Low-carbon off-grid electrification for rural areas in the United Kingdom: Lessons from the developing world

Low-carbon off-grid electrification for rural areas is becoming increasingly popular in the United Kingdom. However, many developing countries have been electrifying their rural areas in this way for decades. Case study fieldwork in Nepal and findings from United Kingdom based research will be used to examine how developed nations can learn from the experience of developing countries with regard to the institutional environment and delivery approach adopted in renewable energy off-grid rural electrification. A clearer institutional framework and more direct external assistance during project development are advised. External coordinators should also engage the community in a mobilization process a priori to help alleviate internal conflicts of interest that could later impede a project. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.

I did that! Measuring users' experience of agency in their own actions

Cognitive neuroscience defines the sense of agency as the experience of controlling one's own actions and, through this control, affecting the external world. We believe that the sense of personal agency is a key factor in how people experience interactions with technology. This paper draws on theoretical perspectives in cognitive neuroscience and describes two implicit methods through which personal agency can be empirically investigated. We report two experiments applying these methods to HCI problems. One shows that a new input modality - skin-based interaction - can substantially increase users' sense of agency. The second demonstrates that variations in the parameters of assistance techniques such as predictive mouse acceleration can have a significant impact on users' sense of agency. The methods presented provide designers with new ways of evaluating and refining empowering interaction techniques and interfaces, in which users experience an instinctive sense of control and ownership over their actions. Copyright 2012 ACM.