In 2005 I commenced a PhD at Griffith University. The thesis, 'Issues in Household Adoption of Rainwater Harvesting Systems' proposes an original synthesis of two theoretical perspectives (Ecological Modernization and Diffusion of Innovation) as a framework for understanding factors that influence household adoption of rainwater harvesting systems.

In a nutshell . . Ecological Modernization theory (EM) provides a systemic perspective on households as consumers who are influenced by (a) environmental conditions, (b) public policy, governance and regulation and (c) technological innovation. EM provided the original decoupling of environmental degradation from economic development - a precursor to the 'triple-bottom-line'. But it over-theorizes that consumption is driven by 'lifestyle preference', fails to reach the fine-grained experience of individual households and assumes stepwise adoption of sustainable technologies.

Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DI), conversely, emphasizes the idiosyncrasies of the individual households, but suffers from an over-reliance on a form of statistical analysis in its conceptualisation. In particular, DI aggregates all of the advantages that households might obtain through adopting a rainwater system. It does this at the expense of differentiating among the specific social, economic and environmental factors that influence the household decision and which contextualise the household in a community.

The fresh perspective offered by my synthesis provides a comprehensive actor-based lens on the issues that influence household RH adoption which is sensitized to the systemic context. It is practical, transparent, and translates easily into policy initiatives and green fields for extended academic research and application. Moreover, the framework is extendable to other pro-environmental technologies.

Fourteen variables were derived from the two contributing theoretical perspectives, and their influence on the household was studied in a comprehensive survey of 560 homes in south east Queensland. This survey produced 85,000 separate datum for quantitative analysis and 15,000 pieces of text for qualitative analysis.

Statistical analyses (discriminant function analysis) and qualitative analysis corroborate in showing that the proposed synthesis is more reliable than either component theory in identifying the issues which are meaningful to the household adoption of rainwater systems.

A scholarship for this program of study was provided by the Cooperative Research Centre for Water Quality and Treatment Sustainable Water Resources program.

For more information, download a summary paper or please email me.