Images of energy: Policy perspectives on the introduction of hydroelectricity in Italy, 1882-1914

This study considers the link between energy technologies and cultural attitudes. Contemporary energy policy makers lack the conceptual tools with which to evaluate culturally appropriate energy choices. A way to regain a contextual capability is needed; that is, the capacity to recognize and avert situations where technological advance is insufficiently harmonized with its embedding environment. This study explores how both policy makers and the general public form their images of energy. It does so in three parts, beginning with an examination of the concepts of technology, culture and cognitive map, and an explanation of their interrelationship. The second part presents two historical case-studies of the introduction of hydroelectricity in Italy from 1882-1914. It considers how a relatively unknown technology made its way into urban and rural life, who its primary purveyors were, and how it shaped and was shaped by the cognitive maps of those into whose lives it marched. The final part extends the investigation to contemporary socio-cultural dynamics. Through concepts derived from General System Theory, the process of technological integration is interpreted in light of events that shape our world today. The design of a model to be used by energy makers and educators alike in conceiving culturally attuned energy alternatives is proposed. Such a model would describe energy-related cognitive maps and could serve as the basis for informed decision-making on energy choice at all levels of society. The study concludes with suggestions for a research agenda to further explore individual and collective energy-related cognitive maps