Framing Smart Meter Feedback in Relation to Practice Theory

Smart metering is advancing rapidly and consumption feedback from smart meters is expected to help residents to reduce their energy and water consumption. In recent years, more critical views have been expressed based on theories of social practice, arguing that smart meter feedback ignores the role of various mundane practices where energy and water are consumed and instead targets individuals as active decision-makers. We present a review of qualitative studies on smart meter feedback and results of a survey to European smart metering projects. We argue that theories of social practice can be used to reframe the challenges and potentials of smart meter feedback that have been identified in the literature and our survey. This presents challenges of smart meter feedback as resulting from normalised resource intensive practices rather than from uninterested and comfort-loving individuals. Potentials of improving the effectiveness of smart meter feedback relate to supporting communities and peer-learning and combining smart meter feedback with micro-generation of renewable energy. This has implications for how domestic energy and water consumption is targeted by policy.Peer reviewe

Impact of a climate network : The role of intermediaries in local level climate action

Highlights • The impact of an intermediary network on local greenhouse gas emissions was studied. • Econometric analysis showed that joining a climate network can lower local emissions. • 40 interviews revealed how networks enhance systematic and relevant actions. • Networks can provide expert and peer support and legitimize local climate action.Local governments have set highly ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction targets on a strategic level, in some cases influenced by intermediary networks. Yet, the quantitative impacts of climate strategies or the sharing of best practices on emissions still remain largely unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of an intermediary network on municipal greenhouse gas emissions. This was done through an econometric analysis of the emissions of municipalities that are members of the Finnish Hinku (Towards Carbon Neutral Municipalities) network, and through comprehensive qualitative interviews conducted in 40 of those municipalities. Our quantitative results show that Hinku network membership has successfully led to the lowering of greenhouse gas emission levels in participating municipalities. The qualitative interviews suggest that this is due to systematic local level climate work, enhanced by network membership. The network functions as an intermediary in two ways: by providing expertise and enabling peer-support. In addition, it has also succeeded in legitimising local level climate action. Ambitious local level climate action can also affect the ambition of national climate policy, which in turn may reflect on the amount resources allocated to local climate action

IHI Global Trigger Tool and patient safety monitoring in Finnish hospitals : Current experiences and future trends

Patient safety work relies on the service provider s ability to monitor the levels of patient safety achieved, identify where improvements are needed and follow the impact of implemented interventions. Trigger tools - means for performing focused medical records reviews either manually or automatically, are a strong candidate for supporting these tasks. This report examines the research evidence on the IHI Global Trigger Tool (GTT) and presents experiences accumulated in Finland during implementation of the tool in the hospital environment, as well as experimentations for further developments. In addition, the up-to-date evidence and future prospects on automated trigger tools are reviewed and discussed. The report aims to serve healthcare management and clinical staff working with patient safety issues on the organisational level, by providing background evidence with regard to trigger tool methodology and its implementation requirements. The report constitutes useful reading also for policy makers, developers and researchers in the fields of patient safety, healthcare quality and health information technology

Facilitating practices for sustainable car sharing policies : An integrated approach utilizing user data, urban form variables and mobility patterns

Highlights • Analysis integrates travel-related urban zones, car sharing user data and interviews • Sustainable car sharing requires assessing mobility patterns and urban form • Car sharing has various roles within travel-related urban zones • Promoting collaboration between cities and service providers is crucial • Our approach provides a tool for cooperation among various car sharing actors to identify potentials for sustainable car sharingThe paper contributes to two research gaps: (1) The need for knowledge on key urban form characteristics promoting the scale-up of car sharing services in a sustainable way, (2) The need for practical approaches in the dialogue between key private and public actors introducing or expanding car sharing in local contexts. These requirements are addressed through a Finnish case study in two locations. By combining car sharing use data, monitoring data on urban form and mobility patterns, and stakeholder interviews, we present a novel approach to promote sustainable car sharing. The approach widens present knowledge on the sustainability potential, role and business potential of shared mobility in future urban transport systems. It also provides a tool for cooperation among urban and transport planners and car sharing providers. Our analysis shows that well-designed car sharing services can provide a sustainable and agile opportunity for the mobility demand of urban residents. However, achieving sustainability demands requires systematic and integrated user profile, daily mobility, and urban form analysis enforced equally by the city or municipality and private service providers

Urban sustainability and the SDGs : A Nordic perspective and opportunity for integration

Urban sustainability has been used to cover multiple aspects of urban development. Terms related to sustainability have been generously used to advance ubiquitous and hard-to-measure targets not least in response to global and national sustainable development (SD) targets. However, ad-hoc and governed urbanization processes differ. In addition to different development pathways, local differences in interpretation of sustainability exist. This renders a global urban sustainability discourse disconnected from local practice. In this paper we focus on the Nordic cities, combining what is known about the similarities of the cities and societies, their recent development and highlights. Comparing with the global sustainability discourse spearheaded by the UN development goals (SDGs) we analyze the potential links in Nordic urban development to the global aims, as well as the local action taken via ex-ante review and assessment. With increasing demands for transformative change in urban planning and other institutions due to environmental, social and economic challenges, we demonstrate where strengthening the urban sustainability agenda is particularly needed. Findings show surprisingly little focus on socially just and cross-thematic development pre-SDGs, while it is expected that the dominant technocratic focus will give way to these other aspects necessary to address sustainability under the current SDG framework

Kohti moniäänisempää tulevaisuustyötä: Asukaslähtöiset skenaariot työvälineenä kaupunkien strategiaprosesseissa

Kaupunkilaisten näkemysten hyödyntäminen kaupunkien strategioissa ja päätöksenteossa on haasteellista. Strategiatyö jää usein pienen joukon toteuttamaksi, ylhäältä alaspäin johdetuksi prosessiksi, joka heijastelee heikosti kaupungin inhimillistä todellisuutta. Ehdotamme tässä kirjoituksessa strategiatyön kehittämistä hyödyntämällä kaupunkilaisten erilaisista lähtökohdista ammentavaa, tulevaisuusorientoitunutta skenaariomenetelmää. Skenaariot tukevat kolmella eri tavalla kaupunkien tulevaisuudesta käytävän keskustelun moniäänisyyttä: Ensiksi, skenaarioiden hyödyntäminen auttaa ihmisiä hahmottamaan paremmin tulevaisuuden mahdollisia polkuja tiivistämällä tulevaisuutta koskevan informaatiotulvan ymmärrettäviksi tulevaisuuskuviksi. Toiseksi skenaariot toimivat myös kaupungin yhteisenä kielenä, jonka avulla kaupunkiorganisaatio ja kaupunkilaiset voivat käydä tulevaisuuskeskustelua jaetuin käsittein. Kolmanneksi skenaariot auttavat arvioimaan strategiaan liittyviä valintoja peilaamalla päätöksiä ja niiden mahdollisia seurauksia suhteessa erilaisiin tulevaisuuksiin. Skenaariopohjaisen ja moniäänisen kaupunkistrategian tuloksena voidaan luoda ominaispiirteensä tiedostava ja monimuotoinen kaupungin kehittämisprosessi, joka toimii asukkaitaan kuunnellen, toimintaympäristön muutoksia ennakoiden sekä ketterästi eri mahdollisuuksiin ja muutostarpeisiin tarttuen

Kohti moniäänisempää tulevaisuustyötä : asukaslähtöiset skenaariot työvälineenä kaupunkien strategiaprosesseissa

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