Factors For Social Acceptance Research Articles

Acceptance of Digital Transformation: Evidence from Romania

The digital transformation (DT) implies designing products and services, to which digital technology is applied, that are adopted and used by customers. However, if people do not accept the new technologies embedded in the innovative products and services, DT will fail. Therefore, getting to know the determinant factors that affect acceptance is necessary, especially during economic turmoil that requires companies to become even more competitive. Moreover, Romania is lagging behind in its digital progress. The aim of this research is to draw upon a previous study on successful DT, analyze personal and social acceptance factors, and empirically verify whether they would affect DT in Romania. We identified from the literature the main factors (behavioral and innovative characteristics) affecting the DT acceptance attitude and adapted the theoretical model to the Romanian context. The study collected data from 123 persons using an online questionnaire and applied a structural equation model to test the theoretical model. The empirical results emphasize that the acceptance attitude of DT is positively associated with individuals’ behavioral factors and innovative characteristics. Moreover, DT acceptance attitude positively impacts both personal and social acceptance of DT. This research provides both theoretical and empirical contributions by adapting the theoretical DT model and testing it for the Romanian context, using personal and social acceptance. These findings are important for managers and policy makers that seek to transform their organizations.

Social acceptance “in my backyard” - What drives social acceptance of renewable energy projects?

This paper aims to present a general overview of the social acceptance of wind energy developments in Europe and identify influential social acceptance factors. First, we show social acceptance levels for renewable energy (onshore wind) projects in selected European countries and how it varies across and within countries. In addition, we produce regional maps showing within country variations in social acceptance indicators. Second, using an econometric model, we study how different factors influence social acceptance levels. Our investigation assesses social acceptance of renewable energy developments using primary data from two comprehensive opinion surveys. The first opinion survey-conducted in September/October 2021-contains more than 16 000 observations from 8 European countries and allows us to assess how social acceptance is affected by the distance to the wind parks. The second opinion survey – conducted in June 2022 - contains more than 18 000 observations from 9 European countries and allows us to assess-through an econometric model how social acceptance is affected by a set of relevant influential factors, including perceptions, preferences towards energy suppliers, preferences for community benefits schemes, and demographic factors among others. The analysis of the information gathered for this investigation shows variations across European countries and within each of the countries covered by this study. The findings from this study might be helpful to take into consideration during the planning and development of renewable energy projects and improve targeting the work towards community engagement aiming to obtain the social license to build and operate renewable energy projects.

Homes of the future: Unpacking public perceptions to power the domestic hydrogen transition

Decarbonization in several countries is now linked to the prospect of implementing a national hydrogen economy. In countries with extensive natural gas infrastructure, hydrogen may provide a real opportunity to decarbonize space heating. While this approach may prove technically and economically feasible in the long-term, it is unclear whether consumers will be willing to adopt hydrogen-fueled appliances for heating and cooking should techno-economic feasibility be achieved. In response, this paper develops an analytical framework for examining hydrogen acceptance which links together socio-technical barriers and social acceptance factors. Applying this framework, the study synthesizes the existing knowledge on public perceptions of hydrogen and identifies critical knowledge gaps which should be addressed to support domestic hydrogen acceptance. The paper demonstrates that a future research agenda should account for the interactions between acceptance factors at the attitudinal, socio-political, market, community, and behavioral level. The analysis concludes that hydrogen is yet to permeate the public consciousness due to a lack of knowledge and awareness, owing to an absence of information dissemination. In response, consumer engagement in energy markets and stronger public trust in key stakeholders will help support social acceptance as the hydrogen transition unfolds. Affordability may prove the most critical barrier to the large-scale adoption of hydrogen homes, while the disruptive impacts of the switchover and distributional injustice represent key concerns. As a starting point, the promise of economic, environmental, and community benefits must be communicated and fulfilled to endorse the value of hydrogen homes.

Exploring the social acceptance of transforming urban arterials to multimodal corridors. The case of Panepistimiou Avenue in Athens

Urban communities should now build in specific measures, addressing multimodality and fair distribution of public space. The transformation of arterials into multimodal corridors can be a key strategy that will shape new futures. The social acceptance of “push” measure that aim to modify road space allocation have never been examined following quantitative research methods. This study aspires to fill this gap now, as it is inspired by the great debate opened in Athens, Greece about “pop-up” interventions implemented in Panepistimiou Avenue. To explore the social acceptance factors, a rating experiment is designed by developing hypothetical scenarios, which are evaluated by different road users, daily car drivers, motorcycle riders, public transport (PT) users, cyclists, and walkers. A 5-point Likert Scale is utilized, and the collected observations are processed using ordinal logistic regression methods. The main findings suggest that the majority of the participants opted for solutions that ensured a rather equal or balanced space distribution, regardless of their preferred transport mode. Car users were willing to exchange their space, and consequently experience higher travel times for the greater benefit of the city, while public transport users, daily cyclists and walkers recognize the importance to maintain a good level of service for car users too. A surprising finding from this study case is that any increase in a pedestrian area, which is already sufficiently wide, influences negatively social acceptance, while the installation of a cycle lane reports considerably high probability to be accepted from all user groups.

The Social Acceptance Factors for Insulation Boards Produced With CO2-Derived Foam

The negative consequence of increased greenhouse gas emissions have incited research to focus on developing sustainable technologies to reduce the use of fossil raw material. Carbon Capture and Utilization is such a technology. It reuses captured CO2 as raw material for the production of salable products. Beyond their technical and economic feasibility, the acceptance of these products is vital for the successful roll-out of the technology. The two-step empirical study—a qualitative preliminary study (n = 8 experts, n = 16 laypeople) and a quantitative survey study (N = 643)—described in the present paper focused on the acceptance of insulation boards produced by means of CCU by its potential Dutch and German consumers. The study aimed to quantify the level of public acceptance of the product, to identify perceived (dis)advantages, and to pinpoint the drivers behind the acceptance. In the survey, respondents evaluated cognitive and affective acceptance factors, as well as the acceptance of the use of plastic in the product. The results showed that the respondents had little knowledge on CCU, but that CCU insulation boards were nevertheless accepted rather than rejected, with the benefit perception being the common predictor for the three acceptance measures. Public communication and policy should address the product’s (environmental) benefits and foster an increase in the public awareness of the technology.

Trends in Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy Across Europe-A Literature Review.

Social acceptance has proven to be a significant barrier in the implementation of renewable energy systems (hereinafter “RES”). While a general acceptance of RES is high, low local acceptance has hindered the development of renewable energy projects (hereinafter “REP”). This study assesses the determinants of local and general social acceptance of REP across Europe through a qualitative analysis from 25 case studies of the most significant social drivers and barriers that include all European countries. These case studies contain qualitative and quantitative analyses of the main factors for social acceptance of many representative groups including residents, stakeholders, and experts. Understanding the influences of social acceptance enables us to create strategies that will promote the development of REP by mitigating any public opposition.

バックエンド問題における社会的受容性の要因分析:高レベル放射性廃棄物（HLW）処分の欠如モデルによる市民会議の事例

バックエンド問題における社会的受容性の要因分析:高レベル放射性廃棄物（HLW）処分の欠如モデルによる市民会議の事例

Moral Values as Factors for Social Acceptance of Smart Grid Technologies

Smart grid technologies are considered an important enabler in the transition to more sustainable energy systems because they support the integration of rising shares of volatile renewable energy sources into electricity networks. To implement them in a large scale, broad acceptance in societies is crucial. However, a growing body of research has revealed societal concerns with these technologies. To achieve sustainable energy systems, such concerns should be taken into account in the development of smart grid technologies. In this paper, we show that many concerns are related to moral values such as privacy, justice, or trust. We explore the effect of moral values on the acceptance of smart grid technologies. The results of our systematic literature review indicate that moral values can be both driving forces and barriers for smart grid acceptance. We propose that future research striving to understand the role of moral values as factors for social acceptance can benefit from an interdisciplinary approach bridging literature in ethics of technology with technology acceptance models.

How do Attitudes Toward Globalization Influence Human Functioning?

ABSTRACTThis study shows the results of the research into the relationships between attitudes toward globalization (accepting, critical, fearful) and psychological factors: identity styles, attitudes toward the Internet, and the quality of friendship. The survey conducted among Polish adolescents and young adults revealed that attitudes toward globalization had a stronger influence on psychological functioning for young adults than for adolescents. The results may help to understand social acceptance factors or disapproval of technological and globalizational changes.

Attitudes Shape and Sustain Achievement

Business environment is dynamic and organizations cope with these changes in different ways depending on their products and market requirements. More and more organizations today are driven by the profit orientation, rightly so, and organizational achievement is measured in terms of returns to shareholders and stake holder interests. Whereas the stated objectives of non-profits are laudable what baffles one is the attitude and orientation of these organizations and people working for them. One can easily understand that the orientations of organizations differ with respect to their objectives. But there is one constant factor in all these. That is, the attitude, that drives achievement orientation. But it is difficult to sustain attitudes because of the environmental changes in culture and social acceptance factors. This paper explores the role of attitudes in sustaining achievement orientation that will propel organizations to growth. An incisive analysis of successful organizations reveal their constant attitude towards a welfare organization has propelled them to a position of prominence. This research paper will explore the kinds of Employer/Employee attitudes that will propel future organizations to growth and sustenance.

Community perceptions of renewable energies in Portugal: Impacts on environment, landscape and local development

This article aims to contribute to the debate on energy transitions in Europe, by focusing on community perceptions in a southern European country marked by a significant development of renewable energy in recent years, Portugal. Three main dimensions of community perceptions of the impact, both positive and negative, of renewables are addressed: environmental, landscape and socioeconomic. The article is based on case studies of communities living in the vicinities of three wind farms and a solar power plant. The results show that not only community perceptions are heterogeneous but also that, in order to better understand the factors for social acceptance, it is crucial to examine perceptions not just at the planning stage but also once the energy infrastructures are constructed and functioning.

Prospects of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in China’s power sector – An integrated assessment

Objective: The aim of the present article is to conduct an integrated assessment in order to explore whether CCS could be a viable technological option for significantly reducing future CO2 emissions in China. Methods: In this paper, an integrated approach covering five assessment dimensions is chosen. Each dimension is investigated using specific methods (graphical abstract). Results: The most crucial precondition that must be met is a reliable storage capacity assessment based on site-specific geological data. Our projection of different trends of coal-based power plant capacities up to 2050 ranges between 34 and 221Gt of CO2 that may be captured from coal-fired power plants to be built by 2050. If very optimistic assumptions about the country’s CO2 storage potential are applied, 192Gt of CO2 could theoretically be stored as a result of matching these sources with suitable sinks. If a cautious approach is taken, this figure falls to 29Gt of CO2. In practice, this potential will decrease further with the impact of technical, legal, economic and social acceptance factors. Further constraints may be the delayed commercial availability of CCS in China; a significant barrier to achieving the economic viability of CCS due to a currently non-existing nation-wide CO2 pricing scheme that generates a sufficiently strong price signal; an expected life-cycle reduction rate of the power plant’s greenhouse gas emissions of 59–60%; and an increase in most other negative environmental and social impacts. Conclusion and practice implications: Most experts expect a striking dominance of coal-fired power generation in the country’s electricity sector, even if the recent trend towards a flattened deployment of coal capacity and reduced annual growth rates of coal-fired generation proves to be true in the future. In order to reduce fossil fuel-related CO2 emissions to a level that would be consistent with the long-term climate protection target of the international community to which China is increasingly committing itself, this option may require the introduction of CCS. However, a precondition for opting for CCS would be finding robust solutions to the constraints highlighted in this article. Furthermore, a comparison with other low-carbon technology options may be useful in drawing completely valid conclusions on the economic, ecological and social viability of CCS in a low-carbon policy environment. The assessment dimensions should be integrated into macro-economic optimisation models by combining qualitative with quantitative modelling, and the flexible operation of CCS power plants should be analysed in view of a possible role of CCS for balancing fluctuating renewable energies.

Use of latent variables representing psychological motivation to explore citizens’ intentions with respect to congestion charging reform in Jakarta

The aim of this paper is to investigate the intentions of Jakarta citizens with respect to the electronic road pricing (ERP) reform proposed by the city government. Utilizing data from a stated preference survey conducted in 2013, we construct six variables representing latent psychological motivations (appropriateness of ERP adoption; recognition that ERP can mitigate congestion and improve the environment; car dependency (CDC); awareness of the problems of cars in society; inhibition of freedom movement caused by ERP; and doubts about the ability of ERP to mitigate congestion and environment problems). A multiple-indicators multiple-causes (MIMIC) model is developed to investigate the effects of respondents’ socio-demographics (causes) on the latent constructs in order to gain better understanding of the relationship between respondents’ intentions and the observed individual’s responses (indicators) obtained from the stated preference survey. The MIMIC model offers a good account of whether and how socio-demographic attributes and individual indicators predict the latent variables of psychological motivation constructs. Then, we further verify the influences of the latent variables, combining them with levy rate patterns and daily mobility attributes to investigate significant determining factors for social acceptance of the ERP proposal. A latent variable representations based on the generalized ordered response model are employed in our investigations to allow more flexibility in parameter estimation across outcomes. The results confirm that there is a strong correlation between latent psychological motivations and daily mobility attributes and the level of social acceptance for the ERP proposal. This empirical investigation demonstrates that the latent variables play more substantial role in determining scheme’s acceptance. Moreover, elasticity measures show that latent attributes are more sensitive compared to levies and daily mobility attributes. Therefore, in order to gain the acceptance of the majority of road users, a gradual introduction of ERP may be needed to allow users to gain understanding of the scheme, thereby gaining a more acceptable response. The findings from this work should provide insight for the Jakarta government in designing a more effective and acceptable policy aiming at promoting the adoption of ERP in Jakarta.

Prospects of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in India’s power sector – An integrated assessment

ObjectiveThe aim of the present article is to conduct an integrated assessment in order to explore whether CCS could be a viable technological option for significantly reducing future CO2 emissions in India. MethodsIn this paper, an integrated approach covering five assessment dimensions is chosen. However, each dimension is investigated using specific methods (graphical abstract). ResultsThe most crucial precondition that must be met is a reliable storage capacity assessment based on site-specific geological data since only rough figures concerning the theoretical capacity exist at present. Our projection of different trends of coal-based power plant capacities up to 2050 ranges between 13 and 111Gt of CO2 that may be captured from coal-fired power plants to be built by 2050. If very optimistic assumptions about the country’s CO2 storage potential are applied, 75Gt of CO2 could theoretically be stored as a result of matching these sources with suitable sinks. If a cautious approach is taken by considering the country’s effective storage potential, only a fraction may potentially be sequestered. In practice, this potential will decrease further with the impact of technical, legal, economic and social acceptance factors. Further constraints may be the delayed commercial availability of CCS in India, a significant barrier to achieving the economic viability of CCS, an expected net maximum reduction rate of the power plant’s greenhouse gas emissions of 71–74%, an increase of most other environmental and social impacts, and a lack of governmental, industrial or societal CCS advocates. Conclusion and practice implicationsSeveral preconditions need to be fulfilled if CCS is to play a future role in reducing CO2 emissions in India, the most crucial one being to determine reliable storage capacity figures. In order to overcome these barriers, the industrialised world would need to make a stronger commitment in terms of CCS technology demonstration, cooperation and transfer to emerging economies like India. The integrated assessment might also be extended by a comparison with other low-carbon technology options to draw fully valid conclusions on the most suitable solution for a sustainable future energy supply in India.

Interventions to Reduce Distress in Adult Victims of Sexual Violence and Rape: A Systematic Review

Beginning with the articulation of Rape Trauma Syndrome (Burgess 1974), the traumatic aftermath of sexual assault on victims has become a focus of social and legal policy, scholarly inquiry, and mental health interventions. The wide variety of psychosocial treatment modalities for victims of sexual violence reported in the literature and used in practice are predominantly based on psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural or feminist-informed theoretical frameworks. Some modalities have been specifically designed for victims of sexual violence while others have been adapted from use with other traumatized populations. Although there is evidence of effective treatments for addressing traumatic stress in victims of many types of trauma, modalities specific to victims of sexual assault have not been systematically tested. Evidence suggests that trauma associated with rape or sexual assault differs from trauma stemming from other experiences, in part due to the strong element of self-blame, the individualized nature of this type of trauma, social support and social acceptance factors, and the higher incidence of concurrent depression. Therefore, it is critical to examine the effectiveness of interventions specific to victims of sexual violence and rape.

Influential information and factors for social acceptance of CCS: The 2nd round survey of public opinion in Japan

Abstract A public survey was conducted concerning carbon capture and storage technology (CCS) in the months of February and April 2007 in Japan, Previously another CCS survey took place in December 2003, and a set of the questions asked in the 2007 survey were purposely the same as that used in the 2003 survey, Japanese adults were randomly selected to answer a questionnaire either in printed format or in online format. Several versions of the questionnaire were used, and each contained a different educational part, imparting relevant CCS information. 334 people successfully responded to our paper survey in Tokyo and Sapporo while 2156 people completed our online survey across the nation. The questionnaire for the survey contained 5 sets of different information package on CCS and questions asking pros and cons on CCS implementation to analyze influence of information provided on CCS. Based on the results of survey we found: that not many people still know about CCS. Those who have knowledge on CCS show a preference for CCS implementation, however; preference was decreased after obtaining information which we considered was neutral on CCS. These results suggest a possibility that information on negative aspects of CCS (risks, etc.) would not be well known in the general public. We also found that preference for CSS decreased slightly after providing different information on CCS to respondents in the group with the newspaper articles which we considered neutral in comparison with other groups. The newspaper articles contained the information on negative opinions against CCS besides risk-related information as well as information based on an IPCC Special Report: it is assumed that such negative opinions may have influenced opinion formation of respondents. Since CCS is new technology, information about how other people or entities evaluate CCS would influence public opinion. In the sub-sample provided with industrial and natural analogues of preference on geological storage, the views were slightly more positive about CSS in comparison with reported opinions of other groups. This implies information on natural or industrial analogue would help manage perception of risk in a positive way. The result of path analysis to data of a public survey identified four factors, (1) risks and leakage, (2) effectiveness of CCS, (3) responsibility, and (4) fossil fuel use. We found that the factor of understanding the effectiveness of CCS is most positively influential for general acceptance of CCS. I Implementation of geological storage and the factor of risks and leakage become much more influential negatively in the implementation of geological storage compared to general acceptance of CCS, implying that implementation of CC2 geological storage also needs careful communication of risk.

A strategic view of the world energy problem

This paper reviews the current energy supply and consumption. Worldwide, there was an increase in the annual energy consumption of 5% between 1955 and 1973 and of 2.7% between 1973 and 1979, but there was a decrease of 0.2% from 1979 to 1983. The role of oil grew from 31% to 47% of world energy consumption between 1955 and 1973 but dropped to 40.3% in 1983. Despite an overall decline in energy consumption in the last few years, the consumption of electricity continues to grow. Nuclear energy has not completely recovered from the crisis of the second half of the 1970's. This is in part because of social acceptance factors and hostility to large plants. World energy problems will continue over the next 20 years. A comprehensive approach is needed which stresses renewable energy and nuclear fission.