Tag: Samuel Mann

Categories
computing education

Levelling up: sustainability is the epic challenge

Daniel Pargman

As the lines between games and reality become blurred, sustainability is the epic challenge

Dr Daniel Pargman is from Stockholm’s KTH where he holds several roles in the School of Computer Science and Communication, the Department of Media Technology and Interaction, and is associated with the Centre for Sustainable Communication. He teaches courses on the Future of Media, and on Social Media Technologies.

A specialist in virtual communities, particularly those in games, Daniel has another side, a deeply sustainable side that until recently he kept hidden in the manner of Clark Kent. We explore how these two personas and professional lives are increasingly becoming integrated.

This is the last in a series of four on  the interplay of gaming and sustainability.

Categories
economics systems

Ending extraction economics

Nicole Foss

Nicole Foss on Sustainable Lens [ 52:48 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

There’s not going to be any economic growth – live with it

Describing herself as both a systems analyst and an investigative journalist, Nicole Foss is co-editor of The Automatic Earth. Nicole describes our financial predicament, vulnerabilities, and the end of economic growth. Our expansionary system is at – or beyond – the point of collapse. We explore how our wealth extraction from the over-leveraged economy and environment cannot last. This system has reached out spatially to extract wealth, and now that is gone, we’re borrowing from the future by raising debt to bring forward demand. Growth she likens to the logic of the cancer cell and any politician who promises it is either deluded or lying.

For the future, she says “there’s not going to be any economic growth – live with it”. Amid increasing volatility the general trend will be down. Defeatist we ask? Realist she says.

Talking points:

(Am I an activist?). I’m an information processor. So, I bring information to people, I like to inform decision makers. I like to give people the information and the tools to make decisions that matter. So I’m not sure that I would necessarily say activist, but I suppose I am, in a way. But it’s just about trying to process the information and bring to people in a form that they can use it to hopefully achieve a better future than they would otherwise have had. So I couldn’t sleep at night if I couldn’t do this – if I didn’t think it was possible to achieve anything I would have just stayed back on my farm, and not bothered to do anything, not bothered to reach out to people at all. But because I think there is a great deal to be gained from building community and doing things fundamentally differently if we do it in advance, then even if the odds of success are not always particularly high, depending on where in the world you are, I still think it’s absolutely worth the effort and worth the attempt because we know from the lessons of history that if we fail we’ve in for a bleak period that won’t be very much fun for quite a long time.

Having humans live within their limits is a good thing. The particular human beings probably aren’t going to like it very much because in the meantime they’ve gotten used to an extraordinary lifestyle.

Trainspotting: You can hear Sam’s pencil scrawling rapidly in recognition as Nicole tells how she was told to focus, “focus is not the point”, she says “the point is breadth”.

The Sustainable Lens conversation with transdisciplinary scientist Dr Sylvia Nagl would be a good companion to this talk.

Categories
behaviour change

The game is engaging people

Paula_Owen_sq

Paul Owen Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We want to reach people who have been turned off by the misery messaging

Dr Paula Owen realised during her PhD in atmospheric chemistry that her future in the communication of science. Since then she has made a career in engaging people in the environment, sustainability and behaviour change.

Paula is author of “How Gamification Can Help Your Business Engage in Sustainability” and creator of the Eco Action series of games.

This is the third in a series of four on  the interplay of gaming and sustainability.

This recording was made with the cooperation of the Science Museum in London where Paula and her team were operating a “climate playground” as part of the Climate Change Late.

Update: Here’s Paula’s report “Can we play our way to a more sustainable future?“.

Categories
climate change

Reluctant activist

Bill McKibben

Bill McKibben on Sustainable Lens [ 1:03:09 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Bill McKibben is a reluctant activist. But he is very good at it. The founder of the 350.org movement, Bill is currently in New Zealand hosted by 350 Aotearoa as part of his Do the math campaign.   Sustainable Lens went along for a listen and a chat.

Here are some of our favourite bits:

Asking for same liveable planet people always had isn’t radical. Changing the global system for profit is radical.

Jail over climate change wasn’t the end of the world, the end of the world is end of the world.

We can’t outspend the other guys, we have to find other currencies to work in.

The fossil fuel industry is no longer a normal industry.  Being against the laws of physics makes it a rogue industry.  Either Exxon has to bend or laws of Physics.

Time to stop tinkering. How do we make it possible for politicians make the system changes we need?

Misplaced kindness: NZ subsidising richest industry on earth to come drill here.

We don’t lack technology, just political will.

Desmond Tutu:  Climate change a deeply moral issue: if wrong to wreck planet, it’s wrong to profit from it.

In China 25% get their hot water from solar. In US is less than 1% and is mostly used for swimming pools.

Why are we continuing to explore for oil when existing oil reserves are  five times more than a 2 degree warming?

If 1 degree warming melts the Arctic, we’re fools to be experimenting with the earth to find out what 2 degrees will do.

Hurricane Sandy insight into utter vulnerability of our systems to climate change.

We’ve taken one of the biggest physical features on earth and broken it. Bill McKibben on effect of climate change on Arctic ice

Bill McKibben: loves Dunedin, but on a rational planet shouldn’t have to have come back.

 

Bill was last in Dunedin in 2009, we spoke with him then too, before we were on the radio.

Categories
computing game design

Information ecologies

Bonnie Nardi

Samuel Mann with Bonnie Nardi [ 48:46 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

“Information ecologies, using technology with heart”- the heart refers to both bonding with technology and using for social good

As humans we are very attracted to technology, the amount of time we are spending starting at a screen is unprecedented in human history. How can we harness that relationship to facilitate the changes we need to make for a sustainable future. We talk with Professor Bonnie Nardi for some insights.

Recently inducted to the CHI Academy in 2013 , Professor Bonnie Nardi is an anthropologist working in Computer Science at the University of California Irvine. In this extended interview we talk about Bonni’s background in anthropology and social ecologies before going on to explore what we can learn from virtual game worlds for sustainable societal change.

Recorded at CHI 2013 (adding to the collection of Sustainable HCI), this is the second in a series of four on the interplay of gaming and sustainability.

Categories
computing game design

Gaming reality

Carlo Fabricatore Ximena Lopez

 

Reality is already gamified, the dynamics could give us levers for sustainability

Worcester-based Drs Carlo Fabricatore & Ximena López have developed a model for considering computer games through a sustainable lens (paper).   This combines Carlo’s background in game design with Ximena’s experience in Educational Psychology.  We talk about what makes a good game, explore how these characteristics cross to promoting changes in wider society.  How, for example could we make use of mastery, challenge and reward in sustainable behaviour change in our gamified reality?

Resources:   Stefan Kreitmayer’s 4decades is described.  Here’s the Sustainable Lens interview with Stefan.

First in a series of four on the interplay of gaming and sustainability.

Categories
behaviour change computing

Environmental impact of digital transformation

Chris Preist

 Helping people who are motivated by social good to frame it in terms business will understand.

Chris Preist [ 55:52 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Dr Chris Preist is Reader in Sustainability and Computer Systems at the University of Bristol.  In this role he is working on tools to “bridge the gap”, he hopes to help provide “a way of thinking about their concern for social good, into their professional lives”.

In this conversation we discuss how this came about in Chris’ career, this balance of technical work and deeper – perhaps spiritual – understanding.    He now teaches Sustainability, Technology and Business within a computer science degree.   Rather than a “litany of doom” he sees the courses as presenting ways of thinking about how to integrate social good with professional lives. (Citation: https://practicepath.com/)

Chris and his colleagues are currently exploring crowdsourcing and gamification for the Close the Door campaign.   “Normification” is the key he says, what are the mechanisms for spreading changes of social norm?

He has worked in association with Forum for the Future, working with Guardian News and Media to investigate the environmental impact of their digital transformation, with particular reference to changes in business models and customer behaviour.  Prior to joining Bristol, he was Principal Scientist and Head of UK research on sustainable IT systems at Hewlett Packard Labs (HP Labs), Bristol.  In this role, he led a team of 6 researchers who carried out research assessing the sustainability impacts of alternative business models for the personal computer and digital printing industry, and information management and presentation of sustainability data to enhance decision making.

Categories
democracy participation

Mending democracy

Andy Williamson

Andy Williamson [ 54:46 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Dr Andy Williamson is founder of Future Digital, an Associate at Involve, and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Manchester.   He is author of the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s Social Media Guidelines for Parliaments.   He explains why he thinks politics is fundamentally broken, and what we have to do to fix it.

Talking points:

(Am I an activist?). I can be. I can be stroppy and awkward when I want to be. I’m don’t think I’m an activist particularly, my role is perhaps more of an agitator. I have the privilege of working on both sides of the system. I think one of the problems of activists, is they become…activist can be a negative term because an activist can be seen as someone is simply taking one issue a little bit too seriously, and shouting a lot about it – they’re probably right and have a good point, but they can be a bit of a one trick pony, and that can start to be a bit of a pain in the side, and they’re really necessary and they do a really good job, but actually there’s a need for a second lot of people who come along and work with both sides. The future isn’t about us of them, it’s not about citizens and politicians – we talk about “citizen engagement”, it’s almost patronising. We should be talking about participation in the broadest sense, we should be looking at partnerships. The role that I have, and I’ve created a fascinating niche in a way is that I work with both sides. …. So I’m more of an agitator for change across the whole system than trying to be dogmatic about the need to create this revolutionary change.

 

 

Categories
communication participation

Socially enterprising

Louis Brown

Louis Brown [ 55:45 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Louis Brown mobilises people to do good.

Passionate about getting more people off the couch and active on important community issues, Louis Brown is an inspirational social entrepreneur.

Louis Brown won his first job at the age of 11 in the tiny West Coast village of Fairdown skinning discarded dead calves for $1 a pop.  This set the course for his life, balancing the seesaw of eeking out a living and following visions that make a difference to society.

He studied education and commerce after he finished high school in Christchurch and worked for three years as the Executive Director of the community organisation Social Innovation, which he also co-founded. These were three of the most important and meaningful years of his working life, spearheading the large-scale Love your Coast and Student Volunteer Army social movements.

Louis is working on the Scarfie Army, a new movement for Dunedin students and other start-ups to drive and support thousands more citizens to be a ‘working voice’ for a better future.

 

Shane’s number of the week:  400.  (NASA).

Sam’s joined-up-thinking: Back from a whistle-stop tour of Europe, Sam is brimming with things to talk about and people he’s met.  Some great shows coming up.

Categories
climate change ecology economics health politics

Wise Response (Part 2)

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Wise Response Appeal Launch (Part 2) [ 47:30 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Previously on Sustainable Lens Emeritus Professor Sir Alan Mark (pod) described work towards the Wise Response campaign.   This call to face up to New Zealand’s critical risks was launched in Dunedin recently with a series of speeches. Sustainable Lens highlights these messages (Part 1 last week).

  • Russell Tregonning: (OraTaiao: The New Zealand Climate and Health Council). Climate change is the #1 threat to health.   NZ a global free loader.
  • Neville Peat : Each generation defines “natural” without realising baseline has shifted – unwittingly we are accepting less and less.  These baseline shift results in community amnesia.  We need a baseline assessment of true relationship of economy & ecology.   Danger of DOC’s dual role of conservation & tourism.  Community fatigue while government dodges responsibility
  • Professor Tim Hazeldine:  Economics is our friend. Problem is not enough market (why are we subsidising polluters?)
  • Louis Chambers:  Generation Zero is not doing this because we’ve nothing better to do, we’re doing it because we must.   It needs an all systems, all society transformation.   We must find allies; change culture; strategic microcosms; clarify vision; pick strategic battles; repeat until we win.
Categories
climate change conservation biology ecology economics maori politics science

Wise Response (Part 1)

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Wise Response [ 48:56 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Previously on Sustainable Lens Emeritus Professor Sir Alan Mark (pod) described work towards the Wise Response campaign.  This call to face up to New Zealand’s critical risks, was launched in Dunedin recently with a series of speeches.  This week and next on Sustainable Lens we highlight those messages:

  • Hoani Langsbury What sustains life essence?
  • Professor Peter Barrett We’re creating an event of geological magnitude (greenhouse but with remnant ice sheets – so energy transfer)
  • Associate Professor Susan Krumdieck Beyond myths of market: we have no choice but to reduce demand, only whether this is graceful or not. Every professional needs to make changes to provide products and services in new reality.
  • Dr Mike Joy Impacts of massive increase of industrialised dairy farming.  Intensified cows have footprint of 84 million humans need to cost impacts.  25¢ Phosphate fertilizer cost $100 to remove.  Ecological debt $20 for 1kg milk fat.

 

Categories
behaviour change computing media

Transformational Media

bethKarlin

Beth Karlin [ 59:06 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A lot of voices when they’re not in unison are just noise, but when they are in unison they can be a chorus.

Beth Karlin is director of the Transformational Media Lab within the Center for Unconventional Security Affairs at University of California Irvine.

We talk about social action campaigns, documentary, using new information and communication technology to understand and empower environmental change, and what we can learn from psychological perspectives in communication research.

Categories
dunedin energy local government waste

DCC sustainability

dcc_staffMariaCathNeville

DCC Sustainability staff [ 55:01 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Sustainability at the Dunedin City Council is increasingly being seen as part of everyone’s role. The role of sustainability at the council itself is twofold, they have to reduce their own footprint, and help lead the city to a sustainable future. We explore what one of the world’s greatest small cities is doing to act locally.

Cath Irvine is the Waste Strategy Officer. She discusses the TV takeback scheme and the Waste management and minimisation strategy.

Neville Auton (who we’ve had on the show before) discusses Warm Dunedin, developments in street lighting and the development of an Energy Plan for the city.

Maria Ioannou (who we’ve also had on the show before when she worked for CSAFE) is the Council’s Sustainability Advisor. We talk about how sustainable thinking is becoming mainstreamed across all Council activities. Particular work areas for Maria include climate change adaptation, and the work towards development of an environmental strategy.

Shane’s number of the week: 1 million. Hectares of bamboo forest in Ethiopia which hopes to become the main supplier for Europe’s softwood supply. But is it sustainable?

Sam’s joined up thinking: Sam explores the implications of the convergence of four developments in the technology space: crowdsourcing, citizen science, gamification and ubiquitous computing.

Categories
Middle East Syria

Prof Bill Harris

billHarris

Bill Harris - Syria [ 1:26:08 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Syria is in the news. But not enough says Professor Bill Harris.

After his introduction to the Middle East, Bill comes back to provide us with Syria 101.

  • What is going on? (long story but Bill walks us through it, short story: at least 100,000 dead)
  • Can we just wait for this to play out? (no)
  • What will it take for the West to notice and what could they do about it? (don’t know for the first, provide air-cover in the North)
  • Who are the main players? (long list with complicated relationships)
  • What is the role of external parties? (Iran, Hezbollah, Russia, US, France, Saudi Arabia all implicated)
  • What will happen next? (don’t know how strong the regime forces are nor how deluded the regime is)
  • Is there any possibility for an elegant peaceful solution? (Sadly, but emphatically, no).

(Note: this podcast is an extended version of the show that went to air).

Shane’s number of the week:  980 heat related death in 2009 in Melbourne (Australian Climate Commission).

Sam’s joined-up-thinking: Sam is thinking about participatory cultures. Upcoming guests on that front include Dr Andy Williamson and Beth Karlin.

Categories
democracy politics

Hordur Torfason

Hordur Torfason

Hordur Torfason describes himself as a reluctant activist. He would rather be writing lyrics than organising a revolution. But while the former make him famous in Iceland in the 70s, the latter has made him globally famous in the new millennium. Trained as an actor, he sees the role of the artist is to criticise, that criticism is a form of love. After the crash of the Icelandic financial system Hordur began what became the “cutlery revolution” that eventually saw the downfall of the government. We ask what the world can learn from the Icelandic experience, both in the revolution itself and the in establishment of a citizen-led government. While there have been some successes – a new citizen developed constitution and laws protecting freedom of expression, Hordur answers with a firm No when asked if Iceland is still citizen-led. There is still much to do.

Hordur is joined in the studio by his husband, Italian architect Massimo Santanicchia who is able to give his perspective on the extravagance that led to the financial crash.

Anger used violently to destroy is the easy way, but we talked together and used our anger as a positive force, peacefully.

Hordur Torfason [ 55:49 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Categories
Middle East

Prof Bill Harris

Bill Harris

Bill Harris [ 55:04 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

To most of us, the Middle East is a puzzling, complex, and often contradictory part of the world. We ask Professor Bill Harris to help make it more understandable to those of us who don’t know anything like as much about it as he does. Bill unravels sectarian tensions, global recession, oil, wheat prices, oppressive regimes, historic politics, and drought as we explore the story behind the Arab Spring uprisings.

(Having set the scene, Bill is coming back on the 4th April to focus on Syria).

Shane’s number of the week: 2,000,000,000. Two billion dollars is the estimated cost of the worst drought to hit New Zealand for 70 years. Droughts such as this are expected to become more frequent under a changing climate.

Sam’s joined-up-thinking: Sam is working Otago Polytechnic’s head of Photography Mark Bolland to explore the changing relationship with photography and nature as photography becomes consumerised.

Categories
Africa government poverty

Prof Etienne Nel

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Etienne Nel - Sustainable Lens [ 55:43 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Associate Professor Etienne Nel is a geographer at the University of Otago who specialises in economic geography. He chairs the International Geographic Union’s Commission on Marginalization, Globalization and Local and Regional Response. As he grew up in southern Africa, we take the oppportunity for a lesson in the geography of development.

Shane’s number of the week: 2.67 is the increase in ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere this year. This takes us to 395ppm (and well past the 2 degree goal of 350ppm).

Sam’s joined-up-thinking: The Wise Response Appeal was launched in Dunedin this week. Sam reports on the launch.

Categories
India science systems

systems across scales

Sylvia Nagl

Sylvia Nagl [ 1:01:06 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Dr Sylvia Nagl is a transdisciplinary scientist specialising in systems thinking. Her research focuses on complexity of the human body and its interrelations with natural and built environments across multiple scales. We talk about the basis of systems thinking as it is applied to scales ranging from the cellular to the landscape and community and even global in climate change models. Prompted by questions of the relationship between the computer model and the real world, Sylvia is working in India with the Daughters of Yamuna where she hopes to mainstream womens’ knowledge through the creation of new knowledge economies.

In this wide ranging interview we talk about; the relationship between art and science; the coherence of community; democratic knowledge ecologies; resilience and culture; computational thinking and slime moulds.