Exploring energy poverty perspectives in Senegal : the applicability of scenarios
01 Jan 2004-
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide an analytical account of the use of scenarios in the energy sector and contribute to the literature by including direct perspectives of participants, commenting on procedural elements and experiences, and commenting on the efficacy, simplicity and cost effectiveness of the tool.
Abstract: Ghanadan and Koomey, 2004; Soontornrangson et al. 2003). Ghanadan and Koomey (2004) stress that explicit assumptions of the research should be made clear to all participants involved and concrete indicators, such as economic factors, should be included in the contextual narratives. As aforementioned, organizational culture with linear and hierarchal management and ingrained conventional planning based on historic trends poses a large threat to the successful use of scenarios since it may impede the creative process (Soontornrangson, 2003; Bunn and Salo, 1993). The recent publications of scenario use in the energy sector in Thailand, India, China, Mauritius, and California have made important contributions to furthering the understanding of the benefits and pitfalls of the tool in energy sector applications. However, despite repeated calls for detailed research into the efficacy of the technique, procedural analysis and inclusion of the voice of participants (Burt and van den Heijden, 2003; O'Brien, 2004; Hodgkison and Wright, 2002; Bunn and Salo, 1993), the literature remains deficient in these areas. The accounts of scenario use in the energy sector do not extensively discuss the procedural elements or mention the perceptions of the people involved. Scenarios were touted as a beneficial exploratory and analytical tool to explore energy choices and enhance organizational learning in California (Ghanadan and Koomey, 2004), yet a systematic analysis of the process, and comments on the ease of use, or the experiences of the participants were not included. The research by Weisser (2004) in Mauritius has made an important contribution to both energy poverty and scenario research, by stressing the importance of the link between energy needs for development, and the need for local, regional and national level involvement. The research strove to learn more about behavioural aspects and the interaction of the various factors involved with renewable energy options in relation to policy making through the use of scenario planning (Weisser, 2004); however the perceptions of the local people were not reflected in the synopsis. The use of scenarios in micro-level planning in India claims to take advantage of the fact that location specific characteristics, and local knowledge and experience can be included (Devadas, 2001). While this research did take steps to outline procedural steps of the research fiom a methodological perspective, the involvement of local stakeholders was not well documented. In order to determine the effectiveness of each step of the scenario process, it is helpful to know what ideas were generated and understand the perceptions of the actual participants. Detailed accounts of the use of scenarios in energy sector planning in economically poor countries are needed and the voices of the participants need to be included. Systematic analysis of the efficacy of the tool would benefit future practitioners of the increasingly utilized tool, by enabling further refinements to the procedures and methodological details (Cherrnack, 2004). The final results and evaluation also add credibility to the decision making process of organizations. A copious literature exists that review the benefits and weaknesses of the use of scenarios, yet a literature describing, critiquing and suggesting improvements to the processes is not readily available (Chermack, 2004). Analysis of failures is also important and to date has been very limited (see Hodgkison and Wright, 2002; Phelps et al., 2001). The recent support for the tool in organizational learning (van der Heijden, 2004, Schwartz, 1996) is encouraging, but supporting evidence is needed. The efforts by Chermack (2004) make an important contribution in detailing steps required as part of a process to determine whether scenarios can actually meet the various documented claims. This present study aims to provide an analytical account of the use of scenarios in the energy sector and contribute to the literature by including direct perspectives of participants, commenting on procedural elements and experiences, and commenting on the efficacy, simplicity and cost effectiveness of the tool.
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TL;DR: Boone as mentioned in this paper examines the ways in which the exercise of state power has inhibited economic growth, focusing on the case of Senegal and reveals that old trading monopolies, commercial hierarchies and patterns of wealth accumulation were preserved at the cost of reforms that would have stimulated economic growth.
Abstract: In most post-colonial regimes in sub-Saharan Africa, state power has been used to structure economic production in ways that have tended to produce economic stagnation rather than growth. In this book, Catherine Boone examines the ways in which the exercise of state power has inhibited economic growth, focusing on the case of Senegal. She traces changes in the political economy of Senegal from the heyday of colonial merchant capital in the 1930s to the decay of the neo-colonial merchant capital in the 1980s and reveals that old trading monopolies, commercial hierarchies and patterns of wealth accumulation were preserved at the cost of reforms that would have stimulated economic growth. Boone uses this case to develop an argument against analyses of political-economic development that identify state institutions and ideologies as independent forces driving the process of economic transformation. State power, she argues, is rooted in the material and social bases of ruling alliances.
118 citations
01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the impact of information and communications technologies (ICT) on government departments/agencies and the contribution of external agents to change and development programs, and present empirical evidence of externally facilitated change to mindsets and patterns of behavior within local government through use of scenario planning-based approach.
Abstract: In this paper, we examine the impact of information and communications technologies (ICT) on government departments/agencies and the contribution of external agents to change and development programs. We present empirical evidence of externally facilitated change to mindsets and patterns of behavior within local government through use of a scenario planning-based approach. Our aim was to facilitate the organizational actors' conduct of investigation of the ‘limits of the possible’ for a range of plausible futures and determination of strategic responses to these. Participants used their own current knowledge and understanding as a basis for development, with the introduction of external ‘expertise’ to challenge their thinking and to expand their understanding. Following this, we facilitated the participants' elucidation of key uncertainties on the future, exploration of the relationships between them and possible outcomes. The participants then constructed scenarios that outlined four possible and plausible futures. These held explicit meaning for the participants, enabled them to identify implications of each possible future in relation to structure and service requirements and informed analysis of current structure, service, etc. We compare and contrast the process and outcomes of our scenario-planning intervention (based on intuitive logics) with both those of other futures methodologies (decision analysis, Delphi and environmental scanning) and with other scenario methodologies (trend-impact analysis and cross-impact analysis). We argue that the external facilitation of internal generation of knowledge, understanding and meaning, and of exploration of the limits of the possible for the future, is a valuable tool for comprehending strategic choices. We conclude that our scenario approach, utilizing intuitive logics, enables organizational actors to make sense of the complexities and ambiguities that they face and so facilitates strategic change.
5 citations
01 Jan 2002
1 citations
06 Mar 2006
TL;DR: The World Bank's annual Energy Week is one of the foremost gatherings of policy makers and practitioners engaged on strategic issues of energy and development as discussed by the authors, and it provides an opportunity for World Bank Group staff, developing country practitioners and partners to network and share their operational experience and enhance their cutting-edge knowledge and skills.
Abstract: This report discusses the remarks delivered by Paul Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank. The World Bank's annual Energy Week is one of the foremost gatherings of policy makers and practitioners engaged on strategic issues of energy and development. The 2006 conference that took place on March 6–9, 2006, at the World Bank’s headquarters in Washington DC, built on the G8 plan of action adopted at Gleneagles that outlines the way ahead on clean energy, infrastructure, climate change and Africa. On information sharing event on the lessons of experience from current energy projects and programs in developing countries and it provided an opportunity for World Bank Group staff, developing country practitioners and partners to network and share their operational experience and enhance their cutting-edge knowledge and skills.
1 citations
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Book•
12 Oct 2017
TL;DR: The Discovery of Grounded Theory as mentioned in this paper is a book about the discovery of grounded theories from data, both substantive and formal, which is a major task confronting sociologists and is understandable to both experts and laymen.
Abstract: Most writing on sociological method has been concerned with how accurate facts can be obtained and how theory can thereby be more rigorously tested. In The Discovery of Grounded Theory, Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss address the equally Important enterprise of how the discovery of theory from data--systematically obtained and analyzed in social research--can be furthered. The discovery of theory from data--grounded theory--is a major task confronting sociology, for such a theory fits empirical situations, and is understandable to sociologists and laymen alike. Most important, it provides relevant predictions, explanations, interpretations, and applications. In Part I of the book, "Generation Theory by Comparative Analysis," the authors present a strategy whereby sociologists can facilitate the discovery of grounded theory, both substantive and formal. This strategy involves the systematic choice and study of several comparison groups. In Part II, The Flexible Use of Data," the generation of theory from qualitative, especially documentary, and quantitative data Is considered. In Part III, "Implications of Grounded Theory," Glaser and Strauss examine the credibility of grounded theory. The Discovery of Grounded Theory is directed toward improving social scientists' capacity for generating theory that will be relevant to their research. While aimed primarily at sociologists, it will be useful to anyone Interested In studying social phenomena--political, educational, economic, industrial-- especially If their studies are based on qualitative data.
53,267 citations
44,847 citations
TL;DR: The discipline and practice of qualitative research have been extensively studied in the literature as discussed by the authors, including the work of Denzin and Denzin, and their history in sociology and anthropology, as well as the role of women in qualitative research.
Abstract: Introduction - Norman K Denzin and Yvonna S Lincoln The Discipline and Practice of Qualitative Research PART ONE: LOCATING THE FIELD Qualitative Methods - Arthur J Vidich and Stanford M Lyman Their History in Sociology and Anthropology Reconstructing the Relationships between Universities and Society through Action Research - Davydd J Greenwood and Morten Levin For Whom? Qualitative Research, Representations and Social Responsibilities - Michelle Fine et al Ethics and Politics in Qualitative Research - Clifford G Christians PART TWO: PARADIGMS AND PERSPECTIVES IN TRANSITION Paradigmatic Controversies, Contradictions and Emerging Confluences - Yvonna S Lincoln and Egon G Guba Three Epistemological Stances for Qualitative Inquiry - Thomas A Schwandt Interpretivism, Hermeneutics and Social Constructionism Feminisms and Qualitative Research at and into the Millennium - Virginia L Olesen Racialized Discourses and Ethnic Epistemologies - Gloria Ladson-Billings Rethinking Critical Theory and Qualitative Research - Joe L Kincheloe and Peter McLaren Cultural Studies - John Frow and Meaghan Morris Sexualities, Queer Theory and Qualitative Research - Joshua Gamson PART THREE: STRATEGIES OF INQUIRY The Choreography of Qualitative Research Design - Valerie J Janesick Minuets, Improvisations and Crystallization An Untold Story? Doing Funded Qualitative Research - Julianne Cheek Performance Ethnography - Michal M McCall A Brief History and Some Advice Case Studies - Robert E Stake Ethnography and Ethnographic Representation - Barbara Tedlock Analyzing Interpretive Practice - Jaber F Gubrium and James A Holstein Grounded Theory - Kathy Charmaz Objectivist and Constructivist Methods Undaunted Courage - William G Tierney Life History and the Postmodern Challenge Testimonio, Subalternity and Narrative Authority - John Beverley Participatory Action Research - Stephen Kemmis and Robin McTaggart Clinical Research - William L Miller and Benjamin F Crabtree PART FOUR: METHODS OF COLLECTING AND ANALYZING EMPIRICAL MATERIALS The Interview - Andrea Fontana and James H Frey From Structured Questions to Negotiated Text Rethinking Observation - Michael V Angrosino and Kimberly A Mays de Perez From Method to Context The Interpretation of Documents and Material Culture - Ian Hodder Re-Imagining Visual Methods - Douglas Harper Galileo to Neuromancer Auto-Ethnography, Personal Narrative, Reflexivity - Carolyn Ellis and Arthur P Bochner Researcher as Subject Data Management and Analysis Methods - Gery W Ryan and H Russell Bernard Software and Qualitative Research - Eben A Weitzman Analyzing Talk and Text - David Silverman Focus Groups in Feminist Research - Esther Madriz Applied Ethnography - Erve Chambers PART FIVE: THE ART AND PRACTICES OF INTERPRETATION, EVALUATION AND REPRESENTATION The Problem of Criteria in the Age of Relativism - John K Smith and Deborah K Deemer The Practices and Politics of Interpretation - Norman K Denzin Writing - Laurel Richardson A Method of Inquiry Anthropological Poetics - Ivan Brady Understanding Social Programs through Evaluation - Jennifer C Greene Influencing the Policy Process with Qualitative Research - Ray C Rist PART SIX: THE FUTURE OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH Qualitative Inquiry - Mary M Gergen and Kenneth J Gergen Tensions and Transformations The Seventh Moment - Yvonna S Lincoln and Norman K Denzin Out of the Past
26,318 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1998
TL;DR: Creswell as mentioned in this paper explores the philosophical underpinnings, history and key elements of five qualitative inquiry traditions: biography, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography and case study.
Abstract: This book explores the philosophical underpinnings, history and key elements of five qualitative inquiry traditions: biography, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography and case study. John W Creswell relates research designs to each of the traditions of inquiry and compares each of the research strategies for theoretical frameworks, writing introduction to studies, collecting data, analyzing data, writing the narrative, and employing standards of quality and verifying results. Five journal articles in the appendix offer fascinating reading as well as examples of the five different qualitative designs.
23,020 citations
"Exploring energy poverty perspectiv..." refers background in this paper
...While it considers multiple subjective realities, constructivism focuses on mutual constructed realities, which is much more suited to scenario based research (Creswell, 1998)....
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...Postmodernism became prominent in the 1970s and involves a diverse range of theoretical approaches (Creswell, 1998)....
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...However, the positivist and post-positivist perspectives did not prove flexible enough for some researchers, and during the 1960s several new frameworks started to emerge as alternatives and critiques of the 'traditional' emphasis on science, technology, rationality, scientific method, and reason (Creswell, 1998)....
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01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: This is also one of the factors by obtaining the soft documents of this competing paradigms in qualitative research by online as discussed by the authors. But, it will totally squander the time.
Abstract: This is likewise one of the factors by obtaining the soft documents of this competing paradigms in qualitative research by online. You might not require more become old to spend to go to the books establishment as skillfully as search for them. In some cases, you likewise do not discover the broadcast competing paradigms in qualitative research that you are looking for. It will totally squander the time.
15,524 citations
"Exploring energy poverty perspectiv..." refers background in this paper
...Rather than capture and objectively describe subjects and situations as with positivist research, constructivism interprets findings as they are "created" throughout the research process (Guba and Lincoln, 1998)....
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