Doctoral Dissertation Research: A Comparative Study of Community Engagement with Renewable Electricity Technology

博士论文研究：可再生电力技术社区参与的比较研究

• 批准号: 1354250
• 负责人: Jameson Wetmore
• 金额: $ 1.49万
• 依托单位: Arizona State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-03-15 至 2015-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1354250&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Comparative; Study

Project OverviewThis doctoral dissertation research project explores changing ideas about energy as global production shifts from fossil fuels to renewable sources. The co-PI (that is, the doctoral dissertation researcher) will examine the processes by which governments, NGOs, energy industries, and the media seek to influence the public imagination with regards to community values and their relations with local renewable energy projects. The research focus is on the differing conceptions of community and renewable energy as presented through promotional material about four specific community solar projects. The projects are located in Treviso, Italy, and Flagstaff, Arizona, two cities where solar power systems are becoming increasingly common. The co-PI will analyze how these ideas are produced, circulated, and received using mixed qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews with key individuals in the energy industry, non-governmental organizations, and in government; material analysis of pertinent images, texts, and objects; and engagement with community focus groups.Intellectual Merit Despite the pervasiveness of energy production and distribution, the underlying processes often remains invisible to consumers. This research engages those directly involved in educating publics about community renewable energy initiatives. It studies the ideas about renewable energy (in this case, solar-generated electricity) that infiltrate everyday life through advertisements, informational campaigns, policy mechanisms, the availability of energy technologies, and in daily conversations. Researching this unique space is crucial for understanding how publics, policy actors, NGOs, industry, and media interact to create a shared public understanding about social and technological change. The project will push the field forward by giving public uptake and reception the full attention it deserves through engagement with citizens.Broader ImpactsThe results of this study will be disseminated not only through academic journals (like Energy Policy, Environment and Planning, and Public Culture), but also through popular media outlets such as the Community Power Report, to which the co-PI is a contributor. The research will also engage in outreach efforts to Italian and Arizonan youth including those with populations underrepresented in STEM fields. Finally, this dissertation research advances the STEM career of a female, first generation college student, the co-PI.

项目概述这个博士论文研究项目探讨了随着全球生产从化石燃料转向可再生能源，能源观念的变化。共同PI（即博士论文研究员）将研究政府，非政府组织，能源行业和媒体寻求影响公众对社区价值观及其与当地可再生能源项目关系的想象力的过程。研究的重点是社区和可再生能源的不同概念，通过宣传材料介绍了四个具体的社区太阳能项目。这些项目位于意大利的特雷维索和亚利桑那州的弗拉格斯塔夫，这两个城市的太阳能发电系统正变得越来越普遍。联合PI将分析这些想法是如何产生的，传播，并使用混合定性方法，包括半结构化的采访，在能源行业，非政府组织和政府的关键人物;相关图像，文本和对象的材料分析;尽管能源生产和分配的普遍性，消费者往往看不到潜在的过程。这项研究吸引了那些直接参与教育公众了解社区可再生能源计划的人。它研究有关可再生能源（在这种情况下，太阳能发电）的想法，通过广告，宣传活动，政策机制，能源技术的可用性和日常对话渗透到日常生活中。研究这个独特的空间对于了解公众、政策参与者、非政府组织、行业和媒体如何互动，以创造对社会和技术变革的共同理解至关重要。该项目将推动该领域的发展，通过与公民的接触，给予公众应有的充分关注和接受。更广泛的影响本研究的结果不仅将通过学术期刊（如能源政策，环境与规划，公共文化）传播，还将通过流行的媒体渠道传播，如社区权力报告，共同主要研究者是其撰稿人。该研究还将参与意大利和亚利桑那州青年的外联工作，包括那些在STEM领域代表性不足的人口。最后，本论文的研究推进了一个女性，第一代大学生，共同PI的STEM职业生涯。