water future. Black water reuse through ‘sewer mining’ or onsite treatment, proposes to be one initiative that may possibly offer a viable and sustainable alternative approach to water provision in many contexts. However, despite the potential benefits of black water reuse, its feasibility is not yet fully understood. In particular, there is much uncertainty surrounding the following issues: 1) community acceptance, 2) policy complexities, 3) performance impacts of these localised systems, and 4) environmental balance over the full life cycle. This paper outlines research needs surrounding black water reuse with a focus on these four major issues. The paper presents a research agenda to address these important issues. This research agenda involves two Australian commercial case studies: the Council House 2 building in Melbourne, and the Bendigo Bank building in Bendigo.
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    Is recycled water use risky? An Urban Australian community's perspective
    Hurlimann, AC (Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2007-03-01)
  • Item
  • Item