Own your energy - Motivating people to use energy more efficiently through meta-design environments and cultures of participation

Abstract

For my PhD research, I am investigating how meta-design software systems and cultures of participation can be used to motivate people to use energy more efficiently. My research is based on and extending two theories from social psychology and computer science, namely Psychological Ownership and Cultures of Participation. Combining these with the meta-design framework, I am building an integrated system in which users are being motivated to use energy more efficiently by supporting them to take an active role in the relevant decision processes. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.