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Alomari MM, EL-Kanj H, Topal A, Alshdaifat NI. Exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on energy literacy and conservation behavior in academic buildings of Kuwait. Heliyon 2023; 9:e21474. [PMID: 38027883 PMCID: PMC10663827 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Revised: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on energy literacy and conservation behavior among occupant groups in academic buildings in Kuwait. It explores influential factors, focusing on the pandemic's effect on attitudes, intentions, and behaviors related to energy conservation. The research adopts a mixed-methods approach, incorporating quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. Participants, including students, faculty, and staff, completed surveys, participated in questionnaires, focus groups, and took part in interviews. Statistical tests are used to validate the survey data, while thematic analysis is applied to the qualitative data. The findings of the research showed that COVID-19 had a significant impact on participants' attitudes, intentions, and behavior regarding energy literacy and conservation. Specifically, the student group experienced a significant increase in the relationship between their intentions and behavior, while the faculty group exhibited a strong correlation between intention and behavior. The study also found that education, awareness, personal motivation, values, religiosity, and culture were all crucial factors in promoting energy literacy and conservation behavior. The study recommends specific educational interventions, fostering a culture of conservation, providing access to information and resources, promoting community engagement, incorporating religiosity, and improving policies and infrastructure to enhance energy literacy in academic buildings. Additionally, the study highlights the importance of tailored educational interventions that consider the specific needs and challenges of different occupant groups and suggests incorporating religious perspectives to align with the cultural and religious context of the Kuwaiti population. The study's findings offer comprehensive insights into the impact of unforeseen events, such as pandemics, on energy literacy and conservation behavior. These insights have practical implications for policymaking and implementation. Future research could explore the effectiveness of various educational interventions and examine the role of social and cultural factors in shaping energy literacy and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Majdi M. Alomari
- Electrical Engineering Department, Australian University (AU), Mishref, 40005, Kuwait
| | - Hania EL-Kanj
- Electrical Engineering Department, Australian University (AU), Mishref, 40005, Kuwait
| | - Ayse Topal
- Business Department, Nigde Omer Halisdemir University, Nigde, 51240, Turkey
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Kolandai K, Milne B, McLay J, von Randow M, Lay-Yee R. Anthropause appreciation, biophilia, and ecophilosophical contemplations amidst a global pandemic. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2023; 85:101943. [PMID: 36531128 PMCID: PMC9747233 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Revised: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
In 2020, COVID-19 mitigation measures, including lockdowns and travel bans to curtail disease transmission, inadvertently led to an "Anthropause" - a unique global pause to anthropogenic activities. While there was a spike in ecological studies measuring Anthropause effects on environmental indicators, people's experiences of the Anthropause or its potential to inspire change were hardly considered. Hence, we aimed to measure people's appreciation of the environmental outcomes of the Anthropause, ecophilosophical contemplations about the pandemic, and experiences of lockdown-triggered biophilia (human's innate love for and draw towards nature) and test the hypothesis that these experiences would be consistently more prominent among the already environmentally inclined. To that end, we developed and tested three measures on a representative sample of 993 New Zealanders. Anthropause Appreciation received the highest overall mean ratings, followed by Lockdown-Biophilia and Eco-Contemplation. Pre-existing pro-environmental dispositions and behaviours did not consistently influence our three measures as expected. Demographic variables had little influence, while experiences of financial and mental health impacts due to COVID-19 had no influence. We interpreted the limited influence of explanatory variables as indicative of a degree of uniformity in people's experiences. High appreciation of Anthropause benefits suggests that the public may be supportive of policies and ways of living that can lead to similar outcomes post-pandemic - offering environmental policymakers and communicators a basis for action. Ecophilosophical contemplations and biophilic draw among the public suggest an awareness of the significance of the human-nature relationship - offering a symbolic global keystone for communicating and advocating conservation and the many values of pauses in life to connect with nature. Building women's environmental leadership capabilities and the ongoing greening of Christianity may be essential steps for global post-pandemic environmental behaviour transformations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Komathi Kolandai
- COMPASS Research Centre and Public Policy Institute, University of Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Barry Milne
- COMPASS Research Centre, University of Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Jessica McLay
- Department of Statistics, University of Auckland, New Zealand
| | | | - Roy Lay-Yee
- COMPASS Research Centre, University of Auckland, New Zealand
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Zhou S. The effect of COVID-19 risk perception on pro-environmental behavior of Chinese consumers: Perspectives from affective event theory. Front Psychol 2023; 13:1093999. [PMID: 36687983 PMCID: PMC9845731 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1093999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction COVID-19 has altered human cognition and changed the cultural values of society. However, there has not been much debate among scholars about whether these above changes have led to an increase in pro-environmental behavior (PEB) of Chinese consumers. Methods A comprehensive model was developed based on affective event theory. An online questionnaire was distributed, and 501 usable questionnaires were collected. In addition, two complementary approaches were employed: partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and necessary condition analysis (NCA). Results The PLS-SEM results showed that COVID-19 risk perception, nostalgia, the awe of nature, and attitude were found to have a positive effect on PEB; and the moderating effect of power distance belief (PD) between nostalgia (NO), attitude (AT) and PEB was confirmed. According to the NCA results, AT and NO are necessary conditions for the PEB of consumers. Discussion This study provides deeper insight into the understanding of consumers' pro-environmental behavior in the context of COVID-19 through the combined use of PLS-SEM and NCA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuai Zhou
- School of Economics and Management, Zhoukou Normal University, Zhoukou, Henan, China
- Asia-Europe Institute, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Wang Z, Liu Q, Hou B. How Does Government Information Service Quality Influence Public Environmental Awareness? INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 20:177. [PMID: 36612500 PMCID: PMC9819851 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20010177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The development of public environmental awareness has been an essential part of environmental governance in China and a prerequisite for the emergence of conscious environmental behaviors. However, the deeper factors influencing Chinese public environmental awareness are not yet fully understood. In this study, the perception of environmental pollution and the sense of political efficacy were introduced as variables to establish a public environmental awareness model, at the perception level, from the perspective of government information service quality. The correlations between different variables, as well as the working principles, were analyzed based on national environmental survey data. The results demonstrate that both external (the government information service quality) and psychological (the perception of environmental pollution and the sense of political efficacy) factors have significant positive influences on public environmental awareness, with the sense of political efficacy outperforming the perception of environmental pollution and the government information service quality. Analysis of the mediating effect reveals that government information service quality directly influences public environmental awareness; it also indirectly influences public environmental awareness through a chained mediating effect of the perception of environmental pollution and the sense of political efficacy. The results of the multiple-group analysis, with gender and urban-rural attributes as moderator variables, further show that, compared with men and urban residents, the impact of government information service quality and environmental pollution perception on women and rural people's political efficacy is not significant. Therefore, it is suggested to optimize the government information service, improve the public's perception of environmental pollution, and then promote the public's sense of efficacy in the environment governance situation. Furthermore, the government should formulate differentiated strategies for different types of public to guide them to form a proactive awareness of environmental protection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiwei Wang
- School of Economics and Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221008, China
- Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, China
| | - Qiang Liu
- Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, China
| | - Bo Hou
- Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, China
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Satherley N, Zubielevitch E, Greaves LM, Barlow FK, Osborne D, Sibley CG. Political attitude change over time following COVID-19 lockdown: Rallying effects and differences between left and right voters. Front Psychol 2022; 13:1041957. [PMID: 36591024 PMCID: PMC9798091 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1041957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19 have required widespread compliance over long periods, but citizens' attitudes to these often change over time. Here, we examine the time course of political attitudes in New Zealand over the months before and after the announcement of the country's first nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 using a large-scale national survey (Ns = 41,831-42,663). Government satisfaction increased immediately following the lockdown announcement and remained elevated 5 months later. Trust in institutions and political efficacy also increased gradually over the same period. However, these trends varied by political party vote: Compared to center-left voters who supported the largest governing party, center-right voters who supported the opposition party returned to baseline levels of government satisfaction quicker and showed more pronounced dips in their satisfaction with the economy. These same attitudes also predicted compliance with COVID-19 guidelines. Results illustrate a rally-around-the-flag effect during the pandemic and suggest that support wanes faster among center-right (opposition party) voters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Satherley
- School of Psychology, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand,*Correspondence: Nicole Satherley,
| | - Elena Zubielevitch
- UQ Business School, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Lara M. Greaves
- School of Social Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Fiona Kate Barlow
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Danny Osborne
- School of Psychology, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Chris G. Sibley
- School of Psychology, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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Savin I, Drews S, van den Bergh J, Villamayor-Tomas S. Public expectations about the impact of COVID-19 on climate action by citizens and government. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0266979. [PMID: 35679285 PMCID: PMC9182260 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis many have opinionated on how it may affect society’s response to climate change. Two key questions here are how COVID-19 is expected to influence climate action by citizens and by the government. We answer these by applying topic modelling to textual responses from a survey of Spanish citizens. The identified topics tend to be more negative than positive, and more optimistic concerning future climate action by citizens. Positive views involve increasing pro-environmental behavior and are more common among younger, higher educated and male respondents as well as among those who perceive climate change as a serious threat or positively assessed COVID-19 confinement. Negative topics express concern that financial resources for climate action will be limited due to a focus on healthcare and economic recovery. In addition, they mention government mismanagement and waste due to use of protective measures like masks and gloves as impediments to effective climate action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Savin
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Valles, Barcelona, Spain
- Graduate School of Economics and Management, Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Region, Russian Federation
- * E-mail:
| | - Stefan Drews
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Valles, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jeroen van den Bergh
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Valles, Barcelona, Spain
- ICREA, Barcelona, Spain
- School of Business and Economics & Institute for Environmental Studies, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sergio Villamayor-Tomas
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Valles, Barcelona, Spain
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