Event Reports

Seminar: Giuseppe Salvia, Smart technology vs smarter people?

Posted on December 20, 2016

The application of smart technology is spreading in everyday practices. Devices such as self-driving vehicles and autonomous thermostats promise a more efficient future in which smart automation reduces human workload and energy consumption. But at what expense? I argue that the renegotiation of competences between people and ubiquitous smart technology tends to undermine and override people's…

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Managing heat stress within and across domains: outdoor workers, rhythm and responsibility in Australia’s monsoonal north. Elspeth Opperman

Posted on September 22, 2016

Seminar held: Wednesday 21st September 2016 Australia’s monsoon tropics is characterised by high temperatures combined with extremely high humidity for about half of the year. These conditions pose a profound challenge to human thermoregulation and heat stress is a common experience in the region. The outdoor, labour-intensive workforce is particularly exposed, and produces additional…

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Energy transitions in the age of complex systems: understanding current energy transitions through an historical enquiry on instrumentality. Nicola Labanca

Posted on July 19, 2016

Seminar held: Wednesday 13th July 2016 The seminar will propose discussing current energy transitions in the light of the insights offered by an historical enquiry on instrumentality. The proposed approach allows interpreting the present age of complex systems as the result of some fundamental transformations concerning how the conception of human artefacts commonly known as instruments…

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A sociology of household energy infrastructures: the case of the stove replacement program in rural Chile. Tomas Ariztia

Posted on June 23, 2016

This presentation offers some early findings of a research project focused on following a large scale environmental policy oriented on replacing old, often handmade, firewood stove for new high-end kerosene and “pellet” stoves in Southern Chile. The main aim of this policy is to reduce air pollution. The presentation focuses on discussing some preliminary empirical findings as well as…

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Creating pleasance: new needs for the smart home. Yolande Strengers

Posted on June 10, 2016

This talk draws on an international content analysis of online and magazine articles exploring the ideas embedded in visions for the 21st Century smart home. In particular, I analyse smart home advocates' pursuit of  'pleasance' - an ambient and electrically-enabled aesthetic experience which brings 'comfort, romance and peace of mind' into the home (Lutron 2015). Through a series of…

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