“Mama, It’s Peacetime!”: Planning, Shifting, and Designing Activities in the Smart Grid Scenario

In this paper, we describe a research-through-design (RtD) approach to investigate the potential of households’ electricity load balancing in the smart grid. Through the design probe “Peacetime”, householders explore peak hours as opportunities for serene and non-electricity consuming activities. During the 2 weeks, Peacetime was deployed in the homes of three households to explore an alternative framing of non-use of electricity to the commonly used framework for prompting people with feedback on their consumption. Households’ active load balancing included planning of, replacing, reorganizing, and skipping everyday domestic activities. Results indicate that focus could be shifted from restricting electricity use to creating alternatives – leading to a positive framing of load balancing. The scenarios reflected in this paper differ from those of rational energy managers basing decisions of domestic life on complex facts and figures. Scenarios from the study portray how planning, reorganization, and time shifting of activities may be obtained with soft means emphasizing values of well-being and respect of the variation of households’ social contexts

Enabling the Digital Transformation of Small Firms in Sweden: Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Challenge Mapping and Policy Recommendations

Small firms are regarded as the backbone of the Swedish economy, driving the creation of jobs, shaping economic growth, and fostering innovation. However, small firms are challenged by rapidly changing markets and competitive condi­tions where new technologies and digital business models are disrupting the established order. These firms must, therefore, undergo a fundamental transformation and become more efficient, responsive, and agile in order to remain competitive. Digital transformation poses unique challenges to small firms (over and above larger enterpris­es), due to the liability of smallness (e.g., size and access to resources) and the liability of new­ness (e.g., legitimacy in the value chain, bargaining power). This behooves small firms to draw on the support of a wide range of external relationships to exploit the benefits of the new digital economy. However, it has been reported that most small firms fail to gain support from the other actors in their ecosystems. Thus, to ensure successful digital transformation in small firms, there is a need to better understand the various influencing roles in the relationships that comprise the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Our findings focus on four main types of entrepreneurial ecosystem actors who have the greatest influence on the digital transformation of small firms in Sweden. Funding organizations, large firms, intermediaries, and universities are highlighted as the key actors providing small firms with the necessary resources, knowledge, technological capabilities, legitimacy, and business contacts. Key relation-specific challenges are identified, pointing to the needs and expectations of small firms to gain support from each of these actors. To conclude, recommendations are provided on how policy and industry decision-makers can act to mitigate such challenges. As a result, our contribution seeks to support and accelerate small Swedish firms in their endeavors to undertake digital transformation that is both sustainable and competitive

That’s the smell of peacetime – Designing for electricity load balancing.

n this exploratory paper we review, reflect, and react upon recent research that heavily critiques common design approaches towards electricity load balancing. Through this review we identify overlooked opportunity spaces for design in which we situate a prototype called Peacetime as an alternative approach to load balancing on the electrical grid. In sharp contrast to home energy management systems (HEMS) and in-home displays (IHD’s) which provide detailed energy data, Peacetime employs frameworks from slow time and emotional design, and from ambient multimodal interfaces to create a stronger and different experience in relation to load balancing. We present the Peacetime concept in detail and discuss its implication for future designs within the field of Sustainable Interaction Design.D2S - From Data to Sustainable Practice

Учебная программа по учебной дисциплине "Химия"

Учебная программа " Химия" кафедры "Материаловедение в машиностроении" для дневной формы получения образования: общее количество часов – 130, трудоемкость учебной дисциплины – 3 з.е., форма контроля знаний – экзамен