Nanotechnology is frequently described as an enabling technology and 1 fundamental innovation, i.e. it is expected to lead to numerous innovative developments in the most diverse fields of technology and areas of app- cation in society and the marketplace. The technology, it is believed, has the potential for far-reaching changes that will eventually affect all areas of life. Such changes will doubtlessly have strong repercussions for society and the environment and bring with them not only the desired and intended effects such as innovations in the form of improvements to products, pr- esses...

There is a wide consensus about the necessity of sustainable development. There is also a consensus that wide areas of our economy, industry, and technology and the life styles in industrialized countries are not susta- able. Science and technology are widely regarded as (main) causes for this situation. Issues in this context comprise the generally low resource ef- ciency, an increased and mostly undebated technological power, an - creased invasiveness of modern technologies, increasing amounts and - versity of pollutants, and high technological risks. On the other hand science and...

Structural change in basic industries is usually interpreted as an autonomous economic process. Some authors claim that there is a tendency to use the "end of the era of materials," thus resulting in a decline of the basic industries. Such a process would obviously benefit the environment. Classic economic theories, which deal with structural change in a rather holistic way, correspond to this trend, predicting either a shift towards manufacturing and services or a relocation of old basic industries to developing countries. On the basis of this dematerialization hypothesis, comparative case...

Nanotechnology is frequently described as an enabling technology and 1 fundamental innovation, i.e. it is expected to lead to numerous innovative developments in the most diverse fields of technology and areas of app- cation in society and the marketplace. The technology, it is believed, has the potential for far-reaching changes that will eventually affect all areas of life. Such changes will doubtlessly have strong repercussions for society and the environment and bring with them not only the desired and intended effects such as innovations in the form of improvements to products, pr- esses...

Die Diskussion uber die Globalisierung der Markte bzw. die Standortdebatte ist angstbesetzt und haufig sachlich irrefuhrend. Die Autoren relativieren existierende Befurchtungen und zeigen, dass die Gestaltungsspielraume durch die verstarkte Arbeitsteilung zwischen ahnlich strukturierten Gesellschaften zunehmen. Sie geben Hinweise daruber, wo die Handlungsspielraume liegen und vermitteln die Uberzeugung, dass die arbeitsteilige Vernetzung auch eine gute Grundlage fur eine nachhaltig zukunftsvertragliche Entwicklung sein kann."

There is a wide consensus about the necessity of sustainable development. There is also a consensus that wide areas of our economy, industry, and technology and the life styles in industrialized countries are not susta- able. Science and technology are widely regarded as (main) causes for this situation. Issues in this context comprise the generally low resource ef- ciency, an increased and mostly undebated technological power, an - creased invasiveness of modern technologies, increasing amounts and - versity of pollutants, and high technological risks. On the other hand science and...

This book identifies, analyzes and discusses the current trends of digitalized, decentralized, and networked physical value creation by focusing on the particular example of 3D printing.