Elsevier

Energy Research & Social Science

Volume 34, December 2017, Pages 122-131
Energy Research & Social Science

Original research article
Homely social practices, uncanny electricity demands: Class, culture and material dynamics in Pakistan

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2017.06.038Get rights and content

Abstract

This research seeks to address the gap in studies of energy consumption in developing countries from a social science perspective. The research uses Social Practice Theory (SPT) to gain better understanding of homeowners’ practices and resulting electricity demand in middle-class households in Pakistan, with broader implications for other developing countries with similar climatic and socio-material contexts. Drawing on the works of Bourdieu (1984, 1997), Schatzki (2011) and Shove and Pantzar (2005), the study aims to unravel the connection between familiar domestic practices and the ‘uncanny’ electricity demand. Material and social constructs of ‘homely’ household practices related to comfort, lighting, cleanliness, cooking and ICT were studied in ten middle-class households in Lahore, Pakistan. The material arrays of the intermittent electricity provision system, modernistic prefigurations of spaces preferred by the middle-class and electrical appliances play an intrinsic role in shaping, and in turn being shaped by, everyday practices. Practices shaped by specific socio-cultural dimensions, such as social acceptance within the neighbourhood community, religious meanings, joint family structures, age disparities and gender segregation. The empirical study aims to further the conceptualisation of socially differentiated practices in domestic socio-material and cultural context of developing countries.

Introduction

Rapid urbanisation and economic growth of the emerging middle-class in the developing world has resulted in their energy consumption overtaking that of the developed world, while their energy-use is expected to increase [1], [2]. Yet policies tend to focus on energy generation [3], negating demand reduction. Taking energy demand as a for-granted need, as input for a pre-defined output [4], limits understanding of how and why this demand arises and evolves. This results in perception of energy as an abstract entity where the demand is seen as unpredictable and intangible, as in Frued’s [5] conception of the ‘uncanny’.2 Energy is an intrinsic part of the daily, familiar routines, but remains ‘visibly invisible’ and the demand uncertain, unfamiliar.

An argument has been made for a paradigm shift to look at energy practices as social construct rather than (rational) behaviour as in previously dominating theories building on economics and psychology, based on the attitude, behaviour and choice (ABC) model [6]. Research on everyday routines and practices in shaping household energy demand is well established in Western energy studies (see e.g. [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11]). In addition to its well-known applications in domestic energy use (e.g. [6], [12], [13]) theories of practice have been used to examine domestic DIY activities (e.g. [14], [15], [16], [17]) and professional retrofit practices (e.g. [18]), in Western countries. The significance of materiality in the emergence, persistence and reproduction of everyday household practices has been empirically researched in consumption studies (e.g. [19], [20], [21], [22], [23]). Further, Shove [24] argues that a better understanding of energy use as a social construct could lead to more effective and legitimate policy-making.

However, most empirical work that makes use of theories of practice is limited to Western case studies, with a limited number of exceptions that are explored in the following section (e.g. [25], [26], [27], [28]). This has led to two limitations; firstly, the pool of shared practices that the above-mentioned studies draw upon for their conceptualisation and understanding of practices are predominantly confined to Western countries. Secondly, the applicability of findings from this body of work in the context of developing world is limited by the fact that each developing country has its own unique, socially and materially structured set of inter-linking ideologies, cultural norms and pace of progress that shape the continuity and change of practices within the society [29]. There is limited understanding of the materiality of the housing stock in developing countries, which for example for the middle-class households is increasingly inspired by Western lifestyles – and how that materiality responds to local climate and culture.

This paper aims to expand the understanding of how practice theories can conceptualise electricity demand and household practices in the socio-material context of developing countries, taking middle-class households in Lahore, Pakistan, as case-study. Based on semi-structured, in-depth interviews and observations in the households, the research aims to answer the following questions in the case study context: How do the material arrangements adapt to and shape everyday household practices and the resulting electricity consumption? What role do the socio-cultural dynamics play in structuring homeowners’ daily practices and the resulting electricity consumption?

Literature review is presented in Section 2 and the empirical study is described in Section 3. Section 4 describes the findings and conclusions are drawn in Section 5.

Section snippets

Theories of practice and energy use

Practice theories provide an integrated framework to conceptualise a duality of social structuring: structures condition human activity, which through their recursive reproduction through practices, reconstitute these very structures [30]. According to Giddens [30], practices are based on people’s shared understandings (authoritative or allocative ‘rules’) of the world. The ‘practice turn’ in social theory led to conceptualisation of social practices as the central unit of analysis, taking

Methodology

The investigation of daily household practices was conducted in a case-study of ten middle-income households in Lahore, Pakistan. Pakistan is an interesting case-study as it has been identified among top ten countries most vulnerable to climate change [58]; it faces escalating trends in urbanisation and ever-increasing gaps between energy demand and supply [59]. In Pakistan, as in many developing countries with similar socio-economic and climatic constraints, the common response to demand

Findings

Household practices were analysed using the conceptual framework of Shove and Pantzar [38]. The findings are presented here in relation to the material arrangements and socio-cultural dynamics of practices, especially in comparison to Western countries.

Conclusions

This research used a practice-based framework for analysing middle-class household electricity consumption in the material and socio-cultural context of a developing country, taking Pakistan as a case study. Based on semi-structured, in-depth interviews and observations in the households, the research highlights the complex interconnected nature of electricity-use in everyday practices that are shaped by the material and socio-cultural arrangements within households and within the wider

Acknowledgements

This work is part of a PhD research at the University of Cambridge, funded by Vicky Noon Cambridge Scholarship under the Cambridge Commonwealth, European & International Trust.

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    Introduction

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    Present/Permanent address: Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge, 1 Scroope Terrace, Cambridge CB2 1PX, United Kingdom.

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