Collective attention and active consumer participation in community energy systems

Community energy systems, which rely on demand-side self-organisation of energy distribution, can encounter situations in which demand exceeds supply, and unless the community members schedule energy usage by and between themselves, there will be a blackout. This is effectively a collective action dilemma typically modelled as a repeated game and analysed using Game Theory. In this paper, we investigate the situation from an empirical (rather than analytic) perspective using instead a Serious Game. Motivated firstly by Elinor Ostrom's institutional design principles for sustainable common-pool resource management, and secondly by the idea that collective attention is a prerequisite for successful collective action, we present the design and implementation of a Serious Game which both encapsulates (some of) the design principles and promotes collective attention within the game's interface, affordances and interactions. Our experimental results show that as more interface design features which promote collective attention are enabled, then more often successful collective action is observed. These results have, we argue, important implications for Smart Meter design and roll-out programmes, as well as leveraging the active participation of prosumers in innovative operational and management principles for future Smart Grids

The Recent Shift from the Passive to the Active Consumer

Die Diskussion um das Internationale Verbraucherschutzrecht flammt seit der Schaffung des Verbrauchergerichtsstandes im Internationalen Zivilverfahrensrecht und den Verbraucherschutzregeln der Rom I-VO immer wieder auf. Nachdem der EuGH in der Vergangenheit zunächst den Verbraucherschutz hintanhielt, indem er auf eine äußert enge Auslegung pochte und den Anwendungsbereich damit schmal hielt, in der Folge einen Mittelweg zwischen den Interessen der Unternehmer und Verbraucher suchte, scheint das Pendel nunmehr in die andere Richtung auszuschlagen. Ausweislich des jüngsten EuGH-Urteils in C-218/12 Emrek/Sabranovic ist nämlich derjenige Unternehmer, der einen Vertrag mit einem ausländischen Verbraucher abschließt, selbst dann am Wohnsitz des Verbrauchers gerichtspflichtig, wenn der Vertrag nicht auf seine dortige Marketingtätigkeit zurückzuführen ist. On the causal link between ‘directing activities (at the consumer’s State)’ and the consumer’s conclusion of the contract with respect to Article 17.1 (c) Brussels I Regulation The debate on the protection of consumers in cross-border settings has flared up repeatedly since the introduction of the consumer protection rules of the Brussels I and Rome I Regulations. Whilst in the past consumer protection had not often been prioritised and the CJEU had insisted on strict interpretations to the consumers’ detriment,1 and though since then a middle road between the interests of the entrepreneur and the consumer has been sought,2 it seems that the pendulum has now swung back the other way again. According to the CJEU’s latest judgment in C-218/12 Emrek/Sabranovic, in all cases where an entrepreneur concludes a contract with a foreign consumer, this falls under the adjudicatory jurisdiction of the consumer’s domicile, even if the entrepreneur’s marketing activity in the consumer’s state was not causally relevant for the eventual conclusion of the contract.

Bridging the gap between brand gender and brand loyalty on social media: exploring the mediating effects

Brand gender has been suggested to influence consumer’s responses to the brand. The aim of this research was to deepen the understanding of the relationship between brand gender and brand loyalty by developing a research model to test the relationships among brand gender, active consumer engagement with the brand on social media, perceived quality, brand love and brand loyalty. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling. The results support the importance of active consumer brand-engagement, perceived quality and brand love in underpinning the underlying process between brand gender and brand loyalty. Hence, this research complements prior work on brand gender and confirms the important benefits of a clear brand gender positioning by showing that a strong gender identity will enhance loyalty towards the brand.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Energy & the active consumer - a social sciences and humanities cross-cutting theme report

The active participation of energy consumers is regarded as essential for the effective roll-out and development of a wide range of smart energy technologies, micro-generation and energy demand policies. As such, the ‘active consumer’ has become a focus of European Union energy policy in recent years. Accordingly, and as an output of the SHAPE ENERGY project, this report has two aims: • to present and offer guidance for interested parties on different Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) options for examining active consumers, including suggesting how particular SSH approaches might shape the direction of energy research and findings; and • to examine options for the integration of different SSH disciplinary approaches to the active consumer, as well as considering the implications of such integrations for future energy research. While recognising multiple understandings of active consumers and their energy consumption, we adopt a broad definition. Specifically, active (energy) consumption encompasses a level of participation by consumers in the purchase or use of products and services, which thereby reflects some agency on the consumers’ part and/or is itself influential in how products and services are used and designed. This can include consumer feedback, and the use and appropriation of goods and services which go beyond that intended by providers/manufactures and can affect future design considerations. Drawing on an extensive review of the literature, we establish some of the key characteristics of how active consumers and their energy demand are conceptualised in SSH, both implicitly and explicitly. Specifically, we divide SSH approaches by their most common features into: • Individualised approaches, which focus on answering what shapes individual decisions/actions towards energy consumption; and • Relational Societal approaches, which focus on energy consumption as part of an evolving and interdependent relationship with society. The application of either approach will carry different implications for research on the active consumer in relation to potential energy research problems (such as smart technology participation). In particular, there are questions over whether research can be restricted or improved by either greater interdependency and inclusion of societal elements, as per the Relational Societal approaches; or by direct (often linear) modelling of active consumers, as per the Individualised approaches. We argue that Relational Societal, while more complex, offer a deeper understanding of dynamic and widespread change. In contrast, Individualised offer greater conceptual simplicity, but appear vulnerable on explanations of how consumption is shaped and changed. Recognising these fundamental differences is essential for researchers and project funders when considering which SSH approaches might best serve the development of energy interventions - this is especially important as the dominant STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) agenda would typically favour Individualised approaches. With interdisciplinarity being a key aspiration of SHAPE ENERGY and indeed of Horizon 2020 energy work programmes, we also consider options for integrating the two approaches. We recognise that integration attempts need to be cautious of paradigmatic differences that can make certain forms of integration unworkable. On the basis of all this, we present recommendations, including to the Commission concerning future EU research funding, to those interested in or working on interdisciplinary energy research projects and platforms, and to fellow SHAPE ENERGY partners on the organisation of our Platform’s activities. Across all of these recommendations, we have prioritised: the importance of including SSH approaches in research on energy consumption; the need to acknowledge the relevance to energy consumption research of previously neglected Relational Societal approaches; and the need to be critical when considering interdisciplinary approaches to studying the active consumer

Managing water loss for sustainability of rural water supply

Water supply for rural areas flows through pipelines from many sources such as underground water and reservoirs. Due to factors such as human activities, geographic changes and natural hazards, pipelines are exposed to the ground, crack, leak and burst. Water flows out from the pipelines before reaching to the consumers is considered as water loss and this is a major component in non-revenue water. This paper highlights a framework and a work procedure for non-revenue water analysis. Based on this analysis, a comprehensive and flexible web based prototype has been developed to manage the water loss. Functions that have been developed are data recording,non-revenue water estimation and report generation. This prototype can be used by the water authority for assisting decision making and planning

Consumption in action. Mapping consumerism in international academic literature

The consumer-citizen and more generally, the emergence of active forms of citizenship mediated by consumption point to a change in the relations of production, consumption and distribution. These forms of citizenship come to encompass opposite poles of consumption such as hedonism and social responsibility. When consumption choices are associated with the social and environmental issues connected to manufacturing and distribution processes, the space claimed by the active consumer comes to represents a form of social identity recognition. This \u2018political\u2019 sphere, made up of individual and/or collective claims mediated by consumer society comes in the wake of a long period of market de-politicization. On the basis of these assumptions, this article surveys and evaluates the topics related to critical consumption that are most discussed in the social sciences. Such forms of socially oriented consumption \u2013 enacted in the form of individual or collective consumer choices \u2013 represent a new form of political participation and are understood as practices of active-citizenship promotion. The findings of this article are based on data gathered from 478 peer-reviewed articles published between 2004 and 2013. The articles were selected from Scopus on the basis of their broad connection to critical consumerism and forms of socially oriented consumerism. A software-based content analysis run through T-Lab software was used to generate an analytical model of the main research axis of the most recent international literature on these arguments. The heterogeneous body of scholarly literature on socially oriented consumption reflects the rich diversity of perspectives adopted to understand the political and ethical role of consumers in contemporary societies