2023

• ---

  Engelbutzeder, P., Randell, D., Landwehr, M., Aal, K., Stevens, G. & Wulf, V. (2023)From surplus and scarcity towards abundance: Understanding the use of ICT in food resource sharing practices: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” – Lao Tsu

  IN ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction doi:10.1145/3589957
  [BibTeX] [Abstract] [Download PDF]

  Food practices have become an important context for questions around sustainability. Within HCI, Sustainable HCI and Human-Food-Interaction have developed as a response. We argue, nevertheless, that food practices as a social activity remain relatively under-examined and further that sustainable food practices hinge on communal activity. We present the results of action-oriented research with a grassroots movement committed to sustainable food practices at a local, communal level, thereby demonstrating the role of ICT in making food resource sharing a viable practice. We suggest that the current focus on food sharing might usefully be supplemented by attention to food resource sharing, an approach that aligns with a paradigm shift from surplus to abundance. We argue for design that aims to encourage food resource sharing at a local level but that also has wider ramifications. These ‘glocal’ endeavors recognize the complexity of prosumption practices and foster aspirations for ‘deep change’ in food systems.

  @article{engelbutzeder_surplus_2023,
  title = {From surplus and scarcity towards abundance: {Understanding} the use of {ICT} in food resource sharing practices: “{Give} a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” – {Lao} {Tsu}},
  issn = {1073-0516},
  shorttitle = {From surplus and scarcity towards abundance},
  url = {https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3589957},
  doi = {10.1145/3589957},
  abstract = {Food practices have become an important context for questions around sustainability. Within HCI, Sustainable HCI and Human-Food-Interaction have developed as a response. We argue, nevertheless, that food practices as a social activity remain relatively under-examined and further that sustainable food practices hinge on communal activity. We present the results of action-oriented research with a grassroots movement committed to sustainable food practices at a local, communal level, thereby demonstrating the role of ICT in making food resource sharing a viable practice. We suggest that the current focus on food sharing might usefully be supplemented by attention to food resource sharing, an approach that aligns with a paradigm shift from surplus to abundance. We argue for design that aims to encourage food resource sharing at a local level but that also has wider ramifications. These ‘glocal’ endeavors recognize the complexity of prosumption practices and foster aspirations for ‘deep change’ in food systems.},
  urldate = {2023-04-11},
  journal = {ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction},
  author = {Engelbutzeder, Philip and Randell, Dave and Landwehr, Marvin and Aal, Konstantin and Stevens, Gunnar and Wulf, Volker},
  month = apr,
  year = {2023},
  note = {Just Accepted},
  keywords = {Sustainability, Grassroots, HFI, Sustainable HCI, Abundance, Sharing Economy, Surplus},
  }

2021

• ---

  Lawo, D., Neifer, T., Esau, M., Engelbutzeder, P. & Stevens, G. (2021)Scan&Go: Understanding Adoption and Design of Smartphone-based Self-checkout

  , Publisher: SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Pages: 183–194
  [BibTeX] [Abstract] [Download PDF]

  Since stationary self-checkout is widely introduced and well understood, previous research barely examined newer generations of smartphone-based Scan&Go. Especially from a design perspective, we know little about the factors contributing to the adoption of Scan&Go solutions and how design enables consumers to take full advantage of this development rather than being burdened with using complex and unenjoyable systems. To understand the influencing factors and the design from a consumer perspective, we conducted a mixed-methods study where we triangulated data of an online survey with 103 participants and a qualitative study with 20 participants. Based on the results, our study presents a refined and nuanced understanding of technology as well as infrastructure-related factors that influence adoption. Moreover, we present several implications for designing and implementing of Scan&Go in retail environments.

  @inproceedings{lawo_scango_2021,
  title = {Scan\&{Go}: {Understanding} {Adoption} and {Design} of {Smartphone}-based {Self}-checkout},
  isbn = {978-989-758-527-2},
  shorttitle = {Scan\&{Go}},
  url = {https://pub.h-brs.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/5768},
  abstract = {Since stationary self-checkout is widely introduced and well understood, previous research barely examined newer generations of smartphone-based Scan\&Go. Especially from a design perspective, we know little about the factors contributing to the adoption of Scan\&Go solutions and how design enables consumers to take full advantage of this development rather than being burdened with using complex and unenjoyable systems. To understand the influencing factors and the design from a consumer perspective, we conducted a mixed-methods study where we triangulated data of an online survey with 103 participants and a qualitative study with 20 participants. Based on the results, our study presents a refined and nuanced understanding of technology as well as infrastructure-related factors that influence adoption. Moreover, we present several implications for designing and implementing of Scan\&Go in retail environments.},
  language = {eng},
  urldate = {2021-08-02},
  publisher = {SCITEPRESS - Science and Technology Publications},
  author = {Lawo, Dennis and Neifer, Thomas and Esau, Margarita and Engelbutzeder, Philip and Stevens, Gunnar},
  month = jul,
  year = {2021},
  pages = {183--194},
  }

• ---

  Landwehr, M., Engelbutzeder, P. & Wulf, V. (2021)Community Supported Agriculture: The Concept of Solidarity in Mitigating Between Harvests and Needs

  Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. New York, NY, USA, Publisher: Association for Computing Machinery, Pages: 1–13 doi:10.1145/3411764.3445268
  [BibTeX] [Abstract] [Download PDF]

  There is a developing recognition of the social and economic costs entailed in global supply chains. In this paper, we report on efforts to provide alternative, more sustainable and resilient models of production. Community Supported Agricultures (CSAs) address this problem but require new means of exchange which, we suggest, offer a design opportunity for sustainable HCI research. This paper presents a two months participatory observation in a food movement, a German CSA which developed a distribution system involving their own currency. Based on our ethnographic observations, we focus our discussion on (1) the solidaristic principles upon which the movement is based and (2) techniques of mediating between consumers’ wishes and the constraints of local agricultural production. By relating to the continued development of CSAs, we identify three interrelated innovation gaps and discuss new software architectures aimed at resolving the problems which arise as the movement grows.

  @inproceedings{landwehr_community_2021,
  address = {New York, NY, USA},
  series = {{CHI} '21},
  title = {Community {Supported} {Agriculture}: {The} {Concept} of {Solidarity} in {Mitigating} {Between} {Harvests} and {Needs}},
  isbn = {978-1-4503-8096-6},
  shorttitle = {Community {Supported} {Agriculture}},
  url = {https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3411764.3445268},
  doi = {10.1145/3411764.3445268},
  abstract = {There is a developing recognition of the social and economic costs entailed in global supply chains. In this paper, we report on efforts to provide alternative, more sustainable and resilient models of production. Community Supported Agricultures (CSAs) address this problem but require new means of exchange which, we suggest, offer a design opportunity for sustainable HCI research. This paper presents a two months participatory observation in a food movement, a German CSA which developed a distribution system involving their own currency. Based on our ethnographic observations, we focus our discussion on (1) the solidaristic principles upon which the movement is based and (2) techniques of mediating between consumers’ wishes and the constraints of local agricultural production. By relating to the continued development of CSAs, we identify three interrelated innovation gaps and discuss new software architectures aimed at resolving the problems which arise as the movement grows.},
  urldate = {2021-05-17},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2021 {CHI} {Conference} on {Human} {Factors} in {Computing} {Systems}},
  publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
  author = {Landwehr, Marvin and Engelbutzeder, Philip and Wulf, Volker},
  month = may,
  year = {2021},
  keywords = {Sustainable HCI, Community Supported Agriculture, Cooperative Work, Currency, Distributed Ledger Technology, Food Sovereignty, Solidarity, Technological Sovereignty, Trust},
  pages = {1--13},
  }

2020

• ---

  Weber, P., Engelbutzeder, P. & Ludwig, T. (2020)„Always on the Table“: Revealing Smartphone Usages in everyday Eating Out Situations

  Proceedings of the 11th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Shaping Experiences, Shaping Society. New York, NY, USA, Publisher: Association for Computing Machinery, Pages: 1–13 doi:10.1145/3419249.3420150
  [BibTeX] [Abstract] [Download PDF]

  Research on food practices and technology use is becoming more common, albeit with a constant technological determinism with respect to the support of individual practices. Nevertheless, there are only a few empirical studies that outline the use of current technologies within eating contexts. We therefore conducted an empirical study on the practice of eating out and the use of mobile technologies before, during, and after eating. Our investigation consists of a qualitative interview study (n=29) complemented by a large observational study (n=458) within several restaurant settings. Our results indicate a strong reluctance to use technology while eating and highlights several design spaces focusing on before and after the actual eating. Within our paper, we uncover a strong relationship between smartphone use and the social settings in which the interaction takes place. We contribute to the emerging research field of Human-Food Interaction by outlining design spaces for supporting practices around food consumption when eating out.

  @inproceedings{weber_always_2020,
  address = {New York, NY, USA},
  series = {{NordiCHI} '20},
  title = {"{Always} on the {Table}": {Revealing} {Smartphone} {Usages} in everyday {Eating} {Out} {Situations}},
  isbn = {978-1-4503-7579-5},
  shorttitle = {\&\#x201c;{Always} on the {Table}\&\#x201d;},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3419249.3420150},
  doi = {10.1145/3419249.3420150},
  abstract = {Research on food practices and technology use is becoming more common, albeit with a constant technological determinism with respect to the support of individual practices. Nevertheless, there are only a few empirical studies that outline the use of current technologies within eating contexts. We therefore conducted an empirical study on the practice of eating out and the use of mobile technologies before, during, and after eating. Our investigation consists of a qualitative interview study (n=29) complemented by a large observational study (n=458) within several restaurant settings. Our results indicate a strong reluctance to use technology while eating and highlights several design spaces focusing on before and after the actual eating. Within our paper, we uncover a strong relationship between smartphone use and the social settings in which the interaction takes place. We contribute to the emerging research field of Human-Food Interaction by outlining design spaces for supporting practices around food consumption when eating out.},
  urldate = {2021-04-16},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the 11th {Nordic} {Conference} on {Human}-{Computer} {Interaction}: {Shaping} {Experiences}, {Shaping} {Society}},
  publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
  author = {Weber, Philip and Engelbutzeder, Philip and Ludwig, Thomas},
  month = oct,
  year = {2020},
  keywords = {Eating Out, Empirical Study, Human-Food Interaction, Smartphone Usage, rendezfood},
  pages = {1--13},
  }

• ---

  Lawo, D., Esau, M., Engelbutzeder, P. & Stevens, G. (2020)Going Vegan: The Role(s) of ICT in Vegan Practice Transformation

  IN Sustainability, Vol. 12, Pages: 5184 doi:10.3390/su12125184
  [BibTeX] [Abstract] [Download PDF]

  With the debate on climate change, topics of diet change and the reduction of animal products have become increasingly important in both public and academic discourses. However, sustainable ICT studies have so far focused on individual aspects, in particular investigating the criticized persuasive design approach. We argue for a broader perspective on the role(s) of ICT, one that helps in identifying opportunities to support consumer practice transformation, beyond motivational aspects. Based on retrospective interviews with 16 vegans, we argue to understand practice transformation as co-evolution of practices and ICT artefacts, as this perspective helps to understand how tensions arising from complex entanglements of practices, socio-material contexts, and communities can be resolved. Rather than a motivational process, we observe various roles of ICT artefacts co-evolving with practices: Ranging from initial irritation, to access to information about vegan practices, to the learning of vegan food literacy, to the negotiation of a vegan identity, and vegan norms at the intersection of the ‘odd’ and the ‘norm’.

  @article{lawo_going_2020,
  title = {Going {Vegan}: {The} {Role}(s) of {ICT} in {Vegan} {Practice} {Transformation}},
  volume = {12},
  copyright = {http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/},
  shorttitle = {Going {Vegan}},
  url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/12/5184},
  doi = {10.3390/su12125184},
  abstract = {With the debate on climate change, topics of diet change and the reduction of animal products have become increasingly important in both public and academic discourses. However, sustainable ICT studies have so far focused on individual aspects, in particular investigating the criticized persuasive design approach. We argue for a broader perspective on the role(s) of ICT, one that helps in identifying opportunities to support consumer practice transformation, beyond motivational aspects. Based on retrospective interviews with 16 vegans, we argue to understand practice transformation as co-evolution of practices and ICT artefacts, as this perspective helps to understand how tensions arising from complex entanglements of practices, socio-material contexts, and communities can be resolved. Rather than a motivational process, we observe various roles of ICT artefacts co-evolving with practices: Ranging from initial irritation, to access to information about vegan practices, to the learning of vegan food literacy, to the negotiation of a vegan identity, and vegan norms at the intersection of the \‘odd\’ and the \‘norm\’.},
  language = {en},
  number = {12},
  urldate = {2021-04-16},
  journal = {Sustainability},
  author = {Lawo, Dennis and Esau, Margarita and Engelbutzeder, Philip and Stevens, Gunnar},
  month = jan,
  year = {2020},
  note = {Number: 12
  Publisher: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute},
  keywords = {sustainability, design, ICT, co-evolution, consumer informatics, practice theory, vegan},
  pages = {5184},
  }

• ---

  Engelbutzeder, P., Cerna, K., Randall, D., Lawo, D., Müller, C., Stevens, G. & Wulf, V. (2020)Investigating the use of digital artifacts in a community project of sustainable food practices: ‚My chili blossoms‘

  Proceedings of the 11th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Shaping Experiences, Shaping Society. New York, NY, USA, Publisher: Association for Computing Machinery, Pages: 1–4 doi:10.1145/3419249.3420089
  [BibTeX] [Abstract] [Download PDF]

  Research on food practices has become more common among scholars of HCI in recent years. Human-Food-Interaction (HFI) looks into the interplay of humans, food and technology. HFI, even so, has paid relatively little attention to the more collective elements of food practice, including social bonding [1]. The modest project we describe below aimed to say something about the use of digital artifacts to support community engagement for sustainable food practices. We participated, as action researchers (see [2]) in a grassroots movement that instigated a project around learning about food growing, using digital means to bring interested people together during times of physical distancing: In the project Vegetables seek a home, people from various backgrounds ‘adopted’ a chili-plant, they are invited to share what they like in a Telegram-Group, and to get learning-modules via a mailing-list. Through an analysis of the communal effort to actualize the project (video-calls, Telegram, wechange.de) and the content of the Telegram-Group for the chili-plant adopting parents and experts, we suggest some design implications for grassroots communities and sustainable food practice. In future research we intend an iterative design to support the community and its project, utilizing Holmgren’s 12 principles of permaculture design.

  @inproceedings{engelbutzeder_investigating_2020,
  address = {New York, NY, USA},
  series = {{NordiCHI} '20},
  title = {Investigating the use of digital artifacts in a community project of sustainable food practices: '{My} chili blossoms'},
  isbn = {978-1-4503-7579-5},
  shorttitle = {Investigating the use of digital artifacts in a community project of sustainable food practices},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3419249.3420089},
  doi = {10.1145/3419249.3420089},
  abstract = {Research on food practices has become more common among scholars of HCI in recent years. Human-Food-Interaction (HFI) looks into the interplay of humans, food and technology. HFI, even so, has paid relatively little attention to the more collective elements of food practice, including social bonding [1]. The modest project we describe below aimed to say something about the use of digital artifacts to support community engagement for sustainable food practices. We participated, as action researchers (see [2]) in a grassroots movement that instigated a project around learning about food growing, using digital means to bring interested people together during times of physical distancing: In the project Vegetables seek a home, people from various backgrounds ‘adopted’ a chili-plant, they are invited to share what they like in a Telegram-Group, and to get learning-modules via a mailing-list. Through an analysis of the communal effort to actualize the project (video-calls, Telegram, wechange.de) and the content of the Telegram-Group for the chili-plant adopting parents and experts, we suggest some design implications for grassroots communities and sustainable food practice. In future research we intend an iterative design to support the community and its project, utilizing Holmgren's 12 principles of permaculture design.},
  urldate = {2021-04-15},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the 11th {Nordic} {Conference} on {Human}-{Computer} {Interaction}: {Shaping} {Experiences}, {Shaping} {Society}},
  publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
  author = {Engelbutzeder, Philip and Cerna, Katerina and Randall, Dave and Lawo, Dennis and M\üller, Claudia and Stevens, Gunnar and Wulf, Volker},
  month = oct,
  year = {2020},
  keywords = {Community, Learning, Sustainability, italg, Food, Grassroots, HFI, Sustainable HCI},
  pages = {1--4},
  }

• ---

  Lawo, D., Engelbutzeder, P., Esau, M. & Stevens, G. (2020)Networks of Practices: Exploring Design Opportunities for Interconnected Practices

  doi:10.18420/ecscw2020_ep03
  [BibTeX] [Abstract] [Download PDF]

  For over a decade, researchers from the practice-centered computing community are taking social practices as a unit of design. While the first generation focused on a social practice in isolation, more recent work argues for the (inter-)connections of mutually influencing practices as the primary unit of design. We discuss these current approaches to motivate the notion of a network of practices. Utilizing the case of food practices, we construct and analyze a network populated by the answers of 60 participants. Based on this network we suggest how to identify central elements and clusters as well as points for intervention within the overall network, but also within and in-between clusters of practices. Based on this, our work critically discusses how an understanding of practices as a network could improve practice-based research and design.

  @article{lawo_networks_2020,
  title = {Networks of {Practices}: {Exploring} {Design} {Opportunities} for {Interconnected} {Practices}},
  issn = {2510-2591},
  shorttitle = {Networks of {Practices}},
  url = {https://dl.eusset.eu/handle/20.500.12015/3408},
  doi = {10.18420/ecscw2020_ep03},
  abstract = {For over a decade, researchers from the practice-centered computing community are taking social practices as a unit of design. While the first generation focused on a social practice in isolation, more recent work argues for the (inter-)connections of mutually influencing practices as the primary unit of design. We discuss these current approaches to motivate the notion of a network of practices. Utilizing the case of food practices, we construct and analyze a network populated by the answers of 60 participants. Based on this network we suggest how to identify central elements and clusters as well as points for intervention within the overall network, but also within and in-between clusters of practices. Based on this, our work critically discusses how an understanding of practices as a network could improve practice-based research and design.},
  language = {en},
  urldate = {2021-04-16},
  author = {Lawo, Dennis and Engelbutzeder, Philip and Esau, Margarita and Stevens, Gunnar},
  year = {2020},
  note = {Accepted: 2020-06-05T23:52:34Z
  Publisher: European Society for Socially Embedded Technologies (EUSSET)},
  }

2019

• ---

  Lawo, D., Engelbutzeder, P., Esau, M. & Stevens, G. (2019)Towards a Network of Practices: Identifying Central Elements to Inform Design

  Proceedings of the Halfway to the Future Symposium 2019. New York, NY, USA, Publisher: Association for Computing Machinery, Pages: 1–4 doi:10.1145/3363384.3363470
  [BibTeX] [Abstract] [Download PDF]

  For over a decade researchers from the HCI community are taking social practices as a unit of design. While the first generation focused on social practice in isolation, more recent work argues for the interrelatedness of mutually influencing practices as the primary unit of analysis. We discuss these current approaches to motivate the notion of a network of practices. We argue that network theory presents a promising method to create more detailed and sophisticated models of social practices, that raise awareness about central elements and their connecting characteristics. Further on, our work identifies open questions that should be addressed in future work, to increase the benefits of the method.

  @inproceedings{lawo_towards_2019,
  address = {New York, NY, USA},
  series = {{HTTF} 2019},
  title = {Towards a {Network} of {Practices}: {Identifying} {Central} {Elements} to {Inform} {Design}},
  isbn = {978-1-4503-7203-9},
  shorttitle = {Towards a {Network} of {Practices}},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3363384.3363470},
  doi = {10.1145/3363384.3363470},
  abstract = {For over a decade researchers from the HCI community are taking social practices as a unit of design. While the first generation focused on social practice in isolation, more recent work argues for the interrelatedness of mutually influencing practices as the primary unit of analysis. We discuss these current approaches to motivate the notion of a network of practices. We argue that network theory presents a promising method to create more detailed and sophisticated models of social practices, that raise awareness about central elements and their connecting characteristics. Further on, our work identifies open questions that should be addressed in future work, to increase the benefits of the method.},
  urldate = {2021-04-16},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the {Halfway} to the {Future} {Symposium} 2019},
  publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
  author = {Lawo, Dennis and Engelbutzeder, Philip and Esau, Margarita and Stevens, Gunnar},
  month = nov,
  year = {2019},
  keywords = {Consumption, Food Lifecycle, Network of Practices, Practice Theory, Third Wave of HCI},
  pages = {1--4},
  }