Energy Conservation as a Form of Technological Citizenship: Implication for the Energy Future

这项规划拨款将使研究者能够进一步发展概念和方法，以指导作为一种技术公民形式的节能评估，并支持关于非专业公民在塑造能源未来方面可以发挥作用的结论。长期研究目标是根据环境、政治和社会价值观制定能源公民战略，与可持续能源未来和能源系统治理的民主参与相一致。在这一规划期间，将进一步发展下列概念领域：将能源系统定性为一种政治系统或治理系统；考虑如何使技术公民框架适用于研究能源使用者的信念、态度、价值观和行为；编制有关节约能源的意义范围；将态度与行为关系的社会心理学知识纳入技术公民模型；以及对能源选择和能源转换过程的阐述。要进行的方法学任务包括为两项调查制订调查工具和执行计划：对关键资料提供者的调查；以及对能源用户的全国性调查。第一次调查将相对松散，并有助于确定与能源公民概念最直接相关的知识、态度和行为领域。计划将确定适当的样本、重要的问题，以及该输入与其他输入的权重。第二次调查将更有条理；其设计的规划阶段涉及回答诸如如何实施“能源公民”指标等问题；什么样的样品是合适的；个人和机构受访者应包括哪些社会经济变量；以及如何进行分析。规划奖助金的成果应包括几篇演讲和出版物。

This planning grant will enable the investigator to develop further the concepts and methods to guide an evaluation of energy conservation as a form of technological citizenship, and support conclusions about the roles lay citizens could perform in shaping the energy future. The long term research goal is to formulate strategies for energy citizenship based on environmental, political and social values consistent with a sustainable energy future and democratic participation in the governance of the energy system. In this planning period, the following conceptual areas will be further developed: characterization of the energy system as a political system or system of governance; consideration of how the technological citizenship framework could be adapted to studying the beliefs, attitudes, values and behaviors of energy users; compilation of the range of meanings which are given to the practice of energy conservation; incorporation of sociopsychological knowledge about the relationship between attitudes and behavior into the technological citizenship model; and an elaboration of what is known about processes of energy choice and energy transitions. The methodological tasks to be undertaken involve development of survey instruments and implementation plans for two surveys: a survey of key informants; and a national survey of energy users. The first survey would be relatively unstructured and assist in identifying areas of knowledge, attitudes and behavior most directly associated with the notion of energy citizenship. Planning would identify the appropriate sample, important questions, and weight to be given to this input versus other input. The second survey would be more structured; the planning phase of its design involves answering questions such as how to operationalize indexes of `energy citizenship;` what sample is appropriate; what socioeconomic variables to include for individual and institutional respondents; and how to undertake the analysis. Results of the planning grant should include several presentations and publications.