Favouring behavioural change of household’s energy consumption through social media and cooperative play

A change in how individuals consume energy is a key step in fighting climate change since it represents a crucial contribution to a more collective and sustainable lifestyle adoption. To carry out such process, designers and scientists are seeking new ways to increase public discussion and social involvement in energy reduction issues. In relation to this, the emphasis is on raising collective awareness to enable behavioural change and to inspire people in making sustainable decisions on energy consumption. This article draws on techniques and approaches from social science, gameful design and sustainability. It defines and discusses cooperative play as a privileged path for developing energy-related mobile applications. We present here an overview of multiple perspectives, in terms of content and methodology, to contribute to elaborating design methodologies that can favour behavioural change on households’ energy consumption

Identifying individuals\u27 preferences using games: A field experiment in promoting sustainable energy consumption

We present a novel approach to identify individuals’ preferences in the context of sustainable energy consumption by letting them play a public good game (PGG). The study will be conducted using an energy-efficiency website developed by us and operated by an Austrian utility company that currently facilitates 9,929 users out of which 1,000 will be randomly selected as participants. Laboratory experiments on PGGs identified two types of cooperative behavior: free riders and conditional cooperators. While free riders tend to act unaffected by the behavior of others, conditional cooperators are stronger influenced by the perception of their peers. In our study, participants receive normative feedback on their consumption, and we investigate the moderating effects of the PGG’s results on changes in energy consumption. The findings will contribute to the design of information systems to promote environmental sustainability because their effectiveness is increased if the consumption feedback provided reflects the recipient’s preference

Incorporating persuasion into a decision support system: The case of the water user classification function

Utility stakeholders often view autonomic feedback systems as valuable tools for moderating consumption of household resources (e.g. electricity). However, to be successful, such technology must be not only informative but also persuasive. This paper presents the water user classification (WUC) function of a decision support system (DSS) for residential water consumers. This function has been designed to harness personal value systems and wider social norms in order to promote water conservation. It uses data on home appliance efficiency, routine water usage and environmental values to attribute DSS users with a water user identity. Where the attributed identity is at odds with a self-defined 'green' identity, users may be prompted to reevaluate their everyday practices. The function also offers 'smart' personalized water saving advice. In these ways, it aims to encourage consumers to adopt sustainable water saving behaviors. This paper describes the design of the WUC function and its contribution to the DSS. It additionally highlights the crucial role of behavior change theory in the delivery of successful technology-based interventions

The effects of user identity and sanctions in online communities on real-world behavior

This paper describes a field study to investigate whether and to what extent individuals conserve more electricity if they have the opportunity to signal their behavior to others in the online community. Moreover, the study intends to reveal how positive social sanctions (e.g., publicly rewarding people who reduce their energy consumption) and negative social sanctions (e.g., publicly warning people who increase their consumption) cause individuals to alter both their energy demand and their time dedicated to the online community. We discuss related work on identity disclosure in online communities, on promoting sustainable behavior with information systems, and on economic theory explaining the effects of prosocial motives on behavior. The study will be conducted as field experiment using an energy efficiency portal developed by us and operated by an Austrian utility company that currently facilitates 9,899 active users out of which 1,400 will be randomly selected as study participants

Context of Use and Timing of Social Comparison Techniques in Behavior Change Support: A qualitative systematic review

ABSTRACT This paper aims to examine the timing and contexts of use of social comparison techniques in supporting behavior change. Timing is evaluated through stages of the behavior change process in accordance with the Transtheoretical Model, while context of use is defined through the level of publicity at three levels: public, semi-public and private. A qualitative systematic review was conducted of prior research dealing with applications featuring social comparison techniques. Through a systematic search strategy, eleven IT artifacts were selected for analysis. Then, patterns of use were analyzed so as to identify experiences on proper timing and context of use. The analysis shows that the technology placed in public spaces is suitable mainly for the first stages in the behavior change process. A private context of use is preferred in later stages

Green IS Design and Energy Conservation: An Empirical Investigation of Social Normative Feedback

A combination of information systems and socio-psychological concepts holds the potential to exert a positive influence on the energy consumption of individuals. In a field study among 9,929 users, we investigate whether descriptive and injunctive normative feedback lead to significant effects on energy demand if delivered by a website have the same effects as when delivered via personal interaction as in Schultz et al.’s (2007) study, and whether both feedback types have different effects on repeated voluntary system usage. We found a similar pattern with respect to energy consumption as did Schultz et al. (2007) based on personal interaction, and no difference with respect to frequency of system usage. The findings are important for the design of information systems that utilize feedback concepts to induce a sustainable energy usage among households. Ultimately, the results support utility companies and policy makers to cost-effectively meet regulatory saving targets

DATA ANALYTICS AND PERSUASIVE TECHNOLOGY TO PROMOTE STUDENTS’ ENGAGEMENT AND LEARNING

The use of interactive systems and internet technology nowadays enhance the process of learning as they allow educational resources to be effectively distributed and delivered to students. This gives students the opportunity to learn at their own pace and convenience. Hence, universities employ these computing technologies to aid in teaching and learning in order to meet the needs of diverse learners. Thus, students could engage in learning activities at any time and even outside the four walls of universities. Despite the usefulness of these systems, students find it hard to engage for a long time with these learning resources. They are distracted by so many activities such as chatting, playing games, listening to music, watching movies, etc. As a result, a wide gap exists in academic performance between successful students and unsuccessful one (those that drop out of universities). Therefore, there is a need for research on how to increase students’ motivation to learn. The level of motivation of students to learn and progress in their education determine the length of time they spend on learning-related activities. This research investigated the use of persuasive technology in encouraging students to spend quality time in their learning resources. Persuasive technology describes computer applications which change users’ behaviour or opinion without using coercion or deception. Specifically, this research examined the effect of three social influence strategies of persuasive technology (social comparison, social learning, and competition) on students’ engagement in their learning activities. Socially-oriented strategies recognize the fact that humans are socially-driven and thus, our feeling, behaviour or opinion is affected by that of others (social influence). The strategies were operationalized in a persuasive system as three versions of visualization using students’ assessment grades. The persuasive system was applied to a real university course-based setting to determine its effect on students’ engagement in their learning activities. Quantitative and qualitative approaches were used in determining the effectiveness of the persuasive system versions implementing the three strategies in motivating the students to engage actively in learning activities. The results of this research show that the three socially-oriented strategies of persuasive technology employed can be used in educational software to influence students to achieve a positive goal in their learning. Precisely, the persuasive system attracted and motivated students to spend more time in their learning activities

Building Eco-Informatics: Examining the Dynamics of Eco-Feedback Design and Peer Networks to Achieve Sustainable Reductions in Energy Consumption

The built environment accounts for a substantial portion of energy consumption in the United States and in many parts of the world. Due to concerns over rising energy costs and climate change, researchers and practitioners have started exploring the area of eco-informatics to link information from the human, natural and built environments. Specifically, they have begun exploring the use of normative eco-feedback systems to encourage energy efficient behavior and reduce building energy consumption. A normative eco-feedback system provides building occupants with information regarding their own energy consumption and the energy consumption of others in their peer network. While such eco-feedback systems have been observed to drive significant reductions in energy consumption, little is known about the specific system and peer network dynamics that are driving observed reductions. Without this deeper understanding, researchers run the risk of designing eco-feedback systems with low efficacy and may therefore fail to capitalize on potential energy savings. The central aim of this dissertation is to investigate the impact eco-feedback system design and peer network dynamics have on occupant energy consumption behavior. To enable both energy consumption and network data collection, I developed a web-based of an eco-feedback system prototype for an 69 unit residential building in New York City and utilized the system in three empirical experiments. The first experiment was designed to ascertain the effect eco-feedback interface design components have on energy consumption behavior. Analysis of time stamped interface usage and energy consumption data revealed evidence that providing users with incentives and information on their historical consumption levels encourages conservation behavior. Results also suggested that penalizing users for using more energy is not effective in driving energy reductions and instead discourages user engagement. To further understand the effect eco-feedback system design has on energy consumption behavior, a second experiment was conducted using an email-based eco-feedback system. The aim of this study was to examine the role feedback representation plays in encouraging reductions in energy consumption. Participants were broken into two different study groups; one group was provided with feedback in kWh, while a second group was provided with feedback in the equivalent trees required to offset emissions associated with their kWh energy usage. Results revealed that users who received feedback in the form of equivalent trees were more likely to reduce their consumption and had a less dramatic response-relapse effect to feedback emails than their counterparts who received feedback in kWh. The third experiment aimed to characterize the impact peer networks have on modifying energy consumption behavior. Specifically, the experiment was designed to determine if social influence drives energy savings in eco-feedback systems. Analysis of user interaction and energy consumption data was conducted by developing an algorithmic approach based on stochastic and social network test procedures. Social influence was found to impact energy consumption behavior and results indicated the potential of utilizing social influence and peer networks as a means to encourage energy conservation

A survey on the design of gamified systems for energy and water sustainability

Abstract In a world affected by the constant growth and concentration of the population in urban areas, the problem of preserving natural resources has become a priority. A promising approach to resource conservation is demand management, i.e., the ability to positively influence the behaviour of the population towards more sustainable consumption. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools have shown a great potential in influencing consumers’ behaviour, which could be exploited for the common good. However, the design of so-called persuasive systems for environmental purposes is a challenging task, because it cannot be based solely on the utilitarian motivation of users, but must be able to trigger a broader range of engagement factors deeply rooted in the human psychology. In this paper, we review the main design principles and models at the base of a class of persuasive system that exploits gamification and Games with a Purpose (GWAPs) to engage users towards sustainability; we identify the most commonly used incentive mechanisms for inducing behavioural changes; and present a selection of gamified systems for energy and water conservation. From such a survey, we distill design guidelines to be applied in the design of demand management socio-technical systems