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Complexity Approach To Sustainability A Theory And Application
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Book Synopsis Complexity Approach To Sustainability, A: Theory And Application (Second Edition) by : Angela Espinosa
Download or read book Complexity Approach To Sustainability, A: Theory And Application (Second Edition) written by Angela Espinosa and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2017-03-23 with total page 583 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Business sustainability and sustainable development are of great importance in modern-day socio-economic study. Despite this, the impact of recent contributions from systems and complexity sciences in addressing these issues has not yet filtered down into effective practice. This book argues that there is a need for urgency in the application of analytical tools which embody the principles of complexity management in sustainability research, in particular in the context of the global climate change. The approach presented is based on the concept of clusters of whole systems coming together through collaboration, in order to create larger wholes capable of dealing with the issues facing our socio-economic environmental systems.In this updated second edition, the authors further clarify the viability and sustainability (V&S) approach, and the criteria and framework needed for sustainable governance. It includes a more detailed perspective on the implications of the V&S approach to businesses and networks towards changes in structure, strategy and processes, inspired by specific case studies. Key additions include a criteria for designing more viable and sustainable self-governed organizations, the methodologies and tools to design and implement self-transformations towards sustainability, and how these tools support sustainability management individually and globally, for businesses and society.
Book Synopsis A Complexity Approach to Sustainability by : Angela Espinosa
Download or read book A Complexity Approach to Sustainability written by Angela Espinosa and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 583 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Business sustainability and sustainable development are of great importance in modern-day socio-economic study. Despite this, the impact of recent contributions from systems and complexity sciences in addressing these issues has not yet filtered down into effective practice. This book argues that there is a need for urgency in the application of analytical tools which embody the principles of complexity management in sustainability research, in particular in the context of the global climate change. The approach presented is based on the concept of clusters of whole systems coming together through collaboration, in order to create larger wholes capable of dealing with the issues facing our socio-economic environmental systems. In this updated second edition, the authors further clarify the viability and sustainability (V&S) approach, and the criteria and framework needed for sustainable governance. It includes a more detailed perspective on the implications of the V&S approach to businesses and networks towards changes in structure, strategy and processes, inspired by specific case studies. Key additions include a criteria for designing more viable and sustainable self-governed organizations, the methodologies and tools to design and implement self-transformations towards sustainability, and how these tools support sustainability management individually and globally, for businesses and society."--Publisher's website.
Book Synopsis A Complexity Approach to Sustainability by : Angela Espinosa
Download or read book A Complexity Approach to Sustainability written by Angela Espinosa and published by Wspc (Europe). This book was released on 2017 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Revised edition of the authors' A complexity approach to sustainability, c2011.
Book Synopsis The Ecosystem Approach by : David Waltner-Toews
Download or read book The Ecosystem Approach written by David Waltner-Toews and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2008-08-11 with total page 674 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is sustainable development a workable solution for today's environmental problems? Is it scientifically defensible? Best known for applying ecological theory to the engineering problems of everyday life, the late scholar James J. Kay was a leader in the study of social and ecological complexity and the thermodynamics of ecosystems. Drawing from his immensely important work, as well as the research of his students and colleagues, The Ecosystem Approach is a guide to the aspects of complex systems theories relevant to social-ecological management. Advancing a methodology that is rooted in good theory and practice, this book features case studies conducted in the Arctic and Africa, in Canada and Kathmandu, and in the Peruvian Amazon, Chesapeake Bay, and Chennai, India. Applying a systems approach to concrete environmental issues, this volume is geared toward scientists, engineers, and sustainable development scholars and practitioners who are attuned to the ideas of the Resilience Alliance-an international group of scientists who take a more holistic view of ecology and environmental problem-solving. Chapters cover the origins and rebirth of the ecosystem approach in ecology; the bridging of science and values; the challenge of governance in complex systems; systemic and participatory approaches to management; and the place for cultural diversity in the quest for global sustainability.
Book Synopsis Complexity Theory for a Sustainable Future by : Jon Norberg
Download or read book Complexity Theory for a Sustainable Future written by Jon Norberg and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Complexity theory illuminates the many interactions between natural and social systems, providing a better understanding of the general principles that can help solve some of today's most pressing environmental issues. Complexity theory was developed from key ideas in economics, physics, biology, and the social sciences and contributes to important new concepts for approaching issues of environmental sustainability such as resilience, scaling, and networks. Complexity Theory for a Sustainable Future is a hands-on treatment of this exciting new body of work and its applications, bridging the gap between theoretical and applied perspectives in the management of complex adaptive systems. Focusing primarily on natural resource management and community-based conservation, the book features contributions by leading scholars in the field, many of whom are among the leaders of the Resilience Alliance. Theoreticians will find a valuable synthesis of new ideas on resilience, sustainability, asymmetries, information processing, scaling, and networks. Managers and policymakers will benefit from the application of these ideas to practical approaches and empirical studies linked to social-ecological systems. Chapters present new twists on such existing approaches as scenario planning, scaling analyses, and adaptive management, and the book concludes with recommendations on how to manage natural resources, how to involve stakeholders in the dynamics of a system, and how to explain the difficult topic of scale. A vital reference for an emerging discipline, this volume provides a clearer understanding of the conditions required for systems self-organization, since the capacity of any system to self-organize is crucial for its sustainability over time.
Book Synopsis Taking Complexity Seriously by : Emery Roe
Download or read book Taking Complexity Seriously written by Emery Roe and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Taking Complexity Seriously applies the advanced policy analysis technique of triangulation to what is now the world's most complex public policy challenge: sustainable development. One central problem of public policy analysis has been to find new ways of analyzing issues of increasing complexity and uncertainty. Triangulation is perhaps the best example of these novel techniques, as it uses various methods, databases, theories, and approaches to converge on what to do about the complex issue in question. Taking Complexity Seriously uses four different theoretical approaches (Girardian economics, cultural theory, critical theory, and the local justice framework) to triangulation in order to converge on answers to four major policy questions: What is sustainable development? Why is it an issue? What needs to be done? What can actually be done? These four approaches are used to analyze the sustainable development controversy that recently arose in the pages of Science magazine and the journal Ecological Applications. These different approaches prove highly potent in defamiliarizing conventional wisdom about sustainable development. Ultimately the different approaches will converge on novel answers to the four questions. The practical implications of these conclusions are drawn out at the end of Taking Complexity Seriously in a detailed case study of ecosystem management.
Download or read book Sustainability written by Tony Clayton and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-10-03 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The question of sustainability affects most areas of human activity. It is intrinsically complex and multi-disciplinary. Sustainable policies have to adapt to new knowledge and changing circumstances. Understanding sustainability and ways of achieving it have to involve an understanding of complex adaptive systems and general systems theory - a rapidly developing new branch of social studies.;This book provides an introduction and thorough explanation of this field, and shows its application in the social and economic management of sustainability. It is written for readers at an undergraduate level and should be useful for a wide range of undergraduate courses.
Book Synopsis Complexity and Sustainability by : Jennifer Wells
Download or read book Complexity and Sustainability written by Jennifer Wells and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-09-10 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Complex dynamic system studies have been studied explicitly in the natural sciences, and most only implicitly throughout other fields. Yet much great social theory and philosophy is in fact based in complexity, and important concepts like postmodernism, risk, and collapse all stem from complexity. Six key terms are explored: nonlinearity, feedbacks, thresholds, hierarchies, emergence and self-organization, and dozens of related principles are discussed, with a focus on uncertainty, risk, vulnerability, learning, strategy, resilience, collapse and sustainability. The book surveys the role of these complexity principles in the natural sciences, social theory, transdisciplinary discourse, philosophy, and ethics, and shows how this complexity framework is a valuable lens for approaching the spectre of climate change and life in the Anthropocene.
Book Synopsis Sustainability by : Anthony M. H. Clayton
Download or read book Sustainability written by Anthony M. H. Clayton and published by Earthscan. This book was released on 1996 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First Published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Book Synopsis Design and Diagnosis for Sustainable Organizations by : Perez Rios Jose
Download or read book Design and Diagnosis for Sustainable Organizations written by Perez Rios Jose and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-01-11 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can organizations and their managers face the tremendous complexity of the current environment? How can their compliance with the requirements of sustainability be evaluated? And how can new organizations be structured to ensure their viability? This book addresses these questions in a very practical way, essentially combining systems theory with cybernetics to help managers to evaluate and shape organizations by making accessible the wealth of knowledge contained in these fields. Importantly, it also provides guidelines for its practical application.
Book Synopsis Transdisciplinary Sustainability Studies by : Katri Huutoniemi
Download or read book Transdisciplinary Sustainability Studies written by Katri Huutoniemi and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-06-05 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arising out of human-environment interaction, sustainability problems resist disciplinary categories and simple solutions. This book offers a fresh approach to practical and methodological concerns in transdisciplinary environmental and sustainability studies. It illustrates methodological means by which researchers, professionals, and decision-makers can address complex environmental issues. While scientific reasoning is mostly guided by disciplinary traditions, transdisciplinary research rests on other cognitive strategies. As it does not have a ready-made stance toward problems, figuring out what the puzzle is and what the answer might look like are crucial aspects of transdisciplinary inquiry. Through examples from environment and sustainability studies, the volume discusses heuristic schemes that can give structure to this exploration. By focusing on heuristics, rather than on methods, concepts, or general guidelines, the book argues that a problem-centered approach often resists the rigor of methodology. Learning from experience provides valuable “rules of thumb”, checklists, and other cognitive schemes for making ill-defined problems more tangible. Written by an international team of authors, the chapters draw examples from dealing with issues in environmental protection, transport and climate policy, ecosystem services and disservices, environmental beliefs and attitudes, and more. Together with more theoretically oriented chapters, they show that the intellectual processes needed to tackle complex sustainability problems are as much about heuristic problem solving as they are about methodical work.
Book Synopsis Sustainable Societies: Transition from theories to practice by : Sethi, Mahendra
Download or read book Sustainable Societies: Transition from theories to practice written by Sethi, Mahendra and published by Universitätsverlag der TU Berlin. This book was released on 2022-01-17 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The national economic situation, rapidly changing societies, increasing environment pollution amidst global warming around us are some of the most burning topics in day-to-day discussions, news and scholarly discourses. What we see are only the consequences of protracted actions, policies and decisions. The issues associated with these phenomena are highly complex that challenge a direct interpretation of their root causations, indications, results and long-term impacts. For instance, is the issue of managing natural resources for industry & business operations within a country an economic problem? Or is it an ecological one? Or rather a social one? Could it be resolved with theories and techniques of either of these fields? Well, the issue and its redressal requires a combination of all the three disciplines. And yet actions to integrate all of these fields have typically by-passed one or more. The framework that has over the years most commonly explained the convergence of different spheres of disciplinary knowledge has been sustainability. At the same time, its pursuit in practice, the dominant public perception, political agendas and the mainstream media remains elusive. In absence of a critical theory on ‘sustainable societies’, the contemporary development model is misinformed by vague notions of greening, green growth, eco-development, ecotourism, smart cities, etc. largely steered by corporates and vested business groups. The contemporary societies exist and continue to develop without genuine knowledge about sustainability that lies fragmented in its contributing disciplinary streams. This book unfolds the inherent dilemmas, contradictions and paradoxes within the current sustainability paradigm to form a rather nuanced and inside view of what constitutes sustainability and how it could be realized with socio-technical, institutional, policy and management solutions. In the process, the research comprehensively reviews about a hundred environmental, social and economic theories to deliberate on the way forward. Considering that sustainability is a politico-economic and socio-cultural challenge, the transitions need to be culturally diverse and inter-generational, requiring infusion of fresh values, messaging and leadership while conserving traditional knowledge, prevailing institutions. The book culminates with a transition architecture bearing policy recommendations for governing without governmentality with plausible regulatory instruments, capacitating mechanisms, planning and voluntary measures that can be implemented in practice. Die nationale wirtschaftliche Situation, sich schnell verändernde Gesellschaften, die zunehmende Umweltverschmutzung inmitten der globalen Erwärmung um uns herum sind einige der brennendsten Themen in täglichen Diskussionen, Nachrichten und wissenschaftlichen Diskursen. Was wir sehen, sind nur die Folgen langwieriger Handlungen, Richtlinien und Entscheidungen. Die mit diesen Phänomenen verbundenen Fragen sind hochkomplex, die eine direkte Interpretation ihrer Ursachen, Indikationen, Ergebnisse und langfristigen Auswirkungen herausfordern. Ist zum Beispiel die Bewirtschaftung natürlicher Ressourcen für Industrie- und Geschäftsbetriebe innerhalb eines Landes ein wirtschaftliches Problem? Oder ist es ein ökologisches? Oder eher ein soziales? Könnte es mit Theorien und Techniken eines dieser Gebiete gelöst werden? Nun, das Problem und seine Abhilfe erfordert eine Kombination aller drei Disziplinen. Und dennoch haben Maßnahmen zur Integration all dieser Felder in der Regel eines oder mehrere umgangen. Der Rahmen, der im Laufe der Jahre am häufigsten die Konvergenz verschiedener Bereiche des disziplinären Wissens erklärt hat, war Nachhaltigkeit. Gleichzeitig bleibt ihre Verfolgung in der Praxis, die vorherrschende öffentliche Wahrnehmung, die politischen Agenden und die Mainstream-Medien schwer fassbar. In Ermangelung einer kritischen Theorie zu „nachhaltigen Gesellschaften“ wird das zeitgenössische Entwicklungsmodell durch vage Vorstellungen von Ökologisierung, grünem Wachstum, Öko-Entwicklung, Ökotourismus, Smart Cities usw., die größtenteils von Unternehmen und Konzernen gesteuert werden, falsch informiert. Die zeitgenössischen Gesellschaften existieren und entwickeln sich weiter, ohne echtes Wissen über Nachhaltigkeit, das in seinen disziplinären Strömungen zersplittert ist. Dieses Buch entfaltet die inhärenten Dilemmata, Widersprüche und Paradoxien innerhalb des aktuellen Nachhaltigkeitsparadigmas, um eine eher nuancierte Innenansicht dessen zu schaffen, was Nachhaltigkeit ausmacht und wie sie mit soziotechnischen, institutionellen, politischen und Managementlösungen realisiert werden könnte. Dabei überprüft die Forschung umfassend etwa hundert Umwelt-, Sozial- und Wirtschaftstheorien, um über das weitere Vorgehen nachzudenken. Angesichts der Tatsache, dass Nachhaltigkeit eine politisch-ökonomische und soziokulturelle Herausforderung ist, müssen die Übergänge kulturell vielfältig und generationenübergreifend sein, was die Einführung neuer Werte, Botschaften und Führung erfordert, während traditionelles Wissen und vorherrschende Institutionen erhalten bleiben. Das Buch gipfelt in einer Übergangsarchitektur mit Politikempfehlungen für ein Regieren ohne Gouvernementalität mit plausiblen Regulierungsinstrumenten, kapazitiven Mechanismen, Planungen und in der Praxis umsetzbaren freiwilligen Maßnahmen.
Book Synopsis Sustainability Perspectives: Science, Policy and Practice by : Peter A. Khaiter
Download or read book Sustainability Perspectives: Science, Policy and Practice written by Peter A. Khaiter and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-10-15 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book presents methodological and applied aspects of sustainability and sustainable management from different countries and regions around the globe. It discusses approaches to sustainability assessment, demonstrates how ideas of sustainability and sustainable management are incorporated into public policies and private actions at local and national levels. Authors focus on promoting greater sustainability in natural resource management, energy production and storage, housing design, industrial reorganization, coastal planning, land use, and business strategy, including sustainability indicators, environmental damages, and theoretical frameworks. Chapters reflect environmental, economic and social issues in sustainable development, challenges encountered, and lessons learned as well as solutions proposed.
Book Synopsis System Innovation and the Transition to Sustainability by : Boelie Elzen
Download or read book System Innovation and the Transition to Sustainability written by Boelie Elzen and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2004-01-01 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Modern societies face several structural problems such as transport congestion and greenhouse gas emissions due to the widespread use of fossil fuels. To address these important societal problems and achieve sustainability in the broad sense, major transformations are required, but this poses an enormous challenge given the complexity of the processes involved. Such transformations are called 'transitions' or 'system innovations' and involve changes in a variety of elements, including technology, regulation, user practices and markets, cultural meaning and infrastructure. This book considers two main questions: how do system innovations or transitions come about and how can they be influenced by different actors, in particular by governments. The authors identify the theories which can be used to conceptualise the dynamics of system innovations and discuss the weaknesses in these theories. They also look at the lessons which can be learned from historical examples of transitions, and highlight the instruments and policy tools which can be used to stimulate future system innovations towards sustainability. The expert contributors address these questions using insights from a variety of different disciplines including innovation studies, evolutionary economics, the sociology of technology, environmental analysis and governance studies. The book concludes with an extensive summary of the results and practical suggestions for future research. This important new volume offers an interdisciplinary assessment of how and why system innovations occur. It will engage and inform academics and researchers interested in transitions towards sustainability, and will also be highly relevant for policymakers concerned with environmental issues, structural change and radical innovation.
Book Synopsis Sustainability and the Art of Long-Term Thinking by : Bernd Klauer
Download or read book Sustainability and the Art of Long-Term Thinking written by Bernd Klauer and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2016-09-01 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dealing with time is intimately linked to sustainability, because sustainability, at its core, involves long-term ethical claims. To live up to them, decision and policy-making has to consider long-term development of society, economy, and nature. However, dealing with time and such long-term development is a notoriously difficult subject, both in science and, in particular, in practical decision and policy making. Rooted in philosophical and scientific reasoning, this book explores how the concept of time can be incorporated into effective practical action. The book describes a system and uses case studies to help sustainability practitioners and researchers consider the long-term consequences of our actions in a methodical way. The system integrates scientific and practical knowledge about time and temporal developments to help break down the sometimes overwhelming complexity of sustainability issues. Combining theoretical conceptual thinking and practical applications, this book will be of great interest to students and researchers of sustainability science, environmental sciences, sustainable development, environmental economics, political sciences and practical philosophy.
Book Synopsis Contemplative Approaches to Sustainability in Higher Education by : Marie Eaton
Download or read book Contemplative Approaches to Sustainability in Higher Education written by Marie Eaton and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2016-10-14 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do we foster in college students the cognitive complexity, ethical development, and personal resolve that are required for living in this "sustainability century"? Tackling these complex and highly interdependent problems requires nuanced interdisciplinary understandings, collective endeavors, systemic solutions, and profound cultural shifts. Contributors in this book present both a rationale as well as a theoretical framework for incorporating reflective and contemplative pedagogies to help students pause, deepen their awareness, think more carefully, and work with complexity in sustainability-focused courses. Also offering a variety of relevant, timely resources for faculty to use in their classrooms, Contemplative Approaches to Sustainability in Higher Education serves as a key asset to the efforts of educators to enhance students’ capacities for long-term engagement and resilience in a future where sustainability is vital.
Book Synopsis The Sustainable Development Theory: A Critical Approach, Volume 1 by : Ion Pohoață
Download or read book The Sustainable Development Theory: A Critical Approach, Volume 1 written by Ion Pohoață and published by Palgrave Macmillan. This book was released on 2021-09-23 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book argues that the theory of sustainable development lost some of its rigor because of two main reasons. The first manifests itself as an inflation of concepts that hampers the correct understanding of sustainability’s essence. The second one consists of a departure from the traditional scientific sources of the classicists and, in part, neoclassicists. Exploiting relevant areas of their works, the authors outline the theoretical framework necessary to promote a healthy version of sustainability. Of utmost interest prove to be areas such as: the formation process of natural prices and natural rate of interest; placing growth before employment and placing production before distribution, consumption, and social justice. The main idea of the book consists of a call for breaking away from the impure forms of the theory of sustainable development and its reconstruction through the reconciliation with the laws of healthy growth as they are highlighted in the works of the founders. The authors make the case for an approach to sustainable development that is holistic, macroeconomic, and institutionalist, where social, ecological, and economic components are reconciled. This work presents a fresh perspective in the context of current works on sustainability, serving as an accessible research resource and public policy decision guide.
