11,168 research outputs found

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

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    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

    Beyond the psychology of self and individual's pro-environmental behaviours: exploring how technology innovations can help organisations achieve and promote sustainability.

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    Purpose: This study proposes a new agenda for research and practice on pro-environmental behaviours in organisational settings by exploring the intersection between technology innovations and pro-environmental initiatives. The goal is to demonstrate the utility of digital technology in promoting and achieving sustainability by addressing the complexity and inconsistency in pro-environmental behaviours. Design/methodology/approach: Using relevant literature on pro-environmental behaviours, this study explores the possibility of embedding technology innovations in pro-environmental initiatives to promote and enhance sustainability in organisational settings. Findings: This study argues that the recent technological advancement and open innovation provide new insights into understanding and implementing pro-environmental initiatives in organisational settings. While pro-environmental behaviours studies have advanced over the past decades, this study shows that many pro-environmental activities do not require employees to change behaviour. According to this study, psychology and technology innovations offer various opportunities for businesses to effectively and pragmatically embed sustainability into their operations without necessarily changing employees' behaviour. Research limitations/implications: This conceptual study offers opportunities to empirically explore the collaborative nexus between "psychology-based pro-environmental behaviour research and technology innovation". Despite the plethora of studies on pro-environmental behaviours, results are mixed and inconclusive, raising questions about the dominant practice used for promoting pro-environmental initiatives and behaviours at the corporate level. This study, therefore, provides a new pathway for businesses to address their environmental aspects, demonstrating a pragmatic approach to resolving the complexity of pro-environmental behaviours. Originality/value: This study allows social investigators, policymakers, and technology developers to re-assess, revive and further investigate how they can collaborate to address practical environmental and social issues

    Reinterpret 4As framework of energy security from the perspective of human security – an analysis of China’s electric vehicle (EV) development

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    This research addresses two issues: expanding the understanding of human security with the case of China’s electric vehicle (EV) development and examining the human security implications of China’s EV development. This research adopts an online ethnographic method to record very personal driving forces and barriers to China’s EV uptake through the experiences shared by ordinary Chinese people. From a theoretical perspective, this research provides more evidence for the applicability of the broad human security approach in energy security analysis through the case of China’s EV development. By reinterpreting the 4As framework (availability, affordability, accessibility, and acceptability), which is one of the most frequently adopted frameworks in the analysis of energy security on the state level, (Cherp & Jewell, 2014, p. 416), this research challenges the current understanding of human security by demonstrating that threats to human security exist at all levels of development and touch not only the most vulnerable but also people living in well-developed regions in the face of the lasted technological transformation. The analysis of China’s EV development as a strategic energy security consideration sheds some light on the complicated relationship between state and individual security within China’s security discussion. It enriches the understanding of human security by exploring how it has been adapted to the Chinese social and political context. Meanwhile, drawing on the insights from ontological security through the lens of some key indicators (protection, autonomy, and social acceptance), this research emphasises the necessity of incorporating the subjective dimension in human security analysis to capture subjective feelings and psychological factors in everyday security. This research contributes empirically to identifying human security implications of EV development based on the real-life experiences shared by the Chinese people, which may constitute barriers to China’s EV uptake. Informed by the flexible interpretation of security agency offered by the broad human security approach, this research demonstrates that apart from the state’s dominant position as the main security provider, other players, such as carmakers, also play an important role in shaping people’s perceptions of how secure EVs are. Recognising that the misoperation of an automobile can cause serious physical harm to both those on board and other road users, this research argues that ordinary people should not be only considered as the object of protection but also as the agent with the power to exert influence on the security implications of the new technology

    State of the art 2015: a literature review of social media intelligence capabilities for counter-terrorism

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    Overview This paper is a review of how information and insight can be drawn from open social media sources. It focuses on the specific research techniques that have emerged, the capabilities they provide, the possible insights they offer, and the ethical and legal questions they raise. These techniques are considered relevant and valuable in so far as they can help to maintain public safety by preventing terrorism, preparing for it, protecting the public from it and pursuing its perpetrators. The report also considers how far this can be achieved against the backdrop of radically changing technology and public attitudes towards surveillance. This is an updated version of a 2013 report paper on the same subject, State of the Art. Since 2013, there have been significant changes in social media, how it is used by terrorist groups, and the methods being developed to make sense of it.  The paper is structured as follows: Part 1 is an overview of social media use, focused on how it is used by groups of interest to those involved in counter-terrorism. This includes new sections on trends of social media platforms; and a new section on Islamic State (IS). Part 2 provides an introduction to the key approaches of social media intelligence (henceforth ‘SOCMINT’) for counter-terrorism. Part 3 sets out a series of SOCMINT techniques. For each technique a series of capabilities and insights are considered, the validity and reliability of the method is considered, and how they might be applied to counter-terrorism work explored. Part 4 outlines a number of important legal, ethical and practical considerations when undertaking SOCMINT work

    Internet Marketing for Profit Organizations: A framework for the implementation of strategic internet marketing

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    Merged with duplicate record 10026.1/828 on 13.03.2017 by CS (TIS)The development of the Internet has significantly changed the face of established markets and operation approaches across a tremendous spectrum of different industries. Within the competitive environment of those industries, the opportunities and risks derived from the new platform are so ubiquitous that unused opportunities quickly translate into potential risks. Those opportunities and risks demand for a structured approach how to implement a sustainable Internet marketing strategy that targets clear business objectives. Marketing and strategic management theory describes very clear structural principles towards their operational implementation. Based on those principles an extensive literature review has been conducted which confirms the result from representative statistics that demonstrate the lack of a comprehensive framework for strategic Internet marketing. The distinct result of this research is such a comprehensive framework which has been directly derived from the illustrated principles of strategic management and Internet marketing. All major components of this generic framework are designed, evaluated in dedicated surveys and validated in extensive case studies. The main achievements of the research are: • A comprehensive review of the current state-of-the-art Internet marketing strategies • Conceptual specification of a strategic Internet marketing framework with generic applicability to profit organizations • Demonstration of the practical feasibility of the proposed framework at the implementation level (via several examples like the SIMTF and SIMPF) • Confirmation of the applicability of the framework based upon a survey of potential beneficiaries • Validation of the effectiveness of the approach via case study scenarios Changing the understanding of a former technical discipline, the thesis describes how Internet marketing becomes a precise strategic instrument for profit organizations. The new structured, complete and self-similar framework facilitates sales organizations to significantly increase the effectiveness and efficiency of their marketing operations. Furthermore, the framework ensures a high level of transparency about the impact and benefit of individual activities. The new model explicitly answers concerns and problems raised and documented in existing research and accommodate for the current limitations of strategic Internet marketing. The framework allows evaluating existing as well as future Internet marketing tactics and provides a reference model for all other definitions of objectives, KPI and work packages. Finally this thesis also matures the subject matter of Internet marketing as a discipline of independent scientific research providing an underlying structure for subsequent studies.Darmstadt Node of the CSCAN Network at University of Applied Sciences, Darmstad

    HCI for health and wellbeing: challenges and opportunities

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    In terms of Human–Computer Interaction, healthcare presents paradoxes: on the one hand, there is substantial investment in innovative health technologies, particularly around “big data” analytics and personal health technologies; on the other hand, most interactive health technologies that are currently deployed at scale are difficult to use and few innovative technologies have achieved significant market penetration. We live in a time of change, with a shift from care being delivered by professionals towards people being expected to be actively engaged and involved in shared decision making. Technically, this shift is supported by novel health technologies and information resources; culturally, the pace of change varies across contexts. In this paper, I present a “space” of interactive health technologies, users and uses, and interdependencies between them. Based on a review of the past and present, I highlight opportunities for and challenges to the application of HCI methods in the design and deployment of digital health technologies. These include threats to privacy, patient trust and experience, and opportunities to deliver healthcare and empower people to manage their health and wellbeing in ways that better fit their lives and values

    A psychobiographical analysis of the personality traits of Steve jobs’s entrepreneurial life

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    There has been increasing interest in the attributes of successful entrepreneurs. Increasingly, too, research on entrepreneurship has focused on the identification of personality traits conducive to entrepreneurial success. The present study moves away from predicting entrepreneurial success and instead focuses on exploring and describing the personality traits of a successful entrepreneur, namely Steve Jobs. A psychobiographical case study design and qualitative approach were employed to explore the extent to which Steve Jobs displayed the personality traits identified by Rauch and Frese (2007). Data collection and analysis were guided by three linked sub-processes proposed by Miles and Huberman (2002), which include (a) data reduction, (b) data display and (c) conclusion drawing and verification. The findings of this study show that, over the course of the subject’s life, the personality traits identified by Rauch and Frese (2007) as conducive to successful engagement in entrepreneurial activities were displayed, namely need for achievement, risk-taking, innovativeness, autonomy, internal locus of control, and self-efficacy. In so far as it can be argued that these personality traits inherently predisposed Steve Jobs to achieve the success he displayed as an entrepreneur, the findings of this study affirm the relevance of the personality trait perspective in describing and understanding the life course of successful entrepreneurs
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