| 1. |
- Broms, Loove, 1977-
(författare)
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Storyforming : Experiments in creating discursive engagements between people, things and environments
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis introduces and critically reflects on a design programme, Storyforming, that explores ways to design objects and places to enrich daily life narratives. Using an experimental design approach, the goal is to exemplify and explore this idea with discursive artefacts that, through their physical and temporal form, act as catalysts in the construction of meaningful experiences.In the current sustainability discourse, behavioural change has been pointed out as a key factor in achieving a sustainable society. Historically, design has been very effective in increasing production and consumption behaviours by creating new types of needs and, in a way, manufacturing desire (Forty, 1986). Drawing on this, the overarching aim of this thesis is the investigation of the ways design, through a suggested programme, can afford alternative types of meaningful experiences in contrast to the prevailing consumer culture.The empirical work reported in the thesis stems from several research projects looking into the matter of energy use in relation to design. In addition, two of the projects have been carried out in the author’s own design practice. Some concepts are explored more in-depth—involving events such as field studies, situated interviews, workshops, prototype building, design interventions in the form of domestication probes, and contextual studies ranging from a few weeks up to a year—while other concepts exist only as sketches or photo montages. The diversity of these concepts, the design experiments, helps span a design space becoming a new provisional design programme. The idea for this programme has evolved from observations and reflections made throughout the experiments presented in the thesis.The general results are the suggested approach of Storyforming, which focuses on the design of artefacts supporting daily narratives that can be used to create engagement, meaning, and alternative values applicable to the discourse of sustainable behaviour.Specific contributions are the selection of design experiments. In the thesis, the experiments have first been examined from the perspective of stories and forming as a basis for the new programme formulation. Through this articulation of the programme, the experiments are revisited through three leitmotifs, part of the provisional programme focusing on different properties related to the aspect of forming. From the perspective of the user, these themes—seeing and accessing designs, exploring and expressing complexity, and sharing experiences and negotiating use—are finally elaborated on in relation to other theoretical concepts as well as their implications for future research.
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| 2. |
- Granath, Malin
(författare)
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The Smart City – how smart can ’IT’ be? : Discourses on digitalisation in policy and planning of urban development
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Cities are facing many challenges; challenges linked to world-wide trends like urbanisation, climate changes and globalisation. In parallel to these trends, we have seen a rapid digitalisation in and of different parts of society. Cities and local governments have been appointed an important role in overcoming these world-wide challenges, and subsequently, in policy practices digitalisation is perceived as an important dimension in delivering better and sustainable services to its citizens. As a result, the smart city has emerged as a concept and approach to contemporary urban planning and development. There is still no common understanding of the concept and what components and dimensions it covers. However, in all definitions digitalisation constitutes one dimension, but the role and function of it is still not clear.In this study I have examined how different stakeholders talk about digitalisation in policy and planning practices of urban development. The aim has been to identify and analyse different repertoires of discourses on digitalisation to advance our knowledge on how goals related to the smart city and digitalisation are put into practice. The results are based on a qualitative and interpretative case study with a social constructionist approach. An analytical framework based on discourse analysis, stakeholder theory and (new) institutional theory has been constructed to analyse the case.Main results show that repertoires on digitalisation are limited in both policy and planning of urban development. In these practices, digitalisation is primarily seen as a means or as a communication infrastructure in relation to two city services/functions; i.e. services related to governance and to environment. Results also show that practices of urban planning and development are institutionalised, where different stakeholders’ salience and stakes in urban development and in digitalisation differ, but it is clear that digitalisation is a secondary issue. Implications of these results are that the taken-for-granted discourses in policy and planning practices of urban development limit both practice and research when developing a smart city.
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| 3. |
- Adams, Sophie, et al.
(författare)
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Social license to automate: A critical review of emerging approaches to electricity demand management
- 2021
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Ingår i: Energy Research & Social Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 2214-6296 .- 2214-6326. ; 80:October, s. 102210-12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Electricity demand-side management (DSM) programs are becoming increasingly important to energy system managers in advanced industrialized countries, especially those with high renewable energy penetration. As energy user participation is paramount for their success but has proven to be difficult to obtain, we explore the usefulness of the ‘social license’ concept, originally developed in the mining sector, to refer to the process of creating acceptance in DSM programs aimed at managing or controlling household energy resources such EVs, batteries, and heating and cooling devices. We argue that analyzing the attainment or lack of ‘social license’ may be useful to energy policy-makers and researchers for understanding public concerns with not only supply-side energy resources, but also DSM. We do so by (1) drawing attention to potential frictions between demands for flexibility on the one hand and social practices and habits on the other; (2) attending to the ways that users’ engagement in DSM programs is influenced by their sense of control and agency, and their trust in program providers; and (3) exploring the ways that users may understand their stake in the energy system and may participate in programs as collectives rather than simply as individuals. We argue that a ‘social license to automate’ could not only describe a set of tools to manage participation in DSM projects, but rather assess the ways users effectively feel part of new energy systems designed to serve them.
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| 4. |
- Biørn-Hansen, Aksel, et al.
(författare)
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Exploring the Use of a Carbon Footprint Calculator Challenging Everyday Habits
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nordic Human-Computer Interaction Conference. - New York, NY, USA : Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Carbon calculators have been put forth as a tool to motivate sustainable behaviour change in people. However, the approach of “just” presenting numbers to communicate climate footprints has not been found to be an effective strategy. In this paper, we investigate the use of an application that combines carbon footprint calculations with gamelike features in order to address the gap between awareness and behaviour. Our results are based on an interview study and show that while respondents appreciate the idea, there are several problem areas which have implications for the design of carbon calculators, including issues with targeting the “right users”, the use of gamification and the absence of a social context. Furthermore, the results point towards general barriers and opportunities for design when the aim is to design for sustainable behaviour change. This includes a need to be adaptive to the transitioning process towards a low carbon lifestyle.
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| 5. |
- Bohné, Ulrica
(författare)
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Exploring the intersection of design, reflection and sustainable food shopping practices : The case of the EcoPanel
- 2016
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Food production has been shown to have considerable negative impacts on the environment. A means to reduce this is to choose organic products when shopping for food.Through the case of the EcoPanel, a web application prototype that visualises the organic proportion of the household’s food shopping, the thesis explores the intersection between design, reflection and sustainable food shopping practices.In order to contextualise the role of the EcoPanel, the text discusses the concept of food shopping practice, both from the perspective of social practice theory (SPT), and the more focused food choice perspective. The studies show that it is fundamental to understand the complexity of choosing food, and the habitual aspect of practice, in order to understand the role of reflection in food shopping practice, and consequently the role of a tool for reflective decision-making, like the EcoPanel.We have used a research through design approach to develop the EcoPanel prototype. In an iterative process we probed how the EcoPanel could be designed to be as relevant and accessible for the users as possible. Essential in the process were the iterative user feedback sessions. The way in which the users answered the questions from the sessions formed the guiding principles for the development of the design.A central question in the thesis is to explore in what ways the users’ access to their individual sustainable grocery data provided by the EcoPanel affects their food shopping practices. The studies include monitoring sixty-five users of the EcoPanel over five months, a survey regarding aspects of lifestyle and attitudes to food, and interviews with ten of the users.The long-term study shows an increased organic purchase level (17%) for the EcoPanel users in comparison to the reference group. We also see that when the users receive feedback on their organic food purchases through the EcoPanel, they can make more reflective decisions. This is shown to be highly relevant and creates meaning for the users in several different ways. From this result, in combination with the result of the long-term study, we can conclude that the EcoPanel contributes with support for more sustainable food practices.The last question in the thesis is to understand how SPT can be useful for design practice. SPT shows a view that goes beyond the traditional interaction perspective, and points to the importance of approaching complex issues, such as sustainability challenges, with an awareness that also includes social and cultural aspects of the context. As well as this view being pertinent when approaching sustainability issues, it also provides value to designers in their emerging roles of dealing with more socially embedded concerns, such as social innovation and design for public policies.
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| 6. |
- Boork, Magdalena, et al.
(författare)
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Activity-based offices : Synergies and trade-offs between energy efficiency and employees' work environment
- 2019
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Ingår i: Eceee Summer Study Proceedings. - : European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. ; , s. 1499-1504
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Energy use in office buildings is significant. At the same time, more than half of the Swedish office buildings were erected before 1970, which means that extensive refurbishments and new establishments are expected. Requirements on efficiency in terms of costs, space and energy use are then usually high. To achieve both energy efficient buildings and stimulating workplaces, there is a trend towards the implementation of activity-based offices. The activity-based workplace is structured to fit the employees' work tasks and may give an impression of stimulating employees' creativity. However, studies show that the work environment does not suit everyone. Instead, mainly managers and employees who frequently interact with others are supported by activity-based working. Practical examples indicate that the efficiency of buildings may affect the employees´ wellbeing and work environment negatively - i.e. aspects linked to social sustainability. Nevertheless, knowledge on synergies and trade-offs between environmental and social sustainability goals is limited regarding the workplace in energy efficient buildings. It has for instance been shown previously that studies on green buildings mainly focus on environmental sustainability aspects, while the social dimension is basically lacking. This includes aspects of physical and psychological well-being. Still, understanding the interaction between different sustainability dimensions is crucial for implementing sustainability work in practice. The study presented in this paper is part of an ongoing Swedish research project exploring the consequences of energy efficient office buildings on the employees' work environment based on case studies and literature. This paper presents a literature review of scientific papers on the topic and describes the outline of the case studies to be executed during spring 2019. It is concluded that scientific literature focusing on both energy efficiency and work environment at the activity-based workplace is scarce. Still, to ensure that environmental benefits are not realized at the expense of the employees' well-being, it is highly important to further explore potential synergies and trade-offs between social and environmental sustainability factors.
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| 7. |
- Carlsson Kanyama, Annika, et al.
(författare)
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Dags för en nationell strategi för växtbaserade mejeriprodukter
- 2021
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Annan publikation (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- Om vi konsumenter slutar att dricka komjölk och äta ost gjord av råvaror från djurriket och i stället utnyttjar alternativen från växter så medför det mycket stora vinster för miljön. Därför behöver Sverige en ny nationell strategi som påskyndar en omställning till växtbaserade alternativ till mejeriprodukter.
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| 8. |
- Carlsson Kanyama, Annika, et al.
(författare)
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Differences in Environmental Impact between Plant-Based Alternatives to Dairy and Dairy Products: A Systematic Literature Review
- 2021
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A large body of research suggests a more plant-based diet, including a switch to plant-based alternatives to dairy, is needed for lowering human-induced climate change as well as land and water use. With the help of a systematic literature review, we analyzed data from 21 peer-reviewed articles about the differences in emissions and resources used between various plant-based alternatives to dairy and dairy products. Emissions included were greenhouse gases, acidifying, eutrophicating, and ozone-depleting substances, and resource use included water, energy, and land. The results are presented as the quotients of the ratios of plant-based alternatives to dairy and dairy products. The comparison shows that the plant-based dairy alternatives have lower, or much lower, impacts in almost all cases, with two exceptions: water use for almond drinks (several studies) and emissions of ozone-depleting substances for margarine (one study). There is a lack of data concerning impacts other than greenhouse gas emissions for plant-based cheese alternatives; and in general, emissions of greenhouse gases are more highly covered than other impacts. In the quest for a swift transition to a low carbon economy, however, there is already enough evidence to proceed with a dietary change involving switching dairy products to plant-based alternatives.
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| 9. |
- Duwig, Christophe
(creator_code:cre_t)
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Exhibition : Towards the energy of the future – the invisible revolution behind the electrical socket
- 2023
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Konstnärligt arbeteabstract
- Energy Crisis! Electricity Price drama! The threat of global energy poverty! Media are generous with spectacular titles. Yes, energy is important, and yes, nearly all societal challenges are connected to how we convert, distribute and use energy. Therefore, the KTH Energy Platform and KTH Library presented an exhibition with the theme Towards the energy of the future – the invisible revolution behind the electrical socket.The exhibition displayed showcase illustrations from the book made by Lotta Waesterberg Tomasson, as well as books related to energy and electricity from the KTH Library's collections. In parallell with the exhibition, a series of live popular science lunch seminars with presentations of selected chapters of the book took place. As part of the exhibition, students from KTH's Electrical Engineering program also showcased exciting projects that connect to the anthology’s contents, made with materials and equipment from the student-driven ELAB and “Studentverkstan”. Visitors were also invited to share their reflections and ideas on energy.
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| 10. |
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