Understanding Industrial Transformation: Views from Different Disciplines

ISBN-13: 9789048169542 / Angielski / Miękka / 2010 / 226 str.

Xander Olsthoorn; Anna J. Wieczorek

Opis

When facing momentous societal change, such as the transformation to a sustainable world, the sciences must impress their importance upon the public and convince scientific and policy institutions in order to obtain the means to carry out their mission. This book represents the first attempt to integrate disciplinary views on the topic of transformation towards sustainability.

Spis treści

About the Authors. Preface. 1. INTRODUCTION, Xander Olsthoorn & Anna J. Wieczorek. 1.1.What is industrial transformation? 1.2. About this book. Acknowledgements. References. 2. A PSYCHOLOGICAL VIEW ON INDUSTRIAL TRANSFORMATION AND BEHAVIOUR, Joop de Boer. 2.1. Introduction. 2.2. On the causes of behaviour. 2.3. The role of values. 2.4. The impacts of awareness. 2.5. Final remarks. Acknowledgements. References. 3. SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES FOR INDUSTRIAL TRANSFORMATION, Arthur P.J. Mol & Gert Spaargaren. 3.1. Introduction. 3.2. General and theoretical sociology. 3.3. Environmental sociology. 3.4. Environmental sociology and industrial production. 3.5. Sociology and sustainable consumption. 3.6. Epilogue. References. 4. INDUSTRIAL TRANSFORMATION AND INTERNATIONAL LAW, Joyeeta Gupta. 4.1. Introduction. 4.2. The incremental model. 4.3. Structural model of law making. 4.4. Regulatory competition and law: international economic law. 4.5. Conclusions. Acknowledgements. References. 5. CONTRIBUTIONS TO TRANSFORMATION RESEARCH FROM POLITICAL SCIENCE, Klaus Jacob, Frank Biermann, Marleen van de Kerkhof & Anna J. Wieczorek. 5.1. Introduction. 5.2. The international dimension of industrial transformation. 5.3. New actors: stakeholder involvement in transformation processes. 5.4. New instruments and strategies for environmental policies. 5.5. Conclusions: strategies for industrial transformation. Acknowledgements. References. 6. ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS AND INDUSTRIAL TRANSFORMATION, Xander Olsthoorn & Onno Kuik. 6.1. Introduction. 6.2. The analysis by ecological economics. 6.3. Indicators. 6.4. Ecological economics as a criticism of ‘mainstream’ economics. 6.5. Conclusions. References. 7. AN EVOLUTIONARY ECONOMICS PERSPECTIVE ONINDUSTRIAL TRANSFORMATION, Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh, Marjan W. Hofkes & Frans H. Oosterhuis. 7.1. Introduction. 7.2. Concepts in evolutionary thinking. 7.3. Essential contributions to evolutionary Economics. 7.4. Environmental applications of evolutionary economics. 7.5. An application to the energy system. 7.6. Evolutionary policies for industrial transformation. Acknowledgements. References. 8. A NEO-CLASSICAL ECONOMICS VIEW ON TECHNOLOGICAL TRANSITIONS, Frank A.G. den Butter & Marjan W. Hofkes. 8.1. Introduction. 8.2. Neo-classical economics and the environment. 8.3. Technological change. 8.4. Technological lock-ins. 8.5. Transitions and government intervention. 8.6. Transition to wind energy: an example. 8.7. Conclusion. References. 9. MULTI-LEVEL PERSPECTIVE ON SYSTEM INNOVATION: RELEVANCE FOR INDUSTRIAL TRANSFORMATION, Frank W. Geels. 9.1. Introduction. 9.2. Some disciplinary building blocks. 9.3. A multi-level perspective on system innovations. 9.4. Policy suggestions. 9.5. Topics for further research. Acknowledgements. References. 10. MANAGING TRANSITIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, Derk Loorbach & Jan Rotmans. 10.1. Introduction. 10.2. Scientific perspective. 10.3. The water transition 10.4. Possibilities for managing transitions. 10.5. Conclusions. References. 11. DISCUSSION & CONCLUSIONS, Xander Olsthoorn, Adrian Smith & Anna J. Wieczorek. 11.1. Introduction. 11.2. Analysis and Conclusions. 11.3. The management of change: Some challenges ahead. References. Epilogue.

Blurb

'A system is just like truth's tail, but the truth is like a lizard. It will leave the tail in your hand and escape; it knows that it will soon grow another one.' [Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev (1818-1883), Letter, Paris, January 3, 1857, to Count Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. Turgenev: Letters, ed. David]

...a scientist can only come to a partial understanding of industrial transformation processes. This is so not only because of the vastness of the topic, but because of the inherent limitations of each scientific discipline. The common ground, which scientists of different disciplines may endeavour to find when approaching some problem, is often slight.

A scientist entering such grounds runs the risk of getting lost, losing understanding and only catching the loose tail mentioned above. Secondly, sciences, to make a difference, must impress their importance upon the public and convince scientific and policy institutions in order to obtain the means to carry out their mission.

The editors consider that there has been progress, and that this book is a sign of such progress, and hope that it provides a further contribution to such advancement. Their hope is that this book will also foster co-operation among those approaching this area from dissimilar disciplines and scientific traditions, and that it will stimulate progress for all scientists advancing on the international road to global sustainability.