Customer Privacy Concerns as a Barrier to Sharing Data about Energy Use in Smart Local Energy Systems: A Rapid Realist Review

The purpose of this review is to investigate the nature of privacy concerns in the context of smart local energy systems (SLES) to understand how SLES providers can minimize both user concerns, and cause for concern, around privacy. We conducted a rapid realist review and thematic framework analysis against Bronfenbrenner’s socio–ecological model to understand privacy concerns in different contexts. A common privacy concern was that sharing detailed energy use data had the potential to reveal information about home life, and to intrude upon people’s sense of autonomy, choice, and control. Evidence suggests that people are willing to accept new data sharing technologies if the benefits of doing so are clear, anticipated, and mutually beneficial. Building trust, through increasing knowledge and understanding, was a mechanism for overcoming privacy concerns, but this was mediated by the organization providing the information. Non-profit organizations were more trusted to ensure appropriate safeguards to privacy were in place. One key barrier to participation with good supporting evidence was that people could resist perceived intrusions on their privacy. This could be actively resisted by refusing to install data collection technologies or passively by non-participation in adapting energy use behaviours: both of which are necessary for SLES to achieve their goals of managing energy demand and building resilience in smart grids

Smart Local Energy Systems (SLES): A framework for exploring transition, context, and impacts

Energy systems globally are becoming increasingly decentralised; experiencing new types of loads; incorporating digital or “smart” technologies; and seeing the demand side engage in new ways. These changes impact on the management and regulation of future energy systems and question how they will support a socially equitable, acceptable, net-zero transition. This paper couples a meta-narrative literature review with expert interviews to explore how socio-technical regimes associated with centralised systems of provision (i.e. the prevailing paradigm in many countries around the world) differ to those of smart local energy systems (SLES). Findings show how SLES regimes incorporate niche technologies, business models and governance structures to enable new forms of localised operation and optimisation (e.g. automated network management), smarter decision making and planning, by new actors (e.g. local authorities, other local stakeholders), and engaging users in new ways. Through this they are expected to deliver on a wide range of outcomes, both within the SLES boundary and to the wider system. However, there may be trade-offs between outcomes due to pressures for change originating from competing actors (e.g. landscape vs. incumbents in the regime); understanding the mapping between different outcomes, SLES elements and their interconnections will be key to unlocking wider benefits

Social Values Related to the Development of Health and Care Guidance: Literature review for NICE by its Research Support Unit. Report of the Research Support Unit for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence develops guidance for the allocation of resources for services in clinical and public health and social care. It has a policy of social values underpinning this work that was last updated in 2008. This report is of a review of the literature on social values to help inform the further updating of this policy. The review involved a semi iterative search for literature that was then screened for ideas relevant to health and care guidance. These ideas and the main issues they raise are reported under eight major social value categories. Twenty one themes arising from the review are also provided. The literature raises many issues about the nature of social values that can be applied to guidance development. It needs to be emphasized that not all of these issues should necessarily be applied to guidance development. They are simply issues that have been raised in the literature and this review provides an opportunity for them to be considered. Many of the ideas that have been proposed are in tension with each other and could not all be achieved. It should also be emphasized that many of the issues raise considerable practical challenges in terms of methods, data and financial and timeliness. The review does not assume that any of these issues or ideas could or should necessarily be part of NICE’s policy on social values in guidance production. The review simply provides a list of ideas, issues and themes from the literature for consideration

Employment Supports for Adults With Disabilities in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Campbell Systematic Review

Objective: To identify, appraise, and synthesize studies of interventions to improve labor market outcomes of adults in developing countries with physical and/or sensory disabilities. Method: Systematic review methods, following Campbell Collaboration guidelines, were utilized. A comprehensive search was used to identify relevant studies published between 1990 and 2013, which were graded for study quality and a narrative approach used to synthesize the research evidence. Results: Fourteen studies covering a wide range of interventions met the inclusion criteria. Although individual studies reported improvements in outcomes, heterogeneity was high and studies were generally of poor methodological quality. Conclusions: There is a lack of high-quality research evidence to inform decision-making in this area. Stakeholders should be cautious when interpreting the results of the current evidence base

'It's on your conscience all the time': a systematic review of qualitative studies examining views on obesity among young people aged 12-18 years in the UK

OBJECTIVE: To explore the perspectives of young people in the UK on obesity, body size, shape and weight. DESIGN: Systematic review of qualitative studies using thematic synthesis. DATA SOURCES: Sensitive searches of 18 electronic databases from 1997 to February 2010 supplemented by grey literature searches. STUDY SELECTION: Studies produced since 1997 using qualitative methods to collect perspectives of people aged 12-18 years in the UK, reporting methods for data collection or analysis. Studies of people with eating disorders and those rated low in reliability and usefulness were excluded. RESULTS: Searches identified 30 studies involving over 1400 young people from a range of contexts. Young people of all sizes placed considerable emphasis on personal responsibility, and on the social, rather than health implications of being overweight. Young people with experience of obesity described severe, unrelenting, size-related abuse and isolation. Regardless of their own size, young people were judgemental of individuals who were overweight, but those with experience of obesity described an environment that contained multiple barriers to weight loss. Only one study asked young people directly what might support them to have a healthy body size. Study findings were configured under three main themes, labelled with quotes from included studies: general perceptions of size and society's responses ('It's on your conscience all the time'); the experiences of young people who were overweight ('If I had the choice I wouldn't be this size') and these larger young people's experiences of trying to loose weight and suggestions for action ('Make sure, even when it's hard, you've got people there'). CONCLUSIONS: The perspectives of young people in the UK, when synthesised across the spectrum of body sizes, paint a picture of a stigmatising and abusive social world. Research and policy need to engage young people actively so as to address the social implications of obesity