Consumer electronics and society: Economic, environmental and cultural connections

AT&T Industrial Ecology grant funds research into social impact of evolving technologies

TEMPE, Ariz. – What are the next stages in the evolution of information and communication technologies for the everyday consumer, and how will the advances impact society?

How will an expanded virtual-reality realm shape the way commerce is conducted, how workplaces function and public infrastructure systems are used?

What are the environmental implications when people obtain newer electronic devices and dispose of older models, adding to an already large accumulation of electronic waste – or "e-waste"?

Answers to such questions will be sought by Arizona State University faculty members Brad Allenby and Eric Williams in research supported by a $25,000 grant recently awarded through the AT&T Industrial Ecology Faculty Fellowship Program.

AT&T Inc. is the largest provider of local and long-distance telephone services, wireless services and Internet access in the United States. The company's industrial ecology grant program funds research to seek solutions and decision-making guidelines for the telecommunications industry that are economically efficient and environmentally responsible.

Meshing physical and virtual reality

Allenby, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in ASU's Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering, will work on formulating a deeper understanding of the complex interaction between urban transportation infrastructure and next-generation information and communication technologies.

As such technologies enable more people to telework from their homes or conduct meetings and conferences in "virtual-realty spaces" instead of participating in person, it affects not only workplace environments but the patterns of use of transportation systems, Allenby explains.

Social behavior patterns and transportation use also are affected, for instance, by the fact the many young people today congregate not in physical spaces – like shopping malls as their parents once did – but in virtual spaces such as Facebook and other social networking Internet sites.

There also will be increasing economic effects as well, Allenby says, as retail sale and e-commerce options begin to integrate into mixed systems.

While some publications, music and video offerings are now delivered electronically rather than as physical products, at the same time online browsing stimulates consumption of other products, such as clothes or books.

How such integrated systems can be designed for environmental and economic efficiency, while responding to consumers needs, is not just an interesting research question but of vital importance to today's businesses.