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- Karimzadeh, Sara, 1983-, et al.
(author)
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A Social Study of the Possibilities of Transitioning from Conventional Fuels to Renewables among Iranian Villagers (Case Study: Solar Panels)
- 2022
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In: Āmūzish-i muḥīṭ-i zīst va tusi̒ah-i pāydār / Environmental Education and Sustainable Development. - : Payame Noor University. - 2322-3057 .- 2538-5984. ; 11:1, s. 91-111
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Despite its heavy dependency on conventional fuels, Iran is imposed to move towards renewable energyre sources due to a variety of reasons including energy conservation and environmental challenges. Although the residential sector has been in the foci, research indicates that Iranian households are not welcoming this change, therefore this study examines the acceptance intention among householders. In doing so, the study addresses the following questions: first, to what extent householders are ready to shift from conventional energy to renewables? and second, what can be the underpinning factors of such a transition? To follow these questions a theoretical model inspired by the modified framework of the Technology Acceptance Model, Social Acceptance Theory, and Diffusion of Innovation Theory has been developed. Data was collected from 462 rural inhabitants of Mazandaran province in 2019, who had not installed solar panels at the research time. Results show that only 19 percent of households intend to instal solar panels in the near future while 36 percent indicate no intention. Standardized regression weights demonstrate that the strongest total effect on the main dependent variable relates to the perceived ease of use. Overall, the model explains 19% of the variances of the dependent variable.
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| 2. |
- Karimzadeh, Sara, 1983-, et al.
(author)
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A study of households’ intention towards solar panel installation case study : villagers of the northern regions of Iran
- 2021
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In: Environmental Sociology. - : Routledge. - 2325-1042. ; 7:4, s. 434-446
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Taking into account the devastating consequences of greenhouse gas emissions and therefore shifting energy from fossil fuels into renewable resources to achieve low-carbon societies has become one of the greatest challenges of our world. As a high-rate energy consumption country and carbon-intensive economy, Iran with its immense sun-kissed lands is greatly prone to develop the renewables’ share in its energy consumption basket. By implementing an integrated analytical model based on Diffusion of Innovation theory (DOI) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) this study has investigated households’ intention to apply solar panel technology for residential consumption. A total of 462 completed questionnaires were collected among villagers of Mazandaran to validate the proposed hypotheses by using structural equation modeling. Overall, a designed model that included the variables of compatibility, relative advantage, perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) explained 23% of the variances of households’ intention. While the results also confirmed significant paths from perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) to installation intention, the study concluded that due to the weaknesses in communication channels, lack of appropriate energy culture and unprepared social structure, achieving the objectives of solar panel development is a premature target for the current context.
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| 3. |
- Karimzadeh, Sara, 1983-, et al.
(author)
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Consumer’s Justification Towards (Un)Sustainable Consumption : Exploring Attitudes Among Urmia Citizens, Iran
- 2021
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In: Sociológia (Bratislava). - : Institute for Sociology of Slovak Academy of Sciences. - 0049-1225 .- 1336-8613. ; 53:3, s. 203-223
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study argues that individuals' consumption patterns should be considered as consequences of the production and reproduction of the public sphere settings that are affected by dominant social, political and cultural structures. Hence, we are aimed to study how a combination of social and individual mechanisms influences (un)sustainable consumption behaviors? The purposive sampling was utilized and data was generated from 20 in-depth semi-structured interviews in Urmia, Iran. Data analyzing revealed 17 subcategories and five main categories including faded trust, deliberate negligence, commoditized human bonding, material self-identification and mental discharge that finally lead to the nuclear category of the study; reflexive consumption. Each main extracted category corresponds to one aspect of consumption. By studying socio-individual reasons for the dominant consumption patterns, this study contributes to obtaining a better understanding of the impacts of social mechanisms in creating (un)sustainable consumption patterns among the target sample.
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| 4. |
- Karimzadeh, Sara, 1983-, et al.
(author)
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Ethical consumption : why should we understand it as a social practice within a multilevel framework?
- 2022
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In: Open Research Europe. - : European Commission. - 2732-5121. ; 2:109
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article discusses the importance of a multilevel and intertwined understanding of ethical consumption given its conjunction with other social practices. Although the literature on ethical consumption is vast, the role of sociotechnical regimes including technological and cultural elements, infrastructure, market and regulation has been mainly overlooked in this literature. This may be so because ethical consumption practices that refer to other-oriented consumption practices are mainly considered in the view of the motivations and preferences of individual consumers. Due to the insufficiency of individualistic approaches to explain stimulators and inhibitors of ethical consumption, indicates there might be “various constraints” in society and “competing demands” to hamper consumers from acting ethically. Therefore, to avoid an oversimplified view of ethical consumption, this paper contributes with a theoretical discussion on combining social practice theory (SPT) with a multi-level perspective (MLP). Although the SPT is a very well-structured framework in consumption studies, the necessity of a combined approach concerns the often-insufficient attention paid to structural prerequisites of various consumption forms in social practice theories. By understanding ethical consumption practices according to a multilevel framework, the paper emphasizes the importance of structural factors at macro- and mesolevels. It also contributes attention to how ethical consumption grows due to dialectical processes between levels, showing that niche practices can simultaneously challenge and rely on existing regimes
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| 5. |
- Karimzadeh, Sara, 1983-, et al.
(author)
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Ethical consumption in three stages : a focus on sufficiency and care
- 2024
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In: Environmental Sociology. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2325-1042. ; 10:1, s. 1-11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Given the excessive consumption of natural resources in affluent contexts across the world, this paper argues that there is a need to discuss, critique, and advance the concept of ethical consumption, which is commonly understood as involving only relatively minor practices of consumption refinement, such as acts of boycotting and buycotting. The paper does so by linking ethical consumption to the concepts of sufficiency and care and suggesting a temporal categorization. The sufficiency lens is applied to show why and how the understanding of ethical consumption cannot be restricted to that of consumption refinement but must also address consumption reduction, due to high ecological and climate footprints in many coun-tries. A temporal categorization is helpful for further expanding on this idea. Therefore, we propose understanding ethical consumption in three stages; pre-consumption, consumption and post-consumption. Finally, we emphasize the need to nurture a culture of responsibility and a sense of caring for others, including people, materials, and nature. Such a more comprehen-sive framework could help bring attention to both the promises and contradictions within ethical consumption, and some avenues for further research are suggested in the conclusion.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Karimzadeh, Sara, 1983-, et al.
(author)
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Socio-Individual Prerequisites of Energy Transition in Iran : Investigating Public Acceptance of Solar Panel Technology in Rural Areas
- 2021
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In: Journal of Asian energy studies. - : Asian Energy Studies Centre (AESC), Hong Kong Baptist University. - 2524-1222. ; 5:1, s. 42-57
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Iran has inordinate natural capacity to benefit from solar energy all year. Interim plans by the Iranian government have been implemented to develop energy transition in rural areas, however, the outcomes have not been promising so far. This research seeks to address the question of what factors influence villagers’ tendency towards solar panel acceptance for domestic usage. To answer the question, a survey was conducted among residents who had not installed the new technology in the survey time. A model based on the modified framework of the Technology Acceptance Model for energy transition was developed and data was collected from the northern part of Iran—Mazandaran province. The data revealed that through the mediating role of attitude, the strongest effect on adoption intention relates to perceived usefulness. The paper discusses why solar energy technology is not welcomed in the studied community. The findings contribute to increase our knowledge about underlying factors on the development of public adoption of renewable energies in a developing country
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