170 research outputs found
Sustainable consumption: towards action and impact. : International scientific conference November 6th-8th 2011, Hamburg - European Green Capital 2011, Germany: abstract volume
This volume contains the abstracts of all oral and poster presentations of the international scientific conference âSustainable Consumption â Towards Action and Impactâ held in Hamburg (Germany) on November 6th-8th 2011. This unique conference aims to promote a comprehensive academic discourse on issues concerning sustainable consumption and brings together scholars from a wide range of academic disciplines.
In modern societies, private consumption is a multifaceted and ambivalent phenomenon: it is a ubiquitous social practice and an economic driving force, yet at the same time, its consequences are in conflict with important social and environmental sustainability goals. Finding paths towards âsustainable consumptionâ has therefore become a major political issue. In order to properly understand the challenge of âsustainable consumptionâ, identify unsustainable patterns of consumption and bring forward the necessary innovations, a collaborative effort of researchers from different disciplines is needed
An inter-disciplinary study of strategic interactions in foreign economic policy-making of the EU: agent, structure and knowledge
The guiding research question in this thesis is how to improve our understanding of the global dynamics in both the process of establishing and the actual content of the EUâs foreign economic policy. To answer this question this study has raised, first, in terms of the concept of FEP, the question of whether traditional accounts of inter-mestic policy, centred around economic performance, i.e. mono-dimensional FEP, are reasonable or not. As a result, this study suggests that it is desirable to take into account other dimensions of FEP, as economic diplomacy and foreign economic policy, in order to generate a multi-dimensional account of FEP.
Second, this multi-dimensional account requires us to establish a new framework, and to deal with issues related to the establishment of methodology. There have been a series of debates between those who emphasise comparative politics and those who emphasis international relations. In addition, those who suggest the analysis of foreign policy have been contending with those who are in favour of an international political economy approach. This study recognises that all of those approaches have individual merits and discovers the possibility of convergence in terms of a meta-theoretical dimension.
Ultimately, this study suggests an analytical synthesis of the traditional foreign economic policy approaches, which is based on the dialogue of agent-structure and structure-structure relationships. This cognitive framework of dialogue encompasses a series of concepts such as order, power, heterogeneity, similarity, justice and distribution. The account of such a series of concepts constructs the epistemological components of meta-theoretical convergence between comparative politics, international relations, the analysis of foreign policy and the international political economy approach. Consequently, general explanation and explanations of the timing and content of policy outputs are provided.
On the other hand, in accordance with the theoretical suggestions above, this study suggests the following agent-centred scenarios of the likely course the EU might take in the formation of the EUâs foreign economic policy in the near future
The Trilogy of Science: Filling the Knowledge Management Gap with Knowledge Science and Theory
The international knowledge management field has different ways of investigating, developing, believing, and studying knowledge management. Knowledge management (KM) is distinguished deductively by know-how, and its intangible nature establishes different approaches to KM concepts, practices, and developments. Exploratory research and theoretical principles have formed functional intelligences from 1896 to 2013, leading to a knowledge management knowledge science (KMKS) concept that derived a grounded theory of knowledge activity (KAT). This study addressed the impact of knowledge production problems on KM practice. The purpose of this qualitative meta-analysis study was to fit KM practice within the framework of knowledge science (KS) study. Themed questions and research variables focused on field mechanisms, operative functions, principle theory, and relationships of KMKS. The action research used by American practitioners has not established a formal structure for KS. The meta-data-analysis examined 385 transdisciplinary peer-reviewed articles using social science, service science, and systems science databases, with a selection of interdisciplinary studies that had a practice-research-theory framework. Key attributes utilizing Boolean limiters, words, phrases and publication dates, along with triangulation, language analysis and coding through analytic software identified commonalities of the data under study. Findings reflect that KM has not become a theoretically saturated field. KS as the forensic science of KM creates a paradigm shift, causes social change that averts rapid shifts in management direction and uncertainty, and connects KM philosophy and science of knowledge. These findings have social change implications by informing the work of managers and academics to generate a methodical applied science
Global restructuring and local anti-poverty action: learning from European experimental programms
Este trabalho discute como os MunicĂpios podem reforçar o seu contributo para a luta contra a
pobreza num contexto mundial de reestruturação global. Em primeiro lugar, começa por
introduzir a relevĂąncia da âtransição paradigmĂĄticaâ nas ciĂȘncias sociais no Ăąmbito da luta
contra a pobreza e apresenta o contributo do realismo âcrĂticoâ como possĂvel quadro de
referĂȘncia epistemolĂłgico para a coerĂȘncia e legitimidade cientĂfica do trabalho a desenvolver.
Seguidamente, o trabalho propÔe um modo de conceptualizar a luta contra a pobreza. Conceitos
como âpobrezaâ, ânecessidaddes bĂĄsicasâ, âagĂȘncia e estruturaâ, âlocalidadeâ e âintegração
econĂłmicaâ sĂŁo discutidos e o seu conteĂșdo definido com rigor. Em terceiro lugar, o
desenvolvimento teĂłrico do trabalho oferece uma perspectiva de diferentes contributos na
explicação do processo de âreestruturação globalâ, desenvolvimento local e planeamento
territorial. A mudança contemporùnea é explicada como transição para um regime de
âacumulação flexĂvelâ, Ă© desenvolvida uma teoria de âsubdesenvolvimento localâ orientada para
a acção e Ă© apresentada uma teoria de planeamento como âempowering dialogueâ oferecendo
em conjunto um quadro de referĂȘncia coerente onde situar a acção Municipal na luta contra a
pobreza. Finalmente, com base na âsĂntese realistaâ diversos programas âexperimentaisâ de
iniciativa Europeia e respectivos exercĂcios de avaliação sĂŁo ârevisitadosâ e âliçÔesâ sĂŁo
retiradas. Estes programas oferecem muitos exemplos de possĂveis formas de concretização da
acção. A relevùncia dos seus resultados é assegurada pelo quadro epistemológico, conceptual e
teĂłrico deste trabalho. Ă possĂvel discutir a dependĂȘncia conceptual e contextual das âideias
potencialmente migrantesâ e que podem ser consideradas como resultando das aprendizagens
proporcionadas pelos programas. TambĂ©m Ă© foi possĂvel discutir a sua contribuição para a
legitimidade de mensagens-chave e implicaçÔes de polĂtica e propor algumas perspectivas para
futuros desenvolvimentos do trabalho agora apresentado.This work discusses how Municipalities can improve their contribution to anti-poverty action in
a context of global restructuring. First, it starts by introducing the relevance of the
âparadigmatic transitionâ in the social sciences to anti-poverty action and presents the
contribution of âcriticalâ realism as a possible framework for ensuring coherence to the work to
be developed. Second, the work proposes a way of conceptualising anti-poverty action. Concepts
such as âpovertyâ, âbasic-needsâ, âagency and structureâ, âlocalityâ and âeconomic integrationâ
are discussed and defined with precision. Third, the theoretical development of the work offers
an overview of contributions aiming to explain âglobal restructuringâ, local development and
territorial planning and discusses their relevance to anti-poverty action. Contemporary change is
explained as a transition to âflexible accumulationâ, an action-oriented theory of âlocal
underdevelopmentâ is developed and territorial planning as an âempowering dialogueâ is
presented offering a coherent framework where to situate Municipal anti-poverty action. Finally,
on the basis of ârealist synthesisâ several European experimental programmes and their
evaluation exercises are ârevisitedâ and âlessonsâ are learned. These programmes offer many
examples of action possibilities and enable the identification of policy implications. The
relevance of their outcomes is given by the epistemological, conceptual and theoretical
framework of this work. It was possible to discuss the âconcept-dependentâ and âcontextdependentâ
relevance of the potential âmigrating ideasâ learned from experimental action. It was
also possible to discuss their contribution to the legitimacy of key-messages and policy
implications and propose some different perspectives for future developments of the work presented now.ISCT
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