Digital technologies for behavioral change in sustainability domains: a systematic mapping review

Sustainability research has emerged as an interdisciplinary area of knowledge about how to achieve sustainable development, while political actions toward the goal are still in their infancy. A sustainable world is mirrored by a healthy environment in which humans can live without jeopardizing the survival of future generations. The main aim of this contribution was to carry out a systematic mapping (SM) of the applications of digital technologies in promoting environmental sustainability. From a rigorous search of different databases, a set of more than 1000 studies was initially retrieved and then, following screening criteria based on the ROSES (RepOrting standards for Systematic Evidence Syntheses) procedure, a total of N = 37 studies that met the eligibility criteria were selected. The studies were coded according to different descriptive variables, such as digital technology used for the intervention, type of sustainable behavior promoted, research design, and population for whom the intervention was applied. Results showed the emergence of three main clusters of Digital Technologies (i.e., virtual/immersive/augmented reality, gamification, and power-metering systems) and two main Sustainable Behaviors (SBs) (i.e., energy and water-saving, and pollution reduction). The need for a clearer knowledge of which digital interventions work and the reasons why they work (or do not work) does not emerge from the outcomes of this set of studies. Future studies on digital interventions should better detail intervention design characteristics, alongside the reasons underlying design choices, both behaviourally and technologically. This should increase the likelihood of the successful adoption of digital interventions promoting behavioral changes in a more sustainable direction

Sustainable consumption: towards action and impact. : International scientific conference November 6th-8th 2011, Hamburg - European Green Capital 2011, Germany: abstract volume

This volume contains the abstracts of all oral and poster presentations of the international scientific conference „Sustainable Consumption – Towards Action and Impact“ held in Hamburg (Germany) on November 6th-8th 2011. This unique conference aims to promote a comprehensive academic discourse on issues concerning sustainable consumption and brings together scholars from a wide range of academic disciplines. In modern societies, private consumption is a multifaceted and ambivalent phenomenon: it is a ubiquitous social practice and an economic driving force, yet at the same time, its consequences are in conflict with important social and environmental sustainability goals. Finding paths towards “sustainable consumption” has therefore become a major political issue. In order to properly understand the challenge of “sustainable consumption”, identify unsustainable patterns of consumption and bring forward the necessary innovations, a collaborative effort of researchers from different disciplines is needed

On the transition to a sustainable economy:Field experimental evidence on behavioral interventions

This dissertation studies the impact of behavioral interventions on waste sorting and energy conservation, two domains where sustained environmental conservation has the potential to substantially reduce social costs. The interventions are evaluated by means of field experiments. The first essay investigates the relative impact of behavioral interventions versus neoclassical interventions. It finds that interventions that draw on extrinsic motivations have an immediate and sizable effect on waste sorting behavior, but also that the average treatment effects attenuate steeply over time. In contrast, the essay finds equally sizeable yet long-lasting effects of a treatment designed to increase households' intrinsic motivation to sort waste. The second essay analyzes the effect of social learning interventions. It considers two interventions, one aimed at leveraging social learning via role models and a second one via feedback on the prevalence of organic waste sorting in the household's direct vicinity. The essay finds that both interventions increase waste sorting in the short run, but only the social feedback's impact is long-lasting. The third essay analyzes residential energy consumption, and how real-time disaggregated consumption feedback corrects consumer mistakes in this domain. The essay finds this feedback, provided by way of in-home displays, to reduce household energy consumption. The savings are largest on gas consumption, and the evidence suggests the effect to reflect reductions in space heating. The three essays are preceded by an introductory chapter that introduces the topic of study and the field experimental methodology. The dissertation closes with a concluding chapter that reviews its contribution to the literature on behavioral interventions and its implications for Dutch environmental policy

The State of Green Technologies in South Africa

Cite: Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), (2014). The State of Green Technologies in South Africa. [Online] Available at: DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/assaf/0025The report outlines the development, distribution and use of green technologies in energy, water, waste and sanitation in South Africa. Other sectors investigated include industry, mining, agriculture, information and communication technology, health, transport and buildings. The study looked at the South African landscape in terms of policies enabling the development and adoption of green technologies. The report concludes with several recommendations to improve the social and economic environment for research and development in green technologies, and the dissemination and uptake of these technologies. This report is the result of the deliberations of a panel of eight notable South African and international experts in various fields such as water and waste management, energy and mining. The panel was assisted by a number of researchers. In addition, a public workshop entitled ‘Green Technologies: Drivers, Barriers and Gatekeepers’ was also used as a forum to gather information.Department of Science and Technolog

Analysis and design of individual information systems to support health behavior change

As a wide-ranging socio-technical transformation, the digitalization has significantly influenced the world, bringing opportunities and challenges to our lives. Despite numerous benefits like the possibility to stay connected with people around the world, the increasing dispersion and use of digital technologies and media (DTM) pose risks to individuals’ well-being and health. Rising demands emerging from the digital world have been linked to digital stress, that is, stress directly or indirectly resulting from DTM (Ayyagari et al. 2011; Ragu-Nathan et al. 2008; Tarafdar et al. 2019; Weil and Rosen 1997), potentially intensifying individuals’ overall exposure to stress. Individuals experiencing this adverse consequence of digitalization are at elevated risk of developing severe mental health impairments (Alhassan et al. 2018; Haidt and Allen 2020; Scott et al. 2017), which is why various scholars emphasize that research should place a stronger focus on analyzing and shaping the role of the individual in a digital world, pursuing instrumental as well as humanistic objectives (Ameen et al. 2021; Baskerville 2011b). Information Systems (IS) research has long placed emphasis on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in organizations, viewing an information system as the socio-technical system that emerges from individuals’ interaction with DTM in organizations. However, socio-technical information systems, as the essence of the IS discipline (Lee 2004; Sarker et al. 2019), are also present in different social contexts from private life. Acknowledging the increasing private use of DTM, such as smartphones and social networks, IS scholars have recently intensified their efforts to understand the human factor of IS (Avison and Fitzgerald 1991; Turel et al. 2021). A framework recently proposed by Matt et al. (2019) suggests three research angles: analyzing individuals’ behavior associated with their DTM use, analyzing what consequences arise from their DTM use behavior, and designing new technologies that promote positive or mitigate negative effects of individuals’ DTM use. Various recent studies suggest that individuals’ behavior seems to be an important lever influencing the outcomes of their DTM use (Salo et al. 2017; Salo et al. 2020; Weinstein et al. 2016). Therefore, this dissertation aims to contribute to IS research targeting the facilitation of a healthy DTM use behavior. It explores the use behavior, consequences, and design of DTM for individuals' use with the objective to deliver humanistic value by increasing individuals' health through supporting a behavior change related to their DTM use. The dissertation combines behavioral science and design science perspectives and applies pluralistic methodological approaches from qualitative (e.g., interviews, prototyping) and quantitative research (e.g., survey research, field studies), including mixed-methods approaches mixing both. Following the framework from Matt et al. (2019), the dissertation takes three perspectives therein: analyzing individuals’ behavior, analyzing individuals’ responses to consequences of DTM use, and designing information systems assisting DTM users. First, the dissertation presents new descriptive knowledge on individuals’ behavior related to their use of DTM. Specifically, it investigates how individuals behave when interacting with DTM, why they behave the way they do, and how their behavior can be influenced. Today, a variety of digital workplace technologies offer employees different ways of pursuing their goals or performing their tasks (Köffer 2015). As a result, individuals exhibit different behaviors when interacting with these technologies. The dissertation analyzes what interactional roles DTM users can take at the digital workplace and what may influence their behavior. It uses a mixed-methods approach and combines a quantitative study building on trace data from a popular digital workplace suite and qualitative interviews with users of this digital workplace suite. The empirical analysis yields eight user roles that advance the understanding of users’ behavior at the digital workplace and first insights into what factors may influence this behavior. A second study adds another perspective and investigates how habitual behavior can be changed by means of DTM design elements. Real-time feedback has been discussed as a promising way to do so (Schibuola et al. 2016; Weinmann et al. 2016). In a field experiment, employees working at the digital workplace are provided with an external display that presents real-time feedback on their office’s indoor environmental quality. The experiment examines if and to what extent the feedback influences their ventilation behavior to understand the effect of feedback as a means of influencing individuals’ behavior. The results suggest that real-time feedback can effectively alter individuals’ behavior, yet the feedback’s effectiveness reduces over time, possibly as a result of habituation to the feedback. Second, the dissertation presents new descriptive and prescriptive knowledge on individuals’ ways to mitigate adverse consequences arising from the digitalization of individuals. A frequently discussed consequence that digitalization has on individuals is digital stress. Although research efforts strive to determine what measures individuals can take to effectively cope with digital stress (Salo et al. 2017; Salo et al. 2020; Weinert 2018), further understanding of individuals’ coping behavior is needed (Weinert 2018). A group at high risk of suffering from the adverse effects of digital stress is adolescents because they grow up using DTM daily and are still developing their identity, acquiring mental strength, and adopting essential social skills. To facilitate a healthy DTM use, the dissertation explores what strategies adolescents use to cope with the demands of their DTM use. Combining a qualitative and a quantitative study, it presents 30 coping responses used by adolescents, develops five factors underlying adolescents’ activation of coping responses, and identifies gender- and age-related differences in their coping behavior. Third, the dissertation presents new prescriptive knowledge on the design of individual information systems supporting individuals in understanding and mitigating their perceived stress. Facilitated by the sensing capabilities of modern mobile devices, it explores the design and development of mobile systems that assess stress and support individuals in coping with stress by initiating a change of stress-related behavior. Since there is currently limited understanding of how to develop such systems, this dissertation explores various facets of their design and development. As a first step, it presents the development of a prototype aiming for life-integrated stress assessment, that is, the mobile sensor-based assessment of an individual’s stress without interfering with their daily routines. Data collected with the prototype yields a stress model relating sensor data to individuals’ perception of stress. To deliver a more generalized perspective on mobile stress assessment, the dissertation further presents a literature- and experience-based design theory comprising a design blueprint, design requirements, design principles, design features, and a discussion of potentially required trade-offs. Mobile stress assessment may be used for the development of mobile coping assistants. Aiming to assist individuals in effectively coping with stress and preventing future stress, a mobile coping assistant should recommend adequate coping strategies to the stressed individual in real-time or execute targeted actions within a defined scope of action automatically. While the implementation of a mobile coping assistant is yet up to future research, the dissertation presents an abstract design and algorithm for selecting appropriate coping strategies. To sum up, this dissertation contributes new knowledge on the digitalization of individuals to the IS knowledge bases, expanding both descriptive and prescriptive knowledge. Through the combination of diverse methodological approaches, it delivers knowledge on individuals’ behavior when using DTM, on the mitigation of consequences that may arise from individuals’ use of DTM, and on the design of individual information systems with the goal of facilitating a behavior change, specifically, regarding individuals’ coping with stress. Overall, the research contained in this dissertation may promote the development of digital assistants that support individuals’ in adopting a healthy DTM use behavior and thereby contribute to shaping a socio-technical environment that creates more benefit than harm for all individuals

Environment 2.0 : the 9th Biennial Conference on Environmental Psychology, 26-28 September 2011, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

On behalf of the Environmental Psychology Division of the German Association of Psychology, the 9th Biennial International Conference on Environmental Psychology is organized by the Human-Technology Interaction (HTI) group of the School of Innovation Sciences of the Eindhoven University of Technology. The HTI group is internationally acclaimed for perception research, and has become established as a major centre of excellence in human-technology interaction research. Bringing together psychological and engineering expertise, its central mission is investigating and optimizing interactions between people, systems, and environments, in the service of a socially and ecologically sustainable society

Environment 2.0 : the 9th Biennial Conference on Environmental Psychology, 26-28 September 2011, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

On behalf of the Environmental Psychology Division of the German Association of Psychology, the 9th Biennial International Conference on Environmental Psychology is organized by the Human-Technology Interaction (HTI) group of the School of Innovation Sciences of the Eindhoven University of Technology. The HTI group is internationally acclaimed for perception research, and has become established as a major centre of excellence in human-technology interaction research. Bringing together psychological and engineering expertise, its central mission is investigating and optimizing interactions between people, systems, and environments, in the service of a socially and ecologically sustainable society

Digital technologies for behavioral change in sustainability domains: a systematic mapping review

Sustainability research has emerged as an interdisciplinary area of knowledge about how to achieve sustainable development, while political actions toward the goal are still in their infancy. A sustainable world is mirrored by a healthy environment in which humans can live without jeopardizing the survival of future generations. The main aim of this contribution was to carry out a systematic mapping (SM) of the applications of digital technologies in promoting environmental sustainability. From a rigorous search of different databases, a set of more than 1000 studies was initially retrieved and then, following screening criteria based on the ROSES (RepOrting standards for Systematic Evidence Syntheses) procedure, a total of N = 37 studies that met the eligibility criteria were selected. The studies were coded according to different descriptive variables, such as digital technology used for the intervention, type of sustainable behavior promoted, research design, and population for whom the intervention was applied. Results showed the emergence of three main clusters of Digital Technologies (i.e., virtual/immersive/augmented reality, gamification, and power-metering systems) and two main Sustainable Behaviors (SBs) (i.e., energy and water-saving, and pollution reduction). The need for a clearer knowledge of which digital interventions work and the reasons why they work (or do not work) does not emerge from the outcomes of this set of studies. Future studies on digital interventions should better detail intervention design characteristics, alongside the reasons underlying design choices, both behaviourally and technologically. This should increase the likelihood of the successful adoption of digital interventions promoting behavioral changes in a more sustainable direction

Sustainable interaction with digital technologies : fostering pro-environmental behavior and maintaining mental health

One of the most essential challenges of the twenty-first century is to realize sustainability in everyday behavior. Daily, partly unconscious decisions influence environmental sustainability. Such everyday choices are increasingly shifted toward digital environments, as digital technologies are ubiquitous in a wide variety of everyday contexts. This yields the great potential to positively influence the users behavior toward more environmental sustainability when interacting with digital technologies, for example, through the use of digital nudging. But besides these benefits, research indicates that interacting with digital technologies can lead to a specific form of stress, also known as technostress, that can cause adverse health outcomes. Individuals increasingly suffer from or are at risk of mental health issues like depression or burnout. This demonstrates that it is essential to ensure a sustainable interaction with digital technologies that is both environmentally friendly and healthy, especially for the mind. Addressing individuals interaction with digital technologies requires a broad understanding from all perspectives. The Human-Computer-Interaction (HCI) framework represents a guiding structure for studying the interaction of humans with digital technologies. Along with the guiding structure of the HCI framework, the seven research articles included in this dissertation aim to contribute to sustainable interaction with digital technologies. The focus is on two outcomes resulting from the interaction: First, fostering pro-environmental behavior and, second, maintaining mental health. After an introductory first chapter, Chapter 2 focuses on the outcome of fostering pro-environmental behavior when interacting with digital technologies using digital nudging. Chapter 2.1 contributes to a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of DNEs in different behavioral contexts (HCI perspective context) that influence the individuals pro-environmental behavior (e.g., e-commerce shopping behavior). Chapters 2.2 and 2.3 zoom in on two of the behavioral contexts described in Chapter 2.1 to investigate and test the design and effectiveness of specific DNEs in an e-commerce shop and a smart home app (HCI perspective technology) through online experiments. While prior research concentrated on the effectiveness of different feedback nudge features (FNFs) (e.g., different update frequencies), Chapter 2.4 investigates the influence of 25 identified FNFs on user satisfaction in a smart home app through a card sorting approach followed by an online survey based on the Kano model (HCI perspective human). Chapter 3 puts focuses on the outcome of maintaining mental health when interacting with digital technologies, thus avoiding technostress. Chapter 3.1 concentrates on the role of the organization in preventing technostress among their employees (HCI perspective context). It introduces and characterizes 24 primary and secondary technostress prevention measures and determines the relevance of primary prevention measures in reducing different sources of technostress (technostress creators). Out of the 24 technostress prevention measures, two specific measures (adopt a stress-sensitive digital workplace design and use gamification) are addressed in Chapters 3.2 and 3.3. Through a large-scale online survey, Chapter 3.2 derives an understanding of the characteristic profiles of technologies used at the digital workplace, their interplay, and how they influence technostress (HCI perspective technology). Chapter 3.3 focuses on the individuals appraisal (HCI perspective human) of a demanding situation when interacting with digital technologies. After conducting an online experiment, Chapter 3.3 finds that the integration of gamification elements (e.g., points or levels) in digital technologies can reduce the individuals threat appraisal. Lastly, Chapter 4 discusses the results of the seven included research articles and provides an outlook for future research. In summary, this dissertation aims to provide research and practice with new insights into creating a sustainable interaction with digital technologies to foster pro-environmental behavior and maintain mental health.Die nachhaltige Gestaltung des Lebens eine der zentralen Herausforderung des einundzwanzigsten Jahrhunderts. Alltägliche, teils unterbewusste Entscheidungen haben Einfluss auf die ökologische Nachhaltigkeit. Diese Entscheidungen werden durch die Allgegenwärtigkeit digitaler Technologien zunehmend in digitalen Umgebungen getroffen. Dies birgt das Potenzial, die Entscheidungen und somit das Verhalten der Nutzer:innen bei der Interaktion mit digitalen Technologien, beispielsweise durch Digital Nudging, positiv in Richtung ökologischer Nachhaltigkeit zu beeinflussen. Doch neben diesen Vorteilen zeigt die Forschung, dass die Interaktion mit digitalen Technologien eine spezifische Form von Stress, bekannt unter dem Begriff Technostress, auslösen kann, die zu negativen gesundheitlichen Folgen führen kann. Immer mehr Menschen leiden unter psychischen Krankheiten wie Depressionen oder Burnout oder sind akut gefährdet, diese zu entwickeln. Das zeigt, dass eine nachhaltige Interaktion mit digitalen Technologien sowohl umweltfreundlich als auch gesund, insbesondere für die Psyche, sein sollte. Das erfordert zunächst ein umfassendes Verständnis für die Problematik und muss deshalb aus allen relevanten Perspektiven betrachtet werden. Das Human-Computer-Interaction (HCI) Framework stellt eine Struktur für die Untersuchung der Interaktion von Menschen mit digitalen Technologien bereit. Das Framework stellt einen ganzheitlichen Ansatz zur Strukturierung und Klassifizierung der Forschung entlang der drei verschiedenen Perspektiven dar. Orientiert an dieser Struktur zielen die sieben Forschungsartikel dieser Dissertation darauf ab, einen Beitrag zur nachhaltigen Interaktion mit digitalen Technologien zu leisten. Dabei liegt der Fokus auf den beiden Ergebnissen der Förderung des umweltfreundlichen Verhaltens und der Aufrechterhaltung der psychischen Gesundheit. Nach dem einleitenden ersten Kapitel fokussiert Kapitel 2 die Förderung eines umweltfreundlichen Verhaltens bei der Interaktion mit digitalen Technologien durch die Verwendung von Digital Nudging. Durch eine strukturierte Literaturanalyse und der anschließenden Entwicklung eines Frameworks trägt Kapitel 2.1 zu einem tieferen Verständnis und einem Überblick der Effektivität von DNEs in verschiedenen Verhaltenskontexten (HCI Perspektive Kontext), die umweltfreundliches Verhalten bestimmen (z.B. Einkaufsverhalten), bei. In den Kapiteln 2.2 und 2.3 werden zwei der in Kapitel 2.1 betrachteten Kontexte vertieft und sowohl das Design als auch die Effektivität spezifischer DNEs in einem E-Commerce-Shop (Kapitel 2.2) und einer Smart Home App (Kapitel 2.3) in Online-Experimenten untersucht (HCI Perspektive Technologie). Kapitel 2.4 konzentriert sich das gut erforschte und wirksame DNE Feedback zur Förderung von energiesparendem Verhalten. Während sich bisherige Forschung auf die Effektivität verschiedener Feedback Nudge Features (FNFs) konzentriert (z.B. unterschiedliche Aktualisierungsfrequenzen), wird in Kapitel 2.4 der Einfluss von 25 identifizierten FNFs auf die Nutzerzufriedenheit mit Hilfe eines Card Sortings und einer Online-Befragung basierend auf dem Kano Modell untersucht (HCI Perspektive Mensch). In Kapitel 3 liegt der Schwerpunkt auf dem Ziel der Aufrechterhaltung der psychischen Gesundheit und somit der Vermeidung von Technostress. Kapitel 3.1 konzentriert sich auf die Rolle der Organisation bei der Prävention von Technostress bei Mitarbeiter:innen (HCI Perspektive Kontext). Basierend auf einer Delphi-Studie werden 24 primäre und sekundäre Technostress-Präventionsmaßnahmen vorgestellt und charakterisiert, sowie deren Relevanz zur Vermeidung von Technostress eingeschätzt. Von den 24 Maßnahmen werden zwei spezifische Maßnahmen (Gestaltung eines stresssensiblen digitalen Arbeitsplatzes" und Einsatz von Gamification) in Kapitel 3.2 und 3.3 behandelt. Kapitel 3.2 trägt durch eine groß angelegte Umfrage zu einem Verständnis für die Charakteristika der am digitalen Arbeitsplatz eingesetzten Technologien und deren Einfluss auf Technostress bei (HCI Perspektive Technologie). Kapitel 3.3 konzentriert sich auf das Individuum und dessen Wahrnehmung einer potenziellen Technostress-Situation bei der Interaktion mit digitalen Technologien (HCI Perspektive Mensch). Durch ein Online-Experiment zeigt sich, dass die Integration von Gamification-Elementen in digitalen Technologien die bedrohende Wahrnehmung der gegebenen Situation des Einzelnen reduzieren kann. Zusammenfassend zielt diese Dissertation darauf ab, Forschung und Praxis mit neuen Erkenntnissen zu einer nachhaltigen Interaktion von Menschen mit digitalen Technologien zu bereichern, die sowohl umweltfreundliches Verhalten fördert als auch die psychische Gesundheit aufrechterhält und somit zu den aktuellen Nachhaltigkeitsbemühungen beiträgt

Quantitative and qualitative evaluations of impacts and benefits of nine INHERIT case studies

The INHERIT report Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluations of Impacts and Benefits of Nine INHERIT Case Studies documents the findings relevant to potential impacts and benefits of nine case studies for health, equity and a more sustainable environment. It uses a mixed method approach with quantitative methods augmented in some cases by written responses to survey questions, or by focus group discussions on impacts, as appropriate. Each case study evaluation was led by a different INHERIT partner. In each case, partners formulated the research design appropriate to their case studies and the associated research questions identified within the framework of INHERIT. The coordinating partner, University College London (UCL), developed an evaluation framework to suit the range of case studies examined for impacts and benefits, the case specific logic models developed, and the research questions identified. The nine chapters describe the impact evaluations and findings from the nine case studies using the following format: Background; Overall aims; Context; Research Questions; Methodology; Results; Discussion; Limitations; Learning points for future research; Learning points for potential scale up and transferability