What is Green IS?
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This document discusses green information systems (Green IS) and how they can contribute to climate change solutions. It defines Green IS as the development of information systems that provide digital infrastructure for sustainable business processes. Examples include systems that monitor emissions to better manage them, dynamically route vehicles to reduce energy use, and provide consumers information to make green choices. The document advocates for both top-down and bottom-up approaches, and highlights a local community aquaponics garden project supported by modern ICT. Research is presented on how education can shift attitudes from climate change denial to recognizing individual agency to address the problem. The SIGGreen mission and resources for Green IS are outlined.
What is Green IS?
- 1. What is Green IS, and how can it contribute to climate change solutions? Catherine Dwyer, Pace University, US Helen Hasan, University of Wollongong, AU 1
- 2. Dr Catherine Dwyer, Pace University 2
- 3. Dr Helen Hasan, University of Wollongong 3
- 4. What is IS? • Information and communications technologies (ICT) are driving a continuing evolution of innovation for all human activities, transforming the ways we do things, at home, at work and in the larger society. • The field of Information Systems (IS) studies the design, development, implementation, use and impact of ‘information systems’, which are complex socio-technical artefacts defined as “integrated and cooperating sets of people, processes, software, and information technologies to support individual, organizational, or societal goals” (Watson) 4
- 5. What is Green IS? • Development of information systems that provide the digital infrastructure for sustainable business processes. Examples: • Monitor emissions and waste products to manage them more effectively. • Dynamically route of vehicles to avoid traffic and minimize energy consumption. • Support distributed teamwork with telecommuting, collaborative work systems, group document management, and cooperative knowledge management. • Provide information to consumers so they can make green choices more conveniently and effectively. 5
- 6. Top Down v Bottom Up • We are often advised to “think global and act local” when it comes to environmental issues. • There is a need for authoritative institution at international, national and state level to set directions, agendas and provide resources for climate change solutions. • However the big picture is too complex to implement solutions that work at the macro level • Local solutions to local problems are needed but only succeed if there is local buy-in and cooperation between local stakeholders. • This is messy but can be supported by modern ICT • Example of a community aquaponics garden for aged care 6
- 7. Opening of the Garden 7
- 9. Virtual Collaboration • What do we do when we collaborate? Hold meetings, create and share documents, access information, make plans and decisions, conduct projects, write reports. • ICT/IS tools help us to do these things in new ways that are more environmentally responsible e.g. we don’t have to be co- located or use as much paper • Our Green IS community SIGGreen has been exploring ways we can use different online tools to lower our environmental foot print e.g. we have held virtual workshops, set up several wikis, published papers online etc. 9
- 10. Virtual Introductions 10
- 11. Research on Attitudes and Behavior • Climate change is an urgent problem • Use of fossil fuels is a large contributor to green house gas emissions (GHGE) • Individual energy consumption choices are related to GHGE • Non-economic methods are needed to encourage voluntary reduction in energy consumption • The Relationship Between Energy Literacy and Environmental Sustainability, Low Carbon Economy, 2011 11
- 12. Designed Energy Literacy Course • Develop conceptual fluency with the economic and social components of energy use • Topics include differences between fossil fuels, renewable energy alter-natives, and the link between consumption decisions and environmental impact • Subjects: 188 students from eight sections of Introduction to Computing course (pre- and post-course survey) 12
- 13. Three Attitudes Emerged • Denial - Individual denies climate change is “real,” and has no intention to change consumption behavior • Agency - Individual recognizes climate change as an urgent issue, believes their own actions can contribute to a solution • Anxiety - Individual expresses concern that climate change/energy shortages will lead to chaos and global destruction 13
- 14. Attitude Analysis Pre NEP ERB Post NEP ERB Denial -0.402*** -0.286*** Denial -0.166* -0.037 Agency 0.446*** 0.226** Agency 0.466*** 0.294*** Anxiety 0.204** 0.163* Anxiety 0.313*** 0.344*** * p <0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001 NEP – measures of pro-environmental attitudes 14 ERB – measures of pro-environmental behaviors
- 15. ‘Fear tactics’ interfere with behavioral changes • Subjects expressed anxiety about sustainability, but did not do things like recycle • Anxiety blocks change in behavior • ‘Global catastrophe’ themes in climate discussion may be hurting more than helping 15
- 16. Agency Anxiety • I think that everyone • I fear that we as a needs to take country will not responsibility for their conserve our resources own actions. The world and the majority of them will be used up depends on it. before I die. • We must be able to • The planet will die. conserve resources that we have today and learn to use new ones. 16
- 17. Findings • Discussions of sustainability with disaster themes can trigger anxiety that interferes with the goal of encouraging sustainability. In contrast, materials that focused on the pragmatic necessity and concrete benefits had a more positive impact on promoting pro- environmental behavior • Need to create programs that mitigate the negative effect of anxiety provoking discussions on pro-environmental behavior 17
- 18. Design and Aesthetics 18 Solid Waste Transfer and Recycling Facility, Phoenix, Arizona, 1993
- 19. SIGGreen Mission • Information systems research can make an important contribution to knowledge at the nexus of information, organizations, and the natural environment; to the development of innovative environmental strategies; to the creation and evaluation of systems that break new ground in environmental responsibility; and, ultimately, to the improvement of the natural environment. 19
- 20. Green IS Resources • Watson, Richard; Boudreau, Marie-Claude (2011-08-16). Energy Informatics. Green ePress. • SIGGreen site: http://siggreen.wikispaces.com/ Twitter: @AIS_SIGGreen • Videos of SIGGreen Workshop Presentations (2012): SIGGreen Workshop - Barcelona, Spain - June 2012 • Catherine Dwyer Twitter: @ProfCDwyer http://csis.pace.edu/~dwyer • Helen Hasan Twitter: @bottlingfog 20 Blog: http://bottlingfog.wordpress.com/