Changing littering practices at Glastonbury Festival

AbstractFindings:This conceptual paper introduces practice theory as a potential alternative to the traditional ways that littering is conceptualised and tackled, and considers the strengths and pitfalls of the theoretical approach for the expensive, pervasive and environmentally dangerous littering problems faced by Glastonbury Festival.Implications:The study of littering has yet to embrace practice theory, despite the theory being considered the cutting edge of sustainable consumption research. This paper is an exploratory starting point, opening up a potential future research and intervention agenda for festival organisers andresearchers alike to consider littering as a by-product of a range of different bundled practices rather than the result of particularly attitudes and behaviours.Limitations:Practice theory has yet to move authoritatively out of a theoretical domain and be used in the process of intervention planning and implementation, although some early efforts are beginning to emerge. As such, the applicability of the theory to a real world setting is untested. Relatedly, it is not fully clear how evaluation can capture the full extent of a multi-disciplinary culture change programme inspired by practice theory.Contribution:The paper offers the first practice theoretical examination of littering and introduces the theory to the practical challenges faced by Glastonbury and other festival organisers as well as introducing the problem of littering to the practice theory field, already central to the study of other issues in sustainable consumption

Social marketing-based strategy for obesity interventions

Terms of reference for this projectWe were requested by Dr Julia Verne to provide a literature-based, judgement-based (i.e. no new primary research) draft social marketing strategy for addressing the rising rates of obesity within the South West region. Public health professionals should note that the strategy in this document emphasises how marketing techniques can be used for preventative approaches aimed at the general population. Curative approaches for the morbidly obese with acute health problems are outside our terms of reference

Disrupting social marketing through a practice-oriented approach

Purpose – This paper aims to explore four disruptions that practice theory makes to traditional social marketing approaches to school physical activity (PA) intervention. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on existing literature from sustainable consumption, sociology of health and illness and the authors’ experiences working with primary schools in the UK to plan and execute social marketing approaches to PA, targeting interconnected social practices from which PA emerges or fails to emerge. The paper explores a practice-oriented theoretical framing, engaging with calls from interdisciplinary areas for PA interventions to shape the PA emerging from a school’s everyday routines, rather than promote PA participation at an individual level. Findings – The paper argues first that a practice perspective would focus on situation research rather than audience research, with practices rather than people as the focus. Second, the purpose of practice-orientedsocial marketing would be to achieve transitions in practices rather than behaviour change. Third, theplanning and management approach of practice-oriented social marketing would account for unintended consequences and complex interconnections between practices. Finally, an evolved evaluation approach to practice-oriented social marketing would take a longer term approach to understand how cultural transitions are emerging. Originality/value – This paper contributes to an important stream of critical social marketing scholarship that seeks to advance social marketing away from its individualist routes. It sets an agenda for further research that considers the ontological and practical possibilities for practice informed approach to social marketing

Understanding the Constraints to Transforming Online Fashion Shopping into a More Sustainable Practice

This research contributes a theorization of constraints to transforming online fashion shopping into a more sustainable practice. Qualitative research with fifty-eight sustainably oriented fashion consumers illuminates how critical-reactive reflexive commitment to sustainability destabilizes routinized practices, triggering adaptation. Yet, sustainable online fashion shopping remains unstable as practice elements fail to integrate

Practice ecology of sustainable travel: The importance of institutional policy-making processes beyond the traveller

Changing mobility behaviour towards activities and actions that have a less detrimental impact on the environment, public health and society is an objective of transport policy jurisdictions globally. In line with a burgeoning body of research examining behaviour and social change, this paper explores the governmental systems that influence mobility behaviours through a social practice lens. This paper blends two social practice theoretical models, the ‘3-Elements Model’ and ‘Systems of Provision’, as a means of understanding the delivery of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF), a central government grant scheme for English local authorities. We examine how the meanings, materials and competences within the practices of bid writing by local authorities and scheme selection by government influenced the distribution of funding to local authorities. The research starts from the principle that, where funding is provided by central government, in the case of this research that of the UK, an opportunity is created for mobility practices to change. The significance of funding is not easily theorised by the 3-Elements model but is more helpfully explained when that model is blended with the wider Systems of Provision model to create a model of practice ecology. Our theorisation allows for a rigorous exploration of the ‘practice scaffolding’ which shapes how people travel. Policymakers are recommended to consider a practice ecology approach when developing mobility management schemes to tackle air quality, climate change and obesity issues more effectively. Document type: Articl

Social Marketing

Social marketing is receiving unprecedented focus and support from government, the private sector and charities internationally. Social marketing attempts to educate people in the hope that they will make 'informed'(i.e. healthy) choices regarding diet, lifestyle and health related issues. The effective application of social marketing principles can be complex and controversial. Social marketing planning cannot be reduced to a simple set of actions on a checklist; there is no single strategy for success and strategies that have proved successful with one population may not transfer to other populations. This text will explore the complexities involved in researching, planning and implementing effective social marketing programmes, using illustrative cases from both successful and unsuccessful real-world programmes. The authors provide a critical analysis of the origins of social marketing as a concept and of the claims made by its supporters and detractors in order to highlight what social marketing can and cannot achieve. This is followed by a review of strategic issues that must be considered in developing social marketing programmes, including persuasion resistance, message relevance and message framing. Key themes included in the text are the impact of cultural factors on health-related behaviours, ethical issues and attitudes as a key factor underlying health-related behaviours. The authors introduce concepts, theories and strategies that will aid the development, testing and implementation of social marketing interventions. The book is suitable for both undergraduate and postgraduate students of business and marketing and those studying modules in social marketing

An assessment of Voluntary Travel Behaviour Change delivery in England as an alternative to highway construction

There is a growing body of international evidence available that shows highway construction fails to solve issues of congestion and improvements to the local economy. There is also evidence that due to changes of land use and expectations of being able to travel from the land opened for development that traffic is induced to the highway network. Alternative methods of managing travel demand; such has Voluntary Travel Behaviour Change (VTBC) initiatives have been delivered internationally. A significant VTBC scheme, called the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF), was delivered in the United Kingdom between 2011 and 2015. This paper focuses on the people who delivered these initiatives, rather than the individuals required to change their behaviour. This is to understand how transport planners’ views influence the type of VTBC initiatives that were delivered. The study included a survey of 69 bid managers for LSTF projects and interviews with 17 council officers. The survey found that 80% transport planning officers understood the concept of induced traffic compared to just 10% of the wider population. It was also evident that the sample group was a homogenous group, where their views on issues such as climate change, congestion and the factors that influence how we travel were remarkably similar. The findings show that despite the evidence that highway construction does not provide a solution to travel demand, the decisions about which schemes are funded remain with non-transport experts, such as government ministers and local politicians, and this invariably leads to highway ‘solutions’ being chosen which limit the potential success of any VTBC initiative to create long-term change to travel behaviour. Document type: Articl

An assessment of Voluntary Travel Behaviour Change delivery in England as an alternative to highway construction

There is a growing body of international evidence available that shows highway construction fails to solve issues of congestion and improvements to the local economy. There is also evidence that due to changes of land use and expectations of being able to travel from the land opened for development that traffic is induced to the highway network. Alternative methods of managing travel demand; such has Voluntary Travel Behaviour Change (VTBC) initiatives have been delivered internationally. A significant VTBC scheme, called the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF), was delivered in the United Kingdom between 2011 and 2015. This paper focuses on the people who delivered these initiatives, rather than the individuals required to change their behaviour. This is to understand how transport planners’ views influence the type of VTBC initiatives that were delivered. The study included a survey of 69 bid managers for LSTF projects and interviews with 17 council officers. The survey found that 80% transport planning officers understood the concept of induced traffic compared to just 10% of the wider population. It was also evident that the sample group was a homogenous group, where their views on issues such as climate change, congestion and the factors that influence how we travel were remarkably similar. The findings show that despite the evidence that highway construction does not provide a solution to travel demand, the decisions about which schemes are funded remain with non-transport experts, such as government ministers and local politicians, and this invariably leads to highway ‘solutions’ being chosen which limit the potential success of any VTBC initiative to create long-term change to travel behaviour