Corrigendum to "Geographic network effects to engage people in the energy transition: The case of PV in Switzerland" [Heliyon 9(7) (July 2023) e17800].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17800.].

Geographic network effects to engage people in the energy transition: The case of PV in Switzerland.

With the energy transition and CO2 emissions reduction as a priority on the international policy agenda, governments worldwide are trying to engage the population in investing in renewable energies. In this paper, we study the role of information access and peer effects in the photovoltaics sector in the case of the Swiss canton of Vaud. Based on a representative survey of the population of two districts, Nyon and Jura-Nord Vaudois, we show that being a homeowner and knowing someone who has installed PV cells in your social group significantly increase the probability of putting up PV cells. A direct neighbourhood effect was found, meaning that if a neighbour has installed a PV cell, the probability of the inhabitants in the two case study regions installing one themselves increases significantly. Our results show that spatial proximity is an important factor in the transmission of information between peers. Besides pure geographical distance, additional aspects such as administrative boundaries, shared language or degree of urbanisation play a role in the way the information network is presented. These insights indicate that professional experts and neighbours are important points of reference in the decision to invest in PV, and that regional networks are key for the active spreading of information on renewable technologies. Thus, we recommend using these connections to actively promote PV.

Social Network Analysis and Qualitative Interviews for Assessing Geographic Characteristics of Tourism Business Networks.

This study integrates quantitative social network analysis (SNA) and qualitative interviews for understanding tourism business links in isolated communities through analysing spatial characteristics. Two case studies are used, the Surselva-Gotthard region in the Swiss Alps and Longyearbyen in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, to test the spatial characteristics of physical proximity, isolation, and smallness for understanding tourism business links. In the larger Surselva-Gotthard region, we found a strong relationship between geographic separation of the three communities on compartmentalization of the collaboration network. A small set of businesses played a central role in steering collaborative decisions for this community, while a group of structurally 'peripheral' actors were less influential. By contrast, the business community in Svalbard showed compartmentalization that was independent of geographic distance between actors. Within towns of similar size and governance scale, Svalbard is more compartmentalized, and those compartments are not driven by geographic separation of the collaboration clusters. This compartmentalization in Svalbard was reflected in a lower density of formal business collaboration ties compared to the communities of the Alps. We infer that the difference is due to Svalbard having higher cultural diversity and population turnover than the Alps communities. We propose that integrating quantitative network analysis from simple surveys with qualitative interviews targeted from the network results is an efficient general approach to identify regionally specific constraints and opportunities for effective governance.

Introducing adaptive waves as a concept to inform mental models of resilience.

While ecological resilience is conceptually established, resilience concepts of social-ecological systems (SES) require further development, especially regarding their implementation in society. From the literature, (a) we identify the need for a revised conceptualization of SES resilience to improve its understanding for informing the development of adjusted mental models. (b) We stress the human capacity of social learning, enabling deliberate transformation of SES, for example of SES to higher scales of governance, thereby possibly increasing resilience. (c) We introduce the metaphor of adaptive waves to elucidate the differences between resilience planning and adaptation, by conceptualizing adaptation and transformation as dynamic processes that occur both inadvertently and deliberately in response to both shocks and to gradual changes. In this context, adaptive waves stress the human and social capacity to plan resilience with an intended direction and goal, and to dampen the negative effects of crises while understanding them as opportunities for innovation. (d) We illustrate the adaptive waves' metaphor with three SES cases from tourism, forestry, and fisheries, where deliberate transformations of the governance structures lead to increased resilience on a higher governance scale. We conclude that conceptual SES resilience communication needs to clarify the role and potential of human and social capital in anticipating change and planning resilience, for example, on different scales of governance. It needs to emphasize the crucial importance of crises for innovation and transformation, relevant for the societal acceptance of crises as drivers of adaptation and transformation. The adaptive waves' metaphor specifically communicates these aspects and may enhance the societal capacity, understanding, and willingness for planning resilience.