Sustainability in Blockchain Development: A BERT-Based Analysis of Ethereum Developer Discussions
Authors: 
Matteo Vaccargiu, Sabrina Aufiero, Silvia Bartolucci, Rumyana Neykova, Roberto Tonelli, Giuseppe DestefanisAuthors Info & Claims
Matteo Vaccargiu, Sabrina Aufiero, Silvia Bartolucci, Rumyana Neykova, Roberto Tonelli, Giuseppe DestefanisAuthors Info & ClaimsPages 381 - 386
Abstract
Blockchain technology faces significant challenges related to sustainability, including issues with optimisation, as well as high energy and gas consumption—factors that developers may sometimes neglect. We introduce a methodology to analyse the key sustainability topics discussed by Go-Ethereum developers, using thematic analysis of their issues and comments from Github. Our approach uses the BERT model to conduct an in-depth topic analysis, enabling us to study the underlying themes and trends in developer’s conversations regarding energy use and sustainability. We assess the sustainability of the identified topics using the five dimensions outlined in the Sustainability Awareness Framework (SusAF): economic, social, individual, environmental, and technical. Our goal is to shed light on how much attention developers pay to sustainability and energy consumption issues. The findings from this qualitative analysis aim to encourage technologists to incorporate these considerations into their future projects, in order to achieve better outcomes in terms of sustainability and reduced consumption.
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Published In
June 2024
728 pages
ISBN:9798400717017
DOI:10.1145/3661167
Copyright © 2024 Owner/Author.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License.
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Association for Computing Machinery
New York, NY, United States
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Published: 18 June 2024
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EASE 2024
EASE 2024: 28th International Conference on Evaluation and Assessment in Software Engineering
June 18 - 21, 2024
Salerno, Italy
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