Generational Gaps and Paradoxes Regarding Electricity Consumption and Saving

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luísa Schmidt ◽  
Ana Horta ◽  
Augusta Correia ◽  
Susana Fonseca

In a time of economic crisis the need to adopt energy conservation practices comes to the fore. It is helpful to evaluate the role of young people as both consumers and potential agents of change bridging the gap between school and family to encourage lower household energy consumption. Based on two surveys of parents and students of a secondary school in Lisbon, plus in-depth interviews with parents, this article analyzes the complexity of this challenge, highlighting adults' perceptions of their children's contribution to energy saving. Results show that parents see young people as major energy consumers. Young people's engagement with electronic equipment as essential components of their lifestyles and their belief in technology as a solution to energy problems thwart them from being promoters of energy saving. In this context of scarcity, parents try to protect their children's well-being and opportunities in life by accepting their children's unrestricted energy use.

Author(s):  
Quan Gao ◽  
Orlando Woods ◽  
Xiaomei Cai

This paper explores how the intersection of masculinity and religion shapes workplace well-being by focusing on Christianity and the social construction of masculinity among factory workers in a city in China. While existing work on public and occupational health has respectively acknowledged masculinity’s influences on health and the religious and spiritual dimensions of well-being, there have been limited efforts to examine how variegated, and especially religious, masculinities influence people’s well-being in the workplace. Drawing on ethnography and in-depth interviews with 52 factory workers and 8 church leaders and factory managers, we found that: (1) Variegated masculinities were integrated into the factory labor regime to produce docile and productive bodies of workers. In particular, the militarized and masculine cultures in China’s factories largely deprived workers of their dignity and undermined their well-being. These toxic masculinities were associated with workers’ depression and suicidal behavior. (2) Christianity not only provided social and spiritual support for vulnerable factory workers, but also enabled them to construct a morally superior Christian manhood that phytologically empowered them and enhanced their resilience to exploitation. This paper highlights not only the gender mechanism of well-being, but also the ways religion mediates the social-psychological construction of masculinity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-26
Author(s):  
Rista Fauziningtyas ◽  
Retno Indarwati ◽  
Delisa Alfriani ◽  
Joni Haryanto ◽  
Elida Ulfiana ◽  
...  

PurposeThe raising of grandchildren by grandparents is a global phenomenon, and it is common in Indonesia. This is because parents are often unable or unwilling to raise their own children. However, the debate around “grandparenting” is still limited in Indonesia. The purpose of this paper is to gain a better understanding of the experience and views of grandparents on “grandparenting.”Design/methodology/approachThe methodology employed was qualitative and informed by phenomenology. The authors conducted in-depth interviews with 13 grandparents who were raising their grandchildren who were under five years old. The data were analyzed using thematic content analysis.Findings5 main themes and 13 subthemes emerged from the analysis of the data. The themes were responses, strategies for overcoming negative responses, the grandparents’ role, the reason for raising grandchildren, and the cultural aspect of “grandparenting” in Java. All of the grandparents enjoyed their roles as grandparents. They felt that they helped fulfill their grandchildren’s physical and educational needs.Social implicationsThe experience of raising a grandchild can be both positive and negative, depending on the cultural aspects in the Java and the family as a whole system. Grandparents require healthcare and informal support to maintain their well-being.Originality/valueThis paper provides new insights into “grandparenting” closely related to social and cultural aspect within the community. Grandparents enjoy being a part of the Javanese tradition. The supportive role of grandparents in Indonesia is important. However, older adults need to balance the role of “grandparenting” and rest time so that they remain healthy and happy.


Author(s):  
Ilkka Salmi ◽  
Ville Pietiläinen ◽  
Antti Syväjärvi

A phenomenological psychology approach in organizational studies has been somewhat overlooked, particularly in research on leadership and employee well-being. This study presents a new way of examining leadership and employee well-being. A novel experience qualities approach was utilized with the aim of revealing the authentic structure of human experiences, particularly experience qualities such as emotions, knowledge, and assumptions. This study investigated the role of leadership in creating employee well-being experiences in a professional organization. The data were collected from 23 in-depth interviews conducted with company leaders and employees in Finland and then analyzed using the phenomenological method. The results indicated affirmative similarities and differences (experience domains) in experience qualities of well-being between leaders and employees. By identifying different experience qualities of well-being, leaders can promote their own and employees’ well-being more precisely and effectively. Practical implications for leaders are discussed.


2022 ◽  
pp. 0958305X2110707
Author(s):  
Baris Memduh Eren ◽  
Salih Katircioglu ◽  
Korhan K. Gokmenoglu

This study conducts an empirical investigation about the moderating role of the informal economy on Turkey's environmental performance by employing advanced econometric techniques that account numerous structural breaks in series. In this extent, we created three interaction variables by captivating the impact of informal economic activities on CO2 emissions through income, energy use, and financial sector development. Besides, we built a main effect model without the interaction variables to assess the direct effects of our variables on global environmental degradation. The outcomes of the carried analyses produced supporting evidence toward the confirmation of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) assumption. Obtained findings shown that energy use, financial development and the informal economy in Turkey transmit a deteriorating impact on environmental well-being. Furthermore, the moderating role of the informal economy was found to be statistically significant factor in terms of both economic and environmental efficiency.


2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
XIAODONG CHEN ◽  
JENNIFER DE LA ROSA ◽  
M. NILS PETERSON ◽  
YING ZHONG ◽  
CHUNTIAN LU

SUMMARYHousehold consumption is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. Some behaviours (for example energy use and vehicle use) may have far larger impacts than others (for example green consumerism of household products). Here, the driving forces of green consumerism and two domestic energy uses (electricity consumption and vehicle fuel use) are compared. This study found that environmental attitudes predicted green consumerism, but not electricity consumption or vehicle fuel use. Furthermore, green consumerism was correlated with income and individual level demographic factors, while energy consumption was primarily predicted by household size and structural constraints. Because household energy consumption has greater environmental impacts than green consumerism, policies that aim to improve pro-environmental attitudes may not be effective in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Policies should rather aim to change structural constraints influencing transportation and household energy decisions and improve the conspicuousness of household energy consumption.


2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 778-796
Author(s):  
Molly Fogarty ◽  
Dely Lazarte Elliot

Abstract Six social care professionals were recruited to take part in in-depth interviews that sought to explore their phenomenological experiences of humour within their place of work. Using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach, the results suggest that humour serves various important functions within social care. Humour can allow social care professionals to relieve themselves of negative emotions, to avoid stress and cynicism, to achieve a sense of normality and perspective and to engage with service users. The positive impact humour appears to have upon these professionals is in keeping with the humour–health hypothesis, which posits that humour enhances well-being. However, results from this study also suggest that humour may be capable of negatively impacting well-being. Arguably, these findings highlight the need to extend the humour–health hypothesis and incorporate the negative effects humour can have upon well-being. Results also indicate that, if used appropriately, humour can be utilised to benefit work performance and service user outcomes. The findings of this research hold important implications for how humour may be understood and fostered in social care training, practice and policy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-318
Author(s):  
Ebenezer Adesoji Olubiyi

The link among energy use, human welfare, and carbon emission has been a topical issue in the literature. In Africa, energy consumption has been on the increase owing to the production and consumption of sophisticated consumer goods and home appliances. Increased energy use triggers carbon emission that is detrimental to human welfare. This study investigates this puzzle in emerging African countries by utilizing panel vector autoregressive and system generalized method of moments (SYS-GMM) in the context of a mix of theories. The results indicate a unidirectional causality running from FUEL, COAL to per capita income (PCI). A unidirectional causality running from mortality rate (MOR) to COAL and CO2 was observed. There is a bidirectional relationship between MOR and energy use. The SYS-GMM results show that the effects of energy consumption on well-being are diverse. Increase in coal consumption reduces unemployment rate while electricity consumption reduces infant mortality rate. Fuel consumption aggravates incidence of mortality rate. CO2 reduces unemployment but worsens infant mortality rate. Electricity consumption reduces infant mortality rate. Hence, for the purpose of policy harmonization tailored toward improving well-being in the emerging economies of Africa, it is recommended that more of coal consumption and efficient use of electricity must be encouraged.


2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 909-918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deanna Kerrigan ◽  
Victoria Chau ◽  
Melissa King ◽  
Emily Holman ◽  
Alain Joffe ◽  
...  

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has been shown to improve health outcomes across populations. We explored the feasibility, acceptability, and initial effects of a pilot MBSR program at a highly-ranked university in the United States. We conducted 23 in-depth interviews with 13 students. Interviews explored stressors and coping mechanisms, experiences with MBSR, and its reported impact and potential future use. Interviews were analyzed using thematic content and narrative analyses. Results indicated that students are exposed to a very high level of constant stress related to the sheer amount of work and activities that they have and the pervasive surrounding university culture of perfectionism. MBSR offered an opportunity to step back and gain perspective on issues of balance and priorities and provided concrete techniques to counter the effects of stressors. We conclude that MBSR and mindfulness programs may contribute to more supportive university learning environments and greater health and well-being among students.


2010 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 85-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemary Black ◽  
Penny Davidson ◽  
Karen Retra

AbstractThis paper presents the results of a study that explored the effectiveness of three intervention strategies in facilitating energy saving behaviour among resident undergraduate university students. In contrast to a dominant practice of motivating with rewards or competition this study sought to appeal to students' intrinsic motivations. An experimental design was used with two intervention groups and a control group. The interventions were the provision of real-time feedback provided by an inhouse energy consumption display unit (ecoMeter) and a targeted social marketing approach. They were evaluated using energy consumption data and self-report data from the participants via an on-line survey and focus groups. Across the three research phases the rate of reduced electricity consumption for the interventions ranged from an average of 17% to 28% less than the control group. The findings provide evidence that facilitation of intrinsically motivated behaviours can result in reduced energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.


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