Erica Löfström

Visualizing household energy use in the interest of developing sustainable energy systems

In times of climate change political goals concern a reduction in total energy consumption and to use energy more efficiently. To achieve this, users need to transform their behaviour and start reflecting on their energy use. This paper discusses three different methods for visualising energy use, namely information tools, keeping time-diaries and using the ‘Power-Aware Cord’. Each method has its pros and cons, but combining different methods could prove a useful way to draw attention to household energy use and the possibilities for energy reduction. By combining the data gained from the different methods, it will be more likely that strategies will be found that are better suited to peoples behaviour.

Understanding Smart Cities as Social Machines

Smart Cities denote a stronger integration of information technology into the organisation of a city and the interaction and participation of its citizens. In developing the concept further, we propose to understand Smart Cities through the lens of Social Machines and thus stronger focus on the city as a socio-technical construct. We draw from an interdisciplinary background of computer science and urban planning to reexamine and combine existing theories and find a common understanding. We substantiate our claim to the validity of the concept of Smart-City-as-a-Social-Machine with a thorough literature study and comparison. We discuss the resulting system complexity issues and ways to address them. We further propose areas where this understanding can be useful in furthering research on both the Smart City and the Social Machine topics.

Supporting Social Interaction in Care Environments: Exploring Stakeholder Perspectives on the Potential of Interactive Technology

ABSTRACT This article explores care stakeholders’ perspectives on how interactive technology can help form socially active environments in residential care settings. Based on participatory workshops, involving representatives from multiple stakeholder groups, the authors identify a set of considerations relevant for design of social inclusion technology for care settings. The design considerations relate to the following topics: users, places, themes, value, and role. The authors also present three mock-ups emanating from the workshops, representing the participants’ visions as to how technology can contribute to social interaction by accommodating considerations related to the above topics. The results from this study highlight the importance of social inclusion technology being firmly anchored in the local and collaboratively produced care environment. In particular, their findings illustrate how the local—i.e., the wider social context in which the care residents live, and in which activities and things gain social meaning and value—can offer a rich design space and valuable source of inspiration for social inclusion technology. Potential negative implications of social inclusion technology are also briefly discussed. The main contribution of this article is an increased understanding of the intimate relationship between designs for social inclusion and the wider social context in which care residents live.