De schijnwerkelijkheid van gezamenlijke besluitvorming

Het nemen van besluiten lijkt inherent te zijn aan ziek zijn. Steeds vaker wordt er van de patiënt verwacht dat hij zelf gaat kiezen en eigen regie voert. De patiënt weet immers zelf wat het beste voor hem is, is de gedachte. Gezamenlijke besluitvorming lijkt hierin een welkom concept om te komen tot goede zorg. Maar is dit wel het geval? Door middel van zorgethisch onderzoek is er inzicht verworven in de ervaringen van twee patiënten, en diens naasten, waar besluiten worden gevormd omtrent behandeling op het moment dat er sprake is van ziekte. Er zijn twee fenomenologische casestudies uitgevoerd om antwoord te kunnen geven op de hoofdvraag: Hoe ervaren mensen met uitgezaaide, ongeneeslijke kanker de besluitvorming omtrent behandeling en wat is voor hen daarin goede zorg? Vanuit de verworven data worden vijf thema’s gedestilleerd: vervreemding van het vertrouwde, ervaring van chaos, hoop, gezien worden en samen ziek zijn. Te zien is dat deze thema’s samen een membraan vormen waarin de patiënt terecht komt. Binnen dit membraan worden geen rationele keuzes gemaakt, iets wat het concept van gezamenlijke besluitvorming binnen de dominante literatuur wel verondersteld. De vooronderstelde werkelijkheid sluit niet aan bij de echte werkelijkheid met een schijnwerkelijkheid tot gevolg. De dominante opvatting van gezamenlijke besluitvorming sluit dan ook niet aan bij de wereld van de patiënten en laat patiënten juist alleen in deze onvertrouwde en onveilige situatie. Dit onderzoek laat zien dat goed zorgen meer is dan kiezen en het nemen van besluiten. Er zal vanuit een relationeel mensbeeld aansluiting moeten worden gevonden bij de aspecten van afhankelijkheid en kwetsbaarheid die inherent zijn aan het menselijk bestaan, juist ook op het moment van ziekte. Die kwetsbaarheid en afhankelijkheid spelen een belangrijke rol in de vorming van besluiten en de strubbelingen en opgaven waar patiënten voor komen te staan

Exploring the clothing overconsumption of young adults:An experimental study with communication interventions

The increase in clothing consumption per capita in the last decades presents substantial environmental and societal challenges. Young adults, heavily influenced by advertisements and new trends via social media, emerge as substantial contributors to the escalating issue of clothing overconsumption. This research aims at better understanding the drivers of clothing consumption for young adults and the policy interventions that can be designed to change clothing overconsumption behaviour. This study employs a survey experiment with communication interventions using different framing strategies. In doing so, the study focuses on the potential impact of communication interventions on the clothing consumption rates of young adults. The study showed that a communication intervention can motivate young adults to purchase less clothing and gives an initial insight into how to implement this type of intervention. Moreover, it provides initial evidence that intervention strategies inspired by sufficiency can be effective. This research calls for more transformative policies to stimulate sustainable consumption that go beyond promoting sustainable alternatives

Exploring the clothing overconsumption of young adults:An experimental study with communication interventions

The increase in clothing consumption per capita in the last decades presents substantial environmental and societal challenges. Young adults, heavily influenced by advertisements and new trends via social media, emerge as substantial contributors to the escalating issue of clothing overconsumption. This research aims at better understanding the drivers of clothing consumption for young adults and the policy interventions that can be designed to change clothing overconsumption behaviour. This study employs a survey experiment with communication interventions using different framing strategies. In doing so, the study focuses on the potential impact of communication interventions on the clothing consumption rates of young adults. The study showed that a communication intervention can motivate young adults to purchase less clothing and gives an initial insight into how to implement this type of intervention. Moreover, it provides initial evidence that intervention strategies inspired by sufficiency can be effective. This research calls for more transformative policies to stimulate sustainable consumption that go beyond promoting sustainable alternatives

Industrial Symbiosis as a Social Process

Industrial symbiosis is a process in which firms in regional industrial systems engage in the exchange of by-products and sharing of utilities and services in order to improve their environmental and economic performance. Industrial symbiosis has a prominent social dimension. To capture the social dimension concepts from the social sciences have been introduced to the field. This thesis makes one of the first attempts to bring these together in an integrated conceptual framework. The social dimension of industrial symbiosis refers specifically to the institutional capacity of actors to coordinate their actions and interactions towards industrial symbiosis. In the thesis, the implications of the conceptual framework are tested through empirical studies, the results of which are used to present an improved framework in the conclusions. At the core of the improved framework is a two-phases model of the process through which actors build institutional capacity for industrial symbiosis. In the first phase, a common ground emerges between independent projects, that are started for disparate purposes, but are also potential building blocks for industrial symbiosis. The presence of bridging actors ensures that the emergent common ground is recognized and translated to a shared vision. With the development of the vision, the building blocks are assembled into a larger collaborative process. This triggers the second phase, in which the collaborative process unfolds as an assemblage of interrelated projects, aimed at the implementation of industrial symbiosis. The thesis also makes methodological contributions. Throughout the thesis, different methods, techniques and tools for longitudinal research are introduced as part of an innovative methodology called Event Sequence Analysis

Balancing the Quantitative and Qualitative Aspects of Social Network Analysis to Study Complex Social Systems

Social Network Analysis (SNA) can be used to investigate complex social systems. SNA is typically applied as a quantitative method, which has important limitations. First, quantitative methods are capable of capturing the form of relationships (e.g. strength and frequency), but they are less suitable for capturing the content of relationships (e.g. interests and motivations). Second, while complex social systems are highly dynamic, the representations that SNA creates of such systems are often static. These limitations can be overcome by balancing a quantita- tive approach to SNA with a qualitative approach. In the article two different approaches that seek this balance are demonstrated. The illustrations show that in this combination quantitative SNA is most useful for revealing system-level patterns, but that a deeper understanding of the mechanisms that produce these patterns is more easily achieved through the interpretation of qualitative data

Coordination of Industrial Symbiosis through Anchoring

This paper aims to contribute to understanding the dynamics of industrial symbiosis. More specifically, we focus on the dynamics of anchoring as they can be observed in the Chinese context of eco-industrial development. We define anchoring as those activities that (typically local) actors perform to create local physical and institutional conditions conducive to the emergence and further development of industrial symbiosis in a specific regional industrial system. We argue that, in the study of industrial symbiosis dynamics, it is conceptually more useful to focus on anchoring as an activity, rather than anchor tenants as actors. Based on a systematic literature review, we distinguish two types of anchoring activities: institutional and physical. We analyze anchoring dynamics in the case of Qijiang Industrial Symbiosis (Chongqing Municipality) in China. We have identified the physical and institutional anchoring activities, the actors responsible for these activities, and how different anchoring activities build on each other over time. Our case study shows that the attempt to bring about industrial symbiosis in the Qijiang industrial park can be described in a richer way than just ‘governmental planning’

Global survey of precious plastic projects: a summary of findings

A report based on a survey of activities of precious plastics projects worldwide

Understanding actor roles in sustainability initiatives: an exploratory study in five European countries

Several strands of literature have developed around the ambition to influence or bring about transitions toward greater sustainability. In this context researchers have come to be interested in the types of actors involved in sustainability transitions and the roles these actors play. However, there is a lack of clear definitions of actors, and their roles. Our research takes an exploratory approach and is designed to describe and analyse the actors concerned and to identify their roles in sustainability initiatives. Our aim in doing so is to contribute to the body of scientific knowledge on transitions and to provide sustainability initiatives themselves with helpful information. Data were collected using the Net-Map tool, a well-established method in actor and stakeholder analysis. In our results we identify and define six actor roles: catalysts, opponents, intermediaries, frontrunners, drivers and visionaries. In the literature, particular roles are connected to common actor categories (civil society, governmental actors, private sector, etc.). Our results imply that sustainability initiatives are neither necessarily hindered by the absence of certain actors, nor are they hindered per se by the presence of an actor - rather, a broad mix seems to be helpful