Gary J Pickering
Biographic Data
| ID | 5245575 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gary J Pickering |
| GIVEN NAMES | Gary J |
| FAMILY NAME | Pickering |
| SIGNATURE | PICKERING G J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Brock University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5104-4968 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 9 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 11 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Validation of the Foodie Index and characterization of foodies across four countries
Purpose This paper aims to determine the validity and performance of the Foodie Index in four countries in the Global North and describe the sociodemographic characteristics of foodies and their hedonic experiences of food. Design/methodology/approach About 824 adults from England, Canada, the USA and Australia, representative of age and region for each country, completed the 12-item Food Index (nine-point Likert scale) and answered a range of qu…
Structural Power Dynamics in Polycentric Water Governance Networks
Water security is severely threatened by climate change. Building resilient catchments is key to reduce water insecurity, yet power dynamics that generate ineffective governance responses can hinder such resilience building. This research uses an Australian water governance process to study the power dynamics that underpin polycentric governance networks. Combining network theory and Lukes' structural power concept is a novel methodology tested f…
Perceptions of a sustainable diet among young adults
We sought to gain a more holistic understanding of young adults' knowledge and perceptions around sustainable diets using a mixed methods online survey of 500 young adults (18–25 yrs.). Variables measured included food choice motivators (6-point importance scale), knowledge (ranking of efficacy of sustainable dietary behaviours), and several open-ended questions (responses assessed using inductive coding). Results show that environmental and heal…
The role of perceived powerlessness and other barriers to climate action
The impacts of anthropogenic climate change are rapidly worsening, but current efforts to mitigate this crisis are insufficient. Therefore, it is critically important to understand how to motivate more individuals to take action to protect against future climate change impacts. This study examines the individual‐level factors that predict motivations to act, as well as potential barriers to action in a sample of Canadian adults. Participants comp…
Understanding the complex power dynamics that shape collaboration and social learning in multi-stakeholder water governance
The relationship between power dynamics and decision making in natural resource management is central to explaining governance outcomes. Contemporary catchment governance is increasingly characterized by the interaction of multiple stakeholder groups, which has shifted processes like collaboration and social learning into the focus of water governance research and related fields. Because collaboration and social learning are effective tools for r…
Knowledge and self-efficacy of youth to take action on climate change
Youth currently in secondary school will spend most of their adult life in a hotter climate associated with climate change (CC). This study investigated attitudes of youth living in an Australian Biosphere Reserve to identify their understanding of CC causes, impact, and mitigation measures, as well as their feelings of self-efficacy and hope. An online survey of 425 youth found that although participants reported a high level of understanding of…
Fostering ocean empathy through future scenarios
Empathy for nature is considered a prerequisite for sustainable interactions with the biosphere. Yet to date, empirical research on how to stimulate empathy remains scarce. Here, we investigate whether future scenarios can promote greater empathy for the oceans. Using a pre‐post empathy questionnaire, participants ( N = 269) were presented with an optimistic or a pessimistic future scenario for the high seas in a virtual reality (VR) or written f…
Climate change adaptation in the Canadian wine industry: Strategies and drivers
The wine industry is and will continue to be impacted by climate change. The adaptation of vineyards and winery practices is therefore paramount to the success of winegrowing operations around the globe. We surveyed winegrowers across Canada to assess their adaptation status, the strategies they currently use or plan to implement to cope with the effects of climate change, and the drivers that influence the adoption of adaptation measures. We fou…
Website communications for campus sustainability: An analysis of Canadian universities
Purpose This study aims to better understand the communication of sustainability by Canadian universities, specifically the use of websites, interactive features and sustainability plans. Design/methodology/approach A total of 95 Canadian universities were included in this study. The mixed-methods approach sought to capture the communication of sustainability via websites, the interactive features used, as well as to evaluate the quality of susta…
Exploration of youth knowledge and perceptions of individual-level climate mitigation action
The current climate crisis necessitates effective mitigation action across all scales, including behaviours and lifestyle decisions at the individual level. Youth need to align lifestyle with the 2.1 tonnes of CO 2 emissions per person per year required by 2050 to prevent the worse impacts of climate change (CC), yet little is known regarding their preparedness to act nor knowledge of the efficacy of the personal actions available to them. The ma…
Optimizing Messaging to Reduce Red Meat Consumption
Red meat production has a range of negative environmental impacts. We sought to characterize the motivations, environmental attitudes and demographics of red meat-eaters, and examine the effect of message framing in reducing future meat consumption. Canadian adult meat-eaters (593) completed a survey and were randomly assigned to one of six message treatments that presented information on the environmental impacts of meat production using frames …
Knowledge and self-efficacy of youth to take action on climate change
Youth currently in secondary school will spend most of their adult life in a hotter climate associated with climate change (CC). This study investigated attitudes of youth living in an Australian Biosphere Reserve to identify their understanding of CC causes, impact, and mitigation measures, as well as their feelings of self-efficacy and hope. An online survey of 425 youth found that although participants reported a high level of understanding of…
Climate change adaptation in the Canadian wine industry: Strategies and drivers
The wine industry is and will continue to be impacted by climate change. The adaptation of vineyards and winery practices is therefore paramount to the success of winegrowing operations around the globe. We surveyed winegrowers across Canada to assess their adaptation status, the strategies they currently use or plan to implement to cope with the effects of climate change, and the drivers that influence the adoption of adaptation measures. We fou…
Optimizing Messaging to Reduce Red Meat Consumption
Red meat production has a range of negative environmental impacts. We sought to characterize the motivations, environmental attitudes and demographics of red meat-eaters, and examine the effect of message framing in reducing future meat consumption. Canadian adult meat-eaters (593) completed a survey and were randomly assigned to one of six message treatments that presented information on the environmental impacts of meat production using frames …
Website communications for campus sustainability: An analysis of Canadian universities
Purpose This study aims to better understand the communication of sustainability by Canadian universities, specifically the use of websites, interactive features and sustainability plans. Design/methodology/approach A total of 95 Canadian universities were included in this study. The mixed-methods approach sought to capture the communication of sustainability via websites, the interactive features used, as well as to evaluate the quality of susta…
Exploration of youth knowledge and perceptions of individual-level climate mitigation action
The current climate crisis necessitates effective mitigation action across all scales, including behaviours and lifestyle decisions at the individual level. Youth need to align lifestyle with the 2.1 tonnes of CO 2 emissions per person per year required by 2050 to prevent the worse impacts of climate change (CC), yet little is known regarding their preparedness to act nor knowledge of the efficacy of the personal actions available to them. The ma…
Fostering ocean empathy through future scenarios
Empathy for nature is considered a prerequisite for sustainable interactions with the biosphere. Yet to date, empirical research on how to stimulate empathy remains scarce. Here, we investigate whether future scenarios can promote greater empathy for the oceans. Using a pre‐post empathy questionnaire, participants ( N = 269) were presented with an optimistic or a pessimistic future scenario for the high seas in a virtual reality (VR) or written f…
Climate change adaptation in the Canadian wine industry: Strategies and drivers
The wine industry is and will continue to be impacted by climate change. The adaptation of vineyards and winery practices is therefore paramount to the success of winegrowing operations around the globe. We surveyed winegrowers across Canada to assess their adaptation status, the strategies they currently use or plan to implement to cope with the effects of climate change, and the drivers that influence the adoption of adaptation measures. We fou…
Knowledge and self-efficacy of youth to take action on climate change
Youth currently in secondary school will spend most of their adult life in a hotter climate associated with climate change (CC). This study investigated attitudes of youth living in an Australian Biosphere Reserve to identify their understanding of CC causes, impact, and mitigation measures, as well as their feelings of self-efficacy and hope. An online survey of 425 youth found that although participants reported a high level of understanding of…
Structural Power Dynamics in Polycentric Water Governance Networks
Water security is severely threatened by climate change. Building resilient catchments is key to reduce water insecurity, yet power dynamics that generate ineffective governance responses can hinder such resilience building. This research uses an Australian water governance process to study the power dynamics that underpin polycentric governance networks. Combining network theory and Lukes' structural power concept is a novel methodology tested f…
Perceptions of a sustainable diet among young adults
We sought to gain a more holistic understanding of young adults' knowledge and perceptions around sustainable diets using a mixed methods online survey of 500 young adults (18–25 yrs.). Variables measured included food choice motivators (6-point importance scale), knowledge (ranking of efficacy of sustainable dietary behaviours), and several open-ended questions (responses assessed using inductive coding). Results show that environmental and heal…
The role of perceived powerlessness and other barriers to climate action
The impacts of anthropogenic climate change are rapidly worsening, but current efforts to mitigate this crisis are insufficient. Therefore, it is critically important to understand how to motivate more individuals to take action to protect against future climate change impacts. This study examines the individual‐level factors that predict motivations to act, as well as potential barriers to action in a sample of Canadian adults. Participants comp…
Understanding the complex power dynamics that shape collaboration and social learning in multi-stakeholder water governance
The relationship between power dynamics and decision making in natural resource management is central to explaining governance outcomes. Contemporary catchment governance is increasingly characterized by the interaction of multiple stakeholder groups, which has shifted processes like collaboration and social learning into the focus of water governance research and related fields. Because collaboration and social learning are effective tools for r…
Validation of the Foodie Index and characterization of foodies across four countries
Purpose This paper aims to determine the validity and performance of the Foodie Index in four countries in the Global North and describe the sociodemographic characteristics of foodies and their hedonic experiences of food. Design/methodology/approach About 824 adults from England, Canada, the USA and Australia, representative of age and region for each country, completed the 12-item Food Index (nine-point Likert scale) and answered a range of qu…
Psychology (8 works) · Business (5 works) · Environmental Education and Sustainability (5 works) · Political science (5 works) · Climate Change Communication and Perception (4 works) · Ecology (4 works) · Environmental resource management (4 works) · Geography (4 works) · Social Psychology (4 works) · Sociology (4 works)