Banny Banerjee

Tipping Toward Sustainability: Emerging Pathways of Transformation

This article explores the links between agency, institutions, and innovation in navigating shifts and large-scale transformations toward global sustainability. Our central question is whether social and technical innovations can reverse the trends that are challenging critical thresholds and creating tipping points in the earth system, and if not, what conditions are necessary to escape the current lock-in. Large-scale transformations in information technology, nano- and biotechnology, and new energy systems have the potential to significantly improve our lives; but if, in framing them, our globalized society fails to consider the capacity of the biosphere, there is a risk that unsustainable development pathways may be reinforced. Current institutional arrangements, including the lack of incentives for the private sector to innovate for sustainability, and the lags inherent in the path dependent nature of innovation, contribute to lock-in, as does our incapacity to easily grasp the interactions implicit in complex problems, referred to here as the ingenuity gap. Nonetheless, promising social and technical innovations with potential to change unsustainable trajectories need to be nurtured and connected to broad institutional resources and responses. In parallel, institutional entrepreneurs can work to reduce the resilience of dominant institutional systems and position viable shadow alternatives and niche regimes.

Effects of Three Motivationally Targeted Mobile Device Applications on Initial Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Change in Midlife and Older Adults: A Randomized Trial.

Background While there has been an explosion of mobile device applications (apps) promoting healthful behaviors, including physical activity and sedentary patterns, surprisingly few have been based explicitly on strategies drawn from behavioral theory and evidence. Objective This study provided an initial 8-week evaluation of three different customized physical activity-sedentary behavior apps drawn from conceptually distinct motivational frames in comparison with a commercially available control app. Study Design and Methods Ninety-five underactive adults ages 45 years and older with no prior smartphone experience were randomized to use an analytically framed app, a socially framed app, an affectively framed app, or a diet-tracker control app. Daily physical activity and sedentary behavior were measured using the smartphone’s built-in accelerometer and daily self-report measures. Results Mixed-effects models indicated that, over the 8-week period, the social app users showed significantly greater overall increases in weekly accelerometry-derived moderate to vigorous physical activity relative to the other three arms (P values for between-arm differences = .04-.005; Social vs. Control app: d = 1.05, CI = 0.44,1.67; Social vs. Affect app: d = 0.89, CI = 0.27,1.51; Social vs. Analytic app: d = 0.89, CI = 0.27,1.51), while more variable responses were observed among users of the other two motivationally framed apps. Social app users also had significantly lower overall amounts of accelerometry-derived sedentary behavior relative to the other three arms (P values for between-arm differences = .02-.001; Social vs. Control app: d = 1.10,CI = 0.48,1.72; Social vs. Affect app: d = 0.94, CI = 0.32,1.56; Social vs. Analytic app: d = 1.24, CI = 0.59,1.89). Additionally, Social and Affect app users reported lower overall sitting time compared to the other two arms (P values for between-arm differences < .001; Social vs. Control app: d = 1.59,CI = 0.92, 2.25; Social vs. Analytic app: d = 1.89,CI = 1.17, 2.61; Affect vs. Control app: d = 1.19,CI = 0.56, 1.81; Affect vs. Analytic app: d = 1.41,CI = 0.74, 2.07). Conclusion The results provide initial support for the use of a smartphone-delivered social frame in the early induction of both physical activity and sedentary behavior changes. The information obtained also sets the stage for further investigation of subgroups that might particularly benefit from different motivationally framed apps in these two key health promotion areas. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01516411

Behavioral science-informed technology interventions for change in residential energy consumption

Behavior change represents an important new approach to addressing the energy crisis. Utility companies and private companies are deploying sensor-based power meters and related residential electricity monitoring technologies with the view that monitoring energy use will eventually result in a reduction in energy consumption. The success of these technologies depends largely on homeowners responding to the data with appropriate changes in their consumption behavior. Most energy feedback interfaces, however, have not been designed through a human-centered process and display data in ways that are unlikely to change behavior. Our proposal is to design interactive interfaces that combine a deeply human-centered process with insights from behavioral economics to reduce residential energy consumption. This paper describes our current research to develop and evaluate interactive interfaces based on three motivational categories: cognitive, social, and affective.

Engaging the human in the design of residential energy reduction applications

Most online energy conservation interfaces assume that information provision is sufficient to induce behavior change and energy use reductions. A gap between behavioral theory and field practice partly explains why interfaces have not achieved this goal. In this paper, we describe a research program on human centered interactive interface design that bridges this gap with consumer based investigation of two energy reduction interfaces: Kidogo and Powerbar. Kidogo allows users to donate savings from energy conservation to public goods. In the first study, which examines Kidogo components, we investigate how alternative beneficiaries help users to connect emotionally with saving energy. In our second study, comparing Kidogo and Powerbar interventions, we investigate the ability of affectively and cognitively framed interfaces to persuade individuals to perform conservation behaviors. The first study suggests that interfaces should use negative valence images to establish an emotional connection, and the second provides evidence that affectively framed interfaces promote willingness to perform conservation behaviors.

Teaching the Innovation Methodology at the Stanford d.school

The Stanford Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, also known as the “d.school”, is an internationally celebrated hub of innovation. It has been active in spreading innovation culture and methods across the Stanford University community, Silicon Valley, and beyond. The d.school has created a strong culture of innovation that places hands-on, Design Thinking-based, team-based studio classes at its core. Central to the approach is its distinct perspective on design: the d.school believes that creativity can be cultivated, not just an innate quality. Anyone can be an innovative designer if they can unlock their creativity and utilize the right process. Its mission is to build creative confidence in every person who walks through its doors, and to make the design thinking method as accessible as possible.

Sensor-based physical interactions as interventions for change in residential energy consumption

Interventions for behavior change in domestic energy consumption rely critically on energy usage data. To obtain this data, collection systems must be established. Pervasive sensing systems enable such monitoring, but populating homes with sensors is challenging. We offer an alternative to feedback approaches that depend on the assumption that users are motivated by energy data in its raw state. Physical Experiential Technology Systems (PETS) is a behavior-and sensor-based platform supporting rich experiences and the diffusion of sensors in homes. In this paper, we present our novel approach to building sensor feedback systems and our initial product concepts.

Collaboration with the future: an infrastructure for Art+Technology at the San José International Airport

This paper summarizes the development and implementation of a three-part infrastructure for the ongoing program of technology-based public artwork at Silicon Valleys newly expanded airport. The physical, technological, and human infrastructure provides flexibility and opportunities for future artists and future technologies while providing a robust framework for the ongoing maintenance and evolution of the program and mediating between the needs of artists and the constraints of an airport.

Innovation Leadership: A New Kind of Leadership

The previous chapters on innovation and the innovation ecosystem lead us to the central topic of this chapter: Innovation Leadership. In contrast to traditional forms of leadership, we reframe leadership as a modality as well as a mindset, and emphasize the need to define it as a capacity to create impact in an increasingly complex class of challenges. Innovation Leadership involves two main dimensions of change namely the ability to amplify the impact and the ability to amplify the Innovation Capacity of the system. The primary job of the Innovation leader is to manage the two dimensions. The Innovation Capacity of the organization and the ecosystem in altered by increasing both the level of expertise as well as the ability to innovate across challenge categories. There are multiple pathways for increasing Innovation Capacity that are discussed in detail in terms of the required innovation skills, mindsets, and impact frame.

Motivators of Energy Reduction Behavioral Intentions: Influences of Technology, Personality Characteristics, Perceptions, and Behavior Barriers

Motivating behavior change for energy reduction using technological solutions has led to the development of hundreds of technological products in less than a decade. Technology design in the energy reduction field is often characterized by two perspectives; “build and they will come” and “begin with human need, motivation, and desire.” Using a human centered design perspective – we experimentally evaluated the role of three personality specific motivations, in the usability and behavior change intentions of three motivationally frame energy reduction applications. We found significant usability effects with both the affective and sociability technology have greater usability. There we no difference between technologies on behavioral measures and no interactions of outcomes with personality measures. However, both NFA and NFC have independent effects on differing behavioral outcomes. Discussion called for more research on the role of personality and motivationally framed technologies along with larger samples, and longer times between pre and post assessments.

Energy Graph Feedback: Attention, Cognition and Behavior Intentions

Behavioral science has long acknowledged that informational and performance feedback is a key to behavior change. The graph features prominently as a feedback modality. Driven by the large scale deployment of energy sensing devices, graphs have become a ubiquitous visualization of household energy consumption. We investigate the influence of three energy graph formats (bar, line and radial) and two cue conditions (color or numeric cues) within four group conditions (cost or kilowatt hour subject matter with single graph or comparison graph feedback) on five outcomes. Ease of understanding, positive attitudes and involvement were higher for bar and line graphs. Novel graph formats – the radial graph, were attended to longer and associated with more learning. There were no overall behavioral change intention effects by condition, although a few individual energy behavior intentions did differ by condition. The importance of multiple outcomes of graph feedback and the relationships among outcomes are discussed.