Nicola Green

Dear All, Thanks again to all of you who have responded - the EDF community is one where the virtual and the real are within neighbourhood doors of each other! We've had a great response from people so far (hope you are treating yourselves with your vouchers!) Now we are really trying to recruit some families - however broadly that might be defined. At the moment I am broadly defining it as 'more than two people'!! that should e sufficient? All Best, Nicola Will be back and forth from ED over the next few months, don't hesitate to be in contact. All Best on recovery from the Bank Holiday Weekend! All Best, Nicola

Dear All, Thanks so much to all of you who have responded to participate in the research so far - it has been brilliant to meet with you so far! We are still looking forward to having other households work with us on the research - so if you are curious about the project, are someone who thinks about natural resources in your home - or someone who really doesn't care at all most of the time, but would just like to take advantage of ?100 in vouchers to spend some weeks with us - then please do get in contact, and we would love to hear from you. :-) All take care in the meantime, and happy holidays to those who are due them soon. :-) Best, Nicola

More questions I have since been asked, after contact from a number of members: Q: Does it matter if I am going on holiday? A: We can work around what you have planned in the next couple of months. For some, we might just take a break in the research for a short period of time. In other circumstances, we might ask you to talk about your holiday experiences, and how you coordinate that with being at home before, during and afterwards. In all cases, we can work around the very many things that are happening in people's lives. Q: I'm not sure what my partner/ family/ sharers will be doing - does that matter? A: We are wanting to look at households, but recognise that coordinating that might be difficult depending on people's circumstances. Quite a number of things that we are asking people to do can be accomplished week on week by just one person. If one person in the household is leading, then we can have an ongoing conversation about whether and how others in the household might want to take part. Very Best Again ED, and I look forward to hearing from more of you!

Rainbow

Hello edhistory, Thanks for your question - the response to which is that in some ways, it can't avoid self-selection bias. The crucial question is on what basis people might self-select... The research is broadly ethnographic and qualitative - which means that it has all the strengths and limitations associated with those approaches. Unlike many quantitative frameworks, it doesn't seek to be representative (nor therefore generalisable)- which is to say, what we are seeking is a depth of understanding (in diversity), rather than a breadth that could somehow support generalisable statements. In terms of mitigation - we are (as above) seeking diversity in the self-selection. We have a framework for research design, and a plan for a consistency of data collection. We are looking towards validity, rather than reliability, as the quality underpinning of the research results. Hope that answers the question - by all means say if not, and I can expand or link if you or others want to know more... Very Best, Nicola

Brief FAQ (or questions that I have been asked before or so far): Q: If you are from Newcastle, then why SE London? A: We have already done a similar study in Newcastle in 2016. Our proposal for (public) funding specified a London sample for comparison - and because I lived in South London for about a decade (in Brixton and Streatham Hill), taught at Goldsmiths for a while, and had family and friends who lived in SE London(Dulwich in particular), I appreciated the diversity of the area and therefore thought it would be a good reflection of both the Borough, and the diversities of London more widely - while of course having its own particular character! Q: Presumably, the research will be anonymous? A: The research has gone through a very rigorous ethical review process, and all data from the project will protect the identities of participants and both their confidentiality and anonymity. There are strict guidelines that we adhere to in respect of our participants having control over any and all of their own information for the duration of the research process. Nicola

Dear EDF, We - WEF@Home (OpenLab, Newcastle University) - are offering incentives of up to ?100 in supermarket/food vouchers as recompense for participation in a University project looking at how people in SE15 and SE22 use Water, Energy and Food (WEF) in their homes. WEF@Home is part of a wider project across a number of UK Universities that looks at the use of physical resources and the possible impact of that use on our environments. We are looking to recruit households across SE15 and SE22 to work with us to think about how households ? singles, couples, house-shares and families ? organise their WEF routines in their everyday lives. The research would involve daily activities of around 5 minutes (e.g. meter readings and collection of food receipts), and a weekly activity for around 20-30 minutes (e.g. a diary reflection on WEF). The research would also involve three estimated 60 minute interviews at the beginning, the middle and the end of people's involvement. Participants will be eligible for the ?100 in supermarket/food vouchers in two instalments of ?35 [Phase 1) and ?65 (Phase 2). If you have any questions about the project, please don?t hesitate to contact us on the details below. If you wish to take part in the project, then we would be very happy to hear from you via the contact details, or via responses to this thread... Have a great Weekend All! Nicola Research Associate OpenLab Newcastle University M: 07976 791 345 E: [email protected] [email protected] W: https://facebook.com/wef.home.9 https://wefhome.wordpress.com http://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/wefwebs/aboutus/ https://openlab.ncl.ac.uk/people/nng37/ https://digitalcivics.io/people/nicola-green/ http://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/people/profile/nicolagreen2.html#background

Hello Robert Poste's Child, All very relevant questions, thank you for bringing them up for clarification. :-) First up, I am not actually "in" Newcastle - I work for Newcastle University, but I actually live in the Southeast - at the moment, in Surrey to be precise. But even before that I lived for almost a decade in London, and in South London in particular - in Brixton and Streatham mostly. At the same time, I also had networks of relationships all over Southeast London, from teaching briefly at Goldsmiths, to my brother bringing up a burgeoning family in Dulwich, to friends throughout the Peckham and Dulwich areas - so when I got handed a brief to 'do a London sample', I thought of all the interesting places in South London that I really loved a lot. There is a London sample because that is what the brief for the project originally specified to the funding bodies - if you follow the Glasgow link at the bottom of the message, that will take you through to the UK-wide project website and all the Universities involved. The project overall is funded by the EPSRC - Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council - which is a public body - and absolutely nothing to do with any commercial research whatsoever. You ask about anonymity - YES, we guarantee confidentiality to all of our research participants. Personally, I wouldn't be part of any project otherwise. Again for anyone, if you send me a quick email note, then I can send you back an attachment (or more than one)that gives you more detail, and more information about options than I can give you on a thread. But I hope that sharing some background gives a small space of understanding about why I would like to talk to people in the great South London Republics. :-) Enjoy our tiny bit of current summer :-) Nicola

I should also say to everyone that a much more extensive information sheet about the project - including what the whole research programme is about and what the participant involvement would entail - is available from myself by just emailing the address provided, and I will send you an attachment. No signup, no pressure, no comeback, no repeats, nothing. It would be up to you after that if you want to get back in contact after making a decision to particiate - the entire process would be led by you. Hope you are all enjoying our current small slice of summer :-) Nicola

Hello Lu, Not a problem at all - and all kind of arrangements of meters/tarrifs/payg/whatever-else are of interest to us. We want to look at how people (in households) live their lives in whatever context they find themselves, not to say "you have to be living like XX" The fact that you don't have a water meter is exactly the kind of thing that we are interested in looking at - so in the context of water meters - given that only a tiny percentage of London households have one (and even when they individually do they are often super-un-accessible)- what the relationship is between a household and a local resource provision and its organisation and infrastructure is something to be investigated and questioned. So I hope that kind of concern wouldn't stop you from thinking about signing up for the project if you are interested and willing. :-) Very Best, Nicola

Sorry all, I should also have said - if anyone has any questions of general interest about the project that you might want to ask, feel free to also post them to this thread. I can then address the relevant questions that might be of interest to everyone so that those who might be interested in taking part can get a wider idea/ feel for the project as a whole. Nicola

WEF@Home OpenLab Newcastle University WEF@Home is a short-term research project that is looking at how people use Water, Energy and Food (WEF) in their homes. WEF@Home is part of a wider project across a number of UK Universities that looks at the use of physical resources and the possible impact of that use on our living environments. We are looking to recruit London households to work with us over a period of around eight weeks to think about how households ? singles, couples, house-shares and families ? organise their WEF routines in their everyday lives. We are able to offer incentives of up to ?100 in supermarket/food vouchers (in two instalments of ?35 [Phase 1 four weeks] and ?65 [Phase 2 four weeks]) as recompense for the time a household and all its members might devote to the project. The research would involve daily activities for around 5 minutes (e.g. meter readings and collection of food receipts), and a weekly activity for around 20-30 minutes (e.g. a diary reflection on WEF for the day/week, amongst other activities). The research would also involve three estimated 90 minute interviews at the beginning, the middle and the end of the project. If you have any questions about the project, please don?t hesitate to contact us. If you wish to take part in the project, then we would be very happy to hear from you on the contact details below: Dr Nicola Green Research Associate OpenLab Newcastle University M: 07976 791 345 E: [email protected] [email protected] W: https://wefhome.wordpress.com http://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/wefwebs/aboutus/ https://openlab.ncl.ac.uk/people/nng37/ https://digitalcivics.io/people/nicola-green/ http://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/people/profile/nicolagreen2.html#background

WEF@Home OpenLab Newcastle University WEF@Home is a short-term research project that is looking at how people use Water, Energy and Food (WEF) in their homes. WEF@Home is part of a wider project across a number of UK Universities that looks at the use of physical resources and the possible impact of that use on our living environments. We are looking to recruit London households to work with us over a period of around eight weeks to think about how households ? singles, couples, house-shares and families ? organise their WEF routines in their everyday lives. We are able to offer incentives of up to ?100 in supermarket/food vouchers (in two instalments of ?35 [Phase 1 four weeks] and ?65 [Phase 2 four weeks]) as recompense for the time a household and all its members might devote to the project. The research would involve daily activities for around 5 minutes (e.g. meter readings and collection of food receipts), and a weekly activity for around 20-30 minutes (e.g. a diary reflection on WEF for the day/week, amongst other activities). The research would also involve three estimated 90 minute interviews at the beginning, the middle and the end of the project. If you have any questions about the project, please don?t hesitate to contact us. If you wish to take part in the project, then we would be very happy to hear from you on the contact details below: Dr Nicola Green Research Associate OpenLab Newcastle University M: 07976 791 345 E: [email protected] [email protected] W: https://wefhome.wordpress.com http://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/wefwebs/aboutus/ https://openlab.ncl.ac.uk/people/nng37/ https://digitalcivics.io/people/nicola-green/ http://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/people/profile/nicolagreen2.html#background