The ideological determinants of voluntary simplicity: the role of desire for money / Los determinantes ideológicos de la simplicidad voluntaria: el papel del deseo de dinero

Due to anticipated energy shortages and the need to achieve climate goals, there is an urgent requirement for transition towards a green, resilient system of energy provision. This transition is hampered because important players in energy markets (governments and oligopolies), while supporting large-scale solutions, avoid or block systemic changes. This rejection of systemic change is strengthened by the dominant social paradigm, which ignores systemic vulnerabilities, treating resources as solutions and the environment as a sink. In its turn, the dominant social paradigm is contested by the new ecological paradigm and by attitudes towards sustainable business practices. Understanding this framework may be relevant for identifying decision-makers’ perception of system risk, and thus for supporting a transition towards a more decentralized and resilient energy supply. In this context, this paper presents an empirical study among Polish students of a business university (N = 393), trying to discover the relationship between the social paradigms, perceptions of environmental resources and sinks, and systemic risk in large-scale energy production (i.e., nuclear power plants). Although the explained variance is limited, results show that various elements of the dominant social paradigm are related to problem denial. Technological optimism and belief in markets are predictors of optimism about resource shortages and neglect of system risk. This optimism is counteracted by political liberalism, and respondent attitudes towards sustainable business practices. Belief in market forces has an ambivalent effect, tempering technological optimism regarding nuclear energy but also political acknowledgement of the limited resources and sink capacities of the environment. Although the influence of the dominant social paradigm on energy transition can be identified, the results may indicate a decline in belief in market forces and liberal democracy, implying a rethinking of the dominant social paradigm may be needed. The existing relationship between these aspects warrants a critical review and discussion of the central role of the dominant paradigm in current management training. The results indicate that a lack of political liberalism and a negative attitude towards sustainable business practices amplify system risks in, e.g., large-scale nuclear energy projects.

The objective of the research is to draw connections and dependencies of Dominant Social Paradigm level on sex in the protected forest Mangunan, Kabupaten Bantul, Yogyakarta in 2015. This quantitative research refers to the condition in the past against environmental degradation in the district of Bantul. Data obtained by participant observation, using a Likert questionnaire, in inputting the interaction of each sex to the environment, based on the analysis unit Dominant Social Paradigm, which consists of three components, namely: socio-economic aspects, Character Dominant (anthropocentrism), and the organism cosmologis. Then, statistical analysis using Chi-square test for independent to stack up against two units of analysis, namely Dominant Social Paradigm and sex. The conclusion of this research is, there is a relationship of the Dominant Social Paradigm with sex either Male or Female in Mangunan Bantul district of Yogyakarta province. Problem solving on lowering the quality of the environment characterized by measurement results of depencies of Dominant Social Paradigm level which performed by each sex as a problem to be solved. Recommendations resolving the issue by implementing a new paradigm of Ecology (New Ecological Paradigm) in an effort Protected Forest Quality Improvement Mangunan

Spectre of the Past, Vision of the Future – Ritual, Reflexivity and the Hope for Renewal in Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s Climate Change Communication Film "Home"

A recurring theme in contemporary environmental theory is the need for society to change to a new ecological paradigm. This study informs on the influence of an environmental management system on the environmental worldviews of selected Namibian and South African in-service teachers. A pre and post structural questionnaire based on the new ecological paradigm was developed and tested to understand teacher's implementation of environmental management in schools. The findings revealed a positive inclination by the teachers to subscribe their personal and collective agency to pro-ecological tendencies. The Mann-Whitney test revealed a moderate size shift in worldview towards the pro-ecological and anti-anthropocentric tendencies of the new ecological paradigm. The latter shows that teachers still believe in the dominant social paradigm and attitudes towards the environment and values may shift. It is recommended that teachers and schools be encouraged to support the inclusion of an environmental management system to enhance sustainability practices.

A recurring theme in contemporary environmental theory is the need for society to change to a new ecological paradigm. This study informs on the influence of an environmental management system on the environmental worldviews of selected Namibian and South African in-service teachers. A pre and post structural questionnaire based on the new ecological paradigm was developed and tested to understand teacher's implementation of environmental management in schools. The findings revealed a positive inclination by the teachers to subscribe their personal and collective agency to pro-ecological tendencies. The Mann-Whitney test revealed a moderate size shift in worldview towards the pro-ecological and anti-anthropocentric tendencies of the new ecological paradigm. The latter shows that teachers still believe in the dominant social paradigm and attitudes towards the environment and values may shift. It is recommended that teachers and schools be encouraged to support the inclusion of an environmental management system to enhance sustainability practices.

Promoting environmental stewardship among youths is crucial for inspiring collaborative, multi-generational actions to tackle long-term environmental challenges. This research study explores the impact of an environmental education (EE) field trip, which highlighted wastewater management and renewable energy technology, on high school students using the revised new ecological paradigm (NEP) scale as a key metric in a pre-post survey, which uses traditionally pro (NEP) and anti (dominant social paradigm, DSP) conservationist statements to measure beliefs towards the environment. When applying the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (null hypothesis t = 0, no change) to the series of environmental stewardship action questions “___ is an extremely important part of protecting the environment”, we identified ten out of the thirteen scale questions to show significant change, all of which were positive. Additionally, the overall impact score was positive and significant (p ≤ 0.05). This finding demonstrates that respondents felt more strongly that these variables played a role in protecting the environment after experiencing the field trip. This suggests that exposure to environmental management intervention strategies utilizing man-made infrastructure and technology may enhance human capability to positively influence the environment and mitigate environmental threats, potentially alleviating concerns about environmental issues. These results suggest that environmental stewardship in youth needs to be reconceptualized in an increasingly STEM-focused world, and a new metric should be developed to assess environmental beliefs.

How a society relates to nature is shaped by the dominant social paradigm (DSP): a society's collective view on social, economic, political, and environmental issues. The characteristics of the DSP have important consequences for natural systems and their conservation. Based on a synthesis of academic literature, we provide a new gradient of 12 types of human-nature relationships synthesized from scientific literature, and an analysis of where the DSP of industrialized, and more specifically, neoliberal societies fit on that gradient. We aim to answer how the industrialized DSP relates to nature, i.e., what types of human-nature relationships this DSP incorporates, and what the consequences of these relationships are for nature conservation and a sustainable future. The gradient of human-nature relationships is based on three defining characteristics: (1) a nature-culture divide, (2) core values, and (3) being anthropocentric or ecocentric. We argue that the industrialized DSP includes elements of the anthropocentric relationships of mastery, utilization, detachment, and stewardship. It therefore regards nature and culture as separate, is mainly driven by instrumental values, and drives detachment from and commodification of nature. Consequently, most green initiatives and policies driven by an industrialized and neoliberal DSP are based on economic incentives and economic growth, without recognition of the needs and limits of natural systems. This leads to environmental degradation and social inequality, obstructing the path to a truly sustainable society. To reach a more ecocentric DSP, systemic changes, in addition to individual changes, in the political and economic structures of the industrialized DSP are needed, along with a change in values and approach toward nature, long-term sustainability, and conservation.

This paper argues that commitment to the Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP) in Western societies, which includes support for such ideologies as free enterprise, private property rights, economic individualism, and unlimited economic growth, poses a threat to progress in imposing greater standards of corporate environmental accountability. It is hypothesized that commitment to the DSP will be negatively correlated with support for the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) and support for corporate environmental accountability, and that belief in the NEP will be positively correlated with support for corporate environmental accountability. The findings, based on a survey of MBA students, are generally consistent with the hypotheses.

Purpose– This papers aim is to test the relationships between the Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP), materialism, environmental concern, and environmental behaviours, in four Asian economies. It examines the relationships between these constructs and identifies that the model of the relationship is applicable in regions with different cultural foundations.Design/methodology/approach– A sample of 1,174 consumers from four Asian economies with a strong Chinese background – mainland China (364), Hong Kong (260), Taiwan (289), and Singapore (261) – were recruited through an international online panel provider. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesised relationships in the proposed model.Findings– The relationships within the model were all confirmed, with the exception of the link between the DSP and environmental concern, which was positive, which suggests that within these Asian economics there may be a realisation that consumption and the environment are intertwined. DSP was found to influence the dimensions of materialism and materialism negatively impacted on environmental concern. Environmental concern in turn increased direct and indirect environmental behaviours.Originality/value– This research is the first to look at the application of the Dominant Social Paradigm in Asian economies and shows that it applies in that context, although the relationships do differ to those identified in past research in Western economies. The model linking the DSP, materialism, environmental concern and environmental behaviours showed that most relationships are generalisable. However, the positive relationship between the DSP and environmental concern suggests that consumers in Asian economies appear to make a connection between consumption and its environmental impacts.

Energy transition towards a local resilient energy supply is necessary for energy security. Climate change and the threat of economic collapse are reasons to force society to become less dependent on fossil fuel. Small-scale solutions are expected to be more sustainable, as large-scale integrated networks are featured by complexity and difficult-to-notice vulnerabilities, creating system risks. This paper presents the results of empirical research among a sample of Polish business students (N = 205) on the importance of worldviews for the choice of the energy transition scenario (local solutions vs. large-scale solutions). Worldviews are represented here by the Dominant Social Paradigm (defined for the purpose of this study as the belief that liberal democracy, free markets, and technological development are to solve all type of problems). This study addresses two research questions: (1) Is there a difference in preference for the energy transition scenarios? (2) Does adherence to the Dominant Social Paradigm determine the choice of the scenario for energy transition? The results present a preference for non-cooperative solutions (individual household solutions and large-scale solutions), while no significant relation to the worldviews represented by the Dominant Social Paradigm has been found. The results suggest that preferences for individual and large-scale solutions may be influenced more by institutional factors than by personal worldviews. A policy implication is that a change in the socio-political institutions and strengthening local governance may be a prerequisite for a sustainable energy transition.

This chapter begins with a description of the transformational changes undertaken at the Portland Trail Blazers’ basketball arena campus when messages within their external environment changed to highlight environmental sustainability. Two paradigms generally used to describe the belief systems of people and people groups regarding our relationship with the natural environment are described: the dominant social paradigm and the new ecological paradigm. The societal shift toward the growing importance of the sustainable development Discourse within businesses, cities, and universities is described. Paradigms are differentiated from Discourses and ten environment-related Discourses are identified (i.e., the industrialism Discourse, survivalism, the Promethean response, administrative rationalism, democratic pragmatism, economic rationalism, green politics, green consciousness, ecological modernization, and sustainability). Criticisms of the ecological modernism and sustainability Discourses are reviewed. Communication’s role in reinforcing and challenging paradigms is discussed. The chapter ends by discussing forces which influence how environmentally related issues are framed, contested, and reframed. In addition to paradigms, Discourses, and ideology, theories or theoretical concepts highlighted include discursive closure, critical theory and the neo-Marxian perspective on sustainable development, framing, schemata of interpretation, systematically distorted communication, and social judgment theory. Throughout the chapter, interview data gathered from small businesses, an activist organization (the Natural Resources Defense Council), a nongovernmental organization, South Dakota’s state government, multiple cities (e.g., the City and County of Denver), two sports organizations (the Portland Trail Blazers, Aspen Skiing Company), a university, and two multinational organizations (Tyson Foods, Sam’s Club) is integrated.

The environment directly influences the behaviour, experiences, and also the well-being of people. It is not only the outside environment but the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) that also affects the well-being of its residents (Arif et al., 2016). The objective of the present study is to study the relationship between Air Quality Index (AQI), Personality traits, Residential Satisfaction, and quality of life among participants living in Bengaluru, Chennai, and Delhi NCR. A total of 685 residents aged 18-65, living in Bengaluru, Chennai, and Delhi NCR for over 2 years, who responded to the call for participation were selected for the study. Data was collected through online Google forms. Correlation and regression analysis were carried out to understand the strength and direction of the relationship between study variables. SPSS AMOS was used to estimate the measurement model and capture mediation paths. The results present an exploratory model which identifies air quality index and personality traits and their contribution towards the perceptions of residential satisfaction. The study also establishes a link between residential satisfaction and quality of life, the new ecological paradigm, and the dominant social paradigm. The present study highlights the necessity to adopt a pro-environmental approach to improve the quality of life.

This article explores the existential conditions for a transition towards socioeconomic degrowth through an analysis of a paradigm shift between two extreme polarities of socio-ecological positioning: the Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP) and the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP). It is suggested that the transition from one to the other – understood as the first collective step towards degrowth – requires a transformation in the way we, in western capitalist society, define ourselves in relation to nature. This identity transformation corresponds with the reconnection between humans and nature that ecopsychology has been calling for since its emergence in the 1970s. However, according to recent empirical studies in existential psychology, such a transformation contains potentially disquieting aspects, since it implies recognising and accepting the idea of our own mortality. Staging a dialogue between ecopsychology and critical degrowth theories, this article argues that the necessary transition towards degrowth requires new ways of dealing with these existential fears – namely, confronting them in a ‘reflexive’ rather than ‘defensive’ way – so as to develop relationships with nature that respect the limits of the biosphere.

This study was designed to test the reliability and dimensionality of the revised New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) scale constructed by Dunlap et al., (2000) and to examine the extent to which university students in Turkey are endorsing the NEP. A sample of 1295 undergraduate students from four universities in Turkey was selected for the study. Students’ worldviews were measured by the NEP scale which consisted of 15 statements. A self-administered survey questionnaire was used to collect the necessary data. Findings from the study indicate that there is no widespread support for the NEP: 56.0% of students hold pro-NEP views while 24.9% embrace pro-DSP views and 19.1% have ambivalent views. It was found that the NEP scale has low consistency and four dimensions, thus, the NEP items should be taken cautiously as a single (unidimensional) internally consistent measuring device. It was concluded that the NEP scale should be carefully constructed and evaluated according to the historical and cultural context and characteristics of the population under study. Key words: Environmental worldviews, dominant social paradigm, new ecological paradigm, ecology, environmental measurement.

Failure to curb water pollution in China brings to the fore the issue of environmental values and attitudes among Chinese farmers. Applying the New Ecological Paradigm Scale this study finds that the pro-environmental value of New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Worldview has a stronger standing among the studied Chinese farmers than the Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP) Worldview.