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occurs temporally and spatially distant from the point at which food becomes waste,
whereas preventing energy and water waste occurs more proximally to the points at
which waste is recognized (e.g., leaving water running) and waste management acts
can occur.
4.5.2.3 Practical Implications
These findings suggest that local policies can have unintended yet desirable consequences. Results suggest that municipalities should take into account target and
spillover behaviors when quantifying the impacts resulting from such programs.
This information can be used to understand how the pursuit of one goal, such as
landfill diversion, may support or impede the achievement of others, such as water
conservation. A better understanding of spillover can aid practitioners in designing
real-world interventions to improve FEW sustainability, illuminating opportunities
to maximize program benefits (i.e., positive spillover) and avoid unintended consequences (i.e., negative spillover).
4.6 Conclusions
As discussed in this chapter, incorporating human behavior and adaptation in FEW
system research is important for our understanding of these complex systems.
Allowing for an accurate representation of human behavior requires drawing on
social science disciplines and data that may not otherwise be employed in research
of the natural systems alone. Researchers have made progress in incorporating more
sophisticated representations of behavior and adaptations in FEW system models by
drawing on various theoretical and empirical approaches of social sciences.
However, many challenges remain.
First, as there are many social sciences, there are many ways to model human
behavior. Different disciplines often approach human behavior and adaptation from
different perspectives. The approaches of different disciplines often vary in their
level of formalization, and therefore the ease with which they can be incorporated
into broader, integrated models of human-natural systems also varies. These frameworks may also differ in their scope (e.g., narrow and detailed vs. broad and general), and whether they allow for feedback within the systems, such as social
dynamics or learning from past experiences. The diversity of social sciences and
their theoretical approaches mean that there are many candidates for modeling
human behavior, and not always a clear-cut method for determining the most appropriate framework.
Second, incorporating behavioral heterogeneity presents both computational and
conceptual challenges for modeling. Accounting for multiple dimensions of heterogeneity quickly leads to models that are not analytically tractable and pushes the
limits of simulation-based models. In addition, models that seek to be more realistic
M. Doidge et al.
occurs temporally and spatially distant from the point at which food becomes waste,
whereas preventing energy and water waste occurs more proximally to the points at
which waste is recognized (e.g., leaving water running) and waste management acts
can occur.
4.5.2.3 Practical Implications
These findings suggest that local policies can have unintended yet desirable consequences. Results suggest that municipalities should take into account target and
spillover behaviors when quantifying the impacts resulting from such programs.
This information can be used to understand how the pursuit of one goal, such as
landfill diversion, may support or impede the achievement of others, such as water
conservation. A better understanding of spillover can aid practitioners in designing
real-world interventions to improve FEW sustainability, illuminating opportunities
to maximize program benefits (i.e., positive spillover) and avoid unintended consequences (i.e., negative spillover).
4.6 Conclusions
As discussed in this chapter, incorporating human behavior and adaptation in FEW
system research is important for our understanding of these complex systems.
Allowing for an accurate representation of human behavior requires drawing on
social science disciplines and data that may not otherwise be employed in research
of the natural systems alone. Researchers have made progress in incorporating more
sophisticated representations of behavior and adaptations in FEW system models by
drawing on various theoretical and empirical approaches of social sciences.
However, many challenges remain.
First, as there are many social sciences, there are many ways to model human
behavior. Different disciplines often approach human behavior and adaptation from
different perspectives. The approaches of different disciplines often vary in their
level of formalization, and therefore the ease with which they can be incorporated
into broader, integrated models of human-natural systems also varies. These frameworks may also differ in their scope (e.g., narrow and detailed vs. broad and general), and whether they allow for feedback within the systems, such as social
dynamics or learning from past experiences. The diversity of social sciences and
their theoretical approaches mean that there are many candidates for modeling
human behavior, and not always a clear-cut method for determining the most appropriate framework.
Second, incorporating behavioral heterogeneity presents both computational and
conceptual challenges for modeling. Accounting for multiple dimensions of heterogeneity quickly leads to models that are not analytically tractable and pushes the
limits of simulation-based models. In addition, models that seek to be more realistic
M. Doidge et al.