Awareness, Attitude, and Concerns of Workers and ... - SAGE Open

4 SAGE OpenTable 1. Personal Characteristics of the Study ParticipantsStakeholder Worker TotalCharacteristic n % n % n %GenderFemale 29 34.1 96 48.2 125 44.0Male 56 65.9 103 51.8 159 56.0Total 85 100.0 199 100.0 284 100.0M:F ratio 1.93 1.07 1.27χ 2 = 4.821, p = .028Age group

Shoukry et al. 5Table 2. Environmental Awareness of ParticipantsAwareness n (N = 284) % 95% CI1. Are you aware of the new features in environmental management in the Egyptian 73 25.7 [20.6, 30.8]context, as specified in the Egyptian Environmental Law 4 of 1994?2. Are you aware of the Egyptian standards as set forth in Egyptian Code for water 70 24.6 [19.6, 29.6]reuse in agriculture dated 2005?3. Are you aware of the WHO guidelines for the composted sludge reuse? 68 23.9 [18.0, 29.8]4. Are you aware of the FAO guidelines for heavy metals content for the composted 56 19.7 [15.1, 24.3]sludge reuse?5. Are you aware about the concept of sustainable development? 60 22.8 [17.9, 27.7]6. Have you ever heard the term integrated environmental management practices? 85 32.6 [27.1, 38.1]7. Do you think that the use of integrated environmental management practices for 61 21.5 [16.7, 26.3]ASDCO would protect the natural environment and public health more than theconventional management practices?Total score (mean ± SD) 1.67 ± 2.32Range 0-7Note: CI = confidence interval; WHO = World Health Organization; FAO = Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; ASDCO = AlexandriaSanitary and Drainage Company. Numbers and percentages represent participants whose responses were “yes.” Figures were presented for availabledata.Table 3. Environmental Attitude of ParticipantsPercentage of responsesStatements SA MA U MD SDDo you agree or disagree that1. We are approaching the limit of the number of people the earth can support? 17.2 22.2 19.4 29.5 12.22. Humans have the right to modify the natural environment to suit their needs? 31.7 38.8 4.7 16.5 8.33. When humans interfere with nature, it often produces disastrous consequences? 43.5 35.3 9.7 8.3 3.24. Human ingenuity will ensure that we do not make the earth unlivable? 13.2 23.4 20.9 33.7 8.85. Humans are severely abusing the environment? 52.9 36.0 5.4 3.6 2.26. The earth has plenty of natural resources if we just learn how to develop them? 56.8 35.4 3.6 3.2 1.17. Plants and animal have as much right as humans to exist? 52.7 38.4 3.2 3.9 1.88. The balance of nature is strong enough to copy with the impacts of modern industrial nations? 10.9 21.4 24.6 35.9 7.29. Despite our special abilities, humans are still subject to the laws of nature? 37.7 48.2 8.0 5.1 1.110. The so-called “ecological crisis” facing humankind has been greatly exaggerated? 12.2 26.3 16.9 37.8 6.811. The earth is like a spaceship with very limited room and resources? 15.8 33.3 12.2 31.2 7.512. Humans were meant to rule over the rest of nature? 10.9 26.4 20.3 34.1 8.313. The balance of nature is very delicate and easily upset? 25.5 37.3 16.2 17.0 4.114. Humans will eventually learn enough about how nature works to be able to control it? 13.7 40.1 21.3 21.3 3.615. If things continue on their present course, we will soon experience a major ecologicalcatastrophe?47.1 33.2 11.4 4.6 3.6Note: SA = strongly agree; MA = mildly agree; U = unsure; MD = mildly disagree; SD = strongly disagree. Figures were presented for available data. Agreementwith the eight odd-numbered items and disagreement with the seven even-numbered items indicate pro-New Ecological Paradigm responses.respondents with an ant ecological view. To be more specific,92% respondents believed that the earth has plenty ofnatural resources if we just learn how to develop them, and54% of respondents agree with the statement that humanswill eventually learn enough about how nature works to beable to control it.Worries About Environmental ProblemsTable 4 shows concern of participants toward some environmentalproblems. Participants were generally worried aboutall problems with varying degrees, with an overall percentagemean score of 74.5% ± 26.3. Very worry about the severeadverse health problems (65.5%), contamination of publicwater bodies and fisheries (58.3%), odor emissions (57.6%),and densification and network overloads (52.5%) ranked first.These were followed by very worry about sewer overflows inrainy seasons (44.6%), reuse of treated wastewater in an aquaculture(43.4%), and reuse of sludge in agriculture (43.3%).Generally speaking, about one half (49.1%) of participantswere severely worried about these environmental problems,and only 17.0% reported no or minimal worry.Downloaded from by guest on January 12, 2015

Shoukry et al. 7Table 5. Association of the Mean Scores of Awareness, Attitude, and Worry With Some Participants’ CharacteristicsCharacteristics Awareness Attitude WorryM ± SD M ± SD M ± SDParticipantsStakeholder 1.56 ± 2.33 49.36 ± 4.96 15.54 ± 8.21Worker 1.71 ± 2.33 49.66 ± 4.55 18.87 ± 5.01z = 0.98, p = .33, adj.p = .84 z = 0.97, p = .33, adj.p = .36 z = 2.815, p = .005,* adj.p < .001*GenderFemale 1.56 ± 2.28 49.78 ± 4.46 18.30 ± 6.40Male 1.75 ± 2.37 49.40 ± 4.88 17.56 ± 6.23z = 0.90, p = .37, adj.p = .71 z = 0.91, p = .37, adj.p = .79 z = 1.49, p = .14, adj.p = .96Age group

8 SAGE OpenTable 6. Opinions of Participants About Environmental LegislationsPercentage of responsesStatements SA MA U MD SD1. Current, legislation about the environment is adequate for preventingenvironmental degradation.2. There is good legislation about the environment, but it is not completelyenforced.3. Government should pass more laws to make ordinary people protect theenvironment.4. Government should pass more laws making business protect theenvironment.7.3 22.3 31.9 27.8 10.629.6 41.2 24.1 4.4 0.750.0 32.5 14.6 2.6 0.453.5 26.2 13.8 5.1 1.5Note: SA = strongly agree; MA = mildly agree; U = unsure; MD = mildly disagree; SD = strongly disagree. Figures were presented for available data.(Zhong, 2003). However, the score in the present studyranged from 38 to 60 points, indicating variability of attitudesamong respondents. These findings were in agreementwith the finding of a previous study in Tehran, where therespondents showed mixed environmental attitudes(Calabrese et al., 2008). However, in a similar survey inTurkey, a high level of positive environmental attitude wasshown (Tuna, 2004).Although participants generally showed low level ofawareness of the environmental legislations, they were generallyworried about all environmental problems with varyingdegrees. Generally speaking, more than one half ofparticipants were severely worried about the severe adversehealth problems, contamination of public water bodies andfisheries, odor emissions, and densification and networkoverloads. Almost half of a survey’s respondents in Scotlandwere particularly worried about two environmental issues—raw sewage put into the sea and nuclear waste (Hinds et al.,2002). This reflects the high concern of the participants—inthe present study—to these environmental problems. In asurvey in Turkey, a moderate level of concern was reported(Tuna, 2004). However, these findings were not in agreementwith the findings of a previous study of concern of residentsin Tehran, where environmental concerns did notappear to be a priority for the great majority of the respondents(Calabrese et al., 2008). Workers in ASDCO reportedsignificantly higher concern about environmental problemsthan stakeholders did, even after adjusting for all possibleconfounders, a finding that might reflect the fear impact ofan environmental organization on its workers.Although the effect of knowledge is not conclusive, therehave been several studies suggesting that knowledge plays animportant role in enhancing the environmental attitude andbehavior relationship by providing individuals with the abilityto better formulate alternate views and present argumentsto support their beliefs and behaviors (McFarland & Boxall,2003). In the present study, the level of awareness of environmentallegislations and guidelines was significantly associatedwith levels of attitude toward environment and worryabout environmental problems. There was a significantdecrease in the mean attitude score and a significant decreasein the mean score of worry as the level of awareness decreases.With this correlation of awareness and attitudes, the low levelof environmental knowledge may have disturbing implicationsfor environmental policy (Arcury, 1990).Respondents are quite aware that legislation plays a keyrole in the protection of the environment. Overall, results ofthe survey show that people are ready to give time or to organizethemselves to take part in a campaign to protect theenvironment, but they believe that money for environmentalprotection should come from the government. This was inagreement with other previous studies (Calabrese et al.,2008). However, this finding was not in agreement with thefinding of an Australian study, where the majority of the public(66.5%) reported that they were prepared to pay higherprices or to accept reduced living standards to protect theenvironment (McAllister, 2008). Moreover, in a British survey,42% were willing to pay higher prices (National Centrefor Social Research, 2009), and in the United States, 45%(General Social Survey [GSS], 2000) were willing to do so.These findings might reflect the impact of the difference inthe standard of living in developed and developing countrieson their willingness to participate in environmentalprotection.This study has some limitations, which should be consideredwhen interpreting these findings. First, this survey wascarried out in one company, and response of participantswould not represent the response of whole Egyptians.However, ASDCO is the holding company for water andwastewater in the entire Egypt. Second, we cannot be certainof the causal direction of the associations observed betweenawareness, attitude, and worry, due to the study’s crosssectionaldesign. A longitudinal study with repeated measuresof these parameters would be desirable in the future.In conclusion, this study shows that for ASDCO workersand stakeholders, the environment is not yet thought to be animportant problem, when compared with other social andeconomic issues. The majority of respondents were notDownloaded from by guest on January 12, 2015

Shoukry et al. 9aware of the followings: the new features in environmentalmanagement in the Egyptian context, as specified in theEgyptian Environmental Law 4 of 1994, Egyptian standardsas set in Egyptian Code for water reuse in agriculture, WHOguidelines for the composted sludge reuse, FAO guidelinesfor heavy metals content for the composted sludge reuse, andthe concept of sustainable development. Generally speaking,the majority of respondents showed neutral attitude towardecological issues. Participants, especially the ASDCO workers,were generally worried about all problems with varyingdegrees. There was significant direct association between thelevel of awareness and the severity of worry. Overall, resultsof the survey showed that people were ready to give time orto organize themselves to take part in a campaign to protectthe environment, but they believed that money for environmentalprotection should come from the government.Planning training and management needs to be linked tothe environmental goals and objectives of the company.Training programs should be measured and evaluated as it isthe way for competency awareness, capacity building, andinstitutional development.AcknowledgmentsThe authors would like to thank Ms. Aisha Mahfouz and Mr.Mahmoud Salam, the research coordinators at King AbdullahInternational Medical Research Center, King Saud Bin-AbdulazizUniversity for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for theirhelp in formatting the references and tables.Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest withrespect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of thisarticle.FundingThe author(s) received no financial support for the research and/orauthorship of this article.ReferencesAlbrecht, D., Gordon, B., Eric, H., & Peter, N. (1982). Measuringenvironmental concern: The New Environmental Paradigmscale. Journal of Environmental Education, 13(3), 39-43.Alexandria Sanitary and Drainage Company. (2008-2009). Technicalreports: Wastewater treatment sector. Unpublishedreport.Arcury, T. A. (1990). Environmental attitude and environmentalknowledge. Human Organization, 49, 300-304.Arcury, T. A., & Timothy, P. J. (1987). Public environmental knowledge:A statewide survey. Journal of Environmental Education,18, 31-37.Calabrese, D., Kalantari, K., Santucci, F. M., & Stanghellini, E.(2008, January). Environmental policies and strategic communicationin Iran. The value of public opinion research in decisionmaking. Paper presented as World Bank working paper,Washington, DC.Dunlap, R. E., Van Liere, K. D., Mertig, A. G., & Jones, R. E. (2000).Measuring endorsement of the New Ecological Paradigm: Arevised NEP scale. Journal of Social Issues, 56, 425-442.General Social Survey. (2000). Willingness to protect the environment[Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.popcenter.umd.edu/sdaweb/gss2000/Doc/gss20078.htmHarper, C. L. (1996). Environment and society: Human perspectiveson environmental issues. Upper Saddle River, NJ: PrenticeHall.Hickox, W. (2003, January). Environmental Management and SustainabilityProgram Innovation Initiative. Report on the Cal/EPA Environmental Management System Project. Presentedto California Environmental Protection Agency, Sacramento,California, USA.Hinds, K., Carmichael, K., & Snowling, H. (2002). Public attitudesto the environment in Scotland (Social Research Findings No.24/2002). Scottish Executive National Statistics. Retrieved fromhttp://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2002/ 11/15864/14272McAllister, I. (2008, October). Public opinion towards the environment.Results from the ANU Poll. Report presented to AustralianNational University, Canberra.McFarland, B., & Boxall, P. (2003). The role of social psychologicaland social structural variables in environmental activism:An example of the forest sector. Journal of Environmental Psychology,23, 79-87.Ministry of Agriculture. (1983). Fisheries and aquaculture department.national aquaculture legislation overview. Egypt (PresidentialDecree No 190/1983). Text by Spreij, M. (2004).Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/fishery/legalframework/nalo_egypt/enMinistry of State for Environmental Affairs. (2009a). Egypt environmentalprofile. Amended by Law 9/2009. Retrieved fromhttp://www.eeaa.gov.eg/english/main/envprofile.aspMinistry of State for Environmental Affairs. (2009b). Environmentallaw. Amended by Law 9/2009. Retrieved from http://www.infoprod.co.il/country/egypt2i.htmMinistry of State for Environmental Affairs. (2009c). Law 4 forthe protection of the environment. Amended by Law 9/2009.Retrieved from http://www.eeaa.gov.eg/english/main/law4.aspNational Centre for Social Research. (2009). British Social AttitudesSurveys, 2000 variables. Retrieved from http://www.ccsr.ac.uk/esds/variables/bsa/bsa4486/prenvir/Tarrant, M. A., & Cordell, H. K. (1997). The effects of respondentcharacteristics on environmental attitude-behavior correspondence.Journal of Environmental Education, 29, 618-637.Tuna, M. (2002, July). Globalization of environmentalism: Worldenvironmentalism system. Paper presented at the XV WorldCongress of Sociology, Brisbane, Australia.Tuna, M. (2004). Public environmental attitudes in Turkey. In C.Phillips (Ed.), Environmental justice and global citizenship(pp. 11-20). Oxford, UK: The Interdisciplinary Press.Zhong, Y. (2003). Economic analysis of the Best ManagementPractices (BMPs) in Louisiana sugarcane production (Unpublishedmaster’s dissertation). Louisiana State University, BatonRouge.Downloaded from by guest on January 12, 2015

10 SAGE OpenBiosSiham H. Shoukry, PhD, is the general manager of total qualitymanagement and sustainable development, Alexandria SanitaryDrainage Company (ASDCO), Egypt.Samia G. Saad is a professor of environmental health at the HighInstitute of Public Health, Alexandria University, and environmentalhealth consultant to UN organizations.Ayman M. Eltemsahi is a professor at the College of Managementand Technology–Arab Academy for Science, Technology andMaritime Transport.Mostafa A. Abolfotouh is professor and head of the medical teamof Biobanking Section, King Abdullah International MedicalResearch Center, King Saud Bin-Abdulaziz University for HealthSciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Downloaded from by guest on January 12, 2015