Die Beiträge: Smart Sustainable Cities - Special Interest Track an der 33. Bled eConference

Im Rahmen der 33. Bled eConference im Juni 2020 in Bled, Slowenien, wurde zum zweiten Mal der Special Interest Track 'Smart Sustainable Cities' von mir als Track Chair organisiert.

Im Rahmen der in diesem Jahr am 29. Juni 2020 Online durchgeführten Konferenz wurden zwei Beiträge zur Publikation in diesem Track akzeptiert.

Beide Beiträge sind konzeptioneller Natur. 

Der erste Beitrag kombiniert den Livign Lab Ansatz mit der Digitalisierung ländlicher Gebiete (rural areas). Ein Ziel des Beitrages ist es herauszufinden, wie die Digitalisieurng die Situation des ländlichen Raums verbessern kann. Dazu präsentieren die Autorinnen das Projekt Digitales Dorf Bayern als Fallstudie. 

Der zweite Beitrag adaptiert das Konzept des Digitalen Zwillings (Digital Twin) auf die Smart City. Mit Hilfe des Digital Twin soll die Entwicklung von Smart Cities nachhaltiger werden. Eine entsprechende Digital Twin Plattform erlaubt es u.a. Simulationen durchzuführen, eine verbesserte Integration der Stakeholder sowie neue Formen der eParticipation. Illustriert werden die konzeptionellen Aussagen mit einem konkreten Fallbeispiel aus Helsinki. (Video)

Es ist vorgesehen, den Track zu Smart Sustainable Cities auch an der 34. Bled eConference fortzuführen. Die Herausfordeurngen für Regionen, Städte und Gemeinden sind durch die aktuelle Covid-19 Krise eher noch gestiegen. So wird das Thema der resilienten Stadt bzw. Gemeinde im Angesicht der Krise und ihrer Folgen noch wichtiger. Was sind die Erfahrungen aus der Krise, wie können digitale Innovationen im Kontext einer Smart City hier einen Beitrag leisten? Dabei geht es nicht um nur techologische, sondern auch um ökonomische, soziale, gesellschaftliche und ethische Fragen. 

Rural Areas on Their Way to a Smart Village - Experiences from Living Labs in Bavaria

by Lisa-Marie Hanninger, Jessica Laxa & Diane Ahrens, Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Technology Campus Grafenau, Grafenau, Germany. (Proceedings pp. 107 (pdf)) 

Abstract This paper presents an overview of the approaches and experiences from existing living labs: german rural villages in which several digital solutions had been developed and implemented. The test villages have been selected based on a competition and are funded by the Bavarian state government in the project "Digitales Dorf" (Engl. digital village). Started in 2016 several measures had been taken to push digitalization in these rural areas with the goal to create equivalent living conditions to urban areas. The research question is how digitalization enhances the value of rural areas and which methods can be used to overcome the digitalization gap with a transferable and simple approach. This paper focuses on the transformation process rather than digital solutions, and presents requirements and best practices to promote digitalization in rural environments, their municipal processes and traditional approaches in everyday life.

Smart City Development with Digital Twin Technology

by Mervi Hämäläinen, University of Vaasa, School of Marketing and Communication, Vaasa, Finland.
(Proceedings pp. 291 (pdf)) 

Abstract
Growing urban areas are major consumers of natural resources, energy and raw materials. Understanding cities´ urban metabolism is salient when developing sustainable and resilient cities. This paper addresses concepts of smart city and digital twin technology as means to foster more sustainable urban development. Smart city has globally been well adopted concept in urban development. With smart city development cities aim to optimize overall performance of the city, its infrastructures, processes and services, but also to improve socio-economic wellbeing. Dynamic digital twins are constituted to form real-time connectivity between virtual and physical objects. Digital twin combines virtual objects to its physical counterparts. This conceptual paper provides additionally examples from dynamic digital twin platforms and digital twin of Helsinki, Finland.

Alle Beiträge der 33. Bled Conference sind in den Proceedings der 33. Bled eConference Online verfügbar. 

Smart Sustainable Cities - Special Interest Track an der 33. Bled eConference

Im Rahmen der 33. Bled eConference habe ich die Freude den Special Interest Track Smart Sustainable Cities zu organisieren.

Der Track beschäftigt sich mit verschiedenen Herausforderungen smarter Sädte, Gemeinden und Regionen. Im Zentrum soll dabei die Frage stehen, wie digitale Technologien zur Verbesserung der Lebensqualität von Bürgerinnen und Bürgern beitragen können:

"The Smart City idea offers concepts and solutions for cities, communities, as well as regions to cope with current challenges occurring in the form of demographics, urbanization, climate change, resource crises, mobility challenges, global competition as well as open and participatory societies. While the early smart city concepts focused on technology first and foremost nowadays the citizens and their quality of life is the starting point for many activities. In line with the overall theme of the 33rd Bled eConference the track will focus on utilization of any technology to contribute to the quality of life of citizens. As especially in Europe cities a rather small in average and often linked to further communities in a region, the track will focus on smart cities, communities as well as regions. Therefore, the track continues the eRegion tradition of the Bled eConference. We look forward to receiving papers addressing various issues of a smart city, such as, strategies, frameworks, concrete solutions and cases, service and business models, benefits and challenges, covering all the various smart city dimensions from smart energy over smart mobility and sharing economy to smart governments and smart citizens, utilizing different methodological approaches." (Call for Papers)

Im Rahmen des Tracks sowie der gesamten Konferenz soll den Austausch und die Diskussion über aktueller Forschungsarbeiten ermöglicht werden. 

Ausgewählte Beiträge werden zur Publikation in Electronic Markets und anderen ausgewählten Journals via einem Fast Track Review Verfahren eingeladen.

Weitere Special Interest Tracks beschäftigen sich mit den Themen

• Digital Health
• Digital Wellness
• Blockchain Technologies
• Big Data & Data Science
• Education and Learning in the Digital Society
• Business Models

Die 33. Bled eConference steht unter dem Rahmenthema

Enabling Technology for a Sustainable Society

Die Konferenz findet vom 28. Juni bis 1. Juli 2020 in Bled, Slowenien, statt. 

Das weitere Angebot der Bled eConference im Überblick:

• a fully-refereed Research Track and Research in Progress Track, devoted to researchers in all aspects of digital transformation;
• Doctoral Consortium, offering students to present their ongoing master’s and PhD study results;
• ePrototype Students Bazaar, offering students opportunities to present innovative digital Business ideas, models, prototypes and apps;
• Panels, Workshops and Meetings.

Der vollständige Call for Papers

Die Beiträge: Smart Cities, Regions & Communities - Special Interest Track an der 32. Bled eConference

Im Rahmen der 32. Bled eConference im Juni 2019 in Bled, Slowenien, wurde zum ersten mal der Special Interest Track 'Smart Cities, Regions & Communities' von mir als Track Chair organisiert.

Im Rahmen der Konferenz wurden die drei akzeptierten Beiträge präsentiert.

Der erste Beitrag setzt sich mit der Rolle von lokalen Gemeinschaften im Kontext globaler Plattformen anhand des Beispiels von Taxidiensten auseinander, der zweite beschäftigt sich mit der Rolle von Social Media im Rahmen der Interaktion von Bürgerinnen und Bürgern mit der Verwaltung, hier konkret am Beispiel China, und der dritte Beitrag fokussiert auf das Smart Home und diskutiert die Akzeptanz von sog. Smart Locks. 

Global service platforms in local markets: case taxi, Jups Heikkilä and Marikka Heikkilä, University of Turku, Finland. (Proceedings pp. 880)

Abstract In this paper we discuss digital platform economy and use theory of Governance of Commons by Elinor Ostrom as a lens through which we look at related problems and social issues, such as tragedy of the commons. We discuss how communities can react to side effects and overgrazing of free, common resources by norms and rules. We illustrate the issue with the opening of taxi service markets to new entrants such as Uber.

Trust, Fear and Social Influence: on the use of Social Media in China’s Aauthoritarian Governance Regime, Vincent Homburg, Erasmus University Rotterdam, DPAS, Netherlands. (Proceedings pp. 222)

Abstract This paper reports on the analysis of results of a survey among Chinese citizens about their intended use of social media to interact with government agencies and associated motivations. Citizens’ use intentions were found to be correlated with citizens’ trust in officials, social influence (peer pressure) and anxiety, but not with trust in government. These results provide building blocks for an explanatory theory of citizens’ use of social media to interact with government, especially in an authoritarian regime like China’s system of public governance. This explanatory theory is consistent with an institutional perspective on technology use, in which use intentions and behaviours are explained by norms, practices and taken-for-granted assumptions, rather than by rational cost-benefit considerations. The paper is concluded with recommendations for comparative research on antecedents of social media in government-citizen relations in various governance systems.

Unlocking the Smart Home: An Examination of Factors Influencing Smart Lock Adoption Intention, Stanislav Mamonov, Montclair State University, United States of America, Raquel Benbunan-Fich, City University of New York, United States of America. (Proceedings pp. 33)

Abstract Smart home technologies are a growing trend, yet little is known about factors that drive their adoption, given the spectrum of potential functional, experiential and esthetic benefits they offer. To address this gap in research, we explore the factorial structure of salient perceived benefits and concerns associated with smart locks, and we examine the effects of the emergent factors on the adoption intention. We find that while potential adopters express a broad range of perceived benefits and concerns associated with smart locks, only the perceived relative advantage of smart locks vis-a-vis conventional locks in providing safety and security is significantly correlated with adoption intention. Our results indicate that this perceived relative advantage is a critical consideration in the adoption of smart home technologies that replace existing solutions.

Alle Beiträge sind in den Proceedings der 32. Bled eConference Online verfügbar. (Proceedings als pdf)

(Der Beitrag wurde zuerst auf dem FHS eSociety Blog publiziert)

Smart Cities, Regions & Communities - Special Interest Track an der 32. Bled eConference

bledconference.org

Im Rahmen der 32. Bled eConference habe ich die Freude den Special Interest Track Smart Cities, Regions & Communities zu organisieren.

Der Track beschäftigt sich mit verschiedenen Fragestellungen smarter Sädte, Gemeinden und Regionen und soll den Austausch und die Diskussion über aktueller Forschungsarbeiten unterstützen:

"We look forward to receiving papers addressing various issues of a smart city, such as, strategies, frameworks, concrete solutions and cases, service and business models, benefits and challenges, covering all the various smart city dimensions from smart energy over smart mobility and sharing economy to smart governments and smart citizens, utilizing different methodological approaches." (Call for Papers)

Weitere Special Interest Tracks beschäftigen sich mit den Themen

• eHealth
• Digital Wellness
• Blockchain
• Big Data/Data Science
• Education and Learning in the Digital Society
• Business Models
• Security & Privacy.

Die 32. Bled eConference steht unter dem Rahmenthema

Humanizing Technology for a Sustainable Society

Die Konferenz findet vom 16. bis 19. Juni 2019 in Bled, Slowenien, statt. 

Das weitere Angebot der Bled eConference im Überblick:

• a fully-refereed Research Track and Research in Progress Track, devoted to researchers in all aspects of digital transformation;
• Doctoral Consortium, offering students to present their ongoing master’s and PhD study results;
• ePrototype Students Bazaar, offering students opportunities to present innovative e- or m-Business or Internet of Things ideas, models, prototypes and apps;
• a Business and Government Panel Track which attracts eminent business and government leaders from Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific;
• Business, Government and Academic Workshops and Meetings offering unparalleled opportunities to discuss, share and learn with colleagues from around the world;
• EU projects dissemination meetings; enabling project partners to connect with other similar projects and to disseminate results to a wider community.

Der vollständige Call for Papers

bledconference.org

Creating smart Regions through Open Societal Innovation - Panel at the 26th Bled Conference

It was a pleasure to organize and moderate the panel Creating smart Regions through Open Societal Innovation as part of the 26th Bled eConference on June 11, 2013.

From the panel abstract: 

“This panel will continue the discussion about eRegions which emerged from the Bled eConference and attempts to embed the concept within a ‘Smart City’ and ‘Open Innovation’ context.

The notion of eRegions mainly refers on utilizing ICT to support commercial activities in a greater regional context. Similarly, the term Smart City usually begins with a focus on ICT utilization to create ‘smart’ urban areas. Although the notion of Smart Cities comprises intellectual and social capital as well many current activities focus on infrastructural and environmental issues such as energy, traffic, or climate. The idea of Open Societal Innovation refers to the utilization of open innovation approaches from business to state and society to solve societal challenges through involving smart people as innovators into idea creation and problem solving processes.

The panel will bring together the different perspectives contributing to a broader understanding of smart regions:

(1) ICT focus: Nowadays, utilization of ICT means are crucial to cope with the current challenges.

(2) Regional focus: Beside megacities and metropolitan areas the interplay of a number of municipalities with complementary profiles creating regional clusters is an important issue in many European countries, but also beyond.

(3) Open innovation focus: The open societal innovation approach includes people living in specific areas into respective processes in order to cope with current challenges reflection a general trend addressing participatory strategies.”

In the discussions Julia Glidden came up with some lessons for regions:

• Think big, start small 
• Prioritise regional openness and interoperability from procurement through to architecture design 
• Promote your region as an innovation platform 
• Connect the innovation dots.

Geert Mareels impressively presented Flanders as a really smart region and introduced the Citadel on the Move project.

And Bror Salmelin discussed the reinforcement of the attractiveness of innovation hubs pleading for building innovation ecosystems.

Introduction to the panel as presented in Bled: