The energy cultures framework was developed in 2009 to support interdisciplinary investigation in... more The energy cultures framework was developed in 2009 to support interdisciplinary investigation into energy behaviour in New Zealand. In this paper, we discuss the framework in light of 5 years of empirical application and conceptual development. The concept of culture is helpful in seeking to better understand energy behaviour because it conveys how behaviours are embedded within the physical and social contexts of everyday life, and how they are both repetitive and heterogeneous. The framework suggests that the energy culture of a given subject (e.g. an individual, a household, a business, a sector) can be studied by examining the interrelationships between their norms, practices and material culture, and how these, in turn, are shaped by external influences. We discuss the key theoretical influences of the framework, and how the core concepts of the framework have evolved as we have applied them in different research situations. We then illustrate how we have applied the framework to a range of topics and sectors, and how it has been used to support interdisciplinary research, in identifying clusters of energy cultures, in examining energy cultures at different scales and in different sectors, and to inform policy development.
The children of today are the adults of tomorrow, for this reason it is essential to educate this... more The children of today are the adults of tomorrow, for this reason it is essential to educate this generation about sustainable values, such as recycling and reducing waste and energy consumption. By targeting children's main activity of playing and toys, the design of a toy that instills sustainable values is illustrated through PlayGreen, a prototype of an interactive application. We argue that this type of toy should be designed according to children's cognitive development and their learning skills, as well as conforming to a value centered design process. This paper focuses on Piaget's cognitive development theory, more specifically, the concrete operational stage processes, which occur between the ages of seven and eleven years old. Our prototype is an application focusing on the value of resource management and allows children to create new toys from household materials. This prototype was tested with 8 and 9 year old children via a Wizard of Oz method. The prototype successfully integrated a value related to sustainability and the users were able to manipulate it easily as it was adequate to their cognitive skills.
The energy cultures framework was developed in 2009 to support interdisciplinary investigation in... more The energy cultures framework was developed in 2009 to support interdisciplinary investigation into energy behaviour in New Zealand. In this paper, we discuss the framework in light of 5 years of empirical application and conceptual development. The concept of culture is helpful in seeking to better understand energy behaviour because it conveys how behaviours are embedded within the physical and social contexts of everyday life, and how they are both repetitive and heterogeneous. The framework suggests that the energy culture of a given subject (e.g. an individual, a household, a business, a sector) can be studied by examining the interrelationships between their norms, practices and material culture, and how these, in turn, are shaped by external influences. We discuss the key theoretical influences of the framework, and how the core concepts of the framework have evolved as we have applied them in different research situations. We then illustrate how we have applied the framework to a range of topics and sectors, and how it has been used to support interdisciplinary research, in identifying clusters of energy cultures, in examining energy cultures at different scales and in different sectors, and to inform policy development.
The children of today are the adults of tomorrow, for this reason it is essential to educate this... more The children of today are the adults of tomorrow, for this reason it is essential to educate this generation about sustainable values, such as recycling and reducing waste and energy consumption. By targeting children's main activity of playing and toys, the design of a toy that instills sustainable values is illustrated through PlayGreen, a prototype of an interactive application. We argue that this type of toy should be designed according to children's cognitive development and their learning skills, as well as conforming to a value centered design process. This paper focuses on Piaget's cognitive development theory, more specifically, the concrete operational stage processes, which occur between the ages of seven and eleven years old. Our prototype is an application focusing on the value of resource management and allows children to create new toys from household materials. This prototype was tested with 8 and 9 year old children via a Wizard of Oz method. The prototype successfully integrated a value related to sustainability and the users were able to manipulate it easily as it was adequate to their cognitive skills.
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Papers by Michelle Scott