Impact/Purpose:

To launch a web-based virtual learning community to encourage participants to experiment and share their experiences using a new generation of electronic shopping guides designed to facilitate more sustainable consumption practices.

Description:

Research to date on virtual learning communities suggests that electronic interaction can be a useful way to impact new skills and to encourage innovative practices by creating networked systems of mutual support. We expect that by being able to exchange information, trade tips, and offer encouragement among a group of peers, project participants will gain confidence in the use of electronic shopping guides and embed them in their lifestyles. We also expect to learn about the amount of leverage that such applications might have in fostering durable changes in consumer practices.

Record Details:

Record Type:PROJECT( ABSTRACT )

Start Date:08/15/2010

Completion Date:08/14/2011

Record ID: 249234

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Related Organizations:

Role :OWNER

Organization Name :NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Mailing Address :University Hts

Citation :Newark

State :NJ

Zip Code :7102

Project Information:

Approach :

Over the past decade, numerous scientific panels in the United States and elsewhere have asserted that changes in individual behavior will be necessary to ensure long-term sustainability. This project will recruit several hundred participants to take part in an interactive study involving the use of a new generation of electronic shopping guides. These guides are available on an open-source basis and can be downloaded to an iPhone or similar handheld device. Consumers can then use these applications to conveniently access ecological profiles of ordinary household products on a point-of-purchase basis. There is at present little knowledge available on how consumers use this information and the degree to which it influences their shopping behavior. The project will link users of these applications together into a “virtual community” with the aim of encouraging them to communicate with one another about their experiences. We will then use a series of qualitative data analysis techniques to formulate a more robust understanding of the role that electronic shopping guides might play in steering more sustainable consumption practices.

Cost :$10,000.00

Research Component :Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development

Approach :

Over the past decade, numerous scientific panels in the United States and elsewhere have asserted that changes in individual behavior will be necessary to ensure long-term sustainability. This project will recruit several hundred participants to take part in an interactive study involving the use of a new generation of electronic shopping guides. These guides are available on an open-source basis and can be downloaded to an iPhone or similar handheld device. Consumers can then use these applications to conveniently access ecological profiles of ordinary household products on a point-of-purchase basis. There is at present little knowledge available on how consumers use this information and the degree to which it influences their shopping behavior. The project will link users of these applications together into a “virtual community” with the aim of encouraging them to communicate with one another about their experiences. We will then use a series of qualitative data analysis techniques to formulate a more robust understanding of the role that electronic shopping guides might play in steering more sustainable consumption practices.

Cost :$10,000.00

Research Component :P3 Challenge Area - Agriculture

Approach :

Over the past decade, numerous scientific panels in the United States and elsewhere have asserted that changes in individual behavior will be necessary to ensure long-term sustainability. This project will recruit several hundred participants to take part in an interactive study involving the use of a new generation of electronic shopping guides. These guides are available on an open-source basis and can be downloaded to an iPhone or similar handheld device. Consumers can then use these applications to conveniently access ecological profiles of ordinary household products on a point-of-purchase basis. There is at present little knowledge available on how consumers use this information and the degree to which it influences their shopping behavior. The project will link users of these applications together into a “virtual community” with the aim of encouraging them to communicate with one another about their experiences. We will then use a series of qualitative data analysis techniques to formulate a more robust understanding of the role that electronic shopping guides might play in steering more sustainable consumption practices.

Cost :$10,000.00

Research Component :P3 Challenge Area - Energy

Project IDs:

ID Code :SU834733

Project type :EPA Grant