Smart homes and their users:a systematic analysis and key challenges

Published research on smart homes and their users is growing exponentially, yet a clear understanding of who these users are and how they might use smart home technologies is missing from a field being overwhelmingly pushed by technology developers. Through a systematic analysis of peer-reviewed literature on smart homes and their users, this paper takes stock of the dominant research themes and the linkages and disconnects between them. Key findings within each of nine themes are analysed, grouped into three: (1) views of the smart home-functional, instrumental, socio-technical; (2) users and the use of the smart home-prospective users, interactions and decisions, using technologies in the home; and (3) challenges for realising the smart home-hardware and software, design, domestication. These themes are integrated into an organising framework for future research that identifies the presence or absence of cross-cutting relationships between different understandings of smart homes and their users. The usefulness of the organising framework is illustrated in relation to two major concerns-privacy and control-that have been narrowly interpreted to date, precluding deeper insights and potential solutions. Future research on smart homes and their users can benefit by exploring and developing cross-cutting relationships between the research themes identified

From passionate labour to compassionate work: Cultural co-ops, do what you love and social change

This article focuses on the relation between work and pleasure in the cultural sector. I first unpack the concept of passionate work, situating it within four possible ways of relating work and pleasure. I argue that the work ethic of do what you love, contrary to what it promises, limits the prospects of loveable work. As part of a neoliberal work culture, do what you love transfers the battleground from society onto the self. It favours self-management over politics. Drawing on findings from interview research with members of worker co-operatives in the UK cultural industries, I then go on to explore the relation between work and pleasure within cultural co-ops. I discuss how cultural co-ops might inspire and contribute to a movement for transforming the future of work by turning the desire for loveable work from a matter of individual transformation and competition into a practice of co-operation and social change

Opportunities for advances in climate change economics

There have been dramatic advances in understanding the physical science of climate change, facilitated by substantial and reliable research support. The social value of these advances depends on understanding their implications for society, an arena where research support has been more modest and research progress slower. Some advances have been made in understanding and formalizing climate-economy linkages, but knowledge gaps remain [e.g., as discussed in (1, 2)]. We outline three areas where we believe research progress on climate economics is both sorely needed, in light of policy relevance, and possible within the next few years given appropriate funding: (i) refining the social cost of carbon (SCC), (ii) improving understanding of the consequences of particular policies, and (iii) better understanding of the economic impacts and policy choices in developing economies

Industrial Structure and Political Outcomes: The Case of the 2016 US Presidential Election

This paper analyzes the US presidential election of 2016, examining the patterns of industrial structure and party competition in both the major party primaries and the general election. It attempts to identify the new, historically specific factors that led to the upheavals, especially the steady growth of a “dual economy” that locks more and more Americans out of the middle class. It draws extensively on a newly assembled, more comprehensive database to identify the specific political forces that coalesced around each candidate, including the various stages of the Trump campaign

Applying social influence insights to encourage climate resilient domestic water behaviour: Bridging the theory-practice gap

Water scarcity is one of the most pressing issues of our time and it is projected to increase as global demand surges and climate change limits fresh water availability. If we are to reduce water demand, it is essential that we draw on every tool in the box, including one that is underestimated and underutilised: social influence. Research from the psychological sciences demonstrates that behaviour is strongly influenced by the behaviour of others, and that social influence can be harnessed to develop cost-effective strategies to encourage climate resilient behaviour. Far less attention has been paid to investigating water-related interventions in comparison to interventions surrounding energy. In this paper we consider the application of three social influence strategies to encourage water conservation: social norms; social identity; and socially-comparative feedback. We not only review their empirical evidence base, but also offer an example of their application in the residential sector with the aim of highlighting how theoretical insights can be translated into practice. We argue that collaborations between researchers and industry are essential if we are to maximise the potential of behaviour change interventions to encourage climate resilient water behaviour

Interaction of consumer preferences and climate policies in the global transition to low-carbon vehicles

Burgeoning demands for mobility and private vehicle ownership undermine global efforts to reduce energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. Advanced vehicles powered by low-carbon sources of electricity or hydrogen offer an alternative to conventional fossil-fuelled technologies. Yet, despite ambitious pledges and investments by governments and automakers, it is by no means clear that these vehicles will ultimately reach mass-market consumers. Here, we develop state-of-the-art representations of consumer preferences in multiple, global energy- economy models, specifically focusing on the non-financial preferences of individuals. We employ these enhanced model formulations to analyse the potential for a low-carbon vehicle revolution up to mid-century. Our analysis shows that a diverse set of measures targeting vehicle buyers is necessary for driving widespread adoption of clean technologies. Carbon pricing alone is insufficient for bringing low-carbon vehicles to mass market, though it can certainly play a supporting role in ensuring a decarbonised energy supply

The influence of traits associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) on the detection of fake news.

It has been suggested that neuro-diverse individuals may be particularly good at detecting online deception (Pick 2019). A small-scale exploratory study was conducted to investigate whether individuals with traits associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) were more or less accurate in spotting different types of fake news. A non-clinical sample of university students completed an online identification task, where both fake and real articles items were manipulated in terms of their emotive content. When individuals with low and high scores on the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (Baron-Cohen et al. 2001) were compared, there were no significant main effects on detection accuracy. However, there were two significant interactions, indicating an interesting relationship between message emotiveness, ASD and fake news detection. The results contribute to an understanding of how psychological differences, in particular ASD, may affect online judgements and will contribute to a developing body of work relating positive skills of neuro-diverse individuals to the cybersecurity industry

Optimizing innovation, carbon and health in transport: assessing socially optimal electric mobility and vehicle-to-grid pathways in Denmark

This paper examines the social costs and benefits of potential configurations of electric vehicle deployment, including and excluding vehicle-to-grid. To fully explore the benefits and costs of different electric vehicle pathways, four different scenarios are devised with both today’s and 2030 electricity grid in Denmark. These scenarios combine different levels of electric vehicle implementation and communication ability, i.e. smart charging or full bi-directionality, and then paired with different levels of future renewable energy implementation. Then, the societal costs of all scenarios are calculated, including carbon and health externalities to find the least-cost mix of electric vehicles for society. The most cost-effective penetration of electric vehicles in the near future is found to be 27%, increasing to 75% by 2030. This would equate to a $34 billion reduction to societal costs in 2030, a decrease of 30$1,200 in 2030. However, current vehicle capital cost differences, a lack of willingness to pay for electric vehicles, and consumer discount rates are substantial barriers to electric vehicle deployment in Denmark in the near term