The energy cultures framework: Exploring the role of norms, practices and material culture in shaping energy behaviour in New Zealand
Stephenson, Janet; Barton, Barry; Carrington, Gerry; Doering, Adam; Ford, Rebecca; Hopkins, Debbie; Lawson, Rob; McCarthy, Alaric; Rees, David; Scott, Michelle; Thorsnes, Paul; Walton, Sara; Williams, John; Wooliscroft, Ben
Cite this item:
Stephenson, J., Barton, B., Carrington, G., Doering, A., Ford, R., Hopkins, D., … Wooliscroft, B. (2015). The energy cultures framework: Exploring the role of norms, practices and material culture in shaping energy behaviour in New Zealand. Energy Research & Social Science, 7, 117–123. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2015.03.005
Permanent link to OUR Archive version:
http://hdl.handle.net/10523/5682
Abstract:
The energy cultures framework was developed in 2009 to support interdisciplinary investigation into
energy behaviour in New Zealand. In this paper, we discuss the framework in light of 5 years of empirical
application and conceptual development. The concept of culture is helpful in seeking to better understand
energy behaviour because it conveys how behaviours are embedded within the physical and social
contexts of everyday life, and how they are both repetitive and heterogeneous. The framework suggests
that the energy culture of a given subject (e.g. an individual, a household, a business, a sector) can be
studied by examining the interrelationships between their norms, practices and material culture, and
how these, in turn, are shaped by external influences. We discuss the key theoretical influences of the
framework, and how the core concepts of the framework have evolved as we have applied them in different
research situations. We then illustrate how we have applied the framework to a range of topics and
sectors, and how it has been used to support interdisciplinary research, in identifying clusters of energy
cultures, in examining energy cultures at different scales and in different sectors, and to inform policy
development.
Date:
2015-05
Publisher:
Elsevier
Pages:
117-123
Rights Statement:
Authors transfer copyright to the publisher as part of a journal publishing agreement, but have the right to:
Share their article for Personal Use, Internal Institutional Use and Scholarly Sharing purposes, with a DOI link to the version of record on ScienceDirect (and with the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC- ND license for author manuscript versions)
Retain patent, trademark and other intellectual property rights (including raw research data).
Proper attribution and credit for the published work.
Keywords:
Energy behaviour; Energy culture; Mobility culture; Interdisciplinary
Research Type:
Journal Article
Languages:
English
Collections
- Journal Article [763]
- Energy [85]
The following licence files are associated with this item: