Expectations are high for digital technologies to address sustainability related challenges. While research into such applications and the twin transformation is growing rapidly, insights in the actual daily practices of digital sustainability within organizations is lacking. This is problematic as the contributions of digital tools to sustainability goals gain shape in organizational practices. To bridge this gap, we develop a theoretical perspective on digital sustainability practices based on practice theory, with an emphasis on the concept of sociomateriality. We argue that connecting meanings related to sustainability with digital technologies is essential to establish beneficial practices. Next, we contend that the meaning of sustainability is contextspecific, which calls for a local meaning making process. Based on our theoretical exploration we develop an empirical research agenda.
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Habitual behavior is often hard to change because of a lack of self-monitoring skills. Digital technologies offer an unprecedented chance to facilitate self-monitoring by delivering feedback on undesired habitual behavior. This review analyzed the results of 72 studies in which feedback from digital technology attempted to disrupt and change undesired habits. A vast majority of these studies found that feedback through digital technology is an effective way to disrupt habits, regardless of target behavior or feedback technology used.
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We need look no further than the use of email communication, mobile phones and cars to understand that technology has wide-ranging social consequences. What is more, designers are plainly not always aware of the social consequences of technology, despite practicing user-centred design. Email, for instance, was developed as an efficient mode of communication between two actors. As we all know, the introduction of email has fundamentally changed traditional business and office practices. These side effects were not identified until long after email was introduced. During recent years, designers have grown increasingly interested in these social aspects. Modern information technology, in particular, creates extensive possibilities to influence social behaviour. Persuasive technology has been developed to increase, e.g., environmental friendliness. Once a designer aims at defined social changes, the consequences of technology for practices become a responsibility, too. The present research is aimed at providing tools and methods to anticipate social consequences at an earlier stage of the design process. These consequences of technologies in social environments will be called social impacts. In order to be a meaningful concept for designers the characteristics of a particular technology that are responsible for social impacts must be identified. Social consequences of technologies have not been observed very thoroughly from a user-centred design point of view. Therefore, this thesis is aimed, not only at gaining knowledge about social impact, but also translating these insights into workable instruments for designers. This leads to the following research questions:1. What relations can be identified between social impacts and characteristics oftechnologies?2. How can a designer anticipate social impact?3. How can social impact be managed in design environments?
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The traffic safety of cyclists is under pressure. The number of fatalities and injuries is increasing, and the number of single-bicycle accidents is on the rise. However, from a traffic safety perspective, the most concerning trend is the growing number of incidents between motorized vehicles and cyclists. In addition to infrastructural solutions, such as more segregated and wider bike lanes, both industry and government are exploring technological developments to better safeguard cyclist safety. One of the technological solutions being considered is the use of C-V2X communication. C-V2X, Cellular Vehicle-to-X, is a technology that enables short-range signal exchanges between road users, informing them of each other's presence. C-V2X can be used, for example, to alert drivers via dedicated in-car information systems about the presence of cyclists on the road (e.g. at crossings). Although the technology and chipsets have been developed, the application of C-V2X to improve cyclist safety has not yet been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, HAN, Gazelle, and ARK Infomotives are researching the impact of C-V2X (on cyclist safety). Using advanced simulations with a digital twin in an urban environment and rural environment, the study will analyze how drivers respond to cyclist presence signals and determine the maximum penetration rate of ‘connected’ cyclists. Based on this, a pilot study will be conducted in a controlled environment on HAN terrain to validate the direction of the simulation results. The project aligns with the Missiegedreven Innovatiebeleid and the KIA Sleuteltechnologieën, specifically within application of digital and information technologies. This proposal aligns with the innovation domain of Semiconductor Technologies by applying advanced sensor and digital connectivity solutions to enhance cyclist safety. The project fits within the theme of Sleuteltechnologieën en Duurzame Materialen of the strategic research agenda of the VH by utilizing digital connectivity, sensor fusion, and data-driven decision-making for safer mobility solutions.
Nederland wil in 2050 circulair zijn. Dat vraagt een ongekende transitie in de wijze waarop onze samenleving onderneemt, samenwerkt, denkt en doet. Stedelijke regio’s zijn de geijkte plek om een transitie naar een circulaire economie in gang te zetten door hun dichte concentratie van kennis, kapitaal, data en resources op een relatief klein oppervlak. De baten die deze transitie oplevert zullen vooral in deze regio’s merkbaar zijn: minder verspilling, luchtvervuiling en CO2-uitstoot, meer economische waarde en sociale impact. CIRCOLLAB richt zich op het versterken van interdisciplinair praktijkgericht onderzoek voor de circulaire transitie in de metropoolregio Amsterdam (MRA). De SPRONG-groep bestaat uit lectoraten van de Centres of Expertise Urban Technology en Urban Governance & Social Innovation en de Faculteit Digitale Media en Creatieve Industrie van de Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Kenniscentrum Maatschappelijke Innovatie Flevoland van Hogeschool Windesheim en de Academie van Bouwkunst van de Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten. De SPRONG-groep combineert expertise vanuit het technologische, creatieve, economische en sociale domein en verricht praktijkgericht onderzoek naar ‘circulair denken en doen’, ‘circulair ondernemen’, ‘circulair menselijk kapitaal’ en ‘circulair samenwerken’ in relatie tot technische innovaties in twee waardeketens: de gebouwde omgeving en consumptiegoederen. De SPRONG-groep ontwikkelt, samen met actoren in de quadruple helix, een regionale infrastructuur voor inventariseren en prioriteren van onderzoeksbehoeften en het programmeren, opbouwen en uitwisselen van kennis. Hierbij worden kennis en ervaringen uit circulaire initiatieven, experimenten, onderzoek en onderwijs aan elkaar en aan fysieke experimenteerruimtes verbonden, om gezamenlijk van te leren, kennis te delen en op te schalen. Zo ontstaat een krachtige interdisciplinaire SPRONGgroep met de ambitie om het consortium uit te laten groeien tot dé regionale spil op het gebied van de circulaire transitie in grootstedelijke regio’s en een erkende (inter)nationale speler voor kennisuitwisseling en -opbouw op dit onderwerp.
Connecting Otherwise is an artistic/design research project initiated by The Hmm and the research department of the Gerrit Rietveld Academy and the Sandberg Instituut, alongside a consortium of invited stakeholders from the creative industries and research institutions such as Small File Media Festival, Hackers & Designers, and Stichting LINK. It focuses on the development of interdisciplinary workshop formats exploring regenerative aesthetics and the materiality of digital technologies through hands-on and collective research approaches. Drawing on feminist and decolonial hacking principles and critical making, the project's aim is to make tangible and reimagine digital materiality while resisting extractive tendencies. Promoting regenerative design principles, it addresses the environmental impact of digital technologies and resource depletion, emphasizing art and design’s role in tackling these challenges. We believe the intersectional character of such challenges requires collective and interdisciplinary approaches to design and art making, which are rarely fostered conceptually and practically within the creative industries and educational institutions. The workshops build upon the expertise of the collaborating partners, who bring together art, design, technology, and education and have been instrumental in bridging art and science, supporting artists and designers in contributing to interdisciplinary research environments. Via a series of interconnected workshops the project will engage art and design professionals, educators, and students in material-based research around the social and environmental impact of digital technologies. Participants will explore circuit-making through community craft traditions, embrace ‘slowness’ and ‘lowness’ as frugal and regenerative principles for digital design and art making, and use weaving as a framework for exploring interconnected digital and territorial relationships. The aim is to creatively and critically examine the challenges that (future) art and design practitioners in the creative industries face when building and participating in contemporary digital culture in ways that are both sustainable and equitable.
