John Harvey | University of Nottingham (original) (raw)

Papers by John Harvey

IEEE Big Data Conference, 2023

Anthocyanins are a class of polyphenols that have received widespread recent attention due to the... more Anthocyanins are a class of polyphenols that have received widespread recent attention due to their potential health benefits. However, estimating the dietary intake of anthocyanins at a population level is a challenging task, due to the difficulty of scaling dietary surveys. Further, there is limited evidence as to who regularly consumes anthocyanins, whether temporally, spatially, or culturally according to levels of socioeconomic deprivation. Leveraging a massive retail loyalty card dataset in the UK, we pair two years of real-world purchasing data for 619,524 regular shoppers and 207 million shopping baskets with anthocyanin estimates drawn from polyphenol databases. We subsequently analyse relative deprivation levels of the neighbourhoods in which shoppers reside, illustrating how anthocyanin intake varies according to affluence. Results indicate that deprivation is linked dramatically with both lower total intake of anthocyanins and lower breadth of dietary sources for them, potentially aggravating the incidence of diet-related diseases in the poorest sections of society.

In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Computer-Human Interaction Research and Applications, ISBN 978-989-758-609-5, ISSN 2184-3244, pages 217-227. , 2022

The harm that social isolation and loneliness can have on physical, mental, and emotional well-be... more The harm that social isolation and loneliness can have on physical, mental, and emotional well-being is now well evidenced. With social distancing and remote working now commonplace, the dangers of loneliness are ever more acute. Consequently, information technologies have taken on renewed importance to support healthy communication and reduce the negative impacts of social isolation. However, existing literature remains highly conflicted as to the relationship between technology use and its impact on loneliness. This is perhaps understandable: measures of loneliness have traditionally been examined within clinical settings, far removed from the everyday realities of computational interactions. Yet data logged about such interactions now offers potential to help identify isolation and loneliness and support those experiencing resulting health issues. We present a scoping review of this domain, focusing on detection of loneliness and social isolation through digital data. We interrogate a corpus of published articles from the HCI literature, identifying a series of methodological, epistemological, and ethical tensions therein, as well as emerging opportunities for future empirical study. We identify a need to examine such phenomena via actual behavioural data, rather than reliance on historical proxies such as age and gender, to help modernize our understanding of this growing social ill.

EPJ Data Science, 2022

Understanding what factors predict whether an urban migrant will end up in a deprived neighbourho... more Understanding what factors predict whether an urban migrant will end up in a deprived neighbourhood or not could help prevent the exploitation of vulnerable individuals. This study leveraged pseudonymized mobile money interactions combined with cell phone data to shed light on urban migration patterns and deprivation in Tanzania. Call detail records were used to identify individuals who migrated to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's largest city. A street survey of the city's subwards was used to determine which individuals moved to more deprived areas. t-tests showed that people who settled in poorer neighbourhoods had less money coming into their mobile money account after they moved, but not before. A machine learning approach was then utilized to predict which migrants will move to poorer areas of the city, making them arguably more vulnerable to poverty, unemployment and exploitation. Features indicating the strength and location of people's social connections in Dar es Salaam before they moved ('pull factors') were found to be most predictive, more so than traditional 'push factors' such as proxies for poverty in the migrant's source region.

Appetite, 2021

Since 2015 there has been a surge of academic publications and citations focused on consumer food... more Since 2015 there has been a surge of academic publications and citations focused on consumer food waste. To introduce a special issue of Appetite focused on the drivers of consumer food waste we perform a transdisciplinary and historical review of the literature through a co-citation network analysis and topic modelling approach. We show that the rapid increase in publications is largely attributable to an urgency caused by the Sustainable Development Goals and climate change. Topic modelling reveals that the dramatic quantitative increase of publications has also produced a variety of evolving themes, and that a metaphorical Cambrian Explosion is occurring after decades of academic inactivity. Network analysis results show that consumer food waste features in thousands of articles and hundreds of journals, but that the citation practices of academics are becoming highly concentrated, as 20% of journals attract over 80% of citations. Finally, by examining the burstiness and transdisciplinary structure of citation networks we show that though the field has historically been dominated by empirical articles, it is now starting to show signs of maturity as a flurry of review papers help to consolidate knowledge.

Appetite, 2021

Social eating initiatives are a mode of food provisioning and eating that have become increasingl... more Social eating initiatives are a mode of food provisioning and eating that have become increasingly popular in the UK. These organisations provide a menu of low-cost meals prepared using food surpluses and deliberately serve food communally to improve social inclusion. Although these community initiatives have grown rapidly in popularity, research into their value from the perspective of participants is currently limited. This article presents data from a concurrent multi-method study conducted across multiple sites of the Nottingham Social Eating Network to explain the emergence of these novel social configurations. The results show this form of commen-sality, or group eating practice, is not simply a consequence of reducing food waste or food insecurity. Instead these initiatives are enacted through a series of intersecting social practices, which include: the restructuration of the shared mealtime; alimentary contribution; and performances of care. The findings provide important insights into the values expressed in these emergent initiatives and are therefore useful for framing social eating in public policy.

Marketing Theory, 2020

We develop the concept of exogenous cognition (ExC) as a specific manifestation of an external co... more We develop the concept of exogenous cognition (ExC) as a specific manifestation of an external cognitive system. ExC describes the technological and algorithmic extension of (and annexation of) cognition in a consumption context. ExC provides a framework to enhance the understanding of the impact of pervasive computing and smart technology on consumer decision-making and the behavioural impacts of consumer analytics. To this end, the article provides commentary and structures to outline the impact of ExC and to elaborate the definition and reach of ExC. The logic of ExC culminates in a theory of cognitive states comprising of three potential decision states: endogenous cognition, symbiotic cognition and surrogate cognition. These states are posited as transient (consumers might move between them during a purchase episode) and determined by individual propensities and situational antecedents. The article latterly provides various potential empirical avenues and issues for consideration and debate.

Journal of Business Research, 2020

Food insecurity in the UK has captured public attention. However, estimates of its prevalence are... more Food insecurity in the UK has captured public attention. However, estimates of its prevalence are deeply contentious. The lack of precision on the volume of emergency food assistance currently provided to those in need is made even more ambiguous due to increasing use of peer-to-peer food sharing systems (e.g. OLIO). While these initiatives exist as a solution to food waste rather than food poverty, they are nonetheless carrying a hidden share of the food insecurity burden, with the socioeconomic status of technology-assisted food sharing donors, volunteers, and recipients remaining obscure. In this article we examine the relationship between food sharing and deprivation generally, before applying machine learning techniques to develop a predictive model of food insecurity based upon aggregated food sharing behaviours by OLIO users in the UK. We demonstrate that data from food sharing systems can help quantify a previously hidden aspect of deprivation and we make the case for a reformed approach to modelling food insecurity.

Journal of Service Research, 2020

Service research suggests homes are becoming increasingly connected as consumers automate and per... more Service research suggests homes are becoming increasingly connected as consumers automate and personalize new forms of service provision. Yet large-scale empirical evidence on how and why consumers automate smart domestic products is lacking. To address this knowledge gap we analyze 13,905 consumer-crafted, automated combinations of smart domestic products, totaling 1,144,094 installations, across 253 separate service providers on the Web service IFTTT.com. An exploratory network analysis examines the topology of the network and an interpretive coding exercise reveals how consumers craft different styles of human-computer interaction to co-create value. The results reveal the smart domestic product network is disassortative, imbalanced, has a long-tailed degree distribution, and that popular services have high centrality across all product category combinations. We show that popular combinations of smart domestic products are primarily motivated by utilitarian value seeking enacted through a preference for automated tasks outside of conscious attention, though more individualistic combinations are slightly more likely to be hedonistically inclined. We conclude by showing how these consumer-crafted forms of service provision within domestic environments reveal design redundancy and opportunities for service innovation.

WWW '20: Companion Proceedings of the Web Conference 2020, 2020

Food insecurity is a persistent and pernicious problem in the UK. Due to logistical challenges, n... more Food insecurity is a persistent and pernicious problem in the UK. Due to logistical challenges, national food insecurity statistics are unmeasured by government bodies-and this lack of data leads to any local estimates that do exist being routinely questioned by pol-icymakers. We demonstrate a data-driven approach to address this issue, deriving national estimates of food insecurity via combination of supervised machine learning with network analysis of user behaviour, extracted from the world's most popular peer-to-peer food sharing application (OLIO). Despite long-standing theoretical links between social graph topologies and physical neighbourhoods, prior research has not considered dimensions of geography, network interactions and behaviours in the digital/analogue space simultaneously. In addressing this oversight, we produce a browser-based, interactive and rapidly updateable visualisation, which can be used to analyse the spatial distribution of food insecurity across the UK, and provide new perspective for policy research.

Computers in Human Behavior, 2020

Prosocial exchange systems support cooperation and exchange in support of more sustainable forms ... more Prosocial exchange systems support cooperation and exchange in support of more sustainable forms of consumption. While often assumed that exchanges within such systems are reciprocal, it remains unproven as to what extent reciprocity occurs. This study uses data from a live service-Streetbank.com-to present an analysis of direct and indirect reciprocal relationships (for interactions of giving, lending, and skillsharing) over 4 and half years. The dataset contains behavioural data relating to 5053 acts of offline non-monetary exchange. The analysis categorised different forms of exchange that took place-giving, lending, and skill sharing. These exchanges were then analysed for direct (one-to-one) and indirect reciprocity (chains of three or more users). The results show that instances of reciprocity are rare, and when present often span more than one type of exchange. The conclusion is that reciprocity cannot be assumed to be the norm in prosocial exchange systems. Practically, design and deployment should not be predicated on reciprocity. Furthermore, any means to encourage reciprocity should make patterns of exchange visible, and do so across hybrid forms of exchange.

Journal of Customer Behaviour, 2020

Customer engagement behaviours (CEB) on social media have the potential to strengthen relationshi... more Customer engagement behaviours (CEB) on social media have the potential to strengthen relationships between firms and customers. However, there have been no systematic attempts to review the antecedents of CEB on social media despite wide recognition of its importance. Using a systematic literature review method, we provide an in-depth analysis of the extant empirical literature on CEB in relation to social media platforms. Results indicate that there are five key antecedent causes and these are identified in the literature as: (1) social links; (2) ownership-value; (3) search for information; (4) involvement; and (5) functionality. These represent the key antecedents of engagement for firms using social media. Our review is the first to bring together an in-depth secondary data analysis of the antecedents of CEB in social media platforms. We subsequently identify three epistemological tensions within the corpus, and suggest directions for future research in order to advance the understanding of CEB in relation to social media.

Journal of Political Marketing, 2019

New currencies designed for user anonymity and privacy – widely referred to as “privacy coins” – ... more New currencies designed for user anonymity and privacy – widely referred to as “privacy coins” – have forced governments to listen and legislate, but the political motivations of these currencies are not well understood. Following the growing interest of political brands in different contexts, we provide the first systematic review of political motivations expressed in cryptocurrency whitepapers whose explicit goal is “privacy.” Many privacy coins deliberately position themselves as alternative political brands. Although cryptocurrencies are often closely associated with political philosophies that aim to diminish or subvert the power of governments and banks, advocates of privacy occupy much broader ideological ground. We present thematic trends within the privacy coin literature and identify epistemic and ethical tensions present within the communities of people calling for the adoption of entirely private currencies.

Industrial Marketing Management, 2019

Food sharing mobile applications are becoming increasingly popular, but little is known about the... more Food sharing mobile applications are becoming increasingly popular, but little is known about the new social configurations of people using them, particularly those applications that use consumers as voluntary intermediaries in supply chains. This article presents a social network analysis of a food sharing mobile application conducted in partnership with OLIO. The study focuses on longitudinal social network data from 54,913 instances of food sharing between 9054 people and was collected over 10 months. The results challenge existing theories of food sharing (re-ciprocity, kin selection, tolerated scrounging, and costly signalling) as inadequate by showing that donor-recipient reciprocity and balance are rare, but also show that genuinely novel social relations have formed between organisations and consumers which depart from traditional linear supply chains. The findings have significant implications for managers and policymakers aiming to encourage, measure and understand technology-assisted food sharing practices.

Journal of Consumer Behaviour

The paper examines how digital technology mediates the behaviour of consumers in three online sys... more The paper examines how digital technology mediates the behaviour of consumers in three online systems that facilitate offline gift giving and sharing (Freecycle, Couchsurfing, and Landshare). Findings derived from a netnography and depth interviews reveal how technology is used to enact and influence the management of identity, partner selection, ritual normalisation, and negotiation of property rights. The findings have significant implications for the design and management of systems that encourage non-monetary forms of collaborative consumption.

HCI research often involves intervening in the economic lives of people, but researchers only rar... more HCI research often involves intervening in the economic lives of people, but researchers only rarely give explicit consideration to what actually constitutes prosociality in the economy. Much has been said previously regarding sustainability but this has largely focused on environmental rather than interpersonal relations. This paper provides an analysis of how prosocial HCI has been discussed and continues to be defined as a research field. Based on a corpus of published works, we describe a variety of genres of work relating to prosocial HCI. Key intellectual differences are explored, including the epistemological and ethical positions involved in designing for prosocial outcomes as well as how HCI researchers posit economic decision-making. Finally, emerging issues and opportunities for further debate and collaboration are discussed in turn.

In this paper, we describe theoretical considerations that relate to the investigation of gift ec... more In this paper, we describe theoretical considerations that relate to the investigation of gift economies. Attention is directed to how networked technologies influence various dimensions of gift giving, including: agency, structure, ritual, and property. Specific focus is given to the distinction between gift economies that are purely offline, purely online, and those that form online to enable offline behaviour.

Smart homes are fast becoming a reality, with smart TVs, smart meters and other such Bsmart^ devi... more Smart homes are fast becoming a reality, with smart TVs, smart meters and other such Bsmart^ devices/systems already representing a substantial household presence. These, which we collectively term Bsmart domestic products^ (SDPs), will need to be promoted, adopted, and normalized into daily routines. Despite this, the marketing canon lacks a substantive discourse on pertinent research. We look to help correct this by melding ideas from organizational sociology, innovation diffusion and appropriation studies, and service dominant logic. Consequently, we suggest a framework for research that responds directly to the specific characteristics of SDPs. Using the SDP ecosystem as a context, our framework emphasizes the interplay of embeddedness, practice, value and engagement. It comprises a four-stage horizontal/ longitudinal axis we describe as proposal, project, practice and pause. Cross-sectionally we focus on value, and combine aspects of existing thought to suggest how this impacts each stage of our engagement continuum. We subsequently identify perceived personal advantage as the resultant of these two axes and propose this as the key for understanding consumer and SDP sociomaterial engagement. This article also advances a definition of SDPs and ends with an agenda for further research.

This paper discusses basic critical realism within the context of economic anthropology and devel... more This paper discusses basic critical realism within the context of economic anthropology and develops an approach to studying material relations between people. A diachronic form of analysis, following the work of Bhaskar and Archer, is described as a practical means of analysing property rights. This new approach emphasises epistemic relativism and ontological realism in order to compare disparate forms of human interaction across cultures. The aim of doing this is to develop a philosophical framework that allows for the comparison of economic practices without resorting to judgemental relativism. The implications are significant for institutional economics and anthropology alike, particularly for researchers examining multiple overlapping practices such as market and gift exchange. The words shown above are used in everyday language, by laypersons and academics alike, to describe ways in which humans interact. The history of anthropology reminds us that these concepts are often culturally specific rather than universal. For instance, if we speak of 'giving', we may be referring to giving presents, giving alms, giving time, giving up, giving in, giving out, giving things, giving ideas, giving permission, giving dowry, giving blood, or even giving people, depending on when and to whom we speak. Defining universal forms of human interaction is therefore challenging because meaning often appears to be situational or dependent on local variables. Indeed, issues of classification are the primary reason that some anthropologists have discouraged comparison between cultures, and – in doing so – have fundamentally challenged the basis of the discipline (see, for instance, the recent debate in HAU Journal – 'Incomplete regu-larities', da Col 2015). If social practices can only be understood by means of localised historical accounts, after all, why bother comparing cultures? This question, and our rebuke, form the basis of this article. It advances an argument which entails that comparisons of human interaction are not only possible, they are imperative if anthropology is to provide a full and proper account of the way economies form. The basis of the comparative

Books by John Harvey

Chapter from 'The Rise of the Sharing Economy: Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities of Coll... more Chapter from 'The Rise of the Sharing Economy: Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities of Collaborative Consumption'

IEEE Big Data Conference, 2023

Anthocyanins are a class of polyphenols that have received widespread recent attention due to the... more Anthocyanins are a class of polyphenols that have received widespread recent attention due to their potential health benefits. However, estimating the dietary intake of anthocyanins at a population level is a challenging task, due to the difficulty of scaling dietary surveys. Further, there is limited evidence as to who regularly consumes anthocyanins, whether temporally, spatially, or culturally according to levels of socioeconomic deprivation. Leveraging a massive retail loyalty card dataset in the UK, we pair two years of real-world purchasing data for 619,524 regular shoppers and 207 million shopping baskets with anthocyanin estimates drawn from polyphenol databases. We subsequently analyse relative deprivation levels of the neighbourhoods in which shoppers reside, illustrating how anthocyanin intake varies according to affluence. Results indicate that deprivation is linked dramatically with both lower total intake of anthocyanins and lower breadth of dietary sources for them, potentially aggravating the incidence of diet-related diseases in the poorest sections of society.

In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Computer-Human Interaction Research and Applications, ISBN 978-989-758-609-5, ISSN 2184-3244, pages 217-227. , 2022

The harm that social isolation and loneliness can have on physical, mental, and emotional well-be... more The harm that social isolation and loneliness can have on physical, mental, and emotional well-being is now well evidenced. With social distancing and remote working now commonplace, the dangers of loneliness are ever more acute. Consequently, information technologies have taken on renewed importance to support healthy communication and reduce the negative impacts of social isolation. However, existing literature remains highly conflicted as to the relationship between technology use and its impact on loneliness. This is perhaps understandable: measures of loneliness have traditionally been examined within clinical settings, far removed from the everyday realities of computational interactions. Yet data logged about such interactions now offers potential to help identify isolation and loneliness and support those experiencing resulting health issues. We present a scoping review of this domain, focusing on detection of loneliness and social isolation through digital data. We interrogate a corpus of published articles from the HCI literature, identifying a series of methodological, epistemological, and ethical tensions therein, as well as emerging opportunities for future empirical study. We identify a need to examine such phenomena via actual behavioural data, rather than reliance on historical proxies such as age and gender, to help modernize our understanding of this growing social ill.

EPJ Data Science, 2022

Understanding what factors predict whether an urban migrant will end up in a deprived neighbourho... more Understanding what factors predict whether an urban migrant will end up in a deprived neighbourhood or not could help prevent the exploitation of vulnerable individuals. This study leveraged pseudonymized mobile money interactions combined with cell phone data to shed light on urban migration patterns and deprivation in Tanzania. Call detail records were used to identify individuals who migrated to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's largest city. A street survey of the city's subwards was used to determine which individuals moved to more deprived areas. t-tests showed that people who settled in poorer neighbourhoods had less money coming into their mobile money account after they moved, but not before. A machine learning approach was then utilized to predict which migrants will move to poorer areas of the city, making them arguably more vulnerable to poverty, unemployment and exploitation. Features indicating the strength and location of people's social connections in Dar es Salaam before they moved ('pull factors') were found to be most predictive, more so than traditional 'push factors' such as proxies for poverty in the migrant's source region.

Appetite, 2021

Since 2015 there has been a surge of academic publications and citations focused on consumer food... more Since 2015 there has been a surge of academic publications and citations focused on consumer food waste. To introduce a special issue of Appetite focused on the drivers of consumer food waste we perform a transdisciplinary and historical review of the literature through a co-citation network analysis and topic modelling approach. We show that the rapid increase in publications is largely attributable to an urgency caused by the Sustainable Development Goals and climate change. Topic modelling reveals that the dramatic quantitative increase of publications has also produced a variety of evolving themes, and that a metaphorical Cambrian Explosion is occurring after decades of academic inactivity. Network analysis results show that consumer food waste features in thousands of articles and hundreds of journals, but that the citation practices of academics are becoming highly concentrated, as 20% of journals attract over 80% of citations. Finally, by examining the burstiness and transdisciplinary structure of citation networks we show that though the field has historically been dominated by empirical articles, it is now starting to show signs of maturity as a flurry of review papers help to consolidate knowledge.

Appetite, 2021

Social eating initiatives are a mode of food provisioning and eating that have become increasingl... more Social eating initiatives are a mode of food provisioning and eating that have become increasingly popular in the UK. These organisations provide a menu of low-cost meals prepared using food surpluses and deliberately serve food communally to improve social inclusion. Although these community initiatives have grown rapidly in popularity, research into their value from the perspective of participants is currently limited. This article presents data from a concurrent multi-method study conducted across multiple sites of the Nottingham Social Eating Network to explain the emergence of these novel social configurations. The results show this form of commen-sality, or group eating practice, is not simply a consequence of reducing food waste or food insecurity. Instead these initiatives are enacted through a series of intersecting social practices, which include: the restructuration of the shared mealtime; alimentary contribution; and performances of care. The findings provide important insights into the values expressed in these emergent initiatives and are therefore useful for framing social eating in public policy.

Marketing Theory, 2020

We develop the concept of exogenous cognition (ExC) as a specific manifestation of an external co... more We develop the concept of exogenous cognition (ExC) as a specific manifestation of an external cognitive system. ExC describes the technological and algorithmic extension of (and annexation of) cognition in a consumption context. ExC provides a framework to enhance the understanding of the impact of pervasive computing and smart technology on consumer decision-making and the behavioural impacts of consumer analytics. To this end, the article provides commentary and structures to outline the impact of ExC and to elaborate the definition and reach of ExC. The logic of ExC culminates in a theory of cognitive states comprising of three potential decision states: endogenous cognition, symbiotic cognition and surrogate cognition. These states are posited as transient (consumers might move between them during a purchase episode) and determined by individual propensities and situational antecedents. The article latterly provides various potential empirical avenues and issues for consideration and debate.

Journal of Business Research, 2020

Food insecurity in the UK has captured public attention. However, estimates of its prevalence are... more Food insecurity in the UK has captured public attention. However, estimates of its prevalence are deeply contentious. The lack of precision on the volume of emergency food assistance currently provided to those in need is made even more ambiguous due to increasing use of peer-to-peer food sharing systems (e.g. OLIO). While these initiatives exist as a solution to food waste rather than food poverty, they are nonetheless carrying a hidden share of the food insecurity burden, with the socioeconomic status of technology-assisted food sharing donors, volunteers, and recipients remaining obscure. In this article we examine the relationship between food sharing and deprivation generally, before applying machine learning techniques to develop a predictive model of food insecurity based upon aggregated food sharing behaviours by OLIO users in the UK. We demonstrate that data from food sharing systems can help quantify a previously hidden aspect of deprivation and we make the case for a reformed approach to modelling food insecurity.

Journal of Service Research, 2020

Service research suggests homes are becoming increasingly connected as consumers automate and per... more Service research suggests homes are becoming increasingly connected as consumers automate and personalize new forms of service provision. Yet large-scale empirical evidence on how and why consumers automate smart domestic products is lacking. To address this knowledge gap we analyze 13,905 consumer-crafted, automated combinations of smart domestic products, totaling 1,144,094 installations, across 253 separate service providers on the Web service IFTTT.com. An exploratory network analysis examines the topology of the network and an interpretive coding exercise reveals how consumers craft different styles of human-computer interaction to co-create value. The results reveal the smart domestic product network is disassortative, imbalanced, has a long-tailed degree distribution, and that popular services have high centrality across all product category combinations. We show that popular combinations of smart domestic products are primarily motivated by utilitarian value seeking enacted through a preference for automated tasks outside of conscious attention, though more individualistic combinations are slightly more likely to be hedonistically inclined. We conclude by showing how these consumer-crafted forms of service provision within domestic environments reveal design redundancy and opportunities for service innovation.

WWW '20: Companion Proceedings of the Web Conference 2020, 2020

Food insecurity is a persistent and pernicious problem in the UK. Due to logistical challenges, n... more Food insecurity is a persistent and pernicious problem in the UK. Due to logistical challenges, national food insecurity statistics are unmeasured by government bodies-and this lack of data leads to any local estimates that do exist being routinely questioned by pol-icymakers. We demonstrate a data-driven approach to address this issue, deriving national estimates of food insecurity via combination of supervised machine learning with network analysis of user behaviour, extracted from the world's most popular peer-to-peer food sharing application (OLIO). Despite long-standing theoretical links between social graph topologies and physical neighbourhoods, prior research has not considered dimensions of geography, network interactions and behaviours in the digital/analogue space simultaneously. In addressing this oversight, we produce a browser-based, interactive and rapidly updateable visualisation, which can be used to analyse the spatial distribution of food insecurity across the UK, and provide new perspective for policy research.

Computers in Human Behavior, 2020

Prosocial exchange systems support cooperation and exchange in support of more sustainable forms ... more Prosocial exchange systems support cooperation and exchange in support of more sustainable forms of consumption. While often assumed that exchanges within such systems are reciprocal, it remains unproven as to what extent reciprocity occurs. This study uses data from a live service-Streetbank.com-to present an analysis of direct and indirect reciprocal relationships (for interactions of giving, lending, and skillsharing) over 4 and half years. The dataset contains behavioural data relating to 5053 acts of offline non-monetary exchange. The analysis categorised different forms of exchange that took place-giving, lending, and skill sharing. These exchanges were then analysed for direct (one-to-one) and indirect reciprocity (chains of three or more users). The results show that instances of reciprocity are rare, and when present often span more than one type of exchange. The conclusion is that reciprocity cannot be assumed to be the norm in prosocial exchange systems. Practically, design and deployment should not be predicated on reciprocity. Furthermore, any means to encourage reciprocity should make patterns of exchange visible, and do so across hybrid forms of exchange.

Journal of Customer Behaviour, 2020

Customer engagement behaviours (CEB) on social media have the potential to strengthen relationshi... more Customer engagement behaviours (CEB) on social media have the potential to strengthen relationships between firms and customers. However, there have been no systematic attempts to review the antecedents of CEB on social media despite wide recognition of its importance. Using a systematic literature review method, we provide an in-depth analysis of the extant empirical literature on CEB in relation to social media platforms. Results indicate that there are five key antecedent causes and these are identified in the literature as: (1) social links; (2) ownership-value; (3) search for information; (4) involvement; and (5) functionality. These represent the key antecedents of engagement for firms using social media. Our review is the first to bring together an in-depth secondary data analysis of the antecedents of CEB in social media platforms. We subsequently identify three epistemological tensions within the corpus, and suggest directions for future research in order to advance the understanding of CEB in relation to social media.

Journal of Political Marketing, 2019

New currencies designed for user anonymity and privacy – widely referred to as “privacy coins” – ... more New currencies designed for user anonymity and privacy – widely referred to as “privacy coins” – have forced governments to listen and legislate, but the political motivations of these currencies are not well understood. Following the growing interest of political brands in different contexts, we provide the first systematic review of political motivations expressed in cryptocurrency whitepapers whose explicit goal is “privacy.” Many privacy coins deliberately position themselves as alternative political brands. Although cryptocurrencies are often closely associated with political philosophies that aim to diminish or subvert the power of governments and banks, advocates of privacy occupy much broader ideological ground. We present thematic trends within the privacy coin literature and identify epistemic and ethical tensions present within the communities of people calling for the adoption of entirely private currencies.

Industrial Marketing Management, 2019

Food sharing mobile applications are becoming increasingly popular, but little is known about the... more Food sharing mobile applications are becoming increasingly popular, but little is known about the new social configurations of people using them, particularly those applications that use consumers as voluntary intermediaries in supply chains. This article presents a social network analysis of a food sharing mobile application conducted in partnership with OLIO. The study focuses on longitudinal social network data from 54,913 instances of food sharing between 9054 people and was collected over 10 months. The results challenge existing theories of food sharing (re-ciprocity, kin selection, tolerated scrounging, and costly signalling) as inadequate by showing that donor-recipient reciprocity and balance are rare, but also show that genuinely novel social relations have formed between organisations and consumers which depart from traditional linear supply chains. The findings have significant implications for managers and policymakers aiming to encourage, measure and understand technology-assisted food sharing practices.

Journal of Consumer Behaviour

The paper examines how digital technology mediates the behaviour of consumers in three online sys... more The paper examines how digital technology mediates the behaviour of consumers in three online systems that facilitate offline gift giving and sharing (Freecycle, Couchsurfing, and Landshare). Findings derived from a netnography and depth interviews reveal how technology is used to enact and influence the management of identity, partner selection, ritual normalisation, and negotiation of property rights. The findings have significant implications for the design and management of systems that encourage non-monetary forms of collaborative consumption.

HCI research often involves intervening in the economic lives of people, but researchers only rar... more HCI research often involves intervening in the economic lives of people, but researchers only rarely give explicit consideration to what actually constitutes prosociality in the economy. Much has been said previously regarding sustainability but this has largely focused on environmental rather than interpersonal relations. This paper provides an analysis of how prosocial HCI has been discussed and continues to be defined as a research field. Based on a corpus of published works, we describe a variety of genres of work relating to prosocial HCI. Key intellectual differences are explored, including the epistemological and ethical positions involved in designing for prosocial outcomes as well as how HCI researchers posit economic decision-making. Finally, emerging issues and opportunities for further debate and collaboration are discussed in turn.

In this paper, we describe theoretical considerations that relate to the investigation of gift ec... more In this paper, we describe theoretical considerations that relate to the investigation of gift economies. Attention is directed to how networked technologies influence various dimensions of gift giving, including: agency, structure, ritual, and property. Specific focus is given to the distinction between gift economies that are purely offline, purely online, and those that form online to enable offline behaviour.

Smart homes are fast becoming a reality, with smart TVs, smart meters and other such Bsmart^ devi... more Smart homes are fast becoming a reality, with smart TVs, smart meters and other such Bsmart^ devices/systems already representing a substantial household presence. These, which we collectively term Bsmart domestic products^ (SDPs), will need to be promoted, adopted, and normalized into daily routines. Despite this, the marketing canon lacks a substantive discourse on pertinent research. We look to help correct this by melding ideas from organizational sociology, innovation diffusion and appropriation studies, and service dominant logic. Consequently, we suggest a framework for research that responds directly to the specific characteristics of SDPs. Using the SDP ecosystem as a context, our framework emphasizes the interplay of embeddedness, practice, value and engagement. It comprises a four-stage horizontal/ longitudinal axis we describe as proposal, project, practice and pause. Cross-sectionally we focus on value, and combine aspects of existing thought to suggest how this impacts each stage of our engagement continuum. We subsequently identify perceived personal advantage as the resultant of these two axes and propose this as the key for understanding consumer and SDP sociomaterial engagement. This article also advances a definition of SDPs and ends with an agenda for further research.

This paper discusses basic critical realism within the context of economic anthropology and devel... more This paper discusses basic critical realism within the context of economic anthropology and develops an approach to studying material relations between people. A diachronic form of analysis, following the work of Bhaskar and Archer, is described as a practical means of analysing property rights. This new approach emphasises epistemic relativism and ontological realism in order to compare disparate forms of human interaction across cultures. The aim of doing this is to develop a philosophical framework that allows for the comparison of economic practices without resorting to judgemental relativism. The implications are significant for institutional economics and anthropology alike, particularly for researchers examining multiple overlapping practices such as market and gift exchange. The words shown above are used in everyday language, by laypersons and academics alike, to describe ways in which humans interact. The history of anthropology reminds us that these concepts are often culturally specific rather than universal. For instance, if we speak of 'giving', we may be referring to giving presents, giving alms, giving time, giving up, giving in, giving out, giving things, giving ideas, giving permission, giving dowry, giving blood, or even giving people, depending on when and to whom we speak. Defining universal forms of human interaction is therefore challenging because meaning often appears to be situational or dependent on local variables. Indeed, issues of classification are the primary reason that some anthropologists have discouraged comparison between cultures, and – in doing so – have fundamentally challenged the basis of the discipline (see, for instance, the recent debate in HAU Journal – 'Incomplete regu-larities', da Col 2015). If social practices can only be understood by means of localised historical accounts, after all, why bother comparing cultures? This question, and our rebuke, form the basis of this article. It advances an argument which entails that comparisons of human interaction are not only possible, they are imperative if anthropology is to provide a full and proper account of the way economies form. The basis of the comparative

Chapter from 'The Rise of the Sharing Economy: Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities of Coll... more Chapter from 'The Rise of the Sharing Economy: Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities of Collaborative Consumption'