Petra Schweizer-Ries Petra Schweizer-Ries - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Petra Schweizer-Ries Petra Schweizer-Ries

Transitions to sustainable societies: Designing research and policies for changing lifestyles and communities, 2014

In 2018 the number of people without access to electricity dropped to less than 1 billion. Howeve... more In 2018 the number of people without access to electricity dropped to less than 1 billion. However, the difficulty of serving these people became higher, as the locations are in the most remote areas of the world. Brazil, for example, needs to bring electricity to around 1 million people who, in the vast majority, live within the Amazon region. In this way, hybrid energy systems (HESs) count as an attractive alternative for power generation, especially in remote areas. Therefore, this article analyzes a case study of a hybrid photovoltaic-diesel system installed in the Tapajós-Arapiuns Extractive Reserve in the Brazilian Amazon region. The studied plant is composed of a photovoltaic (PV) system, a lead-acid electrochemical battery bank, a diesel generator, and electro-electronic loads with highly variable demand throughout the year. The HOMER PRO software is used as the simulation tool. The results show that the load following dispatch strategy is the best option, with 85.6% of the load demand being supplied by PV energy and only 14.4% by the diesel generator set. As a result, the system is technically feasible to be replicated as a reliable energy source in other areas of the reserve to supply schools, public health places, and other community services.

The present contribution addresses the public acceptance of biogas plants from an environmentalp... more The present contribution addresses the public acceptance of biogas plants from an environmentalpsychological perspective. It provides an overview of the results of five years of research in several research projects. Parts of the population perceive biogas plants due to smell nuisance and an increasing local traffic volume to be a physical, mental and aesthetical burden and thus feel severely limited in their quality of life. In addition, changes in agriculture such as an increase of monocultures and genetic engineering are main arguments in the current controversy. On the other hand, some communities show a high interest in biogas and even apply for becoming a 'bio energy region'. Regarding the research results, a strong connection between the regional benefit and a reported public acceptance towards the biogas plants became evident. Another important acceptance factor is the degree to which people feel being affected personally in terms of negative impacts. Furthermore, the consideration of procedural justice criteria during the planning and installation process such as transparency, early and accurate information as well as possibilities to participate were important influencing factors in all regions. In this context, it became evident that peoples' knowledge is rather low about administrative planning and licensing procedures.

Sixteenth European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, 2020

Journal of Work-Applied Management, 2021

PurposeHow can social presence, participation and a sense of community be formed in an online set... more PurposeHow can social presence, participation and a sense of community be formed in an online setting without compromising on social connectedness through physical distancing? Under consideration of the goals for an Education for Sustainable Development, transformative science and the social techniques of Theory U, developed by Otto Scharmer (2016), an online Community of Inquiry of researchers, practitioners and learners was to be developed, followed and observed to discuss the question whether and how it was possible to create an awareness-based, future-oriented and socially committed online community that would enrich social transformation processes.Design/methodology/approachMethods of 1st, 2nd and 3rd person research were applied, as well as group discussions, one Mentimeter survey and one standardised questionnaire with an open question.FindingsResults indicate that it is not only possible to create a feeling of community in an online setting, but also point to the terms and c...

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Jun 5, 2022

Renewable energy development is a widely and intensively discussed topic, though it is still uncl... more Renewable energy development is a widely and intensively discussed topic, though it is still unclear which exactly variables may influence people's evaluation of the phenomenon. There is a need to study the general public's knowledge, emotions, and cognitions linked to energy technologies especially in the context of advanced inventions. Social media is a powerful communication tool which has a huge impact on studying public opinions. This study aims to describe linguistic connections through an analysis of 1500 Instagram posts, assuming and interpreting emotional and/or cognitive words. Using a socio-cognitive approach, this research explores the salient words under a set of pre-specified renewable energy technology (RET) hashtags. Building on the appraisal theories of emotions, this research investigates the coexistence of several energy technologies (solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal) and powerlines. The results showed the highest linguistic interconnection between solar and wind energy posts. Furthermore, powerlines were not linguistically connected to the RETs, as they are not included in the schema or not salient when people write posts about renewable energy. Solar, wind, and geothermal posts evoked more emotional and positive emotions than the other RETs and powerlines. Instead, biomass posts had a high frequency of cognitive processes and causal words. Powerline posts were linked to the words of risk, body, health, and biological process showing a great concern for health and perceived threat. These differences in the words used can be a guide to understanding peoples' reactions and communication for each of the energy sources. This study, taking both emotions and cognitions into account, explains different types of considerations towards energy projects.

Mountain Research and Development, Aug 1, 2002

BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access t... more BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Sustainability Science, Oct 17, 2013

Media outlets and research articles are often filled with reports on setbacks, delays, and ignora... more Media outlets and research articles are often filled with reports on setbacks, delays, and ignorance in addressing the urgent challenges of war and violence, disease, environmental degradation, exploitation and injustice that threaten societies worldwide. Nevertheless, sustainability is steadily making progress, inspiring governments, non-profit organizations, businesses, communities, schools, and citizens around the world to change their structures, practices, approaches, and lifestyles. Sustainability science is also changing—transitioning from the descriptive–analytical to the transformational mode. While the field still has a long way to go due to institutional barriers and path dependencies, numerous programs, projects, courses, and publications are pioneering solution-oriented sustainability research and education, and thus contribute to efforts that both reform and innovate societies. We are honored and grateful that our article ‘‘From complex systems analysis to transformational change: a comparative appraisal of sustainability science projects’’ [Sustain Sci (2012) 7(Supplement 1):5–24] received the 2012 Sustainability Science Best Paper Award. We appreciate the recognition and feel very fortunate to be part of such a progressive community of scholars and practitioners. The article outlines the opportunities and challenges of transformational sustainability science, concentrating on how this concept translates into real research practice on the ground. It contributes to the field with evidence-supported strategies and action plans for change towards sustainability. We reviewed five fundamentally different research projects from this unified perspective, highlighting the achievements, failures, as well as the opportunities for advancement. Furthermore, the article also provides two other insights: first, sustainability efforts are very diverse; they appear in a variety of shapes and sizes, often at unexpected locations and times. The second is that international collaboration continues to be imperative for joint learning and making progress towards sustainability on the ground. All sustainability efforts strive for a common goal: tangible change in the world. Sustainability scientists, therefore, must seize opportunities whenever and wherever they can, supporting transition efforts with evidence, educational opportunities, and other means. To show our appreciation for the volunteers and professionals working in non-profit organizations on sustainability causes, we have decided to donate the prize money, plus additional individual contributions by the authors, to the Human Needs Project (http://www.humanneedsproject.org). We have targeted this organization because of its capacities to enable communities to self-sustain clean water, sanitation, and energy services, while respecting their local culture. Activities focus on building civic capacities, as described in one of our correspondences with this organization:

Energy for Sustainable Development, Mar 1, 2012

In order to combat poverty and support the Millennium Development Goals through providing access ... more In order to combat poverty and support the Millennium Development Goals through providing access to modern energy, it is necessary to analyze social acceptance of new forms of energy and conduct a sociotechnical approach in order to implement them successfully. Nine different Pico Photovoltaic systems were tested during a field study in a non-electrified village in Ethiopia. 24 families tested each the nine different types of lamps for a week. Qualitative methods were conducted in order to explore user preferences and the impact of technology. The most important perception of users are: Apart from expected benefits in health, work and education, people also notice improvements in the autonomy of children, flexibility, security, family life and the reduction of stress. Some negative aspects were also found in social community and in the unrevised absence of possible additional activities. Users' evaluation and the performance of PicoPV systems in the field test are contrary to previous laboratory results. Ethiopian users value PicoPV systems according to brightness, duration and cone of light. Furthermore, people prefer white, bright light as well as a built-in switch. In the end 30 systems were boughtpartly even by non-participants.

Saarländische Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek eBooks, 2013

This paper describes the development of a consistent sustainability education approach at the Boc... more This paper describes the development of a consistent sustainability education approach at the Bochum University of Applied Sciences by introducing sustainability content and practice into existing and new teaching approaches on six levels of education. Since 1999 the Problem Based Learning approach is used in the Mechatronic Teaching. The experiences gained there can be perfectly used to build up the sustainability education which is student centered, concentrating on the big transformation challenges our society is facing and searching for socio-technical solutions. Three examples of sustainability education practiced already at the Bochum University of Applied Sciences are discussed here together with their theoretical foundations.

Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG eBooks, 2012

Springer eBooks, Oct 5, 2017

Neue Infrastrukturprojekte bedeuten einen Eingriff in die gewohnte Lebensumwelt: Dies gilt fur Au... more Neue Infrastrukturprojekte bedeuten einen Eingriff in die gewohnte Lebensumwelt: Dies gilt fur Autobahnen, Bahntrassen, Deponien wie auch fur Kraftwerke. Die mit den Infrastrukturprojekten einhergehenden Veranderungen konnen als positiv oder negativ wahrgenommen und bewertet werden, die genaue Reaktion hangt neben personlichen Dispositionen von einer Reihe unterschiedlicher kontext- und projektspezifischer Faktoren ab. Eine Besonderheit der Energiewende ist die sehr hohe Anzahl dezentraler erneuerbarer Energieerzeugungsanlagen, die in relativ kurzer Zeit errichtet wurden.

Energy Policy, Nov 1, 2008

... a necessary shift of our existing energy systems towards sustainability have been ... Researc... more ... a necessary shift of our existing energy systems towards sustainability have been ... Research inenvironmental psychology follows the principals of transdisciplinarity, multi-methodology ... been recorded, transcribed and interpreted according to the Grounded Theory (Glaser and ...

Climate protection activities at the local level play an important role towards responding effect... more Climate protection activities at the local level play an important role towards responding effectively to global climate change. The research at hand deals with the subjectively nominated success factors and barriers relevant to the implementation of climate protection measures in local municipalities. Determinants for the transition towards energy sustainable communities (Schweizer- Ries, 2008) are the subject-matter of a longer research tradition (Schweizer-Ries, 2009). In order to work out recommendations for a German federal policy instrument designed to support municipalities towards climate protection, we chose to concentrate on municipalities having applied for the above mentioned funding. Some of these municipalities also plan to realise a process towards "zero-emission" as a long-term project. With qualitative interviews, we assessed in a first research step, how local stakeholders perceive the climate protection measures inside their municipalities, how they were successfully implemented, where social barriers appeared and how they could be minimised. Thus, we were able to collect subjective determinants of success or failure for zeroemission processes. We also examine the role of the citizens, and make the case for increased public participation. The main insights of these first results are that within the administration of local municipalities, cross-sectional interaction and communication are crucial, along with the need to engage a socially skilled permanent employee to manage the implementation of measures and activate external stakeholders. Involving citizens is pivotal in shaping a zero-emission community identity and reality. The research is designed to shed some light on the role the above mentioned financial support programme and therefore serves as policy counselling. The policy instrument seems to be able to promote most factors of success within local authorities, only minor adaptations are necessary.